Harry Potter and the Cursed Child seeks to undo one problem with the original series, but the play’s entire premise rests on a detail that makes no sense after a rule established 18 years earlier. The Harry Potter books introduce many rules throughout their run, seeking to explain how magic works within the Wizarding World — and why certain storylines play out the way they do. Most of these pieces of lore hold up years later, like the fact that Felix Felicis couldn’t solve Harry Potter’s problems or the fact that time-turners couldn’t be used regularly.

However, some of Harry Potter‘s established lore holds up less well, especially after later additions to the franchise, like Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. Albus’ journey in the Harry Potter sequel challenges the former canon in multiple ways, and one detail that kicks off Albus’ story doesn’t fit with Harry’s experience in the original series. Cursed Child uses Albus being a Slytherin to set its conflict in motion, but if the play had followed Chamber of Secrets’ Sorting Hat rule, this wouldn’t have happened.

Albus Potter Being In Slytherin Makes No Sense Given Established Sorting Hat Lore

By Chamber Of Secrets Standards, He Could Have Chosen Differently

The tensions between Harry and Albus in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child stem from Albus being sorted into Slytherin, but this doesn’t line up with Chamber of Secrets’ take on the Sorting Hat. Albus is clearly terrified of being placed in Slytherin, buying into the bad reputation the Hogwarts house receives from just about every Wizarding World character. Albus and Scorpius go on to prove that Slytherins aren’t all bad, but Albus being sorted into Slytherin doesn’t make sense in the first place.

After all, Harry himself is nearly placed in Slytherin in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. He shares the same fears as Albus, and the Sorting Hat’s mind is made up when Harry specifically requests to be put in Gryffindor instead. Harry spends much of his second year fretting about the Sorting Hat’s insistence that he’d do well in Slytherin. And when he asks Dumbledore about it at the end of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Dumbledore explains, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.“

Dumbledore’s words imply that Harry is put in Gryffindor over Slytherin because the Sorting Hat takes one’s choices into account, but this raises questions about Albus’ sorting in Cursed Child. If Albus is truly afraid of being a Slytherin, then by Chamber of Secrets’ standards, he should be able to select another Hogwarts house. However, given that The Cursed Child‘s entire plot rests on Albus’ sorting, the play breaks the Sorting Hat lore established 18 years earlier.

Why Cursed Child Breaks Harry Potter & The Chamber Of Secrets’ Sorting Hat Rule

The Story Is Supposed To Challenge The Original Series’ View Of Slytherin

The Cursed Child breaks the Sorting Hat rule from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets in order to keep its plot going, but it also does so because the play intentionally challenges the original series’ perspective of Slytherins. Although Snape proves that all Slytherins aren’t evil in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the Hogwarts house mostly earns its bad name. Most of the Slytherin characters introduced in the first seven books are antagonistic characters, and many of the Death Eaters also come from Slytherin.

This is why Harry is upset when Albus is sorted into Slytherin, kicking off the chain of events that leads to Harry Potter and the Cursed Child‘s central conflict. And The Cursed Child commits to upending his view of Slytherin, while pushing the audience to see past its harsh reputation as well. This works to a certain extent, but it does feel a bit messy after how the Slytherin students are portrayed in the original books. And the fact that Albus’ sorting doesn’t fit with the series’ established Sorting Hat lore makes the play’s efforts even more questionable.

Cursed Child Would Have Been More Interesting If Albus Actively Chose Slytherin

Harry Potter Could’ve Had More Interesting Conversations

Although Cursed Child‘s attempts to undo Harry Potter‘s portrayal of Slytherin house are admirable, the play would arguably have been more interesting if it hadn’t broken Chamber of Secrets’ Sorting Hat rule. Albus being scared of getting sorted into Slytherin — and Harry’s negative reaction to his son’s placement — uphold the original series’ views more than they challenge them. And the Harry Potter sequel could have had more interesting conversations if Albus had wanted to be sorted into Slytherin, or if he had maintained a friendship with Scorpius despite being in different houses.

Unfortunately, this is just one of many issues that arise when attempting to fit Harry Potter and the Cursed Child into the established canon. Such details will make it difficult to adapt the sequel on the heels of the original series without reworking both to fit together more smoothly. Fortunately, with HBO’s upcoming remake, a Harry Potter and the Cursed Child movie is likely a long way off. One should consider shifting Albus’ motivations a bit, though, rather than upending years of existing Sorting Hat lore.