Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly blog meme hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl.
This week’s challenge was about villains, but you guys know I have to change it up a bit, so I’m going with some unpopular character opinions I have! I’ll list 5 characters I like (who everyone seems to dislike), and 5 characters I dislike (who everyone seems to like). Sorry in advance if any of your faves are in my “dislike” list!
5 characters I LIKE that everyone seems to DISLIKE:
- Aelin Galathynius — Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas
- She’s a badass, she’s super generous, she would sacrifice herself in an instant for even people who aren’t in her inner circle, and she’s pretty damn clever! I think she’s amazing. ?
- Lila Bard — Shades of Magic by V. E. Schwab
- I know Lila is rough around the edges, arrogant, brooding, and self-absorbed, but those are traits I enjoy in characters!
- Matthias Helvar — Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
- I think he gets the short end of the stick way too often. He grows so much as a character throughout the series and he has so many sweet and tender moments. Yeah, he has some super messed up views in the beginning, but most people who were raised in a brainwashing religion do until they’re shown a better way. :/
- Clary Fray — The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare
- At first, she irritated the hell out of me! But somewhere around book 3, I don’t know, something changed and I started to really love Clary and respect her a lot. Nothing can stop her from defending her loved ones and I admire that.
- Severus Snape — Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
- Look, hear me out before you hit that “unfollow” button. ? I do NOT think Snape is a “hero” or that he “redeemed” himself—it’s none of that. It’s just that I love morally grey characters, and while I’d put him closer to the “dark” side of the moral greyness spectrum, he’s on there. I also cannot be convinced that he isn’t the most complex and well-written character in the series.
5 characters I DISLIKE that everyone seems to LIKE:
- Radu Bey — The Conquerors Saga by Kiersten White
- I feel like all of my friends who are fans of this series love Radu, and yeah, he’s a gay as hell little cutie, but he makes the worst decisions 99% of the time and I would punch him in the throat if I could.
- Gale Hawthorne — The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
- As you can see, I was very #TeamPeeta, through and through. 😛 Gale was fine to begin with, but I didn’t like how he acted entitled to Katniss’ affections just because they were friends, and I will forever stand by my opinion that Katniss never would have been able to be happy with him after the balloons.
- Scarlet Benoit — The Lunar Chronicles by Marissa Meyer
- This one really isn’t even fair, but I didn’t want to make a list that was 99% HP characters (I have a lot of disliked characters in that series, okay). I just… don’t really get the hype with Scarlet. Maybe it’s just because her book was the most boring book in the series to me so far (I still have to read Winter!).
- James Potter — Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
- He was a bully who tormented his classmates for fun. Snape was a bully too, don’t get me wrong, but at least Snape was interesting. James’ entire personality revolved around quidditch and being a dick.
- Albus Dumbledore — Harry Potter by J. K. Rowling
- I debated on whether I wanted to even include this one or not, but… I have to. Dumbledore might be my most disliked “popular” character ever. He condoned Harry’s abusive childhood by allowing it to continue and making Harry go back every summer, he raised Harry like a lamb for slaughter, he lied so much… I loved him as a kid, but as an adult? I just think he’s kind of a jerk. 🙁
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People dislike Lila? 😮 Why?! I just finished A Darker Shade of Magic and LOVE her. I agree with you, too, about Matthias. I’m still not over Crooked Kingdom. King of Scars is going to ruin me. ;_;
I seriously know soooo many people who hate Lila! It makes me so sad. 🙁 What bothers me most is that a few of the people I know who hate her have admitted outright that she’s just “too masculine” to them, which breaks my heart a little (especially since she’s nonbinary, according to Schwab). And yeah… 🙁 I’m not ready for King of Scars. At all.
IS SHE?? I didn’t know that. ? I thought I might’ve recalled genderfluid but I didn’t know if there was anything official. That’s wonderful.
But, yeah, screw those people. Lila is a tremendous character. I can’t wait to see her in AGOS.
She is! It’s wonderful. <3 I loved her even more in AGOS and ACOL, so I hope you do, too!
Do you happen to know where V.E. said that Lila was non binary? Was it an interview or Twitter or something?
I know she’s mentioned it at a few signings (she mentioned it VERY briefly at the signing I went to of hers) but I think there’s also a Tor.com blog post from a couple of years back where she talks about all of the diverse rep and mentioned it there, too!
Ooh this topic is a LANDMINE wow. Totally agree with the dislikes I recognize, can’t say I love the likes you’ve got though. Truce? Lol.
Personally, my biggest unpopular opinion is that I don’t like Aeduan from the Witchlands series. ? Which seems terrible to say when I’m on the street team and the next book focuses on him, but…nope, don’t like him, and possibly also think Iseult could do better (SACRILEGE, I KNOW).
Great post! ?
Haha, truce indeed! I was a little nervous to post it but it’s thankfully gone over pretty well. ?
Whoops, accidentally hit enter too soon! I haven’t actually read the Witchlands series yet! I own the first book but always forget I have it. I feel like I never hear ANYONE talking about it!!
And thank you!
Oh, I hope you get a chance to read it soon! I really, really enjoy it and feel like it improves with each book. And you’re right! It flies under the radar a lot!
No problem! ?
Omg I’m with you on Dumbledore….and the fact he let Snape abuse kids in classes and Dumbledore was just downright negligent. IT MAKES ME SO MAD. Also I didn’t know people hate Lila?! I thought everyone loved her stabby soul. ?She’s definitely a favourite of mine ahh! And I like Clary although she’s not a favourite narrator of Shadowhunters, tbh.
And my biggest unpopular character opinion is probaby hating Aelin (?I mean I know you have her listed in the ones people normally hate list, but I only ever see people loving her haha) and I actually don’t like any of the Marauders. And my Six of Crows dislike character is Inej. ?I’m very alone in that!
I don’t like Inej! I don’t really understand the fascination with her at all… I’m all about the waffles and death.
WAFFLES! My sweet sexy Nina baby. <3
Dumbledore literally looks the other way over EVERYTHING? All the time?! It bugs me so much. Sigh.
Yesss, I know SO many people who hate Lila!! I don’t get it. D: It makes me sad.
Hahaha that’s too funny about Aelin, though, and how you always see people loving her—I feel like I always see people hating her! I can’t tell you how many people I’ve seen over the last week say they hoped she didn’t survive KoA. O_O I’m no fan of any of the Marauders either, really, though I guess Lupin is alright? I just… don’t really get the hype? Inej, though… oof, yeah, I’ve only ever seen one other person say they dislike her! I like her but she’s probably only my… 3rd, maybe 4th favorite Dreg?
I love Aelin & Clary! But like you it took me a little while to love Clary. Though Aelin had my heart before she was Aelin if you know what i mean hah!
Haha yes, exactly!! To both of these. She had me before, too—honestly, I started with Assassin’s Blade, and loved her there! <3
I just read The Assassins Blade for the first time last week!! It was so freaking good! It’s been sitting on my shelf for a few months waiting for me to do a reread before KOA came out. And I’m so glad i finally read it. I feel like i know her character so much better now.
It is soooo good! I’m glad you got the chance to read it! 😀
100% agree to liking Aelin and Matthias and Clary. (Still to read ADSOM and I have mixed feelings about Snape…)
I also 100% dislike Gale (but wasn’t team Peeta either…) and James and Dumbly. Dumbly May once have been a great man, but he made a lot of bad decisions about Harry.
Great list!!
Mixed feelings is probably the perfect way to describe my thought on Snape, too. Like… he does such awful things and so much of what he does is 100% inexcusable, but I just love how he’s written! I think it’s just my ridiculous weakness for moral greyness. ?
Thank you! <3
Ahh, moral grey-ness. Yes please, I’ll take a whole emotionally-filled trolley worth!
Aelin sounds badass, and Severus is kinda fascinating to me because I’ve only read the first book, so I don’t know him yet, but I’ve seen the debates and it has me SO curious!
Ooooh, I’d love to hear your thoughts on Snape as someone who hasn’t read the series all the way through before! He’s such a fascinating character to me.
Very, very good points about Dumbledore. I’d never thought about it that way. I think James was a bit of a dick too. Ha!
Thank you, Chrissi! Haha I’m glad it’s not just me.
All of these opinions are So Valid omg (Also screw everyone that dislikes Lila, I love her)
Haha thank you!! And yes ?? Lila is everything.
Y’know. I had an ENTIRE conversation about people disliking and hating Aelin with someone a while back and.. we could only conclude the following. [This might turn into a rant. MIGHT.]
> People dislike / hate her because she’s supposed to be this bad-ass assassin but she isn’t bad-ass at all and she keeps whining about the lives she has to take or has taken. That doesn’t fit into her character because she’s supposed to be an ASSASSIN. [That was the start of the conversation and the thing me and said person had an issue with because]
> SHE WAS FORCED TO BECOME A FREAKING ASSASSIN which makes her the freaking most powerful person ever since she survives that and still finds way to stay true to herself and actually BE HUMAN towards others instead of.. well.. the assassin she was trained to be. Which is a damn hard thing to do, in my opinion, and only proves how strong of a person she really is. For that: LOVE HER. Also the way she sacrifices herself and not wants to sacrifice one other person she cares about – or doesn’t even know / care about – is.. superb.
Yes to Snape btw. I dislike the hell out of him, but I have tons of admiration for the way his character has been put together by Rowling. [Same with Umbridge. I loathe that woman but in the end, you gotta give credit where credit’s due and that’s with the creator of the character. :’)]
Oh, boy. I’m… actually gonna PM you to take this private. ? I just have a lot of thoughts, but what I feel comfortable saying publicly is YES to what you said about how strong Aelin has to be to have survived what she’s been through, and also yes with Snape and Umbridge — Umbridge is SO AWFUL but honestly very complex and well-written!
Hahaha. It’s funny [but also a bit stupid, in a way?] how you have to take certain things private because others might chase you with pitchforks otherwise. Like, not only related to this particular subject but in general, y’know? 😛 And I’m here like “I don’t caaaaare!” ?
Exactly! I can’t imagine it being an easy feat to write characters like those AT ALL. :’)
I’m with you on snape and scarlet. I personally am not a fan of harry or ron haha.
Haha thank you, I’m glad I’m not alone. As far as Harry and Ron go, I hate Ron, but I didn’t want to include him in this list just because I feel like there is a nonstop conversation on my twitter feed lately of people defending Ron and I didn’t want to invite that conversation in to these comments. ??? But yeah, Ron is useless and a dick and I can’t stand him. I hated Harry as a kid but love him as an adult, mainly because I feel very sorry for him.
I like Clary and Aelin too. I guess some people think that they’re Mary Sues, but I kinda disagree.
I’ve heard that too, but I don’t feel like they are! Clary is honestly mostly useless in the beginning, except for when she has visions of new runes. And I don’t mean that as a bad or mean thing at all, just that she’s not able to help much otherwise at first! And Aelin is honestly super flawed and a lot of people hate her so I don’t see it with her, either!
YES DESTINY, YES! I agree with practically all your choices. We are of the same mind. Aelin, Lila, Snape, and Matthias are WONDERFUL! And I definitely agree about James Potter and Dumbledore!
YAY! <3 Haha I love you too much, Kelly, thank you for validating me! ??
Oh my goodness, I totally agree with James Potter and Albus Dumbledore. I don’t understand why so many people loved them??
I have this whole love/hate thing this Aelin, like sometimes I absolutely adore her and then other times I’m like nope.
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Right, I don’t get it, either!! Every time I hear someone gush about James in particular, I’m like, wait, what…? Like, I can sort of understand it with Dumbledore because the books themselves kind of hype him, if that makes sense—with how the students view him and idolize him a bit—but JAMES? Lol!
Yes hunty drag James Potter to the floor ???
I don’t get the hate for Matthias, he’s amazing and his character development are realistic. I like Snape but not because he’s a hero, but due to his depth and complexities. I don’t hate James, but I don’t think he deserves as much love and worship as he does ?
Matthias—agreed 100%! He develops so much and comes so far, and I just love him. ♥ And I agree about Snape, he’s just super complex!
I need to reread TMI. I don’t know what I’d feel about Clary now but when I liked her when I was like 13- years old. I don’t really get why so many people dislike Aelin,
Scarlet was actually my second favorite book of the series, so maybe that’s why I like her. I like her a lot more than Cinder or Winter.
don’t have that many unpopular opinions but maybe Annabeth Chase? I don’t get why everyone love her sm. Also I love Rowan. Most people think this is popular opinion but like 90% of people I have talked to hate him.
I’d love to hear what you would think of Clary now! I never read any of the Shadowhunters books until this year. I think I wouldn’t have liked her much if I’d read them as a kid because I was raised with a LOT of internalized misogyny and really didn’t like any strong/”heroic” female characters much until meeting Katniss as an older teen lol! Katniss was my first example of a super flawed, strong-willed, angry heroine that I just loved so much.
I’m not a huge fan of Cinder, either! I haven’t gotten to spend much time with Winter yet. Cress is definitely my favorite of the ladies, but my favorite guy has to be a toss-up between Thorne and Wolf. Oh, and of course I can’t forget Iko, she might be my favorite character overall! I still need to read Winter soon and I’m almost done with Fairest right now, I think I have 50 pages left so I want to knock it out tonight or tomorrow.
I don’t really love Annabeth too much, either! I don’t know a ton of people who are still super into Percy though so I guess I don’t hear her or anyone else in the series talked about much! And yeah, I feel you, most of the people I know hate Rowan! I adore him. ♥
Cress is my favorite too and I love Thorne and Wolf! I like Iko but I don’t love her. I never read Fairest because nothing she went through could make up for the things Levana did.
I think Rowan and Rhys are alike, so I don’t really get why everyone love Rhys but hates Rowan but everyone has different taste. Most of people love Dorian but while I like him I don’t get the hype.
I don’t blame you for skipping Fairest for that reason. I heard so many people say they felt sorry for Levana after reading Fairest, but I’m most of the way through it and I’m like, “Uh, are we reading the same book?” She is HORRIBLE in Fairest! Every move she makes is just AWFUL. I hate her lol.
Oh my gosh, SAME on Rowan and Rhys! I actually heard someone recently say Rowan felt like “a cheap Rhysand knockoff” to them and I was like WTF? Lol! I love them both too much! I don’t get the Dorian hype either, though.
I am very conflicted by Snape…like I agree with you that he is really complex, but I also think he was terrible to a CHILD, then again so was Dumbledore. CONFLICTED! Great list!
Oh yeah, for sure! Snape was a total abusive jerkwad. I just enjoy him regardless, for some reason—he’s like Cersei Lannister, I love to be mad at him, lol! Thank you! <3
I love Matthias so much! Although I do love Scarlet as well. Great list!
Thank you, Cindy! 😀
Interesting list! I agree with you; I think Snape is a complicated, interesting character, but can’t condone what he did, and I think the same of Dumbledore.
Thank you! You’re right, you definitely can’t justify either of their actions!
I love Aelin and Clary too!! LOL it cracks me up because they’re both main characters yet don’t get all the love some of the others do?? Lovely post, as always!❤️
Omg, right?! Like… maybe it’s just me but it’s so rare that I hate a main character so I can’t relate ? Thank you!
Lol I’m the same way??
I feel the exact same way about Dumbledore! He basically left a boy to be abused by his relatives for years, and didn’t do anything about it even though it would’ve been so easy. I love Lila and Matthias too. So happy to hear you like them too 😀
THANK YOU. Ugh. It’s awful!! Yet he gets idolized so heavily. 🙁
And yesss, my babies! <3 I'm glad you do, too!
Aelin is bae❤️❤️
I don’t know why people dislike her.
SAME, girl! I don’t get it at all lol.
The only person who tops her is Rowan…because obviously I’m trash hahaha
Yessss to James Potter and Dumbledore!!!! Dumbledore is the actual worst and as an adult, I will never like his character. Great List!!!
Haha thank you!! Right, like you said, as an adult, I just can’t justify Dumbledore’s decisions AT ALL!
People don’t like Lila? Seriously? Lila is awesome!
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I totally agree with you on Snape. He didn’t even come close to redeeming himself, but he is very morally grey, which is what makes him such a fascinating character. I still don’t like him, but I get where you’re coming from!
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I wasn’t a Gale fan either.
Bleh! He was so boring and just… I didn’t care for his attitude at all, lol.
I agree.
I just didn’t like Lila in the later books because she was too much focused on ~not being like other girls~, especially in the second, which I think is a trope that just needs to die soon. But I loved her in the first one!
And I totally agree about Snape, he’s such an incredible character even if I think he was a shitty person. And same with Dumbledore! When you actually look at a bunch of his decisions, they were very questionable
Aw, I’m sorry to hear you feel that way about Lila! I hate that trope too, but I never thought of it in regards to Lila—possibly just because I knew ahead of time that Schwab had mentioned Lila being nonbinary, so I went into it expecting some dysphoria moments and kind of read them as such. I’m not sure how I would have felt about her if I hadn’t known that or been looking for those behaviors, honestly! Of course, you may have known all of that and still felt this way, which would be completely valid, too. <3
I really love your spin on this week’s topic! I also love Lila and Clary, and I also hate James Potter!
Thank you, love! Lila is MVP for life ?
I really loved Snape!!! I only just finished HP recently and he’s definitely one of my favorite characters. I kind of hated James too!
Oooh, how did you like the series overall? I’m so happy you liked Snape, lol!
So much YES!!! Dumbledore really let me down in the end for all the reasons you stated. And Snape…I love him. Like you said, he is perhaps the most complex character in the series. Great list!!
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Not going to lie Dumbledore made my list of villains!
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Thank you for putting James Potter on the list. He was a terrible bully when he was younger and he certainly didn’t seem to regret bullying Snape. I too like Snape and find him one of the more interesting characters
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Agreed! I couldn’t help but add him, I just think he’s so awful and I don’t get why so many people think he’s so amazing. 🙁
destiny…this post is like being stabbed in the heart two (2) times by a dear friend (that’s you). lila AND snape???? i am suffering
(fun post tho and to each their own i GUESS)
Lmao I want to say I’m sorry but I have such strong opinions about both of these little morally grey assholes that I can’t even pretend ?? but I love you!
already forgiving in the name of love
I thought Snape was a great character, I only dislike it when people try and say what a selfless hero he was.
Love the list.
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I actually really like Aelin too! And Lila is awesome- I didn’t realise people disliked her! Matthias is great too 🙂 And I also think that Snape is a great character, even if not entirely likeable. And I really don’t like Dumbledore either! Great answers!!
Haha yay, so many in common! <3 thank you!
We have the same unpopular opinions! I like Dumbledore because he’s smart and entertaining, but that man should not be allowed to run a school. He’s negligent.
Oh my gosh, WORD. Pure negligence!! ?
Totally get your…appreciation of Snape. Everyone always looks at me like I have two heads when I argue that he’s not redeemed by the end of the series (I think he definitely leans closer to dark on the morally grey scale), but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate his past or the strength of character it took for him to do what he did.
Oh you’re so right, he’s not totally redeemed at the end by any means! I think what happens at the end EXPLAINS some of his motives, but… I can’t say it justifies them, if that makes sense?
Haha, I will be first to admit I dislike Aelin and Lila Bard. Aelin is…well, she’s Aelin, lol. And for some reason, I can’t stand Schwab’s female characters, they all tend to be too badass for their own good 😛
Haha, aww, I’m sad to hear that you dislike them both! Those two and Mia Corvere are probably my favorite heroines of all time. ? But it was interesting to hear an opposing take on a few of these!
Interesting opinions 🙂 I never thought Snape was a hero either but I did find his story arc interesting for infiltrating the bad guys to try and get revenge (essentially) after James and Lily died. I also agree with Scarlet :/ she was the worst character for me in that series
Thank you! You’re right, it was so interesting, and honestly I just always remember being a kid and being so stunned with the big reveal with Snape near the end, so I’ll always think back fondly on that!
I loved reading through your opinions! I feel the same way about Dumbledore. I adored him as a kid but definitely feel now that he used him so much. Thank you for sharing your thoughts 🙂
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I’m sorry for the late reply, my spam filter caught your comment! 🙁
But yeah, same, I loved Dumbledore as a kid but now, I’m really not a fan! And I’ll check out your post too! ♥
Great list – I love how you did this weeks topic! I definitely agree about Matthias, as he is such an overlooked character in the duology and one who grows so much throughout the two books.
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Wait, people DON’T like Lila Bard?! WTF
I don’t get it, either. ?? it makes me sad, though.
I dislike Scarlet too! I’m glad I’m not alone!
Nope, definitely not just you! 😀
I’m with you on MOST of these tbh. I LOVE Aelin, particularly having just read Kingdom of Ash!!!
I HATE GALE TOO. Peeta is the sweetest, kindest muffin you’ve ever met and should have all the love. Gale can die in a hole.
Also, I kinda agree on Scarlet too. I wouldn’t say I “hate” her, but she is definitely my least favourite in that group. And yes, her book was boring.
Haha thank you, I’m glad I’m not alone on these! I’m starting KoA later today, I think. I’m scared to death but I can’t keep putting it off lol! And yes, Peeta is the most precious little softy. ♥
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