User blog comment:Misry6/Pure Evil Removal Proposal: Frozen II's Villain/@comment-39032584-20200114140248

Mmmm... I'm sorry if this doesn't help much, but at this point, I could swing either way with regards to Runeard. On the one hand, I definitely think that some people have interpreted his actions as being worse than they are; for instance, now that I think about it, I highly doubt he was trying to starve them by building the dam. If anything, he was simply weakening them so that they'd be forced to subjugate themselves and rely on him. Plus, the part about getting the Northuldrans and Arendellian soldiers trapped in the forest for about 30 years or so was an unintended consequence of his actions, and frankly, I really don't understand why some users are stating he killed, or at least, was willing to kill millions. The Northuldrans didn't have even close to that number of people, and there's nothing implying he oppressed anyone else before them.

On the other hand though, Frozen doesn't have a very high heinous standard, and his murder of the Northuldran's leader did lead to a massive battle with them that he intentionally provoked, and given that he clearly felt threatened by their magic, it doesn't feel like much of a stretch to assume that it was his intention to initiate that battle with the confidence that they would wipe them out due to their numerical and militaristic advantage. So yeah, he still seems pretty heinous by the standards of the work. Conversely to what I mentioned previously, I don't think it's an exaggeration to state that he makes characters like Prince Hans and the Duke of Weselton look like naughty children in comparison.

So in sort, I'm going to remain neutral for now, because I can understand both sides of the argument. That said, one thing I'd really appreciate is if we don't assume that people must be deliberately exaggerating his heinousness in an attempt to get him approved. While the whole thousands/millions statistic doesn't make much sense, I don't think Ordeaux was exaggerating his opinion on purpose when he did the original proposal; he was probably just genuinely interpreting his actions with the worst implications, and I think this is a case where there's definitely enough room to interpret it multiple ways. So aside from when it's obviously the case, I ask that we please not be too quick to throw around those sorts of accusations, seeing as how it could lead to unnecessary drama and/or conflict.