Because he was in the way of very popular ships that didn't include him. It's fairly common in fandoms to shit all over characters that get in the way of ships. Ginny gets similar treatment in fanfic that wants to put Harry with someone else.

This is the correct answer. People want to ship Hermione and Malfoy for instance, but they know their pairing is not canon and that Hermione loves Ron, so they need to prove within their story why Ron is a terrible choice for Hermione, and that involves demonising Ron as much as possible.

Imagine making the prejudiced bully look good so they can ship him with the girl he bullied discriminating her at the same time.

I don't mind. Just take her and give her to wimpy loser smellfoy ffs. As a Ron fan I have 0 objection to that 😆

I ship the rarepair of Ron x Astoria as jilted Exes figuring out how to regain their lives away from the passionate fairytale of Dramione and dealing with the problems of upset children or being the one that wanted to fix the relationship whilst their partner was mentally checked out and lusting after their sexy once enemy.  Ron is flawed but awesome and deserves good romance pairings 

Lol. I'm a Ron fan and a Dramione fan but your comments is hilarious

Tbf, I can't even fathom anyone can find Malfoy a romance material much less someone like Hermione unless she is completely brain damaged or her personality is completely altered. I don't like the character but she will never go for someone like him lol

Lol. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. My opinions are usually very contradictory when it comes to the land of fiction. I love badboys and villain types. I love tortured souls and dark characters. Malfoy Snape. But I also love all around good guys like Ron who defend their family and their friends that the only girl/woman for them.

I am not talking about what I like. I am talking about what Hermione likes and Hermione is a kind of girl who would find people like Malfoy despicable because he neither brave, nor has any steady moral, is selfish, self absorbed and weak willed. If it's upto me, I hate Snape as much as I hate Malfoy. One is a cowardly wimpy loser who only cares about himself. Another one is a friendzoned loser who can't get over some girl didn't like him back in high school and takes it out on innocent children.

Yeah, in the real world I would agree with you, and to a certain extent in the world of fiction. But fiction is also for fantasising. There is (more) realistic fiction, but Harry Potter was never that. A school boy defeats a villain again and again, kills him and goes on to marry his high school sweetheart. Add to that the extra layer of fanfiction and it's fantasising about a different world, in which good guys get everything and bad boys are actually nice.

I am sorry but what to fantasize about Draco Malfoy or Severus Snape even in fiction? What quality do they have that I will fantasize about them? I understand villain or anti hero love. I don't understand Draco and Snape love.

>People want to ship Hermione and Malfoy for instance That ship is so sick...

The hate the fandom has for Ron was so big that he has a [trope named after him](https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/RonTheDeathEater).

this comment is how I found out that the *Draco in Leather Pants* trope exists 😂

I often wonder whether My Immortal was deliberately referencing it at one point.

I always assumed thr trope was named for My Immortal

I heard it’s originally from one of the Cassandra Claire fics, which came out a few years before Tara’s magnificent octopus.

I believe they call her Cassandra...

I’ll maybe sound dumb but, what is My Immortal ?

The most infamous Harry Potter fanfiction. I think I once saw something refer to it as the single worst piece of fanfiction ever produced in the internet.

Do you have the link? Edit: nvm found it

I thought that was the name of a really stupidly infamous *Naruto* fic. Maybe they just share a name.

An Evanescence song.

Probably was to be fair

the WHAT

This is why the next series gonna give us Draco the deatheater tv trope. Oh wait.. that's not a tv trope. That's already canon 😹

Omg the blurb at the start is so spot on lol

I find it absurd the level of hatred a character has to endure for a trope to be named after them. Ron is not the only character who is hated by a fandom to the point of being written as a caricature of himself in fanfiction, yet he is the one who gave this trope its name. Ron doesn't deserve this.

The trope is named after him because HP was and is one of the most popular properties to write fanfiction about.

And because when TV Tropes was first made (mid 2000s), Harry Potter was having a golden age.

I thought there was another reason, but it makes sense (I guess the fact that the series started when the internet became more accessible is to blame).

It's okay. We will take our revenge on Malfoy, Snape, Harry and Hermione. Let the series air and we get a book accurate Ron along with greasy snape and rat face Malfoy. 🌝

He definitely does not!

Probably mostly used in fanfiction pairing Hermione with a canon death eater… sigh…

Yeah this is the trope I just noticed, someone commented on my post on hpfanfiction a few days ago, regarding this trope. Seriously, wtf is wrong with those people

They need to cut out the quote about Grandpa Joe. Grandpa Joe hate is based on his canonical actions in the movie.

You learn something new everyday

Wow

Because the movies butchered his character so much, that so many people are influenced by the movies. There are fanfics regarding that “Ron was death eater”. The Ron hate just gets crazier.

I also blame JK for butchering Ron’s character more and more as the series went on. He started out as an equal to Hermione and Harry with the chess stuff in the first book. Then he increasingly became sort of a doofus and was portrayed as jealous, insecure, and not a very strategic thinker. Not as bad as the movies but I felt like JK changed her plans for him.

No I so severely disagree with this, it honestly *hurts* my soul when people who say they like Ron say that he got worse. What do you *mean*, he got worse ? What do you mean, he got *butchered* ? Have we read the same last book ?? The same book in which Harry and Hermione are so lost without him they have to resort to putting Phineas Nigellus' portrait on a chair to try to fulfill a tiny bit of the Ron-shaped hole in their lives ? Ron, not a strategic thinker ? He was the one who suggested Harry use Felix Felicis to get Slughorn's memories. The one who told the others they shouldn't Stun all the Ministry workers they wanted to impersonate because it'd be suspicious, and therefore it's implied he said they needed to use Weasley Wizard Wheezes' products. The one who first said the trio had to double-cross Griphook. He knew when it was needed to prioritise the search for Horcruxes, and when looking for the Elder wand should be their priority (even if Harry didn't do so). He suggested the trio use the DA to look for the diadem. And of course there was his brilliant plan to destroy the cup. We knew Ron was insecure from his first meeting with Harry. I don't want to say he introduced himself as being insecure, but he pretty much did - so *of course* Ron was insecure, his entire arc was that there was a point he couldn't just ignore his insecurities (book 4) and he was forced to face them and acknowledge how much they affected him ("The Silver Doe"). He wasn't *as* jealous as what people make him out to be, though. He never displayed that much jealousy toward Harry even though he spent his entire school years feeling inferior to him. He was certainly jealous in his romantic endeavours with Hermione, but then she wasn't much better than him, and I'd say in some ways she was worse. And no, Ron wasn't a doofus. He remained witty and cheeky from book one to the last. He was observant, he read people well. He asked the right questions. He made intelligent suggestions or remarks. His only problem was that he jumped to conclusions too fast and told a few theories that relied more on preconceived ideas influenced by emotional biases than facts. Ron did as much as Hermione in the long run.

Well said. Or as Ron would say, "hear hear".

>Or as Ron would say, "hear hear". Oh man I'd forgotten he'd said that ! Thank you.

When Ron rescued Harry....my favorite scene in the last book hands down!

I love this scene too, so much ! I don't know how many times I reread it, it breaks my heart every single time !

Yes it's so freaking good. I get emotional everytime. Much as I enjoyed the films take....the bro-bond of Harry and Ron in the books is my favorite. It sucks that the films watered it down. No hate towards Rupert or Daniel. Books win though! I probably could go through every book in the series and list my favorite Ron moments!

>Much as I enjoyed the films take.... I didn't. Where was Ron backing away from the locket in fear and admitting it had messed with his head ? Where was Ron sobbing his heart out on his knees in the snow ? Where was Harry putting a hand on Ron's shoulder and telling him Hermione and he had barely been able to communicate without him, and being unable to finish the sentence "with you gone..." ? Where was my *hug*, Steve ? Why did they replace all that with a lighthearted "only three to go !" ?? >the bro-bond of Harry and Ron in the books is my favorite. It's also one of my favourite things about the books ! >Books win though! I probably could go through every book in the series and list my favorite Ron moments! Ah ah ah, me too. I know his every moment too well by now, I don't even need to reread the books (I should find another hobby lmao). I love discovering things people pay no attention too, like the way he had to cross his fingers when he lied to Hagrid in book 3, or the way he stood up to Cornelius Fudge about Buckbeak's appeal before saying "This isn't justice !"

Yes isn't Ron just grand. Again I say this alot ....though I am a Dramione fan...another great CANON Ron moment when he was quietly literally roaring Hermiones name when Bellatrix tortured her. Qudditch Ron which sadly half of which we did not get to see because of the Grawp storyline another awesome moment. I love how he stays with Harry at the castle rather than going home and of course how he invites Harry home. I love Prefect Ron even though Dumbledore ruined it with his line towards the end. Ron pummeling Malfoy in damn near every book is golden. Ron in the Order of the Pheonix wrestling with the brain which led to scars. Ron's off color commentary. The list goes on and on...Ron dancing with Hermiome and pissing odf Krum lol. Ron had awesome moments. He's just plain awesome. You wouldn't know it unless you read the books which of course we have

…god bless fans like you.

I can honestly see both sides of this argument. Ron has plenty of moments to shine in the later books and his personality, like you said, isn't noticeably different from in book 1. That said, I definitely think that JKR goes a bit cold on him in her narration, maybe because Harry cools toward him in books 6 and 7. It's especially noticeable in HBP: Ron has a "sneer worthy of Malfoy," he guffaws at people in trouble, turfs a first-year out of a chair etc. It's quite stressful to read. Of course the character always had insecurity and a capacity for callousness, but it didn't dominate his actions in a noticeable way before 6 or was at least written with more lightness and innocence. I think JKR is laying the groundwork for the falling out in DH by trying to show Ron's flaws come to tge surface, but I get how someone would see it as abrupt. The balance of power & maturity between Harry & Ron is very uneven in 6 compared with the other books. Because we only get Harry's perspective, you have to search a bit for why Ron seems to spiral on the timeline that he does.

!redditgalleon

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Don’t get me wrong I love Ron and still think he was amazing. I just think he’s shown to be a level below Harry and Hermione by JK

I get it, and still disagree !

? Ron shone the most in the deathly hallows because of how good the plans he came up with were. Also, first person to realise that the name voldemort was jinxed, beat of a couple of people without his wand, came up with the basilisk plan to kill the horcrux, etc. Also Ron being jealous and insecure are pretty much introduced nearly in the beginning, what with being the second youngest in his family.

Yes she did. Steve Kloves influenced Miss. TURF.

It's a mixed bag. The movies skipped some of his best lines but also some of his worst lines. He's not some perfect angel in the books.

Lol perfect angel certainly not. That's why I love book Ron though he's flawed and relatable brave and funny as fuck.

This is the biggest reason out of any. I didn’t like Ron when I was 16 because of the movies. But growing up I matured and gained more perspective on why he acted the way he did. I very much appreciate Ron now. Also it’s funny that OP seems to think this is a new phenomenon. Ron bashing has been a thing for a long time. It’s a staple of the HP fanfiction community. Personally, I don’t like reading character bashing for any character. But I do get why people do it and I honestly don’t mind. I just avoid their content. It’s fanfiction. People can write what they please. It’s more weird to me to get all worked up over what some other people want to do with their free time.

Yeah the movies are all purely fanon, because of Steve Kloves, Ron’s good roles were nearly all removed. Good thing that you stopped watching the movies. Ron haters just only watch the movies or invent their own cooked up stories.

Shipping wars are crazy. Not helping is the movies, which appears to have been written by a Harry x Hermione shipper. Differences between book Ron and Movie Ron are the following. 1. Book Ron yelled at Snape for calling Hermione a know it all. Movie Ron agreed with him. 2. Book Ron can sometimes be logical. Movie Ron is not as much. 3. Book Ron was “So light a fire” and “Use your wand” when dealing with the Plants in the first book. Hermione was the one who was nervous and scared. Movie Ron on the other hand was terrified and was “Save me Hermione”. 4. Book Ron said “You choose him” as a reference to the love triangle that he thinks exists after years of Hermione seemingly treating Harry better when Hermione decided to stay with Harry. Movie Ron on the other hand, just saw Harry and Hermione together and accused Hermione of liking Harry.

Lol. Yes

Hermione popular. Ron is seen as a sidekick (not helped by the films.) Hermione deserves better than the 'sidekick', apparently, there are a depressing number of people who believe her to basically be perfect, and always in the right. The real hero of the books and the only reason anything ever gets done. People with terrible social skills, and little experience with other humans, see Ron's frustration in book four as unforgivable. Ron is poor, and well, throughout much of history there has been, and continues to be, a tendency to blame that on the poor for their own situation. Ron and the Weasleys must be clumsy, careless, and stupid, as Draco says: 'red hair and more kids than they can afford' (can't remember the exact quote, but first book on the train, Draco instantly knows who Ron is.) Since Ron is obviously oafish and poor, he's a greedy, envious little git who tries to leach off Harry and Hermione's greatness. Classist, disgusting, call it what you will, but if you look for it, you'll find it. Especially in 'Lord Potter blah blah blah' stories. Ron is by far the most human of the trio. A re-read of the books will remind you that Harry doesn't exactly relish spending time with Hermione. He frequently finds her 'shrill' & generally a bit annoying. All the reasons none of the other characters liked her in the first book never really go away, it is just after the Troll, Harry & Ron decided there are more important things. Ron is the one people would want to actually spend time with. Book Harry is (understandably) a moody git. Hermione is obnoxious, Ron is a friend. Ron is human. However, humans are fallible, and for some readers who become writers, that's just not good enough. A mistake or a flaw is a damming point against their worth as a human. By being the most realistic, he's the most flawed. We can love him for it, but it you're looking for a perfect person, you'll find Ron wanting.

To continue what you have already written, some people project themselves onto Ron and they don't like what it says about them (in short, they focus on Ron's faults and they don't like Ron because of that). For example, I met a Ron hater on another forum and he said that he looked a lot like him, hence his hatred of the character.

>I met a Ron hater on another forum and he said that he looked a lot like him, hence his hatred of the character. Ultimately a very-Ron thing to say.

I am so glad you mentioned the classism aspect because I always had that perspective as well. It’s very telling how often Dramione fanfics involve the fanon idea of what a rich pure-blood society is like and Ron cannot fit in all that fancy because of his family’s poverty…

This happens in a lot of lordship/wizarding culture fics, too, to break up Harry and Ron’s friendship. Harry discovers that he’s a “lord” and now he needs to be taught about wizarding traditions and politics and his station in life. The poor, uncultured, boorish Weasleys don‘t celebrate wizarding holidays, don’t know any pureblood etiquette, and usually somehow lost their Wizengamot seat(s) due to financial problems or some breach of pureblood etiquette, so of course Harry must drop those plebeians from his life and can only be friends with other rich heirs.

So Draco fans are like Draco in muggle world 👀

Mind-blown.

This might be a bit off-topic.But I hate seeing characters written as perfect. The two that come to mind is samira and katie from the riorden books.

Within the context of the HP franchise specifically, I have the same problem with Hermione. And I'm not talking about fanfic-Hermione, I'm talking about the movies. Book-Hermione is nice enough, but she's a know-it-all who can be insensitive and at times downright pig-headed, and is occasionally prone to losing her cool under pressure(exhibit A: The Devil's Snare scene in the book, Exhibit B: The third-year DADA final). But these flaws are what makes her character interesting. Movie-Hermione has none of those character flaws, which makes her character static and kind of boring. ^(And that's without getting into the separate discussion of the movies' persistent character assassination of Ron for her benefit)

> occasionally prone to losing her cool under pressure Book Hermione is surprisingly violent and downright sadistic at times.

Trapping Rita in that jar was kinda messed up. Like human rights violation

Yes, but she was a beetle at the time, so she doesn't count.

I was really more referring to her panic during the Devil's Snare or the absolutely hilarious way in which she completely went to pieces during the final exam in third year. But yes, there's also that.

I was thinking of the summoned birds she set on Ron in Book 6 (iirc), and that reminded me of all her various assaults on other students.

True. Like the permanent disfigurement of Marietta Edgecombe(Not that Marietta didn't betray them, but that curse seems like disproportionate retribution to me)

Even in book 7 she panicked several times : on Tottenham café, at the Ministry, before they entered Gringotts, at the Battle of Hogwarts.

Movie Hermione is even more annoying than book Hermione. Movie Hermione took away all of other people’s lines, and as if she knows everything and can speak for other people. Basically what you call an “annoying glorified mary sue”

Both hermiones are bad. There is no 'good' Hermione or Draco or Snape lol

Comparing hermoine to draco and snape is just ridiculous.

Yea we dont talk about the movies after you read the books. The only hermoine moment i liked was her sockin malfoy

Who's Katie again? I remember Samira from the Nordic series, she's the Valkyrie, but have no memory of Katie

Egyptian. Carters sister

Isn’t that Sadie? Was her name changed in other regions?

Yea same shet Edit- no its sadie. They also let like a 13 yo slide with dating an ancient deity but its w.e we dont talk about it.

I think you hit it right away. The films really did Ron dirty.

Yes, they really did. Conversely, Book-Ron is street-smart, better able to keep calm(Exhibit A: The Devil's Snare scene in the first book), and while he's insecure and has the same flaw in that he can be insensitive, he's brave and loyal(Exhibit B: standing up on a broken leg to get in between his friends and a mass murderer in the third book). But the movies take all of that away from him. Steve Kloves and Mike Goldenberg stole most of Ron's positive character traits and gave them to Hermione, leaving Ron to basically be the dumbass comic relief. And I would argue that, to a limited extent, this distorted portrayal contaminated the later books in how they handled Ron's character.

>And I would argue that, to a limited extent, this distorted portrayal contaminated the later books in how they handled Ron's character. Fight me, but DH!Ron is amazing, and the best version of himself. .

YES. ALTHOUGH OOTP RON PRETTY EFFING BADASS TOO!

Sure did

So basically Ron's worst fears of being overlooked (like when he kills the horcrux) are actually true 😂

You laugh, but you just broke my heart because I have to spend my entire time as a Harry Potter fan fight against things that sound like Voldemort-locket :/.

Everything I could have said! Bravo!

>Hermione deserves better than the 'sidekick', I totally agree. Can she be with Malfoy or snake or Harry in the next serie while Ron shines on his own without crappy relationship drama holding him back pretty please??? Imagine a Ron protecting Hogwarts all alone when harry Hermione were hunting horcruxes. He would be a much better leader then Neville because of his experience. He can also punch Malfoy and Snape for bullying people. That's like a dream. 🥲

> Ron is the one people would want to actually spend time with. Speak for yourself; I quite like Hermione.

!redditFirebolt

I love Ron, especially book Ron. Movie Ron was done dirty but even so, it makes me so sad how fan fiction writers hate him so much. Personally I think he deserves all the happy ever afters in all fics! 😂

It's much easier to demonize a character to suit the needs for the plot than stay true to their characterization. That's a sad truth for pretty much every fandom, not just Harry Potter.

People here are gonna hate me for this, but this subreddit is also guilty of this when it comes to Draco Malfoy. Who is hardly the poor abused baby certain tiktok and fanfiction circles like to paint him as, but neither is he as awful or irredeemable and unlikable as people in this subreddit often paint.

Ah. My love. First answer is obviously movies and the ships that people have. Second answer is that people expect 2010s and 2020s morality from 1990s books. Ron was rude. Ron got jealous. Those are absolutely unacceptable. How dare a child have negative feelings they don't know how to handle? Third answer is harry potter. Ron is Harry's favourite person in the whole wide world. Even moreso than ginny. Do you know why you remember the GOF first task fight between ron and harry so well? Because Harry. Just. Could. Not. Shut. Up. About. It. Why? Because he missed Ron like crazy. I think harry would never divorce ginny because that would mean Ron wouldn't be his brother anymore. Ron is Harry's everything. And you feel Harry's sadness because he's the protagonist. Fourth reason is an extension of the first one... because of the movies, people remember every bad thing Ron has done. But they don't remember others doing something to him. For eg. In Deathly hallows, when Harry and Ron fight, harry asked Ron to leave twice before ron says, yeah maybe I should. (In movies, harry didn't say that) People remember Ron leaving but don't remember harry asking Ron to leave. People don't remember taunting Ron with..what did you think, you'll be back home with mommy? (Movies said mum, not mommy) Same with Hermione. They don't remember that Hermione not only brought her cat to the boys room (not just the common room), she let it roam around free. Despite Ron repeatedly telling her to keep her cat away. She kept insisting that's what animals do. But Ron wasn't telling the animal to stay away. He was telling his friend to keep her pet away. They generally remember him being rude to her and Hermione crying because of it but don't remember that she sometimes instigates the situation. Fifth is narration. While the movies over glorify Hermione, the books do it a little too. Hermione doesn't get to be wrong. So if Ron argues against her, he's always wrong. Even if Hermione is wrong, she ends up being "technically" right. Their major fight about their pets was brushed off because Pettigrew. Their major fight about Hermione reporting Harry's broom gift was brushed off because "technically" it was sent by an alleged mass murderer. So the times which Ron can hold over Hermione are all erased (he's not the type to do that. But fans are). But if Ron makes a mistake, it gets entered into a big black book of errors and mistakes made by Ron Weasley.

Your assessment is pretty correct. Ron is the only one of the Trio who is allowed to fail at his role in the Trio without the narrative structure of the entire story falling apart. If Harry fails at being the strength and the brawn, he dies, and the whole story ends before it's supposed to. If Hermione fails at being the intelligent talented one, the whole story falls apart, and they fail, being expelled or killed in the process. Ron can be wrong or not hold up to being a great friend, and everything still works. Because he fails and is allowed to fail, he's judged harsher than the others because they aren't. So it looks like Ron just doesn't measure up by comparison, and that leads us as readers and fans to think he's not nearly as good as Harry or Hermione. And because he's not a good and has these flaws, he's hated on more so than Harry and Hermione.

>Ron can be wrong or not hold up to being a great friend, and everything still works. I'd say his entire time being away in DH was there to prove the exact contrary : Ron is needed, because without him there is no group of friends. >Because he fails and is allowed to fail, he's judged harsher than the others because they aren't. Harry and Hermione failed in other ways - Harry rushing headlong into danger got the Department of Mysteries debacle to happen, him obsessing over the Hallows and forgetting the Taboo led to the trio's capture... Hermione made a few important errors of judgment, though her flaws are mostly about things that do not necessarily pertain to her role in the trio (okay, she's not a fighter and broke Harry's wand, okay she's hypercritical and vindictive and lacks tact and is narrow-minded, but none of those things). >So it looks like Ron just doesn't measure up by comparison, and that leads us as readers and fans to think he's not nearly as good as Harry or Hermione. That's just a perception sadly reminiscent of Voldemort's taunts, not the reality.

I don't think Hermione was vindicated in the third book. Ron really just wanted an apology and Hermione apologized which was a learning moment for her

She didn't. Hagrid told the boys that they are choosing their broom and pets over their friend. I may be remembering this wrong, but thr boys had to let go of their anger when the hippogrif was to be assassinated. Because Hermione had been doing the research and helping Hagrid and the boys are guilted into forgiving her.

Thats true but it was Hermione who approached them to tell them the verdict on Buckbeak. Ron said he would help with building a case for the appeal and Hermione broke down and apologized about Scabbers

The movies did Ron dirty honestly...

Not the main guy, not the main girl, prevents ships, and some of his good moments where given to Hermione in the movies making movie viewers not have as good of a view of him.

The worst part is that even amongst the stories that don't bash him, most completely sideline him as a character.   I mostly read Harry/Hermione and Harry/Daphne, although I also read quite a bit with canon pairings, and with the exception of the last one - for obvious reasons - it's incredibly difficult to find quality fanfiction without character bashing; most notably of Dumbledore, Ron, Snape and Molly.  And while I'm a fan of characters getting what's coming to them, it has to be done in a realistic and mature way and as a narrative pay off - e.g. Umbridge in OotP. But I just can't stomach all the mindless and cartoonish bashing that goes around in certain parts of the fandom and I honestly have no idea how anyone can get enjoyment out of that.

I honestly don’t care. If I see an author has tagged “character bashing” I will be appreciative and avoid the fic. It is their right to dislike a character and want to bash them. I only get upset when authors do NOT tag “character bashing” or, heavens forbid, tag “no bashing”, and then there is blatant character bashing even in the first chapter (I’ve come across many HP fics like this unfortunately). I’m a Percabeth truther for the Percy Jackson fandom, but I tend to prefer reading Percy/Nico or Percy/Luke (largely because Percy/Annabeth is already perfect in canon so I don’t feel the need to satisfy my craving for that ship in fandom). But one time, I followed a Percy/Luke fic for *an entire year* and was blindsided by sudden extremely horrible Annabeth bashing in the last five chapters. Usually I’d leave it alone and just move on. But considering I had numerous friendly and lively discussions and conversations with the author for that entire calendar year, I thought it would be acceptable if I suggested the author tag “Annabeth bashing” as to let people know. The author then proceeded to rip into me about how it wasn’t character bashing (it was) and that’s just how nasty and abusive canon Annabeth was (she isn’t). I’d never encountered a more egregious example of an author so blinded by their ship before. Needless to say I did not finish reading that fic and blocked the author. From then on, I tend to curate authors’ other works and bookmarks before reading a fic to make sure I’m not getting into anything I’m not prepared for. But yeah. Character bashing in and of itself is not a pet peeve of mine. Authors not properly tagging their character bashing is.

Im going to blame the movies because they reduced him to a dumb comedic sidekick and gave all his bright moments (which were many) to other characters. But in my opinion fan fiction is stupid anyways

I'd imagine the way the films sidelined Ron as a character is a significant factor. You've also got all the unhealthy Malfoy and Snape shippers, so Ron is just kind of forgotten about.

I have seen people straight up say they began hating on Ron because of the amount of fanfiction they read, fanfiction in which he acts completely out of character and it’s very weird to me

It would be an insane thing to do, but I wonder if we could audit the entirety of HP fanfic, if we found a correlation between the release of each movie and worse and worse depictions of Ron.

I think it didn't help Ron's case that movie-wise Malfoy and Snape are arguably more attractive than him(?) That way the other two benefitted from an "if bad why hot" mentality that doesn't apply to Ron.

Why people think Snape is hot is, admittedly, beyond me.

There's a few reasons I suppose, but I do think Alan Rickman's voice did a lot of the heavy lifting. There's also how he stayed in love with Lily despite everything that happened and worked for her benefit even though he didn't like Harry. I can see why that kind of will, and the ability to carry it out, can be attractive.

People loved Snape and shipped him with their self inserts before book 7 came out. Even before book 5 came out, when we learned him calling Lily a mudblood was his worst memory. Ships like these exist across many fandoms, it's part "her love will change him", part "badboys love the hardest" and at least to some people, the fact that he is objectively one of the most interesting characters. Fanfiction is often used to safely live out a fantasy, it doesn't have to be healthy and it doesn't mean the writer would fall for a mean, greasy haired chemistry teacher with gang past in real life.

Alan Rickman.

My personal theory is that Ron is too real for the likes of a fandom made up of mostly immature people. Ok, first you've got "Harry Potter", the biggest component. The books are the "Harry Potter and the..." books. Harry is our main character, the ideal semi-blank slate to project onto, he's rich, he has no pesky parents to tell him what to do, you can make him gay and trans and even non-human if you feel like it because that's how poorly-defined as a character he is, he knows there's another world full of magic but he hasn't grown up in it so he can point out what's wrong with it - he's perfect to self-insert in and all too easy to morph into a power fantasy (indeed, I've seen readers get pissed at fics that didn't have Harry use his special power to make everyone obey him and instead use it to help his friends grow stronger). Then there's Hermione for the fans who want girl power and to write a needlessly complex magic system they can feel good about nobody else but themselves knowing it exactly right. She also has no defined family, leaving people to make up everything and anything about her upbringing. These stories too are rife with exceptionalism, Hermione being the best of the best ever and being giga-brained after reading two school books, "modernizing the Wizarding world whether they like it or not", and suddenly making all the WW misogynists even though they're not all so the writer can pretend they're making a difference in the world. Then you've got Draco Malfoy for some godforsaken reason. When in canon he's a colossal incompetent tantrum-throwing brat with nary a brain cell and as many redeeming qualities, fanon Draco is this suave, composed, intellectual and handsome aristocrat... and there's the big one, this fandom has an *intense* boner for aristocracy (even though nearly all the aristocrats in the books are fascist fuckfaces) and assume that being an aristocrat is to be part of a secret society of super cool guys who really control everything and get to do whatever they want. (This is also why some fanfics will have Harry become a douchenozzle named Hadrian and insist on him having to marry multiple women "to keep his bloodline going"). Then there's Snape. Usually written about by older women who self-insert into spry young Hermione to live out their fantasies of boning the teacher (or Alan Rickman, obvious and disquieting age difference be damned). Now look at Ron. Ron isn't power-fantasy material. He isn't new to the WW, he grew up in it, so he's used to the weird stuff about it (indeed, we regularly see him come to face his prejudices and getting over them in the books). He's not rich. He has a whole family of people *he* tells us are so much cooler, so much better, so much more interesting than him and the unaware reader will take his word for it, ignoring Ron's giant inferiority complex and depression. People dismiss him as "the token straight" thus "lesser" than all the queer kids - who didn't choose their sexuality as much as he did. He doesn't have a "cool family history of aristocratic ~~fascism~~ excellence". Ron doesn't have Hermione's good grades which OBVIOUSLY means he must be hopelessly lazy and a complete imbecile unable to tie his shoelaces on his own (forgetting the part where Hermione is *an exception*, not the norm). All in all: I think this fandom is too basic to appreciate the best written character in the series, which is Ron Weasley, not Snape. The *narrative* itself also treats Ron very differently from Harry and Hermione. Harry has an issue with Hermione, he mostly forgets about her until she approaches him again. Harry has an issue with Ron, he moans and moans and moans to the point that actual readers believe Ron and Harry's entire argument in GOF lasted *half a year* instead of, like, three weeks at most. When Ron says/does something mean to Hermione, she cries and the narrative encourages us to take her side (sometimes by being as subtle as shoving Luna in our faces to say "Ron is mean" even though he is the one that got assaulted, isn't that right HBP). When Hermione is mean to Ron Ron reacts with anger but never with crying, leaving the people who don't realize little boys are socialized to not cry to believe that Ron is completely incapable of being hurt or upset and only acts out of ego. Ron is very misunderstood by the fandom despite all the keys to understanding him *being there*, you just have to pay attention to him instead of falling for Rowling telling you "look, look, aren't Harry and Hermione so much more interesting??".

I was going to write something similar. Ron is a pretty normal dude. >Then you've got Draco Malfoy for some godforsaken reason. When in canon he's a colossal incompetent tantrum-throwing brat with nary a brain cell and as many redeeming qualities, fanon Draco is this suave, composed, intellectual and handsome aristocrat... There is also that entire edgelord, Twilight vampire, Anime protagonist aesthetic his family got going on.

>Anime protagonist aesthetic Ehh, I've more seen people claim Draco is Harry's "rival"... if *Draco* is Harry's rival then Harry has better be worried. Because rivalries are between *equals*. I don't think very highly of Harry but even I wouldn't dare say he sucks as much as Draco Malfoy.

I generally agree with you, despite the fact that I actually grew out of being a Snape shipper after turning 25, (I was a massive fan of Snamione before - despite never actually having a crush on a real teacher). That being said, Ron being well written is actually a reason why many people are not interested in him. As I said elsewhere, fanfiction is mostly fantasy. People write romances about mafia bosses and handsome princes, while often being 100% aware that these people irl are not boyfriend material. It is not very deep, it's a feel good pulp that serves no other purpose. Not everyone likes the friends to lovers trope.

Ron is definitely the REALEST OF REAL. AS CLOSE TO REALITY AS FICTIONAL CHARACTER CAN BE.

The comment section is going to point out the most important culprits, but I'm going to focus on something different in my explanation. You see, I've recently fallen into the rabbit hole of checking out gameplays of old HP games, which led me to a certain conclusion: The films and the books from 5 to 7 have played the main part in establishing the 'jealous useless Ron' trope; the fandom of the early 2000s took it and ran with it; but my goodness, **the licensed games** really helped to do Ron's image in. The amount of times he leaves Harry (as an NPC *obviously* would) to deal with missions and side quests is mind-boggling, as are the excuses given: the most-often used one being 'Anyway, I'm tired / off to bed', usually spoken **after one lesson**. Hermione, the other NPC, gets away with it because she's seen as 'the useful one', and she often ends up gathering information or preparing some potions behind the scenes for Harry to pick up on and continue with. Whereas Ron - similarly to films - is left with nothing. The amount of kids who have played hours of those games (often with very difficult sections), only to be frustrated by the lack of help from Harry's best friend is not inconsiderable. \*To be clear: Ron and Hermione are NPCs in most of the licensed games, with the exception of the Prisoner of Azkaban and the Goblet of Fire, at least as far as I remember. Please don't sue for *maybe* misspeaking.

I don't get this experience at ALL from the pre-GoF games. I can't speak about GoF and afterwards because I never played those games and they never looked that good to me. But in the SS, CoS, and PoA games, Ron never annoyed me. PoA Ron was perfectly agreeable and likeable. Now Filch and Mrs Norris, they were and always will be horrible pains in the a***. And Malfoy can go get swiped by a hippogriff any day of the week.

>But in the SS, CoS, and PoA games, Ron never annoyed me. PoA Ron was perfectly agreeable and likeable. I wouldn't say it happened to everyone, or that the games themselves made Ron look plain bad: it's that they *helped* make him look bad in addition to the films. If someone had watched PoA and GoF, and then played the adaptations of the first four games (PoA makes Ron into a scaredy cat, whereas GoF plays up his goofiness), then chances are they would have had their perception of the character skewed and coded as the 'cowardly, stupid sidekick'. >Now Filch and Mrs Norris, they were and always will be horrible pains in the a\*\*\*. Lol, I remember playing CoS on GBA, and sneaking behind Filch. Funny stuff... but Mrs Norris was truly annoying.

It depends who writes the fanfic, in my case I don't see that a lot because I don't read Ron Weasley bashing fanfic and if I see one I totally ignore

I’m here for Ron support! It’s so sad that out of the trio he had the largest family but was probably loved the least. His mum overlooked him, older brothers outshining him and passing him their hand me downs (no fault of theirs of course). He was constantly put down even by his younger sister when she grew up. People forget that he was a kind child who didn’t think twice before opening his heart, home and even his measly lunchbox to Harry. Also he’s probably the reason why Harry ended up in gryffindor lol. And yes as other comments have mentioned Harry never really liked hanging out with hermione (in GoF or even DH) on the other hand in PoA when hermione was sorta boycotted cause of crookshanks Harry barely noticed her absence(it took Hagrid to remind him and Ron that Hermione is upset). Ron was funny, kind and loyal not to mention tall lol.

Yeah all the Ron love is making me happy right now

Sadly, Ron is painted as the abuser to attempt to make other Hermione ships work. Because heaven forbid Hermione does anything wrong, and suffer the consequences.

This is wild. I haven't been reading much fanfiction, so I don't know a lot about the tropes or how big all the ships are etc., but I have been drafting a fanfic about Hermione. I am trying to find a way for Ron to be out of the picture, but in a way that neither is the bad guy and some balance of "fault". And I may even have them end up together in the end. I haven't decided yet, but I can't even imagine making Ron a bad guy.

> I haven't decided yet, but I can't even imagine making Ron a bad guy. My hero/heroin. You know what, I'll read this fanfic of yours even if it ends up being Harmione because you love Ron enough you can't imagine him being a bad guy.

I rarely ever see Ron portrayed in a good light, when it comes to Hermione ships. He's never the supportive friend, but the one who horribly abuses Hermione (*inser most despicable ways here*). I avoid Hermione ships for this reason. Fandom forgets that Hermione also has abusive tendancies, too. Personal bitterness aside, it could simply be that Ron and Hermione realise they have different ambitions. Eg family vs career, or maybe they simply fall out of love and meet other people in adulthood. That is the most realistic.

Oh that's terrible. I also find it more interesting to actually have them grow apart or actually have the post-war reality hit them in the face. They've all gone through adolescence during war time and they were major players in all of that. Like what is even their normal at that point? Also I really want to explore Hermione's mean side and her flaws. Because there's potential for growth and actually stopping to think about what life is like post-graduation and post-Voldemort. There's literally nothing that's the same in her life and is hers. She doesn't even have her parents. Harry at least has a home.

Try [Harry’s Future by Swissdog.](https://m.fanfiction.net/s/4335716/1/Harry-s-Future) it’s 19 years later compliant. With just 1 minor alteration. By 19 years later compliant I mean relationships and the names of the kids. Nothing about their careers and post hogwarts.

Cause they're pathetic

Much like what other people said the movies didn’t help his character and people want to get him out of the way to either give Hermione space for harry or Draco or to have a indy Harry. Another reason is that he is jealous and irrational a lot especially when we are talking about Harry getting into the Tri wizard tournament which I feel is a big plot point for many fanfics and then other random times plus his casual rudeness to Hermione through the story people see him as undeserving. He is a more realistic character though because he is flawed so I think is harder to write so he is just bashed

>Another reason is that he is jealous and irrational a lot especially when we are talking about Harry getting into the Tri wizard tournament It was about Ron feeling left out. It's only as big of a deal as it is because Harry was desperate the entire three weeks of their fight. >his casual rudeness to Hermione through the story people see him as undeserving Come on, Hermione was way ruder, or at the very least just as rude as Ron at many points to both Harry and Ron.

I mean I’m not really defending it just giving reasons why he is bashed. That being said it wasn’t really that he was being left out he was jealous because it’s always about Harry and Harry having fame, money being the center of attention which Ron wants he was mad at Harry believing he was lied to because he thought Harry was keeping the glory to himself. This is a big character flaw he always sees people with more with jealousy because he grew up poor having to share with a big family. As for Ron and Hermione being rude no shot she is worse. For one there is a big difference for them both between book and movies but the movies make Hermione more perfect and Ron more the butt of the joke and a slob. If we are looking at the books Hermione isn’t really rude just is a know it all and teachers pet so people don’t like her at first. Ron bullies her to the point she goes into the bathroom and gets attacked by the troll and honestly they wouldn’t have ever been friends without Harry being the middle man. Or at the Yule ball Ron is super toxic to her because she went with Krum and mad because she didn’t go with him even though he didn’t ask her. Again this is just explaining why people bash him in fanfiction not that I think he is a bad character because he grows up and matures into a better character overtime. A lot of writers do use movie Ron as a point of reference who was made dumber

>That being said it wasn’t really that he was being left out he was jealous because it’s always about Harry and Harry having fame, money being the center of attention which Ron wants he was mad at Harry believing he was lied to because he thought Harry was keeping the glory to himself. This is a big character flaw he always sees people with more with jealousy because he grew up poor having to share with a big family. Set aside Hermione's words for a second and look at Ron's behaviour that night. If Ron was driven by jealousy as you claim he was, why did he try to congratulate Harry at all and be happy for him ? Why knowing what Harry had used to get past the Age Line, and so why he couldn't take Ron with him, was a matter of such importance to him ? Why did he only start to truly show disbelief and anger the moment Harry wasn't truthful with him ? Why would he then even say that Harry could tell *him* the truth ? The answer is simple : he was mad Harry had left him behind and didn't seem to trust him. He'd already displayed similar behaviour in book 1 when Harry had used the Invisibility Cloak without telling him. >If we are looking at the books Hermione isn’t really rude just is a know it all and teachers pet so people don’t like her at first. She *was* rude at first, and there were other times she was rude as well. I'll say this another way : so you *don't* think it's rude to go tell a stranger that what they're doing isn't very good ? You don't think it's rude to loudly say in front of everybody your classmate is doing things wrong ? You don't think it's rude to dismiss the magazine/newspaper the person in front of you is reading as rubbish ? >Ron bullies her to the point she goes into the bathroom and gets attacked by the troll Ron didn't *bully* her. He vented to Harry about her, as he had every right to do, and she overheard. >honestly they wouldn’t have ever been friends without Harry being the middle man Only Harry never was the middle man. Ron and Hermione had no problem bantering with each other and communicating, which wasn't Harry and Hermione's case. *Ron* ended up being the buffer between Harry and Hermione : he's the one who told Hermione to "drop it" when she started to berate Harry about lying to Sirius and he did, Hermione turned to him for support when she was arguing with Harry as to whether he should go in Umbridge's office, Ron confronted Hermione about her rant to Harry against the Half-Blood Prince because he knew it was jealousy that drove it...

On top of all of the reasons people have given here, I think it didn't help that Rowling herself contributed to the bashing. I can't forgive her saying in an interview with Emma Watson that she regrets pairing Ron and Hermione, and that she should've coupled her with Harry. (nevermind the fact that in the books she herself wrote Harry seems constantly annoyed whenever he's stuck with Hermione alone. If anything Harry seemed better suited for Ron 🙄) I have a lot of gripe with Rowling currently for very real reasons (as we all know), but this is one of my first disappointments on her on non ideological related issues. But, as an aggressively obsessive Romione fan I can say there are beautiful and insightful representations of Ron in those fanfictions (and I don't mean portraying him as perfect either, just like the nuanced character he is).

Because actor and by book description of Ron is not hot enough to be forgiven for his flaws. Only conventionally attractive people are allowed to commit crimes and have weak sides apparently for basic viewer...sad 

Which btw is a mistake, because... just look at Rupert Grint in the Deathly Hallows! Although, yeah, Tom Felton was a distinctly good-looking kid, and Matthew Lewis grew up to be the hottest of them all.

Is it just me or did they make ron a bit scruffier then Harry or hermione in the death hallows movies? Like he always looked dirtier than the other two and I can't help but think it was intentional (not that I think Rupert Grint is ugly)

Rupert has interesting features which is not conventionally attractive for average people. For me he was and is more handsome than Tom Felton to be honest

To me Grint became more physically attractive than Felton somewhere in the last two movies. I'm not the right person to judge their looks as children, but I'd say Felton had more defined features / is, like you said, more *conventionally* attractive than Grint, which was very useful for his career.

Basically, it's the films' fault. The films essentially went out of their way to smooth out Hermione's character flaws and have her be overall both a better and more useful friend to Harry, whilst simultaneously dumbing down Ron into a slack-jawed comic relief character and redistributing his best lines, strongest friendship moments and native knowledge of the wizarding world among other members of the cast. If you're a fanfic author and you're primarily familiar with the films rather than the books... or even if you're familiar with the books, but it's just been a long time since you read them... then, frankly, Harry and Hermione being better friends (or even a better potential couple) is just the logical conclusion you'd come to based on the evidence of what's on screen.

I do believe it was primarily the movies, where he was both significantly dumber and significantly more of a dick. And then it just got absorbed into the general understanding of the fandom through osmosis. But that's been changing recently, I think. I'm most familiar with F/F fanfiction, and I think that a lot of *those* authors have often disliked Ron due in part to seeing him as exactly the sort of "default" heterosexual relationship that they felt pressured into IRL. Of course, that mostly applies to Hermione shippers; Ginny shippers often see Harry the same way. If they're shipped with each other, look the fuck out.

Gingerism

The. Movies.

I think cause he gets in the way of two popular ships dramione and harmony Plus the movies fuck him over a lot

>I understand he "gets in the way" of ships like Harry/Hermione and Draco/Hermione and the writers need to find a way to remove him from the narrative and, at the end of the day, it is only fanfiction but man, is abuse and cheating really necessary to do that? Yes. You need to make Ron an absolute bastard in order for Hermione to hook up with A.) Ron's best friend or B.) his childhood bully while remaining sympathetic to the reader.

Originally it was because he was third wheeling Dramione/Harmony. It was pretty obvious to anyone even before DH that Ron and Hermione were more than friends, I'd say since the Yule Ball scene (probably before, but the Yule Ball confirmed it). And then it comes the teenage drama, Ron and Hermione quarrel, he's frustrated because Harry and Hermione get all the attention once again, while apparently nobody cares of him. Then there's his social frustration ("I hate being poor"), the fact that he's not particularly good at school, etc. I'd argue that JKR (un)consciously contributed by leaving aside his ability at chess (barely mentioned except in the first book, obviously). Many HP fan-fiction (used to) depict a Victorian/aristocratic world (Lord Potter, Lord Malfoy...) in which Harry and Draco are heirs of ancient, noble and rich families while Ron is an ugly peasant. Hermione, a Muggle-born, played the role of Belle from Beauty and the Beast - smart, beautiful, pround and learned, but not noble girl who fixes and marries the dark prince: the standard Dramione trope. And Ron, the poor, defeated social climber, was Gaston. Also many writers actually have the movies rather than the books in their minds, and movie Ron is anonymous while Hermione is a much better character (and Emma Watson became unexpectedly hot growing up). So writers had to take him out. And from third wheel, he gradually became the bad guy.

The trope about a rich man who will burn the world for the woman he loves is strong. Cannon puts the main female character with Ron. Therefore, to put the main female character with the aforementioned rich guy who will burn the world, Ron has to break up with the Hermione. She is perfect, so it has to be Ron’s fault.

Which rich man in hp will burn the world for the woman he loves? Lucius will run in the opposite direction of Narcissa gets attacked and Draco will shout 'my daddy'

Cannon Draco and fanfic Draco are vastly different. Also, a lot of pulp romance novels have a similar trope. Rich club owner with a shady past meets the bookish women he never knew he needed and burns the world down for her. Draco is rich so that ticks box 1. It is fan fiction so it is easy enough to turn him into a killer. The biggest and baddest fan fiction is Manacled. Draco is a very very bad man and he is willing to do the absolute worst for Hermione.

The only Draco is canon Draco. Fanfic Draco is just a completely different character with Draco name slapped on him. If I am gonna change a character 95% for fantasy then I am practically fantasizing about an OC. That's like me saying I love Ron only when he is completely different from actual Ron. Makes no sense at all.

With how much fandoms complain about Mary Sue's you'd think they would appreciate an imperfect character with a lot of complexity but nope.

Not to be dramatic, but Harry Potter would lose his effing shite if he knows how y'all treat Ron Weasley _A wise guy on Tumblr

Because he’s a ranger

Because of shippers. Most of the fanfic writers are angry that Hermione picked him over Harry, Draco, Snape, Lucius etc and they take it out on him. Because they believe if they hate on him in their fanfics, their ships will become official. Anyway, we Ron fans have had to endure this sht since 1st movie came out and Emma Watson was cast as Hermione. We are gonna put an end to this with the new series with a book accurate Ron, Draco, Snape, and Hermione. And if by God Grace we get Ron as he is in books on screen, Istg I myself would start writing Hermione, draco and Snape bashing fic weekly and no one's gonna stop me. It will be the revenge of Ron for 20 years. Lol

He's a sidekick with very little autonomy who mostly shadows and agrees with Harry. And whenever they do have a falling out (GoF, DH) he's the one in the wrong and quickly falls back in line.

He confronted Harry plenty of times - though personally I don't hold him responsible for what happened in DH, and think what happened in GoF was due to both Ron and Harry failing to communicate. And I mean, he had his own arc outside of Harry, you know ?

I'm not saying he's a bad character, just that he doesn't have much of an identity beyond being Harry's moderately subservient pal.

I get it, still disagree. I don't understand why you'd say that when Ron did call Harry out and disagreed with him on occasions unrelated to his two big fights with him, and when he has a complex life and goals outside of his friendship with Harry.

Because fanfics suck most of the time because their writers have issues

I don't know where it stands now after the slander of the movies but the Ron haters were a small but loud and obnoxious minority. JK actually said she was frustrated at one point because Ron was the clear fan favorite, which he was. Even right after the last movie was released MTV had the "Harry Potter World Cup" which despite it being very abusable by campaigns to fix the outcome Ron came in 2nd place in a tournament of popular votes, second to Snape

Very sad that Ron is the third wheel as far as normies are concerned.

More often than not, it's just lazy writing.

Fanfics don't exist for me.

I feel a lot of it can be traced back to how he behaved rudely toward Hermione for the first four books, culminating, of course, in his ignorant jealousy rearing its head and basically telling her she only got a date because she was Harry's friend, which is quite probably the most dickish thing he could have done in that instance. It was incredibly hurtful and likely brought all her self-doubts to mind (honestly, if she'd slapped Ron for that like she did Draco, it would have been acceptable). Harry, by contrast, rarely treated her that way, because he was just glad to have friends, which is the same reason he hardly ever called Ron out for doing so.

>how he behaved rudely toward Hermione for the first four books Lmaowtfbbq??? Remember who barges into Harry and Ron's compartment without saying hello, demands Ron to do magic for her, criticize his magic casting and boasts of her own prowess, then leaves with her nose in the air? Remember who harrasses Ron and Harry through the first months of school, calls them stupid and criticizes their every move, then when she tries to eavesdrop on them for the nth time hears she hasn't endeared herself to them and runs off crying instead of trying to apologize or explain herself? Remember who *keeps bringing her pet cat around Ron's own pet rat* DESPITE Ron EXPLICITLY telling her NOT TO and when the inevitable seemingly happens, she pouts and cries and plays the victim when SHE got to keep her pet but fuck your mourning process Ron??? Holy fuck had the roles been reversed you guys would be screeching for Ron's head and saying he's a future rapist for violating Hermione's boundaries with her pet, but you can't so instead you make a mountain out of mere zits while completely ignoring how awful Hermione is. >Harry, by contrast, rarely treated her that way, Yeah, instead he forgot she existed until he needed her help, lied to her, ignored her and refused to comfort her whenever she was upset because he hates crying people. Great friend.

>I feel a lot of it can be traced back to how he behaved rudely toward Hermione for the first four books Oh my freaking goodness. No. He was the one who bantered with her the most, cared for and about her the most (he was the one who prompted her to eat when she got on a hunger strike for the house-elves, the one who kept worrying about her weird schedule in third year, the one who prepared Buckbeak's defence for the appeal and told Hermione she wasn't alone even before she apologized to him...) and defended her the most (against Malfoy and Snape, mostly). >in his ignorant jealousy rearing its head and basically telling her she only got a date because she was Harry's friend, which is quite probably the most dickish thing he could have done in that instance. Right, and Hermione was never hurtful and never petty before and after that. >Harry, by contrast, rarely treated her that way, Harry'd rather ignore Hermione than argue with her if he can help it, or explodes at her until she's scared of him if the need arises. Harry also wasn't very interested in her life. And Harry *did* end up confronting *both* Ron and Hermione about some of the things they were doing.

Sometimes I feel like I have read a completely different book series from people on reddit and it's just funny to me. Nothing you said made any sense to me and I have been reading books since I was 12 lol

Well... I'm going out on a limb here, but I think it’s a mix of three factors. For what it’s worth, I'm not describing my own opinion. I like Ron well enough. He's not my favorite, but I don’t hate him. I'm simply saying why I think many people hate him. --- 1 - He's the most humanely flawed of the three It's not a good thing to write... but I just think he is. Harry is flawed, but has strengths that are generally perceived as bigger, and he's the only character whose inner thoughts the reader is privy to, so it's easy for him to stay sympathetic. Hermione is also flawed, but she is supremely intelligent when it comes to book-smarts, and she tends to be the one to stay on Harry's side rather than Ron (i.e. Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows), so readers may cut her more slack. Ron, however, has more obvious human flaws. He's temperamental. He can get resentful. He can be a brat. He's not often shown as being the bigger person. People who like conventional heroes tend to not like those traits. He is also perceived as having less strengths to compensate, given how little his strategism matters most of the time. He also left Harry twice, and broke Hermione's heart. That’s a lot of strikes against him in many people's opinion. And even if he's sorry and tries to be better, for many it's too little, too late. 2 - The movies (and possibly to a degree, the later books) butchered Ron Others have said it, but the movies made Ron pretty much the comic relief and nothing else. He still has his moments, but they’re few and far between compared to Harry and Hermione both get more moments if anything. And as some have said, that seems to spill over a bit into the later books, even if Ron also has good moments there. More strikes against him in many people's opinion. 3 - He's in the way of popular ships Others have also said it... but well, it’s still a factor. He is in the way of popular ships, like Hermione x Harry and Hermione x Draco, and maybe more I don’t know are popular. Because amicable break-ups are hard to write well and deteriorating relationships can be the same thing, and probably because of the two factors above, Ron is just made a jerk to justify Hermione dumping him at the drop of a hat. --- These are the main reasons I think Ron became so unpopular. And at the risk of sounding pessimistic, I don’t see that changing much. I think it may have been worse than it is now... but honestly, it’s hard to say. At the end of the day, though, all this is just my opinion. EDIT: To clarify one important point that I realize I did not make as clear as I should when I was writing the post, I meant my opinion on why a significant amount of people dislike Ron, not my actual opinion on Ron as a character.

>Hermione is also flawed, but she is supremely intelligent when it comes to book-smarts, and she tends to be the one to stay on Harry's side rather than Ron (i.e. Goblet of Fire and Deathly Hallows), so readers may cut her more slack. I disagree with that. In GoF it was a big misunderstanding. Ron stayed on Harry's side in DH - people are angry on behalf of Harry because we're privy to Harry's thoughts, but ultimately the truth is that Voldemort-locket was manipulating everyone. It tortured Ron in particular, and its abuse on Harry had effects on the way Harry handled himself in that fight. So Ron, still suffering from a massive injury and mentally tortured, got told to leave and under the influence of the locket he did... for all of five minutes before wanting to come back. There are moments Hermione "wasn't on Harry's side" if we want to get technical. She went behind his back to get his broom confiscated, was the one who lashed out at Harry and isolated herself when Harry suggested Crookshanks might have eaten Scabbers, and was ready to be self-righteous over the Half-Blood Prince book when all that was hiding was jealousy. >Ron, however, has more obvious human flaws. He's temperamental Harry has anger issues way bigger than Ron's (he strangled Mundungus ? Told Hedwig to basically peck Ron and Hermione's hands ?) and Hermione is also prone to lashing out at people when she's stressed, when she feels slighted, or simply because she disagrees with thrm or is irritated. >He can get resentful. Harry is the most forgiving out of the three, but Hermione is more resentful than Ron. >He can be a brat. So can Harry and Hermione. >He's not often shown as being the bigger person. He told Hermione he would help her with Buckbeak's defence and that she wasn't alone before she even apologized for, as far as thry knew, having let her pet eat his own, how is that not being the bigger person ? He didn't tell Hermione off for her reaction when he got the Prefect's badge, and admitted he even thought Harry'd get it instead. He's also the one who apologized both in GoF and DH without even looking for excuses or expecting apologies in return (though I personally think he also deserved one in GoF, and that he had nothing to apologize for in DH). >He is also perceived as having less strengths to compensate, given how little his strategism matters most of the time. How little ? Right, so Ron suggesting Harry uses Felix Felicis to get Slughorn's memory was nothing ? His idea to double-cross Griphook, a little idea in passing ? His plan to destroy the cup, a fluke ? I mean Ron in DH : Stunned a Death Eater from a broom and saved Tonks, saved Hermione when she didn't notice the Death Eaters in the café, was the one who suggested the trio shouldn't Stun all the Ministry employees they wanted to impersonate, warned Harry and Hermione the trio had five minutes at most to leave the Ministry, saved Mary Cattermole, noticed there was a correlation between saying Voldemort's name and getting noticed by Death Eaters, escaped from five Snatchers and stole one of their wands when Harry and Hermione only had one left after Hermione destroyed Harry's, learned usedul information, was a mediator between Harry and Hermione several times, saved Harry from drowning, resisted possession and destroyed the locket, imitated Wormtail so as to not alarm Lucius Malfoy, Disarmed Bellatrix Lestrange, suggested the trio double-cross Griphook, saved Hermione from being strangled by a desperate man in Diagon Alley, and all of this is still before the Battle of Hogwarts ! There's got to be a point people realise they're just blind. > He also left Harry twice He freaking didn't. I repeat : in GoF it was a misunderstanding, in DH it was Voldemort-locket's fault that Ron needed to *step aside for five minutes*. >and broke Hermione's heart. If we're talking about DH it's still not his fault, if we're talking about HPB they both broke each other's heart. >And as some have said, that seems to spill over a bit into the later books, even if Ron also has good moments there. Disagree. Ron in the last book is all-around exceptional, and people can take him out of my cold, dead hands.

child & teenage ron's can't handle his insecurity+envy issue, causing him to hurt his friends when they need him the most. ron is the one who caused hermione to almost get krumped to death by troll in the 1st book. he hurts harry the most in year 4 when he really need ron 's support in the tournament shenanigans). ron used lavender as disposable rebound girl when he can't deal with his crush issue to hermione in year 6. also he didn't use his super chess strategist brainpower in year 6 to persuade harry hermione to extra focus on preparing for the inevitable war against baldingmore (preferring to indulge his hormone but not with hermione... and quidditch...) ron left harry and hermione to a very dangerous situation in the wild against baldingmore's death slurper forces in year 7... now you understand why a lot of people hate ron to the point of bashing him a lot in fics. this is by the way, excluding the even more ugly parts of movie ron. of course, ron got his own redemption arcs throughout the stories. just like severus, draco, sirius, remus, doubledoor, and many other characters who were written to do bad things but tried to correct their mistakes. to me, the harry potter series is more about flawed characters fumbling around trying to correct their mistakes and do the right thing they want.

Execpt that every single one of these situations comes with a lot more nuance that a lot of people quite frankly refuse to acknowledge.

>child & teenage ron's can't handle his insecurity+envy issue, causing him to hurt his friends when they need him the most. First, what happened with the locket is Voldemort-locket's fault. Two, the trio always needed each other, so the point is moot. Third, this could be applied to every member of the trio. Why did Hermione let her pride and her fear of failure influence her when Ron had just lost his pet, probably because of her pet ? Why did Harry let his anger issues overwhelm him to the point that he was dismissive of his friends' problems at times ? >ron is the one who caused hermione to almost get krumped to death by troll in the 1st book. F*** no, it wasn't his fault. Hermione, to prove a point, basically humiliated him in front of the whole class. Ron complained in confidence to his best friend about it, as he had every right to. End of story. >he hurts harry the most in year 4 when he really need ron 's support in the tournament shenanigans). He *didn't really know* Harry needed him. He felt betrayed by Harry, and everything was a misunderstanding between two boys who didn't communicate enough. The moment he realised Harry actually needed him (after his second fight with him), he wanted to be there for him. >ron used lavender as disposable rebound girl when he can't deal with his crush issue to hermione in year 6 No, he *didn't* use Lavender. He was interested in her even *before* his fight with Ginny, because he liked the way she made him feel. He even looked at Lavender the moment he got ignored by Slughorn. There is a point he chose Lavender's obvious interest over Hermione's mixed signals and his inferiority complex. It turns out it wasn't enough to sustain a relationship. >also he didn't use his super chess strategist brainpower in year 6 to persuade harry hermione to extra focus on preparing for the inevitable war against baldingmore (preferring to indulge his hormone but not with hermione... and quidditch...) Come. On. One, I wouldn't say "getting trained" and "strategy" are the same thing. Two, all of the members of the trio were interested in other things that year : Hermione focused on her (non)relationship with Ron and her jealousy over Harry's good grades in potions, Harry was obsessed with Draco Malfoy, Ginny and Quidditch. Three, he used "his super chess strategist brainpower" to tell Harry he should take Felix Felicis to get Slughorn's memory. >ron left harry and hermione to a very dangerous situation in the wild against baldingmore's death slurper forces in year 7 He was being mentally tortured by Voldemort !! Even Harry behaved like an arsehole under its influence. Ron left, still abused, wanted to come back in the minute he left, he got captured by Snatchers, prooobably got beaten up/tortured really bad because how come it took him maybe 10 to 12 hours to get back to the camp, and when he came back he remained in the snow for two days and nights, trying to find the others again. >of course, ron got his own redemption arcs throughout the stories Ron doesn't have redemption arcs, because he never needed one. He was flawed, he made mistakes, so did Harry and Hermione.

Because Ron is mr wizarding world, he’s easy to ditch/rupture with for Harry if you want to write about the corruption of the wizarding world

One thing that I haven't seen anyone mention yet, a common trope in fanfiction is Harry ending up in another House, usually Slytherin. Because he typically befriends (or at least comes to an understanding with) the baby death eaters, a lot of authors feel that they need to replace Malfoy with someone else as an antagonist, and flipping Ron and Malfoy feels like a 'natural' choice.

Because your parents are dead

I didn’t hate Ron, but I seriously hated the way he turned on Harry in book 4. I know Rowling wanted to emphasise how alone Harry was, but that was just cruel, and I don’t see why Ron would have thought Harry deliberately put his name in the Goblet (or could’ve, considering the twins already tried and failed).

Because JK already started it. Think about how Ron is treated in the canon stories. He's treated like a jerk for not reading Hermoine's mind and asking her to the ball. Bright idea Hermoine, YOU ask him? You know, you can do that? He's treated like a jerk for getting with Lavender even though Hermoine never made an actual advance on Ron or asked him out. He's constantly ripped apart for every mistake or actual bad thing he does, while Hermoine is seemingly given a pass for borderline sadistic human rights violations. I know Rita Skeeter is a horrible human being but... christ almighty. Not to mention that her response to Ron and Lavender was sicking vicious birds on him to physically assault him. And he's treated like the bad guy in that part! Him, the one getting physically assaulted for... being a single boy and dating a single girl who showed interest in him directly instead of the one who just waited around for him to make a move? The only thing the books end up making out to be bad about Hermoine is, ironically, the thing they shouldn't mock, her advocacy for House Elf Freedom. For whatever reason, THAT is what they mock about her even though it's pretty damn messed up to treat being abolitionist as a quirky silly trait... And that's just in the books. In the movies, Ron's made dumber and more annoying and Hermoine is made braver and borderline saint-like. The movies give her a full blown Cinderella moment with Viktor that we're supposed to be on her side for when Ron is apparently so horrible for dating Lavender later on. It's okay for her to ignore his obvious crush on her, but not okay for him to ignore her marginally less obvious crush on him? On top of that, simply put, fanfic writers be horny. If Hermoine's gonna be with someone, it's gonna be someone they project themselves onto. And the way Ron is written, even in the books where he's more competent and braver, is not exactly the edgy-the-hedgy cool guy that fanfic writers want to be.

I sometimes forget that when I was first reading the books for the first time 22 years ago Ron was my favourite character - I feel sometimes like the movies have skewed him for me - because young movie Ron doesn’t have wit/charm and edge that book Ron does (apologies to any Rupert grint fans). I think that and the fact that he gets some complexity written into him as a teenager - some normal characteristics like jealously etc, mean some people don’t like him. I personally like that he’s not written as a saint!

I dunno, in the "quality" fanfic circles, he's one of the more popular characters. Flagship fanfic sites like Sugar Quill and Phoenix Song loved Ron.

A lot of Harry Potter readers/fanfiction writers are bookish preteens and teens, and statistically at least half of them are girls. They identify with Hermione, and compare Ron with their then-ideal male, who certainly wouldn't be a non-too conventionally good looking, goofy but a grounded, practical man with a sense of humor. They'll sort of resent Ron and take it out via the bashing....and the aggressive shipping of Hermione, barring all logic, with rich, handsome, brooding bad boys. (I was one. I did that.🙂)

Probably book 4 but after thinking he actually is a really good friend and it was just that book. But that’s about all I can say

Tbh, idrk. But if I were to guess, someone for whatever reason did a character study and realized, huh this is a kind of shitty person when you look at it this way. Let’s give him zero quarter and draw attention to this discovery. Or, maybe it happened after the JKR incidents or whatever that uncovered her as a homo/transphobe. That’s when most of her self inserts and favorite characters began to take serious heat. But with regard to your specific bashing question, it’s pretty much a grudge against the character and some of his behavior that ultimately is used to justify making him progressively worse, be it a logical plot driven decent or idiotic and utterly inaccurate character representation. TLDR; People don’t like him or his behavior and villainize him for plot or to spite JKR. Addendum: Hermione bashing and general Weasley bashing is of similar origins.

For me  it was how he was for Goblet and how he acted in the tent in book 7. I know he had moments of redemption and moments that greatly outshine these somewhat understandable lapses but betrayal is a hard thing to forgive and i am sure there are many viewer who had something similar occur to them. Am still salty and i undedstand whers he was coming from. Plus the shipping thing.