Hi Dreamers!

Bookend events were created by Sam @ FictionallySam and Clo @  cuppaclo. (Two great bloggers and you should check them out!) They host these quarterly events to bring our book blogging community a little closer. They have hosts and prompts and even Twitter chats! (See full explanation post here.) 

Today’s prompt is by Jamsu @ Jamsu Dreams and this one might be one of my favorites!

Prompt:

Pick a villain and talk about what you love about him/ her. You can talk about why you liked them more as a bad guy than as a good guy.

Post:

It took me awhile to pick a villain because I usually love villains a lot. I narrowed it down to two: Bellatrix Lestrange and Cersei Lannister.

Bellatrix Lestrange from Harry Potter

Disclaimer 6/18/20: I no longer support or endorse J.K. Rowling due to her harmful actions and behaviors specifically towards the transgender community. I’m taking links that may support her off my site and am just leaving content. Some content will be removed as I see fit.

I’ve loved Bellatrix since I was a kid! I’ve always been fascinated with how purely evil she was, which probably says something about me and I should mention it in therapy….

Anyhow!

Bellatrix has always been so unbelievably, insanely evil that she’s always made me look into her character on a deeper level. Even as a kid I read for character more than anything so when I got to advanced English classes and character deep dives it was really no big deal to me. Bellatrix was always one of those characters that made me deep dive.

I’ve always had a theory that she was in love with Voldemort. Some might say “that’s obvious” others might want to fight me, but that’s my theory. She’s so in love with the personification of evil that it turned her crazy. Very Harley Quinn-esque, and that’s appropriate because I love Harley for the same reasons.

I love both characters because they’re so insane and interesting to delve into their backstories. They make me think. and that’s part of the reason I read so intently is to think about things and the world around me. I think Bella and Harley are both roped into toxic relationships and it’s a life lesson on how destructive being in love with the wrong person can be.

Cersei Lannister from Game of Thrones

Oh Cersei. Full caveat: I’m talking TV Cersei, not book Cersei here. She’s pretty bad-ass for a purely evil character. I hate Cersei as a person like every other Game of Thrones fan who was disappointed by her death–However, you can’t deny some things about her.

She’s a strong women. Game of Thrones takes place in a time when women don’t get much say in anything and Cersei plays the game well. She’s very selfish, except for when it comes to her children, but she finds ways of using the system to get what she wants even though she’s a woman.

I’ve always admired Cersei for being a strong woman, but the fact that she’s evil almost makes it better. When we see women villians a lot of the time they’re witches or hags, Cersei is beautiful and manages to charm a lot of people. We know she’s awful, but some characters really flock to her and love her. Game of Thrones features a lot of beautiful, strong, cunning women who are resourceful.

I think if Cersei was nice it wouldn’t have shown that off as well. While I agree we need nice, strong women in literature in a character like Cersei in a setting like Westeros I think her evilness is what makes her great.

Honorable Mention

Harley Quinn, Maleficent, The Sanderson Sisters, and Chernabog

Who are your favorite villains? Let me know in the comments!

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