Although everyone always loves the protagonist of the story, I think an antagonist who redeems himself in the end to become a hero makes for an even better character. Here are some of my favorite fictional (and non-fictional) character redemptions; each character comes to a different realization that helps him redeem himself.
1. Severus Snape
For a long time, Professor Severus Snape was infamously known as the hateful potions teacher. The only thing people seem to know about him is that he used to be a Death Eater and has a passion or the dark arts. But in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, he kills Albus Dumbledore, which marks him as the villain.
For most of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Snape was deemed one of Voldemort's most faithful followers. But in one of the final moments of the book, right after his death, we learn that Snape was actually helping Harry Potter the entire time.
When viewing Snape's memories, Harry learns that Snape was in love with his mother; he discovered that the entire time, Snape had been working against Voldemort in order to protect Harry Potter. He played a vital role in Voldemort's defeat.
Severus Snape went from being a hated teacher, to a despised wizard, and finally, to an admired hero.
Snape showed that love can help shape our character and can redeem one's wrong-doings.
2. Theon Greyjoy
At first, Theon Greyjoy was just annoying to me. All he did was ramble about how amazing it was to be a "Greyjoy of the Iron Islands." But then he decided to rebel against Robb Stark, a man who considered him a brother, and take Winterfell as his own, which definitely marked him as a bad guy.
When Ramsay Bolton took Theon as hostage and tortured him, I thought he deserved it. After all, he did kill those two innocent farm boys. But then I just started to feel bad for him. The physical, mental, and emotional torture Bolton put him through was just sick.
But when he saw Sansa Stark again, he was reminded of who he used to be. He ended up saving her life and helping her escape Winterfell. After she is safely in the hands of Brienne and Podrick, he goes back to the Iron Islands to help his sister.
After saving his sister, he decides to return back to Winterfell and help the Starks and everyone else in The Battle of Winterfell. He ends up giving his life to protect Bran Stark, but not before hearing Bran say, "Theon, you're a good man."
Theon Greyjoy went from being ignored, to hated, to despised, to pitied, to admired, and finally, to loved.
I don't think Theon was every actually a bad guy. I just think he was trying to discover who he was. He spent his entire childhood thinking he was a Greyjoy, and when he finally returned back to his homeland, he wasn't welcomed home with cheers. His need to prove himself as a Greyjoy was so great, that he made an impulse decision. But he realized he was also a Stark in enough time to help redeem his character.
Theon showed us that discovering who you truly are can bring redemption to our mistakes.
3. Lebron James
When Lebron James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers as the first overall pick of the 2003 NBA draft, Cleveland had high hopes for him. For about seven years, he won numerous awards and helped improve the Cavs drastically. But, he still wanted a championship. Once he became a free agent in 2010, he made the infamous decision to leave Cleveland and play for Miami Heat.
James was the first reigning MVP to change teams in over 25 years. Because of this change, rival fanbases and the media began to villainize him, which also affected his game. He was also criticized for teaming up with players Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh to win a championship, rather than doing it as a team leader.
After winning two championships with the Miami Heat, on July 11, 2014, he decided to go back to Cleveland and bring back a championship. And in 2016, he delivered his promise of a championship and broke the 52 year-long Cleveland sports curse.
Whether you like him or not, his story is admirable.
I'm not going to say that going to the Miami Heat was a wrong move, because it wasn't. He wanted to win a championship, and he was able to win two. But going back to Cleveland solidified himself as a strong player with great character.
Lebron James showed us that sometimes all you need to do is go back home.
Characters like Harry Potter and Jon Snow are always admirable. But there's something much more noble and even heroic to a character's redemption story. Perhaps it's because we can relate to them more. Their mistakes can be seen as our mistakes, and their goal represents a common goal among people... to leave this world knowing we have made it just a little bit better.