June Something: Harry Potter is the Schitt (Public Post)

[author_by_night]

https://squidgiepdx.dreamwidth.org/297595.html

Skipping around because what is order, anyway?

Compare and/or contrast your very first fandom obsession and your very latest fandom obsession.Under the cut - Harry Potter, Schitt's Creek, Buffy

Comments

[author_by_night]

I think Ron's development was much better. I think Xander's was okay when it came to being supportive of his friends, but everything with Anya was so terrible, and I don't feel he ever really came back from that. It was all about how bad HE felt.

Good point about the inner darkness in both Willow in Hermione - I absolutely agree. I think part of the problem is that we're not necessarily supposed to see Hermione's cringier moments as all that cringey, whereas we are with Willow, which does make it more interesting. I think both Willow and Hermione very much come from a place of wanting to help their friends (and girlfriend) at all costs, but they don't always see that there's a line. However, Hermione never acknowledges it or is really called out for it, except by people we're meant to disagree with.

The magic and drugs thing was so stupid, and what really gets me is that if anyone was a metaphor for drug addiction, it was probably Andrew and Jonathan. They literally experiment with magic by hanging out with their dealer, who they think is their friend but really isn't. For them, magic was always just what drugs are, an addiction. Willow misused magic, but it was more of an ethics problem than an addiction problem until they made it about addiction.

[hamsterwoman]

Oh, right, Xander and Anya's relationship. Yeah, that was not good. (I think the only thing I liked about that was the song in "Once More with Feeling"). But yes, he is definitely a character I liked more at the start and then progressively less as the seasons went on, while Ron, while he is flawed and falters, actually gets to grow. Of course, we also meet Ron as an 11-year-old, not a high school student, but still.

I think part of the problem is that we're not necessarily supposed to see Hermione's cringier moments as all that cringey, whereas we are with Willow, which does make it more interesting.

Yep, completely agree. Willow's darkness/potential for darkness is obviously acknowledged by the show, but I agree with you that I don't think we're meant to see Hermione's more ruthless moments as anything to worry about, because she's doing it for a good cause (which I think is the way Gryffindor morality goes dark, but I don't think that's what we're intended to take away from it).

Willow misused magic, but it was more of an ethics problem than an addiction problem until they made it about addiction.

Yeah. Not only was it a boring after school special storyline with the magic "pushers" not particularly well done, but as you say, it wasn't even the right analogy.