HBO's next release Harry Potter Adapting TV series has the opportunity to capture a grand narrative found in theatrical production, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Although this complement to Rowling Harry Potter series begins 19 years after the end of Deathly Hallowsyour attempts to undo the “all Slytherins are bad“the rhetoric ultimately failed. The original series also struggled to remedy this stereotype, but HBO Harry Potter The TV reboot has a chance to do a better job.
THE Harry Potter the remake will be more accurate than the original films, but it would be nice to deviate from the source material, just to show that not all Slytherins are evil from the start. This will especially come into play in Snape's character later in the series. And while its plot twist is a surprise, it would be more believable if the Slytherins had some redeeming qualities at the start of the HBO adaptation.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child tried to solve Slytherin's problems from the original series
Cursed child puts Harry Potter's son Albus in Slytherin
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child begins 19 years after the events of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallowsand from the beginning, it tries to fix many Slytherin stereotypes. Playing with the concept of The Deathly Hallows'epilogue sequence, Cursed Child sees Albus Severus Potter, Harry's second son, sorted into Slytherin house instead of Gryffindor. This quickly kicks off the main narrative of the stage production, as Albus doesn't fit in at Hogwarts like everyone expected.
Albus' placement in Slytherin is a tribute to Harry's sorting ceremony, as he himself would have been placed there had he not vehemently refused. Harry's initial rejection began the series' ongoing prejudice against Slytherins. And unfortunately, the characters featured predominantly in the house throughout the Harry Potter series don't help prove this wrong. Although many Slytherins live up to his cruel and cunning values, Cursed Child tries to argue against this through the character of Albus and his friendship with Scorpius.
Why the cursed child's attempts to rescue Slytherin House fail
Albus and Scorpius' friendship feels too little, too late
Although Albus and Scorpius' friendship is endearing from beginning to end, The cursed childthe late addition of their relationship dynamics to the series serves very little purpose for the first few books. Clearly, their characters' personalities and unlikely friendship help prove that not all Slytherins are evil – but Harry's reactions throughout The cursed child their relationship is also a cause for concern. Given The cursed child is fighting nearly 20 years of Slytherin prejudiceHarry's reluctance to accept his son as a Slytherin only proves that the series' Slytherin problems needed to be resolved sooner.
The narrative found throughout the theatrical production would have had a greater impact if the original series had tried to rescue more characters from the Slytherin house previously…
The cursed child I was right to address this, but the plot begins too late after the original series to change the perceptions of most Slytherins. The narrative found throughout the theatrical production would have had a greater impact if the original series had tried to rescue more Slytherin characters earlier – as Rowling did with Snape in Deathly Hallows. While it's fair to assume that not all Slytherins are evil, the books needed to address Slytherin stereotypes sooner. The cursed childstory to really reconstruct readers' perceptions.
HBO's Harry Potter remake may finally solve the series' Slytherin problem for good
Slytherin has more to offer than the books or movies portray
Fortunately, HBO Harry Potter The TV adaptation could solve the series' Slytherin problem from the start. Slytherin house is often associated with its values, portraying members as cunning, resourceful, and ambitious. But Slytherins' ambition and desire to achieve goals need not be negative. Wanting to do well in school is a much admired characteristic among students – and this is something that HBO should highlight in its series adaptation. However, whenever a Slytherin is mentioned in the Harry Potter books, it's usually to point out their flaws and their worst members.
To counter this, the Harry Potter the remake should instead portray Draco and his friends as a small example of Slytherin students who come from corrupt wizarding families – and Slytherins as a whole shouldn't be stereotyped as evil for the actions of their family. It's also extremely unlikely that 25% of Hogwarts' student population are destined to become evil dark wizards. It would be refreshing to see the Harry Potter show addresses this stereotype head on and points out that while a small percentage of Slytherins may fall into this category, that doesn't speak for the whole.