Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, we’re going
to be discussing Harry Potter, and some of the unpopular opinions floating around the
internet regarding the franchise. Harry Potter casts a wide net, and is approachable to all
sorts of different people in many walks of life. It’s great that the story is accessible
and magical to so many- but what comes with such a diverse group of fans is a lot of differing
opinions. In today’s video, I’m going to be selecting 15 UNPOPULAR Harry Potter
opinions from the internet, and sharing them with you all.
15. Quidditch Gameplay
Quidditch is a wizarding sport played on broomsticks wherein players try to score more points than
the opposing team. The game is played by two teams of seven people (three Chasers, two
Beaters, one Keeper, and one Seeker) and involves four balls (a Quaffle, two Bludgers, and a
Golden Snitch). However, despite the games popularity (inside and outside of the magical
world)- many have questioned the games scoring system, including one Reddit user:
“What is the point of a sport where people are playing for a point here and there, but
then one player grabs a ball, scores a million points and ends the game.”
Of course, catching the snitch is not technically an instant-win, it only strongly suggests
a win- as catching it results in 150 points.
14. The books have Too Many Adverbs
For those unaware, an adverb is a word that modifies a verb, an adjective, another adverb
, or even a whole sentence. Adverbs often end in -ly, but some look exactly the same
as their adjective counterparts. The Criticism floating around the internet here is that
Rowling simply filled her books with TOO Many of these adverbs- perhaps running the risk
of being ‘overly’ descriptive. I certainly don’t agree with this one, as I for one
am a fan of descriptive texts-particularly as when the books were first released we didn’t
have the visual aid of the films- causing us to instead rely on our *gasp* imaginations.
13. Hermione Should have Ended up with Viktor Krum
This is a weird one. As we know, Hermione ends up going to the Yule ball with Viktor
Krum- Durmstrang student and triwizard tournament contestant. The unpopular opinion voiced here
is that Hermione should have actually ended up with Viktor Krum instead of Ron. This one,
to me, makes absolutely no sense. I mean, Hermione spent the entire Yule ball trying
to get him to pronounce her name correctly for goodness sake.
12. The Movies Are Better than the Books
This one’s going to rustle a lot of feathers- and just remember that this is NOT my opinion-
but the unpopular opinion of a select few on the internet. One reddit user said the
following:
“I know they removed things that were in the books, changed some plots, blah blah blah.
But when you take the books on their own and the movies on their own, the movies are just
better.”
Some people aren’t big readers- they simply prefer to watch films- and I think that they’re
certainly entitled to their opinion. HOWEVER, what the films did is condense the rich details
and plot points of the books- which meant that a lot of things were left out. I love
both, just in different ways.
11. Half-Blood Prince Is The Best Movie
If you ask most Harry Potter fans what they thought of the films, and which film was their
favourite, you’ll very rarely get a response back that says ‘Half-Blood Prince’. However,
not everyone feels that way, and some have taken to the internet to openly express their
open-ness towards the Half-Blood Prince, just maybe not for the reasons you expected:
"My favorite Harry Potter movie is Half-Blood Prince. It’s a TERRIBLE adaptation but I
think it’s filled with so much 'teenager drama' it’s actually funny and has so many
memorable moments.”
I can’t say I share the same opinion, however, I still enjoyed the movie, just not as much
as some of the others.
10. Neville Should Have been the Chosen One
As we know, Harry Potter- the boy who lived- is the chosen one. He was the one born ‘as
the seventh month dies’ with the power to ‘vanquish the dark lord’. However, some
feel that Neville, who was also born at the end of July, would have been a better chosen
one.
“Neville is better than Harry. Neville is more caring, courageous, and dependable. Harry
did a lot of the leg work because he was labelled “the chosen one,” but Neville was the
one who destroyed the final horcrux in the end, allowing Voldemort to be killed.”
Neville’s a great character, but I think he was perfect right where he was.
9. The Goblet of Fire is Irrelevant
This is certainly an interesting one, particularly as the Goblet of Fire is one of the longer
Harry Potter books (though not the longest). The argument here is that the Goblet of Fire
could be nearly entirely eliminated from the franchise, and not much would change. One
internet goer said the following:
"Book/film number 4 was irrelevant, and can be skipped on rereads and re-watches without
being confused."
However, others were quick to point out that the Goblet of Fire shows how Voldemort came
back to life- which is a rather integral plot point.
8. The Philosopher’s Stone is the Worst Movie
Now, I take this one personally- particularly as the Philosopher’s Stone is one of my
favourite films. The opinion in question here suggests that the first installment of the
film franchise was fundamentally ‘weak’- and that every other installment afterwards
was an improvement. However, the first film’s faithfulness to the events of the novel, paired
with the immense levels of childhood nostalgia, makes it one of MY favourites.
7. The Epilogue was Good
Ending a massive story that has taken place over so many years is no easy feat- and while
I was left a little unsatisfied with the story’s epilogue, I didn’t think it was the worst
thing in the world. I think I was more-so just distraught that the story was coming
to an end. However, the unpopular opinion here is that the epilogue wasn’t just ‘not
bad’- it was good! I certainly don’t agree with this one, but I also don’t think that
the epilogue was a total flop- which many do.
6. Dumbledore was Manipulative
Dumbledore was the beloved Hogwarts headmaster of our childhoods, and he was the same Headmaster
that took a killing blow from Snape atop the astronomy tower- bringing a tear to many fans
eyes. However- not everyone was upset about Dumbledore’s demise- in fact, some fans
think that Dumbledore was actually an extremely manipulative person who didn’t truly care
about anyone else in the story. This is reinforced by a statement expressing that Dumbledore
put those that he was ‘close’ to in danger, all in the name of ‘the greater good’.
This is a tricky one, and I can certainly see how some would look at Dumbledore through
this lens- however, at the end of the day- I think he’s great.
5. The Time Turner was a Cheap Plot Device
The Time-Turner was a magical device used for time travel that appeared in the Harry
Potter series- notably being used by Hermione in the 93-94 school year. The Time Turner
allowed Hermione to take extra classes that her schedule would not otherwise allow- and
this eventually resulted in an extremely stressed out Hermione. However, the time turner is
also later used when Harry saves Sirius Black from the Dementors. Facing imminent death,
it looked like Sirius was done for- but, thanks to a tip from Dumbledore, Harry ended up using
the time turner and saving him. Some fans argue that this was a cheap and easy plot
device- and that this whole saving Sirius thing should have perhaps been approached
differently / more elaborately.
4. Harry’s Kids Names
In the epilogue we see Harry sending his children off to Hogwarts- and a familiar scene at platform
9 ¾. There are a lot of familiar things in this scene- and this includes the names of
Harry’s children- James Sirius, Lily Luna, and most notably- Albus Severus. Though the
potterverse is a little conflicted on the intentions of Snape and Dumbledore over the
course of the books/films- I think that Harry honouring them by naming his son after them
was meant to paint them in a positive light. However, one opinion floating around the internet
is that they were undeserving of this honour, and that Harry should have instead named his
son after people who were always there for him- people like Hagrid, Remus or even Arthur
Weasley.
3. Voldemort had the saddest backstory
Voldemort isn’t the type of character that’s meant to be given sympathy. He’s a psychopath,
a murderer, and the primary antagonist in the story. He makes everyone’s life harder-
and his very presence threatens the sanctity of the wizarding world. Most people truly
don’t care about Voldemort and his feelings (or rather, lack of feelings), but one interesting
opinion floating around the internet is that Voldemort had the saddest backstory of them
all. Abandoned at an orphanage by a mother who died shortly thereafter, Voldemort certainly
had a rough start. The stance here is that Voldemort’s actions were, though inexcusable
and heinous, rooted in hurt and tragedy rather than pure evil.
2. Draco Malfoy Deserved Better
Draco Malfoy was a pure-blood British wizard that hailed from the Malfoy family. More importantly,
he was a Slytherin student at Hogwarts and essentially, Harry’s rival. Draco makes
a poor first impression in both the books and films- and he’s portrayed as the quintessential
bully. As the books develop, Draco gets darker and darker- struggling with the immense pressure
placed on him by his family and the Death Eaters. By the time the books/films end Draco
isn’t painted as ‘evil’ anymore, but he also didn’t really get a redemption arc.
The argument here is that Draco Malfoy became the person that he was because he was a product
of his environment and that he had no choice. And what this means from an opinion standpoint
is that Draco simply deserved better, and I think that’s a fair opinion.
1. Michael Gambon was better than Richard Harris
If you didn’t know already, TWO actors played Dumbledore- first Richard Harris who played
him in the first two films, and later Michael Gambon who picked up the rest of the films
after Harris died. The argument here is that Gambon was a better Dumbledore than Harris,
and- though this is quite a divisive topic, I think (I THINK) that a majority of people
prefer Harris- as he is generally considered to be a closer representation of what is depicted
in the books. However- evidently not everyone shares this opinion, and some have expressed
their support for Gambon in the role- explaining that they could never have imagined Harris
in the more action packed sequences. I for one like them both, just in different ways.
And that’s it for this video! Remember- these are not my opinions, these are just
some of the opinions of the internet. What do you guys think? Do any of these have merit?
Which do you agree with? Which do you NOT agree with? Comment down below
Until next time
It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live