Everyone loves a good redemption arc, but not every character who gets one deserves it.
There are many characters in our favorite movies that deserve to be redeemed or just deserve better than what happened to them, but there are also others who are just too awful to have earned good things.
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Here are 10+ movie characters who definitely didn’t deserve better.
PT Barnum from *The Greatest Showman*
Even if we ignore how much worse Barnum was in real life, the character himself was not deserving of such a nice ending.
He tore his family apart because of his selfishness and used the oppressed in society to make money only to abandon them when they needed help.
Draco Malfoy
While Draco’s redemption wasn’t as detailed as Snape’s, he does get to go on to live a relatively normal life.
While some things can be forgiven giving he was not an adult and born to awful parents, the truth is that he was also extremely bigoted and a bully through and through. He only wasn’t when it served his selfish needs.
Tyler Durden from *Fight Club*
Many people make the mistake of assuming that Durden is actually the hero of this story, but that’s not supposed to be the takeaway.
The film is supposed to show that Durden’s view of masculinity isn’t good, but unfortunately, many people have come away with the opposite idea.
Ferris Bueller from *Ferris Bueller’s Day Off*
Ferris Bueller is supposed to be some sort of hero for high schoolers to look up to, but really, what was that bad about his life?
He was a privileged white kid from the suburbs who made life difficult for others around him.
Dr. Stephen Strange
Audiences are growing weary of how rich jerks are often idolized in movies and get to become the heroes.
Dr. Strange was pretty awful to everyone around him, and he didn’t seem to really have much character development before being given powers.
The parents from *The Parent Trap*
The entire premise of The Parent Trap is super messed up. Nick Parker and Elizabeth James treated their daughters as interchangeable because they were twins and had no interest in getting to know their other child.
These two got a happy ending, and while their daughters deserved it, they didn’t really.
Severus Snape
Snape is one character who got a redemption arc that many people feel is undeserved.
While he might have switched sides, the only reason he left Voldemort was because Lily died. He didn’t care at all that Voldemort tried to murder a baby. Many people also feel that his “love” of Lily was really just a creepy obsession
Also, he bullied his students.
Kylo Ren
Similar to Snape, Ren is another character many people wish hadn’t been redeemed.
While some people love him, Kylo Ren committed horrible crimes against younglings, murdered his dad, and tried to kill Rey.
So, a lot of people were upset when Rey and Kylo Ren had a romantic relationship.
Tess Nichols from *27 Dresses*
Tess might have finally got what was coming to her, but the film also implies that she might still have a chance with George at the end.
This makes no sense given she lied to him about everything. What did she plan to do? Just lie about her entire lifestyle forever?
But, what was really inexcusable was how she used her sister and treated her like garbage. She was purely selfish.
Harper from *Happiest Season*
This is a rather recent movie that has sparked a lot of discussion amongst fans.
Viewers felt that the main character, Abby, should have ended up with Riley instead of Harper.
Harper lied to Abby, made her hide her identity, and flirted with her ex-boyfriend in front of her.
James Bond
While James Bond might be one of the most iconic characters in the film, he’s kind of awful in a lot of ways.
There is so much blatant sexism in these movies that’s hard to overlook, but this is portrayed as making Bond cool.
Matilda’s parents in *Matilda*
Mr. and Mrs. Wormwood absolutely should have gotten in legal trouble for their neglect of their daughter.
While Matilda ending up with Miss Honey was lovely, these two got to just escape from their criminal activities and their treatment of their daughter with no consequences.
Also, there’s no way that adoption could have been legal.
Batman
Batman might be seen as a hero, but he’s actually not a very good one.
He puts on a suit to make himself the hero by saving others when really Bruce Wayne could use his money to fix the systematic issues of Gotham instead.
It’s weird how we idolize him.
Albus Dumbledore
While he might seem like the good guy and wise old mentor, Dumbledore is pretty villainous in some ways.
He lies to Harry over and over and doesn’t tell him the truth about the fact he will likely have to die to defeat Voldemort. He basically manipulates him to be a lamb to the slaughter, and it’s very cold and calculated.
Jon Snow
Many people love Jon Snow, but he doesn’t necessarily deserve it.
He was always making poor choices, and he’s let off the hook too much for how his relationship with Daenarys played out.
Then, he gets to ride off to live a life away from any responsibility once again.
