I’ve long had problems with Voldemort’s story, but I hope the next one Harry Potter the remake might fix that. Every villain needs a great origin story, and Voldemort’s was certainly intriguing. The details of his parents’ meeting and marriage have been explored extensively in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book, and these sequences in the Pensieve have long been among my favorites in the series. However, the simplistic explanation for Voldemort’s evil never sat well with me – but this could be an easy solution to the problem. Harry Potter TV program.
In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry goes to the Pensieve to learn everything about Voldemort’s past. Here, he saw the villain’s mother, Merope Gaunt, and witnessed her desperate obsession with a local Muggle, Tom Riddle. Dumbledore explained that Merope used a love potion on Riddle, tricking the man into marrying and having a child with her. When Voldemort’s father stopped taking his daily dose, he left Merope pregnant, and the woman died of a broken heart after giving birth to their son. It’s a tragic story, but the implication of this Harry Potter the story is a little shocking.
Voldemort’s story in the Harry Potter books has a problematic underlying message
The idea that bad people are born from bad circumstances is not good
The idea here is that Voldemort is evil because of a profound lack of love in his life. He was conceived in error, and instead of a loving marriage, the Riddles’ relationship was completely obsessive. Although Voldemort was not raised by his parents, the implication is that Merope’s crimes had magical consequenceswhich made his son a callous and ruthless monster. This is intended to be a stark contrast to Harry. The Boy Who Lived was also raised as an orphan, but was brought into the world through love and sacrifice, which is why he is inherently good.
While I recognize the literary poetry of this villain-hero dynamic, it’s a rather problematic take on Voldemort’s evil. There is already a stigma against those who are born into adverse circumstances, and Voldemort’s story only seems to reinforce this. The villain of Harry Potter being evil because his mother took magical advantage over his father is a somewhat simplified perspective on morality. I find it frustrating that a series that spends so much time exploring moral ambiguity doesn’t allow its main villain any opportunity to be more than his circumstances.
Voldemort would be a more interesting villain if Harry Potter made him more complex
Adding more layers to Voldemort’s character would solve these problems
I have no problem with Voldemort being inherently evil in Harry Potter. However, the negative stereotype that his story seems to support could be set aside with some added complexities to the villain’s character. It is implied through Half-Blood Prince that Tom Riddle was evil from the beginning. He was polite and charismatic, but he tormented his fellow orphans and killed animals from an early age. These characters are always scary, but It might be more interesting to see a moment in Riddle’s life where he longed for love and ultimately decided to let it go.
When he discovers the truth about his circumstances, it would make sense that he himself would decide that this is why he has always had such dark impulses: to believe that his bad actions are not his fault, but those of his parents.
This version of Voldemort’s character would still reinforce the idea that a person’s circumstances make them more difficult be good, but wouldn’t fully point the finger at his parents’ crimes. I would love to see Riddle learn about his mother, in hopes of discovering that he was loved and wanted. When he discovers the truth about his circumstances, it would make sense that he himself would decide that this is why he has always had such dark impulses: to believe that his bad actions are not his fault, but those of his parents. Of course, the ultimate truth would be that only Voldemort is responsible for his evil.
I hope HBO’s Harry Potter remake fixes this part of Voldemort’s origin story
The Harry Potter TV Show Should Keep The Books’ Themes About Morality (But Make Some Changes)
The above scenario could very well already be the case in Harry Potter. After all, the books and films never provided much of Voldemort’s perspective, and we never see his own thoughts on the circumstances of his birth. My hope is that this is an angle that HBO Harry Potter TV show would be able to dive. With entire seasons dedicated to each Harry Potter book, It would be interesting to see an episode or two that takes Riddle’s perspective as he learns about his past.. We can see the smallest moment, where it seems like the boy can change things until he decides not to take responsibility for his actions.
In this way, the Harry Potter the series would add nuance to Voldemort’s story without changing his canonical character. After all, what’s the point of a new adaptation (especially one in which the author participates) if it doesn’t add more context to the character described in the books? Lord Voldemort is an excellent villain, but Harry’s perspective creates a black and white view of morality that is never realistic. To reinforce the themes of Harry Potterthe upcoming TV show could prove that Voldemort is even more complex than he seemed before.