Hey everyone,
Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In today’s video, I’m going to
be discussing the infamous killing curse- Avada Kedavra. More specifically, I’m going
to be discussing the use of the fatal curse, why it’s unforgivable, and how it could
actually possibly be merciful. Why is ‘Avada Kedavra’ banned specifically when there
are plenty of other ways to end someones life? Why is ‘Avada Kedavra’ so bad when you
can just ‘Bombarda Maxima’ someone? Let’s dive in to it further.
First things first: What IS Avada Kedavra? Avada Kedavra is one of three curses classified
as ‘unforgivable’- dark and powerful spells dubbed so morally questionable that they were
banned in the wizarding world.
The Unforgivable Curses are tools of the Dark Arts and generally only used by the darkest
and most sadistic witches and wizards. These ‘unforgivable curses’ are comprised of
Crucio, Imperio and Avada Kedavra. The effects of the spells vary- Crucio aka the Cruciatus
curse is designed to cause torturous pain. Imperio aka the Imperius Curse is almost like
a form of mind control and forces the victim to perform the unquestioned bidding of the
caster. Avada Kedavra, on the other hand, is much more simple- it just..Kills people.
If you want to kill someone and you’re not afraid of breaking wizarding law, then this
is the spell to use. When cast, it creates a blindingly intense green bolt of light right
before the victim simply drops dead.
All three curses require proper ‘intent’ and proficient ability at performing magic
in order to cast- otherwise they are relatively ineffective.
But what, you may ask, is the reason for the ‘unforgivable’ status of Avada Kedavra?
Crucio tortures- and it tortures more than any other spell- so I get that one. Imperio
is basically mind control, and no other spell does that, so again- the ‘unforgivable’
label is warranted. But- killing? There are PLENTY of spells that bear the capacity to
kill.
Bombarda Maxima, Fiendfyre, Sectumsempra, Confringo- all of these bear the capacity
to kill a target and more. What makes ‘Avada Kedavra’ different?
First of all- there’s no confirmed explanation as for how avada kedavra actually kills you.
From the outside perspective, by the time the blindingly intense flash of green light
is produced, the victim is dead. What I can say is this: they die instantaneously- and
in the muggle world- instantaneous death- achieved by lethal injection-is often considered
‘humane’ in the right context- like when an injured animal has no chance of survival.
It ends a life with seemingly the least suffering possible. Bombarda Maxima on the other hand
can’t be a pleasant way to die- being blown to pieces. So, if it ends their life INSTANTLY
without what appears to be any kind of suffering- why is it in fact unforgivable?
First of all- despite the victims dying seemingly instantly- I think there’s actually a lot
more happening than meets the eye. In a video I made recently, I had a few theories for
HOW avada kedavra actually kills you- and one of the more convincing theories that I
landed on suggests that the soul is magically ripped from the body. However, there’s more
to it than that- because we know that dementors operate in a similar fashion but still leave
you alive.
My theory is that avada kedavra, similar to the way that a dementor sucks out the soul
of a living being, takes their soul from them. However, the difference between how avada
kedavra does it and how dementors do it just boils down to the effectiveness at which the
soul is ripped from the body. Dementors do it slowly- draining them of their lifeforce
and leaving them with just enough humanity to stay alive- avada kedavra on the other
hands abruptly RIPS the soul from the body- leaving them with nothing left.
So while it may look unassuming at surface level, avada kedavra kills people in a way
that transcends their physical form- it’s more sinister than just blowing someone up
as it rocks their very soul. Additionally, it has been expressed that in order to properly
cast avada kedavra-true intent must be there- so the very fact that it’s linked with such
deep and dark intent may be one of the reasons that it’s unforgivable.
However, if my theory is wrong- and it doesn’t pertain to the soul-it just stops the organs
instantly, then it may actually be one of the more MERCIFUL ways to kill someone, as
it simply ends their life instantaneously without dragging out their suffering.
What do you guys think? Is avada kedavra a sinister method of ripping out someones soul?
Or just a mislabelled weapon of..mercy?
Let me know in the comment section below
Until next time
You're a little scary sometimes, you know that? Brilliant.. But scary.
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