Thanks to the Harry Potter TV show’s trailers, fans are feeling all the nostalgia due to having grown up with the Daniel Radcliffe-led movies. However, along with the great Hogwarts memories comes a long-standing debate about Severus Snape. While he’s been a fan favorite among many, Potter fans are still not on the same page when it comes to Snape's relationship with Lily Potter, (Harry's mother). That assumption is based on a recent social media situation.
In an Reddit post, which has since been removed by moderators, someone sternly argued that Snape’s love for Lily Potter was actually creepy and unrequited. This insinuated that Snape only protected Harry because he felt bad about his mother and that his fixation/crush on her was unhealthy. Said comments sparked a debate among fans, with many defending Severus and others agreeing that his feelings were creepy. Check out some of the mixed reactions:
- No_Initiative_1337: He wasn't creeping on Lily or believing he had some kind of entitlement to her love. The problem is not with the story. It's with your inability to see nuance.
- MintberryCrunch_: When the books came out I don’t remember any of this 'obsession' talk, it seems a more modern train of thought to me, it was simply a fact Snape loved Lily and it drove his later actions in his life.
- Neither-Main-9569: As bad as a person Snape was, he never came off as obsessed to me. Madly in love, perhaps lustful, yes. But not obsessive.
- Louisdanby: It’s not meant to be romantic, it’s meant to be tragic.
- Dangerous_Bed2566: To paraphrase Frasier - he was not in love WITH her, he was in love AT her.
- Mello1182: Bro was totally fine with the idea of selling out her husband and kid to a mass murderer and get her as a prize, as if she was an object to possess and whose happiness didn't matter.
- Whole_perspective609: I think the correct answer is that it’s both. He genuinely loved Lily and his love for her did a lot for the war. The ways he expressed this love was increasingly selfish but it was him loving her in his own way regardless.
Despite those mixed feelings toward the character, many have loved Snape (played in the films by the late, great Alan Rickman) since 2001's The Sorcerer’s Stone. Not only that, but the character arguably has some of the best moments in the HP movies. In the films, the character's arc comes full circle in Deathly Hallows – Part 2, in which Harry sees into his professor’s memories and discovers his past friendship with Lily. Harry also learns of Snape's romantic feelings for his mother.
Furthermore, through the Pensieve, Harry also sees Snape protecting him without his knowledge, being bullied by his father, James Potter and the moment he grieves Lily’s death. Interestingly enough, J.K. Rowling told Rickman about his character's twist years before it played out on screen. It's a major set of developments and, ultimately, Rickman’s character is a complicated, albeit morally gray, anti-hero because of it.
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That characterization essentially launched the Lily debate. Some loved the twist and saw it as a reveal that Snape was in fact one of the good guys. This argument points out that Snape genuinely loves Lily and that when the friendship ended, he left her alone. We never hear this discussed from the perspective of either of these characters, but Harry is simply of the thinking that Snape loved Lily, grieved her, and did what he could to keep him safe. And he even names one of his eventual children after Snape to honor him.
However, the other side of the argument contends that these memories prove Snape is not worthy of praise. This argument states that the Potions Master held onto his feelings for way too long and used them to justify his arguably bullying behavior of Harry. Both sides do have points to varying extents but, if anything, the debate simply proves just how complex Snape is.
It’s expected that if the new show runs the course of the seven books, it'll eventually provide a more exhaustive look at Snape and Lily’s friendship. According to the fans, the trailer is already filling in what was missing in the movies, which bodes well for what's to come. I'm eager to see what Paapa Essiedu brings to the role of Snape on the show and whether fans might look at the character in a different light, given more context.
Whether you think Snape is a saint or a scoundrel, grab an HBO Max subscription, and re-watch the movie series before the new Harry Potter show hits the 2026 TV schedule on December 25.
