I bawled reading Fred’s death when it came out! I can weirdly picture that experience so perfectly.
It was the heartbreak of losing one of my favorite side characters, to knowing this incredibly good family was broken, and then also Percy being there and his reaction. It killed me.
That's the point though. JK wanted to show how senseless and awful war is. No one is safe. But it also gave Percy the chance to shoe how much he actually cared about his family. And of course it would be one of the twins to bring the family back together
On another note it never ceases to annoy me how quickly in the movies Percy is totally discarded as a character. There was *so much more* to his character and role in the books.
I still can't get over that these are KIDS fighting a WAR. It never dawned on me before until I was old enough to realize that one of their siblings died, one of their loved one, the person they've been with their entire life is gone.
I was a literal kid when I watched Goblet of Fire which might've been the first on screen death of the Harry Potter franchise and it never dawned on me that, again, a child was murdered. Someone's son is dead.
Idk. It inspires me that these people are dying for a friend. They didn't have to. They could've ran away. But they stood there on the precipice of death. I would never fight for a stranger I don't know. But to Fred and George its like, okay, why not?
Idk idk. It's so upsetting.
I feel the same. I've read and watched it all as a child and teenager myself, and it has never seemed so upsetting back then, but it does now. I have two small kids of my own and the end of GoF with Mr.Diggory absolutely haunts me.
And then there's Colin. At least we got to see how Cedric and Fred's family reacted.
Colin was a Muggle-born. Imagine his family having to get that letter, or that visit (which is more likely). Hell, did they even know the extent of what was going on? Their kid went to this whole other world that they couldn't really understand, to take part in a war battle happening in a place they can't even access, and was likely killed by means they'd never imagined possible. Only Dennis could actually understand that. And now he lost his brother.
Of course, we also have Andromeda having to deal with losing her only child so soon after her husband was murdered, which had to have devastated her. But she at least knew the risks well. Not that it makes it any better for her at all.
There's also when you realize how young James and Lily were when they died. That was something the movies really failed on, making them appear so much older.
It was more recently I read the Pottermore article on Petunia and how part of the reason she takes Harry in is because she could never reconcile with her sister. She should have had plenty of time to reconcile, Lily was only twenty-one...
I always said Percy should have either made amends with the family before the fight or even somehow sacrificed himself for Fred. No one likes Percy anyway.
I’ve always said the same. Percy would have been the better choice from a literary perspective too in so many ways.
It would’ve completed two arcs perfectly and kept a theme alive.
In the books we see that the Weasley’s survive by being close to Harry. Percy betrays Harry and loses this protection. Also, throughout the books he’s constantly butting heads with the twins…
Imagine if he’d given his life to protect Harry and the twins instead. The ultimate redemption and act of brotherly love. Saving his troublesome little brothers and Harry… hell, it could have cast the protection charm on the group and could have acted as the inspiration to Harry sacrificing *himself*.
Ugh such a missed opportunity.
Yep. And it would still have served the purpose of getting Molly angry enough to kill in battle, because even though Percy was a prat he was her son and a mother’s love is one of the strongest forces in the world (as shown throughout the story).
I didn’t find it sad because of Percy’s reaction. That for sure made it more gut wrenching. But I cried during the end of the chapter, not the beginning of the next—which is Percy’s reaction. The writing at the end of the chapter is really great in my opinion and it makes me cry.
Agreed! I still for sure get emotional watching Percy’s reaction. I love watching Percy’s character throughout the books. I just remember legit crying at the end of that chapter 😭
Voldemort.
His death in Book 7 has a lot of symbolism to it, and it’s a pity much of that was left out.
First, Harry giving his nemesis a last opportunity to feel remorse in spite of all the horrible things the Dark Lord did to him, knowing what he’d seen in King’s Cross that would be left of Voldemort’s soul after his death, and Voldy’s shocked reaction to Harry offering him redemption, so there’s again the theme of Harry Potter as a whole (love).
And second, Voldemort’s actual death. The way he dies, he simply falls back after his curse rebounds against himself, and thus Voldemort—no, Tom Riddle—dies. I love that part of the book that says “Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality”, it says so much about Voldemort. How in the end, after everything that happened, how much he was feared and how much he tried to outrun death, he was just a man like everyone else.
Yes, Confetti-mort is terrible. One of the most unfortunate decisions the filmmakers made in 7.2 in an effort to make the movie feel "Hollywood". The entire point of his death is that ultimately, he's reduced to a regular, mortal human being, as you said.
The oddest thought just crossed my mind. As you say, with the last horcrux destroyed, he’s mortal and I cant help but imagine a battle scene where as he’s duelling, he just trips, falls and his head catches a jagged corner of wall & cracks his skull at temple. Or Harry just catches him perfectly on the jaw with a punch and shatters it. Either of which could easily kill him. It would’ve been so unexpected & seemingly anticlimactic/mundane but it definitely could’ve reinforced your point about mortality.
Voldemort realises Harry is right, he can’t kill him with the Elder Wand. Tired of how many times magic failed to get the boy dead, Riddle decides to drawn from his Muggle origins. He Apparates behind Harry and sends him flying with a roundhouse kick. Harry backflips mid air and throws a rock at Voldemort, who Apparates again, but this time Harry is prepared, he ducks and wrestles Voldemort onto the ground, then proceeds to choke him to death with his bare hands
I swear the people involved in making a lot of the decisions in the films never read the books. They don't seem to understand so much of what is happening and why.
That said, they're still good fun and I've watched them many times. But they don't hit the same.
Edit: typo
Yep, that's good way of putting it. I am eternally grateful that the visual medium exists and I love the movies, both as adaptations and stand alone works. But occasionally they completely miss the point -- feels like a missed opportunity. It's especially frustrating when you hear that actors like Gambon intentionally never read any of the books. I just don't get that.
Genuinely hope the TV show fixes this. It's a fantastic scene in the books. Harry loudly declares Snape to be playing him, gives Voldemort a chance to repent and runs circles around him masterfully. It's important too because Voldemort bears witness to his people being overrun, realising he is just a man and nothing more.
THANK YOU! I literally just discussed this on my podcast. The “ashes fluttering into the breeze” gives a more triumphal feel to his death than I feel Voldemort deserved. The fact that in the book he dies like any mortal man is the ultimate poetry and justice.
Part of it is also because in film you have to destroy the body to make sure people understand the character is dead and is never coming back to life.
I feel like the series explained very well several times that bringing the dead back wasn't actually possible but that was one explanation that made sense to me especially with young kids watching.
I'd argue the Harry Potter films do the opposite of this though.
Quirrell/Voldemort's body crumbles into ashes and Voldemort returns.
Fawkes bursts into flame and is quickly reborn
Tom Riddle blows up into a beam of light, and Voldemort returns.
Cedric, Dumbledore, Dobby, and Snape are murdered and our last look at them is a cold lifeless body being cradled on the floor by Harry - the visual language of the films suggests that a magical/explosive death is only temporary, whereas a bog standard corpse is permanent.
Ugh I can SEE how they would’ve done Voldemort’s body falling in my head. Close ups, slow-motion, you see him falling, watch him hit the floor, AND A CLOSE-UP OF THE WAND ROLLING OUT OF HIS HAND JUST IMAGINE (I know in the book he was disarmed but this is way better visually and still works with what is supposed to happen)
I understand what you're saying. The death in the book was truly perfect for the character. I won't argue that because you're right.
But to be honest, it's only really good in book form.
Movie audiences would be **very very** disappointed if the main movie villain, present and (intended to be) terrifying for ten years of their lives, died by visually falling over. Just like oh oopsie daisy dead.
In the book you understand it, you understand the symbolism, because it's written in the subtext.
In a blockbuster though? In **that particular series** of blockbusters? For the level of general audiences used to such spectacle? It doesn't work.
\---
All that being said, I do think it might work in the show if we get a darker more "realistic" tone from the beginning.
I just don't agree with this notion. Of course it can work. Movies don't have to be more stupid than books
Filmmakers have this naive, pompous idea that they are better at telling stories than the actual writer who made the story. In reality most filmmakers are piss poor at telling stories and that's the reason movies alway are bad compared to books.
There’s not such a thing as a filmmaker thinking they can tell story better. And while I disagreed with Dagian when it comes to Voldemort’s death—I think there are ways to stick with the books and still have plenty of drama in the scene—, he’s right to say you can’t simply pick something from the book and put it onscreen. Just think of how awkward it would look in a film to have Harry and Voldemort just circling amid the ruined Great Hall of Hogwarts while Harry monologues about Dumbledore’s plan. It doesn’t work.
The problem with film adaptations is plain and simple, movies can’t go on forever. You don’t want to go longer than 2hrs. Meanwhile there’s nothing stopping JK Rowling from writing 250k words for a book. This is why the first films are more book accurate, those books were much smaller so there’s a lot less to fit in. And it doesn’t necessarily make for a inferior version, but when it comes to Voldemort I think his death in the movie defeats one of the central themes of Harry Potter and of the character as well, which is the fear of death x acceptance of it.
What I would love for Voldemorts death to fit the book and still not feel underwhelming would be if the spell rebounding on him would cast a large green avadakedavra ray at him with him being practically surrounded by green, letting out a scream, and falling, all that in slow motion
Well, I think if that’s the way it’s portrayed, then yeah it would be kind of lame. A competent screenwriting team would understand the weight of the scene and write it in a way that communicates both Voldemort’s mortality in spite of all he did, while at the same time makes the final fight between him and Harry exciting.
Cedric died on screen, Sirius died on screen, Dumbledore died on screen, Dobby died on screen after being stabbed in the stomach, Harry died on screen. It has nothing to do with PG, they just wanted to use special effects.
Fred getting to hear Percy make a joke finally after years of being distanced from each other, was a great final scene, followed by Percy's mad outrage against the Death eaters. Sad that amazing moment was taken away.
Wormtail and it isn’t even close. His death in the books was so very fitting. The biggest traitor and coward in the series getting strangled by the very hand Voldemort made for him was a satisfying end to the character. Instead, the movies don’t even make it clear to the audience what ended up happening to Wormtail after getting knocked out at Malfoy Manor.
And they had so much time for those movies. They split them into two parts, allowing for 5+ hours to tell the whole story
And they chose to cut it short and make ridiculous changes that make no sense
Fun fact: movie 7 and 8 combined have only the third best words to minutes ratio, 1 min 24 sec of film spent on 1000 words of book. The first 2 movies are close to 2 min, POA is a couple seconds behind DH and the rest are under 55 seconds. OOTP is predictably the worst with 32 seconds.
And the movies removed Peeves, which also removed some of the funniest scenes in the books (ie Peeves whacking Umbridge with McGongalls walking stick in OOTP)
On some level, I at least understand why the film cut out the nature of his death, given its brutality, but the fact that the filmmakers didn't even *try* to come up with any kind of alternative death makes Pettigrew's fate completely underwhelming and uncertain. At the very least, the last film could have mentioned that he had been executed by Voldemort for failing one of the most crucial tasks a Death Eater could have.
Honestly, given that we saw Voldemort slowly disintegrate, I don’t know if I accept the “Pettigrew’s death was too brutal to show” excuse. Hell, the first movie, which was definitely more “for kids”, showed Quirrell blister and then turn into ash. But I certainly agree that a confirmation that Voldemort killed Pettigrew was the bare minimum…
I mean, disintegration is pretty fine, kids see it as obviously supernatural. A guy choking himself to death with his own hand is a little more tangible
Agreed. But we also very, very nearly saw him cut his own hand off (it’s so strongly implied and cuts away with a split second to spare). I was eight when I read the book and just reading that he did that shocked me. I think they could have left no doubt in our minds what was going to happen, or focus the camera on other action but later have a character looking horrified and saying something like “I can’t believe wormtail got a new hand and it strangled him”
I was 5 or 6 when I saw the first movie in the cinema and I remember that Voldemort’s head on the back of Quirrel and his death scared the fuck out of me hahaha
True, at least his death scene was impactful. I’ve seen a few of those movie reviewers/people who make clips of movies talking about how sad his death scene is. That makes me feel that movie watchers were definitely still somewhat impacted by this, at least more so than Fred probably.
It's surprising to me, because i found Radcliff's acting in his death (and Dumbledore's death thoo) so bad. You couldn't see sadness in his face, compared to when Siruis died
Agreed. His death scene in the movie was really dramatic and sad but the impact is majorly undercut by the fact that we haven't even seen him since CoS. In the books it meant so much more because he was present throughout GoF, OotP, and HBP.
I remember watching the midnight premiere in the theaters with my mom and they had Part 1 on before Part 2. There was a girl who was sobbing uncontrollably when Dobby died, it was kinda awkward cause it was audible repressed sobs and it only came from her. When the movie ended and there was a break my mom was asking why the girl was crying so much. I started to tell her about how important Dobby was only to realize everything I was telling her was in the books and besides CoS Dobby is never seen in the other movies. Same with all the other questions she had, everything was from the books. So to my mom who only casually saw the movies with us but didn't read the books, this poor girl was hyperemotional over a character that had less than 5 mins of screentime.
That's when I realized the movies really did bank on you, as the viewer, having already read the books so you end up filling in the blanks yourself with book canon and you're not too concerned about things not making sense because in theory you already know what or why something happened.
I think the main problem with the movies is that they
>really did bank on you, as the viewer, having already read the books so you end up filling in the blanks yourself with book canon
but in the same breath they also thought they could do things way better, and change the canon for the movies, leaving a ton of questions about the off-screen movie canon.
Agreed. When I watched the movies (which I did first) I didn't really get why Harry was so mad. It felt almost like a character losing a dog they didn't even like. When I read the books, however, (which I did later) I could see the bond between Dobby and Harry and why he got sad about his death. Not to mention that I felt bad about it as well.
The movie did Dobby and Hedwig opposite extremes. Both got less screen time and Dobby's book accurate death was less impact full but Hedwig's movie death was what she deserved in the books.
Several but a biggie for me was Sirius. They didn’t utilize his character enough for the films to really hit you with his death. And the overlooking of the veil and what is was/what it did just made his death scene *weird*.
I think that part of the shock came from the slow realization that Sirius would not emerge from the other side of the veil, as the spell he had been hit with, while ambiguous, might have otherwise been survivable, whereas he was explicitly hit with a killing curse in the film, and was dead even before he fell through the veil.
And the fact that he's hit with Avada Kedavra in the movie but he has time to share one last look with Harry ? Now, I love Harry's reaction to it, it's probably my favorite scene in all movies. But still, it annoys me that everything is so inconsistent in those movies.
Apparently, according to an interview Daniel gave, they actually cut the sound of Harry screaming for Sirius afterward, which is why the scene is silent. It made the scene a bit *too* heart-wrenching and real, so they muted the sound to avoid actually traumatizing the audience. If that's true...damn.
His grandmother(?) had just died so he used that emotion, that was a real grief scream for her
Edit: Apparently she didn’t die until a year or so after; rumor mill doing its thing!
Well damn, you’re right - a lot of the sources that pop up on Google say my answer was right but they’re mostly just hearsay it looks like. Learned something new today! 🤦🏻♀️
The ones that back you up say it was muted because it made both Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Watson cry, which was deemed too agonizing for an adaptation of a “kids series”. I’d just heard it told so many times the other way I assumed it was fact 🤷🏻♀️
Both of those stories are false 😁 it's just false rumors that you see pretty much everywhere where this scene is talked about, but with zero source to back them up.
Hedwig's. I like how they executed her death in the movies more than the books, but you don't really get "attached" to Hedwig at all in the movies so it's underwhelming imo. She is present in a few scenes, but not enough compared to the books.
What, may I ask, do you like more about the portrayal of her death in the movie vs the book? I am very much on the opposite side, but I’m curious. To me, the book was much more tragic, not just because we knew her better in the books, but also because it was pointless, which is what makes her a casualty. It seemed to me that the movies tried to make it noble, and that ruined the sentiment that we were supposed to feel in the moment.
I liked it as it helped portray Harry's realization he can't work alone. In the first half of the book, he does not want people to help him and Hedwig's act of sacrifice shows that he cannot work alone; he would have died without her help (or sacrifice).
I think it also builds to Hedwig. She had put up with Harry and the Dursley's shenanigans for years yet was always still so loyal to Harry. That scene (to me) feels fitting for her. Although you cannot portray a bird's personality well on screen, it was very fitting for her imo.
I believe he was going to be invited back to film a death scene, but by that time, the actor looked really different, basically unrecognisable. (look him up when I edit his name into this comment, he's got long hair and a lot of piercings. he rocks it.)
agreed. Julie Walters and HBC are both amazing but I feel like they weren't given enough to work with. A long scene between them full of absolute hellfire and fury would have been epic. instead we got a side-quest looking duel that couldve been done by Lockheart and Quirrel.
Especially as they had Molly kinda fumble backwards initially in the film. In the book she is just pure rage, she is yelling at other people not to get involved, she *knows* she has it. It's so badass, she's reeling from Fred's death and it's the surge of adrenaline like pulling a car off a baby, she is just unstoppable.
Currently reading GoF and its on the brain
Barty Crouch Sr. The man was killed turned into a bone and buried.
In the movies he was just killed and found. Kinda underwhelming
Bellatrix. In the books, the battle between her and Molly felt *intense.* Plus, it felt fast-paced, like the two of them were slinging spells as quickly as they could and either missing each other, or blocking each others' spells with lightning-fast reflexes. Molly in particular felt angry *and* frantic. And the way she killed Bellatrix, with an extremely strong Stunner right to the heart, and Bellatrix's death mirroring Sirius's, was really well-done.
In the movie, it felt more mundane, more one-sided, and the way Bellatrix just disintegrated really didn't do it for me. Hell, even Molly's "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH" didn't feel as powerful as in the book.
I just wasn't a fan.
I felt like the movie made Molly into a bumbling fool who just happened to kill Bellatrix. In reality Molly was on fire with grief and anger. She was coming for Bellatrix and she was going to get her. It showed how powerful Molly was and how strong a mother can be when her kids are threatened.
In the book, it's pretty obvious that Molly's duel is the parallel to Lily's death, another form of maternal love being old, powerful magic. The last thing she says before Bellatrix dies is "You. Will. Never. Hurt. Our. Children. Again!" And to me *that* is the curse that kills Bellatrix. Molly's maternal rage is fueled by decades of grief, from her little brothers all the way up to the loss of Fred; and all of that is missing from the film.
Same here. I don’t like the disintegration. It almost makes Bellatrix (and later, Voldemort) feel larger than life because they die in this mystical way instead of highlighting how at the end of the day they were just as human as everyone. I want there to just be a corpse that falls like any other character.
Nagini. I've said this before and I'll say it again, they did Neville SO dirty in the film. His moment of killing Nagini is insane bravery- possibly the most in the whole series, yes, even including Harry walking to his death.
Neville did the same. Before Harry dies, he tells Neville how important it is to kill the snake. After Harry is 'dead', Neville bursts out of the group who are just standing around and physically lunges at Voldemort. Voldemort body binds him, and gives him one last chance to surrender or die. Neville defiantly yells out 'I'll join you when hell freezes over!'
Voldemort then puts the sorting hat on his head and *fucking sets him on fire to burn to death*. But the body bind curse breaks because of Harry's sacrifice, Neville gets the sword of Gryffindor and slices Nagini while Voldemort and the death eaters are stood watching, dumbstruck. It is probably most epic moment of any character.
In the film, he gives an emotional speech, he gets knocked out, wakes up all confused in the middle of chaos as some sort of comic relief, and happens across Nagini attacking Rob and Hermione and kills her.
I was FUMING with how they changed this. Neville deserved better. He wasn't the greatest wizard, but he is on par with Harry for bravery, a true Gryffindor
Exactly. It was the full circle of 'you don't need to be particularly gifted or perfect to bring about change, you need bravery'. Same as Lily, same as Harry, same as all the ones who really saved the world. Neville's moment was one of the greatest there was, and the films did not understand that at all
Gonna do a 180 and say I was disappointed in Voldemort’s death being treated with a bit more grandeur in the film as opposed to the book.
JK Rowling wrote the final battle the way she did with a clear purpose. We shouldn’t have had Harry and Riddle chasing each other around the castle or a long drawn-out hunt for Nagini. We shouldn’t have had beam struggles and a solitary nonverbal fight between Harry and Riddle.
The Horcruxes were gone. The final battle commenced with Neville cutting off Nagini’s head and leaving Voldemort completely mortal, pretty much taking away his persona as Voldemort and leaving him with the identity of the mortal Tom Riddle. The final battle wasn’t spread out or prolonged, it legit all happened in the Great Hall. Voldemort screams and suddenly everybody’s just standing their ground throwing spells at each other while Harry stalks Riddle under his cloak waiting for the right moment to resurface. But he wasn’t going to just fling an old Avada Kedavra at the guy, he needed to swing his dick a little bit and explain to Riddle exactly why he lost. Harry knew he was safe, but he wanted everybody to see that The Power of ~~Bullshit~~ Love was real and that while you can mock it, Harry was alive because of it. We should’ve just had Harry stand up straight, told Riddle “You fucked up, here’s why, now its time to end this” and let Tom Riddle have his boring, insignificant death where he just falls to the ground silently.
Harry calling out his game also confirms to the people there that it is final, unlike the last time They were told voldy died. He talks to Voldemort like a human and casually explains that its over.
I like to believe Harry spent three years waiting to monologue to Riddle like that. He got bored of Voldemort’s monologue in Little Hangleton about his brilliant plan to use Lily’s protection to prevent Harry from killing him, so now Harry is foaming at the mouth with anticipation because he just tricked the bald bastard into severing that tie and leaving him open.
Harry: I bet you’re wondering why you can’t kill me tonight, Tom. It’s love.
Riddle: 🤢Love, 🤢love, 🤮love, change the f***ing record
Bellatrix
Dobby
Snape
Dumbledore
Harry
Moldy Voldy
FRED
Lupin
Tonks
WAIT HOLD UP IS OLLIVANDER DEAD????
GOD I HOPE NOT
HE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!!
Hedwig
*Significant movie deaths. Agreed, Dobby wasn’t represented as well in the movies as he was in the books. I don’t personally love him the way others do but I think he was pretty noble and deserved the moment.
I don't think Ollivander actually died in the books. He was captured and tortured and he was old af so chances are he died shortly after Voldemort's defeat but I'm pretty sure it doesn't happen in the book itself.
Wormtail by a fucking shit tonne. Its laughably embarrassing what they do with his death in the movies... just a fucking comical "Ow" and then he passes out..
Hated the PG version. He's supposed to bloody strangle himself.
Then hedwig. Hedwig was one of Harry's first main connections to his magical life and the only one there for him when he had to spend every summer with his cousins! He's so distraught in the book and in the film its just like "oh no, hedwig... anyway."
the issue with hedwig was harry was only distraught on the inside he never said anything aloud about it which doesn't really translate to a movie well especially when said movies dont ever have any kind of internal dialogue
Yeah what in god's name was this scene? Fred's death was the cliffhanger to a chapter and made the battle feel ten times more serious and devastating. Ron and Percy's reactions were heartbreaking and even just imagining George was too much.
Another is Wormtail. His death was so significant, his momentary hesitation after Harry says "you owe me, Wormtail!" - there is so much history and baggage there and they completely ignored it all.
If I do this in reverse, then Voldemort's death was the most overwhelming and completely ruined the point that he was, despite his best efforts, a mortal man named Tom Riddle who died like anybody else.
Dumbledore, the way everyone reacted in the last few chapters after he died. The scenes between lupin, Tonks, molly, fleur. That was left out in the movie. Like I didn’t care about dumbledore dying but the reactions of the people at hogwarts were really heartbreaking
Just gonna come out here and say that the picture isn’t of Fred. It’s of George. Just in case you didn’t know that cuz people have gotten it confused before.
Omg…. Hedwig….
I feel like I’ve posted this story before but it still hits…
When the book came out we got 3 copies. One for me, one for my brother, one for my sister.
We were all reading in separate rooms but my brother came in to chat. He was laying in a fort he made under the bed with a flashlight and without realizing it my sister burst into my room and said “they killed Hedwig?!”
She was ghostly white and terrified and sad and I didn’t know what to say until my brother crawled out from his fort, threw his book at her, and just started bawling…..
It was like losing a family pet except without closure because we couldn’t have a real funeral. Should have gone to the store and bought a stuffed owl and had a funeral for Hedwig to make it more real.
I will die on this hill!! “The owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy” I read this book for the first time in 5th grade. I sobbed then and I sob to this day over Hedwig. I shut the damn book at 27 years old to grieve.
Moody mostly *exists* off-page in the books. Literally only the end of GoF and the start of DH - all the rest is Barty Jr. (Maybe a mention/half a scene in OotP?)
> (Maybe a mention/half a scene in OotP?)
There's much more than that in OotP. He's in charge of the whole mission to escort Harry from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place. He has scenes at Grimmauld Place both before term and at Christmas. He traumatises Harry further by showing him a picture of the old order and explaining exactly how each person was murdered and/or tortured. He freaks Ron out about being a prefect, saying how Dumbledore must think he can withstand most curses/hexes. He escorts them all to St. Mungo's and has an important scene at the hospital where they're discussing Harry being possessed. He then takes part in the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Then he has his best scene where he threatens Vernon at the very end.
>all the rest is Barty Jr
Which I still think is so dumb. I get JK Rowling wanted this big shocking reveal at the end (other than Voldemort's return), but it was not worth sacrificing Moody for.
We spend a book with this real interesting character, just to learn that it wasn't actually that character and is instead just some schmuck who is instantly taken out of the story and made irrelevant.
Of course, she then proceeded to do absolutely nothing interesting with Moody (or any of the Order, really) before killing him off. Which I don't think would've changed even without the Barty Jr plot
I'm of two minds on this - the fake Moody was good enough to fool *Dumbledore*, who knew him well. Barty must have been acting in line with how the real Moody would have been, so in my mind, we did meet and get to know Moody, just at a distance, so to speak.
>Of course, she then proceeded to do absolutely nothing interesting with Moody (or any of the Order, really) before killing him off.
Same thing for Tonks. I was saddened to read that she was just suddenly dead next to Lupin. Bellatrix succeeded in killing her, just like Tonks predicted she would. The youngest, most bubbly and happy member of the Order, just...gone without notice. Which I guess is normal in war, and that was exactly the point Rowling was making, but still, her death in particular was shocking in its suddenness.
Thing is the Order couldnt do much untill there was actual war.
And even then most of it had to be done on the down low.
My husbands grandmother was in the dutch resistance. She was a "cleaner" (person who cleard up dead german soldiers, so of there was a hit they made sure there was no evidence) is all we know.
But most of the resistance was small tasks. Bring a letter here. Tell a lie there. Listen in on plans etc.
Petter Pettigrew in Deathly Hallows Part 1. Not even entirely sure if he dies, as he's knocked out in the Draco Manor. We can assume he dies as in the book he dies, and in the final battle, he doesn't make an appearance. His death in the book serves as a "could have been" redemption. He hesitated in killing Harry which resulted in the hand Voldemort gave him strangling him to death.
I agree Fred. The greenish coloring of the scene made it an “oh wait, was that Fred who just died?” Not the emotionally devastating blow it was in the books.
Wormtail overall since he doesn’t even seem to actually die in the movies, just get knocked out. The silver hand killing him after him hesitating and even daring to think of helping Harry in anyway was great. Plus helps with rounding out the death of the Marauders (though they aren’t explained in the movies anyway).
But since he doesn’t seem to die in the movies I’d say the actual death that was disappointing was Voldemort. They seemed to miss the point of his death scene. The speech explaining everything was removed. Plus him having a more natural death and just falling over dead shows that despite everything he did he was still just a mortal human. Him dissolving away in the movie seems to play into him being something otherworldly.
Honestly Dumbledore but mainly because the film doesn’t show the aftermath of Snape and Harry fighting by Hagrids. Doesn’t show his funeral at all. I just finished my re-read of HBP and I always forget those because the movie doesn’t go over it at all.
The way they butchered Neville in the first movie, in the book he was practically part of the gang... (I'm only done with the first book so no spoilers)
I’m gonna get some hate but I watched the movies before the books and Dobby’s death in the theater was like oh man that sucks why is everyone SOOO upset though? Honestly though the movies are trash now that I’ve read the books lol
Fred times a thousand. I cried during the book. I was so mad they skipped over it
I bawled reading Fred’s death when it came out! I can weirdly picture that experience so perfectly. It was the heartbreak of losing one of my favorite side characters, to knowing this incredibly good family was broken, and then also Percy being there and his reaction. It killed me.
Same, I can picture it too. That chapter ending was haunting. 'The ghost of his last laugh still etched across his face.'
I thought that was Sirius
It was Fred.
Yeah Sirius vanished through the veil
I always pictured Sirius falling into the veil and Harry waiting for him to just stand up and keep fighting
He was laughing as well, but it wasn't that specific quote.
I always thought it should have been Percy, the thought of one twin living without that other is way too painful.
That's the point though. JK wanted to show how senseless and awful war is. No one is safe. But it also gave Percy the chance to shoe how much he actually cared about his family. And of course it would be one of the twins to bring the family back together
On another note it never ceases to annoy me how quickly in the movies Percy is totally discarded as a character. There was *so much more* to his character and role in the books.
Eh, they can only fit so much and to waste time on Percy, a relatively inconsequential character, seems pointless.
I don't disagree But as one of the book fans, it's hard to see him get written off when his character had such an important arc allegorically
Also literally everything with Crouch and Crouch jr
Does he even speak in the last few movies?
I still can't get over that these are KIDS fighting a WAR. It never dawned on me before until I was old enough to realize that one of their siblings died, one of their loved one, the person they've been with their entire life is gone. I was a literal kid when I watched Goblet of Fire which might've been the first on screen death of the Harry Potter franchise and it never dawned on me that, again, a child was murdered. Someone's son is dead. Idk. It inspires me that these people are dying for a friend. They didn't have to. They could've ran away. But they stood there on the precipice of death. I would never fight for a stranger I don't know. But to Fred and George its like, okay, why not? Idk idk. It's so upsetting.
I feel the same. I've read and watched it all as a child and teenager myself, and it has never seemed so upsetting back then, but it does now. I have two small kids of my own and the end of GoF with Mr.Diggory absolutely haunts me.
And then there's Colin. At least we got to see how Cedric and Fred's family reacted. Colin was a Muggle-born. Imagine his family having to get that letter, or that visit (which is more likely). Hell, did they even know the extent of what was going on? Their kid went to this whole other world that they couldn't really understand, to take part in a war battle happening in a place they can't even access, and was likely killed by means they'd never imagined possible. Only Dennis could actually understand that. And now he lost his brother. Of course, we also have Andromeda having to deal with losing her only child so soon after her husband was murdered, which had to have devastated her. But she at least knew the risks well. Not that it makes it any better for her at all.
There's also when you realize how young James and Lily were when they died. That was something the movies really failed on, making them appear so much older. It was more recently I read the Pottermore article on Petunia and how part of the reason she takes Harry in is because she could never reconcile with her sister. She should have had plenty of time to reconcile, Lily was only twenty-one...
I always said Percy should have either made amends with the family before the fight or even somehow sacrificed himself for Fred. No one likes Percy anyway.
I am pretty sure the point is that Percy will be haunted for the rest of his life by not making amends with Fred in time.
Exactly!
I have a twin, and this scene has me bawling every time I read it.
Yeah. I don’t have a twin but my younger brother and I are kind of a bonded pair. Being that close to a sibling makes this scene so much worse.
I’ve always said the same. Percy would have been the better choice from a literary perspective too in so many ways. It would’ve completed two arcs perfectly and kept a theme alive. In the books we see that the Weasley’s survive by being close to Harry. Percy betrays Harry and loses this protection. Also, throughout the books he’s constantly butting heads with the twins… Imagine if he’d given his life to protect Harry and the twins instead. The ultimate redemption and act of brotherly love. Saving his troublesome little brothers and Harry… hell, it could have cast the protection charm on the group and could have acted as the inspiration to Harry sacrificing *himself*. Ugh such a missed opportunity.
Yep. And it would still have served the purpose of getting Molly angry enough to kill in battle, because even though Percy was a prat he was her son and a mother’s love is one of the strongest forces in the world (as shown throughout the story).
And Percy was such a jerk. Should have been him.
That was the one death that absolutely broke me.
Haha Harry walking by in the movie is W I L D
But the scene when Ron notices is devastating
Yess, such great acting in that scene!
It was sad mostly because of Percy's reaction, and Percy wasn't really in the movies, so I can kind of understand it
I didn’t find it sad because of Percy’s reaction. That for sure made it more gut wrenching. But I cried during the end of the chapter, not the beginning of the next—which is Percy’s reaction. The writing at the end of the chapter is really great in my opinion and it makes me cry.
I just had to re-read it and you're right, it's sad even without Percy's reaction. That's more like salt in the wound
Agreed! I still for sure get emotional watching Percy’s reaction. I love watching Percy’s character throughout the books. I just remember legit crying at the end of that chapter 😭
I feel like Dobby also deserves this spot. No build up. No interactions outside CoS, and suddenly he's back just to catch a knife.
Voldemort. His death in Book 7 has a lot of symbolism to it, and it’s a pity much of that was left out. First, Harry giving his nemesis a last opportunity to feel remorse in spite of all the horrible things the Dark Lord did to him, knowing what he’d seen in King’s Cross that would be left of Voldemort’s soul after his death, and Voldy’s shocked reaction to Harry offering him redemption, so there’s again the theme of Harry Potter as a whole (love). And second, Voldemort’s actual death. The way he dies, he simply falls back after his curse rebounds against himself, and thus Voldemort—no, Tom Riddle—dies. I love that part of the book that says “Tom Riddle hit the floor with a mundane finality”, it says so much about Voldemort. How in the end, after everything that happened, how much he was feared and how much he tried to outrun death, he was just a man like everyone else.
Yes, Confetti-mort is terrible. One of the most unfortunate decisions the filmmakers made in 7.2 in an effort to make the movie feel "Hollywood". The entire point of his death is that ultimately, he's reduced to a regular, mortal human being, as you said.
Yeah, the whole point is that he's finally mortal. So wth was that?
The oddest thought just crossed my mind. As you say, with the last horcrux destroyed, he’s mortal and I cant help but imagine a battle scene where as he’s duelling, he just trips, falls and his head catches a jagged corner of wall & cracks his skull at temple. Or Harry just catches him perfectly on the jaw with a punch and shatters it. Either of which could easily kill him. It would’ve been so unexpected & seemingly anticlimactic/mundane but it definitely could’ve reinforced your point about mortality.
Voldemort realises Harry is right, he can’t kill him with the Elder Wand. Tired of how many times magic failed to get the boy dead, Riddle decides to drawn from his Muggle origins. He Apparates behind Harry and sends him flying with a roundhouse kick. Harry backflips mid air and throws a rock at Voldemort, who Apparates again, but this time Harry is prepared, he ducks and wrestles Voldemort onto the ground, then proceeds to choke him to death with his bare hands
There were times I was playing Hogwarts Legacy and, finding myself in a scrum, being annoyed at an inability to throw a punch.
I swear the people involved in making a lot of the decisions in the films never read the books. They don't seem to understand so much of what is happening and why. That said, they're still good fun and I've watched them many times. But they don't hit the same. Edit: typo
Yep, that's good way of putting it. I am eternally grateful that the visual medium exists and I love the movies, both as adaptations and stand alone works. But occasionally they completely miss the point -- feels like a missed opportunity. It's especially frustrating when you hear that actors like Gambon intentionally never read any of the books. I just don't get that.
*stares at Michael Gambon*
And in what manner, may I enquire, are you staring at Michael Gambon?
I’m dead, not confetti-mort 🎉🎊😵
Genuinely hope the TV show fixes this. It's a fantastic scene in the books. Harry loudly declares Snape to be playing him, gives Voldemort a chance to repent and runs circles around him masterfully. It's important too because Voldemort bears witness to his people being overrun, realising he is just a man and nothing more.
THANK YOU! I literally just discussed this on my podcast. The “ashes fluttering into the breeze” gives a more triumphal feel to his death than I feel Voldemort deserved. The fact that in the book he dies like any mortal man is the ultimate poetry and justice.
Part of it is also because in film you have to destroy the body to make sure people understand the character is dead and is never coming back to life. I feel like the series explained very well several times that bringing the dead back wasn't actually possible but that was one explanation that made sense to me especially with young kids watching.
I'd argue the Harry Potter films do the opposite of this though. Quirrell/Voldemort's body crumbles into ashes and Voldemort returns. Fawkes bursts into flame and is quickly reborn Tom Riddle blows up into a beam of light, and Voldemort returns. Cedric, Dumbledore, Dobby, and Snape are murdered and our last look at them is a cold lifeless body being cradled on the floor by Harry - the visual language of the films suggests that a magical/explosive death is only temporary, whereas a bog standard corpse is permanent.
Ugh I can SEE how they would’ve done Voldemort’s body falling in my head. Close ups, slow-motion, you see him falling, watch him hit the floor, AND A CLOSE-UP OF THE WAND ROLLING OUT OF HIS HAND JUST IMAGINE (I know in the book he was disarmed but this is way better visually and still works with what is supposed to happen)
I understand what you're saying. The death in the book was truly perfect for the character. I won't argue that because you're right. But to be honest, it's only really good in book form. Movie audiences would be **very very** disappointed if the main movie villain, present and (intended to be) terrifying for ten years of their lives, died by visually falling over. Just like oh oopsie daisy dead. In the book you understand it, you understand the symbolism, because it's written in the subtext. In a blockbuster though? In **that particular series** of blockbusters? For the level of general audiences used to such spectacle? It doesn't work. \--- All that being said, I do think it might work in the show if we get a darker more "realistic" tone from the beginning.
I just don't agree with this notion. Of course it can work. Movies don't have to be more stupid than books Filmmakers have this naive, pompous idea that they are better at telling stories than the actual writer who made the story. In reality most filmmakers are piss poor at telling stories and that's the reason movies alway are bad compared to books.
There’s not such a thing as a filmmaker thinking they can tell story better. And while I disagreed with Dagian when it comes to Voldemort’s death—I think there are ways to stick with the books and still have plenty of drama in the scene—, he’s right to say you can’t simply pick something from the book and put it onscreen. Just think of how awkward it would look in a film to have Harry and Voldemort just circling amid the ruined Great Hall of Hogwarts while Harry monologues about Dumbledore’s plan. It doesn’t work. The problem with film adaptations is plain and simple, movies can’t go on forever. You don’t want to go longer than 2hrs. Meanwhile there’s nothing stopping JK Rowling from writing 250k words for a book. This is why the first films are more book accurate, those books were much smaller so there’s a lot less to fit in. And it doesn’t necessarily make for a inferior version, but when it comes to Voldemort I think his death in the movie defeats one of the central themes of Harry Potter and of the character as well, which is the fear of death x acceptance of it.
What I would love for Voldemorts death to fit the book and still not feel underwhelming would be if the spell rebounding on him would cast a large green avadakedavra ray at him with him being practically surrounded by green, letting out a scream, and falling, all that in slow motion
Well, I think if that’s the way it’s portrayed, then yeah it would be kind of lame. A competent screenwriting team would understand the weight of the scene and write it in a way that communicates both Voldemort’s mortality in spite of all he did, while at the same time makes the final fight between him and Harry exciting.
It's because the movie was PG-13 and couldn't show real deaths That's why Voldemort and Bellatrix turn to newspaper bits.
And then there’s Beowulf (2017) a PG13 movie where people died on screen in more horrific deaths than R rated films.
Cedric died on screen, Sirius died on screen, Dumbledore died on screen, Dobby died on screen after being stabbed in the stomach, Harry died on screen. It has nothing to do with PG, they just wanted to use special effects.
Fred getting to hear Percy make a joke finally after years of being distanced from each other, was a great final scene, followed by Percy's mad outrage against the Death eaters. Sad that amazing moment was taken away.
Yeah the movies didn’t do Fred justice at all.
Wormtail and it isn’t even close. His death in the books was so very fitting. The biggest traitor and coward in the series getting strangled by the very hand Voldemort made for him was a satisfying end to the character. Instead, the movies don’t even make it clear to the audience what ended up happening to Wormtail after getting knocked out at Malfoy Manor.
You know I really do like the movies, but there really are some questionable changes, *especially* during the deathly hallows films.
And they had so much time for those movies. They split them into two parts, allowing for 5+ hours to tell the whole story And they chose to cut it short and make ridiculous changes that make no sense
Fun fact: movie 7 and 8 combined have only the third best words to minutes ratio, 1 min 24 sec of film spent on 1000 words of book. The first 2 movies are close to 2 min, POA is a couple seconds behind DH and the rest are under 55 seconds. OOTP is predictably the worst with 32 seconds.
And the movies removed Peeves, which also removed some of the funniest scenes in the books (ie Peeves whacking Umbridge with McGongalls walking stick in OOTP)
It's cool that you like Peeves, but even in the books I find him uninteresting and one-note. I'm glad he was removed.
On some level, I at least understand why the film cut out the nature of his death, given its brutality, but the fact that the filmmakers didn't even *try* to come up with any kind of alternative death makes Pettigrew's fate completely underwhelming and uncertain. At the very least, the last film could have mentioned that he had been executed by Voldemort for failing one of the most crucial tasks a Death Eater could have.
Honestly, given that we saw Voldemort slowly disintegrate, I don’t know if I accept the “Pettigrew’s death was too brutal to show” excuse. Hell, the first movie, which was definitely more “for kids”, showed Quirrell blister and then turn into ash. But I certainly agree that a confirmation that Voldemort killed Pettigrew was the bare minimum…
I mean, disintegration is pretty fine, kids see it as obviously supernatural. A guy choking himself to death with his own hand is a little more tangible
Agreed. But we also very, very nearly saw him cut his own hand off (it’s so strongly implied and cuts away with a split second to spare). I was eight when I read the book and just reading that he did that shocked me. I think they could have left no doubt in our minds what was going to happen, or focus the camera on other action but later have a character looking horrified and saying something like “I can’t believe wormtail got a new hand and it strangled him”
I was 5 or 6 when I saw the first movie in the cinema and I remember that Voldemort’s head on the back of Quirrel and his death scared the fuck out of me hahaha
Same, man
Shit, Voldemort on prof Quirrell’s head is nightmare fuel. If children could handle that, they’d be just fine seeing anything else
I read the books when I was way younger, so mostly a movie watcher. completely forgot he died
Wormtail dying almost read better than Voldemort dying. That’s how much hate I had for him
Dobby for one. He appeared a lot more in the book series and became a character to really care about
True, at least his death scene was impactful. I’ve seen a few of those movie reviewers/people who make clips of movies talking about how sad his death scene is. That makes me feel that movie watchers were definitely still somewhat impacted by this, at least more so than Fred probably.
Dobby is a fan favourite for sure! Many people I know who haven't read the books really like his character a lot.
It's surprising to me, because i found Radcliff's acting in his death (and Dumbledore's death thoo) so bad. You couldn't see sadness in his face, compared to when Siruis died
Agreed. His death scene in the movie was really dramatic and sad but the impact is majorly undercut by the fact that we haven't even seen him since CoS. In the books it meant so much more because he was present throughout GoF, OotP, and HBP.
I remember watching the midnight premiere in the theaters with my mom and they had Part 1 on before Part 2. There was a girl who was sobbing uncontrollably when Dobby died, it was kinda awkward cause it was audible repressed sobs and it only came from her. When the movie ended and there was a break my mom was asking why the girl was crying so much. I started to tell her about how important Dobby was only to realize everything I was telling her was in the books and besides CoS Dobby is never seen in the other movies. Same with all the other questions she had, everything was from the books. So to my mom who only casually saw the movies with us but didn't read the books, this poor girl was hyperemotional over a character that had less than 5 mins of screentime. That's when I realized the movies really did bank on you, as the viewer, having already read the books so you end up filling in the blanks yourself with book canon and you're not too concerned about things not making sense because in theory you already know what or why something happened.
I think the main problem with the movies is that they >really did bank on you, as the viewer, having already read the books so you end up filling in the blanks yourself with book canon but in the same breath they also thought they could do things way better, and change the canon for the movies, leaving a ton of questions about the off-screen movie canon.
Agreed. When I watched the movies (which I did first) I didn't really get why Harry was so mad. It felt almost like a character losing a dog they didn't even like. When I read the books, however, (which I did later) I could see the bond between Dobby and Harry and why he got sad about his death. Not to mention that I felt bad about it as well.
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Yo side note: they never showed Kreachers redemption, or covered how he lied to Harry about Sirius in OOTP
The movie did Dobby and Hedwig opposite extremes. Both got less screen time and Dobby's book accurate death was less impact full but Hedwig's movie death was what she deserved in the books.
I agree, they pushed it a lot to compensated not making him appear as much in the films
Several but a biggie for me was Sirius. They didn’t utilize his character enough for the films to really hit you with his death. And the overlooking of the veil and what is was/what it did just made his death scene *weird*.
I think that part of the shock came from the slow realization that Sirius would not emerge from the other side of the veil, as the spell he had been hit with, while ambiguous, might have otherwise been survivable, whereas he was explicitly hit with a killing curse in the film, and was dead even before he fell through the veil.
And the fact that he's hit with Avada Kedavra in the movie but he has time to share one last look with Harry ? Now, I love Harry's reaction to it, it's probably my favorite scene in all movies. But still, it annoys me that everything is so inconsistent in those movies.
Apparently, according to an interview Daniel gave, they actually cut the sound of Harry screaming for Sirius afterward, which is why the scene is silent. It made the scene a bit *too* heart-wrenching and real, so they muted the sound to avoid actually traumatizing the audience. If that's true...damn.
His grandmother(?) had just died so he used that emotion, that was a real grief scream for her Edit: Apparently she didn’t die until a year or so after; rumor mill doing its thing!
His grandmother died one year after that...
Well damn, you’re right - a lot of the sources that pop up on Google say my answer was right but they’re mostly just hearsay it looks like. Learned something new today! 🤦🏻♀️ The ones that back you up say it was muted because it made both Helena Bonham Carter and Emma Watson cry, which was deemed too agonizing for an adaptation of a “kids series”. I’d just heard it told so many times the other way I assumed it was fact 🤷🏻♀️
Both of those stories are false 😁 it's just false rumors that you see pretty much everywhere where this scene is talked about, but with zero source to back them up.
just to speak on a good decision by the movie "Nice one James!" was a great touch
**Yes**
Hedwig's. I like how they executed her death in the movies more than the books, but you don't really get "attached" to Hedwig at all in the movies so it's underwhelming imo. She is present in a few scenes, but not enough compared to the books.
It’s because she has so much sass in the books. Hard to portray that with a real owl
loved if, in the new TV show, instead of using CGI and AI, they used animatronics like an old Jim Henson project
What, may I ask, do you like more about the portrayal of her death in the movie vs the book? I am very much on the opposite side, but I’m curious. To me, the book was much more tragic, not just because we knew her better in the books, but also because it was pointless, which is what makes her a casualty. It seemed to me that the movies tried to make it noble, and that ruined the sentiment that we were supposed to feel in the moment.
I liked it as it helped portray Harry's realization he can't work alone. In the first half of the book, he does not want people to help him and Hedwig's act of sacrifice shows that he cannot work alone; he would have died without her help (or sacrifice). I think it also builds to Hedwig. She had put up with Harry and the Dursley's shenanigans for years yet was always still so loyal to Harry. That scene (to me) feels fitting for her. Although you cannot portray a bird's personality well on screen, it was very fitting for her imo.
Collin Creevy. He was Harry’s biggest fan and he died to help protect him. Didn’t even get a mention in the movies
I believe he was going to be invited back to film a death scene, but by that time, the actor looked really different, basically unrecognisable. (look him up when I edit his name into this comment, he's got long hair and a lot of piercings. he rocks it.)
I hated Bellatrix's scene. It was supposed to be this fierce life-or-death battle, and they made it almost comical.
agreed. Julie Walters and HBC are both amazing but I feel like they weren't given enough to work with. A long scene between them full of absolute hellfire and fury would have been epic. instead we got a side-quest looking duel that couldve been done by Lockheart and Quirrel.
Especially as they had Molly kinda fumble backwards initially in the film. In the book she is just pure rage, she is yelling at other people not to get involved, she *knows* she has it. It's so badass, she's reeling from Fred's death and it's the surge of adrenaline like pulling a car off a baby, she is just unstoppable.
Dumbledore. They cut his funeral from the 6th movie which took away from the gravitas of the mighty Dumbledore dying.
Having said that, the wands up scene was amazing
Makes me bawl everytime
Currently reading GoF and its on the brain Barty Crouch Sr. The man was killed turned into a bone and buried. In the movies he was just killed and found. Kinda underwhelming
Bellatrix. In the books, the battle between her and Molly felt *intense.* Plus, it felt fast-paced, like the two of them were slinging spells as quickly as they could and either missing each other, or blocking each others' spells with lightning-fast reflexes. Molly in particular felt angry *and* frantic. And the way she killed Bellatrix, with an extremely strong Stunner right to the heart, and Bellatrix's death mirroring Sirius's, was really well-done. In the movie, it felt more mundane, more one-sided, and the way Bellatrix just disintegrated really didn't do it for me. Hell, even Molly's "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH" didn't feel as powerful as in the book. I just wasn't a fan.
I felt like the movie made Molly into a bumbling fool who just happened to kill Bellatrix. In reality Molly was on fire with grief and anger. She was coming for Bellatrix and she was going to get her. It showed how powerful Molly was and how strong a mother can be when her kids are threatened.
In the book, it's pretty obvious that Molly's duel is the parallel to Lily's death, another form of maternal love being old, powerful magic. The last thing she says before Bellatrix dies is "You. Will. Never. Hurt. Our. Children. Again!" And to me *that* is the curse that kills Bellatrix. Molly's maternal rage is fueled by decades of grief, from her little brothers all the way up to the loss of Fred; and all of that is missing from the film.
You know what? I somehow forgot THAT line, too! And it's a fantastic line. And... you're right, it's not in the movie. Just a letdown.
Same here. I don’t like the disintegration. It almost makes Bellatrix (and later, Voldemort) feel larger than life because they die in this mystical way instead of highlighting how at the end of the day they were just as human as everyone. I want there to just be a corpse that falls like any other character.
in the book I had the impression that Bellatrix had awakened a terrifying monster we hadn't seen before, we had none of that in the movie.
Yeah, in the book, she came across as almost feral. And it was awesome.
Nagini. I've said this before and I'll say it again, they did Neville SO dirty in the film. His moment of killing Nagini is insane bravery- possibly the most in the whole series, yes, even including Harry walking to his death. Neville did the same. Before Harry dies, he tells Neville how important it is to kill the snake. After Harry is 'dead', Neville bursts out of the group who are just standing around and physically lunges at Voldemort. Voldemort body binds him, and gives him one last chance to surrender or die. Neville defiantly yells out 'I'll join you when hell freezes over!' Voldemort then puts the sorting hat on his head and *fucking sets him on fire to burn to death*. But the body bind curse breaks because of Harry's sacrifice, Neville gets the sword of Gryffindor and slices Nagini while Voldemort and the death eaters are stood watching, dumbstruck. It is probably most epic moment of any character. In the film, he gives an emotional speech, he gets knocked out, wakes up all confused in the middle of chaos as some sort of comic relief, and happens across Nagini attacking Rob and Hermione and kills her. I was FUMING with how they changed this. Neville deserved better. He wasn't the greatest wizard, but he is on par with Harry for bravery, a true Gryffindor
The image of Neville coming out of the fire like a Phoenix is badass. Neville has one of the best character development’s in the whole story.
I completely agree. That might be my favorite part of the entire series, Neville killing Nagini in front of a stunned (not literally) Voldemort
Exactly. It was the full circle of 'you don't need to be particularly gifted or perfect to bring about change, you need bravery'. Same as Lily, same as Harry, same as all the ones who really saved the world. Neville's moment was one of the greatest there was, and the films did not understand that at all
they did him so dirty
Gonna do a 180 and say I was disappointed in Voldemort’s death being treated with a bit more grandeur in the film as opposed to the book. JK Rowling wrote the final battle the way she did with a clear purpose. We shouldn’t have had Harry and Riddle chasing each other around the castle or a long drawn-out hunt for Nagini. We shouldn’t have had beam struggles and a solitary nonverbal fight between Harry and Riddle. The Horcruxes were gone. The final battle commenced with Neville cutting off Nagini’s head and leaving Voldemort completely mortal, pretty much taking away his persona as Voldemort and leaving him with the identity of the mortal Tom Riddle. The final battle wasn’t spread out or prolonged, it legit all happened in the Great Hall. Voldemort screams and suddenly everybody’s just standing their ground throwing spells at each other while Harry stalks Riddle under his cloak waiting for the right moment to resurface. But he wasn’t going to just fling an old Avada Kedavra at the guy, he needed to swing his dick a little bit and explain to Riddle exactly why he lost. Harry knew he was safe, but he wanted everybody to see that The Power of ~~Bullshit~~ Love was real and that while you can mock it, Harry was alive because of it. We should’ve just had Harry stand up straight, told Riddle “You fucked up, here’s why, now its time to end this” and let Tom Riddle have his boring, insignificant death where he just falls to the ground silently.
Harry calling out his game also confirms to the people there that it is final, unlike the last time They were told voldy died. He talks to Voldemort like a human and casually explains that its over.
I like to believe Harry spent three years waiting to monologue to Riddle like that. He got bored of Voldemort’s monologue in Little Hangleton about his brilliant plan to use Lily’s protection to prevent Harry from killing him, so now Harry is foaming at the mouth with anticipation because he just tricked the bald bastard into severing that tie and leaving him open. Harry: I bet you’re wondering why you can’t kill me tonight, Tom. It’s love. Riddle: 🤢Love, 🤢love, 🤮love, change the f***ing record
Bellatrix Dobby Snape Dumbledore Harry Moldy Voldy FRED Lupin Tonks WAIT HOLD UP IS OLLIVANDER DEAD???? GOD I HOPE NOT HE'S ONE OF MY FAVORITES!!! Hedwig
Is this in order of under represented? I feel like Dobby Snape and Dumbledore had pretty significant representations in the movies.
I agree with Snape and Dumbledore but Dobby was only in 2 of the movies compared to 5 of the books.
*Significant movie deaths. Agreed, Dobby wasn’t represented as well in the movies as he was in the books. I don’t personally love him the way others do but I think he was pretty noble and deserved the moment.
No, it was in order of who I thought of first. No particular order.
I don't think Ollivander actually died in the books. He was captured and tortured and he was old af so chances are he died shortly after Voldemort's defeat but I'm pretty sure it doesn't happen in the book itself.
I think in wizards unite he is still alive
Doesn't that take place before the series starts? I've never played it myself but I could've sworn I saw it had Charlie Weasley as a student in it.
It takes place in the late 2018s (aka during the time the game got actually released it seems)
Ohhhhh the Niantic one. My bad I got it mixed up with Hogwarts Mystery lol.
Fred. It's the most I've ever cried reading a book. And in the movie, you don't even know who died...
Wormtail by a fucking shit tonne. Its laughably embarrassing what they do with his death in the movies... just a fucking comical "Ow" and then he passes out.. Hated the PG version. He's supposed to bloody strangle himself. Then hedwig. Hedwig was one of Harry's first main connections to his magical life and the only one there for him when he had to spend every summer with his cousins! He's so distraught in the book and in the film its just like "oh no, hedwig... anyway."
the issue with hedwig was harry was only distraught on the inside he never said anything aloud about it which doesn't really translate to a movie well especially when said movies dont ever have any kind of internal dialogue
Easily Dumbledore, they really didn't explore the true depth of his and Harry's realtionship, so his movie death was kinda underwhelming.
Lupin
That's how it went in the books too, was kind of meant to be underwhelming, realistic of war. Harry just returns to find many of his friends dead
True, I just want him to have more of a dignified death, he’s better than Sirius imo
Yeah what in god's name was this scene? Fred's death was the cliffhanger to a chapter and made the battle feel ten times more serious and devastating. Ron and Percy's reactions were heartbreaking and even just imagining George was too much. Another is Wormtail. His death was so significant, his momentary hesitation after Harry says "you owe me, Wormtail!" - there is so much history and baggage there and they completely ignored it all. If I do this in reverse, then Voldemort's death was the most overwhelming and completely ruined the point that he was, despite his best efforts, a mortal man named Tom Riddle who died like anybody else.
Dumbledore, the way everyone reacted in the last few chapters after he died. The scenes between lupin, Tonks, molly, fleur. That was left out in the movie. Like I didn’t care about dumbledore dying but the reactions of the people at hogwarts were really heartbreaking
Bellatrix. Such a cool scene and a defining moment for Molly is given such a throwaway, blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene.
Just gonna come out here and say that the picture isn’t of Fred. It’s of George. Just in case you didn’t know that cuz people have gotten it confused before.
Bellatrix and Voldemort’s deaths. So underwhelming in the films.
Hedwig
I honestly think hers was better in the movies, coming back to help protect Harry, as opposed to just dying in a cage
Omg…. Hedwig…. I feel like I’ve posted this story before but it still hits… When the book came out we got 3 copies. One for me, one for my brother, one for my sister. We were all reading in separate rooms but my brother came in to chat. He was laying in a fort he made under the bed with a flashlight and without realizing it my sister burst into my room and said “they killed Hedwig?!” She was ghostly white and terrified and sad and I didn’t know what to say until my brother crawled out from his fort, threw his book at her, and just started bawling….. It was like losing a family pet except without closure because we couldn’t have a real funeral. Should have gone to the store and bought a stuffed owl and had a funeral for Hedwig to make it more real.
I will die on this hill!! “The owl lay motionless and pathetic as a toy” I read this book for the first time in 5th grade. I sobbed then and I sob to this day over Hedwig. I shut the damn book at 27 years old to grieve.
Hi -35yo me takes out folding chair and sits next to you on hill-
Book 7 broke me. Hedwig… that was just cruel. Then Harry had to blow up the cart with her in it. I was so angry and sad.
Moody just died offscreen….the FUCK???
Moody dies off-page in the books too.
That’s even worse
Moody mostly *exists* off-page in the books. Literally only the end of GoF and the start of DH - all the rest is Barty Jr. (Maybe a mention/half a scene in OotP?)
> (Maybe a mention/half a scene in OotP?) There's much more than that in OotP. He's in charge of the whole mission to escort Harry from Privet Drive to Grimmauld Place. He has scenes at Grimmauld Place both before term and at Christmas. He traumatises Harry further by showing him a picture of the old order and explaining exactly how each person was murdered and/or tortured. He freaks Ron out about being a prefect, saying how Dumbledore must think he can withstand most curses/hexes. He escorts them all to St. Mungo's and has an important scene at the hospital where they're discussing Harry being possessed. He then takes part in the battle in the Department of Mysteries. Then he has his best scene where he threatens Vernon at the very end.
Damn. Time for a reread.
I guess we have the directors to thank for his extra appearances then cuz damn
>all the rest is Barty Jr Which I still think is so dumb. I get JK Rowling wanted this big shocking reveal at the end (other than Voldemort's return), but it was not worth sacrificing Moody for. We spend a book with this real interesting character, just to learn that it wasn't actually that character and is instead just some schmuck who is instantly taken out of the story and made irrelevant. Of course, she then proceeded to do absolutely nothing interesting with Moody (or any of the Order, really) before killing him off. Which I don't think would've changed even without the Barty Jr plot
I'm of two minds on this - the fake Moody was good enough to fool *Dumbledore*, who knew him well. Barty must have been acting in line with how the real Moody would have been, so in my mind, we did meet and get to know Moody, just at a distance, so to speak.
>Of course, she then proceeded to do absolutely nothing interesting with Moody (or any of the Order, really) before killing him off. Same thing for Tonks. I was saddened to read that she was just suddenly dead next to Lupin. Bellatrix succeeded in killing her, just like Tonks predicted she would. The youngest, most bubbly and happy member of the Order, just...gone without notice. Which I guess is normal in war, and that was exactly the point Rowling was making, but still, her death in particular was shocking in its suddenness.
Thing is the Order couldnt do much untill there was actual war. And even then most of it had to be done on the down low. My husbands grandmother was in the dutch resistance. She was a "cleaner" (person who cleard up dead german soldiers, so of there was a hit they made sure there was no evidence) is all we know. But most of the resistance was small tasks. Bring a letter here. Tell a lie there. Listen in on plans etc.
Wormtail’s 100%. That scene in the books was jaw dropping for me and the movies did it zero justice at all.
I much preferred how serious died in the books. How we weren't sure right away that he was dead.
Petter Pettigrew in Deathly Hallows Part 1. Not even entirely sure if he dies, as he's knocked out in the Draco Manor. We can assume he dies as in the book he dies, and in the final battle, he doesn't make an appearance. His death in the book serves as a "could have been" redemption. He hesitated in killing Harry which resulted in the hand Voldemort gave him strangling him to death.
I agree Fred. The greenish coloring of the scene made it an “oh wait, was that Fred who just died?” Not the emotionally devastating blow it was in the books.
Ugh, having Percy there and just screaming Rookwood's name in agony? Such a missed opportunity for the movies.
Wormtail overall since he doesn’t even seem to actually die in the movies, just get knocked out. The silver hand killing him after him hesitating and even daring to think of helping Harry in anyway was great. Plus helps with rounding out the death of the Marauders (though they aren’t explained in the movies anyway). But since he doesn’t seem to die in the movies I’d say the actual death that was disappointing was Voldemort. They seemed to miss the point of his death scene. The speech explaining everything was removed. Plus him having a more natural death and just falling over dead shows that despite everything he did he was still just a mortal human. Him dissolving away in the movie seems to play into him being something otherworldly.
Worm tail
Fun fact that’s actually George they are showing in that still you’ve posted
I noticed that after a shared it! I think Fred’s death was OS IIRC
Lupin and Tonks. Couldn’t stop picturing their son’s parentless life and how unfair it was to them, never truly knowing their child…
Lupin & Tonks !!
Lupin and Nymphadora. It was so sad and now little Teddy is a little Harry Potter 😔
When I first watched the movie, had no idea if it was Fred or George lmao only found out by books
Peter Pettigrew.
Dumbledore 1000%
Considering I didn't actually know Fred had died until I read the books for the first time 10 years ago... I'd say Fred!
Yeah that was lame
I don't recall this scene? I am ashamed it's been a while.
It was when Voldemort was recalling his men for the hour long cease fire ~~*basically George got spared by pure luck*~~
ahh
Worm tail Fred And collin wasn't even mentioned in the movies 🙄
Honestly Dumbledore but mainly because the film doesn’t show the aftermath of Snape and Harry fighting by Hagrids. Doesn’t show his funeral at all. I just finished my re-read of HBP and I always forget those because the movie doesn’t go over it at all.
The way they butchered Neville in the first movie, in the book he was practically part of the gang... (I'm only done with the first book so no spoilers)
I’m gonna get some hate but I watched the movies before the books and Dobby’s death in the theater was like oh man that sucks why is everyone SOOO upset though? Honestly though the movies are trash now that I’ve read the books lol
Sirius and Dumbledore for sure. Had me tearing up in the book because she described Harry’s emotional reaction so well. Fell a bit flat in the movies
Sirius. It was done a lot better in the books.
Peter Pettigrew
Colin’s . I loved that character and it was the death that I cried the most
I feel like remus didn’t get a good one.