Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.

[deird1]

Pet peeve on the subject of Hogwarts houses: people deciding that, clearly, a character must be in Slytherin, just because they're evil.

So Angelus, Spike, Lex Luthor, Scorpius, Sylar, Biff Tannen, Reynard, Norman Osborn, Kate Argent, Fire Lord Ozai, and Magneto are clearly all in Slytherin. And there is no personality difference between them. No difference in how they'd each approach a problem.



Seriously, I'm pretty sure that Angelus is a Ravenclaw, and Lex Luthor (at least in his Smallville incarnation) is a Griffindor.

Also, Veronica Mars – who is, in no way, at all evil – is clearly a Slytherin.

Comments

[conuly]

Also, Veronica Mars – who is, in no way, at all evil – is clearly a Slytherin.

Well, it was either that or Hufflepuff /s

[deird1]

Seriously, though! She's a total Slytherin! She constantly sees sneaky ways of doing things that other people don't think of, and occasionally reaches for some totally slimy tactic that will work perfectly – until her Griffindor father points out how unethical it is, and she blinks and goes "Right… ethics. Forgot about that."

[elisi]

The four personality types - brave, clever, evil or... everything else. ^_^

I think Spike would be a Hufflepuf.

[deird1]

I think you're right!

[maia]

OMG, Spike would totally be a Hufflepuff.

[lirazel]

Agreed. Glad we're all on the same page!

[beroli]

Huh. I have a question which is going to sound sarcastic but I promise you it's not.

Which Houses would you place the following characters in?

Sirius Black
Severus Snape
Gregory Goyle
Remus Lupin
Peter Pettigrew
Regulus Black (if you think we have enough information about him to say)
Rubeus Hagrid
Bellatrix Lestrange
Cormac McLaggen
Ron Weasley

[deird1]

See, that's actually quite tricky, because I'm coming into it knowing what houses they're in, so I'm terribly biased.

I think my sorting selections are mainly based on "How do they approach problems?", "How do they instinctively react?", and "How could you insult them?". (On the third: I don't much mind if you call me cowardly, or disloyal or lazy, or helpless. But if you imply I'm stupid, I'll be horribly offended – because I'm a Ravenclaw.)

Sirius Black, as far as I can tell, approaches problems by rushing in full-speed without stopping to think. Which is something of a Griffindor mood. He's the one I'm most sure is in the correct house. As for the others, I'm not so certain.

[tielan]

Yup. Very shortsighted.

[deird1]

Indeed. What about all the Ravenclaw villains, creating world-destroying machines because science, without ever stopping to think about the consequences? Or the Hufflepuff villains, using mind control to ensure that everyone can get along?

[lirazel]

YES.

[lyr]

Agreed. I have often found that annoying myself.

[deird1]

Totally. It’s ignoring the fact that most villains don’t think of themselves as villains, too.

[lirazel]

This is all JKR's fault for not understanding nuance. I mean, she started the whole "must be in Slytherin because they're evil" thing.


Also, Veronica Mars – who is, in no way, at all evil – is clearly a Slytherin.

Correct.

Would be interested to hear why Angelus is a Ravenclaw.

[deird1]

So, Giles randomly mentions a long-lost book to him, and he’s immediately able to get it.

He chides Spike for not knowing history and thus not understanding the importance of Acathla.

And as soon as he escapes his cage in season 4, his first act is to go find an occult bookshop and read up on what’s happening.

Being intellectual, making careful plans, and thinking deeply is pretty much his default setting.

[lirazel]

Now that you say all this, it makes sense to me! I just hadn't thought of it before!