Summary
- Harry & Ginny’s lackluster movie relationship could have been fixed with more screen time & chemistry.
- The importance of Harry & Ginny’s romance was downplayed in the movies, impacting audience connection.
- HBO can enhance Harry & Ginny’s relationship on TV by developing deeper connections & realistic chemistry.
The Harry Potter franchise features many couples, with romance between students, while the adults also have their fair share of romance in the story. These couples often play important roles in character development and the overall plot, which makes them crucial to get right, but the iconic Harry Potter movie series didn’t quite achieve that with all of them.
One couple that could have gotten more attention was between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, which is surprising given the importance of both characters. However, that’s something that HBO could fix as the highly anticipated television series could develop into something more meaningful.
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How The Movies Fumbled Harry & Ginny
The relationship between Harry and Ginny is widely considered one of the least popular within the franchise, which is surprising given that they’re two lead characters involved in some of the most important moments within the story. A big reason audiences felt disconnected from them was the lack of scenes that they had together during the early movies. In Harry’s sixth year, the pair seem to just randomly decide they’re very attracted to each other and, without much conversation about their feelings, end up pursuing them.
The two characters had absolutely no connection or chemistry with each other. More focus is put into building romantic tension with Harry and Cho Chang, which gives audiences a reason to care about them as a possible couple. In the novels, there is a lot more detail about their relationship as they sneak off to be with each other, spend time having a picnic, and end up having the entire school talking about them being together as they become the ‘it’ couple. None of that is showcased within the movies, which led to them being romantic together and feeling awkward, which was a mistake in the movies as it led to audiences disliking them as a couple.
The Importance Of This Romance
The Harry Potter franchise doesn’t lean into romance as much as other young adult franchises like The Hunger Games or Twilight, but there are many important love stories that get told within J.K. Rowling’s novels. The romance between Harry and Ginny is certainly an important one, mainly because Harry is the lead character in the entire franchise. Every aspect of his character is focused on in detail, but it felt like every single other relationship was more important than the one he had with Ginny.
The romance between them is something that Harry clings to during the darker times in the Wizarding World, but that small lightness needs to be highlighted more for people to understand it. It’s also a big character change for both of them as they begin to step into the adult world that comes with relationships, and the evolution is something that needs to be highlighted. Pushing the chemistry between Harry and Ginny would stop audiences from wanting him to end up with Hermione Granger, which isn’t something that viewers should have ever wanted.
How HBO Can Do Better
HBO can do better with these two characters by simply teasing a form of romance between them in the earlier stories. At times in the movies, it is clear that Ginny might be slightly attracted to Harry, but there’s very little outside of that. They don’t spend many scenes talking to each other to develop their connection outside of the fact that Harry is friends with Ron Weasley and is often with the entire family when he can be. HBO can showcase how they get to know each other when they’re younger rather than randomly coming together when they’re older and expecting audiences to accept it.
There is storyline potential with how the other family members feel about the relationship, particularly with Ron. He and Harry have no conversation about it in the movies, which is bizarre given that they’re best friends and Ginny is Ron’s sister. These are all important aspects that need to be fleshed out to make the relationship feel more realistic. Even with scenes when they are alone, in movies, the tension is awkward rather than palpable, leading to audiences not caring about them being a couple. Sure, the teenage awkwardness of love should shine through, but showing them enjoying each other’s company, flirting, and having some fun would make people buy into them as an item.
Ultimately, HBO can make this relationship feel more important simply by dedicating extra scenes between the characters or by helping to provide more realistic chemistry that audiences can connect to. That’s something that would separate the television series from the movies, which is exactly what HBO will be hoping to achieve to drive audiences to watch every episode. The romance of the lead character in Harry Potter should feel like an important part of the story and not an afterthought thrown together, which is the pressure that HBO would be dealing with heading into the show’s release.
Harry Potter
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