A specific moment from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone has recently become the epicenter of an intense online debate.
The Harry Potter movies are some of the most popular movies of all time, grossing over $7.7 billion worldwide (per Screenrant). And thanks to reruns and releases on platforms like Netflix, fans of the Wizarding World know each scene and line like the back of their hand.
At least, they thought they did - as a scene from the first movie (known as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone outside of the US) has left social media baffled.
The scene in question? It's the first time Daniel Radcliffe graces the screen as Harry Potter, and it has social media users arguing over what exactly Dudley Dursely - Harry's obnoxious cousin - says as he rudely wakes Harry up.
For the Harry Potter faithful, the scene in question might seem trivial at first glance. It’s Dudley’s birthday, and he deliberately stomps on the staircase to disturb Harry, who's been relegated to living in the cupboard below.
A TikTok video by movie buff @sistapam put a spotlight on this scene, and now fans are confused over what Dudley actually says. Many believe he yells: "Wake up! Potter," mimicking his dad Vernon's dismissive tone.
However, the movie's subtitles debate this, reading: "Wake up! Cousin."
Check out the scene below - what do you think?After amassing over 3 million views, TikToker were quick to share their thoughts.
"It's Potter. Ain't no way Dudley called him cousin... cousin would imply Dudley claims him as family not as his live-in whipping boy," argued one fan. Another chimed in: "I always thought it was Potter too."
The original poster even threw in, "Right? Maybe whoever did the captions misheard?"
But on the other side of the sorting hat, some fans are swearing by the subtitles. "It was always cousin," said one. "I could clearly hear cousin," claimed another.
The debate has also made its way over to Reddit, where one confused Potterhead wrote: "For my entire life I had assumed he shouts 'Potter', but she thinks he shouts 'cousin'. The subtitles on the UK DVD agree with her, but then again the subtitles aren't 100% accurate all the time. Does anyone actually know what he says?"
One user tried to bring some semblance of closure: "It's cousin. If you particularly listen for the consonant in the second syllable, it's clearly a 'z' sound like cousin and not a 't' sound like Potter."
Yet, another Reddit user speculated that Dudley would never dare utter the name "Potter" in his father's house, remarking: "I find it difficult to believe Vernon would let the word 'Potter' be allowed to be spoken inside the house. Then again, movies, so..."
It's worth noting that most movie subtitles are generated from the original script, facilitating easy translation across languages. So, could J.K. Rowling hold the key to solving this conundrum?
With over 1,400 comments and counting, it's clear that the jury is still out. So, we're left wondering — does the answer lie in the annals of a movie script, or is it forever lost in translation? One thing is certain, this "sirius" debate has given fans another reason to rewatch this iconic series.
But this isn't the first time we Potter fans have missed something, as we all let this adult joke go way over our heads upon first viewing.
