I’ve long had a problem with Voldemort’s backstory, but I’m looking forward to the upcoming one Harry Potter Remake can fix it. Every villain needs a great origin story, and Voldemort’s was certainly intriguing. The details of his parents’ meeting and marriage are extensively explored in the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince book, and the sequences in the Pensive have long been among my favorites in the series. However, the simplistic explanation for Voldemort’s evil never sat quite right with me – but this could be an easy fix for the Harry Potter TV show.
in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood PrinceHarry takes trips into the Pensive to learn all about Voldemort’s past. Here, he saw the villain’s mother, Merope Gaunt, and witnessed her desperate obsession with a local muggle man, Tom Riddle. Dumbledore explained that Merope had used a love potion on Riddle, tricking the man into marrying and having a child with her. When Voldemort’s father stopped receiving his daily dose, he abandoned the pregnant Merope, and the woman died of a broken heart after giving birth to her son. It is a tragic story, however The implication of this Harry Potter History is a bit jarring.
Voldemort’s backstory in the Harry Potter books has a problematic underlying message
The idea that bad people are born out of bad circumstances is not a big deal
The idea here is that Voldemort is angry because of a profound lack of love in his life. He was conceived by deception, and rather than a loving marriage, the Riddles’ relationship was all about obsession. Although Voldemort was not raised by his parents, The implication is that Merope’s crimes have magical consequencesWhat made her son an unfeeling, unheard monster. This is meant to stand as a stark contrast to Harry. The boy who lived also grew up an orphan, but he was brought into the world through love and sacrifice, so he is perfectly fine.
While I recognize the literary poetry of the villain-hero dynamic, it is a rather problematic approach to Voldemort’s evil. There is already a stigma against those born through adverse circumstances, and Voldemort’s story only seems to reinforce this. The evil of Harry Potter Being angry because his mother has magical advantage over his father is a slightly oversimplified perspective on morality. I find it frustrating that a series that spends so much time exploring moral ambiguity would allow its primary villain no chance 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 fix these problems
I have no problem with Voldemort being completely evil Harry Potter. However, the negative stereotype that his story seems to support can be cast aside with some added complexities to the villain’s character. It’s implied by Play Half-Blood Prince That Tom Riddle was evil from the start. He was polite and charismatic, but he tortured his fellow orphans and killed animals from the time he was a small boy. Such letters are always terrifying, however It might be more interesting to see a time in Riddle’s life when he wanted love and ultimately chose to cast it aside.
When he learned the truth about his circumstances, it would make sense that he himself would decide that this is why he always had such dark impulses – to believe that his bad deeds were not his fault, but his parents’.
This version of Voldemort’s character would further reinforce the idea that a man’s circumstances make it Harder To be kind, but it would not point the finger entirely to the crimes of his parents. I would like to see Riddle learn about his mother, hoping to discover that he was loved and wanted. When he learned the truth about his circumstances, it would make sense that he himself would decide that this is why he always had such dark impulses – to believe that his bad deeds were not his fault, but his parents’. of course, The ultimate truth would be that Voldemort alone 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 Must Keep the Books Themes on Morality (But Make Some Shifts)
The above scenario could very well already be the case Harry Potter. After all, the books and movies never provided much of Voldemort’s perspective, and we never see his own thoughts about the circumstances of his birth. My hope is that this is an angle from 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, in which it looks like the boy might turn things around until he chooses not to take responsibility for his actions.
In this way, the Harry Potter series would add nuance to Voldemort’s story without changing his canon character. After all, what is a new adaptation (especially one in which the author is participating) if it does not add further context to the characters described by the books? Lord Voldemort is an excellent villain, however Harry’s perspective creates a black-and-white view of morality that is never realistic. To reinforce the topics of Harry PotterThe upcoming TV show may prove that Voldemort is even more complicated than he ever was before.