My Thoughts on The Deathly Hallows (massive spoilers behind the cut)
When I was in P.Town I finished re-reading "Half Blood Prince" and I posted some of my theories as to what I thought would happen in "The Deathly Hallows". In this post I'm gonna write a bit about the book and also go over how/if any of what I predicted came to pass.
Having said this...
Don't Read This Post Unless You Want to See Spoilers!
Don't Comment on This Post Unless You Want to Maybe See Spoilers Within Other Comments!
So, first off let me say that this book was excellent. Rowling has done such an admirable job with the series. To set up the first two books with a very child-like take on the wonders of the wizarding world and have her style mature right along with Harry and Company as the series progressed. At the end of Goblet we knew we were in for some serious shit and Rowling did not handle death and growing up with gentle hands. Folks died and it sucked but in the end we were able to see just what "For the Greater Good" could actually mean.
Death Count
Mad Eye - Damn, he was pretty cool. Props to Harry for taking care of the Eye. I want to know what happened to Umbridge once order was restored!
Hedwig - Whatev - sorry, I was never a fan of that little rat with wings.
Dobby - Who would have thought I would have cared about Dobby? Props to JK for making this so poignant and heartfelt.
Fred - Sooooooo not cool. That was a tough one for me. Fred and George... Damn.
Snape - I actually thought this would go down differently but I think I liked it better this way. It really sealed the deal on what a short sighted, power hungry, and totally evil person Voldermort was and made Snape's sacrifice all the more meaningful. The majority of his life spent in honor of a woman who never really returned his love.
Tonks and Lupin - This one really got to me. When they are described lying next to Fred on the cold floor of the meeting hall I totally teared up (wasn't the first or last time).
Creevey - Poor little guy.
Crabbe (or was it Goyle?) - Good riddance except that one of 'em is sorta cute in the movies so I hope they killed the one that isn't cute.
Harry - Was done so perfectly. You would have thought it'd be obvious to go down this way but I love that J.K. was able to make both camps (harry dies, harry lives) correct to an extent.
Greyback - wish he had gotten it worse.
Bellatrix - Hells yes Mrs. Weasley... That's all I gotta say
Voldermort - Again, I really liked how this went down. J.K. was able to give us a complete character in the end so that you could see not only his motivations but his flaws. And not in a base, good vs. evil way, but in ways beyond that. We knew why he had chosen and gone down the path he did and we knew why he was doomed to fail. But we couldn't see it clearly until the final moments of his downfall.
Harry as Aslan - Almost crossed the line here with his entrance into V's gang and them all laughing and reacting to his death and then Hagrid carrying him up the hill. But it worked and I think it was the best way to move things along. We needed a moment where V and Company could have their perceived moment of victory to make their comeuppance all the sweeter.
Harry at Kings Cross - So the baby was Voldermort I take it? It was 3am and I wasn't quite able to wrap my head around it.
Dudley - Good ol' Dudders...
Ron and Hermione - I like that she didn't forgive him when he came back and I love that it was his line about the house elves that made her run into his arms. That was awesome.
Neville - What a pimp. I was actually hoping Harry would be a professor at Hogwarts but as he would be the Dark Arts professor maybe there just isn't as much a need for one anymore?
Hallows - Enjoyed the entire plot-line. I did get a little weary of all of Dumbledor's history (so many names to hold onto) but I knew it was all information that was needed.
On the Run - Again, this was the only part of the book that I grew weary of and only at the times when the characters had hit their highest level of frustration so I think it works all the same. I wanted the action to pick up just as much as they did.
Harry as Horcrux - Props to
maverick1303. You called it!
My Predictions - Well, I was only right about one thing and it was the most obvious - that being Snape on the side of Dumbledor all along. In the 19 Years Later section it was totally cool to see that they had named their son Albus Severus - again, I teared up a little when Harry refers to him and his bravery.
Dumbledor Flawed - Perfect. If anything I think that's what I've enjoyed the most throughout the series. None of these folks are perfect. None of them are heroes. They make mistakes even with the best of intentions. It makes them human and while we aren't witches and wizards we can at least relate to them.
Language - Again, nice to see them actually curse some and again, keep it real...
19 Years Later - it was like eating soft serve ice cream on the 4th of July. Gooey, yummy, satisfying goodness. I was surprised that Harry kept his scar though. I really thought he'd lose it when V'd soul was released. Props to procreation too. Way to go with the offspring!
Movie - I think this is going to be a blast to see in the theater. I'm curious how they will relate a lot of it when so much of it is written accounts/history.
So sad to see it end. I miss them already..
Having said this...
Don't Read This Post Unless You Want to See Spoilers!
Don't Comment on This Post Unless You Want to Maybe See Spoilers Within Other Comments!
So, first off let me say that this book was excellent. Rowling has done such an admirable job with the series. To set up the first two books with a very child-like take on the wonders of the wizarding world and have her style mature right along with Harry and Company as the series progressed. At the end of Goblet we knew we were in for some serious shit and Rowling did not handle death and growing up with gentle hands. Folks died and it sucked but in the end we were able to see just what "For the Greater Good" could actually mean.
Death Count
Mad Eye - Damn, he was pretty cool. Props to Harry for taking care of the Eye. I want to know what happened to Umbridge once order was restored!
Hedwig - Whatev - sorry, I was never a fan of that little rat with wings.
Dobby - Who would have thought I would have cared about Dobby? Props to JK for making this so poignant and heartfelt.
Fred - Sooooooo not cool. That was a tough one for me. Fred and George... Damn.
Snape - I actually thought this would go down differently but I think I liked it better this way. It really sealed the deal on what a short sighted, power hungry, and totally evil person Voldermort was and made Snape's sacrifice all the more meaningful. The majority of his life spent in honor of a woman who never really returned his love.
Tonks and Lupin - This one really got to me. When they are described lying next to Fred on the cold floor of the meeting hall I totally teared up (wasn't the first or last time).
Creevey - Poor little guy.
Crabbe (or was it Goyle?) - Good riddance except that one of 'em is sorta cute in the movies so I hope they killed the one that isn't cute.
Harry - Was done so perfectly. You would have thought it'd be obvious to go down this way but I love that J.K. was able to make both camps (harry dies, harry lives) correct to an extent.
Greyback - wish he had gotten it worse.
Bellatrix - Hells yes Mrs. Weasley... That's all I gotta say
Voldermort - Again, I really liked how this went down. J.K. was able to give us a complete character in the end so that you could see not only his motivations but his flaws. And not in a base, good vs. evil way, but in ways beyond that. We knew why he had chosen and gone down the path he did and we knew why he was doomed to fail. But we couldn't see it clearly until the final moments of his downfall.
Harry as Aslan - Almost crossed the line here with his entrance into V's gang and them all laughing and reacting to his death and then Hagrid carrying him up the hill. But it worked and I think it was the best way to move things along. We needed a moment where V and Company could have their perceived moment of victory to make their comeuppance all the sweeter.
Harry at Kings Cross - So the baby was Voldermort I take it? It was 3am and I wasn't quite able to wrap my head around it.
Dudley - Good ol' Dudders...
Ron and Hermione - I like that she didn't forgive him when he came back and I love that it was his line about the house elves that made her run into his arms. That was awesome.
Neville - What a pimp. I was actually hoping Harry would be a professor at Hogwarts but as he would be the Dark Arts professor maybe there just isn't as much a need for one anymore?
Hallows - Enjoyed the entire plot-line. I did get a little weary of all of Dumbledor's history (so many names to hold onto) but I knew it was all information that was needed.
On the Run - Again, this was the only part of the book that I grew weary of and only at the times when the characters had hit their highest level of frustration so I think it works all the same. I wanted the action to pick up just as much as they did.
Harry as Horcrux - Props to
maverick1303. You called it!
My Predictions - Well, I was only right about one thing and it was the most obvious - that being Snape on the side of Dumbledor all along. In the 19 Years Later section it was totally cool to see that they had named their son Albus Severus - again, I teared up a little when Harry refers to him and his bravery.
Dumbledor Flawed - Perfect. If anything I think that's what I've enjoyed the most throughout the series. None of these folks are perfect. None of them are heroes. They make mistakes even with the best of intentions. It makes them human and while we aren't witches and wizards we can at least relate to them.
Language - Again, nice to see them actually curse some and again, keep it real...
19 Years Later - it was like eating soft serve ice cream on the 4th of July. Gooey, yummy, satisfying goodness. I was surprised that Harry kept his scar though. I really thought he'd lose it when V'd soul was released. Props to procreation too. Way to go with the offspring!
Movie - I think this is going to be a blast to see in the theater. I'm curious how they will relate a lot of it when so much of it is written accounts/history.
So sad to see it end. I miss them already..