My Wish: What Should Have Happened in the Harry Potter Series

With the final chapter of the Harry Potter movie series being released, I find it a good time to reflect on the movie series as a whole.  I’ve been looking for answers to a few questions that nag at me while I watch the films.  Being unsuccessful in finding answers elsewhere, I took the liberty to answer them on my own.    Enjoy!

Warning, real magical spells lie within!

·         My Harry Potter wish list begins with Daniel Radcliffe.  Radcliffe did not progress as an actor as well as the other two members of the “Big Three.”  We watched Emma Watson and Rupert Grin progress as actors on the big screen (more on these 2 in another post), but Radcliffe just didn’t make the same strides.  Although I will say, he showed improvement in the last three films.  The highlight of his improvement definitely came in the 6th movie.  While he’s under the influence of the Liquid Luck potion, he has a run-in with Professor Slughorn and Hagrid.  What an entertaining scene!  Compared with his usual stiff delivery and uncomfortable posture, I was quite pleased.  During their exchange, Radcliffe brilliantly points out the obviousness of Slughorn’s secretive actions in the green house by humorously describing to him the details of what he’s doing, and yet later Radcliffe eloquently pleads with Slughorn for the last remaining memory of Tom Riddle that he and Dumbledore need.  Radcliffe’s use of tone and body language to implore Slughorn to help him is truly a work of art.  One of the few times where Radcliffe actually captivated his audience.  

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, and Rupert Grint

While a lot of his scenes were fine, the audience was far too often instilled with subpar angry illustrations and inflicted with chopped up lines when Harry was under ‘duress’. While laying awkwardly across Cedric’s body in Harry Potter 4, he chokingly (not fearfully, not sadly, not even painfully, but chokingly) coughs out his lines:  “Voldemort...he’s back…Cedric’s body…”  Radcliffe is truly awful in this scene.  I am quite certain that the audience was in more pain watching Radcliffe regurgitate his line rather than his actual portrayal of pain (if that’s even the emotion he was attempting to illustrate).

I’m not necessarily calling for Radcliffe’s head (or demanding a re-shoot by any means), all I’m doing is searching for answers:  Was he unwilling to work on his acting early on?  Was he lacking an incentive to improve?  I hear he was paid handsomely ($50 million for the final 2 movies!); was his job security unmotivating?  I’ve read he’s not that bad in his plays, maybe he continued to be distracted by those pursuits?   Whatever it may be, I wish with my magical Harry Potter wand that Daniel Radcliffe had made better acting progression.  With my wand pointed toward the sky:  Accio hard work?  Acting lessons?  Motivation?  Different actor?  Hope this spell works.

·         The second item on my wish list isn’t too far from this topic: Harry and Hermione should be together.  Ginny was a bad choice and Ron and Hermione don’t fit.  This has always bothered me to the extreme.  I always felt like Ginny came out of nowhere and Ron and Hermione were just pushed together like 2 pieces of a puzzle that didn’t fit.  The romantic inside me does not necessarily believe that opposites attract (like Hermione and Ron), but rather the two in a relationship complement and complete each other.  Hermione and Harry would definitely complement and complete each other in a more appropriate way.  Hermione was next to Harry the whole time they were searching for Horcruxes, even when Ron left.  They even have similar backgrounds of not growing up around magic.  In Harry Potter 1, they have a tender moment where Hermione admires Harry, “you’re a great wizard Harry, you really are.”  Harry replies “not as good as you.”  “Me?” Hermione laughs, “Books and cleverness, there are more important things, like friendship and bravery.”  In Harry Potter 6, Harry was there comforting her as Ron was interested in another woman.  Whether it was early on in their relationship or more recent, they showed great chemistry. 

On-screen, there is no question that Ginny and Harry had no chemistry between each other.  My biggest issue with Ginny and Harry’s relationship was their lack of dialogue on-screen.  It was as if the script told them to be in love and that was that, no development added.   Every time Ginny was on-screen I couldn’t help but watch the train wreck ensue, no matter how much I wanted to avert my eyes.  Even in the book where Ginny’s character is a little more developed, their relationship doesn’t really make a ton of sense.  With my wand pointed towards Harry and Hermione’s hearts:  Alohamora!  That should open their hearts toward each other, right?  With my wand pointed towards Ginny:  Shoo away girl, Reducto! 

·         My third wish would be to give Bellatrix Lestrange, a.k.a. Coolest Death Eater Ever, a proper death.  Bellatrix’s hasty death by Mrs. Weasly was misconceived.  We knew Neville’s parents were killed by Lestrange, and we watched Neville grow more and more confident in himself throughout the series.  We needed some closure to Neville’s successful side story, and him finishing off Lestrange would have done it for the audience.  J.K. Rowling claims that Molly killed Bellatrix as a demonstration of maternal instincts and to illustrate Molly as a powerful witch.  We already knew Molly had to be talented or she wouldn’t have been in the Order of the Phoenix.  The bigger issue, however, lies in the lack of development of Molly’s character in the movie.  She just wasn’t given the screen time to accomplish J.K.’s goal.  With my wand pointed toward Molly and Bellatrix: Expelliarmus!  Enter Neville stage left to finish the job.

Matthew Lewis plays Neville Longbottom and should have been
the character to exact revenge on Bellatrix Lestrange.

·         For my final wish, I must address a very troubling issue to me: the timely use of potions.  The inconsistent use of potions really hurts the overall effect of creating a ‘wizarding world.’  There are so many times when Veritaserum (truth potion) could have been used to shape the story but was neglected and only brought up when convenient.  For example, Snape threatens to use it on Harry and Umbridge was known to use it during interrogation of students.  Dumbledore even used it on Crouch Jr.  Why then, could it not have been used to free Sirius Black?  He could have taken it in front of Fudge and been set free.  Why couldn’t it have been used to help Harry convince others, namely Fudge, that Voldemort had indeed returned?  Fudge does not want to believe Harry and Dumbledore, so using Veritaserum to get the truth would be a victory in his eyes.  There is literally no down side to using Veritaserum to liberate people, yet, it’s only used for condemnation; very conveniently inconsistent.  With my wand pointing at J.K. Rowling’s mind: Lumos!  That ought to enlighten her.

        All in all, I really do enjoy the series.  I truly enjoy being able to re-watch these movies and escape into a new world with magic and adventure.  Stay tuned for my next Harry Potter piece on Dumbledore!

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