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Everyone knows Ron as the underdog of the Harry Potter series, a charming character whom we all turn to for comedic relief; but is that really the case? After countless hours spent watching the movies over and over again, I can conclude that he is, in fact, not who we think he is. To be frank, he’s mediocre, and that’s already being generous. To those of you who are horrified and upset about this, finish reading and see if your opinion stays the same.
Number 1: Jealousy, Jealousy
When someone defends Ron, the first thing they usually bring up is his loyalty to Harry. After all, that’s his job as the side character. Looking back to the fifth book Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, however, it’s shown that Ron throws a temper tantrum because Harry was chosen to compete in a deadly tournament over him. His jealousy is so intense that it takes precedence over the years of trust between the two best friends, with Ron not willing to believe that Harry didn’t enter himself into the competition; Ron can’t stand the spotlight being on Harry, and selfishly betrayed him. A truly loyal friend would have had Harry’s back and protected him from the rumors, not spreading them themselves. It’s not only that particular moment in the movies we see Ron envying Harry’s fame. He hates that Harry is better than him at Quidditch. He hates that Harry is richer than him. He hates that Harry gets more attention than him. This list could go on forever. The point is he doesn’t appreciate his own qualities, rather he is always comparing himself to others and grumbling about what he is missing, instead of valuing what he already has.
Number 2: Yes, we know, you’re insecure.
Throughout the books, Ron displays signs of an inferiority complex that centers on insecurities about his abilities, as well as his family’s social status. This is one of his defining qualities as it influences every action he takes and every attitude shift he has. His immaturity shines through when seems to be embarrassed about his family’s financial condition and how most of his things are second hand. At Hogwarts, Ron constantly whined about being poor despite the bigger problems at hand, being unable to look past his current situation and appreciate his loving family and supportive parents. Poor Harry is an orphan for God’s sake, get over yourself! Not to mention that Harry was constantly on the verge of dying while Ron was snacking away on Chocolate Frogs. Everything Ron does is to invoke pity from the audience, and it’s bothersome how many people fall for his pathetic act. Quidditch is a great show of his exasperating behavior, as he’s nervous in every practice and ruins the games for the Gryfindors. Ron complains about this every chance he gets, even wanting to quit the team. Harry takes it upon himself to fix this, pretending to give Ron a potion for luck. Under the false belief of being drugged, Ron plays beautifully, blocking every goal. This was one of the only moments Ron shows confidence and does something right. He always needs reassurance and is dependent on others to stroke his ego.
Number 3: Hermione deserved better.
Ron and Hermione are one of the central relationships in the series, having known each other since the beginning of the book. Even from the start, we could see that Ron treated Hermione with an air of contempt, even making her cry by ridiculing her love for books and studying in their first year. It doesn’t stop at that. Although in all of the movies, he wasn’t particularly pleasant, his attitude in the Goblet of Fire is arguably one of his worst moments. Not only does he refuse to believe that anyone in their right mind would date Hermione, but he also turns jealous once he realizes that she wasn’t lying about getting a date. It’s hard to tell what his true feelings are, as his actions contradict each other leaving us confused and honestly a little angry at him. He’s hot and cold, giving poor Hermione whiplash from trying to predict his behavior. Ron had also rudely asked her as a last resort, yet was still shocked when she rejected him. He ended up going with another girl, Padma Patil, whom he ignored and treated poorly the whole duration of the dance. I’m begging you Ron, make up your mind instead of going around and putting everyone down.
Number 4: He’s a ginger, what more do I need to say?
Literally a walking red flag.
Plus he’s a Wal-Mart version of Ed Sheeran. (Go sing “Shape of You” somewhere else, please)
Number 5: Let’s face it, he’s a little bit of a brat.
Ron has the maturity of a five year old and acts impulsively when making choices. This usually results in a terrible consequence which he then in turn complains about. Take the second movie as an example, where he decides the most logical decision to being locked out of the train station is to steal a flying car and fly it all the way to Hogwarts. There’s definitely no way this could go wrong. When he ends up breaking his wand, big surprise, and almost gets him and Harry expelled, all he does is sit there and talk about how much he’s suffering. To add onto his lack of intelligence, he’s also self centered and slightly useless. In the last movie, Deathly Hallows, while everyone is working hard and struggling with their own battles, all Ron does is whine. We get it, it sucks, but it’s not just you suffering. It was a time of war where people were being tortured and dying, so maybe consider somebody else’s feelings for once.
To those of you who say Ron is simply a representation of average people with normal human flaws, I’m telling you that he’s definitely not how a typical person behaves. At least, I hope not. No matter which way you look at it, Ron has no qualities exceptional enough to redeem himself from his innumerable awful ones. In my opinion, J.K. Rowling should have killed him off when she had the chance.
