The movies of Harry Potter are overall successful adaptations of the books. Nevertheless, not all characters receive the same attention as in the original material. Ironically, Snape is somewhat criminally neglected.
Harry Potter is full of interesting, quirky, and dark characters. All three adjectives describe the Hogwarts professor Severus Snape very well. While he initially comes across as nasty and shady during Harry’s early school years, the character undergoes a transformation, especially in the last book.
Because then we find out that Snape has been working for Dumbledore all along, making sure that nothing happens to Harry. The death of the Hogwarts headmaster was also planned. These secrets had to be kept by Snape’s actor, Alan Rickman, for a long time.
Much of what Snape did for Dumbledore and Harry over time stemmed from his former love for Harry’s mother, Lily. In the memory we see in the 8th film of Harry Potter, scenes from their childhood and youth are shown. This is meant to evoke empathy in the audience and show how important Lily was to Snape.
Unfortunately, the filmmakers decided to cut some of the most important moments from the book.
The relationship was complex
What do the movies leave out? The memories of Lily shown in the film are brief and heavily summarized. The movie adaptation takes little time here, despite the fact that the last book was even divided into two films to give important scenes more room.
We experience the battle of Hogwarts in great detail, yet not how complex the relationship between Snape and Lily really was. The film primarily shows that Snape and Lily were friends, but with the appearance of James Potter, the shy, black-haired boy fell behind.
However, some conversations that would better illuminate their relationship are missing. It was not always easy: during difficult moments, conflicts arose, and at one point, Snape even called Lily “Mudblood” – a clear insult directed at witches and wizards whose parents are Muggles. This led to a rift between the two.
In general, Snape’s youthful interest in the Death Eaters and ideologies beyond good is not addressed in the film at all.
All this can be explained by the fact that these additional scenes would have increased the film’s runtime, yet Snape, especially at the end of the story, is a central character. A bit more background would have benefitted his character – particularly in understanding the relationship with Lily better.
Sure, the scene in which Harry learns about Snape’s true intentions is already very emotional – we only say “Always”. Still, the impression remains that there could have been more.
If the filmmakers had taken more time for the character and his past, his fate would have been much more tragic but also more nuanced. Nevertheless, Snape is still an intriguing character in the films, portrayed by a fantastic actor: Harry Potter was really afraid of Professor Snape back then – Today he is thankful for their time together
