TheHarry Potterfranchise is one of the most impressive film adaptations sinceThe GodfatherandThe Lord of the Rings, condensing over 4,000 pages of world-building into eight groundbreaking pictures that refined J.K. Rowling’s fantastical vision for the silver screen. However, that’s not to say that all storylines survived the cinematic chopping block. Among the films' many overlooked and stripped-down plotlines, Percy Weasley’s arc, is so incredibly condensed that it’s worth wondering if the movies would have been better served not including it at all.
IntheHarry Potterbooks, Percy Weasley is the black sheep of his whimsical family, caught between the hijinks of Fred and George and the precarious adventures of his youngest sibling, Ron. In many ways, being a black sheep in the Weasleys means being a goody two-shoes, and Percy takes that to heart,adopting a studious, somewhat pretentious attitude at Hogwartsthat follows him to the Ministry of Magic in a subplot that sees him turn against his family and Harry. Although the films do depict this storyline,Percy largely disappears from the later Harry Potter movies.
Percy Turning On His Family Was Never That Interesting A Story
It’s Not Percy’s Fault—Blame Voldemort Or The Boy Who Lived
In the books, Percy Weasley transforms from the attentive Gryffindor prefect into a fiercely loyal agent of the Ministry of Magicwho disowns his family and directly aids Cornelius Fudgein his smear campaign against Harry Potter for asserting Voldemort’s return. Furthermore, Percy’s tenure as Fudge’s executive assistant saw him activelyplay a part in enforcing the Ministry’s oppressive and harmful policies, which sought to strip Professor Dumbledore of his power and control the behavior of students at Hogwarts through the infamous “Educational Decrees” of Dolores Umbridge.
While Percy’s plotline injects tension into the Weasley home and contains elements of collaboration and family strife,it ultimately has little influence on the greater story at hand, with its political weight paling in comparison to that of the spiraling wizarding conflict. Furthermore, his eventual reconciliation with the Weasleysdoesn’t pack the same emotional punch as other juicier partsof the later novels—in part due to its significance to the overall plot, but primarily because of the lack of time spent on his character.
The Movies Should’ve Cut It Completely But Weirdly Left Part Of It In
The Filmmakers Should’ve Committed To One Side
The issue with Percy Weasley’s storyline in the books is only exacerbated intheHarry Pottermovies, largely due to their insistence on depicting the storyline without going the full mile through resolving his arc. By trying to play both sides and please fans of the character while only including parts of his already-modest subplot,the films created a weird, unfinished version of Percy. This unresolved plotline becomes all the moreconfusing when he shows up in the final battle of Hogwarts fighting alongside Harry, which the film never addresses.
By not following through on Percy’s storyline of redemption, theHarry Potterfilms created a loose end that feels rushed and unfinished.
At the end of the day, Percy Weasley is a minor character in a sweeping, grandiose saga that depicts a multi-generational wizarding war and the main players dictating its ultimate fate;it’s understandable why the filmmakers felt they had to shelve parts of Percy’s storylineto streamline the greater narratives of the books for mass audiences.
However, by not following through on Percy’s storyline of redemption, the filmscreated a loose end that feels rushed and unfinished—that is, if people even noticed it in the first place, since Percy’s appearance inHarry Potter and the Deathly Hollows: Part IIis so fleeting it’s truly a blink-and-you-miss-it cameo at times. So, as the new HBOHarry Potterseries is gearing up for release in the next potential year, here’s to hoping that it can fixwhat the original films did to Percy—and all the Weasleys, for that matter.
