Harry Potter 5 Times Ron Weasley Was An Overrated Character 5 He Was Underrated
Ron Weasley, the perpetual sidekick, except when he wasn’t. Ron Weasely, the sixth of seven siblings, and the youngest boy in his family. Ron was constantly afraid he would be overlooked and left behind. But just as Ron couldn’t always see his own best parts, some of his best moments are often overlooked by those that probably shouldn’t have gotten the attention they did.
For seven books, and eight movies, Ron had his moments to shine right alongside the chosen one himself, Harry Potter. But just as Ron can’t see the best parts of himself sometimes, fans may overlook some of his best moments as well.
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Overrated – Returning to Harry and Hermione
In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,Ron runs away. He leaves Harry and Hermione out in the woods, chasing Horcruxes, just the two of them. Of course, as everyone knows, Ron eventually returns, with the help of Dumbledore’s deluminator.
While fans cheer Ron’s return, he gets a bit more credit for coming back than he should. It shouldn’t be amazing that he did, he really shouldn’t have left in the first place. That breaks something in his friendship with the others that can never really be repaired.
Underrated – Standing up for Harry Against His Classmates
When Harry returns to school in The Order of the Phoenix, after the events of the Triwizard tournament and the death of Cedric Diggory, he has ore than PTSD to be dealing with. Some of his own housemates and friends, Seamus Finnegan to be specific, are angry at Harry and don’t believe that Voldemort has really returned.
Ron, in the middle of the common room, stands up for Harry, telling everyone that if they have a problem with Harry they have a problem with him too. This may seem small in a world of magic, but it’s not.
Overrated – Winning the Quidditch Cup
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Ron is a keeper on the Gryffindor quidditch team. He helps the team win the Quidditch cup that year. This is a major moment for Ron, taking the spotlight for once.
However, the fact that he got on the team with help from Hermione (even though he didn’t know it) and the fact that quidditch is a team sport, rather than a solo act, Ron’s getting a lot of credit for something he didn’t do on his own.
Underrated – Cursing Malfoy with Slugs
Ron doesn’t often get a lot of credit for facing off against Malfoy in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in part because his curse backfires and he’s the one who ends up burping up slugs for hours.
However, Ron is standing up for Hermione, all on his own, in this moment, after Malfoy calls her a “mudblood”. This is an act Ron takes on all on his own, without Harry backing him up or understanding what’s going on. That’s a major step forward for Ron Weasley.
Overrated – Talking About Hermione Behind Her Back
In the first Harry Potter book and film, Ron complains about Hermione to his fellow Gryffindor boys. Hermione, unfortunately, overhears him. While this is mean, and it’s own form of bullying, it’s not an overt or out of the ordinary bit of meanness from anyone, Ron included.
Ron often gets a lot of hate for this when this is far from the worst thing he ever does, or the worst thing people, in general, do more regularly than anyone cares to admit.
Underrated – Following the Spiders
As is made apparent by the fact that Ron’s boggart turns into a spider in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Ron is deathly afraid of spiders. He’s seriously arachnophobic.
Yet, in the previous story, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Ron goes along with Harry into the Forbidden Forest, literally following the spiders, just because he cares about Harry and Hagrid. He then has to face an acromantula and survives to talk about it. This is the ultimate example of Ron’s bravery.
Overrated – Sitting with Harry on the Train
Ron is very kind to Harry when he sits with him on the Hogwarts Express, that’s true, but the fact that he joins Harry on the train is pure luck. As Ron says on screen, “Do you mind? Everywhere else is full?”
It’s pure chance that the boys come together, not a deep-seated plan of Ron’s to be kind and caring to another new and confused student. It’s a great moment, but Ron doesn’t exactly deserve credit for making it happen.
Underrated – Rescuing Harry from the Dursleys
Ron often feels he is overshadowed by Harry, but Ron plays the hero quite often, the trick is that the person he plays hero to is the hero himself, Harry.
When Ron, along with Fred and George, fly the Ford Anglia to Little Whinging and pull the bars from Harry’s window, freeing him and taking him to the Burrow, that’s a truly heroic moment. He didn’t check with his parents, he just took it on himself to save his best friend from being abused. This is Ron’s shining moment.
Overrated – Remembering the House Elves
Ron gets a lot of credit in the last Harry Potter book, Deathly Hallows, for remembering to ask about the welfare of the house-elves during the Battle of Hogwarts. Most of this recognition comes from the fact that this comment triggers Hermione to kiss him.
However, the mere fact that Ron should think of the well being of another group during a huge battle shouldn’t be a surprise. Ron does care about people and beings on a regular basis.
Underrated – Saving Norbert
Ron is the one with a brother (Charlie) who works in Romania with dragons. This bit often gets overlooked because it doesn’t take place in the films, but in the books, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Ron gets in touch with Charlie to help get Norbert away from Hogwarts safely after Hagrid can’t keep him any longer.
Despite Ron’s being the only one to truly understand the illegality of Hagrid having a dragon at all, he’s the one who helps to organize Norbert’s safety and Hagrid’s peace of mind.
NEXT: Harry Potter: 10 Things About Ron Weasley The Movies Deliberately Changed