Is Voldemort Actually a BAD Character? (My Reaction)

Harry Potter Theory

Tv & Film

4.7 • 701 Ratings

🗓️ 10 May 2025

⏱️ 11 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

I recently came across a clip on YouTube where author Brandon Sanderson and his podcast guest Dan Well were discussing Voldemort’s character.

Aaand things got pretty controversial pretty quickly, as shortly after posing the question, “Is he a good character?”—they both came to the same conclusion: he wasn’t.

Naturally my first inclination was to feel ANGER because HOW DARE THEY insult the main antagonist from the series that I love.

But then I began to wonder….Is he a good character? Or do I just like him because I like the Harry Potter story as a whole?

Is he compelling in his own right? Is he actually interesting?

And..Can a book even be good if a CORE character is bad?

All of this got me really thinking about what makes a good character. Is it depth? Motivation? Backstory? Complexity?

Yes, he’s powerful. Yes, he’s terrifying. But is he relatable? Does he evolve?

So today, I want to dig deeper into whether or not Voldemort is actually a well-written character, or if he’s just been heavily propped up by the strength of the narrative around him.

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Transcript

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0:49.7	The following podcast contains audio extracted from videos on the Harry Potter Theory YouTube channel.
0:56.2	I recently came across a clip on YouTube where author Brandon Sanderson and his podcast guest, Dan Wells, were discussing Voldemort's character.
1:04.5	And things got pretty controversial pretty quickly, as shortly after posing the question, is he a good character, they both came
1:12.1	to the same conclusion. He wasn't. And I don't think he's particularly deep of a character.
1:18.5	He's not interesting. He's evil because he wants to be evil. Yeah. That whole series is carried by
1:26.6	Snape. Naturally, my first inclination was to feel anger, because how dare they insult the main antagonist from the series that I love?
1:35.8	But then I began to wonder, is he a good character? Or do I just like him because I like the Harry Potter story as a whole?
1:43.7	Is he compelling in his own right?
1:46.0	Is he actually interesting?
1:48.3	And can a book even be good if a core character is bad?
1:52.9	All of this got me really thinking about what makes a good character.
1:56.4	Is it depth, motivation, backstory, complexity?
	...

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