History YMMV / TangledTheSeries

** Cassandra meets a mysterious entity in a house rigged with various magical traps. You'd expect her to be at least suspicious of this entity and her motives but [[HorribleJudgeOfCharacter Cassandra trusts the Enchanted Girl without question]], not even asking for her ''name''. The Enchanted Girl [[spoiler:turns out to be [[BigBad Zhan Tiri]].]]

** Zhan Tiri introduces herself to Cassandra and Varian with the same phrase: "A friend... or at least I'd like to be". However, she does it to Cassandra in a [[FalseFriend soothing, friendly manner]], whereas with Varian she does it in an [[AxCrazy insane, creepy manner]]. Is it just because she sees them differently and has differing [[UnwittingPawn uses]] for them? Or is it because Cassandra reminds her of [[NotSoDifferent herself]], yet Varian reminds her of [[WeUsedToBeFriends her old friend Demanitus]] (especially with them both being skilled inventors), which in turn influences the way she presents herself to them?

** It is [[BrokenBase hotly debated]] whether [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Cassandra]] crossed it, and that she hadn't actually redeemed herself in the series finale. For those in favor to the argument that she really did cross it, they tend to agree that she did so either with her attempts to murder Rapunzel and Eugene in "Cassandra's Revenge", or her destroying the capital of Corona in "Once a Handmaiden...".]]

* ShockingSwerve: [[spoiler: Cassandra's FaceHeelTurn]], as [[spoiler: despite her anger at Rapunzel for what happened to her hand, she had resisted becoming like Varian and betraying her...only for her to still decide to betray her after learning that she was Gothel's daughter, and that Gothel abandoned her for Rapunzel (something which Rapunzel was in no way responsible for, unlike the incident with Cassandra's hand.) To some viewers, this rendered a good portion of the previous episode lessons completely pointless.]]

* TheUntwist: Eugene was given a warning that one of them is going to turn on Rapunzel at the end of her journey. [[spoiler:He looks at everyone, and realizes something is off with Cassandra, who gives a sinister glare, leading us to believe it's going to be her. Cassandra ended up looking like a RedHerring after that; she's done nothing to even suggest that she would betray Rapunzel, and Eugene ends up being the one (unwillingly) turning on Rapunzel because his long-lost father tells him not to let Rapunzel touch the Moonstone if he wants her to live. Just as Rapunzel was about to take the Moonstone, marking the ''literal'' end of her journey, Cassandra then grabs it at the last second, which means it ''was'' her who was going to turn on them all along]].

* FanNickname: Rapunzel's transformation when using the hurt incantation has earned the nickname "Dark Rapunzel" by older fans who have pointed out how her design looks very similar to fanarts of a evil Rapunzel. Others have jokingly called her "Emo Raps" due to all the bad emo fanarts and designs by fangirls in various fan pages who would often just badly color Raps hair black, though "Emo Raps" is more commonly used for Rapunzel's grumpy PeekABangs-having self from [[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS1E18NotInTheMood Not in the Mood]].
* FanPreferredCouple: As much as fans gush over Rapunzel and Eugene’s relationship, there’s about as many who ship Rapunzel and Cassandra.

** The series drops various hints that Varian is connected to the Moonstone, but [[RedHerring this is debunked by the series finale]], with the only connection he has being that he's the son of someone sworn to it. The fandom, meanwhile, ''loves'' "[[FandomSpecificPlot moon powers AU]]."

** A common complaint that's lodged at the third season is that [[spoiler:the arc involving Cassandra's FaceHeelTurn is simultaneously rushed and overly drawn out. The season premiere, "Rapunzel's Return", sets her up to be the main antagonist of the season after she's fallen to the dark side. Then it takes the next twelve episodes, until the season is already over halfway over, for her to start moving against Rapunzel and doing especially evil deeds. The following episodes each double down on how heinous and murderous Cassandra has become (to the point where quite a few people find her UnintentionallyUnsympathetic), lost in her own misplaced wrath and vengeance, while the show still insists through Rapunzel that she can be redeemed somehow. A few of them even tease the idea of Cassandra seeing reason and pulling a HeelFaceTurn, before they rather cruelly YankTheDogsChain and have her [[HeelFaceDoorSlam commit to her new evil path with even greater strength than she did before]]. Naturally, this led a lot of fans to worry about Cassandra's potential redemption arc being pushed off until the series finale, "Plus Est En Vous", and feeling very rushed and unearned as a result, whereas Varian had months to think about how terrible his actions were and repeatedly struggled with forgiving ''himself'' even after his redemption.]]

** In "Cassandra's Revenge", [[spoiler:the Enchanted Girl/Zhan Tiri's crimes consist of psychologically tormenting Varian in his dreams, manipulating events leading to a battle between Rapunzel and Cassandra that releases her from her prison, and "encouraging" Cassandra to break Rapunzel's spirit and make her watch as she murders her friends, actively taking delight in the princess' suffering]]. All she cared about by the episode's end was that she got what she wanted. And if not then, she crosses it in the series finale, by attempting to murder everyone in Corona.]]

* {{Wangst}}:
** [[BaseBreakingCharacter Cassandra]]'s detractors [[spoiler:point out that her [[FreudianExcuse motivations for becoming a villain]] gloss over the fact that Gothel "choosing Rapunzel over Cassandra" in practice resulted in Rapunzel being kidnapped, isolated, and raised from infancy by an emotionally abusive mother and used for her hair, something she's still shown to have trauma from, while Cassandra at least got a father who loved her after being abandoned. This also makes her "but I've never got the chances you were given", "you don't know how much I've been denied", and "I lose no tears and lose no sleep" lines sound petty in hindsight, since it was Rapunzel who was denied freedom Cassandra ''did'' have. While Cassandra resents Rapunzel for obtaining the glory and reverence she thinks she deserves, Rapunzel herself was the first person to treat her with respect.]]
** Critics of Season 3 felt that Rapunzel fell into this during her mission [[spoiler: to redeem [[EvilFormerFriend Cassandra]], especially when refusing to listen to Eugene telling her to give up on Cassandra, or [[SkewedPriorities saying that losing her friendship with Cassandra scares her more than the possible death and destruction of her kingdom at her hands]]. It just makes Rapunzel off as being a WideEyedIdealist who has [[SuicidalPacifism failed every peaceful attempt to redeem Cassandra]]]].

** In "Queen For A Day", Rapunzel was so traumatized by [[spoiler:turning away Varian's request to help his father]], and yet she didn't send a guard or ''someone'' to check up on him after the storm blew over. Even if the efforts didn't work, at least the trauma she would've gone through would've felt more natural, and [[spoiler: Varian could've been swayed from his StartOfDarkness]]. In "The Alchemist Returns", she [[spoiler:is hesitant to go behind her father's back and help Varian steal the Sundrop Flower, regarding it as treason, even though it shouldn't matter to her since not only is she the princess, but heir to the throne. She also considers the idea of using it afterwards a matter of saving either Quirin or Corona, when both are facing the ''same'' problem of the black rocks and her father's rulership.]]

** After being [[BaseBreakingCharacter incredibly polarizing]] in the first half of the first season, the second half, plus the book ''[[Literature/RapunzelAndTheLostLagoon Rapunzel and the Lost Lagoon]]'', endeared more people to Cassandra, as she showcased more sympathetic, admirable, and relatable qualities, and became more trustful of Eugene, having a more clearly pronounced VitriolicBestBuds dynamic with him. She was even better received in the second season, [[spoiler: which only made the last few minutes of the season finale that much more of an emotional gut-punch]]. The third season returns her to being a ''massive'' BaseBreakingCharacter.

** In Season 1, Varian was a BaseBreakingCharacter [[spoiler:both before and after his FaceHeelTurn. Prior to his descent into darkness, he was either seen as endearing or annoying, and after his turn, there was a split among fans regarding just how [[AntiVillain sympathetic]] (or not) he really is as the ArcVillain. Come Season 3, however, and Varian pulls a HeelFaceTurn and undergoes CharacterDevelopment. The season showcases a good deal of him becoming more heroic, kind, courageous, and downright ''wise'', giving a lot of focus onto how he retains [[ItsAllMyFault guilt]] and [[TheAtoner remorse]] over his past actions, and having him save the day on more than one occasion. It helps a lot that Varian has become ''incredibly'' entertaining and lovable, in addition to the episodes that have him in it often being regarded as superior to those that don't. By this point, Varian has effectively become almost unanimously beloved by the fandom.]]

** [[spoiler:Cassandra is a curious example. As one of the most controversial and polarizing characters in the fandom with a villainous arc in the last season, she tends to get the DracoInLeatherPants treatment a lot (like Varian), but there are also some fans who swing to the opposite extreme with her character. Before writing her off as a bad egg from the start and a complete lost cause, there are two important factors in her downfall that must be taken into account that are sometimes ignored - the negative, destructive influence of the Moonstone on her mind, that causes her to become DrunkOnTheDarkSide the longer she has it, and Zhan Tiri's manipulation as a ToxicFriendInfluence, who's constantly encouraging her to turn on her friends and cross brand new ethical lines, even engineering a few set-ups like "A Tale Of Two Sisters" to strengthen Cassandra's loyalty to her. Neither of these two mitigating factors excuse or exonerate Cassandra's cruel, selfish, power-hungry actions (like attempted murder), but they do make her a more complicated and conflicted antagonist than simply being a pure, irredeemable monster. And while it's true that Cassandra was EasilyForgiven by her friends in the series finale, she didn't get off entirely scot free, since Cassandra owning up to her actions and helping Rapunzel defeat Zhan Tiri actually got her killed and would have permanently cost her her life if Rapunzel hadn't found a way to revive her.]]

* JerkassWoobie: Cassandra in both "Challenge of the Brave" and "[[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS1E05CassandraVEugene Cassandra V. Eugene]]" displays some of her absolute worst qualities, trying to sabotage Rapunzel's chances at victory out of jealousy in the former episode and had hoped to get Eugene in trouble with the King and possibly evicted from castle grounds over an accident in the latter episode, but in both we're shown clearly how and why she thinks and feels the way she does. We see how neglected she is by others and how little respect she gets even for things she doesn't enjoy doing but gets accomplished anyway, and we learn that [[spoiler:like Eugene, she's an orphan who never knew her real parents]] and was raised by the Captain of the Guards on values such as how to "earn her keep", which might explain her constant clashing with Eugene, whom she feels always gets away with too much after putting in only the bare minimum of effort. The {{Jerkass}} part fully comes about [[spoiler:when she undergoes a FaceHeelTurn and betrays Rapunzel.]] [[spoiler:Season 3 reveals that she was Gothel's biological daughter, who treated her like a slave at worst and a nuisance at best. Then Gothel abandons her for the Sundrop Flower.]]

*** Speaking of such, the episode [[Recap/TangledTheSeriesS3E05NoTimeLikeThePast "No Time Like The Past"]] is a treat for fans of Youtuber, Voice impressionist and Disney fan Brian Hull as one of the Stabbington Brothers, Teenage Sideburns.

*** Though Cassandra is a BaseBreakingCharacter, there are still people who will watch the story mainly for her. In fact, for clips released to the Disney Channel [=YouTube=] channel, clips of either Cass or Varian or both of them tend to get a lot of views.

** It is ''[[BrokenBase very]]'' hotly debated whether [[spoiler:[[FaceHeelTurn Cassandra]] crossed it, and that she hadn't actually redeemed herself in the series finale. For those in favor to the argument that she really did cross it, they tend to agree that she did so either with her attempts to murder Rapunzel and Eugene in "Cassandra's Revenge", or her destroying the capital of Corona in "Once a Handmaiden...".]]
** In "Cassandra's Revenge", the Enchanted Girl/[[spoiler:Zhan Tiri]]'s crimes consist of [[spoiler:[[FromBadToWorse psychologically tormenting Varian in his dreams, manipulating events leading to a battle between Rapunzel and Cassandra that releases her from her prison, and "encouraging" Cassandra to break Rapunzel's spirit and make her watch as she murders her friends, actively taking delight in the princess' suffering]]]]. All she cared about by the episode's end was that she got what she wanted.
*** [[spoiler:If not then, she crosses it in the series finale, by attempting to ''murder everyone in Corona!'']]

* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler:Varian is a WoobieDestroyerOfWorlds]]. Given the popularity of "Ready As I'll Ever Be", it's practically mandatory to know this before watching the show.

* IdiotPlot: The story arc of Season 1, which go FromBadToWorse because the major parties involved don't communicate well about it. If the king had been more reasonable about Rapunzel wanting to explore and told her about the spikes in the first place, Cassandra wouldn't have taken Rapunzel to see them, which means that they wouldn't have started growing and [[spoiler:Cassandra wouldn't have been sent to a convent when her father finds out]]. If Quirin had explained to Varian about [[spoiler:secretly telling the king about them in code and he wasn't abandoning their home, Varian wouldn't have gotten his father trapped in his attempts to stop the spikes with alchemy, or become desperate enough to commit "treason". Rapunzel could have avoided Varian committing treason if she had gone to him sooner once the blizzard crisis was resolved.]]
* InferredHolocaust: In "Once a Handmaiden...", [[spoiler:Cassandra goes on a rampage, covering Corona's castle and city with black rocks. It is unlikely that ''everyone'' was able to flee on time, and we don't even get to see all of the Corona citizens who've escaped being impaled by the rocks on time. This heavily implies there were people, including ''children'', who were ''killed'' by Cassandra's actions, but this never gets addressed.]]

** Cassandra may be a [[BaseBreakingCharacter divisive character]], but in Season 1 you would be hard-pressed to find many who care for her father, the Captain of the Guards, who seemed to be aiming for a record for how many episodes someone can juggle the JerkassBall and IdiotBall. Fortunately, he was Main/RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in Season 3, as mentioned above.
** Uncle Monty. Many fans despise him for how irrational his dislike for Rapunzel was, all for reasons that Rapunzel has no power over given her traumatic childhood. It doesn't help that Rapunzel herself is frustrated with his IrrationalHatred as well in the episode (note: she finally decides at the end of the episode that getting him to like her wasn't worth it). Fortunately, in his reappearances his dislike for Rapunzel is [[TookALevelInKindness drastically toned down]].
** Nigel, the royal family's advisor, garnered a fair amount of ire due to him ordering for [[spoiler:Varian, a young teenager]], to be ejected into an extremely harsh blizzard at a time of need, in addition to quickly coming to the clearly incorrect conclusion that he attacked Rapunzel. Besides that, he's seen as too annoying and uptight. Like the Captain, he was somewhat Main/RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap in Season 3 with the episode "Pascal's Dragon" making it at most more understandable why he acts as uptight and strictly cautious as he does ([[spoiler:as the last time he prioritized a friend over the well being of his home and it's people, there were disastrous consequences, so he wasn't willing to take the chance of Rapunzel doing the same in regards to Varian.]])

** In "Rapunzel's Return", Cassandra dramatically [[spoiler: reveals herself as [[ConnectedAllAlong Gothel's daughter]] and explains that she stole the Moonstone because that is why Rapunzel's destiny belongs to her. However, many fans found this incredibly forced, as Cassandra wasn't raised by Gothel for the majority of her life, Rapunzel was abducted and abused by Gothel, and the Moonstone has absolutely ''nothing'' to do with Gothel.]] As a result the big reveal of Cassandra's background and motives annoyed many who were hoping for a stronger motive.
*** In a similar vein, Cassandra's "I don't follow your orders ANYMORE!" speech to [[spoiler:Rapunzel in "Cassandra's Revenge" is supposed to be a bold DefiantToTheEnd BadassBoast, but considering Cassandra's history of ControlFreak tendencies toward ''Princess'' Rapunzel (who almost always treated her with kindness) even before her FaceHeelTurn, as well as the fact that, in this particular instance, she is defying Rapunzel's order to ''spare her lover's life'', Cassandra just comes across as extremely pathetic, reinforcing her reputation as UnintentionallyUnsympathetic.]]

** ''Cassandra''. [[{{Irony}} Despite claiming that her pains are something she hides inside]], [[spoiler:some point out that her [[FreudianExcuse motivations for becoming a villain]] completely gloss over the fact that Gothel "choosing Rapunzel over Cassandra" in practice resulted in Rapunzel being kidnapped, isolated and raised from infancy by an emotionally abusive mother and used for her hair, something she's still shown to have trauma from, while Cassandra at least got a father who loved her after being abandoned. This also makes her "but I've never got the chances you were given", "you don't know how much I've been denied", and "I lose no tears and lose no sleep" lines sound petty in hindsight, since it was Rapunzel who was denied freedom Cassandra ''did'' have. Something also worth mentioning is that, while Cassandra resents Rapunzel for obtaining the glory and reverence she thinks ''she'' deserves, who was the first person to treat her with a ''huge'' amount of respect? Rapunzel herself!]]

** Following the flashback at the premiere of Season 3, some fans have wondered at the exact motivation behind Gothel's actions [[spoiler:in abandoning Cassandra. Did she go back to the cottage intending to pick up Cassandra, only to realize that doing so would get her caught by the guards right on her tail? Or did she intentionally lead the guards to her cottage, hence hiding and allowing them to reach it before her? If it was intentional, was it purely so she could trap them and cover her escape? Or did she want them to discover her daughter, knowing they would take care of her in her own absence? Gothel's behavior as a mother to Cassandra makes the latter unlikely, but not impossible to read in the ambiguity of the scene.]]

** Gothel gets retroactive AlternativeCharacterInterpretation. Some speculate that before the movie's events, she could have uprooted the Sundrop flower to hide it from everyone, but she knew the consequences of removing the flower from the ground and [[EvenEvilHasStandards wouldn't put the land at risk]].

** Rapunzel herself. She has a large fanbase who ''adore'' her for her upbeat, affable, and energetic personality, as well as her storyline (which is engaging even for the main character) and dealing of trauma, but also her fair share of detractors who find her to be overly controlling and insensitive, with particularly contentious points going to her lack of care for Varian's problems in the second half of Season 1, [[spoiler:even after Zhan Tiri's blizzard was over]], and attempts to force her viewpoint that [[spoiler:Cassandra can be redeemed]] onto Eugene in Season 3.

* CaptainObviousReveal: Many fans had already figured out that [[spoiler:the Enchanted Girl was Zhan Tiri as early as when she was first introduced.]]

** [[spoiler:After several murder attempts on not only Rapunzel's life but all of her friends' lives in "Cassandra's Revenge", there's something very satisfying about Rapunzel finally, for once, kicking Cassandra's ass with the Sundrop's final incantation - especially since that fight also leads to some LaserGuidedKarma for Cassandra when her last attempt to kill her old friends backfires horribly on her.]]

** Even more, after '''everything''' she pulled throughout the season, or rather, [[spoiler:the entirety of the ''Tangled'' timeline as the GreaterScopeVillain, such as being responsible for the breaking of Rapunzel and Cassandra's bond and attempting to destroy Corona, seeing [[HateSink Zhan Tiri]] get utterly ''obliterated'' when [[KarmicDeath Rapunzel and Cassandra themselves merge the Moonstone and Sundrop, the two elements she sought for centuries]], is also incredibly satisfying.]]

* ContestedSequel: The series is either seen as a great continuation from where the film had left off, or an unnecessary sequel considering that the film had already wrapped up the characters' arcs fairly well. Fans enjoyed it for its world-building and CharacterDevelopment, while critics took issue with the [[StatusQuoIsGod return of Rapunzel's hair]], [[ArcFatigue the dragged-on plot with the black rocks]] and the series' controversial CerebusSyndrome.

** Many fans who shipped Varian and Cassandra jumped ship following the Season 1 finale [[spoiler:where he outright tries to murder her, all the while making a sick joke about it.]] The prevalent age gap between the two doesn't help matters either. The ship almost revived again [[spoiler:given Cassandra's betrayal at the end of "Destinies Collide", this time in the hopes the two would become a villain couple opposing Rapunzel, but Varian reforming quickly into Season 3, as well as the events of "Cassandra's Revenge" and "Once a Handmaiden...", sunk the ship more than ever.]]
** [[LesYay Cassandra and Rapunzel]], likewise, had a lot of people jump ship after the events of Season 3 due to [[spoiler: [[EvilFormerFriend Cassandra's turn to evil]], TheReveal that she was Gothel's biological daughter, meaning the two are ''[[NoYay sisters]]'', and Cassandra attempting to murder Rapunzel multiple times and Rapunzel [[LoveMartyr repeatedly not giving up on her in spite of this]]]]. Even for those who can wrap their heads around Rapunzel {{Easily Forgiv|en}}ing Cassandra, it's hard to keep shipping them given the latter two points.

*** The problem unfortunately resurfaces itself in Season 3, [[spoiler:with [[HeelFaceTurn Varian]] continuously having to atone for his actions, whereas the royal family's (unintentional) part in shaping him to be villainous isn't addressed, making it seem as though Varian was the ''only'' one who messed up. Rapunzel also only brings up how she had to be there for her kingdom ''during'' the blizzard, even though she had ''months'' to check up on him. The bad things that happen to him in "Be Very Afraid" and "Cassandra's Revenge" are meant to be LaserGuidedKarma, but many found them to be highly excessive considering ''everything'' he'd already been through and how hard he's worked to make up for his actions.]]
** In a similar vein to [[spoiler:Varian]], Lady Caine. When she was a child, her father, [[DisproportionateRetribution a mere petty thief]], was thrown in a cage like some ''animal'', a sight she had to experience at a young age that likely ''traumatized'' her. She never saw him again, and it's likely he was a single father given she seemingly had no mother to sway her away from the wrong path, heavily implying she had to fend for herself afterwards and made her own life choices ever since. While her blaming Rapunzel and trying to abduct nobles as an adult are terrible, her circumstances render her hatred for Corona's law and aristocracy ''very'' understandable, something the series (as well as Rapunzel) never acknowledges, instead painting her as merely a greedy and narcissistic thief.

** Rapunzel herself falls into this starting from the end of "Queen For A Day" up until the end of "The Quest For Varian". Even though she believes [[spoiler:turning away Varian's request to save his father in the midst of the blizzard]] as MyGreatestFailure, she doesn't [[spoiler:go to check up on Varian once the crisis was over]] and apparently forgets about the whole incident until several episodes later. Some fans felt this only [[spoiler:reinforced Varian's bitterness towards Corona's apathy that led to his FaceHeelTurn.]]

** Cassandra. Some fans like her because of her kindness towards Rapunzel and her fighting prowess and general badassery. Others utterly ''despise'' her because she's a bitch towards Eugene, and makes Rapunzel promise not to tell anyone how her hair grew back, not caring how it could've hurt her and Eugene's relationship or what consequences it could bring for everyone in favor of her own problems. Not to mention she acts like a KnowNothingKnowItAll, saying that Eugene isn't good enough for Rapunzel, never mind the fact he was the reason why Rapunzel was brought back home and rescued in the first place. Later episodes attempt to make her more likable by giving her and Eugene more VitriolicBestBuds development, and having her even support Eugene when he tries to become a Royal Guard. Unfortunately, the Great Tree episode makes her a divisive character once more after her IWantSong. Her fans felt that it made it was a good way to have her undergo proper CharacterDevelopment, but her detractors felt she came off as UnintentionallyUnsympathetic whose more concerned with becoming a hero than genuinely caring for Rapunzel's well-being. [[spoiler: Detracted even further as of "Destinies Collide" when Cassandra backstabs the whole team by taking the Moonstone for herself and taunting Rapunzel for being too trusting.]]
*** [[spoiler:Cassandra's characterization, portrayal, and actions throughout Season 3 as the ArcVillain also proved to be highly divisive, with many fans feeling that her being revealed as Gothel's daughter was contrived and implausible. Fans were also divided over whether she was a complex and relatable TragicVillain, or a petty, selfish antagonist who fell HARD into UnintentionallyUnsympathetic. Her eventual redemption helped a bit, but many critics found it rushed, with some questioning the sincerity of her HeelFaceTurn]].

** Despite the claims that Cassandra is a CreatorsPet, it is possible to argue that this trope applies as well. Many online critics felt that the Wangst over [[spoiler: being abandoned by Gothel]] overshadowed many of Cassandra's stronger and more relatable motives (such as her frustration over her status as a handmaiden) and prevented these from being explored properly. In addition, the focus on Rapunzel means that Cassandra's thoughts and feelings are rarely examined in depth, leading to the common complaint that [[spoiler: her redemption]] in "Plus Est En Vous" feels rushed and unearned. As a result, many fans started creating alternative storylines where Cassandra was given a stronger, more sympathetic motive, with a common FandomSpecificPlot turning her into an aspiring revolutionary who turns to villainy in order to make Corona a fairer place.

* CreatorsPet: Cassandra is often accused of being one in the fandom by people who dislike her, partly because showrunner Chris Sonnenburg has always spoken fondly of her and what she brings to the series, and partly because she ticks the boxes of several negative tropes associated with original characters in fanfiction. She's a newcomer in an established cast of characters who's given more focus and development than some of the other franchise veterans. [[spoiler:She's given a tragic backstory late in the game that reveals she was the offspring of the franchise's main villain all along, giving her even greater narrative importance. She crosses over to the dark side herself for self-serving reasons; throughout the final season, her former friends try their best to save her at every turn despite her escalating abuse towards them; and she's ultimately forgiven pretty easily for all her wrongdoings by the series' end - despite the fact that she endangers the lives of Rapunzel and her friends several times, devastates Corona with the black rocks and unleashes Zhan Tiri]]. Fans of Varian also accuse the show of having a DoubleStandard due to the fact Rapunzel refused to give up on Cassandra, but allowed Varian to go to jail for similar offences at the end of season 1, despite the fact he had more sympathetic motives for his misdeeds.
** Cassandra is a BaseBreakingCharacter who has a lot of passionate, sympathetic fans of her own, so the argument about whether or not she was given special treatment from the writers can be a pretty sore topic in the fandom. It can also be argued that many issues with her villain arc (such as her weak motives and rushed redemption) stem from the fact that Cassadra's perspective is mostly left underdeveloped.

*** There are some who have [[spoiler:questioned the sincerity of Cassandra's supposed HeelFaceTurn in the series finale. She ''does'' have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, breaks down into TearsOfRemorse, and even defeats Zhan Tiri alongside Rapunzel, but this only happens ''after'' Zhan Tiri had already [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] her, given her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, and imprisoned her alongside Rapunzel. In other words, had this not happened, Cassandra would've stolen the Sundrop as she had wanted. In Cassandra's defense, she ''does'' look guilty when Rapunzel and Eugene are hugging, as though she feels she doesn't deserve to be a part of it]].

*** There are some who have [[spoiler:questioned the sincerity of Cassandra's supposed HeelFaceTurn in the series finale. She ''does'' have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, breaks down into TearsOfRemorse, and even defeats Zhan Tiri alongside Rapunzel, this only happens ''after'' Zhan Tiri had already [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] her, given her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, and imprisoned her alongside Rapunzel. In other words, had this not happened, Cassandra would've stolen the Sundrop as she had wanted. In Cassandra's defense, she ''does'' look guilty when Rapunzel and Eugene are hugging, as though she feels she doesn't deserve to be a part of it]].

*** There are some who have [[spoiler:questioned the sincerity of Cassandra's supposed HeelFaceTurn in the series finale. While she ''does'' have a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment, breaks down into TearsOfRemorse, and even defeats Zhan Tiri alongside Rapunzel, this only happens ''after'' Zhan Tiri had already [[BroughtDownToNormal depowered]] her, given her a TheReasonYouSuckSpeech, and imprisoned her alongside Rapunzel. In other words, had this not happened, Cassandra would've stolen the Sundrop as she had wanted and taken over Corona for good, putting her "epiphany" in an unpleasant light. What's also worth mentioning is that, if Zhan Tiri destroys Corona then she'll be dead, but if Rapunzel defeats Zhan Tiri then she'll likely be locked up in the dungeon, meaning that Cassandra owning up to her mistakes in front of ''Rapunzel'' is the ''only'' way she can ensure [[NominalHero she gets off scot-free for everything]]. In Cassandra's defense, she ''does'' look guilty when Rapunzel and Eugene are hugging, as though she feels she doesn't deserve to be a part of it]]. Like the above point, both have a lot of evidence.
*** Was Cassandra's [[spoiler: HeelFaceTurn in "Plus Est En Vous]] merely based on [[spoiler: losing the moonstone]] or was it because [[spoiler: Zhan Tiri told her she was no better than her abusive mother?]]

** "Flynnposter" has Lance disobey and mess with Varian’s invention, which causes the apparatus to go out of control. ''WesternAnimation/Ducktales2017'' had an episode where James Monroe Iglehart play a villain who also messed another person’s invention and disobeyed warnings, except he did so with far more malicious and selfish intent.