I wish I lived in the world of Harry Potter. Though I'm American and would go to Ilvermorny (Thunderbird, woo!), I've always pictured myself at Hogwarts. I'm a Hufflepuff (though Pottermore insists I'm Gryffindor).
J.K. Rowling is a genius, if I'm an authority on what makes a genius. Those seven books changed my life, as I'm sure they changed many others. I've always had an imagination, but those books contained a story unlike any I'd read before, opening a whole new world to me. Though I've always been a writer, I longed to be even better, to write fantastic things like Rowling.
Those characters were my friends, my loved ones, and I think a little bit of me died every time I forced myself to remember that they were fiction. That the world didn't exist outside of myself.
It was sad when the series reached its end; it felt like a goodbye. Not a forever one, as I'd always be able to return to the story, but a farewell nonetheless.
When it was announced we'd be getting a copy of the script Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in book format, I was pretty excited. Perhaps a tiny bit hesitant, as I wasn't certain what would happen inside that story, but still--returning to that world? Sign me up! I went to the midnight release with some friends and suddenly I was holding a book claiming to be the 8th story.
The cover says:
J.K. Rowling is a genius, if I'm an authority on what makes a genius. Those seven books changed my life, as I'm sure they changed many others. I've always had an imagination, but those books contained a story unlike any I'd read before, opening a whole new world to me. Though I've always been a writer, I longed to be even better, to write fantastic things like Rowling.
Those characters were my friends, my loved ones, and I think a little bit of me died every time I forced myself to remember that they were fiction. That the world didn't exist outside of myself.
It was sad when the series reached its end; it felt like a goodbye. Not a forever one, as I'd always be able to return to the story, but a farewell nonetheless.
When it was announced we'd be getting a copy of the script Harry Potter and the Cursed Child in book format, I was pretty excited. Perhaps a tiny bit hesitant, as I wasn't certain what would happen inside that story, but still--returning to that world? Sign me up! I went to the midnight release with some friends and suddenly I was holding a book claiming to be the 8th story.
The cover says:
BASED ON AN ORIGINAL NEW STORY BY J.K. ROWLING
JOHN TIFFANY & JACK THORNE
A NEW PLAY BY JACK THORNE
At first my thoughts were: So J.K. Rowling didn't exactly write the whole thing, but her help is at least implied here, so it's canon! I'd gladly accept this as the official "what happens after book 7."
Then I read it.
Do not get me wrong! I read it in one sitting. There were many humorous moments. Many things I totally loved. But there were problems I had that made me decide this is not an official "8th book" for me. People could argue if they want, or they could agree if they want. I don't care either way. It was a good story, probably an amazing play, but I didn't love it nearly as much as the 7 books and I view this as mainly people other than J.K. Rowling asking, "Well, what if this happened? How would this go?"
I've decided to make a list on what I did and did not love about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The following does contain SPOILERS.
What I Loved:
1. Scorpius Malfoy
This precious child needs to be protected at all cost. He's very sweet, very kind, and I believe Draco would love this child with all his heart. It's probably the best thing Draco's ever had a hand in. Everything about his character was great to me, and this is how I'm going to picture Scorpius until the day I die.
2. Albus and Scorpius's friendship
These two make an excellent pair. There is potential for both of them to have some issues being the children that they are; a son of the Chosen One and the son (and grandson) of a Death Eater. I love them being best friends.
3. Angst-ridden Albus Severus Potter
Let's face it. Being the child of Harry Potter would be difficult, especially if most the students and teachers at Hogwarts are comparing you to your father. Albus is immediately set apart by being Sorted into Slytherin (yes!), He doesn't appear to be born with the natural Quidditch talent either. He doesn't view Hogwarts to be the home it was for Harry. I love these differences. I love some of the tension between Harry and Albus. I picture that being a real thing with them. With James, I see him being so carefree that he doesn't care about anyone's expectations. I picture Lily being the same way. But Albus cares, Albus wants to be accepted, and Albus feels so much pressure of being the son of Harry Potter, and the bearer of the names Albus and Severus. (But the angst was applied a little too thickly. He was very, very angry a lot.)
4. Draco being friendly
Since Scorpius and Albus are buddies, they end up getting into some trouble. Draco pairs up with the other parents to try and help the boys. I like the idea of that long-standing feud evaporating. I wanted Draco to change, even just a little, so that the adults could do more than just stare at each other from a distance.
6. Voldemort having an heir
In the play, it is revealed Voldemort had a daughter with Bellatrix Lestrange. I thought it fit; her husband would have thought it an honor for his wife to carry the child of the Dark Lord. But as interesting as I thought that would be, I don't know how accurate it could be. Voldemort feels so inhuman that part of me wonders if he could even be capable of having children, much less willing to be intimate with someone.
What I Didn't Like:
1. Time travel that goes back years
Everyone knows that the time turners were destroyed in the 5th book. They cover that, but there are a couple that were made that can take a person back years opposed to just a few hours. I hate time travel. The idea that someone can launch themselves in the past and change events to totally reshape the present has always made me a little uncomfortable. In this, Harry confiscates such a time turner, and later Albus and Severus steal it from Hermione's office (because the brightest witch ever--who is the Minister of Magic no less--would definitely hide a forbidden time turner so simply that kids could find it--but this is a play, so it wasn't like they could spend several acts showing the kids trying to figure it out). Their goal is to go back in time to save Cedric Diggory. In an earlier scene, Albus overheard Cedric's father demanding Harry go back in time himself, and Albus is trying to fix it by doing what his father won't. Of all the story lines to go, this one seemed far-fetched and random.
2. The realities that come from saving Cedric
Albus and Scorpius keep Cedric from winning the first task in the Triwizard Tournament. They come back to a reality where everything is the same (with Cedric still dead), except now Albus is in Gryffindor. That and Hermione never married Ron, and instead of being Minister of Magic, she's the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. She's also mean. I hated that because it implies that Hermione only was nice and became Minister of Magic because she was able to be with Ron. It seemed like her character relied too heavily on her feelings for Ron. As I was reading it, I wondered how just her not marrying Ron made it so she'd be the next Professor Snape. Besides, Defense Against the Dark Arts wasn't even her best subject! If anything, I could at least see her being the Headmistress at Hogwarts, or perhaps the Charms or Transfiguration teacher. The other reality comes when the boys keep Cedric from winning the second event in the tournament, and Scorpius pops back into the present completely alone. Dolores Umbridge drags him out of the lake and he finds himself in a world where Harry Potter's dead and the Dark Lord rules. They have a blood ball--or something like that. And it's Voldemort Day. The coolest part about that reality is that Snape helps save the day--and I'm no Snape lover, but his character is really awesome here, but I won't go into detail. This reality happens because Cedric didn't die in the tournament, but ended up becoming a Death Eater??? And he killed Neville??? What??? In the end, these realities were just strange and didn't make a lot of sense to me.
3. Harry Potter and some of his parenting skills
There is no perfect parent. There is no perfect Harry Potter. But Harry Potter would never, ever, ever tell his child he sometimes wished Albus wasn't his son. He knows what being unwanted and unloved feels like! To be fair, Albus told Harry sometimes he wished Harry wasn't his father first, but I see Harry pulling away more than biting back like that. In the reality where Albus is now in Gryffindor, Harry forbids him from hanging out with Scorpius and proceeds to threaten Headmistress McGonagall that if she doesn't use the Marauder's Map to keep those two from being around each other that he'll bring the force of the Ministry down on her. Not only would Harry Potter never talk to Minerva McGonagall like that, she would definitely not allow it. But this version of McGonagall did allow it. And Ginny was horrified but she doesn't really call him out like I wanted her to.
4. Rumors about Scorpius
In the beginning, there's a rumor that Scorpius is really the child of Voldemort, that Malfoy couldn't have kids so they sent his wife back in time to have Voldemort's baby. I thought that was overkill. They could have created the same dramatic feel just by having him ousted for being a Malfoy. But I think they were trying to do this to set up the whole "Voldemort has a child, oh and there are time turners that can take you back years" story line.
5. Harry's scar starts hurting again
What with the time travelling going on, and Voldemort's child being a thing (she pretends to be a member of the Diggory family and is helping Albus and Scorpius save Cedric--just so she can get her father back), Harry's scar starts to hurt again. That didn't exactly make sense because Voldemort wasn't back in his reality. Albus and Scorpius end up getting stuck in the past, on the night Voldemort killed James and Lily Potter and gave Harry his scar. The adults manage to find their way back, to save them, and defeat Voldemort's daughter. Harry gets to watch his parents die the second time, too, so he gets the bonus of more emotional scarring!
There were moments that felt forced, there were characters who felt like they weren't written very accurately, and yes, this was kind of bare bones especially when you consider the development of character and plot in the 7 Harry Potter books. But this was a play! It can't go over every minor detail. And yes, I was hoping for an indication of brand new evil. Voldemort can't be like the bad guy in horror movies that keeps showing up again and again after they're supposed to have finally been killed, but this is a single play, and J.K. Rowling already announced she's not planning on doing anything more with Harry's story. So this should be the end.
If I look at it as just a play, just someone's creative vision of what happened after the 7th book, it's fun and exciting! I loved being back in the world.
But this will never be the story after the 7th book. This will never be what I visualize happens after "all was well". But I can appreciate the script for what it is. There was definitely a lot of talent invested in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
