| 1 | [[WMG:[[center:[-''Franchise/{{Tangled}}'' '''[[Characters/{{Tangled}} Main Character Index]]'''\ |
| 2 | [[Characters/TangledMainCharacters Main Characters]] ([[Characters/TangledCassandra Cassandra]] | '''Varian''') | [[Characters/TangledAlliesAndOthers Allies & Others]] | [[Characters/TangledVillains Villains]] -]]]]] |
| 3 | |
| 4 | !!Varian |
| 5 | !!This character is a WalkingSpoiler, and all spoilers are unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned! |
| 6 | |
| 7 | [[quoteright:149:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/varian_s3.png]] |
| 8 | [[caption-width-right:149:''"Don't touch that!"'']] |
| 9 | |
| 10 | ->'''Voiced by''': Creator/JeremyJordan; Julien Crampon (French), Michael Lelong (singing, season 1), Sébastien Valter (singing, season 3); Yasuaki Takumi (Japanese); Jeong Jae-heon (Korean), We Hoon (singing), Creator/AntonOlofssonRaeder (Swedish)\ |
| 11 | '''Appearances''': ''[[WesternAnimation/TangledTheSeries The Series]]'' |
| 12 | |
| 13 | ->''"Don't you see this path you're on leaves a permanent mark,\ |
| 14 | It feels good at first, then it slowly turns dark,\ |
| 15 | With each passing day, you're further astray from the light."'' |
| 16 | |
| 17 | A young alchemist and inventor who tries to study Rapunzel's hair in the Season 1 premiere. Though initially a recurring ally, he becomes the ArcVillain of Season 1 after his father is frozen in crystal and his kingdom abandons him. In Season 3, he reforms and becomes Rapunzel's closest companion besides Pascal and Eugene. |
| 18 | |
| 19 | Insecure yet gifted, Varian sought to make his father [[WellDoneSonGuy proud of him and his inventions]]. Starting off as an emotional and reclusive young teenager rumored to be a dangerous wizard, Varian would go through numerous adventures, for better or worse, that ultimately [[CharacterDevelopment teach him more and more lessons]] and change his life forever. |
| 20 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 21 | ---- |
| 22 | [[folder:A-G]] |
| 23 | * ABoyAndHisX: In this case, a boy and his raccoon, Ruddiger. |
| 24 | * TheAce: Varian seems to just be able to perfect ''[[InexplicablyAwesome anything]]''. He's skilled at singing, drawing, climbing, steering, inventing, building, farming, fighting, shooting, (possibly) swordfighting, horseback riding, translation of an ancient scroll, playing various instruments, and if a deleted storyboard scene from "Be Very Afraid" is any indication, ''skateboarding''. This is the reason Rapunzel often looks to him for assistance. |
| 25 | * AffectionateNickname: |
| 26 | ** Eugene has called him "Hairstripe", "Kid", "Buddy", and "Goggles". |
| 27 | ** Angry/Kiera calls him simply by "V". |
| 28 | * AlchemyIsMagic: He insists it's not, but people assume he's a wizard anyways. |
| 29 | * AllForNothing: By Season 3’s beginning, Varian reiterates that he only wanted to make his father proud, but considering everything he did to get him out of the Amber, Quirin wouldn’t be proud anyways. |
| 30 | * AllOfTheOtherReindeer: {{Exaggerated}}. Though he already had a bad reputation due to his inventions that often backfire, towards the end of Season 1, he is forced to lie low due to everyone thinking he attacked Rapunzel, with even his [[WithFriendsLikeThese "friends"]] never bothering to check on him following Zhan Tiri's blizzard. Things only get better in Season 3. |
| 31 | * AmbiguouslyBi: He had a crush on Cassandra in the first season, but "Be Very Afraid" shows that he's got a Flynn Rider wanted poster right next to his bed. Although this might be a case of downplayed HeroWorship. |
| 32 | * AntiVillain: As of the ending of "Queen for a Day", his goal is now to find the secret behind the mysterious rocks and reverse the condition inflicted upon his father... as well as take {{Revenge}} upon Rapunzel, since he blames her and the Kingdom of Corona for denying him and turning their backs on him when he needed help freeing his father, Quirin. He even gets no-one checking on him for the following few months after the snowstorm that contained the events which made him lose his father, and is unfairly hunted down and persecuted throughout. |
| 33 | * ArbitrarySkepticism: He staunchly believes in ClarkesThirdLaw and does not accept that magic exists despite its obvious presence in his world. He refuses to call the Wand of Oblivium magic and very deliberately refers to it as 'texture' while maintaining that he works with ''science''. |
| 34 | * ArcHero: Most of his appearances are relegated to the arc-related episodes, because he's ''essential'' to helping Rapunzel solve the mystery of the indestructible spikes that make up a big part of the season. However, as of the end of "Queen for a Day", he makes his transition into the ArcVillain. He becomes this again in Season 3 after his HeelFaceTurn, as he's ''again'' essential in helping Rapunzel and plays a heroic role in the episodes he's in, attempting to solve two of Rapunzel's biggest issues of the season, namely her parents' memory loss and defeating Cassandra, who has stolen the Moonstone. |
| 35 | * ArcVillain: The magical rocks turn out to not be evil after all, leaving Varian himself as the big threat to be dealt with in the first season finale. |
| 36 | * AristocratsAreEvil: {{Inverted}}. He gets made the Royal Engineer in the series finale, but by then he's already done a HeelFaceTurn for a while and had helped save Corona quite a few times. Of course, he lived in a manor, since his father is a high-ranking village leader. |
| 37 | * AscendedExtra: After showing up in several episodes in Season 1 and being almost entirely absent from Season 2, Varian becomes one of the characters with the largest amount of focus in Season 3. |
| 38 | * TheAtoner: In "Rapunzel's Return", his scheme is revealed to have traces of this - he hates himself for everything he's done and wants everything back to the way they were, but feels he's done too much to make amends and tries to get everyone to forget instead. Near the end of the episode, he even [[RedemptionEqualsDeath intends to sacrifice his life to "clean up [his] own mess"]]; thankfully, Rapunzel doesn't let him. In "The King and Queen of Hearts", he attempts to help Rapunzel bring back King Frederic and Queen Arianna's memories, but he hasn't been successful. |
| 39 | * AwesomeAnachronisticApparel: Inverted and downplayed. The show has no set time period and everyone's fashion tends to come from various eras in the distant past, a few parts of Varian's season three outfit were invented considerably more recently than the others', such as steel-toed boots which were first worn in the 1930s. |
| 40 | * BadassAdorable: Varian's exterior appearance is certainly cute and he frequently has moments of being endearing, though he has displayed his ''vast'' potential numerous times. |
| 41 | * BadassBoast: "And I'll stand up and fight 'cause I know that I'm right, and I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready! Ready as I'll ever be." |
| 42 | * BadassLongCoat: |
| 43 | ** In his first appearance, he sports a long, heavy coat that makes him seem intimidating until it's revealed he's just a dorky kid. He's shown wearing it again in Rapunzel's idol-induced hallucination, emphasizing how threatening he is from the princess' perspective. |
| 44 | ** Parodied. After allying with the Saporians and overtaking the kingdom, he wears a new, red and black coat that goes down to his shins and hides his skinny frame. This, combined with the rest of the outfit, comes across as a very heavy-handed attempt on Varian's part at looking scary and cool. |
| 45 | * BadassNormal: In a world where magic is ''highly'' involved, Varian '''stands out''' in terms of skill and effectiveness. |
| 46 | ** In "Queen for a Day", he manages to travel a long distance from Old Corona to the castle in the middle of an [[BravingTheBlizzard extremely dangerous life-threatening blizzard]], in spite of just being a 14-year-old and having no-one accompanying him, with noting but his courage and inventions. |
| 47 | ** In "Be Very Afraid", he is the one who personally saves Corona from Cassandra's red rocks, which includes climbing a ''very'' long height, facing his worst fear, and tossing the substance needed to encase the red rocks back into his hand when it falls on his ''foot''. |
| 48 | ** In "Once a Handmaiden...", he constructs a [[{{BFG}} huge firearm]] that ''destroys the black rocks'' and comes very close to defeating [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cassandra]] on his own. |
| 49 | ** Finally, in "Plus Est en Vous", he rebuilds the machine used by Demanitus to banish Zhan Tiri, and his plan to reimprison her would've legitimately worked under different circumstances. Also, his precaution mecanism manages to stun the effects of a mind controlling artifact. |
| 50 | * BaitTheDog: Inverted; he's introduced wearing a bulky welding suit with his voice deepened by the metal helmet in a dark room, making him seem like a very intimidating presence. Then he lifts up his helmet and reveals he's very boyish and has a gentle voice. |
| 51 | * BeardOfEvil: Parodied; He ''draws'' a goatee on his chin in the Season 3 premiere. Lance wipes it off once Varian cements his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 52 | * BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: While speaking to Arianna, he expresses the desire to inflict suffering on Corona and tries to kill everyone after failing to free his father. A year later, Varian allies with the Saporians but is horrified to learn Andrew plans on using the Quirinium to destroy the kingdom, having cooled down since his arrest and [[BeingEvilSucks realizing he wants forgiveness for his past actions]]. |
| 53 | * BerserkButton: |
| 54 | ** Do ''not'' mess with Varian's inventions, or even ''touch'' them without his permission. Lance ignoring Varian's warnings, which results in Varian's machine exploding, causes Varian to yell at him. |
| 55 | ** Using the term 'I promise' can seriously upset him. Rapunzel says this while trying to talk Varian out of taking the Sundrop flower, reminding him of her previous failure to keep her word, resulting in Varian quickly becoming enraged. Luckily, this only seems to be an issue during his stint as a villain. |
| 56 | * BestServedCold: |
| 57 | ** He announces that he will make everyone pay for refusing to save his father and proceeds to wait months before putting his plans into action, with no one knowing Varian even held a grudge until very late. |
| 58 | ** After he's arrested for his crimes against the kingdom, a full season passes before he takes over Corona with the Saporians, though this is justified on account of him having been in prison and therefore unable to do much in the way of vengeance. [[spoiler:Though it's ultimately subverted since his intentions were actually to erase everyone's memories so things could go back to normal]]. |
| 59 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Varian's a sweet kid who loves helping people with his inventions, but it's best not to forget he knows how to make bombs. He's very much capable of causing destruction and harm once he becomes angry and desperate enough. |
| 60 | * {{BFG}}: In "Once a Handmaiden...", he constructs a huge firearm that ''destroys the black rocks'' and comes very close to defeating [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cassandra]] on his own. |
| 61 | * BigBadSlippage: Varian initially is a geeky ally of Rapunzel, but his obsession to impress his father ends up leading him to unintentionally freeze his father in amber during an argument. Since Rapunzel is unable to help him due to Zhan Tiri's blizzard curse on Corona, Varian is unfairly ejected and returns home, blaming those who turned their backs on him when it was really his own fault which he refuses to believe. Come the last few episodes of season 1, he's become a full-fledged bad guy and won't let anything stand in his way, even going all out to abduct Arianna as revenge. |
| 62 | * BigBadWannabe: At the end of the day, Varian doesn't have what it takes to be at the top of the baddie chain; at his core, Varian is an emotionally unstable, clumsy nerd. A dead-on indication that he's a wannabe is that he overdid his new look by wearing a black longcoat, wearing his cheap goggles, and a bandana with teeth bigger than his face, and then he ''draws'' a goatee on his chin. Plus, his whole plan was to take over the kingdom by wiping everyone's memories so that no one will remember the bad things he did. On the other hand, Andrew had ''bigger'' ambitions and thought Varian's goals were too weak and small-minded. |
| 63 | * BitchInSheepsClothing: He's very good at acting nice even when his intentions are anything but. He's able to mask his immense hatred for Rapunzel while convincing her to take him to the Sundrop Flower, getting her to commit treason under the belief that they were still friends. |
| 64 | * BrainsVersusBrawn: Due to the cast's inclination towards violence and the overall lack of scientific knowledge in the setting, Varian tends to be contrasted against them due to being an alchemist with the weakest combat skills of the major characters. |
| 65 | ** While working with the Saporians, Varian supplies the group with chemical bombs using his understanding of alchemy and aims to deal with Corona by dousing everyone with memory-erasing gas, while the terrorists are more than happy to attack everyone and simply blow up the kingdom. |
| 66 | ** When kidnapped by Cassandra, he tries to find a peaceful solution by logically talking things out and arguing against her plot to kill Rapunzel. Cassandra, on the other hand, fails to put him down verbally and instead resorts to attacking Varian to get him to shut up. Furthermore, their tactics as villains are quite different, with Cassandra relying on the power of the Moonstone and her combat skills and Varian relying on alchemy and careful planning. |
| 67 | * BrainyBrunette: Has brown hair and is a budding inventor. |
| 68 | * BreakoutCharacter: |
| 69 | ** Being one of the most (if not ''the'' most) beloved and frequently discussed characters of the series, Varian being almost entirely absent from the second season raised a fair amount of complaints, with the majority of the audience desiring for his story to continue on. As a result, the third season upgraded him to one of the most prominently featured characters, returns him to his ArcHero role, and gives him his own plot regarding his CharacterDevelopment, adorableness, and desire to [[TheAtoner make up for his past mistakes]]. |
| 70 | ** A concept rejected by Disney was for Varian to have his own spin-off series, conceived by two of the show's animators, titled ''Varian and the Seven Kingdoms''. The plot consists of Varian temporarily leaving Corona to seek answers about his mother Ulla after discovering Quirin's secrets and lies, and introduces new characters such as Yong, Princess Nuru, Hugo, Donella, and Varian's own long-lost cousins. Despite this concept never coming to fruition, it remains ''immensely'' popular with fans, circulating amongst sites such as Website/{{Tumblr}}. |
| 71 | * BreakTheCutie: |
| 72 | ** Pretty much his ''entire subplot'' in "Queen for a Day". He loses his father to the mysterious rocks plaguing the kingdom, and Rapunzel ends up breaking her promise to help him while she's busy with her own problems. |
| 73 | ** In "Be Very Afraid", he becomes traumatized over the red rocks making him see [[TraumaButton his worst fears]]: his father being encased in amber again and the citizens of Corona hatefully proclaiming that it's what he deserves for his past treachery. However, he manages to tackle his fear and ''save Corona'' from those red rocks. |
| 74 | * BrokenPedestal: In his debut, he's overjoyed to be meeting Rapunzel and Eugene, and his second appearance demonstrates he also thinks highly of Cassandra and has developed a PrecociousCrush on her. However, after Rapunzel is forced to choose protecting Corona over saving Varian's father, breaking her promise and leaving Quirin trapped in amber, Varian swears vengeance on everyone and sees the princess as a liar who can’t be trusted to keep her word. |
| 75 | * BrutalHonesty: He ''certainly'' isn't afraid to speak his mind. |
| 76 | * BunglingInventor: Poor Varian. One way or another, his inventions keep exploding, whether it be his fault or not. |
| 77 | * CallingTheOldManOut: In "Queen for a Day", he calls Quirin out on lying to the King and ignoring the problem regarding the black rocks in spite of them threatening the kingdom's safety. |
| 78 | * CardCarryingVillain: As he plots to face off against the heroes, Varian accepts that he's become the "bad guy" while realizing the cruelty of his actions, and proudly tells Arianna that he plans to ravage Corona once his father is free when she tries snapping him out of it with a AndThenWhat. While trying to talk Cassandra down later, he makes the error of assuming she also sees herself as a villain like he did, which only serves to enrage her and causes his attempt to fall through. |
| 79 | * CassandraTruth: |
| 80 | ** At the science expo, Varian tells the judge not to touch his machine, but the man arrogantly ignores him and starts it up. This results in it accidentally combining with another contestant's entry and creating a powerful storm that endangers everyone. |
| 81 | ** Ironically, this happens with Cassandra. Varian explains that he knows EvilFeelsGood, but warns Cassandra that it doesn't last and she'll lose everything following that path. Unfortunately, [[DramaticallyMissingThePoint she chalks up his failures to a lack of conviction and ignores Varian's words, convinced that she has the ambition to achieve her goals]]. However, the alchemist is ultimately proven right as [[BeingEvilSucks Cassandra's descent into villainy only causes her to suffer]] until she finally makes a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 82 | ** He's told Lance on a number of occasions not to mess with volatile machines only for the man to do it anyways. At one point, Lance adds an entire bottle of Flynnoleum to the Rooster despite Varian's warnings, resulting in a massive explosion that destroys the device and temporarily deafens Lance. |
| 83 | * CharacterDevelopment: His experiences have definitely rendered him a stronger individual. |
| 84 | ** He undergoes this by the time of Season 3. He [[HeelRealization realizes the error of his ways]], [[ItsAllMyFault takes responsibility for his actions and downfall]], becomes more emotionally mature and stable, and [[TheAtoner tries to fix his mistakes]]. He even dons a new outfit and becomes noticeably taller, as a way to reflect this. |
| 85 | ** In Season 3, Varian understands that just because you ''can'' do something doesn't mean you ''should''. As of "Flynnpostor", he finally understands why limits need to be placed and why one needs to listen and not ask questions when dealing with something potentially dangerous, and Lance is the one who disobeys him. |
| 86 | ** In the first season, Varian put his own desire to free his father over the safety of Corona, even vowing to make the people ''pay'' for turning their backs on him. In the series finale, Varian has taken to [[IDidWhatIHadToDo willingly stunning his father]] as a result of the risky possibility that he's been mind controlled, [[TheNeedsOfTheMany knowing full well the danger him being controlled would pose]]. |
| 87 | ** Also, while Varian was originally haunted by his past misdeeds, shown in "Rapunzel's Return" and "Be Very Afraid", he eventually manages to make peace with them and forgive ''himself'', shrugging off a joke by Eugene in relation to the threat he once posed to Corona. |
| 88 | * CheatedAngle: Whenever Varian turns his head, his side-swept bangs never turn with his head, instead they flip to the other side. |
| 89 | * ChildishPillowFight: "Day of the Animals" has him attempting to throw a pillow back at Angry/Kiera with a mischievous grin on his face after she had thrown it at him, then ''scowling'' when Rapunzel takes the pillow from him. |
| 90 | * ChildishToothGap: Varian has buck teeth and while not childish, he is quite nerdy. |
| 91 | * ChronicHeroSyndrome: No matter what, Varian will stop to help someone in need. |
| 92 | ** In "What the Hair?!", he risks his life to save his fellow villagers from his exploding inventions, despite that it could've gotten him killed. |
| 93 | ** Unfortunately, Angry uses this against Varian in "The Lost Treasure of Herz Der Sonne" by setting up a dummy of a Royal Guard in distress to hijack his balloon. |
| 94 | ** In "Cassandra's Revenge", he ''[[DefiantCaptive refuses]]'' to tell Cassandra the third incantation to protect Corona, despite the fact that she could've tortured him for the information. |
| 95 | * ClarkesThirdLaw: Varian believes that magic is just a science he doesn't understand yet. In fact, he believes the Black Rocks have behaviors and properties that are observable, and he thinks he can replicate the effects of the Saporian Wand of Oblivium. |
| 96 | * ClothingReflectsPersonality: Varian’s choice of wardrobe is noticeably darker and duller than the rest of the cast, considering he’s always messing things up and wants to impress his father, but also reflects his eventual FaceHeelTurn when he vows revenge on Corona after being turned away during the blizzard. The new outfit he dons in Season 3 has several shades of brown and red, and his new apron is khaki instead of black, [[GoodCostumeSwitch to reflect his change of heart]]. |
| 97 | * ComplexityAddiction: In "Day of the Animals", he mistakes upside-down English language for more complicated ones, before being corrected by Rapunzel. |
| 98 | * ConditionedToAcceptHorror: After everything he went through during the series, the traumatic events that happen to him in the third season do little to faze him. |
| 99 | * TheConscience: Varian tries and fails to act as Cassandra's external conscience during their duet in "Nothing Left to Lose", drawing on his own past experiences with losing his mind and telling her everything she does not want to hear about her current life choices. |
| 100 | * ContrastingSequelAntagonist: To Mother Gothel after his FaceHeelTurn. Both are willing to go to extreme lengths to use Rapunzel and her magic hair to achieve their goals. But Gothel was a VainSorceress who was willing to ally herself with the Stabbington Brothers to recapture Rapunzel, whereas Varian [[IWorkAlone relies on no one but himself and his raccoon]]. Additionally, their goals differ: Whereas Gothel was selfish and wanted Rapunzel to keep herself looking and feeling young forever, Varian has the much more nobler aspirations of trying to free his father from his crystal prison; [[WellIntentionedExtremist he just went too far trying to achieve them]]. Additionally, Gothel was a BitchInSheepsClothing to Rapunzel, while Varian legitimately ''[[WeUsedToBeFriends was]]'' [[WeUsedToBeFriends Rapunzel's friend]] [[EtTuBrute until she refused to help him free his father]]. Finally, Varian performed a HeelFaceTurn, whereas Gothel died as a villain and an enemy of Rapunzel's. Even their aesthetics are different; Gothel was centuries old, knowledgeable in magic, associated directly with Lord Demanitus and Zhan Tiri and dressed in distinctly medieval clothes that stuck out in the vaguely 17th century-ish setting while Varian is even younger than Rapunzel, a self-proclaimed man of science, completely oblivious about his father's ties to the Dark Kingdom's Brotherhood yet somehow in possession of a piece of the Demanitus Scroll, and the most SteamPunk-looking character in the series, looking futuristic in comparison to everyone else. |
| 101 | * ControlFreak: As of Season 3, Varian seems to have developed this attitude in regards to his inventions due to their tendency to backfire/explode, [[DontTouchThatYouIdiot often having to tell others not to touch them]], and becoming ''enraged'' when they are tampered with. |
| 102 | * CostumeEvolution: He ditches his ragged alchemy getup after his HeelFaceTurn, instead going for more adventurous steampunk appearance. Also, his apron ties at the waist instead of covering his entire torso, and his gloves feature wristbands with little pressure gauges mounted to them. The only thing he retains is his signature goggles. |
| 103 | * CreateYourOwnVillain: Varian's path into villainy starts when his experiments with the black rocks result in his father being encased in amber while the kingdom is in a state of crisis, forcing Rapunzel to break her promise to help him. Things get worse as no one bothers to check on him for months while Frederic secretly has the boy hunted down for having the Demanitus scroll. This leaves Varian furious with Corona and Rapunzel and leads to him committing atrocities in increasingly desperate attempts to free his father. |
| 104 | * CreepyGood: Though his [[TheDreaded scariness]] is primarily limited to his time as Season 1's ArcVillain, he displays unnerving traits before his FaceHeelTurn and after his HeelFaceTurn as well. |
| 105 | ** In "What the Hair?!", he straps Rapunzel to what looks like a torture device while attempting to help her discover the mystery behind her regrown hair, [[AbuseMistake and Eugene mistakens it that way as well]]. |
| 106 | ** In "The King and Queen of Hearts", he has King Frederic and Queen Arianna strapped up, his lab is tainted in red, he lets out an EvilLaugh with his mask on, and he displays a SlasherSmile while advancing a controller, all of which ''scream'' MadScientist. It turns out he's just trying to restore their memories. |
| 107 | * CrouchingMoronHiddenBadass: On the surface, Varian may seem like just a clumsy and dorky child who makes a lot of mistakes, but he is ''extremely'' capable. |
| 108 | ** As a hero, he proves to be competent enough to get rid of Cassandra's red rocks, to the point of overcoming his own worst fears that ''already'' happened. If it wasn't for him tossing the substance needed to encase the red rocks back into his hand when it falls on his ''foot'', ''all of Corona'' would've been TakenForGranite. There's also him [[RedemptionEqualsDeath volunteering to stay on the ship and sacrifice his life to make up for his mistakes]] in order to stop the Separatists of Saporia (Rapunzel didn't let him, though), and being the one to give Rapunzel the 4th incantation needed to defeat Cassandra. |
| 109 | ** As Season 1's ''ArcVillain'', by contrast, he manages to put up a strategic plan to abduct Queen Arianna, as well as outsmart and overpower ''Corona's forces and royal family'' with his inventions and substances; the ''only reason'' he was defeated was because Rapunzel's hair reacted when it did. |
| 110 | * CurtainsMatchTheWindow: In addition to his blue eyes, he has a blue hairstreak. |
| 111 | * CynicismCatalyst: As a further push to his FaceHeelTurn, the solitary circumstances he gets into following the loss of his father lead him to become further gone into a path where he is unwilling to solve things peacefully, and with good reason. |
| 112 | * DarkIsEvil: After his FaceHeelTurn, his dull-colored clothing matches his newfound sinister and ruthless intentions well. |
| 113 | * DarkIsNotEvil: |
| 114 | ** As dark and dull as his clothing is, he's a [[NiceGuy compassionate and helpful]] young scientist. Up until his FaceHeelTurn, that is, where it becomes more of a case of DarkIsEvil. |
| 115 | ** Not long after his HeelFaceTurn, he dons a new outfit that, while not as dark as his previous one, isn't exactly light-colored either. Regardless, he actually becomes quite heroic. |
| 116 | * DaydreamBeliever: Thanks to Eugene using "Flynn Rider" as an alias for years, Varian seems to believe Eugene is the real-life version of the character from the Flynn Rider books. |
| 117 | * DeadpanSnarker: Following his FaceHeelTurn, he can occasionally be a lot more sardonic than before. He seems to retain this trait even after his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 118 | * DeconstructedCharacterArchetype: Of the TeenGenius. Varian is very, very intelligent and knows how to make inventions that would be huge technological advances for Corona... but he's also [[ATragedyOfImpulsiveness an impulsive]] [[HotBlooded 14-year-old kid who]] [[DidntThinkThisThrough doesn't always plan things out,]] [[FailedASpotCheck and often overlooks any dangerous flaws in his agenda and inventions,]] often ruining his reputation because of it. His young age also gives him a pretty serious case of MoralMyopia, making him think he's just paying unto evil when really it's RevengeBeforeReason and his own inability to admit his fault in the tragedy of his father's encasement. It also means his ultimate goal, to use Rapunzel's unbreakable hair to free his father, doesn't work and he suffers a full on breakdown because he doesn't understand how his plan could have been based on an incorrect assumption (that Rapunzel's hair, being unbreakable, should be able to break the equally unbreakable amber). In the end, Varian's brains don't override the fact that he's a very young, emotional teenager who's not as logical as he thinks he is. |
| 119 | ** Becomes a [[{{Reconstruction}} Reconstructed]] Character Archetype as of Season 3, in which his intelligence and inventions prove essential in helping Rapunzel and he undergoes CharacterDevelopment, becoming less emotionally unstable and no longer seeming to cause trouble with his inventions. He is also shown to have become genuinely helpful towards Corona, such as saving the kingdom from the red rocks in "Be Very Afraid". |
| 120 | * DefiantCaptive: In "Cassandra's Revenge", even after Cassandra kidnaps him and uses the truth serum to get the moon incantation out of him, Varian still tries to stand up to her and sway her from turning into a villain. |
| 121 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: A FatalFlaw of Varian's is his inability, or refusal, to consider the potentially dangerous outcomes of his experiments. This often causes them to blow up (sometimes literally) in his face. |
| 122 | ** His hot water machines in "What The Hair" cause massive earthquakes and nearly destroy Old Corona. Varian only focuses on how happy everyone will be with hot, running water, instead of considering the risks. |
| 123 | ** He ignores Quirin's warnings and experiments on the black rocks in "Queen for a Day" leading to accidentally encasing his father in amber. Varian later runs to Corona to ask Rapunzel for help, in the middle of a blizzard that's threatening the lives of ''everyone'' in the kingdom, and ends up turned away when Rapunzel can't make time just for him. |
| 124 | ** He steals the Sundrop Flower in "The Alchemist Returns" to use its magical properties to save his father. But never once considers that the flower's power has passed on to Rapunzel until he's already drugged the castle residents and betrayed his friends. |
| 125 | ** In "Secret of the Sundrop" Varian kidnaps Queen Arianna and threatens her life so Rapunzel will come and use her unbreakable hair to free his father. He fails to consider what might happen if Rapunzel ''can't'' break through the amber, and when she doesn't, that ultimately leads to Varian's {{VillainousBreakdown}}. |
| 126 | ** Comes back in season 3's "Rapunzel's Return". Where, after willingly siding with the Saporians to brainwash the king and queen, overthrowing the kingdom for the separatists, he's shocked to discover they were ultimately using him and his alchemical skills with the goal of destroying Corona. |
| 127 | * DissonantSerenity: |
| 128 | ** In "The Alchemist Returns", he casually tells Rapunzel about how he had to be on the run due to the people of Corona believing he attacked her. |
| 129 | ** His singular line in "Through it All" has him cheerfully remark that everyone's about to leave for what’s probably a suicide mission. |
| 130 | * DistressedDude: {{Subverted}} in "Cassandra's Revenge". Though Varian ''[[KidnappedScientist is]]'' the one Cassandra abducts in order to obtain the Moonstone incantation and to lure Rapunzel, he ends up [[UnwantedRescue holding off Rapunzel and Eugene when they come to rescue him]] due to having solved the fourth incantation, and it was ''him'' solving it that led to his liberation [[NiceJobBreakingItHero (and Zhan Tiri's)]]. He still doesn't seem to appreciate being kidnapped in the first place, however. |
| 131 | * DitzyGenius: Many of his inventions and plans have been known to be questionable, and have a chance of causing trouble. Following his FaceHeelTurn, he ''wants'' them to cause trouble. |
| 132 | * TheDogBitesBack: After being denied assistance by everyone in Corona (including Rapunzel) when he seeks their help in freeing his father, Quirin, the bitterness at being snubbed motivates his FaceHeelTurn and plotting of {{Revenge}}. |
| 133 | * DoingInTheWizard: Played with. For all his strange reputation, Varian's "alchemy" is clearly regular chemistry and engineering, albeit with some [[MadScientist mad science]] thrown in, and he doesn't believe in magic (at first) [[FlatEarthAtheist despite being friends with a princess with magic hair.]] However, when he attempts to apply it to something that is explicitly magical in origin, he fails miserably at every turn: when he doesn't get no reaction at all, he at best gets undesired reactions for reasons that he repeatedly fails to understand. |
| 134 | * TheDreaded: |
| 135 | ** Even before his FaceHeelTurn, he was falsely rumored to be a dangerous wizard due to his inventions' tendency to backfire. |
| 136 | ** In the Season 1 finale, it's clear Corona's forces are scared at the prospect of fighting him, considering it a do-or-die situation, and he's even outright stated to be the most dangerous threat the kingdom has ever faced. |
| 137 | ** In "Happiness Is...", Rapunzel hallucinates him greeting her evilly and [[RevengeByProxy trying to harm her father]]. |
| 138 | * DrivenByEnvy: In "Secret of the Sundrop" Varian, as TheChessmaster, manages to implement his EvilPlan, only to find that it was AllForNothing because of [[DidntSeeThatComing circumstances completely out of his control]]. Then, while Varian sees his father still imprisoned in Amber, he sees that OnlyTheLeadsGetAHappyEnding when Rapunzel is reunited with her parents. ''Then'' he invokes his LastVillainStand. |
| 139 | * DrivenToSuicide: In the third season premiere, he tries to have the Saporians' air balloon explode with him in it, due to wanting to [[RedemptionEqualsDeath clean his own mess]] [[HeroicSacrifice by saving Corona]], and because he now thinks there's truly no way to save his father. Rapunzel isn't having any of it and doesn't let him do it. |
| 140 | * DrunkOnTheDarkSide: By the end of Season 1, Varian has become ruthless and vengeful in his demeanor. As he later points out in his post HeelFaceTurn song, "Nothing Left to Lose", he dug himself deeper and deeper into villainy because it felt good to him, but that once this feeling wore off he became fully aware that it had left him empty and alone. |
| 141 | * DumbassNoMore: Varian was never ''stupid'', but he becomes far wiser and less impulsive in Season 3, even if he can still make shortsighted decisions. He's also gotten much better with his inventions. |
| 142 | * EarnYourHappyEnding: After the TraumaCongaLine he, a teenager, had to suffer through throughout the series, Varian is able to make his father proud, gains a devoted and protective circle of friends, ''finally'' manages to genuinely help Corona with his inventions with the Royal Family's resources, and becomes the royal alchemist. |
| 143 | * EasilyCondemned: In "The Alchemist Returns", Rapunzel tells Eugene that she doesn't even know what he is anymore, even though he only tricked her to get the Sundrop Flower so he can save his father, not caring about what he's been through. And in the following episode, she calls him extremely unstable. |
| 144 | * EasilyForgiven: Downplayed and justified. Varian's motivation for wanting to erase the kingdom's memories is because he believes the people of Corona can never forgive him for the things he's done, with even Rapunzel and Eugene being initially hesitant to trust him. He's done quite a bit of things to make up for his past misdeeds, such as helping Rapunzel save Corona or attempting to restore King Frederic and Queen Arianna's memories. Even following his HeelFaceTurn, the citizens of Corona seemed to still have lingering distrust for Varian, that is until he saves all of them from the red rocks. |
| 145 | * EeriePaleSkinnedBrunette: Downplayed. He's not particularly pale, but the contrast with his black hair tends to give the illusion that he is. Varian can also be fairly creepy, especially during his stint as a villain. |
| 146 | * EmotionallyTongueTied: In "Rapunzel's Return", he finds himself unable to express his remorse to Rapunzel for what he did to her ''verbally'', but his expressions and actions speak for themselves. |
| 147 | * EtTuBrute: On both sides of the coin. While he ''did'' commit a ruthless betrayal against Rapunzel in "The Alchemist Returns", from his point of view she betrayed him by turning him away in his hour of need in "Queen for a Day." |
| 148 | * EvenEvilHasLovedOnes: Well, his reason for becoming evil is driven by a desire to free his father from the amber, after all. |
| 149 | * EvilChancellor: Gets to briefly be one - though mostly offscreen - when he and the Saporians take over Corona in Rapunzel's absence, addling Frederic and Adrianna's minds until they believe him to be their "most trusted advisor." He uses this to make them order the kingdom to mine materials for his experiments... which he will use to wipe everyone's memory of his misdeeds. |
| 150 | * EvilCostumeSwitch: For the beginning of Season 3, he wore one of these, but it was more of [[NerdInEvilsHelmet a teenager's idea of an evil costume]]. |
| 151 | * EvilFeelsGood: In "Nothing Left to Lose", Varian outright admits that while the path of hatred and darkness may seem wrong, it ''feels'' right. |
| 152 | * EvilFormerFriend: He legitimately was Rapunzel's friend until she refuses to help him free his father and he vows revenge against Rapunzel and Queen Arianna. Subverted after his HeelFaceTurn. |
| 153 | * EvilHasABadSenseOfHumor: He used to have a crush on Cassandra. So in the season 1 finale, he, in a giant mech suit, grabs her and says, "I always knew I could sweep you off your feet!" as he prepares to crush her to death. |
| 154 | * EvilIsAngular: He has a triangular face and a noticeably pointed nose, with his hair adding more sharp angles. He becomes a villain after "Queen For a Day", though performs a HeelFaceTurn in the third season. |
| 155 | * EvilLaugh: |
| 156 | ** He lets out a few of these in "Secret of the Sundrop", though he doesn't go overboard with it. |
| 157 | ** Subverted with him trying to restore the king and queen's memories at the beginning of "The King and Queen of Hearts". The rather devious cackle he emits was really from Ruddiger tickling him. |
| 158 | ** He also does this over... hot cocoa. |
| 159 | * EvilSoundsRaspy: In some of his eviler moments, particularly when threatening someone, he speaks in a softer, raspier tone. |
| 160 | * ExtremelyProtectiveChild: After his father becomes trapped in the amber, Varian does whatever it takes to free him and [[TheDeterminator clearly won't rest until he's free]], to the point where he reacts badly to Eugene's concern that Quirin had been mind controlled in "Plus Est en Vous". He also swears {{Revenge}} on Rapunzel and the kingdom of Corona because [[KnightTemplarParent he blames them for his father's imprisonment]]. When he himself [[TheNeedsOfTheMany has to]] harm his father, he's devastated. |
| 161 | * FaceHeelTurn: Pulls one at the end of "Queen for a Day" by swearing revenge on the kingdom and more specifically the royal family for not helping him after his father Quirin is encased in crystal. Later becomes fully realized by the climax of "The Alchemist Returns" as he betrays Rapunzel, and pushed to a new extreme in the season finale. |
| 162 | * FatalFlaw: Pride and hubris. Varian is more intelligent than a lot of adult characters in the series, but he still has the emotional maturity of a teenager. Starting with his debut episode, he's shown to enjoy making big scientific breakthroughs as his passion, but when it comes to the dangerous side effects and consequences that can ensue, he often doesn't consider them at all or he's so confident in his own genius and foresight that he doesn't believe anything can go wrong - charging ahead recklessly despite several other characters voicing their concern. In "Queen For A Day", the inevitable happens: Varian bites off more than he can chew and gets burned, with his father Quirin paying the price. Due to a two-way combo of his grief and his hubris - that refusal to believe he could be wrong that continues to be his downfall - Varian chooses [[NeverMyFault not to take responsibility]] for his predicament and shifts all of the blame onto Rapunzel, making her a scapegoat after she betrays him. In "Secret Of The Sundrop", he seems to be desperately clinging to the idea that everything about his wrecked life is all Rapunzel's fault, to avoid facing some ugly truths about himself. Varian doesn't start to grow as a person until Season 3, when he finally starts to own up to his actions in the past and in the present and starts taking responsibility for them. He also seems to have learned his lesson about how science can be dangerous and unpredictable, and is usually the first one to warn the others to be more careful with his inventions. |
| 163 | * FiveStagesOfGrief: The pattern can be seen throughout his character arc after he loses his father. |
| 164 | ** Denial. His father gets stuck in a crystal after one of Varian's experiments with the rocks goes awry so he goes to Corona for help and gets nothing as Rapunzel is busy trying to sort out a country-wide crisis. As he trudges home though the snow, he sings a reprise of "Let Me Make You Proud," though he has no idea about how to save his father and there is no guarantee that he is still alive. After finding his father [[TakenForGranite fully encased in the amber]], Varian denies his hand in that, [[NeverMyFault shifting the blame to Rapunzel and her kingdom]]. |
| 165 | ** Bargaining. He becomes hell-bent on getting his father out of the amber, [[ImplacableMan at any cost]]. If he does, everything will go back to normal, right? Right? |
| 166 | ** Anger. He vows revenge on everyone who turned their back on him. Later, as he fails to save Quirin in "Secret of the Sundrop", he declares, "If I can't have a happy ending, then neither can you!", and attempts to murder Arianna, Cassandra, and Rapunzel. |
| 167 | ** Depression. In "Rapunzel's Return," he seems to have given up trying to save his father, partly because nothing he came up with worked and partly because he has realised that while he only ever wanted to make his father proud, if Quirin had witnessed what his son has done these past months, he'd be ashamed. He also believes that people of Corona will never forgive him. |
| 168 | ** Acceptance. He finally gives in and rejoins Rapunzel's side, and helps her save the kingdom and is eventually reunited with his father at long last. |
| 169 | * {{Foil}}: |
| 170 | ** Becomes one for Cassandra as of "Rapunzel's Return" - they're both friends of Rapunzel that ended up losing faith in and betraying her, and she feels like she failed them. But unlike Cassandra earlier in the episode, Rapunzel is able to talk Varian down this time and convince him that [[HeelFaceTurn he can redeem himself]]. Their motives also contrast, as Varian became evil [[WellIntentionedExtremist in order to save his father]], while Cassandra [[IJustWantToBeSpecial sought validation and envied Rapunzel]]. They both fall from Cassandra's tower near the end of "Cassandra's Revenge", but while Varian has his friends to save him, Cassandra has no one left and is forced to save herself, [[RuleOfSymbolism reflecting]] what redemption has done for Varian in contrast to what pursuing hatred has done for Cassandra. Additionally, Varian is the son of an important and respected figure in Corona, but Cassandra is the daughter of the woman who kidnapped Princess Rapunzel for 18 years. Additionally, their [[HeelFaceTurn Heel-Face Turns]] are similar; voicing their remorse to Rapunzel while imprisoned with her, following the true BigBad they've allied with [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness deeming them no longer essential]] to their plans. The sole difference being Varian attempting to change before the Separatists capture him, and Cassandra reaching her [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone breaking point]] after she's been thoroughly defeated. |
| 171 | ** To Rapunzel. Both are talented, artistic, and creative people who are somewhat isolated from the outside world, are raised by a single parent, and have a tendency to be naive, but while Rapunzel gains a status as a princess, becomes beloved by her people, and keeps finding new adventures, Varian becomes an outcast among Corona's citizens due to a false rumor, loses his father, and [[FaceHeelTurn suffers a dark descent into villainy]], eventually becoming imprisoned for his crimes. |
| 172 | ** To Eugene. Both are former criminals who have betrayed others, discovered things about themselves, and have attempted to pull [[HeroicSacrifice Heroic Sacrifices]], but while Eugene grew up as a thief, Varian grew up as an inventor seeking to help his kingdom. Also, unlike Eugene, Varian had a father to raise him. |
| 173 | * ForcedTransformation: When trapped in Limbo in the series finale, his hairstripe turns into a ''snake''. |
| 174 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: He shows up in Rapunzel's dream furiously screaming that she broke her promise to him, hinting that his amicable behavior later on is a facade and he really despises the princess for not saving his father. |
| 175 | * ForScience: He tends to make inventions and do experiments that have a chance of putting everyone in danger out of scientific curiosity. Case in point, one invention destroyed his village, and another almost leveled the entire kingdom. |
| 176 | * FreeRangeChildren: Implied. "No Time Like the Past" has a much younger version of him walking throughout Corona (and licking a lollipop while being a SilentSnarker) without supervision. |
| 177 | * FriendlessBackground: Has this even more blatantly than Cassandra does. Throughout Season 1, it's made clear that Varian only has his father and his pet raccoon in his social range, particularly due to the other citizens of Corona finding his alchemical pursuits weird and/or mistaking him for a dangerous wizard. And when he's left all alone and orphaned (despite being a young teenager) when his father is encased in amber, it's evident that he has no one to turn to for help, [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer nor does anyone check on him]]. |
| 178 | * FriendToAllLivingThings: Might count as this, as he's invented a chemical compound to keep out vermin humanely. It says something about Varian's kindness when his pet raccoon is [[UndyingLoyalty undyingly loyal]] to him. He also helps out Owl in "Great Expotations", is friends with Pascal, and rides Fidella in the final two episodes. |
| 179 | * FromNobodyToNightmare: After his father is encased in crystal, he completely snaps, going from a geeky stranger to completely furious and hard-hearted, setting him as the ArcVillain for the remainder of the season. When Cassandra gave Rapunzel warnings that he's "dangerous" and "not good", she wasn’t completely off the mark. |
| 180 | * FromZeroToHero: Varian may be a commoner, but come Season 3 he's been given a blank check to develop the means to better defend Corona, especially since the kingdom is in no shape to defend against the Moonstone. |
| 181 | * GeniusSlob: Varian isn't well organized, to the point that he gets his bath bombs mixed up with his chem orbs. This seems to have resolved by "Race to the Spire", as he makes it clear which items of his are not to be touched. |
| 182 | * GogglesDoNothing: Played with. He's constantly wearing goggles and while he does occasionally put them over his eyes, he often forgoes them during instances that would require eye protection. Conversely, he's also known to use them when there aren't any hazards that would make goggles necessary. |
| 183 | * GoMadFromTheIsolation: Spending the next few months ''in complete isolation'' following the events of "Queen for a Day" caused the already vengeful Varian to [[SanitySlippage become even more insane]]. |
| 184 | * GoodCannotComprehendEvil: In "Cassandra's Revenge", he thinks he can get through to Cassandra, believing she has similar reasons as him to be angry, and warning her what the path of hatred will do to her. It didn't occur to him that Cassandra's reasons are far more self-centered than his were, and that she'd consider his HeelFaceTurn a sign of weakness, instead choosing to continue pursuing her path as she believes it will be worth it. |
| 185 | * GoodCostumeSwitch: After his HeelFaceTurn in Season 3, he begins wearing his current costume, which is more scholarly in appearance. |
| 186 | * GoodIsNotSoft: Varian is nice guy, and remains sympathetic to Cassandra, but during the events at her tower he hands over the fourth incantation to Rapunzel and urges the princess to use to defeat her former friend. Later, he develops Project Obsidian, a firearm weaponizing his amber solution with the express purpose of destroying Cassandra. He's also not afraid to shoot explosives at Zhan Tiri, but unlike with Cassandra, he doesn't feel remotely bad about it. |
| 187 | * GoThroughMe: In ''"Cassandra's Revenge"'' Varian tries to stop Cassandra from [[CrushTheKeepsake destroying the picture of Rapunzel and the lanterns]]. This is the last straw and Cassandra uses violence against him. |
| 188 | |
| 189 | [[/folder]] |
| 190 | |
| 191 | [[folder:H-M]] |
| 192 | * HairstyleInertia: His cameo in "No Time Like the Past" shows he's had the exact same hair style since he was a small child complete with his blue streak, implying it's somehow natural. |
| 193 | * HeelFaceTurn: Ultimately turns back to the side of good when learning that the Saporians lied to him and are not using the quirineon to erase the kingdom's memory, but to destroy it. Rapunzel also apologizes for turning her back on him during the blizzard, and promises that he can change and find forgiveness. Since then, he's even been trying to find a cure for the King and Queen's memory loss. |
| 194 | * HeelRealization: Even though he did a FaceHeelTurn and became the ArcVillain of Season 1, as shown in "Rapunzel Returns", he's become self-aware enough to realize how he took things too far with trying to save his father. He wanted to erase everyone's minds to rid himself of the guilt, but ends up [[HeelFaceTurn truly making amends with Rapunzel to stop the Saporians from destroying Corona.]] |
| 195 | * HeroicSelfDeprecation: Suffers from this in "Be Very Afraid". It's revealed he considers himself ordinary [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter in comparison to Rapunzel]], in spite of having accomplished ''many'' alchemical and scientific achievements despite just being a young teenager. He also retains a large amount of guilt over his terrible actions, despite having ''already'' done [[TheAtoner everything he can]] to make up for them. |
| 196 | * HisOwnWorstEnemy: Not as extreme as [[PsychopathicWomanchild Cassandra]], but Varian's personal issues stem from his impulsiveness, recklessness, insecurities, HeroicSelfDeprecation, and in Season 1, [[NeverMyFault willingness to blame others for his somewhat self-inflicted tragedy, and even his misdeeds]]. Part of Varian's CharacterDevelopment is him learning to ''overcome'' these issues and faults. |
| 197 | * HoistByHisOwnPetard: "Cassandra's Revenge" has Cassandra dosing him with his own Truth Serum that he used in "The Alchemist Returns", forcing him to reveal to her the third incantation that can control the Black Rocks. |
| 198 | * HumbleHero: Despite being TheAce and a brilliant inventor, Varian treats his fellow villagers like equals, and addresses the royal family with respect. |
| 199 | * HypercompetentSidekick: {{Downplayed}} towards Rapunzel as of Season 3. In both "Be Very Afraid" and "Cassandra's Revenge" (two of the most action-oriented episodes of the season), both Rapunzel and Varian are the heroes of the episode, but while Rapunzel plays a ''huge'' part in saving the day in both episodes, Varian is ultimately the key to the problem being resolved, from pouring the amber solution on the black rocks to giving Rapunzel the fourth incantation. |
| 200 | * IfICantHaveYou: A twist on the usual trope - when he is unable to free his father, yet Rapunzel is able to free both of her parents, Varian flips his lid and declares that if he can't have a happy ending, neither can anyone else. |
| 201 | * IHaveYourWife: In "Secret of the Sundrop", he threatens to encase Queen Arianna in the same amber his father is imprisoned in if Rapunzel doesn't let him use her hair as a drill to free him. |
| 202 | * ImprobableAge: Don't let the fact that he's a wholesome teenager fool you. He's a talented inventor who wants to improve the kingdom and has scored several successes in Season 3, to the point where he has independent authority within Corona's leadership besides the King, Queen and Rapunzel. |
| 203 | * InkSuitActor: He appears to be a caricature of his actor, Jeremy Jordan. |
| 204 | * InnocentBlueEyes: Varian is blue eyed and well meaning ([[IcyBlueEyes save for his time]] as the ArcVillain of the latter half of Season 1). |
| 205 | * InsistentTerminology: He insists on telling people he works with alchemy, ''not'' magic. |
| 206 | * IntelligenceEqualsIsolation: Varian is the smartest guy around, but it's clear he does not have that many friends (human ones at least), and he noticeably has trouble relating to others and listening to them. For starters, he spends too much time in his lab. Most of the time, though, it's that his lack of restraint and common sense make him a danger to others. |
| 207 | * IntergenerationalFriendship: He's good friends with Rapunzel's gang, who are adults years older than him. At the same time, he's given younger friends as well in the form of Angry/Kiera and Red/Catalina. |
| 208 | * {{Irony}}: In "Secret of the Sundrop", he briefly holds Cassandra hostage during his time as Season 1's ArcVillain. Fast forward to "Cassandra's Revenge", and ''[[FaceHeelTurn she]]'' is the one who holds ''[[HeelFaceTurn him]]'' hostage. |
| 209 | * ItsAllMyFault: In the Season 3 premiere, it's revealed that he's finally come to this conclusion, and is only still a villain because he believes he can never make up for what he's done unless everyone else loses their memories of it. This attitude is carried further in "Be Very Afraid", where we see his greatest fear is causing another disaster like what happened to his father before... and feeling like it would be a well-deserved punishment for the bad things he has done. And then we have his duet with Cassandra, "Nothing Left to Lose", where he makes it even more clear that his attempts to dodge responsibility for the bad things he did only made everything worse in the long run. |
| 210 | * IveComeTooFar: At least he feels he has, so much that he wants to erase all of Corona's people's memories so they will forget all the things he has done. This is subverted as he later redeems himself in "Rapunzel's Return." |
| 211 | * IWarnedYou: While setting up the Rooster, Varian uses only a drop of Flynnoleum and explains it's powerful enough that any more would be dangerous. Unconvinced that one drop is sufficient, Lance decides to add the rest of the Flynnoleum while Varian is away, resulting in the machine exploding and deafening Lance while the boy goes on an angry tirade about how he warned him that would happen. |
| 212 | * JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Varian is cocky, snarky, and overconfident, but also pleasant, helpful, and understanding. This is significantly toned down after his FaceHeelTurn, but even then it's more of a case of him [[TraumaCongaLine having to resort to increasingly desperate measures]] rather than a subversion of the trope. And then, following his HeelFaceTurn, though he somewhat retains his sarcastic nature, he is still very kind, friendly, and compassionate towards others, puts a ''ton'' of effort into [[TheAtoner making up for his misdeeds]], and actively focuses on ensuring the well-being of Corona. |
| 213 | * KarmicJackpot: As Varian seeks to [[TheAtoner make up for his misdeeds]], he becomes increasingly fortunate. |
| 214 | ** In "Rapunzel's Return", he pulls a HeelFaceTurn and helps Rapunzel save Corona. Soon after, Rapunzel is able to free his father from the amber, reuniting them. |
| 215 | ** Minor example in "The King and Queen of Hearts", where Rapunzel assures him he did his best after he tries and fails to restore her parents' memories. |
| 216 | ** In "Be Very Afraid", he tackles his fears and saves Corona from the red rocks. This leads to him gaining more trust and praise from the people of Corona. |
| 217 | ** "Cassandra's Revenge" shows that pursuing redemption and friendship has enabled him to fall in the arms of friends after being blasted off of Cassandra's stronghold, unlike Cassandra (who had to save herself). |
| 218 | ** In "Plus Est en Vous", he makes a ''big'' effort to save Corona from Zhan Tiri. Following her destruction and Cassandra's own redemption, Varian is made the royal alchemist, working for the same family he ruthlessly conspired against. He also gets to work with his dad (and Ruddiger), who is clearly ''much'' more supportive and patient with him and his inventions. |
| 219 | * KarmicTransformation: Downplayed. The changes he undergoes in limbo can be considered as such. The blue streak in his hair turns into a live snake, possibly referencing his manipulative behavior as a villain. |
| 220 | * KnightOfCerebus: When he turns to the dark side, the series goes with him for the remainder of Season 1, especially in the finale where he is a legitimately menacing threat. |
| 221 | * KnowWhenToFoldEm: In "Once a Handmaiden...", he, Eugene, and the rest of Corona flee the castle when it's made clear they won't be stopping Cassandra. |
| 222 | * LaserGuidedKarma: Played with. |
| 223 | ** In "The Lost Treasure Of Herz Der Sonne", he now knows how it feels like to be on the receiving end of the "dummy trick". Of course, this was only part of a race. |
| 224 | ** In "Cassandra's Revenge", Varian is subjected to several of his crimes and misdeeds from Season 1, courtesy of Cassandra, when she kidnaps him, drugs him and uses him as bait for Rapunzel. That being said, he proves ''far'' more instrumental in saving himself and the others than Queen Arianna did as ''[[DamselInDistress his]]'' captive. |
| 225 | * LaughablyEvil: While he's one of the toughest villains Corona faces, some of his antics are rather comedic given his flair for the dramatic. |
| 226 | -->'''Frederic:''' What are you going to do, Varian?\ |
| 227 | '''Varian:''' Yeah, I'll- I'll spare you the details about the Sundrop and darkness blah-blah-blah and get to the good stuff. |
| 228 | * LikesOlderWomen: Varian appears to have a thing for Cassandra, who is clearly older than he. He even acknowledges this in the season one finale - right before attempting to murder her. It ''really'' comes back to bite him when Cassandra comes back and kidnaps him. |
| 229 | * LoveMakesYouEvil: His father being TakenForGranite breaks Varian's already brittle sense of restraint and drives him to plot revenge against Corona's royal family. |
| 230 | * MadeOfIron: On more than one occasion, Varian has brushed off disasters or attacks that should have ''seriously'' injured him, such as standing right next to an explosion felt throughout Corona in "Flynnpostor". |
| 231 | * MadScientist: Varian is a brilliant scientist, but he's kind of a whack-job who doesn't always think through the consequences of his inventions. He plays the part well in "The King and Queen of Hearts". |
| 232 | * MagicVersusScience: Out to prove the superiority of alchemy over magic, to he point where he [[ArbitrarySkepticism implies that he doesn't believe magic was involved in the series' events.]] |
| 233 | * MagikarpPower: He starts off as an alchemist whose only reliable invention is a sticky goo and everything else either doesn't work or explodes. He then gradually improves on his skills to the point that the entire army is deployed to deal with him after his FaceHeelTurn. His scientific knowledge later becomes an invaluable asset to both the heroes and villains and he's eventually hired as the first Royal Engineer. |
| 234 | * ManBehindTheCurtain: Non-villainous example. He's built up and said to be a wizard who is dangerous and intimidating and wore a mask to give him that appearance, but much to Rapunzel's disappointment, he's just a whiz-kid who happens to be an alchemist. However, he turns out to be a nut-job who doesn't seem to know what he's doing, so in a way, he is dangerous and only becomes moreso later on. |
| 235 | * ManipulativeBastard: He personally manipulates Rapunzel in "The Alchemist Returns" for an attempt to save his father, and then is able to manipulate her father and his guards from a distance in "Secret of the Sundrop". |
| 236 | * MeaningfulName: |
| 237 | ** The name "Varian" is French for "Variable", which means not consistent and having a fixed pattern, and liable to change. |
| 238 | ** "Varian" is also Latin for "fiddle", which reflects on his nature of ''fiddling'' with forces beyond his understanding or control. |
| 239 | * MirrorCharacter: |
| 240 | ** To King Frederic. Like him, he has undergone the loss of a loved one, which ended up impacting him mentally and emotionally. Said loss caused him to make desperate, yet questionable decisions along the way, and hoped against all odds that the things he would do would bring his family member back. It's no wonder Queen Arianna felt sorry for Varian, knowing well the pain he is going through. |
| 241 | ** To Queen Arianna. Both of them have a knack for creativity and wisdom, not to mention their daringness has led to them getting in trouble. They've also both been captured by a villain (ironically, Varian himself in Arianna's case), and have attempted to appeal to their captors and sway them back to the right path. |
| 242 | * MissingMom: Though we are introduced to his father Quirin, his mother hasn't been shown yet, aside from a portrait. |
| 243 | * MoralMyopia: Varian makes it clear he will do ''anything'' to save his father and seek justice. This means his actions during season one (drugging the castle residents with truth serum, committing treason, kidnapping the queen and holding her hostage) are all justifiable in his eyes, whereas Rapunzel being unable to help him during a blizzard threatening the entire kingdom is deemed inexcusable. |
| 244 | * MysteriousPast: {{Downplayed}}. Varian's past isn't particularly "mysterious", at least in the sense that it isn't important, and we know his father. But we have little information about Varian's life prior to the events of the series, and it's left unknown why his mother isn't in his life. |
| 245 | [[/folder]] |
| 246 | |
| 247 | [[folder:N-S]] |
| 248 | * TheNeedsOfTheMany: In "The Alchemist's Return", Varian tells Rapunzel he understands she broke her promise because everyone was in danger and she was forced to choose saving her kingdom over saving his father. However, it turns out Varian never forgave her for abandoning him when he needed her most, and decides bringing his father back is worth making everyone suffer and that they even ''deserve'' it. |
| 249 | * NeverBareheaded: Prior to "Cassandra's Revenge", not once do we see him without the antique goggles he wears (not even when we see him as a little kid in "No Time Like the Past"). |
| 250 | * NerdInEvilsHelmet: In the Season 3 premiere, Varian ''tries'' to look more intimidating by adopting a long black coat, and wearing his goggles and a mask with razor-sharp teeth printed on it, and gets a BeardOfEvil to complete the look. Underneath all that, his beard is fake, and he is still a clumsy dorky kid who can't always tell the difference between bath bombs and chem orbs. |
| 251 | * NervousWreck: {{Downplayed}}. Varian is sometimes unable to let out full sentences, especially when flustered, and has stuttered on a few occasions. It's part of what makes him adorably cute. |
| 252 | * NeverMyFault: PlayedWith. The reason for his FaceHeelTurn at the end of "Queen for a Day" is because he blames Rapunzel and the entire Kingdom for letting him down. But really, he brought it on himself by tampering with the spikes, especially after being repeatedly warned by his father not to. |
| 253 | ** This flaw of his grows worse in the season finale, where he blames Rapunzel for his failure to use her hair to free his father, while she herself is able to reunite with both her parents. |
| 254 | -->'''Varian''': It's not my fault! None of this is! It's ''her'' fault! |
| 255 | ** When he's imprisoned with Rapunzel for turning against the Saporians, he later [[SubvertedTrope reveals]] this was mainly to cover ItsAllMyFault. |
| 256 | * NiceMeanAndInBetween: Eugene (nice), Cassandra (mean), and Varian (in-between). He's not as loyal or selfless as Eugene, even committing himself to acts of treason and murder during his FaceHeelTurn, but he's also considerably more easygoing than Cassandra tends to be. |
| 257 | * NoSenseOfPersonalSpace: As a villain, he starts touching, grabbing and overall getting into people's space to discomfort them. Varian even leans up against Frederic, who happens to be holding a ''sword'', to demonstrate his power over the situation and mock the king's own helplessness. |
| 258 | * NoSocialSkills: Downplayed. He's capable of interacting with other people but, especially early on, tends to act awkwardly and doesn't always pick up on others' feelings or react appropriately. He's known to occasionally act villainously even while on the side of good and at one point cheerfully greets Cassandra while failing to recognize everyone else’s obvious fear of her. It feeds into his CreepyGood status. |
| 259 | * NotAfraidToDie: In the series finale, Varian is unsure whether he and the others will make it out of the battle against Cassandra and Zhan Tiri alive, but doesn't appear to be bothered. |
| 260 | * NotSoDifferentRemark: In a way, he and Cassandra are similar, despite their [[BrainsAndBrawn contrasting methods]] of approach. Both of them are driven to earn the respect of others, especially their fathers. But in being so obsessed with their desire to prove themselves, they end up causing more harm than good. Things take a darker turn when they both end up [[FaceHeelTurn betraying Rapunzel]] in order to pursue their own goals. The similarities between them are finally acknowledged in-universe during their duet in "Nothing Left To Lose", where Varian comes closer than most characters to talking some sense into her but still fails to manage it - partly because Varian's downfall was brought about by his hubris, while Cassandra's main character flaw has always been her envy. |
| 261 | * OhCrap: He tends to freeze in fright whenever confronted by life-threatening danger. |
| 262 | * OutGambitted: He holds Queen Arianna prisoner to force Rapunzel to come free his father, intending to afterwards make everyone in Corona pay for abandoning him. To get around this, Rapunzel leaves a decoy with the army, knowing Varian will expect her to charge in with them, and breaks sneaks into the lab with Frederic. Unfortunately, it turns out the alchemist predicted this and left a decoy of himself out to lure Rapunzel and her father into a trap, forcing the princess to do his bidding. |
| 263 | * PayEvilUntoEvil: This is what Varian ''thinks'' he is doing with Corona, its royal family in particular - he fully acknowledges that he's "sunk pretty low", but believes that the victims of his villainous actions deserve to suffer. |
| 264 | * PhotographicMemory: It's implied Varian has a very keen memory. Once he's able to look at and translate the Demanitus scroll, he's able to memorize it all. Once the scroll is memorized, it doesn't matter that the Scroll is destroyed. |
| 265 | * PintSizedPowerhouse: Varian isn't particularly tall, but his physical feats and durability are remarkable. |
| 266 | * ThePollyanna: Come Season 3, there's a surprising tendency for him to [[CharacterDevelopment remain cheerful and strong]] [[ConditionedToAcceptHorror regardless of the further trauma he goes through]]. Case in point, he is willing to help rebuild the throne room without his father there with him despite being separated from him for over a year (thus expressing willingness to move on), reassures ''himself'' that everything will be fine numerous times when he and Rapunzel venture to stop the red rocks, overcomes his TraumaButton and RedemptionRejection fears with Rapunzel's encouragement, isn't at all fazed by being trapped in a cage by his former crush at an extremely high distance above the ground and ''nearly falling to his death'', continues to fight Cassandra even after his amber gun seemingly malfunctions, and is determined to save the day in the series finale with his friends and family by his side. |
| 267 | * PositiveFriendInfluence: He tries to help [[WeUsedToBeFriends Cassandra]] give up her newfound path of anger and darkness, claiming [[NotSoDifferentRemark he went through the same thing]] and therefore understands her. |
| 268 | * ThePowerOfFriendship: It was his refusal to give up on Rapunzel when she was using the Decay Incantation to free his father that snapped her out of it. |
| 269 | * ThePrankster: Varian is implied to have a light mischievous side, as he playfully tricks Eugene into thinking that him touching a part of the hot air balloon he built will cause it to explode. |
| 270 | * PromotionToOpeningTitles: As of the second episode of Season 3, Varian makes an appearance in the theme song along with showing up as a drawing in Rapunzel's journal. |
| 271 | * PutOnABus: Is absent for the entirety (barring a brief hallucination) of Season 2, due to Rapunzel traveling outside of Corona while Varian was imprisoned for his crimes during Season 1. Naturally pulls a case of TheBusCameBack when Rapunzel returns to Corona in Season 3. |
| 272 | * RageBreakingPoint: Not being able to free his father as predicted but seeing Rapunzel reunited with both her parents is what pushes his anger to its highest point, and emerges in his giant automaton. |
| 273 | * RealMenWearPink: |
| 274 | ** He has fairly impressive baking skills, being able to drug almost the entirety of the palace staff with truth serum by adding the potion to his cookies. In the sole comic he appears in, Varian is tasked with helping Eugene make a cake and is less than impressed by the former thief's complete lack of ability in the kitchen. |
| 275 | ** While helping Cassandra with her chores, he proclaims them to be 'co-ladies in waiting', making no attempt to come up with a more masculine title for himself. |
| 276 | * RedemptionEqualsDeath: He almost tries to invoke this on ''himself''. While trying to stop the Saporians from dropping an airship of explosive Quirinium on Corona, they're forced to use the compound itself to raise the ship high enough that it will detonate harmlessly. Varian offers himself up to be the one left behind to atone for his misdeeds, but Rapunzel stops him as she's the only one who could survive the explosion. |
| 277 | -->'''Rapunzel:''' It's your mess, but it's ''my'' kingdom. |
| 278 | * RedemptionRejection: In "Secret of the Sundrop", he rejects Queen Arianna's attempts to get through to him. Thankfully, this is subverted when he does end up pulling a HeelFaceTurn. |
| 279 | * RedIsHeroic: Varian seems to be mainly defined by the color red, and he is often tinted in red. |
| 280 | * RedOniBlueOni: |
| 281 | ** The Red to his father Quirin's Blue. Varian is impulsive, emotional, and talkative, whereas Quirin is more stoic and secretive. |
| 282 | ** The Blue to Cassandra's Red. Varian is significantly more calm and polite than Cassandra, who is a tomboyish BloodKnight. Even their actions as villains had these tendencies, as Cassandra relied on personally engaging in violence using her powers, while Varian, though he definitely didn't shy away from violence either, relied on strategic moves. |
| 283 | * ReedRichardsIsUseless: {{Justified|Trope}}. Varian has a good number of inventions that are very effective, and he tries to avert this trope. The problem is, some of his inventions partially destroyed his village more than once, and another nearly leveled the castle, so it's no wonder no one can trust their lives with him or his inventions. This is darkly played with in "Rapunzel's Return", as he wants to create the substance to erase memories, but it just explodes. And that's good enough for Andrew and his cronies: hey, they can level Corona! Averted later on, where once the threat of Cassandra becomes too great, he has spearheaded several projects to help and defend the kingdom from such threats. And fully averted after the finale, where he's the Royal Engineer who has started the development of advances to Corona's infrastructure, one of which is running hot water. |
| 284 | * ReformedButNotTamed: |
| 285 | ** Played with. While Varian has ''definitely'' changed for the better following his HeelFaceTurn, on top of having had [[AntiVillain understandable]] motivations for his villainy, he still displays villainous mannerisms on occasion, though mostly as a gag. |
| 286 | ** Much like he did as a villain, when civility fails, he resorts to much harsher methods to deal with threats. After Cassandra rejects his attempts at getting through to her and remains hellbent on destroying Corona, he gives Rapunzel the fourth incantation to defeat her and later creates Project Obsidian- a weapon made to destroy Cassandra. |
| 287 | * ReformedButRejected: "Be Very Afraid" reveals Varian believes everyone in Corona except Rapunzel and his father hate him for the terrible things he's done. {{Subverted}}, however, as the citizens actually ''admire'' him for his heroic accomplishments, including saving Corona from the red rocks. Of course, he still had to prove his change of heart. |
| 288 | * RescueRomance: Develops a crush on Cassandra after she rescues him in his first appearance, lasting into ''Great Expotations.'' But ultimately subverted in the end: after his RageBreakingPoint, he tries to kill her the same as Rapunzel and her mother (then again, she did charge at him with a sword). |
| 289 | * {{Revenge}}: "And I swear right now, that no matter what comes of me, anybody that stands or has stood in my path, they're going to pay! [[PunctuatedForEmphasis They...will...pay."]] |
| 290 | * RoaringRampageOfRevenge: |
| 291 | ** After he's been left to stew in his inner demons for months on end, Varian has gone insane by the Season 1 finale, "Secret Of The Sundrop", and is driven by spite, resentment and revenge as much as his desire to save his father. He implies to Arianna that once he's gotten what he wanted from the royal family, he will terrorize the people of Corona anyway. |
| 292 | --->'''Arianna''': [[AndThenWhat And after you've freed your father?]]\ |
| 293 | '''Varian''': (''laughs'') After? Oh, well I'm afraid Corona will ''pay'' for turning their backs on me, and that's when you should start worrying, ''your majesty''. |
| 294 | ** As the final part of his SanitySlippage and VillainousBreakdown, Varian completely snaps once his last-ditch plan to free Quirin fails. He decides to kill Rapunzel's mom and her best friend so she can suffer and neither of them can have what they want. |
| 295 | --->'''Rapunzel''': That's ''enough'', Varian.\ |
| 296 | '''Varian''': ''It's not enough until you endure the same amount of pain and agony I have!'' |
| 297 | * {{Sadist}}: After undergoing a FaceHeelTurn following his father becoming imprisoned in amber, he declares that he will make everyone in Corona pay for turning on him and displays sick pleasure at the prospect of causing widespread suffering and mocks people while tormenting them. However, this trait disappears after her returns to the heroes' side. |
| 298 | * SanitySlippage: This trope hits Varian ''hard'' during the last third of Season 1. Varian's hubris winds up getting his father petrified in amber, with no way of knowing if he's alive or dead inside it. A person thinking that they might have killed their own father would already crush an adult man, and the psychological effects would be even worse on a teenage boy. Rapunzel basically has no choice but to betray him, turning down his cries for help when he needs her the most due to the circumstances, planting a seed of anger and resentment in his heart. No one goes to check on him at all, leaving him to stew in his rage and vengeful thoughts for months, with no one around to keep him company except his pet raccoon and his frozen father (serving as a constant reminder of his predicament). His aforementioned hubris forbids him from taking any accountability about what his actions have done to his father or himself, choosing to blame it all on Rapunzel and the royal family instead. All these different factors combine to twist Varian into a vicious and ruthless person by the climax of Season 1, who poses a real threat to everyone in Corona. After his HeelFaceTurn in Season 3, Varian realizes Cassandra is undergoing her own nasty case of SanitySlippage, recognizing the signs from experience, and tries to warn her away from her dark path before it's too late for her. |
| 299 | * SanityStrengthening: Being surrounded by family and friends once more in Season 3 (not to mention having a better life) has ''absolutely'' helped Varian with his emotional ''and'' mental health. |
| 300 | * TheScapegoat: During the final episodes of Season 1, he's wrongly accused of attacking Rapunzel by the people of Corona... before he actually resorted to attacking her. |
| 301 | * ShorterMeansSmarter: Is younger and shorter than his group of friends, yet is also the most intellectual and (as of Season 3) one of the most mature. |
| 302 | * ShortTeensTallAdults: Varian is a teenager and quite a bit smaller than the adults, with his lack of height being particularly noticeable when compared to his father, who towers over him. Even after having a growth spurt and shooting up a few inches in season three, Varian is still slightly shorter than Rapunzel. |
| 303 | * SingingVoiceDissonance: |
| 304 | ** Has a rather squeaky teenage voice that becomes deeper and smoother when singing. |
| 305 | ** His first French singing voice was deep, MUCH unlike his French speaking voice, who sounds higher and more age-fitting. |
| 306 | * SlasherSmile: Gives Rapunzel a rather frightening one in "The Alchemist Returns" as he betrays her, fully realizing his FaceHeelTurn. Then again when he confronts Rapunzel and King Frederic in "Secret of the Sundrop." |
| 307 | * SlowlySlippingIntoEvil: Throughout the months following his FaceHeelTurn, his mental state rapidly deteriorates while his villainy rapidly escalates, going from lying and manipulating to outright attempted murder. Even he is aware of this, which he states in "Ready As I'll Ever Be". |
| 308 | * SmallNameBigEgo: While he's a brilliant inventor and an exceptionally clever thinker, his impetuousness and emotional instability often gets in the way of his success, driving him to start completely losing his cool when things aren't going the way he wants them to go, contrasting with the overconfidence he'd have displayed beforehand. |
| 309 | * TheSmartGuy: Is the most intellectual out of Rapunzel's group of friends, especially with him being science-oriented and all. |
| 310 | * SoProudOfYou: Lampshaded after the Separatists seize his potions to destroy Corona, he thwarts them, and finally frees his father Quirin from the amber with Rapunzel's help: |
| 311 | -->'''Varian''': Dad, the note! (the note dissolves) What did it say? I need to know.\ |
| 312 | '''Quirin''': [[LampshadeHanging All it said was "I'm so proud of you, Varian."]] I always have been. |
| 313 | * StartOfDarkness: "Queen for a Day" details his. When his father is trapped in crystal after Rapunzel refused to help due to trying to stop Zhan Tiri’s blizzard, Varian blames Rapunzel and swears vengeance upon her and the Kingdom of Corona. Darkness even literally falls upon him in the moment. |
| 314 | * StarterVillain: He along with Andrew and the Saporians serve as this for Season 3 in "Rapunzel's Return". Although by the end of the episode, he has [[HeelFaceTurn repented of his villainy.]] |
| 315 | * {{Steampunk}}: He seems to be living in a whole other genre, bearing most of the trademarks of steampunk with his inventing and overall aesthetic. |
| 316 | * StepfordSmiler: In "Plus Est en Vous", he is at one point forced to fake a smile to his dad, since he secretly took precautions and rigged his helmet in case Quirin was mind controlled, and has to hide this. |
| 317 | * StepfordSnarker: After his FaceHeelTurn, Varian becomes much more sarcastic and frequently mocks the other characters, though it's made quite clear in some moments that underneath it he's in severe emotional turmoil over being unable to save his father. |
| 318 | * TheStoolPigeon: In "Once a Handmaiden...", he freely admits to Rapunzel that Project Obsidian is meant to trap Cassandra in amber, [[DirtyCoward then quickly flees while she chastises Eugene]]. |
| 319 | * StrongFamilyResemblance: According to some concept arts that belong to the cancelled ''Varian and the Seven Kingdoms'' spin-off, it is shown that Varian has the same facial features, skin tone, freckles, and blue eyes as his mother, Ulla. The only difference is that he inherited his dark hair from Quirin. |
| 320 | * StrongerThanTheyLook: While Varian doesn't look too fit and is much more interested in alchemical and scientific pursuits, he has shown on quite a few occasions to have skills in physical confrontation as well. He shows himself to be ''very'' good in combat in "Secret of the Sundrop", "Once a Handmaiden...", and "Plus Est en Vous", and is also implied to be athletic, such as by being MadeOfIron, demonstrating flexibility, pushing a grown man, and jumping from a high distance in "Flynnpostor". Varian likely [[LikeFatherLikeSon takes it from his father]], who was a member of the Brotherhood of the Dark Kingdom. |
| 321 | * SupremeChef: Implied. In "The Alchemist Returns" he whips up a batch of cookies laced with truth serum which he's able to distribute to almost the entirety of the palace staff, with Pete raving about the taste. In the sole comic he appears in, he explains that he's good at chemistry and cooking is basically mundane alchemy. |
| 322 | * SurroundedByIdiots: In "Flynnpostor", he should not have trusted his invention near Lance, Kiera, and Catalina. When Lance disobeys him and adds more flynnoleum, he's had it. Anyone with acute hearing or is skilled at lip-reading would've picked up him saying: "I said one lousy drop! ONE DROP! ALCHEMY IS VERY ''DELICATE'', LANCE!!!" |
| 323 | [[/folder]] |
| 324 | |
| 325 | [[folder:T-Y]] |
| 326 | * TeenGenius: At age 14, he easily stands out as being the smartest of the cast. |
| 327 | * TeensAreMonsters: Varian is only ''14'', making him by far the youngest villain in any Disney Princess-based franchise. But, things were messed up for him to begin with. He's feared, castigated, and doubted by society, and they don't appreciate any of his efforts even if he failed. Plus, he cares about a problem that the King refused to acknowledge, and the tragic incident that took his father pretty much did it all. Basically, all the ill will that he experiences only fed his ruthlessness. |
| 328 | * TenorBoy: Varian (before and after his descent into villainy that is) is optimistic, innocent, and sweet, and he has the highest voice of the male cast, being voiced by Broadway belter [[{{Creator/JeremyJordan}} Jeremy Jordan]]. |
| 329 | * ThenLetMeBeEvil: He didn't see himself as evil following his vengeful turn, but eventually decides that if what he's doing makes him the bad guy, then he'll accept that label. |
| 330 | * ThrowDownTheBomblet: He primarily fights by chucking glass balls, filled with various chemical solutions, that explode on impact at attackers. However, most are harmless and only serve to trap or disorient his enemies. |
| 331 | * TokenGoodTeammate: To the Saporians. While allied with them, he's fine with supplying the terrorists with weapons and wiping the king and queen's memories, but ultimately doesn't want to hurt anyone and works with Andrew on the condition no harm would come to the Coronans. When Andrew goes back on his word and plots to use the Quirinium to blow up Corona, the alchemist quickly turns against him. |
| 332 | * TookALevelInBadass: He starts off as a somewhat irresponsible TeenGenius whose substances and inventions backfire more often than not. In season 3, he [[CharacterDevelopment grows more cautious and responsible]]. As a result, his inventions become much more stable and useful and make him a formidable BadassNormal. In "Once a Handmaiden...", he constructs a [[{{BFG}} huge firearm]] that ''destroys the black rocks'' and comes very close to defeating [[PersonOfMassDestruction Cassandra]] on his own. |
| 333 | * TooManyBelts: While allied with the Saporians, he wears a number of leather straps around his waist plus one slung across his torso to carry his alchemy bombs. |
| 334 | * TrademarkFavoriteFood: Ham sandwiches and hot coca. |
| 335 | * ATragedyOfImpulsiveness: Varian's hubris and impatience and disregarding his own father's warnings led to the latter getting trapped in unbreakable Amber. |
| 336 | * TragicHero: Varian was an aspiring alchemist and inventor, who wanted to help his kingdom by any means. Yet his [[FaceHeelTurn downfall]] was a result of his own impulsiveness, ChronicHeroSyndrome, and lack of caution. |
| 337 | * TraitorShot: The very last shot of "Queen For A Day" has him give a glowering KubrickStare [[TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou to the camera]] while [[DramaticSpotlight lit as a shadow by the ceiling light from behind]]. |
| 338 | * TraumaButton: |
| 339 | ** In "Be Very Afraid", he freezes up at the sight of his father being encased in amber, thanks to the red rocks, and relives his trauma, as he makes clear to Rapunzel. Thankfully, he manages to conquer his fears with Rapunzel's help, rescuing the kingdom and everyone in it from said red rocks. |
| 340 | * TraumaCongaLine: |
| 341 | ** He has to deal with unintentionally being responsible for his father's imprisonment in amber, and is rejected by everyone in Corona when he seeks their help, being thrown into Zhan Tiri's blizzard and left all alone. |
| 342 | ** He's believed to have attacked Rapunzel and is forced to lie low, in addition to having to deal with King Frederic sending his guards after him because he had the scroll. |
| 343 | ** After he organizes a plan to save his father that involves capturing Queen Arianna, the kingdom's forces launch an assault on his home, prompting him to use an army of automatons to ambush them. He is also unsuccessful in saving his father, and is (albeit justifiably) locked up in the castle dungeon for high treason and attempted murder. |
| 344 | ** He's forced to live with the guilt, shame, and remorse for the terrible things he's done, and seeks to become Rapunzel's friend again. |
| 345 | ** He has to deal with his worst fears (that have already happened) thanks to the red rocks, and needs to face them in order to save everyone in Corona. |
| 346 | ** Cassandra drugs him unconscious and abducts him, in addition to imprisoning him inside a cage, with Varian failing to get through to her, and he nearly falls to his death before falling into Lance's arms at the last second. |
| 347 | ** His efforts to protect the kingdom from Cassandra fail as she takes over Corona and destroys the city with her black rocks, which also forces Varian (who is nearly impaled) to flee to the village. |
| 348 | ** He is forced to harm his father when the situation arises, is briefly banished to Limbo, and is also almost killed by Zhan Tiri's genocide attempt on Corona before being just narrowly rescued by Rapunzel and Cassandra. |
| 349 | * TrueCompanions: With Rapunzel and her other friends. |
| 350 | ** In "Queen for a Day", he pulls Rapunzel aside to keep his promise to keep their agreement on the black rocks a secret, despite being in an ''extremely'' desperate situation, showing his loyalty towards her. |
| 351 | ** In "Rapunzel's Return", he performs a HeelFaceTurn despite being in a position of power after just hearing Rapunzel's words, and later is willing to sacrifice his life to save Rapunzel and Corona. When Rapunzel becomes lost using the Decay Incantation to free his father, he readily runs over to her side and vows to not give up on her, and the two hug once she snaps out of it. |
| 352 | ** In "Be Very Afraid", Rapunzel's encouragement helps him face his fear and stop the red rocks, and the two of them become closer as friends and more loving than ever after everything is said and done. |
| 353 | ** In "Cassandra's Revenge", after Lance catches him, the both of them embrace in a hug. |
| 354 | ** In "Once a Handmaiden...", he and Eugene are shown to have re-established "Team Awesome" and are working incredibly well together to stop Cassandra in case she attacks them and Corona. |
| 355 | * UnderestimatingBadassery: It is very easy to forget how dangerous Varian can be when he wants to cause harm. Lance makes this mistake upon arriving at Varian's home with Corona's army, only to find no defenses prepared, wondering if the boy is actually less of a threat than they thought. Eugene is quick to correct him, and not much later they are ambushed by an army of Varian's automatons. |
| 356 | * UnluckilyLucky: His father is encased in amber as a result of his mistakes? Rapunzel manages to free him with an incantation she discovered on her journey to the Dark Kingdom. He himself is imprisoned for his crimes against Corona and comes to believe [[IveComeTooFar he doesn't deserve redemption?]] Rapunzel convinces him he ''can'' [[HeelFaceTurn redeem himself]] and doesn't let him [[DrivenToSuicide sacrifice his life]]. Cassandra's red rocks make him see his worst fears that have ''already happened''? He succeeds in tackling his fear and saves Corona. He's kidnapped by Cassandra for the third incantation? He has Rapunzel defeat her with the fourth incantation not long after, rescuing himself. Corona gets taken over by Cassandra and Zhan Tiri, with his father getting mind controlled in the process? They are quickly defeated and he is made the Royal Engineer, being the youngest to hold this position. Besides, these traumatic events have taught Varian [[AnAesop important life lessons]], increasing his wisdom. |
| 357 | * UnwantedRescue: Even when Rapunzel and Eugene arrive to free him from the cage made of black rocks Cassandra imprisoned him in, Varian holds them off due to having figured out how to master the fourth incantation. |
| 358 | * UnwittingPawn: In "Cassandra's Revenge", Enchanted Girl/Zhan Tiri manipulates Varian into thinking she wants to be his friend, before getting him to master the fourth incantation, which eventually allows Rapunzel to fight back against Cassandra, in a clash of Sun and Moon that releases her from her prison. |
| 359 | * UsedToBeASweetKid: Zigzagged. Despite being a nice kid who enjoys helping people, the tendency for Varian's inventions to explode results in the townspeople fearing him as a dangerous wizard. After his father is imprisoned in amber with no one able or willing to help him, Varian performs a FaceHeelTurn and swears vengeance against Corona. However, he eventually finds the path of evil hollow and accepts that he's not blameless, deciding to once again side with the heroes and return to using his skills to help everyone. |
| 360 | * VerbalTic: He sometimes speaks with a slight stutter. It does not make him any less intimidating as a villain. |
| 361 | * VillainHasAPoint: |
| 362 | ** When Varian accuses King Frederic of "vilifying him", he means when Frederic scapegoated him for "attacking the princess" in "Queen for a Day" so as to keep him quiet and sent guards after him because he had the scroll. It's also hard to argue with Varian when he mentions that King Frederic failed to address the danger that threatens their kingdom and kept it all a secret, while he's the only one who cared. Sure enough, the King does take this to heart, and realizes Varian isn't 100% to blame for what is happening. |
| 363 | ** When Rapunzel tries to change his mind about using her hair to break the crystal by saying "I promise it will be all right", he answers with reminding her "what happened the last time [Rapunzel] ''promised'' that?" (referring to when she promised the same in "Queen for a Day" but couldn't come through, resulting in his father being encased in crystal.) It's an ArmorPiercingQuestion for Rapunzel, to which she can't answer; and you can't deny that Rapunzel indeed made a promise to him she couldn't keep and now is about to make the same mistake again. |
| 364 | * VillainSong: He has two: the DarkReprise of "Let Me Make You Proud" and his part of [[CrowdSong "Ready As I'll Ever Be"]]. |
| 365 | * VillainousBreakdown: When Rapunzel's hair fails to free his father and Rapunzel promptly frees both of her own parents, Varian snaps and tries to kill Rapunzel and her family in a vindictive rage. |
| 366 | * VillainousUnderdog: Varian is a commoner from a backwater village and has no money or power to speak of, and he knows he's at a disadvantage when he's up against the Royal Family and the Royal Guard. But, his main strengths are his intelligence and his patience, allowing him to accomplish so much with so little. To this effect, he came up with an elaborate scheme to separate the King, Rapunzel, and the Royal Guard to take the weak link of the Royal Family--the Queen. In doing so, he does a ''lot'' of emotional damage to the former two. |
| 367 | * VitriolicBestBuds: With Lance. Lance's carelessness and disobedience ''infuriates'' Varian, who has to remind him ''not'' to mess with his inventions, [[DontTouchThatYouIdiot and scolds him when he does]]. Lance, in turn, gets irritated by Varian's bossiness. However, the two are ''very'' close friends and care deeply about each other, to the point where Varian is overjoyed to see Lance when he [[PapaWolf catches him]] in "Cassandra's Revenge", and they are also shown to work well together in the final episodes. |
| 368 | * WalkingSpoiler: With only half a season before Varian's FaceHeelTurn that kickstarts the overarching plotline, it becomes quite difficult to talk about his involvement. |
| 369 | * WeUsedToBeFriends: With Rapunzel, Cassandra and Eugene. But his friendship with Rapunzel and Eugene is [[SubvertedTrope salvaged]] in the Season 3 premiere. |
| 370 | * WellDoneSonGuy: Really wants his inventions and alchemy to make his dad proud. |
| 371 | * WhenAllYouHaveIsAHammer: He seems to believe all issues can be solved with alchemy, while science can fix many problems, a good a few can't. He tries using alchemy to deal with the kingdom's low opinion of him by erasing their memories so they don’t remember him ever wronging them. |
| 372 | * WiseBeyondHisYears: Downplayed. While Varian ''isn't'' emotionally mature, he's extremely creative, not to mention his numerous experiences have rendered him wise enough to almost get through to Cassandra. "Flynnpostor" shows that he's far more mature than Lance, an adult. |
| 373 | * {{Workaholic}}: Implied throughout Season 3 that ever since Rapunzel gave him his new role for the Kingdom, he’s been burning both ends of the candle regarding finding more about the Moonstone and falling asleep from exhaustion while still trying to keep working. |
| 374 | * WouldHitAGirl: He holds Queen Arianna prisoner, and later tries to kill both her and Cassandra. |
| 375 | * YoungAndInCharge: Varian takes on a BigGood role in the finale, coming up with the plan to reimprison Zhan Tiri. Once all is said and done, he becomes the first Royal Engineer of Corona, meaning he spearheads all the Kingdom's scientific and technological advances, and he's the youngest to hold this position. |
| 376 | * YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: He gets this reaction twice in "Flynnpostor". First, he does a FacePalm when Lance makes his invention look like an ''actual'' rooster. Later, Lance adding too much Flynnoleum to the same invention and causing it to explode results in Varian angrily yelling at him. |
| 377 | * YouKilledMyFather: Blames Rapunzel, and by extension Corona, for not coming to help him in his time of need and letting his father be trapped in crystal, and swears that "they...will...pay." |
| 378 | * YoureInsane: During his duet with Cassandra, he tries telling her that the path of evil ultimately goes nowhere and that she will go mad if she follows it. However, as the song continues her instability becomes increasingly apparent and, while he still holds out hope that Cassandra see the error of her ways, Varian finally tells her she's already gone insane. |
| 379 | -->'''Varian:''' Listen please, you've lost your grip and lost your mind! All's not lost, don’t be so blind! |
| 380 | * YouthfulFreckles: He has this, in addition to BlushStickers. |
| 381 | * YouWillBeSpared: Implied. In "Rapunzel's Return", it's revealed he modified Frederic and Arianna's memories to make them believe he's their most trusted advisor. This raises the question of what happened to the royal family's original royal advisor Nigel, especially since Nigel was the one who had Pete and Stan drag Varian out of the castle when he came to Rapunzel for help and spread the rumor that he attacked Rapunzel (which was something he genuinely believed). However, "Be Very Afraid" shows Nigel alive and well. |
| 382 | [[/folder]] |
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