Hey everyone,
Welcome to another instalment of Harry Potter Theory.
Today, we’ll be discussing some of the wizarding world’s most UNPOPULAR Harry Potter opinions.
As with just about any famous work of fiction, the Harry Potter series is the subject of
many an opinion.
Since the first book, The Philosopher’s Stone, came out in June of 1997, fan theories,
discussions and opinions have run rampant.
After all, the adventures of Harry Potter take place within its own universe, with an
entire world of magical lore up for interpretation.
And while there are many similar—and therefore POPULAR—opinions out there about the Harry
Potter books, movies, and characters, there are also quite a few UNPOPULAR ones as well.
In today’s video, I’ll be taking you through some of these fan opinions that lean more
towards the unpopular side of things—starting off with…
#10: Harry should’ve learned more magic.
Faster.
Considering that Harry found out that he was a wizard and could do magic at the same time
that he discovered that a super evil wizard had murdered his family in an attempt to kill
him, it seems a little odd that he doesn’t put more effort into his magical education—like
IMMEDIATELY.
Of course, the majority of the wizarding world believed Voldemort to be dead and gone.
But if you heard even the slightest whisper that the person who’d once tried to assassinate
you and killed your parents might still be around, I imagine you’d get to work figuring
out how to defend yourself, wouldn’t you?
And yet, Harry seems a lot more preoccupied with his friendships, annual mysteries around
Hogwarts Castle and the game of Quidditch.
Even when he gets a bit older and the threat of Voldemort’s return becomes a lot more
likely, and actually quite evident, he still doesn’t seem to take his magical education
all that seriously, sticking with his trusty ol’ Expelliarmus and being incredibly difficult
with Professor Snape as he attempts to teach him Occlumency.
#9: Hagrid is an overrated character.
I don’t agree with this one BUT here it is.
Rubeus Hagrid, the lovable half-giant and Hogwarts Gamekeeper, is said by some fans
to actually be one of the most OVERRATED characters in the series.
Why?
Because, although his love for Harry was real and it seemed like he genuinely cared for
the people in his life, he really wasn’t that great of a person or role model.
To start with, he was quite prejudiced, saying things to an eleven-year-old Harry like, “There's
not a single witch or wizard who went bad who wasn't in Slytherin.”
And, “Never mess with goblins, Harry."
He also continually put the students—Harry included—in danger, taking first-year students
out into the Forbidden Forest at night and leaving them alone to help him get his tasks
done faster.
Finally, when he was given the Care of Magical Creatures’ teaching position—despite not
having the proper credentials—he was quite negligent, bringing dangerous magical animals
around students without properly educating the children on how to handle them.
#8: Quidditch doesn’t make any sense.
There are fans out there who argue that the wizarding world’s most famous sporting event
is in fact quite bonkers.
Why is it played so high up in the air?
Why wouldn’t there be standard regulations on players’ broomsticks—especially in
a school setting?
What’s the point of having dangerous balls rocketing around to try and knock you down?
And why ON EARTH would the majority of any given Quidditch team focus so heavily on scoring
measly 10-point goals when catching the Golden Snitch and earning 150 bonus points is clearly
the only thing that actually matters?
These are great questions, and to be honest, I don’t disagree…
#7: The movie adaptation of Bellatrix was a disaster.
I don’t agree with this one either, but let me share the sentiment of others.
In the novels, Bellatrix Lestrange was clearly a psychopath.
She was a devoted Death Eater who was willing to do dark and terrible things in the name
of serving Lord Voldemort.
But she was also tactfully manipulative, incredibly smart, and quite put together.
In the movies, however, Bellatrix Lestrange was a straight up basket case who was more
of a caricature than a true adaptation of the much more complex dark witch who graced
the pages of the books.
#6: Remus Lupin wasn’t all that likeable.
As one of James Potter’s best friends and member of the Marauders, it’s easy for fans
to lump Remus Lupin in with some of the most interesting and likeable characters in the
entire series.
What’s more, he was also a werewolf, giving him an entirely new and fascinating background
that fans had not learned about prior to his character’s introduction.
But if you really look at the majority of his interactions with Harry and the series’
other characters, he really wasn’t all that nice of a guy.
He helped his friends bully Severus Snape while he was a student at Hogwarts, despite
knowing full well what it was like to be different and unaccepted for who you are.
He also didn’t stand up for Sirius Black, one of his supposed best friends, when he
was framed for the murder of his other friends, James and Lily—in fact, he actually BELIEVED
that Sirius was guilty.
Lastly, he rebuked the affections of Nymphadora Tonks rather unkindly on more than one occasion—despite
also having feelings for her.
#5: The teenage love stories were unnecessary and weak.
Now, I completely understand the need to provide the young characters of Harry Potter with
some experience in the dating world before ending up with their “forever person”—more
on that in just a moment—but did there really need to be SO MANY flimsy teenage love stories
throughout the series?
I’m talking about Harry and Cho, Ron and Lavender, Hermione and Krum, AND Ginny and
Dean.
In my opinion, and in some other fans’ as well, these courtships were mostly just distracting
from the larger narratives and more interesting storylines.
#4: Dumbledore was a terrible headmaster.
Professor Albus Dumbledore was many things—famous wizard, magical mentor, and lover of sherbert
lemons —but spectacular headmaster?
Not according to this fan opinion.
To clarify, many people have talked about whether or not Dumbledore was actually evil—but
not as many people have openly said that he was just plain terrible at his job.
This particular opinion points out that he was rarely at Hogwarts School when he was
needed—like when it turned out that Professor Quirrell, a Professor who Dumbledore had hired,
actually had Voldemort on the back of his head, or basically whenever Harry needed him.
He also constantly put the student population in danger, what with the elaborate maze of
magical traps set up inside the castle to protect the Philosopher’s Stone, allowing
students to stay at school when the Chamber of Secrets reopened, allowing students to
stay at school AGAIN when an escaped convicted criminal was thought to be targeting Harry
AT the school, allowing the incredibly dangerous, antiquated Triwizard Tournament to start up
again…shall I continue?
Better not, or we’ll run out of time!
#3: Kreacher was a better House Elf than Dobby.
Like many fans, I found the death of the beloved House Elf Dobby quite devastating.
He had looked out for Harry for years, and we’d watched him escape the Malfoy family
and explore his newfound freedom.
He was well-intentioned and selfless—wasn’t he?
Well, according to some fans, he was actually a lot more annoying than anything else, making
Kreacher a lot more tolerable in their minds.
The fact that Kreacher had a sympathetic storyline, having helped Regulus Black steal a Horcrux,
only to watch his master die during the effort, Kreacher was loyal to the end.
Although, it’s hard to argue that Dobby wasn’t also…so…hard to say for me!
#2: The ending was a little—okay, QUITE—absurd.
If you favour neat and tidy endings, then you likely LOVED the way that the Deathly
Hallows’ epilogue chapter, Nineteen Years Later, played out.
But for some fans, this scene was just TOO sickly sweet for their taste.
The most common complaints revolve around how perfectly the relationships lined up,
with Harry and Ginny ending up together and Ron and Hermione also ending up together,
and the names of their children, specifically Harry and Ginny’s, being almost as intolerable
as their relationships, with each of the kids being named after dead characters in the series.
From James Sirius Potter to Albus Severus Potter, and even Lily Luna Potter, not only
are each of these names a little morbid, they’re also just…well, really cheesy.
#1: Choosing Peter Pettigrew as a Secret Keeper was a stupid choice.
Throughout the series, we come to learn more and more about the death of Harry Potter’s
parents, James and Lily Potter, and how exactly they were killed.
Not only were they targeted and murdered by one of the wizarding world’s darkest and
most evil wizards to ever live—I’m, of course, referring to Lord Voldemort—they
were also betrayed by one of their closest friends, Peter Pettigrew—or Wormtail, as
he was called by James and their other friends.
Wormtail’s betrayal came about not too long after these “friends” had all graduated
from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.
The Potters discovered that Voldemort believed their infant son, Harry, would be his inevitable
downfall, and therefore planned to kill him.
To protect their baby and themselves, they magically concealed their whereabouts by performing
the Fidelius Charm and giving their location to a Secret Keeper.
Instead of choosing James’ best friend, Sirius Black, or the only wizard Voldemort
has ever openly feared, Albus Dumbledore, they opted for their other, less talented
friend, Peter—because, hey, why would Voldemort ever think to question that guy?
But considering that, at the time, there were known spies within their circle, it really
doesn’t seem all that wise for James and Lily to have chosen to go with someone who
they weren’t one-hundred percent confident in—like James' best friend or the all-powerful
Dumbledore.
Or maybe they were confident in Peter—but that still doesn’t make it a smart choice,
now does it?
In fact, the SMARTEST choice may have been for them to be their own Secret Keepers.
And, with that, we’ve come to the end of another video!
What did you think?
What are YOUR most unpopular Harry Potter opinions?
Please share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Until next time…remember…
“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live.”