Rules: There may be spoilers for all seven books and 8 movies Each match will last for exactly 24 hours. Any votes after that point will not count. Discussion is encouraged but not required. Make sure all of your votes are obvious. I should know who you are voting for, basically don't bury your vote in the middle of a paragraph. No alt-voting. Ties will be replayed the next day with the rest of the matches. No vote-saves or rallying for specific characters. Telling people to vote is encouraged but don't tell them how to vote! Don't complain about the seeds, they were the result of a save-my. Because matches can overlap, results will be in this topic. http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/8-gamefaqs-contests/61327435
I went into this topic expecting to vote Bellatrix immediately, but Neville is the much deeper character. Otoh, I find Bella more interesting. But she's static and Neville has the most dynamic development.
I'll actually have to think about this.
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(3)Neville Longbottom by far. Bella's just kind of an example of the insane villain, and she's in love with the main villain. Neville is way more interesting and has probably the best growth of anyone in the series. Plus the stuff about the prophecy was really interesting too.
-- I made a living on time trial blowing myself off to cross the finish line at ludicrous speed. -transience
Neville. Easy, too - Bellatrix is great, but she's a bit one-dimensional. Especially in the books - of all characters, she's among the ones who gained the absolute most from being ported to the silver screen. Neville is consistently great though.
I seem to be unusual in that I don't really like either. Neville is pretty funny though and Bellatrix is crazy and kind of annoying. Definitely going with Neville Longbottom here
-- what ever to the cheatoriots winning anythang quate the ravens never more plus were not talking about football in this topic -ertyu
I'm going to say straight up that Bellatrix has more style, and some of the more memorable lines.
And I'm still bothered by a mix of unfulfilled potential and inconsistent portrayals with her. She gets described as Voldemort's greatest lieutennant, but Snape can walk circles around her (Snape vs Harry is completely onesided; Bella vs Harry is not. And...frankly, I would expect Harry to win a duel against Molly Weasly, no matter how angry she was. And Harry's not that great). There's every hint that she's in love with Voldemort, and with love being so poisonous to Voldemort this had lots of potential--like her sneaking a kiss, and that leaving Voldemort severely wounded. None of that ever comes to pass.
Neville, on the other hand, every ounce of his potential gets used. Starts out weak, ends up leading the Hogwarts rebellion, literally talking back to Voldemort, and killing a Horcrux. Hides the insanity of his parents, but cares for them just the same. Makes a huge effort to improve when he realizes Bellatrix is on the loose. Starts showing up his own grandmother by doing things she did not, like doing well in Charms. Ends up a Hogwarts teacher.
If Bellatrix got that much of a story arc, she'd have my vote here. I do like her style more than Neville and find her more quotable than Neville. But there's just no question which character got a full story arc.
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Bellatrix Lestrange. Style over substance, and we need to keep Black characters in the contest. I understand people love Neville Longbottom's development, but I don't care about the little guy rising up and learning his potential as he fights for himself. The movies are fresher in my mind because I don't reread the books (my backlog is far too massive for rereads), and I remember in the latest movie they added some odd Luna relationship stuff in there...because standing up against Tom Riddle and using a legendary wizard sword to kill a giant ass snake that ate Severus isn't cool enough. The film version had to have him awkwardly pound his chest and show off to potential mates. Bellatrix, on the other hand rocked her film adaptation. I'm not going to vote for some plucky nerd wish fulfillment character over a stylish sociopathic Black b**** witch.
Bellatrix is a pretty interesting character, and one of the few villains who we see multiple sides too. Yeah, I don't think she's as one dimensional as people think. When she's with her sister, you see another side to her. You also get to see her feel FEAR. Something that we don't really see out of many villains in the series.
But Neville is overall a better character. He develops from this timid, sort of third wheel for Harry and Ron, or Seamus and Dean. Into something that his parents, or ANYONE for that matter, would be proud of. And he develops his courage not by facing his fears, but when he hears the person who tortured his parents into insanity (the very person he's facing in this match)
There's every hint that she's in love with Voldemort, and with love being so poisonous to Voldemort this had lots of potential--like her sneaking a kiss, and that leaving Voldemort severely wounded. None of that ever comes to pass.
That'd have been more awkward than if... Voldemort decided to out of nowhere Hug Draco Malfoy.
From: hideto | #033 The movies are fresher in my mind because I don't reread the books (my backlog is far too massive for rereads), and I remember in the latest movie they added some odd Luna relationship stuff in there
They did? I guess I missed that part, or forgot it. I know a bunch of fans wanted that before the last book came out, though.
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Today's Match - a good match. Even better than Fred vs. Umbridge
(3)Neville Longbottom (2)Bellatrix Lestrange
To be quite honest, Neville is... actually I can't say who the "objectively correct" vote is today, as this match is so iconic that both deserve to advance at least one more round even though only one can, so I'm gonna say Neville is... the more appropriate choice I guess? He's got the best development in the series by far. No one else even comes close to the bildungsroman tale that Neville personifies. Harry comes the closest I guess, but he was resourceful and courageous all along. Neville starts out as... well, a bumbling loser before becoming a true leader and a badass.
So why am I voting for Bellatrix, whose development is static in comparison? Well, put simply, she starts off badass and remains at that state constantly. There are certain facets of her personality that go unexplored, like her blatant worship of Lord Voldemort's jock (geez it's like she's not even married), and certain relationships (like that of her and her sister Narcissa) that are only hinted at in one or two scenes, all of which add to her mystique and intrigue. I can't say I know for sure what her motivations are (however unlike Peter Pettigrew, I'm actually interested in them), but I can feel damn confident in guessing them: insanity, as in years of Azkaban have driven her completely insane and her mental stability was probably already in question well before that, and general love for causing pain and misery and love for the one person who's essentially promising it.
She's a sociopath basically, but a compelling one. She kills two of her own family members (cousin Sirius and niece Nymphadora- her sister's daughter) without so much as flinching and even taunts and laughs after one of their deaths. Molly was right to call her a b****, because she totally is one. I've gotta say, this makes her more interesting than Neville to me, which is quite a something as Neville's a very intersesting and multi-faceted character by his own right.
What I really wish is that these two had confronted each other in the seventh book. If I'm not mistaken, they had a minor conflict at the Ministry in Book 5, but Neville was ridiculously outmatched at that point. If he'd have faced her on even terms in one last confrontation and won, he'd for sure earn my vote here, but alas. Destroying Horcuxes is cool and all, but resolving the plot that's left both your parents invalids and left you to be raised by an overbearing matriarch by your own hands would've been boss.
Also this is not fair to Neville's potrayor in the films but Helena Bonham Carter is amazing.
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