An Encanto Theory Turns Dolores Into the Villain

 Next to other Madrigal family members in Encanto, Dolores often gets overlooked, but one fan theory paints her as the story's true villain

WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Encanto, now streaming on Disney+.

Since Encanto arrived on Disney+, fans have gone wild over the theory opportunities offered by the abode of the Familia Madrigal. From guesses about the source of Casita's magic to games of "Where’s Bruno," the subtle details and unexplored parts of the Madrigals have inspired many questions among the Encanto faithful.

The award-winning film has found some of its greatest consumption on Reddit, where fans post their theories to satisfy unanswered questions. There's been a major focus on Dolores and the fact that, even though she has incredible powers of hearing, she didn’t know that Bruno lived in Casita's walls for a decade. Given that Dolores was just on the other side of the wall from Bruno, her not telling the family about him is hard to understand unless it was intentional. According to a recent Reddit theory, Dolores' silence was not only intentional but malevolent.

To begin, Redditor rejectedxmen points out that Dolores states many times throughout Encanto that she can hear Bruno in the house. Even at the end of the film, she states that she "knew he never left." This indicates that she didn't just think that rats were talking in the walls. In fact, she was fully aware of his presence and chose not to let the other Madrigals in on the secret, even when Bruno and Mirabel were talking in Bruno's new "kitchen-adjacent" room.

A possible explanation for all of this stems from Dolores being treated as a tool for Abuela's purposes. Without a visually stunning ability, Dolores had to allow for her gift to be a minor utility for Abuela and a major annoyance for herself. One could understand if she preferred to be free of her power. If she wanted this, then she just needed to allow the candle to go out and Casita to fall. When Bruno had his vision the night of Mirabel's rejection, Dolores may well have heard what happened. After hearing of a possibility that lined up with her desires, Dolores only needed to wait and listen.

This further feeds into her characterization at the proposal dinner between Isabela and Mariano. After hearing Mirabel and Augustín, Dolores goes to dinner and, knowing the chaos that will come to pass, reveals the secret to the entire family. Finally, she shouts it aloud to ruin the dinner and proposal completely. She also knows this will drive a wedge between Isabela and Mirabel, causing a greater rift in the family and making it more difficult for the Madrigals to rally around Mirabel, whom Dolores no doubt knew would either keep the house together or tear it apart.

Some fans have pointed out that there are holes in the story. Dolores may just have kept Bruno's secret. If this is true, then it creates a problem with her inability to keep Mirabel's secret until after the proposal dinner. Some fans say Encanto paints her as the family gossip, but this makes it difficult to understand why she didn’t say sooner that Bruno was still around.

Ultimately, there are too many variables to ignore the fact that, for some reason, Dolores kept Bruno's presence secret but announced a much more acute secret to her family. Given her place in the plot, Dolores often seems to be trying to take down the Casa Madrigal. After accomplishing this at the end of Encanto and getting together with Mariano, Dolores' abilities would be irrelevant to her when the house went back up. Abuela even stopped treating her gift as utilitarian. In the end, Dolores got what she wanted: the man of her dreams and the fall of the Casa Madrigal.

To see the possible malevolence of Dolores, Encanto is now streaming on Disney+.