Fine Line Between Love and Hate
Over time there have been characters I loved and characters I hated. And then there are the rare few that I hated for the longest time until something happened that changed everything.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Avatar: The Last Airbender (the TV show, of course).
1. Severus Snape -- Harry Potter
Snape is by far the best example of this change of heart. For five books, he was the character I loved to hate. I hated the way he treated Harry. Then, book six came around and Snape took hate to a new level. When he killed Dumbledore, I actually ran from my room in a murderous rage and told my mom that I was going to murder Snape.
And then, book seven. The memories. The revelation that Dumbledore knew he was going to die. Snape's true alliances revealed. And all of a sudden...I loved Snape. I cried for him when he died and then all over again during his memories. Now I knew why Snape had always hated Harry so much and why he had always acted the way he did.
And because of that, Snape is now one of my favorite characters of all time. He is, arguably, the best character depth-wise in history.
2. Luke -- Percy Jackson and the Olympians
I'll admit, I loved Luke at first. He was handsome and charming and he seemed nice enough. But then he betrayed everyone. He brought Kronos back. I wanted him dead more than anything. Then TLO came around. I was shocked when Luke destroyed himself in order to destroy Kronos. I cried at his death. My transformation with Luke wasn't nearly as extreme as the one for Snape, but it was still a big change in perspective for me.
3. Zuko -- Avatar: The Last Airbender
Okay, I never really hated Zuko. But he's another example of a character that I didn't really like and then ended up loving. At first his only goal is to capture the Avatar and bring him to his father and through his travels, he eventually changes his mind. He's a great example of a character who's perspective changes when he realizes that there are bigger forces at work in the world than himself.
These are my favorite kinds of characters. They've all done horrible things in their lives, but they also didn't let that stop them from doing good things either.
Warning: This post contains spoilers for Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Avatar: The Last Airbender (the TV show, of course).
1. Severus Snape -- Harry Potter
Snape is by far the best example of this change of heart. For five books, he was the character I loved to hate. I hated the way he treated Harry. Then, book six came around and Snape took hate to a new level. When he killed Dumbledore, I actually ran from my room in a murderous rage and told my mom that I was going to murder Snape.
And then, book seven. The memories. The revelation that Dumbledore knew he was going to die. Snape's true alliances revealed. And all of a sudden...I loved Snape. I cried for him when he died and then all over again during his memories. Now I knew why Snape had always hated Harry so much and why he had always acted the way he did.
And because of that, Snape is now one of my favorite characters of all time. He is, arguably, the best character depth-wise in history.
2. Luke -- Percy Jackson and the Olympians
I'll admit, I loved Luke at first. He was handsome and charming and he seemed nice enough. But then he betrayed everyone. He brought Kronos back. I wanted him dead more than anything. Then TLO came around. I was shocked when Luke destroyed himself in order to destroy Kronos. I cried at his death. My transformation with Luke wasn't nearly as extreme as the one for Snape, but it was still a big change in perspective for me.
3. Zuko -- Avatar: The Last Airbender
Okay, I never really hated Zuko. But he's another example of a character that I didn't really like and then ended up loving. At first his only goal is to capture the Avatar and bring him to his father and through his travels, he eventually changes his mind. He's a great example of a character who's perspective changes when he realizes that there are bigger forces at work in the world than himself.
These are my favorite kinds of characters. They've all done horrible things in their lives, but they also didn't let that stop them from doing good things either.
Comments
I was always hoping Zuko would have a change of heart with the hints at Uncle's morality and Aang's hopes for friendship, but when they finally did let him change they really excelled at it. The scenes where he's trying to work up the confidence to apologise to Aang, practicing his speech, babbling nervously and self-criticising.... it's just so true to life for anyone who's ever messed up.