Harry Potter Season 1 Must Include a Snape Scene the Movies Cut (It Created a Plot Hole)

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The new Harry Potter TV series has the opportunity to include details from the books that weren’t in the movies, like a key scene with Severus Snape in the first book, *The Philosopher’s Stone*. From the very beginning, the show is expected to be much more faithful to the original books than the films were. That’s a major reason for making the series, and with a longer runtime, there will be less need to cut storylines, particularly in the early seasons.

Professor Binns is confirmed to be teaching History of Magic, and we can expect Peeves to be up to his usual tricks at Hogwarts. It’s great that this might finally show us how the story really started – with Vernon Dursley at work while wizards and witches celebrated Voldemort’s defeat. This also applies to key moments later in the book, like Snape protecting the Philosopher’s Stone.

Snape’s Cut Challenge From The Philosopher’s Stone Explained

As Harry, Ron, and Hermione journey deeper into the underground chambers toward the Philosopher’s Stone in the movie, they face various challenges set by different Hogwarts teachers, such as:

  • Fluffy (Hagrid’s challenge)
  • Devil’s Snare (Prof. Sprout)
  • Winged keys (Prof. Flitwick)
  • Giant chessboard (Prof. McGonagall)
  • The Mirror of Erised (Prof. Dumbledore)

After Ron is left behind following the chess game, Harry and Hermione face two more challenges before reaching the Mirror of Erised and the stone. These are a mountain troll – which Professor Quirrell had already subdued – and a potions puzzle set by Professor Snape.

The person is faced with seven bottles: one advances them, one reverses them, two contain harmless wine, and three are poisonous. Using her intelligence, Hermione solves the clues to identify each bottle. This allows her to return to Ron for assistance, and enables Harry to continue forward and confront Quirrell, and eventually, Voldemort.

Cutting Snape’s Riddle Caused Multiple Problems For The Philosopher’s Stone

This scene was likely removed to save time, considering everything else they needed to fit in. While it wasn’t the most visually engaging part, cutting it wasn’t the best decision. It’s a crucial moment for showing Hermione’s intelligence – she points out that many powerful wizards lack logical thinking, and she clearly possesses it. It also highlights Harry’s courage, as he willingly continues on his own.

However, the mystery surrounding Snape doesn’t really fit with what the movie shows us. Hagrid specifically tells Harry, Ron, and Hermione that Snape is guarding the stone, meaning he couldn’t be trying to steal it. While Snape’s riddle doesn’t completely clear him of suspicion at first, it does support what Hagrid says and makes us question whether Snape is actually the villain. The movie, though, leaves us confused about what Hagrid meant in the first place.

This is especially true when considering Quirrell’s challenge. The troll incident is quickly resolved in the book, which seems minor, but neatly foreshadows Quirrell being the one responsible. Snape’s challenges, however, are much more complex. Because the story constantly makes us question where Snape’s loyalties lie, it’s helpful to have these early clues that demonstrate his true side and explain why Dumbledore trusted him.

This change aligns better with the established history and beliefs within the wizarding world. The original story featured seven challenges, which is significant because seven is often seen as the most powerful magical number – so it makes sense Dumbledore would select that number. While the movie’s five challenges don’t detract from it, they do diminish some of the magical depth.

Fortunately, the new TV series shouldn’t leave out this important scene, and it’s easy to see how it could be included. A whole episode – likely the season finale – could focus on Harry, Ron, and Hermione navigating the trapdoor, facing the challenges, and ultimately defeating Quirrell and Voldemort. The movie rushes through this section – there’s less than half an hour between getting past Fluffy and the ending – but the longer format of the TV show will allow for a more detailed and complete version. This also means they can finally include Snape’s potions puzzle, which was cut from the film.

HBO’s Harry Potter remake is currently in production, with a target release date sometime in 2027.

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2025-09-20 18:51