Key Takeaways
- Filch’s resentment towards students stems from being a squib, unable to perform magic like them.
- Peeves the Poltergeist adds to Filch’s frustration by constantly causing chaos at Hogwarts.
- HBO’s Harry Potter series could benefit from exploring Filch’s backstory for more character depth.
Argus Filch is the hardworking Hogwarts takeover in the Harry Potter world. He is constantly on hand to take on any job within the school, especially if it involves punishing students. He’s a typical grouchy member of staff who is more than happy just focusing on his job and wanting it to be perfect, as he sees the students within the school as a menace.
Filch has no problem telling students off for being out of bounds or awake past curfew, seemingly taking pleasure in his slight authority. He’s only a supporting character in the Harry Potter movies, but there are reasons why he’s grumpy and chooses to take it out on the younger students.
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Argus Filch Is A Squib And Is Jealous
One of the main reasons Filch is constantly angry and annoyed is that he’s a squib, meaning he cannot perform magic. Unlike Rubeus Hagrid, who is banished from performing magic, Filch cannot do it at all as he doesn’t have the genetics necessary, which is a completely different situation, and one that’s no doubt frustrating when surrounded by it every day. The fact he sees a different crop of students arrive each year to learn how to perform magic while he’s unable to do so is an understandable area of frustration for him. The fact that the students are unable to behave or follow instructions can annoy Filch because they’re blessed with magical abilities, and he sees it as them taking it for granted.
His unpleasant attitude is something that Albus Dumbledore puts up with because he sees the frustration and difficulty Filch is going through and because he’s ultimately a hard worker who is good at his job and takes it seriously. He also looks to protect Filch by giving him shelter and a job in a reasonably safe environment despite him being a squib. However, the reality is that Filch’s environment leads to him building up resentment, which he chooses to take out on the students because he’s not powerful enough to cause problems for any of the professors as he knows they have greater knowledge that would lead to him struggling. He’s in an impossible position as he would struggle to find any work outside of Hogwarts, yet the place itself makes him miserable.
The Issue With Peeves The Poltergiest
Another big reason Filch is always angry is Peeves, a poltergeist at Hogwarts. Unlike many of the other ghosts that roam the halls of the school, he doesn’t just sit back and let Hogwarts continue. Instead, he chooses to torment people and cause as much chaos as possible. This can be annoying for anyone who gets in his way, and more often than not, that ends up being Filch.
Unfortunately, Peeves was cut from the Harry Potter movies, which means many fans have no idea who he is, let alone the tension between him and Filch. However, they’re major adversaries, which shines throughout the books as Peeves is constantly doing whatever he can to annoy Filch and make his life a misery. He’s a big reason Filch acts the way he does because there’s no way of properly punishing Peeves, as he can do to the students. He does push for him to be banished from Hogwarts, but that doesn’t happen, and instead, he has to constantly deal with Peeves undoing his hard work or making his life harder simply because that’s how he creates fun.
HBO’s Harry Potter Series Should Explain Argus Filch’s Backstory
Throughout the movies, Filch is just a supporting character who is seen as an annoyance more than a threat to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. While they do annoy him, he rarely goes out of his way to target people like a classic villain. Instead, he’s just looking to do his job perfectly, and punishing students brings him joy. However, he has a lot more backstory and character development in the novels than in the movies, which is something HBO should address.
When creating the upcoming TV series, showrunners will be searching for ways to stand out and be unique compared to the movies, and digging into characters such as Filch would be one way of achieving that. There are lots of details about him in the novels, and explaining his reasons for having the resentment that he does would help his character feel more well-rounded rather than just being a stereotypical grumpy janitor, giving audiences more of a reason to connect to him.
Filch is an example of the detailed writing that J.K. Rowling put together within the novels, as every character has a purpose and offers something to the story. The personality of Filch should be fleshed out with HBO having more time for the TV series than the movies did, and that would help to make the Harry Potter show even more captivating, as audiences would be learning new details about previously seen characters.
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