em. 🐍✨

Severus Snape

HP History: [1 / 3] young versions of characters: Severus Snape

This picture destroys my heart. Articles with this photo say, “Alan Rickman looks well and relaxed and healthy!” But no...no, he doesn’t. If you are a fan of Alan Rickman, this looks little like the man we know and love.

So why share it? Why share this photo taken 5 weeks before his death? Why share it if it hurts so much?

Because it’s so typical of Alan. He had been diagnosed just a couple months prior and knew he was nearing the end of his life. But he TRIED. He went out, undoubtedly feeling like garbage, and tried to continue on. He went to see the play “Hangmen” in London...no doubt to support a friend. I just love his unwillingness to give up up and his willingness to go out and support the people he loves. To push through the pain and illness. What a man.

There’s just something about watching a character come to the realization that they’ve just said and/or done something terrible, and it works no matter how they realize it. Whether the realization is immediate or delayed, sudden or gradual, it all demonstrates the character’s shock.

I especially love it when the realization triggers a physical reaction - things like the character collapsing in shock or hastily backing away from another character. But it can be just as effective when the character freezes in place, unable to come to grips with having done something that completely contradicts their morals.

Swear to it. Make the Unbreakable Vow.