From Boring to Borrowed: Ranking 5 Worst Written Characters in Harry Potter

Since that time, however, author J.K. Rowling has been taking a lot of heat. The J.K. Rowling controversy has only fueled haters that were not a fan of the Harry Potter franchise to begin with.

While some readers may not be able to get enough of Hermione, Ron, and Harry – not everyone is a fan. In fact, some critics argue the characters are badly conceived, blatantly stolen from other fictional stories, or poorly written.

Therefore, today we examine the 5 worst written characters in the Harry Potter book series:

5. Professor Cuthbert Binns

The most recognizable characters of Harry Potter are the main players like Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. However, numerous side characters appear throughout the seven-volume book series.

Consequently, if you are going to begin with a poorly written, unpopular character – why not start with Professor Binns?

Professor Cuthbert Binns is infamous for his long, boring lectures at Hogwarts. He's notorious for sticking to the facts which is not a sexy topic to his young wizards, nor readers, it would appear.

In fact, Professor Binns was one of many Harry Potter characters brought up in a Reddit discussion regarding those unpopular or poorly written.

"History of Magic could be such an interesting subject," one Reddit commenter interjects about Professor Binns. True, whether intentional or not by J.K. Rowling, Binns lulls most readers to sleep and thus fails to teach readers anything productive about magical history.

4. Seamus Finnigan

Since the release of the first novel, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (1997), the book series has sold over 500 million copies.

Needless to say, Harry Potter has reached a global audience. Despite it, not everyone is a fan of ALL the Harry Potter characters, including Seamus.

Seamus Finnigan is notorious for doubting Potter's claim that Lord Voldemort had returned to wreak more havoc. Later, he turned back on his denial, apologized to Harry, and joined Dumbledore's Army.

Seamus is deliberately an unlikable character yet he's also poorly written. For example, despite fighting honorably in the Battle of Hogwarts, Rowling never concluded his existence. Thus, it's hard to assume what happened to Seamus after the Second Wizarding War.

3. Pansy Parkinson

Pansy has several things going against her: A) she's a witch, B) comes from a powerful, unpopular family, and C) is a member of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. Consequently, Pansy was never intended to be one of the more popular Harry Potter characters.

After all, Pansy has the rest of Hogwarts turn against her after proposing they bring Harry Potter to Lord Voldemort. The suggestion causes a severe reaction from her schoolmates leading to an exodus.

Pansy is your typical mean girl. She lacks any depth and is extremely shallow. Rowling didn't spend much time envisioning your stereotypical mean girl bully.

Even worse, Potter fans will really never know her fate. It's presumed Pansy survived the Second Wizarding War, but what then? Even Draco Malfoy lost touch.

2. Bellatrix Lestrange

The general criticism with J.K. Rowling and the Harry Potter books is the overuse of cliche, one-dimensional characters – particularly the villains.

Moreover, some argue that Rowling has ripped ideas or characters from other fictional accounts. Be that as it may, one example of a poorly written villain is Bellatrix.

Bellatrix Lestrange is renowned for being extremely devoted to the primary antagonist in Harry Potter – Lord Voldemort, another poorly conceived character. Bellatrix represents pure evil but fails to provide much dimension beyond her loyalty as a Death Eater.

Yes, her rally to rescue Lord Voldemort after this fall from power (and, later, illegitimate daughter with the dark wizard) became pivotal to the storyline.

However, the death in the final battle felt forced to ax this character from memory. Bellatrix Lestrange may be more unpopular than badly written.

1. Voldemort

Lord Voldemort, as a villain in Harry Potter, has different chapters to his existence. In the first three books, Voldemort is scary and intimidating. He also has a large role in the fourth volume before going extinct with brief glimpses in the remaining novels.

The lack of Lord Voldemort in the final chapters of Harry Potter did not sit well with some readers. Thus, when Voldemort does finally return for the final epic battle, much of what makes him frightening is lost on audiences.

It's a huge mistake made by J.K. Rowling since Voldemort was such an intriguing villain in the first few books only to have him fade away from importance just as the conclusion of the series was heating up.

In the end, Voldemort is nothing more than a typical, textbook comic book villain. He's immortal with intentions to rule the world.

The motivations for why are whimsical and cheesy. Sound familiar? Most readers prefer Voldemort when he was simply known in the books as Tom Riddle.