10 Years Later, JKR Proved Harry Potter Fans Wrong in a Unique Way, but They Missed It

Summary:

• The Harry Potter movies convinced most fans that Ron Weasley was the most useless member of the Golden Trio.
• JKR included Ron’s leave in The Deathly Hallows to show that without him, Harry and Hermione simply fell apart.
• Despite the obvious message, most Potterheads considered Ron’s running away another proof of his unworthiness.

Harry Potter books and movies had two very different people called Ronald Weasley: the former was always very helpful to his friends and carried his weight, but the latter was more of a useless comic relief than an actual character. At one point in The Deathly Hallows, Rowling decided to prove that Ron was by no means the third wheel in the Golden Trio… But many fans missed her point entirely.

Ron Weasley Ran Away from His Friends

During the Horcrux Hunt, Ron loses control after the Locket Horcrux stirs up the frustration already boiling inside of him. He has a terrible fight with Harry and leaves him and Hermione, heading for the Burrow, instead. For several weeks, Ron is nowhere to be seen, and Harry and Hermione continue on their quest alone.

For many Potterheads, Ron’s exit only proved that he was the most useless and least worthy of the Golden Trio. Harry and Hermione never left him, and he did ditch them just because he had an unexpected meltdown — so that’s proof enough, right? Well, not really: the point was just the opposite. Fans just missed it entirely… Again.

Ron Weasley’s “Quit” Proved His Worth

After Ron left, the others were devastated: they barely spoke to each other, and while Harry was just frustrated with his friend, Hermione was borderline depressed. Without Ron, they lose almost all communication with each other, proving that he was essential and largely kept the Trio together with his jokes and support. Without Ron, they lost hope — and didn’t progress on their quest whatsoever.

Ron’s return immediately gets his friends back on track after he saves Harry from certain death (!): they find the Sword, destroy the Locket, learn more useful information about other Horcruxes, find a new wand for Harry, and come up with new plans that work, unlike those Harry and Hermione tried on their own.

10 years after the first book’s release and 6 years after the first movie’s release, JKR got tired of fans downplaying Ron Weasley’s importance, so she included this sequence to show that he was essential to the Golden Trio: he was its Heart.

But that went right over millions of heads.