I’ve always had mixed feelings about ol’ Voldemort. Despite being a memorable antagonist for one of the most popular franchises of all time, I’ve always felt that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named was a little disappointing as a Big Bad. Case in point, he’s often outshined by his subordinates throughout the Harry Potter series.
Don’t agree with me? Here’s a little test: ask any Potter fan which villain they hate the most. What was their/your answer? I bet it’s not Voldemort.
For my wife (a HUGE Harry Potter fan since Day One), the answer was Bellatrix Lestrange. Others might say Dolores Umbridge. Heck, for some it might have been Professor Snape until the final books/films revealed more about his character.
Voldemort has all the ingredients of a great villain—interesting backstory, an intriguing connection with the story’s protagonist, and great hype (people won’t even say his name they’re so scared of him!). So why are those other villains more affecting than him? In a series where he’s the biggest and baddest baddie, why isn’t he the best?
I’ve got a few thoughts.
And just in case you need to know, there are SPOILERS ahead!
Early Exposure and Defeats
JK Rowling does an excellent job early on in establishing Voldemort’s mystique. The first book opens with wizards celebrating You-Know-Who’s apparent defeat (through the befuddled eyes on Vernon Dursley) and the movie adaptation establishes the stakes as well. This is reinforced throughout the story: Voldemort is clearly someone to be feared.
Unfortunately, that fear is deflated a bit as a result of Voldemort’s early defeats at the hands of Harry Potter and his friends, particularly the endings of both The Sorcerer’s Stone and The Chamber of Secrets. Now, it could be argued that, especially in these types of stories, the heroes are supposed to win. And I would agree with that!
This issue here is that it’s Voldemort (or part of Voldemort) present and directly defeated both times. It may not have been a peak-of-his-powers version of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, but for the audience it’s close enough. It’s Voldemort who has taken over Professor Quirrell’s body in the first book, and a memory of Voldemort’s younger self in book two. Different setup, similar twist, same defeat at the hands of Harry Potter.
Compare this with another dark lord and the main antagonist from The Lord of the Rings, Sauron. Sauron doesn’t directly appear in the story (save for a banger of an opening scene in The Fellowship of the Ring movie), but his menace is felt throughout. His evil minions and the corrupting One Ring convey his power without his direct presence. Now, I’m not saying that Voldemort never should have appeared in Harry Potter. But I do think he could have benefited from not appearing so much earlier on in the series.
As it is, when Voldy shows up fully restored in The Goblet of Fire, there’s some tension missing that would have been there had Harry not bested his mortal enemy twice before. As shocking as Cedric’s death was, Harry’s escape felt like another ‘L’ for Voldemort—and I only think it felt that way because of his prior defeats. It shouldn’t feel like that! After all, at the end of Goblet, Voldemort does succeed in returning to full power ready to wreck shop.
Despite this, he still finds himself outshined by his servants going forward, particularly…
Bellatrix Lestrange, The Real Killer
I agree with my wife: Bellatrix is the most despicable Harry Potter villain. She’s a great character with a chaotic, evil-and-loving-it personality that puts her at the top of the “love to hate” character category. But it’s more than just her personality that makes her so hateable.
Here’s the truth—Bellatrix causes the most impactful character deaths in the series, with one notable exception. Think of the most heartrending deaths in Harry Potter: Fred, Hedwig, Sirius, Dumbledore, Dobby. There are more, but these losses probably hit us (the audience) as hard as the characters in the story.
Now think of those responsible for those deaths. Fred’s killer is left ambiguous. Same goes for Hedwig. Dumbledore’s death was an earth-shattering twist (“Snape kills Dumbledore!”), but we find out later that it was ultimately part of Snape and Dumbledore’s plan. The two remaining are Sirius and Dobby, and both die at the hand (er, wand/knife) of Bellatrix Lestrange.
So, why does this matter? Why do we hate Bellatrix more than You-Know-Who?
Because the deaths she caused were the most personal. To the heroes of the story and to us. We care deeply about Dobby, as well as the relationship between Harry and Sirius. When those characters die, we feel the loss as clearly as Harry and his friends.
But Voldemort killed Harry’s parents! What could be more personal than that? That may be true, but it’s not personal to us, the audience. In the films, the first time we see them is in a flashback of their demise. We don’t really know Harry’s parents. Not the way we’ve come to know Sirius and Dobby. Their deaths are huge, tragic moments in Harry’s life that Voldemort—the main antagonist—is only tangentially present for.
Dolores Umbridge, Master of Mundane Evil
While Bellatrix is squarely on Voldemort’s corner, Dolores Umbridge draws our ire due to her mastery of more mundane evils.
We hate the prim, pink clad professor as she takes over Hogwarts and leans on Harry specifically. Who could forget the “I must not tell lies” scene, and the apparent pleasure Umbridge derived from torturing our hero?
She’s so despicable as a character because she embodies something very real. We’ve experienced people like her in our day-to-day lives. Umbridge is a cruel, two-faced bully who abuses the authority given to her. She’s a perpetrator of everyday injustices who makes the lives of others miserable. We can relate to or sympathize with her victims, especially when they are characters we’ve come to care for.
Rowling draws on a similar effect when framing Snape throughout the series—a sour and unfair instructor with an instant dislike for Harry Potter. But there was more to Snape than met the eye, and even if there wasn’t, Dumbledore was always there to keep him in check. With Umbridge, it’s the mundanity of evil let off the chain.
Unlike the situation with Bellatrix, this isn’t a role that would make sense for Voldemort to fill. Mundane evil is not his forte. But it goes to show how much more affecting a personal evil can be when we have more hate for a cruel teacher than a genocidal dark wizard.
Fixing Voldemort
I’ve detailed some of the problems I have with Voldemort and what he was given to do in the Harry Potter series. But I don’t want to only complain about what I see as missed opportunities. Hopefully, I can provide a solution—a solution that is very much “hindsight is 20/20”, granted.
Fortunately, I think this fix only calls for a few simple tweaks!
In order to keep Voldemort’s fearsome mystique intact for longer, I would suggest removing him from The Sorcerer’s Stone—at least, during the ending. Have Quirrell take the role as the main antagonist of his own initiative rather than being possessed by Voldemort. Quirrell as the villain would still be a twist, and it would show that Voldy still has followers in the world who are actively seeking his return. This would solve having Voldemort be the surprise villain of the first two books/movies and I think would keep the tension high for his return in Goblet of Fire.
Next, have Voldemort be the one to kill Sirius in The Order of the Phoenix instead of Bellatrix. This gives Voldy a very notable, very personal takedown for Harry. It fits thematically as well—Voldemort destroyed Harry’s first family, and then he destroys Harry’s second chance at a family with Sirius. It would ramp up the personal conflict between Harry and Voldemort to an all-time high. I think it would be a clean fit in the story, too. Harry would pursue Voldemort (not Bellatrix) looking for revenge, get in over his head, and Dumbledore would come in for the epic duel to save the day.
Bellatrix could still be a sinister villain and kill Dobby. Umbridge could still be the absolute worst. But these changes would elevate the threat and conflict with Voldemort over the course of the series. This would lead to an even more satisfying conclusion when we witness Voldemort’s destruction and Harry’s triumph.
Conclusion
What do you think? Do you like Voldemort as an antagonist just the way he is? Or is there something else you would change if you could? And which Harry Potter baddie do you hate the most? Let me know in the comments below!
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