When the producers announced a follow-up series to Avatar: The Last Airbender, I was skeptical. I was genuinely worried. The original show had a perfect ending so why tarnish that? That's what I thought. But, I was so happy to be proven wrong, for Avatar: The Legend Of Korra turned out to be enjoyable and a great series to Aang. Therefore, when a follow-up to the Harry Potter Series was announced, I was cautiously optimistic.
And boy, was I wrong again!
Harry Potter And The Cursed Child review starts here. If you still haven't read the book (or watched the play) and doesn't like being spoiled, please turn away now. You are kindly warned, my friend.
The story starts where we left off at the end of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows. Albus Severus Potter is worried whether he may be put on Slytherin. Harry reassuringly states that Sorting Hat takes the wearers opinion in to consideration. So, at the end of DH we were under the impression that Albus will ask from Sorting Hat not to put him in Slytherin. Only it didn't turn out that way. He's in Slytherin and I have a hunch why. I'll keep that for later.
Jump three years. Everyone except Scorpius Malfoy (Draco's son) are a**holes now. We see a severe butchering of characters we know and love. Harry, Ron and Hermione whom we cared so much thanks to their portrayal on the books, are acting out of character and this is especially noticeable on Harry Potter.
Hermione while Minister Of Magic is acting in a rather stupid manner. She takes decisions without thinking too much and for a character whom we knew as a good thinker, this is rather off-putting. Ron meanwhile had turned out to be an alcoholic, and a rather dumb one at that. Ron was never the "comic-relief" character on the books. He was more of a best companion and sidekick to Harry. Title of comic relief was Fred & George's mantle. Never Ron's. So, what was the author thinking is a big question here. Harry turned out to be world's most pathetic dad, and a world-class a**hole as well. The way he talked to McGonagall was a clear indication that this is certainly not the Harry Potter we grew up with.
The story jumps to a convoluted mess involving Time Travel. Here's the thing: it's a norm among writers not to use Time Traveling as an easy escape unless as a last resort when all other ideas are exhausted (or if the entire story is about Time Traveling). That's the reason why Prisoner of Azkaban used Time Traveling in limited quantities and destroyed the Time-Turners on Order Of The Phoenix just to prove the point.
In the Harry Potter Universe, time traveling acts in a different manner than to time traveling on other fiction such as Back To The Future. The universe Ms. Rowling created does not expect a time traveler to go back in time and come back to a changed future. The incident already happens with the time traveler as a passive observer. The traveler traveled because the event already happened. Which is why the traveler is on the other side of the lake (literally) and not the person itself. Therefore great wizards such as Dumbledore or Voldermort cared so little about time traveling; for the event has already happened and it has happened as it should be.
But contradicting all that, we see a "Dark Future" as a result of time traveling on Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. But this is not even the main problem.
The main problem is the titular character herself; Delphi Riddle, the daughter of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestange. Let that sink in for a moment. Voldemort is the last person on earth who'd make a heir. He despise the concept of family and detaches from bonds. A guy like him making a baby, and being a father will never happen. Remember, his goal was immortality. A heir would be the last thing he wanted, for he made sure his own family was murdered by his own hands.
Now, the other problem of Delphi was the fact that she was born and raised in the Malfoy Manner. I'm assuming this happened following the Unbreakable Vow chapter of Half-Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows. Props to the writer for noticing the unusual absence of Bellatrix during that time period and including this. But you'd think with both Draco and his mother being present at the house during the period, that they'd at least notice the nutty aunt was pregnant and there is a baby in the house?
Besides, Harry states that his scar is hurting, and he can speak Parseltongue again after 22 years and it may be due to some presence of Voldemort being around. First of all his scar originally hurt and he was able to talk to snakes because of the Horcrux within him. He lost the ability of Parseltounge and lost the pain, with Horcrux being destroyed and Voldemort being killed respectively. If his scar was hurting due to Delphi, it would not have paused 22 years, for Delphi was already born and raised for 23 years.
Lord Voldemort + Bellatrix Lestange, appearance of Snape, appearance of Cedric Diggory, Heir of Voldemort are all thanks to Fan Service (or most commonly known as Fan W**king). This was done just to fulfill some of the fantasies of fans. And so was the fact that Albus Severus went to Slytherin. This was all Fan Service. Nothing more, nothing less.
There is a reason why I referred the author of the new story as "the author" and not as J. K. Rowling. News are coming in that J. K. had nothing to do with this story. She merely endorsed it (out of the pressure from the stakeholders no doubt). Therefore, I consider the new story as non-canon. I will not call this the eighth story. Harry Potter ended with Deathly Hallows. This new book is nothing more than Fan Fiction. End of story, Goodbye, The end.
The only redeeming factor of the book was Scorpius Malfoy. He turned out to be a very likable character. He's level-headed, ambitious and often see the brightside of life despite all odds stacked against him. He's the kind of person who is a hybrid of Harry, Ron and Hermione with a bit of Draco tossed in. If it weren't for Scorpius Malfoy, this new story would have been irredeemable.
What they should have done is, instead of making a sequel, they could have done a prequel like J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit. There are so many untold stories from the Harry Potter Universe. Take for example the feud between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Snape's life story, Adventures of the four Marauders etc. But alas, it did not came to be.
What they should have done is, instead of making a sequel, they could have done a prequel like J.R.R. Tolkien's Hobbit. There are so many untold stories from the Harry Potter Universe. Take for example the feud between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, Snape's life story, Adventures of the four Marauders etc. But alas, it did not came to be.
So, where do I rank Harry Potter And The Cursed Child? Is it good? Is it bad? I'll put it this way: this book will not be placed on the same shelf as other Harry Potter books.
Image Courtesy: Fadalabla of Tumblr
Harry Potter ended with Deathly Hallows. End of story, Goodbye, The end.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, I hope you don't get offended to my counter-rant.
ReplyDelete- 'Fanfiction': I agree that there are undertones of fanfiction. It doesn't read like something JK would have written, because she didn't. But she did support the production therefore as far as I see it, she's fully endorsed TCC and that's good enough for me. Although I can appreciate why it wouldn't be for other fans. I wouldn't say it's poor in any way. Different, yes. Poor, definitely not.
The script setting made for an interesting format, especially as we are used to prose! I liked it. It was a nice change. I'd argue that the majority of fans who have read the books intensively, or even seen the films lots, will have a very vivid mental picture of the set, the characters (even the next generation as we know what their parents look like), so the lack of descriptive language doesn't really have a negative impact. Yes it does mean a faster read but I liked the flow without all the large breaks of description. Again, as above, different but not in a bad way!
Whilst I agree that the format does not allow for character development, I don't agree that this is 'weak'. I like how it gives the reader their own space to develop the character themselves from their own imagination and knowledge of the series. I suppose it's easier for viewers of the play in the action as they have it there before their eyes. I'd also argue that the plot is quite complex, and there is a lot of detail about other parts of the wizard world outside of Hogwarts that we never really got to read much about, so no, not weak. Again, just different!
My consensus: Some people don't like change. We are so used to these magical books written in prose, with rich descriptive language and vivid characterisation that this new offering isn't going to appeal to everyone. Not the end of the world!
But again, to each their own! :)
I do agree on Scorpious being a gem though!
Thank you for your reply. And no, not offended even slightly. :) You've brought in some interesting points. Strangely enough, I strongly love change. But it was odd for me to realize I did not like the book. I warmed up to it after few readings but ultimately settled that it may not have lived up to my expectations. Looking forward to Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them.
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