late, semi-organized, spoilery thoughts of Deathly Hallows

[dirigibleplums]

Incredibly spoilery thoughts on Deathly Hallows.
This was 5 pages the day after I read it. I've since edited down to (I think) under a page. I haven't posted it because it was on my laptop, which doesn't have internet right now.

SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS



Loves.

The Malfoy family semi-redemption - subtle and appropriate. Deliciously, slyly Slytherin. I wanted more, but it was appropriate for what JKR set up.

The Battle of Hogwarts: we get a sense of scale; we can hold onto characters, ideas, and ideals that we know and love without getting lost in numbers; we know lots of people are injured and killed, that there is chaos, but we're not bored by description or "death death death death ow death."

Kreacher's turnaround! It was rewarding to get that payoff from all the S.P.E.W. and House Elf talk in general. (Though I do see some problems with the "if you're nice to the slaves, then they'll really want to help you so exploiting them is okay" implications, overall it was good.)

The Taboo on the name is deliciously nasty. Even Harry got tripped up, in a really in-character way. I totally bought that as something Harry would do, and not as a plot-device-to-kill-Dobby-find-Ollivander-free-Luna-get-the-Sword-and-discover-the-location-of-the-Cup.

The wand issue overall was great. I'd expected Harry to end up with the Elder wand now that the Holly one was destroyed, but this way was definitely more rewarding.

Disappointments and questions.

I didn't care when Tonks died. As far as canon goes, I don't find Tonks as sympathetic as I'm supposed to. I didn't understand the structural purpose for Tonks' and Lupin's deaths. What it gets down to is that I couldn't care about Remus/Tonks, which is terrible considering I never expected to care about Harry/Draco, Harry/Snape, Luna/Dumbledore, or any number of outrageously non-canon pairings yet now LOVE and BELIEVE THEM because of well-written fanfic.

Who was better at potions, Snape or Lily, and why didn't Slughorn mention Snape if he was the Half-Blood Prince, unless Lily helped him with that and why couldn't anyone tell us that? What the hell did James and Lily do for a living? (And all the other "who did what" questions, and everything else unanswered by the crapilogue.)

Fanfic does better.

I miss the somewhat-converted but-still-racist Draco storyline of fanfiction--while canon is praised for its multi-dimensionality, it is fanfic that offers us a somehow likable, or at least sympathetic/tolerable, asshole racist. The series has its share of sympathetic, and always intriguing, assholes. I guess Slughorn is the closest we get with this, and Snape to some extent. But Slughorn sucks up to Gryffindors (reinforcing the assumption that bravery is best) and Dumbledore says that Snape was "sorted too early." Uh huh.

Thorough inter-house cooperation was also missed--I think that some Slytherins would have joined the resistance, if they decided that Harry would win and it would be best to be on his side and save themselves from torture etc., and Neville and everyone would have welcomed them. Instead we get still more all-Slytherins-(exceptSnapeButHeDoesntGetThanksForIt)-are-evil, which is childish compared to other aspects of the plotline.

Harry might've learned that Albus was on, on top of everything, flamboyantly, high-heeled-boot gay, with the dark wizard Grindelwald. (Okay so actually I think that, in all likelihood, Albus was asexual and if anyone was canonically gay, it was Remus. But still. The innuendo!)