Although the Fantastic Beasts movies haven't landed as well as some people expected (with The Secrets Of Dumbledore retrieving the lowest Box Office output out of all the films in the Harry Potter universe), this does not mean that Warner Bros. is about to give up on the wizarding world just yet.
According to The Digital Fix, HBO is set to create more Harry Potter content for the streaming platform, with a possibility that these projects could introduce some familiar faces once again (including The Boy Who Lived himself). The idea has caused a stir among s on Reddit, with some already expressing their doubts about another book-to-screen adaptation (since many s weren't happy with some of the creative decisions the movie directors took with Harry's arc when the franchise was filmed the first time around). While there are some valid points made, there are others that might just be considered unpopular too.
Updated June 6th, 2022 by Kayleigh Banks: Although Harry Potter and the Cursed Child has received an overall positive response from the theatre critics (via The Guardian), this doesn't mean that they wouldn't have tweaked one or two things (as there were a few complaints about the director's decision to omit several characters from the plot). It's not the first time these complaints have been made either, with many s on social media forums, like Reddit, having previously debated whether the movies had changed too many elements from the books (including Harry's story itself). And while some s raise some interesting points about this, there's no doubt they'll be deemed controversial by someone else.
Harry Potter Had No Flaws
Although there are many polarizing opinions about Harry Potter, some might find difficulty agreeing with the fans Reddit u/Tharkun140 talks about when they state their beliefs that the Boy Who Lived had "no flaws or personality."
With the Harry Potter franchise classed as a coming-of-age story, spanning across his teen years and partially leading up to adulthood, it would make no sense to say that he had "no flaws or personality." As evidenced from the story itself, teenagers are prone to making mistakes and doing reckless things (even Harry). He made a huge mistake when he almost killed Draco, he almost exposed the wizarding world when he flew to Hogwarts in the Weasleys car, and there were definitely plenty of times when he recklessly put his life on the line because he hadn't come up with a decent plan. He wasn't perfect by any means.
Harry Is Not An Interesting Character
Given that there are quite a few dynamic characters in the franchise, there are quite a few people on Reddit, such as vaughneirch, who believe that they would have made better protagonists (since they felt that Harry was "pretty generic" and wasn't "particularly interesting or giving").
While there might be a few people who struggle to engage with Harry, Reddit Mikill1995 summarizes it best as to why this could be seen as an unpopular opinion: "side characters are a bit easier to characterize as Harry thinks about what makes them special and describes their character. No one is there to do it for him." He certainly wouldn't be that likable if he boasted about his achievements or bragged about his intelligence because it could be misconstrued as arrogance. It also seems a bit redundant to say that he wasn't "particularly interesting" either since he does have some interesting hobbies and side-plots too.
Harry's Choices Have No Effect On The Main Story
For Reddit u/Tharkun140, they said that the biggest problem they had with the titular protagonist was that Harry never made a choice that "affected the story in a major way."
Considering that the books and the movies mainly followed Harry's adventures and how he defeated Voldemort, it doesn't really make sense to say that his choices never affected "the story in a major way." Ginny would have died if he hadn't decided to rescue her in the Chamber of Secrets, Voldemort could have succeeded in his ambitions had Harry not looked for the Horcruxes, and Sirius would have certainly died had they hadn't broken him out of Azkaban.
Harry And Hermione's Dance Scene In The Tent Was Pointless
For Reddit u/ravenclaw1991, they revealed that they "personally didn't like the Harry/Hermione dance scene in Deathly Hallows Part 1," believing it to be "pointless and weird."
Although they may be right about Steve Klove and David Yates possibly including it for Harry/Hermione shippers, this Reddit will find a lot of people disagreeing with them about it being "weird" and "pointless." From the moment Harry and Hermione confided in one another about their feelings for the Weasley siblings in The Half-Blood Prince, the two best friends have always had each other's backs. Fans had also seen Harry comfort Hermione when she was upset, so the dance sequence wasn't that strange. As one of her best friends, he would've done whatever to cheer her up - which was why the scene was likely written in.
Harry's Anger In The Order Of The Phoenix Was Justified
Reddit CarefreeWinning states that "Harry’s anger in OotP was completely justified." At the end of the fourth book, Cedric Diggory was killed and Voldemort was resurrected right in front of his eyes. Yet, the wizarding world insisted on not believing him. It was thus, according to this fan, only natural that Harry should be moody every now and then in Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix.
This opinion is rather unpopular since the fifth book is widely touted as one of the worst books in the series and shows Harry in a somewhat negative light. He behaves like an angsty teenager most of the time and doesn't even treat his best friends right all the time, who were only trying to help him. Of course, this was a particularly difficult time for him, as even Sirius, the one person he had pitched all his hopes on, shockingly dies.
Harry Should Have Been Expelled In Half-Blood Prince
In Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince, Harry uses the dark spell 'Sectumsempra' on Draco Malfoy inside the boy's toilet. One now-deleted Redditor astutely points out that Harry should have been expelled from Hogwarts for using dark magic against a fellow student, because "dark magic is dark magic."
This observation might be accurate, but Harry was only defending himself against Draco, who had, in fact, used the Cruciatus Curse to hurt Harry. That said, this was one of the most disturbing Harry Potter moments in the series and one that fans can't forget.
The Hate Harry Gets From Fans Isn't Fair
One of the curiously popular opinions about Harry is that the boy wizard himself doesn't impress as much as some of the other characters in the series. Some fans even feel that most of Harry's achievements came about through pure luck and a lot of help from his well-wishers.
But to counter this, Redditor salvatoreroses finds Harry to be quite great and feels that "the 'hate' this character gets isn't fair," as he came from an abusive family and was thrust into the wizarding world, which had high expectations of him. Of course, no one can deny him his infinite courage. But it's also difficult to imagine Harry beating Voldemort without the battalion of people looking out for him.
Harry & Hermione Wouldn't Make A Good Couple
Harry Potter's pairing with Ginny Weasley had never gone down well with the majority of fans, who would have preferred Harry to pick his best friend Hermione as his partner. However, Greekgeek4 feels that "Harry x Hermione is a dumb ship" and wouldn't have made a good couple at all. Another , bornatmidnight, s this view by stating that "Harry and Hermione’s personalities would not fit [together] at all."
Indeed, the best friends could not have been more different. Hermione was the bookish, brilliant young witch while books were never Harry's thing. Yet, this difference is what makes them a potentially good couple for millions of Potterheads who believe that there were many scenes in the Harry Potter movies that proved that Harry and Hermione were soulmates.
Harry Is Miles Ahead Of Hermione
Along the same lines as the last point, Redditor 7ootles states that "Harry is actually far more intelligent than he's ever given credit for." And he doesn't bury himself in textbooks and spends all his time in the library, like Hermione. Instead, he works things out intuitively, implying that he had a spark that perhaps even Hermione didn't.
Yet again, this goes against the grain. Sure, Hermione would immerse herself in books, but she was a quick thinker who's brain saved the trio on multiple occasions. And while Harry was instinctively smart and brave, popularly speaking, he would hardly be considered on par with the young witch.
He Is A Good Fit With Ginny
Similar to the previous point, here's another Redditor, Lord_Parbr, who wonders why fans, in general, expressed dissatisfaction with Harry ultimately choosing Ginny Weasley. The posts, "Personally, I thought they fit together really well," and that Ginny Weasley, as depicted in the books, was every bit as awesome as the trio.
Harry's romance with Ginny is not popularly favored since most fans shipped The Boy Who Lived with his best friend, Hermione. Many fans also found Ron's pairing with Hermione to be jarring, to say the least, just as they didn't love Ginny with Harry.
Cho & Harry Had A Natural Romance
Speaking of romance, this now-deleted Redditor voices their dissent by stating that Cho's romance with Harry felt natural, "As banterful as Lily and James, and as instantaneous as Snape and Lily. Love at first sight."
But Harry and Cho were never a fan-favorite couple, with the latter having infuriated fans in Order of the Phoenix when she was forced by Umbridge and her minions to give away the location of the Room of Requirements. The movie version of Cho didn't seem to be ready for a relationship either as she seemed to have a lot on her mind during the moments she shared with Harry too. Maybe in another life they would have made it work?
Harry & Luna Would Have Made A Great Couple
As mentioned above, fans never quite got on board with Harry and Ginny, having been in favor of Harry and Hermione. Yet, Redditor jacklg_ uncommonly ships Harry with Luna Lovegood, with whom he had a lot in common. For instance, "They both experienced death of their family ."
Luna was a good friend to Harry and an interesting addition to the series. But very few fans would have thought of the two as a couple. They do share a connection, both having lived through tragedy at a young age, but Luna's partnership with Harry never developed enough for them to even be considered a couple.
Could Snape Have Been Harry's Dad?
Finally, in a thoroughly controversial and unpopular opinion, a now-deleted Redditor wonders if the inimitable Severus Snape could have been Harry's father, since "Harry spends literally the entirety of book 6 relating to and identifying with the Half-Blood Prince."
One of the biggest twists in the tale of Harry was the revelation about Snape, who turned into a full-fledged hero in the final book, despite all the problematic things that Snape did throughout the Harry Potter series. However, although fans wept into their pillows when they found out about Snape's continued feelings for Lily Potter, they would never have entertained the possibility that he could be Harry's dad. Snape and Lily's relationship hadn't progressed that far before James swooped Lily up (but it never hurts to have a little food for thought).
Was Harry Potter A Good Friend?
Reddit ykickamoocow111 raises a controversial question wondering if Harry was as good a friend to the others as they were to him. Harry, the Redditor feels, could "be extremely insular when it comes to how he views Ron's and Hermione's role in his life."
This is controversial because one of the most important aspects of Harry's adventures in the wizarding world is his bond with Ron and Hermione. The three share a relationship that goes deeper than simple friendship and have seen each other through the darkest of times. Harry was forever ready to lay down his life to save his friends and during the final Battle of Hogwarts, he met Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest so that more of his friends and well-wishers wouldn't have to die.
