Summary

• HBO’s Harry Potter TV remake can finally include the Battle of the Astronomy Tower for a more faithful adaptation.
• The original movies missed the key confrontation and left out the emotional weight of it.
• Including the Battle of the Astronomy Tower is crucial for raising stakes and setting up Deathly Hallows’ final battle.

The Harry Potter movies are classics in their own right, but HBO remaking the series as a TV show comes with benefits – including the ability to cover one great battle that the films skipped. The Harry Potter movies were pretty hit or miss when it came to staying true to the books. While the original adaptations faithfully cover most of the major story beats from the source material, they don’t always do them justice. And in some cases, they leave out characters, storylines, and fights from J.K. Rowling’s books.

One of the biggest omissions in the movies is a battle that takes place towards the end of the series, when Voldemort is rising to power for the second time. Although the Harry Potter franchise has no problem showing the Death Eaters clashing with the Order of the Phoenix in the later installments, it leaves out one key confrontation. The Harry Potter TV remake can fix this, finally bringing this battle to life on-screen.

The Harry Potter Movies Completely Skipped Over Half-Blood Prince's Ending Battle

The Battle Of The Astronomy Tower Gets Overlooked

While the Harry Potter movies dedicate an entire film to the Battle of Hogwarts, they don’t include the first big fight at the school: the Battle of the Astronomy Tower. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince includes Dumbledore’s tragic demise at Hogwarts. However, the sixth Harry Potter movie makes quite a few changes to the events surrounding the book’s big death. For one, it fails to include Dumbledore’s funeral, one of the saddest moments from the source material. It also omits the battle that unfolds before and during his final moments.

In the Harry Potter books, Draco unleashes the Death Eaters and Fenrir Greyback on the school before Harry and Dumbledore arrive at the Astronomy Tower. A battle takes place as the villains encounter Hogwarts’ teachers, the Order, and Dumbledore’s Army. It infuses some action into Half-Blood Prince’s already-intense conclusion and marks the second major fight after Voldemort’s return. This fight is where Bill Weasley gets his scar – though the movies don’t address that altogether – and it’s where readers realize that Hogwarts isn’t truly impenetrable.

HBO's Harry Potter TV Show Can Finally Include The Battle Of The Astronomy Tower

It Can Do The Books' Major Confrontation Justice

The Harry Potter movies don’t cover the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, opting instead to add a fight sequence between the Death Eaters and the Order while Harry’s staying at the Burrow. It doesn’t have anywhere near the same impact, and it leaves something to be desired during Half-Blood Prince’s ending. Fortunately, HBO’s Harry Potter TV show can finally do the books’ ending justice by including this battle in its later seasons.

This will offer a more faithful take on the Harry Potter books, something the TV remake is already poised to do. While finding a cast on par with the original will be a major challenge for the HBO series, it has one major advantage over the films: its runtime. Spending more time in the Wizarding World means that the series can tackle all the subplots, characters, and confrontations that the movies fail to. Hopefully, HBO seizes the opportunity to do so.

Why The Battle Of The Astronomy Tower Is So Important To Harry Potter's Story

It Raises The Stakes & Sets Up Deathly Hallows

Including the Battle of the Astronomy Tower is important to remain faithful to the books, and it also gives viewers an epic confrontation to look forward to. However, these aren’t the only reasons to include this sequence in HBO’s show. The Battle of the Astronomy Tower is important to Harry’s story for multiple reasons. First, it raises the stakes and removes the illusion of safety at Hogwarts. This Half-Blood Prince fight marks the first time that readers and the characters realize Hogwarts can be penetrated. It sets up Deathly Hallows’ final battle in a big way, making it a necessity.

This battle also makes a great lead-up to Dumbledore’s death, as Harry steps over bodies and passes the action on his way to fetch Snape. Seeing the fighting unfold brings about a sense of dread that reaches a climax with Dumbledore’s demise. Although The Order of the Phoenix drives home the seriousness of Voldemort’s return, this battle makes that point even better. It pushes the war past the point of no return, especially for Hogwarts students that hadn’t been affected as heavily up until this point.

HBO’s Harry Potter show can accomplish all of this by including the Battle of the Astronomy Tower in its sixth season. The movies miss these crucial beats by excluding it from their run, and it’s noticeable to anyone acquainted with the source material. Fortunately, a TV series is a better place to capture the devastation and urgency of this fight anyway – especially one with an HBO budget.

A TV Budget Can Make This Great Harry Potter Sequence Even Better Than The Books

It Can Serve As An Hour-Long Finale For The HBO Series

An HBO show’s budget makes it even more necessary for the Harry Potter remake to include the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, as it will make this sequence even better than in the books. Since the books are told from Harry’s perspective, readers only get glimpses of this fight unfolding as Harry makes his way through it. A TV show can play up the action while offering new perspectives. It can jump into other characters’ POVs, showing exactly what’s happening before Harry arrives at Hogwarts – and while he’s atop the Astronomy Tower.

In this way, the Harry Potter show can make Half-Blood Prince’s ending battle an hour-long spectacle. It makes the perfect sequence for a TV show’s finale, especially one that will lead into the final season. Under the HBO umbrella – and utilizing a television show’s setup and runtime – the upcoming series can make all of Harry Potter’s fight sequences grander than ever. That’s one reason to look forward to the remake, even if it’s hard to imagine it living up to the original adaptations just now.