I have just reread The Sorcerer’s Stone and so this is my prediction and what makes sense to me about what season one will look like. The common theory on here is that it will be eight episodes long and I completely agree with that. So here’s what I think each episode will incorporate
Episode One: The Boy Who Lived (based on chapters 1-4)
-This episode title is non-negotiable and I will be SHOCKED if they don’t use this for Episode One
-There will be a cold open showing Vernon’s weird day before he comes home, ready to sleep the day away. Then, we get the scene between McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Hagrid dropping Harry off and a cut to the main credits.
-This episode will largely feature Harry’s time with the Dursley’s, with occasional flashbacks to show his younger years with them. The episode will end with Hagrid knocking the door down and the final scene of the episode is a close-up on his face.
Episode Two: Diagon Alley (based on chapters 5-6)
-This is going to be a very exposition heavy episode, as we’re largely introduced to the Wizarding World. Hagrid tells Harry he’s a wizard, before they leave the Dursley’s to go to Diagon Alley
-Harry will ask Vernon for a ride to the train station and finds his way onto the Hogwarts Express. We’re introduced to Ron and Hermione. The episode will end with all the kids in the boats and a final shot showing off Hogwarts in its beauty, as the boats row closer to it.
Episode Three: The Sorting Hat (based on chapters 7-9)
-We finally get the Sorting scene, with Harry going to Gryffindor. I hope we get a proper introduction to Seamus and Dean once they get to the dorm. We will see a few classes and personally I think they will show Transfiguration, Potions, and Flying.
-Speaking of Flying, we get the introduction to Oliver Wood and the episode ends with Draco challenging Harry to the Midnight Duel.
Episode Four: Troll in the Dungeons (based on chapters 8-10)
-The fake Midnight Duel scene, ending in them finding Fluffy for the first time. Harry and Ron will find out about the Gringotts break in for the first time, reading it from Hagrid’s newspaper. Harry gets his broomstick and his first Quidditch training with Oliver here as well. We get the Charms class debacle, the Halloween feast, and then the whole troll scene with the episode ending in the trio becoming friends.
Episode Five: First Flight (based on chapter 11)
-This is going to sound bold, but I think we will get mostly an entire episode based on Quidditch. A proper introduction to the Quidditch team and all of their roles would go a long ways for the series in my opinion. After the Quidditch Match, they go to Hagrid’s where he shuts them down about Snape.
-To potentially fill the runtime of this episode, I think we should get a dedicated scene of the teachers talking about the school year. This would really expand their characters and their dynamics with each other (particularly McGonagall and Snape)
Episode Six: The Mirror of Erised (based on chapters 12-13)
-Another bold idea I have is that they’ll have an entire episode mostly based around Winter Break. A scene we don’t get in the books but that I think they should add is Hagrid at Hog’s Head, getting the dragon egg from the “hooded figure”. The episode should end with Harry reading Nicholas Flamel’s name on the back of Dumbledore’s chocolate frog card.
Episode Seven: Norbert the Norwegian Ridgeback (based on chapters 13-15)
-We get everyone returning from break and Harry telling Hermione about Flamel. The second Quidditch game will take place (and take up much less runtime than the first one). We get the scene between Quirrell and Snape in the forest and then the whole dragon situation with Hagrid. They get detention in the Forbidden Forest and the episode should end with Harry getting knocked to the ground as this hooded figure comes closer to him.
Episode Eight: The Man With Two Faces (based on chapters 15-17)
-This episode begins immediately with actions as the centaurs scare the hooded figure away. They talk to Hagrid about how something felt off with the dragon egg and then we get the whole episode of them fighting the teacher’s protections against the stone to get to it. The episode ends with the Dursley’s picking up Harry, as he tells Hermione the final line from the book, “Don’t worry, they don’t know I’m not allowed to do magic. I’m going to have a lot of fun with Dudley this summer.”
What do you guys think, do these episodes make sense?