“Harry Potter” Meets “Enola Holmes”
The recently released Enola Holmes film features a few actors who appeared in the Harry Potter films, namely Helena Bonham Carter and Fiona Shaw. In addition to that, Jack Thorne, one of the writers of the stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, also wrote the screenplay for this film. The Harry Potter connections and the film’s narrative made me wonder who the Enola Holmes characters would be in the Harry Potter series.
Enola Holmes as Harry Potter
There are plenty of similarities between Harry and Enola. Both of their narratives are spurred by a loss of a parent – for Harry, it’s both his parents’ deaths by Voldemort, and for Enola, it is the voluntary departure of her mother. The heroes then leave the life they previously knew to start a new one. Harry does this twice: at the beginning of the series when he leaves the Muggle world for the magical one, and at the end when he leaves the former comfort of Hogwarts to go on the run to find Voldemort’s Horcruxes. In addition to that, both Harry and Enola demonstrate great acts of bravery and fearlessness over the course of their stories.
Mycroft Holmes as Vernon Dursley
Vernon and Mycroft are both cold and occasionally cruel toward their charges. They are incredibly stubborn in their beliefs about what the children in their care should do regardless of what the children actually want. For Enola, that is forcing her to go to a school she doesn’t want to go to, and for Harry, that is trying to stop him from going to one he wants to go to. In the end, both Enola and Harry escape these adults to forge their own paths.
Sherlock Holmes as Sirius Black
Sherlock and Sirius are both initially absent parental figures who go on to form a bond with the titular heroes. Despite Sherlock missing most of Enola’s young life, it is obvious that he cares for his sister and tries to be there for her when she needs support. Likewise, Sirius was in Azkaban for the majority of Harry’s life but tried to be there when he could. Sherlock and Sirius wanted to take in Enola and Harry but didn’t end up doing so. However, Sirius’s tragic death means that Harry and Sirius’s relationship comes to an end, whereas the rather ambiguous ending for Enola and Sherlock leaves room for potential growth – something that might be explored in potential sequels.
Viscount Tewkesbury as Ron Weasley
Both Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Enola Holmes feature the main characters meeting or getting to know their future friends on a train. Besides the initial meeting, both groups of friends end up helping each other and saving each other from the various predicaments they find themselves in.
Eudoria Holmes as Albus Dumbledore
Like Albus Dumbledore, Eudoria Holmes is an eccentric individual who doesn’t always do what society expects her to do. They both care for their wards but end up keeping secrets from them. These mysteries end up being a part of the protagonists’ journeys. The duplicity ends up changing the heroes’ view of them, even casting doubt on their characters and everything the protagonists thought they knew about their mentors. Despite this, both Enola and Harry meet their mentors again at the end, which gives Eudoria and Dumbledore a chance to explain their actions and leads to a reconciliation with their respective mentees.
Have you seen this new movie? What do you think of my comparisons? Let us know in the comments!
