For those who haven’t heard of or read Harry Potter, the legendary British author and his immensely popular books have been around for decades. Most of the novels take place in the wizarding world of Harry Potter, an alternate reality that exists alongside our own. One of the most recent additions to the franchise is Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the finale to the author’s epic seven-part story that began with the release of its namesake in 1997. The final installment was released this year, in time for Christmas, and it’s the culmination of a lifelong tale that began with Harry’s humble childhood and continued through his journey as a wizard studying at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where he trained with the famous headmaster, Albus Dumbledore. With the return of Voldemort, a.k.a. the evil wizard Voldemort, who killed Dumbledore, the story ends with a bang as Harry finally enters the dark wizard’s domain and exacts his revenge. The following is an overview of the first part of the book, which released on November 16 and is now available for streaming on Netflix and other online movie platforms.
The Beginning Of An Epic Trilogya
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1 begins fifteen years after the tragic death of Albus Dumbledore in the final battle with Lord Voldemort. Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) has grown from a boy to a man and assumed the responsibilities of headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As Harry himself puts it, “things couldn’t be better,” although this is mainly due to the fact that he is engaged to be married to Ginny Weasley (Jennifer Jason Leigh), whom he met during a summer at Hogwarts. Now, in the spring of 2022, Harry is happily preparing for his wedding day when he is unexpectedly called away on a mission to save the dayprince Harry (The Boy Who Lived), heir to the Throne of England, only to discover that he is, in fact, battling Voldemort and his evil Death Eaters once again. In the meantime, the Ministry of Magic and its officials have organized a series of magical peace conferences to try and settle the war once and for all, and to that end they have recalled Harry to serve as headmaster of Hogwarts and make one last attempt at ending the war—this time successfully.
The Return Of Voldemort, Or, As Dumbledore Prepared Us For, “The Most Feared Man In The World”
Upon Harry’s return to Hogwarts, we are greeted by the sight of one of Lord Voldemort’s signature flying monkeys, a large black cat, and, of course, Voldemort himself, who proceeds to torture and humiliate Harry in front of the entire school. Fortunately, help arrives in the form of Bellatrix Lestrange (Helena Bonham Carter), a Death Eater who betrays Voldemort and his followers to Harry, who then fights and kills Voldemort in single combat. After the Death Eaters are driven away, Harry repairs to a teachers’ lounge to give thanks to those who helped him, including Dumbledore, before returning to Hogwarts to resume his duties as headmaster.
While Voldemort’s return is certainly cause for celebration, it’s not exactly a surprise given the fact that the author predicted this in a 2006 foreword to the original novelization of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In that foreword, J.K. Rowling wrote, “In the years to come, Voldemort will return, and he will be in terrible trouble. The wizarding world will once more rally to defend their beloved Hogwarts, and for a second time, they will triumph. But the consequences of this victory will be dire. The Death Eaters will be driven from the wizarding world, and a new age of peace will begin. But as we have learned, even greatest heroes can have their weaknesses.”
A Wedding And A Funeral
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1 ends with a double wedding: first, Harry’s ceremony to Ginny, followed by a reception for hundreds of friends and family members to celebrate the end of the war. As it happens, the author’s grandson, Jack, will play the role of best man for both ceremonies. Sixteen years after the fall of Voldemort, the wizarding world has finally managed to put the dark era behind them. The series’ original cover art, painted by the legendary artist Alan Lee, captures the joy of the moment perfectly.
Conclusion
Although it was originally intended to be a seven-part series, the long and winding road to the end of the war between Voldemort and Harry Potter finally reached its destination with the release of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1. But this milestone in the war for good vs. evil was neither easy nor quick to arrive at, and it speaks to the enduring power of J.K. Rowling’s incredible story and its legions of fans that the story continues to grow in popularity more than two decades after the final battle and the epilogue was written. As for the future of the Harry Potter franchise, we can only hope and pray that Rowling continues to write and that Warner Bros. continues to produce fantastic films that continue to build on top of one another, expanding the Wizarding World in the process. In the meantime, we still have Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Pt. 1 to look forward to.