The Harry Potter movies are beloved among fans of the books and the Wizarding World, but they are not perfect adaptations – and the way Hermione was portrayed is a big reason why they aren’t flawless. The world of Harry Potter became a worldwide phenomenon with the publication of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone in 1997.

Just four years later, Harry Potter and company made the jump to the big screen. The Harry Potter movie series was also a pop culture phenomenon, launching the careers of its young cast and being well-received by fans of the book series. However, the movies had to make some adjustments to the characters and stories that weren’t always beneficial.

Many characters, like Peeves, were completely left out, many others were changed, and some key moments were omitted. Unfortunately, and despite being a main character, Hermione went through this and more, and she was very different from her portrayal in the books.

Hermione Was Given Other Characters’ Lines

Hermione is a key member of the Golden Trio, being the most knowledgeable and disciplined one of the group, always looking to learn more to become the best witch she could be. Hermione is a fan-favorite character in the world of Harry Potter and has many great and key moments throughout the book series, but the movies weren’t respectful of that.

A big problem with Hermione’s version in the movies is that many (and some of them quite memorable) of her lines were actually from other characters in the books. Some of the most notable examples are the explanation of what a “mudblood” is in Chamber of Secrets, which, in the books, belongs to Ron.

In that same movie, Hermione says that “fear of a name only increases fear of the thing itself”, a line originally said by Dumbledore. In the Prisoner of Azkaban movie, Hermione stands in front of Harry telling Sirius Black that, if he wants to kill Harry, he will have to kill them too, which is something Ron says in the book.

The Harry Potter Movies Made Hermione Too Compatible With Harry

Everyone who read the Harry Potter books knows that Hermione and Harry are always friends, and her romantic bond with Ron is a slow-burn – however, the movies did this differently. The Harry Potter saga changed some of Hermione’s traits and moments from the books to make her more compatible with Harry.

This was also thanks to changes made to Harry and Ron, with the first being portrayed as the brave one of the group, Ron being the comic relief, and Hermione being the brains. This gave Harry and Hermione more interactions and time together, and the movies even showed them comforting each other and working together to essentially save the world.

The movies also left out moments from the books where Harry and Hermione’s views and personalities clashed, which are key to their brother-and-sister dynamic in the novels. To make this even worse, Deathly Hallows – Part 1 has a dance scene between Harry and Hermione while Ron is gone, further building the idea that Harry and Hermione are soulmates.

This ultimately affected Hermione and Ron’s relationship, which wasn’t believable in the final three movies, as the saga spent way too much time building that bond between Harry and Hermione. This also affected Harry and Ginny’s relationship, taking away its credibility by not developing it properly.

The Harry Potter Movies Omitted Hermione’s Crueler Side

Hermione is very intelligent, knowledgeable, skilled, and a great and loyal friend, but she isn’t perfect and definitely isn’t kind all the time. Hermione is a layered and complex character, and as such, there are many shades to her that the movies either downplayed or omitted, for whatever reason.

In the books, Hermione showed her darker, crueler, and vengeful side many times, and not only with enemies of the Golden Trio. One of her most notable cruel moments is when she learned that Rita Skeeter was an animagus, taking the form of a beetle to secretly listen in on private conversations.

To stop her, Hermione trapped her in a jar with an Unbreakable Charm to stop her from writing more harmful pieces. In Order of the Phoenix, when a member of the Order betrayed the group, her face spelled “snitch” in acne as a result of a spell by Hermione.

On top of that, Hermione was also mean to her own friends many times, especially Ron, often snapping at him, but they always ended up putting up with her.

Hermione Was Rarely Vulnerable In The Movies

A key element to making a character relatable is their vulnerability. The Harry Potter books got that right with their main characters, and they brought that vulnerability to the big screen with Harry and Ron (with some flaws), but not with Hermione. As the brains of the group, Hermione was portrayed as always knowledgeable, rarely not having the answer to something.

This led to Hermione in the Harry Potter movies being always confident, cool, calm, and collected, hardly ever panicking or admitting to not knowing something. While there’s nothing wrong with a confident female character, especially one aimed at a young audience, Hermione in the books had many moments of vulnerability that, ultimately, made her a stronger character.

In the movies, however, Hermione didn’t show vulnerability even in critical moments where, in the books, she definitely didn’t stay calm and focused on being a capable and skilled witch. Although some moments were kept, like Bellatrix Lestrange attacking her in Deathly Hallows – Part 1, the movies downplayed their effect and impact on Hermione.

Hermione Was Portrayed As A Flawless Character

On the topic of Hermione’s lack of vulnerability, this led to the Harry Potter movies making her a perfect, flawless character. The movies’ version of Hermione did have some unpleasant traits, such as how bossy she could be, but these were brushed off as the saga progressed without character development.

In the books, Hermione’s bossiness also decreased but never disappeared, as the young witch learned from her mistakes and experiences and grew. The books’ version of Hermione was often close-minded, inflexible, and it was very hard to make her change her opinion, even when she was proven wrong.

Hermione in the movies was always right, turning her into a know-it-all type of character, too (even though she had the knowledge to be right many times), and leaving no room for character development. This also impacted her relationships, which takes me back to the above-mentioned point of Hermione being made as a perfect match for Harry.

Ron, on the other hand, was a mostly flawed character, with the movies focusing too much on those weaknesses. This further made it hard to believe that Hermione and Ron end up together in the movies, as there’s no development in both parts that could lead them to find a good balance together, while this is well-explored in the books.

The Harry Potter Movies Removed Hermione’s Layers & Complexity

Most of these problems with Hermione’s portrayal in the Harry Potter movies lead to a bigger problem. The Hermione that fans of the Harry Potter books know so well is a layered, complex, and thus relatable character, but in the movies’ effort to make Hermione perfect and a role model for a young audience, they got rid of her best traits and all her layers.

As mentioned above, Hermione was very smart, loyal, brave, and skilled, but she was also close-minded, often neurotic, annoying, and at times unhinged. The Hermione from the books also learned from her mistakes and actively worked to be a better person, but without becoming a flawless character.

The movies’ version of Hermione, on the other hand, lacked this complexity and thus lacked development, always portraying her as a perfect character that never had to learn from her own experiences. While all this doesn’t make Hermione any less popular and beloved, there is a big difference between her version in the books and the movies.

Cast

Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, Tom Felton, Alan Rickman, Matthew Lewis, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Maggie Smith, Michael Gambon, Richard Harris, Ralph Fiennes, Helena Bonham Carter, Alfred Enoch, Harry Melling, Gary Oldman, Robert Pattinson, Warwick Davis, Oliver Phelps, James Phelps, David Bradley, David Thewlis, Katie Leung, Jason Isaacs, Imelda Staunton, David Tennant, Jamie Campbell Bower, Timothy Spall, Robbie Coltrane, Eddie Redmayne, Jude Law, Katherine Waterston, Ezra Miller, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Johnny Depp, Mads Mikkelsen

Movie(s)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore