Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory.
Soo..How’s that for a working title? Now, I’m sure you all remember one particular
sequence near the beginning of the Half-Blood Prince. In a glum, lifeless setting Harry
sits alone in a cafe- (Treats Cafe to be exact) looking down on his luck- reading the latest
in the daily prophet. In the film prior Harry had lost his godfather Sirius, one of the
last real connections that he had with his parents. Additionally, by this point it had
become abundantly clear that Voldemort was once again rising to power- this certainly
didn’t brighten the occasion.
It’s later revealed that Harry spent a lot of time at Treats Cafe over the summer of
1996- as it was conveniently located at Surbiton train station. You see, Harry had a lot to
think about- and with school out he still needed some kind of outlet to occupy his thoughts.
Harry found solace in train-hopping, travelling around the country with no real destination.
Though it didn’t solve his problems, it provided him with some level of relief- a
way to decompress. However, no matter where Harry travelled, he would often find himself
back at Treats Cafe. Despite spending the summer alone, Harry was not entirely devoid
of human interaction, for you see- there was a waitress at treats cafe that tickled Harry’s
fancy. This girl- he liked to talking to her- and I expect that it was primarily because
she knew nothing of the wizarding world- she knew nothing..of magic. To her he wasn’t
‘Harry Potter- the boy who lived’- he was just the strange guy who rode trains all
day.
"Harry Potter... Who's Harry Potter?"
"Oh, no one. Bit of a tosser, really."
One big mistake on Harry’s part, however, was reading a MAGICAL paper in a muggle setting-
as the waitress eventually became privy to the moving pictures on the pages- a violation
of the international statute of secrecy. Fortunately for Harry, however, the waitress was able
to brush it off due to ‘working late’- so nothing came of it. One undeniable aspect
of this scene, however, was that there was an odd chemistry between Harry and the unnamed
waitress. A chemistry which, as far as the films are concerned, was never really established
between Harry and Ginny. What’s strange about that? Oh, I don’t know- they only..end
up marrying each other! In my opinion this was one of the films biggest faults- and I
say FILM explicitly here because this was not a mistake made by the books. Let me be
completely clear: this was a movie error- a fundamental lack of development with regards
to Ginny’s character. I love the movies- don’t get me wrong, but one of the biggest
mistakes they made was their approach to Harry & Ginny, as their relationship alway seemed
very ‘sudden’ and ‘forced’.
You see, their relationship is much more complex than the films depict. In the books Harry
suppresses his feelings for Ginny over a long period of time, and the films critical error
here is that they made it seem like this was some sudden, new thing with an IMMEDIATE onset.
To the casual observer or someone that has only seen the films, Harry and Ginny’s relationship
comes out of nowhere. Failure to develop Ginny’s character inhibited their ability to develop
her relationship with Harry. In the films we see Ginny dating other guys in an attempt
to get over Harry- but once again- without the context of the books, it wouldn’t necessarily
appear that way. It would just look like Ginny..dating, which she is certainly allowed to do.
Book Ginny was the quintessential Gryffindor — brave, sassy, and powerful. Film Ginny
was meek, quiet and shy. Book Ginny was a culmination of all the best traits of the
Weasley clan with her own, fiery, independent personality. Film Ginny was flat with a personality
that was forcibly injected with one-liners.
Don’t get me wrong- I loved the Harry Potter movies, I’m not a book or nothing type of
fan. I grew up watching them and I aged as the characters aged- making it an extremely
special occasion going to see the newest release. However, on this account- they certainly failed
to live up to the books expectations - as in my opinion FILM Harry Potter was better
suited to, not Ginny Wealsey, but the waitress of treats cafe.
And that’s it for this video! If you enjoyed it, please consider liking the video and subscribing
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Until next time
Anything's possible if you've got enough nerve.