I see a lot of hate directed at Regulus from certain corners of the fandom, mostly those who tend to hate Jegulus, so they find faults in Regulus (not James, never James, since he's usually the second half of their preferred ship). "He was a Death Eater, he was evil, he was blood-thirsty, he was cruel," blah blah blah. First off, we literally know nothing about him firsthand from canon. He's six sentences and a locket. Second, he was repeatedly described as soft, idiot (by Sirius), or brave (by Kreacher). Third, most importantly, he was a child. Brainwashed by toxic rhetoric and likely fighting to get his parents' approval. The first thing he did when he could think for himself was go against a cult of Dark Mages, sacrificing himself in the process. Regulus Black deserved better, is all I'm saying, and he deserves our compassion.
I'm so happy to see your post. Thank you! 🙆♀️💜
I've seen a blog post about Regulus being overrated and not being a hero recently. It's a bit annoying 😖 Some people think Snape is a hero, so who are we to judge, right?
Regulus is definitely my favorite character. Perhaps it's because I'm the youngest sibling in my family, and I know all too well what it's like when your older siblings speak of you in a less-than-favorable light, or dismissively, as if you're an "idiot and too soft". There's a hint of understatement in his story, that's why we love him as well. 😭
Although, for me, just two sentences about him were enough to understand that he wasn't a bad guy, but a deeply unhappy boy living in his brother's enormous shadow. Because people didn't join Riddle's DE out of great love; he attracted those who were looking for recognition, to be loved.
And in my eyes, Regulus is a hero after all. If we could continue parallelism with Harry from a book — he was almost a school boy, who got disappointed of Voldemort, his closest wise and smart like parent figure, I think.
In the end, Harry could have ended up like him if not for his friends. They both sacrifice themselves for others. I don't really think Kreacher was a real reason for Regulus sacrificial.
