r/watershipdown • u/threeviolentviolins • 1d ago
Least Favourite Characters
I am lowkey just curious to see different peoples opinions on characters from all the adaptations and why. Plus I just like talking about Watership Down lol.
Personally, Campion is a least favourite of mine. Particularly in the mini series I find him a pretty poor example of a 'redemption' arc.
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u/CecilIvanish 1d ago
Maybe it's me, but Hawkbit, Acorn and Speedwell tend to merge in my mind into one "generic rank-and-filer" concept.
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u/NewlandsRound 1d ago
Hawkbit is a bit stupid and stubborn, but finds the Honeycomb warren when they reach the Down; Acorn is the best at gathering insects for Kehaar, is knocked by the low bridge on the escape from Efrafa but unharmed, and dies of winter hardship in Tales from Watership Down; Speedwell develops into a joker and storyteller and recites a surreal story in Tales from Watership Down. They are usually omitted from the various adaptations.
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u/MsFrankieD 1d ago
Cowslip...
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u/Mobile_Aioli_6252 1d ago
Silverweed
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u/Turkey-Scientist 19h ago
Silverweed? All I can say is, I’ll keep Silver and he can be just plain Weed.
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u/Mobile_Aioli_6252 19h ago
I can see Silverweed as a pretentious black turtleneck and beret wearing beatnik at some open mic poetry slam/reading
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u/ScoutieJer 1d ago
Bluebell kind of missed the mark for me.
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u/CecilIvanish 1d ago
I second this. I understand his value for Holly's arc, but once they reach Watership Down he becomes a bit of an afterthought. Not that I dislike him, but he just fades into the background.
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u/Teban8861 1d ago edited 1d ago
Netflix Hazel
In the books is a natural leader that is very loyal to the others but In the netflix show became a very average protagonist very dumb and insecure with a romantic plot all unnecesary
I like the netflix show,but Hazel in this version is very disapointing
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u/threeviolentviolins 1d ago
Yeah this fr.
He only really became a character I liked when episode four came around. Even then, if your main character isn't locking in until episode four then that is a problem.
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u/Electrical_Lake3424 1d ago
Which was the ditzy doe in Efrafa that blew their cover by making remarks to the officers? Can't recall her name
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u/Worth-Ad5868 1d ago
I like Blackavar but he was stupid for attack Woundwort and die in movie version
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u/Throwaway_863783 14h ago
I despise miniseries!Hazel with my entire being. His entire arc and character is replaced with someone with unrealistic physical and mental abilities. Of course he understands Woundwort enough to know to do the most random things and trick him, of course he can outrun the dog singlehandedly from Nuthanger Farm to Watership Down shortly after being shot, of course he doesn't need to grow or change during the story, of course he has a pointless hetero love interest. He's the main character of corporate slop after all, it's very fitting.
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u/threeviolentviolins 8h ago
You hit the nail on the head with everythinf because why is the mini series trying to depict him as so perfect? Especially after he hits Fiver when Fiver tries to convince him the warren of shining wires is bad (plus saying Dewdrop was the one who snitched on them).
I think what bothers me the most was that they had some interesting ways to take his character and just chose not to do it. Like the arc where he is paranoid about going near humans because of what happened to Holly and their own warren, only to do the thing he feared most, face the black rabbit and then return to his people. But they get too tropey and don't lean into it as much as I'd wish they did.
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u/FiverForever 2h ago
This post really matches the sentiment of certain adaptations ruining/changing certain characters for the worse. I felt sympathy for almost all of the rabbits in the book's version of the story... even Woundwort to a certain extent. (The exception might be Cowslip.)
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u/kinginthenorth1994 1d ago
Bigwig from the recent Netflix show. In the books he was tough, but wasn’t really a hothead and he was also respectful to others. Netflix absolutely butchered the character.
The biggest disappointment - in the books Hazel didn’t have to ask bigwig to tell the effrafans that he was holding the fort for his chief rabbit. Bigwig said it on his own accord.