Thoughts on HBP
I was actually in a rush to finish HBP so I could get on to the fun part: reading and discussing theories. I first read the opinions of authors whose opinions I respect, and found that I mostly agree with them. I've just been reading threads over at FA, however, and dear god, what drivel. I will try to restrain myself from ranting about their blindness, because that sort of thing always comes back to haunt a person, but really.
First of all, I suspected that Snape was the Half-blood Prince when his book appeared. The potions brilliance and general nastiness was a pretty clear hint, imo. I'm a little surprised that he never occured to the trio, but I suppose Harry and Ron would be unlikely to connect him with anything they valued and Hermione was letting her emotions get in the way of research, for once.
That leads me into some complaints I've heard about Hermione being written out of character. These complaints surprised me at first, because she never seemed ooc to me, but then I realised that most of the people complaining are probably teenagers. I was a teenager not very long ago. I remember it pretty well. In particular, I remember acting in ways that I now consider moody and irrational, while being absolutely convinced that my feelings were logical and justified and had nothing to do with hormones whatsoever. I realise that it could be difficult for readers who are under 16 to view the trio as suffering from hormones, but I'm pretty sure that JK Rowling sees them that way. There was some of that in OotP as well (Capslock Harry, etc). The upshot of this is that I think they're all perfectly in character, and all the adults I know who have expressed an opinion on this so far agree. Maybe that's not entirely fair to teenagers, but there you are.
As for Harry and Ginny ... I was a little disappointed at first that Rowling would go for something so mundane. I wasn't expecting Harry to be gay (although there was some highly amusing subtext), but couldn't he have fallen for someone more interesing? I changed my mind, though, because I really like how Ginny was written in this book. I think she's now an excellent match for Harry, and I'm not convinced that their relationship is over. I'm not certain, mind you, that Harry is a good match for Ginny. Does he respect her? He doesn't seem to, at least not as much as he does Ron and Hermione. That could change, though. I won't be heartbroken if they don't end up together. Ron and Hermione, now, are totally made for eachother in canon. In fanfiction, I enjoy all sorts of ships, but in canon I can't help shipping R/H. I'm sorry to say that I found Ron's fling with Lavender really funny. At least Ron didn't seem to be taking it seriously either. I feel sorry for Lavender,though.
And! Tonks/Remus! I could not believe my eyes. I thought that was purely a fanon phenomenon. But maybe all those fanfic writers were picking up on some subtle hints in OotP. In any case, it made me smile. I really like how Rowling handled Bill and Fleur's relationship too. I suppose I mean how that relationship was perceived, because we don't actually see much of how they relate to eachother (the word "sickening" comes to mind), but the scene where Fleur and Molly are reconciled is probably one of my favourites in the book. Up there with Luna commenting Quidditch, certainly.
That must be enough about ships. For the record, I wasn't really sorry that Dumbledore died ... I like him and all, but it was time. I do, however, hope that Harry returns to Hogwarts in the next book, because I really want to see the school without Dumbledore. I mean, it's been there for 2000 years. There is more to Hogwarts than any single headmaster. Plus I think Harry has some unfinished business. I doubt he'll stay there if he goes, though. As for Snape, he is totally not evil. Dumbledore was begging him to kill him, so that Snape's cover wouldn't be blown and Draco would remain uncorrupted. Actually, I think there are big plans for Draco in the next book, and I wonder if they have anything to do with Narcissa's relationship with Snape. Did anyone else pick up on that? And look how incensed Snape was when Harry called him a coward. He had just killed his mentor, the one man who believed in him, and destroyed his ties to the Order, although his allegiances haven't changed. He was actually being very brave and it killed him to know that he couldn't be recognised for it. Snape does like recognition. I imagine he'll redeem himself and die in the next book.
Let's see ... I doubt Lupin will return to Hogwarts unless his cover has been totally blown and he can't keep living with the other werewolves. Whatever happened to Greyback anyway? Didn't Harry stun him? I think he ended up getting away, though. So maybe Lupin will be reinstated as a teacher. So far, Rowling has created a new character to teach at Hogwarts every year, so speculation can only take us so far. I think Slughorn will continue as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin. I was happy, incidentally, to see more of Blaise Zabini, but I wish he'd been a little less bigoted. Oh well.
There's only one more thing - the identity of R.A.B. My money's on Regulus Black - I checked at the lexicon and the only other character with the initials RB is the captain of a Quidditch team. Plus didn't he decide he didn't want to be a Death Eater after all? I suggest that he found out about the horcrux - he appeared to believe it was the only one - and secretly went to retrieve and destroy it before he let Voldemort know of his desertion. I don't have a copy of OotP with me, so I can't check up more on his history, but I think it's a possibility anyway. There aren't too many other options - one of the Bones family, perhaps, but no one else mentioned so far.
And that's as much as I can discuss with myself right now. Feel free to comment and debate.
First of all, I suspected that Snape was the Half-blood Prince when his book appeared. The potions brilliance and general nastiness was a pretty clear hint, imo. I'm a little surprised that he never occured to the trio, but I suppose Harry and Ron would be unlikely to connect him with anything they valued and Hermione was letting her emotions get in the way of research, for once.
That leads me into some complaints I've heard about Hermione being written out of character. These complaints surprised me at first, because she never seemed ooc to me, but then I realised that most of the people complaining are probably teenagers. I was a teenager not very long ago. I remember it pretty well. In particular, I remember acting in ways that I now consider moody and irrational, while being absolutely convinced that my feelings were logical and justified and had nothing to do with hormones whatsoever. I realise that it could be difficult for readers who are under 16 to view the trio as suffering from hormones, but I'm pretty sure that JK Rowling sees them that way. There was some of that in OotP as well (Capslock Harry, etc). The upshot of this is that I think they're all perfectly in character, and all the adults I know who have expressed an opinion on this so far agree. Maybe that's not entirely fair to teenagers, but there you are.
As for Harry and Ginny ... I was a little disappointed at first that Rowling would go for something so mundane. I wasn't expecting Harry to be gay (although there was some highly amusing subtext), but couldn't he have fallen for someone more interesing? I changed my mind, though, because I really like how Ginny was written in this book. I think she's now an excellent match for Harry, and I'm not convinced that their relationship is over. I'm not certain, mind you, that Harry is a good match for Ginny. Does he respect her? He doesn't seem to, at least not as much as he does Ron and Hermione. That could change, though. I won't be heartbroken if they don't end up together. Ron and Hermione, now, are totally made for eachother in canon. In fanfiction, I enjoy all sorts of ships, but in canon I can't help shipping R/H. I'm sorry to say that I found Ron's fling with Lavender really funny. At least Ron didn't seem to be taking it seriously either. I feel sorry for Lavender,though.
And! Tonks/Remus! I could not believe my eyes. I thought that was purely a fanon phenomenon. But maybe all those fanfic writers were picking up on some subtle hints in OotP. In any case, it made me smile. I really like how Rowling handled Bill and Fleur's relationship too. I suppose I mean how that relationship was perceived, because we don't actually see much of how they relate to eachother (the word "sickening" comes to mind), but the scene where Fleur and Molly are reconciled is probably one of my favourites in the book. Up there with Luna commenting Quidditch, certainly.
That must be enough about ships. For the record, I wasn't really sorry that Dumbledore died ... I like him and all, but it was time. I do, however, hope that Harry returns to Hogwarts in the next book, because I really want to see the school without Dumbledore. I mean, it's been there for 2000 years. There is more to Hogwarts than any single headmaster. Plus I think Harry has some unfinished business. I doubt he'll stay there if he goes, though. As for Snape, he is totally not evil. Dumbledore was begging him to kill him, so that Snape's cover wouldn't be blown and Draco would remain uncorrupted. Actually, I think there are big plans for Draco in the next book, and I wonder if they have anything to do with Narcissa's relationship with Snape. Did anyone else pick up on that? And look how incensed Snape was when Harry called him a coward. He had just killed his mentor, the one man who believed in him, and destroyed his ties to the Order, although his allegiances haven't changed. He was actually being very brave and it killed him to know that he couldn't be recognised for it. Snape does like recognition. I imagine he'll redeem himself and die in the next book.
Let's see ... I doubt Lupin will return to Hogwarts unless his cover has been totally blown and he can't keep living with the other werewolves. Whatever happened to Greyback anyway? Didn't Harry stun him? I think he ended up getting away, though. So maybe Lupin will be reinstated as a teacher. So far, Rowling has created a new character to teach at Hogwarts every year, so speculation can only take us so far. I think Slughorn will continue as Potions Master and Head of Slytherin. I was happy, incidentally, to see more of Blaise Zabini, but I wish he'd been a little less bigoted. Oh well.
There's only one more thing - the identity of R.A.B. My money's on Regulus Black - I checked at the lexicon and the only other character with the initials RB is the captain of a Quidditch team. Plus didn't he decide he didn't want to be a Death Eater after all? I suggest that he found out about the horcrux - he appeared to believe it was the only one - and secretly went to retrieve and destroy it before he let Voldemort know of his desertion. I don't have a copy of OotP with me, so I can't check up more on his history, but I think it's a possibility anyway. There aren't too many other options - one of the Bones family, perhaps, but no one else mentioned so far.
And that's as much as I can discuss with myself right now. Feel free to comment and debate.