Was Severus Snape GOOD or BAD? - Harry Potter Explained

Hey everyone,

Welcome to another installment of Harry Potter Theory. In this video, we’re going to be discussing Severus Snape’s iconic death, Lily Evans, Harry Potter- and the famous lines that Snape delivered on his deathbed.

It’s a line that’s up there with “Always” and “Yer a wizard Arry”- and it helps us to peel back the many layers of Snapes character. At the beginning of the books and films, Snape is portrayed as a bully- an outlier- a recluse. However, this general perception of Snape only worsens over time- as he is later perceived to be evil- a cold-blooded and manipulative man who follows the dark lord himself. There are certainly glimpses of a less severe Snape that shine through- but ultimately he is portrayed as a dark and brooding individual.

In the The Order of the Phoenix, Harry gets a glimpse in to Snape’s mind during his Legilimency lesson- revealing a side of Snape that Harry was not previously familiar with. In that one moment- despite only seeing a glimpse of what lay in Snape’s mind, Harry learned more about him than he had ever known. In spite of a total lack of context, It gave him some small semblance of an idea as to why Snape was the way that he was- the subject of incessant bullying at the hands of Harry’s own father. But while this portion of the books and films made us feel something for Snape - this sympathy is short lived as in the very next book/film Snape is revealed to be a death eater once again.

It’s not until much later on, in the Deathly Hallows, that Snape finally gets some proper redemption- at least in the eyes of Harry. Watching on, Harry witnesses first-hand Snape’s fatal attack from Nagini. When the coast is clear, and Voldemort and Nagini are gone, Harry approaches the dying professor- backed up against the wall slowly bleeding out. Snape was in a state unlike anything that Harry had ever seen before- the strong, enigmatic Snape was suddenly so helpless- and it’s at this point that the idea is planted in Harry’s mind that perhaps Snape isn’t quite as bad as he thought. He didn’t know why, but he knew that he had to approach Snape. In perhaps his bravest moment ever- Snape died looking in to the eyes of a boy that was more significant to him than Harry ever knew. This was the boy that shared the same face of the man that bullied him for his entire childhood, and the eyes of the only woman that he ever loved- the same woman that spared her own life to save this boy. With his final breaths (in the film version) Snape looked straight in to Harry’s face, and uttered the iconic line: “You have your mothers eyes”. These were the same eyes that caused Snape more pain than anything else in his entire life, but at the same time, they were the eyes that enabled Snape to feel love- to feel...alive. In the book he simply says to Harry - “Look at me” and in the following chapter, after reviewing Snape’s memories, Harry begins to understand the significance of that line.

Just before dying, Snape instructs Harry to collect his tears- tears that could reveal Snape’s full story- helping Harry to understand his tragedy- to understand ‘The Princes Tale’.

“The stone Pensieve lay in the cabinet where it had always been: Harry heaved it on to the desk and poured Snape’s memories into the wide basin with its runic markings around the edge. To escape into someone else’s head would be a blessed relief...nothing that even Snape had left him could be worse than his own thoughts.”

When Harry approached the Pensieve he was exhausted- withered and wartorn- and ultimately it was his willingness to escape his own reality that allowed him to fully dive in to and absorb what he was witnessing in the memories of Snape. He fearlessly allowed himself to become immersed in Snape’s world-his reality- and it was here that he began to piece together Snape’s full story. It started right at the beginning- where Harry witnessed a young boy that was familiar and unfamiliar all at the same time. This boy looked like Snape, but, he was happy- he had a smile on his face, and he had a companion- Harry’s mother Lily. The pair were in the muggle town of Cokeworth, where they grew up together, and life was good. Tragically, this was the happiest time of Snape’s entire life- the period that preceded 27 years of heartache.

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Music by:
Juan Naranjo
Jacob A. Cadmus
Samuel Kim

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[HarryPotterTheory]

RIP Alan Rickman who passed 5 years ago tomorrow.

[movieedits]

These were the eyes that caused him the most And these were the eyes that enabled him to feel love and feel alive
That hurts

[virginia]

Shape was always an interesting character, but when he jumped in front of the trio to protect them from Remus in his werewolf form, I had a new respect for him and knew there was good in him.

[movieedits]

He's the most complicated character and he was just broken he's one of the best character

[sofiarussell]

The person you think has the lowest capacity to love turns out to be someone who can love you the most
"ALWAYS"

[suryakiranbsanjeev]

The most complicated character in Harry potter series. If anyone other than Alan Rickman can satisfy this role, I will be a fan of that person.

[beans]

I don’t think Snape was inherently a bad person. He is the result of his early experiences & environment. He was more than likely was born with certain character traits & those early life experiences perhaps exacerbated the “darker” side of him.

I personally feel he was only ever drawn to Voldemort was because Snape got the recognition he thought he deserved. He was given a sense of purpose & belonging, which he didn’t have as a young child. He experienced a lot of traumas which shaped him.

It took a huge trauma in his life to snap him out of the dark side of himself. How he reacts once he knows Harry had to die ect you see the genuine caring side of him.

He’s a very interesting character but ultimately I do think there’s more good than bad in him....he was just very lost within the bad side for so long.

[yousufkhan]

Harry potter is my past, future and present😁

[williamsummerson]

Snape is my favorite character in the franchise. This is a difficult question but for me personally I would say he was good and he was broken. RIP Alan rickman.😢😥

[rinisarker]

Snape was truly the best written character of the entire franchise

[MegaGamer-lgsp]

"Just because you're a bad-guy doesn't mean you're a bad...guy."

[marlaiskander]

" You have your mother's eyes " - Severus Snape, Deathly Hallows
" You have your mother's eyes " - Remus Lupin, Prisoner of Azkaban
" You have your mother's eyes " - Sirius Black, Prisoner of Azkaban
" You have your mother's eyes " - Horace Slughorn, Half Blood Prince

And I believe Snape was good but was heartbroken by his tragic past and mistakes and he is one of my favorite characters. He is also a complicated character and diverse one. I admit he made mistakes and should have not treated Harry that way because his fight with James but still he didn't deserve all that.

PS: I love Harry Potter Theory so continue making videos

[fazababaz]

The most thing I hate about the deathly hallows is Snape’s death... He is my favorite Slytherin

[shawaynedavis]

Severus Snape is a prime example of why things are never black and white. I love how he ultimately becomes morally grey, and how if you look inside deep enough you can probably see a bit of him in yourself. As much as I love the books the way he was portrayed by Alan Rickman was beautiful. The scene in Deathly Hallows part 2 was heart wrenching but beautiful at the same time.

[indiramehta]

The prince tale is the greatest plot twist ever written. It changed a hated character of 6 books into miserable in just a chapter.

[spriken]

I think a good portion of Snape's meanness was an act and to keep Harry from getting a big head like his father. They knew Voldemort would be back and Snape was always in front of the death eaters children. If they ever saw him "nice" they would have been sure to tell their parents just like Draco was fond of doing.
I'm also sure being undercover for so many years was very stressful to a very wounded person.

[cobi_]

"He was the bravest man I've ever known" ~Harry Potter (1st September, 2017)

[avahadjiandreou]

I love Snape so much! A red herring complex, and misunderstood character! Alan Rickman did wonderful portraying him. R.I.P

[deserabailey]

I LOVE what JK did with Snape's character. I remember rejoicing as I read his death scene and then just one chapter later feeling CRIPPLING GUILT for feeling that joy. His death is one of the hardest for me of the entire series because of that; second only to Dobby. That being said I believe that Snape is a true Neutral neutral (in D&D terms if you will) and I believe he was an EXTREMELY complicated character GENIOUS writing by JK, and i believe he was neither good nor bad.

[bookworm]

"Each of us is more than the worst thing we've ever done." -Bryan Stevenson
I believe true redemption is when guilt leads to something good.
I think Snape did redeem himself. I always look at him as a tragic character but not an entirely bad guy.