Summary

• The nude Harry and Hermione scene in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows caused controversy and exemplified the franchise's struggle to appeal to both adult and young audiences.
• The scene was part of Ron Weasley's vision induced by Voldemort's Horcrux, but the sexual connotations still ruffled feathers.
• The controversy over the scene was mostly based on speculation and judgments before the film was released, and the controversy was ultimately unwarranted.

The nude Harry and Hermione scene in Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows — Part 1 was one of the most controversial moments in the Harry Potter movies — and the glimpse of naked Hermione and Harry exemplified the franchise's later struggles with appealing to both adult and young audiences. The moment Hermione and Harry share a kiss only happens in Ron Weasley's vision. Ron's anxiety over, and jealousy of, Harry and Hermione's closeness manifests thanks to one of Voldemort's Horcruxes (namely Rowena Ravenclaw's locket). While Ron's vision didn't include full-frontal nudity, the borderline-sexual connotations still managed to ruffle more than a few feathers.

In The Deathly Hallows, when Harry opens Rowena Ravenclaw's locket, the piece of Lord Voldemort’s soul kept in the Horcrux begins to torture Ron by mocking his greatest fears. Apparitions manifest from deep within Ron's psyche, such as an imagined moment when Harry and Hermione question his value and tell him they would be better off without him. The visions then shift, with Harry and Hermione appearing to be naked and engaged in being physically intimate. Ron's vision ends with the Harry and Hermione kiss. Fairly innocent by adult standards, but not what was expected from the family-friendly Harry Potter franchise.

Why The Nude Harry & Hermione Scene Was Controversial

The Harry & Hermione Kiss Juxtaposed The Franchise's Family-Friendly Roots

The moment naked Hermione and Harry appear in the Harry Potter movies was controversial, but it was also justified and has narrative precedence in the source material. Rowena Ravenclaw's locket was among the most troublesome of Voldemort’s Horcruxes since the trio had it for months before figuring out how to destroy it. Though the locket had negative effects on all three, it was worse for Ron, who was more susceptible to it twisting his emotions — a plot point that's true to the original novel. When director David Yates announced part 1 of The Deathly Hallows would include a nude Harry and Hermione kiss scene those who read the books weren’t surprised.

However, many parents complained about the very idea of the Harry Potter naked Harry and Hermione kiss, even though many were unaware of the context. The complaints (and even some boycott threats) were based solely on Yates’s comments, occurring before the film was even released. The nude Hermione and Harry scene in question is very brief, and the false Harry and Hermione are surrounded by dark mist from the waist down and plenty of other special effects. Most importantly, neither of the actors are naked.

Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson (who was wearing a strapless bra) had to engage in a steamy make-out session. However, that is hardly the most problematic thing about the Harry Potter films. They had grown increasingly darker since Voldemort’s return. The movie series features far more intense scenes than Ron’s Horcrux-induced vision of the Harry and Hermione kiss, including multiple deaths, torture, and a scene where Nagini emerges from Bathilda Bagshot and attacks Harry and Hermione.

Ultimately, there were no boycotts of the movie, and the controversy was nothing more than the rumblings of angry parents who wouldn’t wait for the film to come out to pass their judgment. The Harry Potter film series, and books as well, have had their fair dose of controversies, but the one concerning the Harry and Hermione kiss scene is perhaps one of its most ridiculous.

Neville's Kiss With Luna Was More Problematic Than The Nude Scene

The Nudity In Harry Potter Was Tastefully Handled, Fan-Servicing Couplings Weren't

While the nude Hermione and Harry kiss scene was lambasted by parents, Neville and Luna getting together at the end of The Deathly Hallows angered many fans of J.K. Rowling's novels. The Harry and Hermione kiss appears in the books, so those who read them weren't surprised. However, Neville and Luna becoming a couple after the Battle of Hogwarts only happened in the Harry Potter movies. In the novels, Neville goes on to marry Hannah Abbott and becomes the Hogwarts Herbology professor after Sprout. Luna travels the globe as a naturalist and marries Newt Scamander's grandson (Rolf Scamander). This ending works well for both characters, as it's more true to who they are.

While the controversial naked Harry and Hermione kiss enhanced the emotional depth of the franchise, having Neville ending up with Luna cheapened the ending of the last Harry Potter movie.

Luna and Neville getting together at the end was most likely meant to be fan service, but several people in the fan base were not thrilled by it. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 took a meaningful friendship and threw it to the wayside after the Battle of Hogwarts, replacing it with a cheap Hollywood romantic notion. Oftentimes, movies like to put people together in the end for the sake of closure without considering who the people are as characters.

The moment undercuts Neville's growth since his appearance in The Sorcerer's Stone. While the controversial naked Harry and Hermione kiss enhanced the emotional depth of the franchise, having Neville ending up with Luna cheapened the ending of the last Harry Potter movie.

The Hermione And Harry Scene Is Part Of A Wider Harry Potter Issue

The Harry Potter Movies Had Identity Problems

The Harry and Hermione kiss scene has stuck out in the legacy of the franchise for years, and the nudity in it (while respectful and, by most accounts, incredibly tame) feels incredibly juxtaposed to much of the tone of the early movies, especially first two movies. This is a problem the books shared to a degree too, with the earlier entries mostly aimed at kids. While there are scary moments and deaths, they still air on the side of family-friendly entertainment. Starting with Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, the movies became more adult-centered, while still appealing to those looking for family entertainment, and became critically acclaimed.

This means that the rest of the Harry Potter movies straddle a line that is a hard one — especially when considering the reach of powerful family-interest groups. Families still showed up expecting to see family-friendly entertainment and saw horrific deaths, betrayals, pure evil incarnate, and even a nude Harry and Hermione kiss scene. That vision was undoubtedly what a teenage Ron would have seen as his greatest fear, but it also was enough to send many parents over the edge when it came to the adult themes in what was once kid-friendly entertainment in the Harry Potter franchise.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part I and Part II combined to make $2.26 billion at the box office.

HBO's Harry Potter Series Can Avoid The Nude Scene Controversy

The Harry Potter TV Reboot Is A Chance To Try A Different Approach

There are a lot of things the new Harry Potter reboot series on Max will be able to do that the original movies couldn't accomplish. Each of the movies was based on a book in the series, except for the final book, which was split into two movies. This means the novels only had just over two hours to tell a very long story. The new Max series will have a chance to go into detail about the things the movies had to leave out. However, the kissing scene and the torture of Ron through the image of the Harry and Hermione kiss could easily stay in the TV version of the story.

While the Harry Potter seasons shouldn't go the distance of Game of Thrones — with its graphic violence, full-frontal nudity, and excessive sexual content — it is possible the Harry Potter series could be a darker take. However, it's worth remembering that the first two Harry Potter movies were made for kids, and the majority of the characters are only 17 by the time the final book finishes. While things got darker with Prisoner of Azkaban, the movies always had to straddle a fine line.

HBO and WB. could sidestep this by opting for a maturer Wizarding World tone around their adult characters and marketing their series towards a less-family-oriented audience. There's plenty of material within the book that would make a mature take on even Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone viable, and there will doubtless be much less controversy about a Harry Potter nude scene in this context.