Review of the movie Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

First some overall comments that do not include spoilers.

I thought this was one of the best adaptations of the series to the screen. I am glad they chose to split the story into two movies because the plot in the seventh book is so intricate that to try and condense it into a standard movie length story would oversimplify things to the point of eliminating the magic of the story.

If you have not read the series, the movie will probably confuse you. My husband has seen all the movies, but never read the books and he was confused by the movie. I had to explain some details about Horcruxes that I know were explained in the previous movie, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, (HPB), but that he probably forgot or maybe never really understood.

So if you are a casual fan of the series and have not read the books, I recommend seeing it with someone who has read all the books. They will then be able to explain things afterward to help you understand those things you missed.

Overall the special effects are wonderful and appear seamless. The tone of the movie is brooding and dark, but there are touches of humor to lighten the mood at times. There are odes to the darkness of World War II and attempts at race purification.

The acting is great and some of the stellar British actors involved in the series shine even when they have few lines and only a few moments onscreen. The child actors have grown into their parts and no longer appear uncomfortable in their roles.

After this point, I will be discussing aspects of the movie and for those who do not want to read spoilers, please stop reading this post now.

SPOILER Section

Movies by their nature as a visual medium are different than books as a vehicle for storytelling. Things that might need pages of description in a book can be conveyed with a few frames in a movie. There were many condensing of events to speed things along. For example, the death of Hedwig was done differently than in the book, but it worked and streamlined the narrative. Other examples of introducing information quickly was a line by Bill Weasley of being attacked by Fenrir Greyback, (since that event was not included in the movie version of HBP), and the radio news mentioning that Severus Snape was the newly appointed headmaster of Hogwarts.

I especially liked one of the beginning scenes where Hermione gave her parents a memory charm and erased her own image from family photographs. It was a sacrifice that moved me to tears.

The Seven Harry Potters scene included some great bits of physical humor. The twins, Fred and George, were only on screen for a short while, but they stole every scene they were in. I particularly liked Saint George quietly sipping his tea while watching his little sister kissing Harry Potter in the kitchen.

The scenes in Grimmauld Place were creepy as I expected. I do wish however, that we had been able to see the transformation of Kreacher after being given Regulus' locket. I thought that was one of the most touching aspects of the whole series.

Imelda Staunton gave another cloyingly evil performance as Dolores Umbridge. I also liked the casting of Nick Moran as Scabior. He looked dangerous and had a Bad Boy look about him which made him ever so watchable.

The one thing that bugged me about the sequence at the Ministry of Magic was the delay of the Trio leaving the building once their Polyjuice Potion disguises wore off. Yes, it was funny that Ron Weasley had a woman who thought he was her husband and she wouldn't let him leave. However, Harry was standing there without anything covering his face and didn't try to disguise himself. Really? Come on. He's Undesirable #1, he's in the belly of the beast and is just waiting for his friend to extricate himself from a woman's arms? Really?

I had to re-read that passage and realized that the effects of the Polyjuice Potion held until after they left the Ministry. :shakes head: So that's one scene I don't really understand the different choices made by the screenwriter and director.

I mean, the Trio should be practicing CONSTANT VIGILANCE. Harry should have covered his face and pretended to cough. He should cough enough to get people to want to avoid him, but not enough to bring unwanted attention to himself.

The splinching worked, but my husband was wondering what "splinching" meant. I had to whisper the explanation to him.

I liked Xenophilius Lovegood, his strange house and the animation sequence telling the story of the Three Brothers. I thought that worked well. The animation reminded me of the Tim Burton style.

I loved the scenes in Malfoy Manor where Lucius Malfoy looked like a broken man. His choice years ago to become a follower of Voldemort had taken its toll. He was now a prisoner in his own home with unwanted guests that he could not evict.

Tom Felton as Draco also looked as if he regretted becoming a Death Eater. He had followed his father's footsteps, but there were signs that he did not like what was happening. The Evil was just a bit too much for him. Or so it seemed.

I was glad to see Dobby once again. He had been a part of other books, but this was his first reappearance in a movie since Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Dobby was one of my favorite characters. He was odd, but fiercely loyal to Harry Potter. The one thing I did not understand was the clothing he wore. Dobby was a free elf. He should have been wearing something other than a nasty pillowcase. He could worn a flower print shirt, a strange necktie, and paisley printed shorts. Instead they just gave him clunky shoes to wear to designate his free elf status. Bah! Dobby was free, he deserved clothes.

Beyond that minor wardrobe related criticism, I loved the scenes with Dobby. He was a great character who helped rescue Harry and his friends. The death of Dobby was something that made me cry both in the reading of the book and in the movie. His sacrifice on behalf of Harry Potter was touching.

I am glad that the movie ended there as well as Voldemort grave robbing from Dumbledore's tomb. It shows where both sides in the war are at this point in time. It will also allow for the action/adventure sequences of Gringotts, Aberforth's confessions about Dumbledore, Snape's death and deathbed memories, the sacrifice in the Forbidden Forest as well as the ending duel to be shown in detail for great cinematic glory. Part II should be a wonderful ending to a marvelous series.

For those who are just fans of the series, I would love to hear your thoughts on the movie in the comment section.

SHIPPING Thoughts from a recovering Harry Potter addict

Now onto the matter of Harry and Hermione's relationship in this film. For those who were not a part of the online Harry Potter fandom, you will not understand how a movie scene that was not in the book could be potentially controversial.

It is only because I was a part of the fandom and participated in the online debates that I realize the dance scene could be like chum to sharks. It is likely to set off a feeding frenzy. The most vituperative subject of debates in the online fandom dealt with romantic relationships, also known as "shipping."

I looked at it as a communal attempt at in-depth literary analysis. It was not the passive writing a paper for a professor and hoping to get a good grade. No, it was putting forth your thoughts in public and having others challenge your assumptions and then offer up their own theories. Sometimes it was just getting kudos or cyber stinkbombs sent your way.

I argued on behalf of the Harry/Hermione ship. I also argued that I welcomed a Love Triangle between the Trio. That was something many Ron/Hermione shippers simply did not want to contemplate. They thought it would be too painful and that Harry wouldn't want to risk hurting his friend Ron.

I feel that love triangles can be powerful dramatic constructs. It has inherent conflict in its structure. There had been so many other love triangles used in the series that having a love triangle between Harry/Hermione/Ron seemed inevitable.

As it turns out, I was right. Jo Rowling used a Love Triangle within the Trio and it worked well, both in the book and in the movie. Ron was certainly jealous at the thought of Harry and Hermione becoming a couple. It showed on his face with black circles under his eyes when he wore the cursed locket around his neck and saw them talking together. Later, when he was challenged by Harry to destroy the Horcrux his fears were demonstrated by the torturous images shown by a piece of Voldemort's soul depicting his friends in a compromising position. Something that would drive him mad and perhaps make him use the sword against Harry and not the locket.

All of that was in the canon. However, there was a scene in the movie that was not in the book and it surprised me.

The Dance Scene.

Ron stormed off and left Harry Potter for his search for Horcruxes, Hermione chose to remain behind and not leave with Ron. Harry and Hermione are alone in a tent and are listening to music on a radio. Harry coaxes Hermione to join him in a dance. At first it is a light and breezy dance, a little awkward in the steps, but it ends with them in an embrace.

They could have easily kissed at that point. Hermione looked as if she considered kissing Harry then deliberately avoided succumbing to that temptation.

As I was sitting in the theater, I could not help but think how upset the Ron/Hermione shippers I had debated all those years ago would be with that scene. All it would have taken was one kiss and then the pairings Would Have Changed Forever. Harry would have realized that the woman for him was not his best friend's little sister, but his other best friend who had been by his side through countless adventures. A woman who had saved his life several times and had shown unwavering loyalty and sacrifice on his behalf.

There are countless number of Harry/Hermione fanfics that are nothing more than finding some kind of excuse to get them alone together so they can discover that they are attracted to one another. One kiss and then fade to black or possibly NC-17 territory. It all depends on the fic writer and what their intent is on writing the story of them becoming a couple.

In this case, if they had kissed it would probably have led to them being in bed together. These were two teens with raging hormones were alone together where no one could hear them, see them, or find them. They were also under the ever present threat of being found, captured and killed. That kind of wartime stress has led to many quick romances. In this case it would have been for two best friends discovering their attraction to one another. It would have changed the romantic pairings forever. It would also have been Ron's greatest fear when he destroyed the locket: Hermione had chosen Harry over him.

Another thing that surprised me about the movie was seeing Jo Rowling's name in the credits as a producer. She could easily have had that scene removed from the movie if she wanted. She had given a note to the screenwriter in HBP when there was a bit of dialogue of Dumbledore reminiscing of a long-lost girlfriend that said, "Dumbledore is gay." That nixed those proposed lines.

Rowling allowed the dance scene showing the possibility of Harry and Hermione becoming a romantic couple to remain in the movie. Why?

Was it a bone for Harry/Hermione shippers?

Or was it included because it was good drama?

I believe it was the latter, because I believe in the power of drama.

I am also certain that some stalwart Ron/Hermione shippers will find that scene offensive because of their years of arguing against H/Hr. That would make them not want to see even subtle hints of that romantic pairing.

Jo Rowling admitted in an interview published in Melissa Anelli's book Harry: A History that it could have gone Harry/Hermione.

"Now, the fact is that Hermione shares moments with Harry that Ron will never be able to participate in. He walked out. She shared something very intense with Harry. So, I think it could have gone that way." Page 266

Precisely. We were not delusional at all. We saw the romantic potential that could have been.

And now, there is even a poll (totally non-scientific) by MTV to see whether or not people wished it had gone H/Hr over R/Hr.

As I am writing this, H/Hr is winning.

Last night my twelve year old son asked me why Jo Rowling went with Ron and Hermione as a couple when he thinks that Harry and Hermione would have made a better couple. I sighed and then had to try and explain to him that Jo Rowling was using literary alchemy as the underlying framework for her story. Therefore Harry's girlfriends had hair color that went in the following sequence: black, white, red. (Cho, Luna - they did have one little date in HBP, Ginny) This was supposed to reflect the three stages of alchemy in order: nigredo, albedo, rubedo.

Hermione had brown hair, so she didn't fit in that schema.

Instead, Hermione was supposed to represent the element mercury and Ron was sulphur, both are needed in the alchemical formula to create gold.

For those shaking their heads, I point you to my friend John Granger's capable hands in understanding the usage of alchemy throughout the series. It was something I didn't want to acknowledge as constraining Rowling's dramatic choices, but as it turns out: John's original assumptions and predictions of Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione were spot on because those pairings work alchemically.

In case you were wondering, my son shook his head at my explanation. It wasn't what he wanted to hear.

What are your thoughts of the movie? Did that dance scene delight or bother you?

http://lcmccabe.blogspot.com/2010/11/review-of-movie-harry-potter-and.html

J.K. Rowling talks, people listen...

I am going to pause from posting about my trip to France and weigh in ony my thoughts to recent remarks by J.K. Rowling.

So if you have come here to read about France you can find those posts here, posts about the business and craft of writing can be found here. If you are a fan of the Harry Potter series and have read all seven books - keep reading. Otherwise, back away now lest ye be spoiled.

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J.K. Rowling is on a publicity tour of the U.S. and has revealed things about her completed series that she had been coy about before.

First revelation:

She spoke about her series having Christian themes.

"To me [the religious parallels have] always been obvious," she said. "But I never wanted to talk too openly about it because I thought it might show people who just wanted the story where we were going."

Yup, I knew that. I knew that shortly after joining the fandom and reading a post on HPfGU's regarding an article in The American Prospect which in turn had quoted from an article published in the Vancouver Sun. Here's that quote:

Is she a Christian?

''Yes, I am,'' she says. ''Which seems to offend the religious right far worse than if I said I thought there was no God. Every time I've been asked if I believe in God, I've said yes, because I do, but no one ever really has gone any more deeply into it than that, and I have to say that does suit me, because if I talk too freely about that I think the intelligent reader, whether 10 or 60, will be able to guess what's coming in the books.''

Seeing that quote led to my longfelt belief that Harry Potter would have to be willing to sacrifice himself for the good of the Wizarding world.

I knew he was going to die.

It was only after Book 5 and the mention of the permanently locked door (containing the Power of Love) that I started thinking that he might be Resurrected to Life.

My friend John Granger author of Looking for God in Harry Potter can run a victory lap around Harry-haters such as Richard Abanes who wrote books claiming that the books were a bad influence on children. The Harry Potter series is in fact a great influence for children because it is great storytelling and has had an incredible impact on literacy. So take that Mr. Abanes - you were wrong!

Second Revelation:

Dumbledore was gay.

Did Dumbledore, who believed in the prevailing power of love, ever fall in love himself?
JKR: My truthful answer to you... I always thought of Dumbledore as gay. [ovation.] ... Dumbledore fell in love with Grindelwald, and that that added to his horror when Grindelwald showed himself to be what he was. To an extent, do we say it excused Dumbledore a little more because falling in love can blind us to an extent? But, he met someone as brilliant as he was, and rather like Bellatrix he was very drawn to this brilliant person, and horribly, terribly let down by him. Yeah, that's how i always saw Dumbledore. In fact, recently I was in a script read through for the sixth film, and they had Dumbledore saying a line to Harry early in the script saying I knew a girl once, whose hair... [laughter]. I had to write a little note in the margin and slide it along to the scriptwriter, "Dumbledore's gay!" [laughter] "If I'd known it would make you so happy, I would have announced it years ago!"

Jo also said after revelation: "You needed something to keep you going for the next 10 years! ...Oh, my god, the fan fiction now, eh?"


My reaction: Hmmm, I missed the boat on that one. Of course, I had not spent much time contemplating Dumbledore's love life or lack thereof. The most was an inchoate idea that perhaps he and Minerva McGonagall had a covert relationship. I considered that they might be secretly married and for appearances sake, they kept it under wraps. Or they could have just been a couple but without marital ties. Guess I was wrong on that score.

Dumbledore was gay and had been in love with Gellert Grindelwald. That will stir up a lot of plot bunnies and I am sure that within a month Fiction Alley will be filled with fanfic dedicated to Dumbledore/Grindlewald scenes from their younger years as well as their infamous duel. Whether or not they were lovers at one time was not specifically stated by Rowling.

I am sure that relationship will be explored in a myriad of ways. It also adds another layer of meaning to the lines in book 7 in the Daily Prophet interview with Rita Skeeter (p. 26, Scholastic hardcover edition):

"Very dirty business indeed. All I'll say is don't be so sure that there really was the spectacular duel of legend. After they've read my book, people may be foreced to conclude that Grindelwald simply conjured a white handkerchief from the end of his wand and came quietly!"



I predict that there will also be Dumbledore/Doge fanfic soon flooding the internet.

Honestly, there were only three characters that I really considered as showing outwardly gay characteristics in the series.

First was Gilderoy Lockhart with his shocking pink robes, penchant for using peacock quills, and a stated fondness for the color lilac. Then again, possibly Lockhart only had eyes for himself. Ye old Lockhart/Lockhart ship.

Second was Professor Grubbly-Plank. With her pipe smoking ways and her brush cut, it seemed to be waving a rainbow colored flag to say, "she's a lesbian."

Third was Rita Skeeter. Although I cannot say exactly what her sexuality was - because the idea of Skeeter engaged in any sexual activity is not something I wish to consider at all. However, with her "thick fingers" "heavy-jawed face," "surprisingly strong grip"(all from page 303 Scholastic paperback edition) and "large mannish hands" (p. 307) I was led to believe "That's a man, baby!"

Now onto the last revelation which is actually more of J.K. Rowling's authorial intent which many articles seem to focus on the idea that Rowling announced that she married a man like Harry Potter.

Questions about love were also directed at Rowling herself. When asked by an 18-year-old 12th grader, "Which of the Potter characters would you marry?," Rowling giggled. "The truth is, in my younger days, I dated Ron more than once," she admitted, giving an inside look at why Hermione (the closest character to Rowling's younger self) might be attracted to Harry's best friend. "He's fun to write, but not so much fun to date." And once she had learned her lesson, Rowling said, "I married Harry Potter," referring to her second husband, Neil Murray. "He's up there [in the wings]. I just mortified him," she laughed. "But he looks like Harry would look like, at a certain age. I married a very good person and a gutsy person. And that's who Harry is."

Fans might think that's even more reason why Hermione should end up with Harry — but Rowling said she always knew that Ron and Hermione were meant to be together, just as she thought Harry and Ginny were meant to be together. "I thought it was obvious, but apparently there are Internet wars about this," she said. "And they get very vicious." Rowling said she was unaware of the shipping wars for years, until someone suggested she take a look at the fan sites. "It was scary!" So many readers wanted Hermione and Harry to be a couple, Rowling said, that "I got hate mail ... from adults! Not people your age. You at least understood."

And for those who didn't, she explained. "Harry and Ginny are real soul mates," she said. "They're both very strong and very passionate. That's their connection, and they're remarkable together. Ron and Hermione, however, are drawn to each other because they balance each other out. Hermione's got the sensitivity and maturity that's been left out of Ron, and Ron loosens up Hermione a bit, gets her to have some fun. They love each other and they bicker a bit, but they enjoy bickering, so we shouldn't worry about it."

Yup, the shipping wars got vicious.

I am sorry that she received hate mail from adults. I am. I wrote to her and tried to be as diplomatic and forthright as possible in explaining the phenomenon of shipping.

I do not know if she ever saw my letter.

However, she has her own part in fanning the flames of the situation and turning what she knew was a heated situation into an inferno. I am referring to the Interview From Hell that I wrote about previously. I will just reiterate that it is not advisable for authors to tease your fans and then insult them. I did not appreciate her telling fans like myself to go back and re-read her books because we must have missed things. I lost my enthusiasm for the series in one quick quip. I am now a recovering Harry Potter addict. I have not eschewed the series altogether, but I do not have the same interest or passion on the subject.

However, the larger issue for discussion here was that the shipping wars demonstrated the passion that she created between the fans of her books with those characters she created. However, it still does not appear that she truly understands the phenomenon. Even after all the letters she will have received.

:wipes brow:

It seems she still does not understand why many fans wanted to see her hero become romantically linked with his best friend. Hermione was the most fleshed out female character in the series and one that readers grew to love - bushy hair, bucked teeth, and all. Those readers who were bookish females (like myself) found themselves identifying with Hermione.

A large part of the debate centered on which boy - Harry or Ron - would be better suited for her. Or which one it appeared that she preferred.

I thought Harry was better for her. I also thought she was demonstrated a devotion to him bordering on obsession. I did not see that same level of commitment from Hermione towards Ron.

We also knew that Jo Rowling on many occasions said that she patterned Hermione's character after herself. So the idea that Jo dated a Ron-like person, but chose as her husbnad a Harry-like character is not unlike some of the shipping debate rounds.

Many of the shipping debate rounds.

I also wish to state for the record that one of the reasons I did not like the Ron/Hermione interactions in the books (at least the first five when I was ship debating) was due to the bickering.

It annoyed me.

I did not find it to be anything that I would consider to be bantering. Not at all. Sniping, barking, and snarling, yes. Playful banter? No.

The statement that "they enjoy bickering" is something I dislike intensely.

There are times that my husband and I bicker, but it is never something that I enjoy.

I dislike watching people bicker. My in-laws remind me at times of two chihuahuas barking at one another.

It is not the same as playful banter. Not at all.

Bantering is fun. It is pleasant to engage in and enjoyable to watch.

So Jo thinks they like to bicker. :shudders: If you say so Jo, you are the author afterall.

I must say however, that there was something in which I can say "I Was Right!"

I knew deep in my bones that in order for Hermione and Ron to be a couple that he would have to respect her political thoughts regarding house-elves. It was, in fact, my first post on the infamous H/Hr vs. R/Hr Debate Thread on Fiction Alley: The Politics of House-elves.

Feel free to read it. I had summed up my argument with:

(U)ntil Ron recognizes that he is propping up an unjust system he cannot be someone that I think would be romantically suited for Hermione.

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Ron needs to See The Light. Until he does, I can’t see any future with him and Hermione.

I felt really good when Ron and Hermione's first full on kiss on the mouth was after Ron said that they should make sure that the house-elves were safe from the final battle. At that point Hermione gave him a bone-crushing hug and smooch.

Huzzah!

I was right about that. He evolved as a character to the point where his political opinions matched hers.

I may have been wrong on other accounts in where the books were going, but I knew some things.

I knew they were based on Christian and Alchemical themes.

I knew Harry had to be willing to sacrifice himself.

I also knew that in order for Ron and Hermione to be a romantic couple they would have to see eye-to-eye on The Politics of House-Elves.

I pounded on that subject time and time again. That it all came down to politics.

And I was right. :-)

Linda

Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part II

To continue where I left off on my thoughts regarding Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows…

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I loved the change in Albus Dumbledore’s character. He was no longer the omnipotent, benevolent, ideal wizard that he appeared to be in the first six books, instead his white beard started showing shades of gray.

He had flaws, weaknesses, and had succumbed to temptation.

Rita Skeeter’s attempt to besmirch his name and his legacy came as a surprise to me. I hadn’t expected anything like that in Book 7. However, it added a sense of mystery and intrigue to the story that made you re-evaluate a character that had previously been seen as purely good whose only fault was in trusting people too much.

This time, you began to wonder what, if anything, Dumbledore was hiding from his past.

I liked that a lot.

Having Dumbledore and Grindelwald being friends who had parted ways and then later dueled was much more satisfying to me than having had a story of where Wizard 007 took his wand and smoked out the roughest, toughest bad guy in the West.

Which is what the Chocolate Frog card in its brevity implied. Good = Dumbledore triumphed over Evil = Grindelwald.

Instead the truth was much more complex than that simplistic summation.

The assault on Ariana, Dumbledore’s sister, added a chilling dimension to the story. It explained why her father went to Azkaban for attacking three Muggle boys. It wasn’t simply Muggle-baiting like what was done after the Quidditch World Cup, it was a case of vigilante justice.

One is left to wonder what exactly was done to Ariana. Was she gang raped? We don’t know. That kind of detail seems unlikely to ever be specified by the author, but one that readers who are aware of such horrible acts are allowed to consider.

Or maybe they just beat the living snot out of her and left the child in a semi autistic-like state.

One that would be embarrassing for the Dumbledore family to admit.

Either way, they chose not to publicize what had really happened to Ariana and because of that, her father died in Wizarding prison. He refused to defend himself in court because he would rather be confined in Azkaban than have his daughter confined to St. Mungo’s.

The revelation of that back story by Aberforth was brilliant. It showed a lifetime of remorse and regret of an incident that occurred at a time when most youngsters think of themselves as immortal and invulnerable.

Grindlewald and Dumbledore shared a common obsession with the quest for the Deathly Hallows, but they seemed to have differed on what they planned on doing with that power if they had accumulated all three aspects.

Then again, there’s the old axiom that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Would Dumbledore have resisted temptation to use absolute power in the manner which Grindlewald wanted to wield it? We don’t know.

I like that uncertainty. It gives the story depth.

Another thing that I liked about Book 7 was that there was an additional mystery to be solved. I wondered if it was merely going to be a hopped up Horcrux scavenger hunt. It wasn’t, because there were these additional layers of mystery regarding Dumbledore’s past and the Hallows.

The additional intrigue regarding loyalty of wands was something of a surprise for me. I don’t recall anyone ever questioning “the wand chooses the wizard” statement from book 1 and that “you will never get such good results with another wizard’s wand.” The idea that you could win a wand through a duel and then the wand would then switch loyalties to the victor that was a new twist.

It was a trump card that she had kept carefully up her sleeve.

People had wondered whether or not Neville’s poor magical performance in the earlier books was due to using a hand-me-down wand, but it appears that it was simply his lack of self-confidence. I had liked the entire Memory Charm theory that he, as a small child, had witnessed his parents’ torturing and that someone gave him a memory charm to cover their tracks. Nah. Doesn’t look like that happened. Nor does it look like Trevor had any other significance in the series than being an unpopular pet given to a child who was frequently afraid of his own shadow. Trevor was useful for some plot points, but he was not an Animagus or a transfigured wizard. :Shucks:

I loved the evolution of Neville’s character through the series. The idea that he continued to resist tyranny at Hogwarts and kept the D.A. alive made me smile.

Having him pull Gryffindor’s sword out of the Sorting Hat was as if the story was making full circle. The prized artifact belonged at Hogwarts and belonged to real Gryffindors. People like Neville Longbottom. Having him cut off Nagini’s head with the Sword of Gryffindor was satisfying.

I also loved Luna in this story. She didn’t seem to be batty anymore, simply quirky. Quirky, but fiercely loyal. I adored the image of her having portraits of Harry, Hermione, Ron, Neville, and Ginny in her bedroom linked with friends, friends, friends.

I don’t think that I can read that passage without my throat getting constricted.

The thought that she was from another house at Hogwarts, but didn’t have such a shrine to other friends made me think that for once she found people who valued her.

That’s something that we all need in our lives: affirmation of our own worth.

Okay, I guess now I should move on and talk about Snape. It did not surprise me that Snape loved Lily was at the heart of why Dumbledore trusted Snape, and why the greasy haired git turned to the Only One Whom Voldemort Feared.

Tabouli had predicted that years ago on the Harry Potter for Grown Ups List Serv.

She gave it the acronym of L.O.L.L.I.P.O.P.S. (Love Of Lily Left Ire Polluting Our Poor Severus.)

Here are two links where she spells out her reasoning, and note that these were written prior to the publication of Order of the Phoenix:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/28782

and

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HPforGrownups/message/33258?threaded=1&l=1

I think she was marvelously prescient in her prediction as to it being one of the integral mysteries in the series. To me, the most compelling evidence is that Snape never uttered a word about Lily in front of Harry. James? Oh, yeah, the sneering of insults about James started out in Book 1. Lily? Not a word. It was the Snape that didn’t snarl.

That was what convinced me that Tabouli was probably correct.

So what are my overall thoughts on the character of Severus Snape?

Umm, I don’t like him. I’ve never liked him. He’s a nasty, evil git.

I can’t even place him in the “Villains you love to hate.” I’ve never been fascinated by him. Not to the point that so many others have venerated and adored him.

Perhaps that’s the thing that stops me from giving JKR's incredibly complex and flawed character his due. It’s the adulation I’ve seen given by many people in the fandom. Adulation that tinged on an unhealthy obsession.

I just did not respond in the same way where I would want to spend hours on end contemplating things about that character. Tabouli had provided a plausible explanation to his actions back when I was only 4/7^ths of the way through the series and it worked for me. I didn’t see any evidence presented to change my opinion, and well, I didn’t care to spend much more time thinking about him.

I didn’t care at the end of Half-Blood Prince to theorize whether or not he was fulfilling a plan with Dumbledore when he used the AK curse. I just didn’t really care whether or not Snape was someone who betrayed Dumbledore or not.

Because I just didn’t want to think too much about him.

The theory that Snape helped keep Dumbledore alive through Stoppered Death was something that seems to have proven its worthiness as well.

Do I see Snape as a hero? No, not really.

He would not have done anything to stop the murder of Frank and Alice Longbottom if Voldemort thought the prophecy indicated Neville.

Snape would have stood by and allowed them to be killed without any warning.

He also watched Professor Charity Burbage be murdered and fed to Nagini. And he did nothing to stop that horrific crime. Because? It was for the Greater Good. He had to remain as a spy and keep in Voldemort’s good graces until Harry could try and kill him.

Yeah. That kind of willful neglect in order to serve a better greater good later on makes my stomach turn.

It does however, serve as a moral lesson. So no, I do not view Snape as a hero.

I still prefer the character of Sirius Black to Severus Snape any day or night of the week.

I also came to appreciate the character of Regulus Black even if we only learned of him through Kreacher’s testimony. He seemed to have a similar honorability that his older brother had, and a determination to try and set things right. Even if he did not succeed, he tried.

Next installment, I shall talk about my thoughts on the ending, on the romance, as well as things that seemed unresolved or unanswered.

Please feel free to share with me your reactions to my review.

Linda

Review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part I

For those who haven’t gotten their hands on a copy or finished it yet and do not wish to be spoiled – TURN BACK NOW.

I am now going to pontificate on my reactions to not only this installment, but the series as a whole.

To help avoid ruining the surprise for anyone who came to my blog prior to finishing the book, I’ll try to help by putting in a spoiler message.

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Okay, that ought to suffice.

Overall, I liked it.

Book 7 was different from all its predecessors, if for no other reason than the Trio didn’t go back to school. The normal structure of the book was played out as if it was a distant echo. We knew when the Hogwarts Express took off, but it would have been dangerous for the Trio to try and return to school. So they didn’t.

It kind of reminds me of graduating from a school and feeling a sense of loss when you aren’t enrolling in the next term’s classes. As if something is missing from your life.

A sense of loss.

That is what Harry was feeling throughout the book; a loss of his childhood as he was transitioning to adulthood.

There were many things that I really enjoyed with this book. One was Dudley’s being decent to Harry as the Dursley’s departed from their home on Privet Drive. It changed Dudley from being this horrible caricature of a character and made him human.

I teared up at their exchange.

It gave me hope that possibly in the future, Harry and Dudley might be able to sit down at a pub and knock back a few pints together without having hostility towards one another. They’ll never be best mates, but having a civil relationship is something that should be in the realm of the possible.

The structure of the series required that Harry not like living with his relatives, otherwise he would have willingly given up living in the Wizarding world since every year he faced threats on his life.

The cartoonishness of the Dursleys seemed a bit out of character from the rest of the encyclopedic cast of a thousand, but it brought out sympathy for Harry. If only Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had treated him as a second son. He could have grown up playing with his cousin who was close in age and they could have thought of each other as brothers.

That isn’t what happened, and if Harry had had a normal early childhood, the longing for another world where he was treated as a valued and important person wouldn’t have existed.

So, while Vernon and Petunia seemed to be unchanged at the beginning of Book 7, at least Dudley acknowledged that his gratitude for Harry having saved his life. Huzzah, growth in Dudley’s character!

The first chapter where Voldemort was surrounded by his minions while allowing the slow twisting in the wind of a victim hanging upside down was very creepy. I do not profess to know much about Tarot, but this is clearly an allusion to the Hanged Man in the Tarot deck.

It was a powerful way to start out the book, showing the callous manner in which Voldemort kills and that Snape stood by and witnessed the murder of one of his colleagues and did nothing to interfere. It made him an accessory to murder.

Obviously it was not the first time that he had been put in such a situation if he had voluntarily signed up to serve Voldemort and had been initiated into the inner circle of Death Eater status.

It helps demonstrate that Snape allowed the torture and death of others and did nothing to stop it. He may have shown courage in following Dumbledore's orders, but I still do not view him as heroic. However, Snape is a topic in and of itself and I should expand on those thoughts later.

One of the deaths that really surprised me in this book was the death of Hedwig.

Back in 2002 when I wrote my fifth year fic, I had proposed having Snape kill a messenger owl from Voldemort’s minions as it approached Harry. My beta readers reacted so negatively, that I softened the act and changed it so that the owl was blasted with a memory charm. It would not return to its point of origin and would never be suitable for delivery of magical messages ever again.

On the flip side, I had beta read for another fanfic writer and he killed Hedwig. I told him that of anything in his story that would generate the most flak.

And Jo killed Hedwig right at the starting gate. My son is going to be devastated when he hears that part of the book. Right now, he’s in the middle of Order of the Phoenix and most of the big surprises have been spoiled for him. He knows Sirius dies in Book 5, he knows Snape kills Dumbledore in book 6, and he knows Harry lives at the end of Book 7.

He doesn’t know that Harry’s pet owl gets killed.

Of all the deaths in Book 7, the one that hit me the hardest was the death of Dobby.

Brave Dobby.

I was glad that Jo had Harry dig a grave for him and have a funeral for him. The only thing I would have changed was to have Harry say words on behalf of the elf rather than Luna. I mean, why was it that Luna was the only one to say anything? That inclusion marred the scene for me, but overall it was emotionally fulfilling to have Harry mourn the loss of a character that truly cared for him.

HERE LIES DOBBY, A FREE ELF.

A wonderful epitaph.

I’m still miffed that Jo Rowling didn’t have a funeral or memorial service for Sirius Black, but at least she had a decent send off for Dobby.

I also adored the character transformation of Kreacher. The mentally twisted elf of Books 5 & 6 showed that he was truly a loyal character. He was loyal to the memory of Regulus Black, and through the testimony of Kreacher we learned how brave and noble Regulus had been.

The gift of the locket to Kreacher was a gesture to transfer the elf’s loyalty to Harry. It was no longer a compulsory thing due to inheritance, but rather one of respect and honor.

Harry was showing respect to Kreacher and in turn the elf equated Harry with Regulus as his rightful master. Harry earned Kreacher’s loyalty.

Kreacher was transformed into a fussy old man who loved to cook and clean for Harry.

Later, during the climax of the story we saw Kreacher leading the house-elves in their attack on Voldemort’s forces. I loved that. Even though we didn’t have a full scale house-elf rebellion throughout the Wizarding world, we did have Kreacher saying, “Fight! Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight!”

The image of the locket bouncing on his chest as he led the charge of angry elves is one that I adore.

The interweaving of magical species being treated with disdain by the ruling class of wizards is something that I think adds a marvelous layer of complexity and meaning to this series. The final climax showed that the acts of one person can help to bridge those barriers and to unite people. A few lines that show that idea of unity that the Sorting Hat called for in Book Five was,

“McGonagall had replaced the House tables, but nobody was sitting according to House anymore: All were jumbled together, teachers and pupils, ghosts and parents, centaurs and house-elves, and Firenze lay recovering in a corner, and Grawp peered in through a smashed window, and people were throwing food into his laughing mouth.”

Everyone had been through an ordeal and they no longer allowed artificial barriers to keep them apart due to their differences. They were all survivors, and they all fought together.

That is a wonderful meaning of this book and this series.

I have more thoughts on the book and the series, but this post is getting long, so I’ll continue with more later.

Let me know what your thoughts are.