The Ron and Luna Show
Yes, I know it's been a while... But "The one who waits for something good, never waits too long", am I right? *gets pelted with vegetables* Oooh, cucumbers, my favorite!
*The screen is completely black.*
Announcer: *voice only* Last on The Ron and Luna Show.
*Clips in the form of flashbacks start speeding across the screen.*
Announcer: Shantari brings up the core of Ron/Luna's possibilites as a canon pairing.
*flashback* Shantari: Namely whether or not the romance is "there" enough, or if another romance would be likely.
Announcer: She reveals a organized side to herself.
*flashback* *Shantari pulls out a cliboard with a list clipped on to it.*
Announcer: Great surprises unveil themselves.
*flashback* Ron: Phil?
Announcer: The brightest witch of her and our age appears.
*flashback* *Hermione Granger enters the stage, shaking hands with Ron, Luna and finally Shantari.*
Announcer: As does the dream of every girl and quidditchfan.
*flashback* *Viktor Krum enters the stage under heavy loads of squealing from the females in the audience.*
Announcer: The true origin of the Yulebrawl finally revealed?
*flashback* Ron: It's just plain unfair, that's what it is!
Announcer: Our host makes a narrow escape from certain death.
*flashback* *Terry, the stageworker is trying to attack Shantari from behind in an uncontrolable rage, as the Announcer holds him back.*
Announcer: An amazing discovery is made.
*flashback* Shantari: We have a alloted time?
*Screen turns black again, aside from a close-up of the Announcer's face.*
Announcer: And now we reach the final conclusion to the question that must be answered! Regardless of interview, is Ron/Luna doomed in the books because of the books?
Shantari: Does this mean that we're through with the flashbacks?
*Screen zooms out to reveal the Announcer standing with his head infront of a piece of black paper held by Terry, and Shantari sitting as usual by her desk.*
Shantari: They were making me dizzy.
*Terry exits off the stage, carrying the piece of paper. The Announcer coughs.*
Announcer: Well, yes. No more flashbacks.
Shantari: Good, then lets say we get started.
Announcer: Right! Laaaaaadieeess and gentlemeeeen! I give you Shantari!
Shantari: Right! Today I'm going to start off by finishing what I was saying lastly, namely about the reason of the Gurdyroot-scene's existance. Also, we will be going into the development of Ron/Luna in both OotP and HBP, and how it could continue to develop in the seventh book. But fiiiiirst! Take it away, Phil!
Announcer: Laaaaadieeeesss and gentlemeeeeen, Ron and Luna Lovegood Weeeeeaaasley!
*Ron and Luna enters the scene as per usual, shaking hands with Shantari before seating themselves in their sofa.*
Shantari: Well then, to get started I would like to go through the Gurdyroot scene. And I'm afraid that it might be necessary to refresh our memories.
*Ron starts to stiffen in anticipated nervosity.*
Shantari: Take it away, Phil!
*The Announcer takes out his copy of the Half-Blood Prince, opens it up at a certain pagenumber and coughs a little.*
Announcer: "Nice commentary last match!" said Ron to Luna, as she took back the green onion, the toadstool and the cat litter.
Shantari: And stop! Now, as we notice, Ron is taking the initiative here, for the first time in their interaction together so far.
Ron: Whoah, hold it!
*Shantari looks surprisedely at Ron.*
Shantari: Are you saying that you didn't take the initiative here?
Ron: Well, ehh, I did take the initiative, because I had been hoping to get an opportunity to tell Luna how much I liked that commentary.
Shantari: Then what's the problem?
Ron: My problem is why didn't you just have the announcer read up that excerpt the last time we went over this scene? Why did you have to bring in a big screen TV with all the humiliating footage of me being a teenager?
*Shantari shrugs her shoulders.*
Shantari: More fun that way.
Shantari: Right then, moving on. Taking the initiative also showed Ron for the first time being actively interested in associating with Luna, as previously any interaction not depending on outer circumstances had been on Luna's initiative. Nicely enough he starts off with a compliment the first thing that he does, which coming from Ron is actually rather rare.
Ron: Hey!
Shantari: Well, isn't it? At least when you were a teenager and all.
*Ron shuffles his feet slightly.*
Ron: Yes, I guess so. Yeah, I know, I was a twat back then. Everybody was, even Harry could be at times.
Shantari: Right! You can continue now, Phil!
Announcer: Luna smiled vaguely.
"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" she said. "Everyone said I was dreadful."
Shantari: Now, some have, for some reason beyond me, taken Luna's initial reaction to his compliment to be showing of how little she thinks of Ron. But she does have every right to be questioning, besides knowing that Ron can be unkind. Likes she says: "Everyone said I was dreadful", she could have been tricked before by someone saying how they found the commentary to be good only to then go back on their words as soon as she'd gotten her hopes up. Interestingly enough you get the sense of a small hope of hopelessness in her vague smile. The feeling of "I wish I could believe you, because it would be nice to hear a compliment from you, but I've been let down before."
*The entire audience leaves out a Awww-sound in their sympathy for Luna.*
Shantari: Moving along.
*Shantari makes a rotating hand-gesture.*
Announcer: *silence*
Shantari: *clears her throat* *coughs*
Announcer: *more silence
*Frustrated, Shantari finally throws a eraser, hitting the Announcer straight in the head.*
Shantari: That means continue reading, for crying out loud!
Announcer: Oh yes, sorry. My bad.
*The Announcer clears his throat again.*
Announcer: "No, I'm serious!" said Ron earnestly. "I can't remember enjoying commentary more! What is this, by the way?" he added, holding the onionlike object up to eye-level.
Shantari: Alright, now this is interesting. First off, the word earnestly is used. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary earnest is "characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind". In other words, Ron was in an intense and serious state of mind when he was assuring Luna that his compliment to her, the first one she had heard, was honest and serious. This shows Ron in an entirely new light, as he isn't usually the serious guy. Except for the case of highly intense situations, it's mostly Harry and Hermione out of the trio that displays serious minds. Secondly, he goes as far as saying that he couldn't "remember enjoying commentary more". This quite easily defutes the idea that Ron only enjoyed the commentary because it painted guys he didn't like a in a bad light. He has heard commentary from Lee Jordan that has pulled down other cocky people he has had reason to dislike, so if that was his only reason to enjoy it, saying that he couldn't remember enjoying it more is clear overkill.
It's also very interesting how he not only continues the conversation by changing topic, rather than to just settle with having told her about the commentary, but that he also does so by asking her about one of the highly odd things that Luna had put into his hands.
Luna: There's nothing odd with Gurdyroots. The truth is that if all wizard households had a plentiful supply of Gurdyroots in their cupboards, as is just common sense, then all matters of Plimpie-related diseases and property damage could be avoided.
Ron: It's true you know. I mean, back then I didn't have the faintest idea about it, but now I realise how important it is to spread the message. Never neglect your Gurdyroot supply, only you can prevent Plimpie-infestations in your home.
Shantari: *drops her jaw* Wow... That was more than I knew. Should muggles also be concerned?
Luna: That we don't know of as yet.
Ron: Even wizards have difficulty to tell the difference between a Plimpie-infestation and damages caused by humidity and rats, so there's no way to be sure.
Shantari: A bit more information than I needed... Anyway, as I was saying. He asks her about something that he at a earlier stage in the books would have considered too weird for him. It is one of the things in this scene that show Ron's maturation which few scenes in the book otherwise shows. Also it displays one of the usual tell tale signs of having a romantic interest in another person, namely that of taking an interest in their interests and in getting to know them.
Announcer: "Oh it's a Gurdyroot," she said-
Shantari: Thank you, Phil, but that won't be necessary.
Announcer: No? But we were just getting to the good parts!
Shantari: Yes, but everything else shippy about that scene has been covered before. The more important question about that scene, is its overall purpose.
Shantari: If we were to look at the scene in its whole in the book, it is an overall fairly long scene. This in a book that is smaller, and thus tighter than its predecessor. Looking at it for pure plot service, it does nothing. The note that Luna brings Harry, could have and have been brought by anyone else. The Gurdyroot doesn't play a role within HBP itself, and overall it doesn't add to anything else happening in the book plotwise. Since plot and filler can be ruled out, I believe this has to have its purpose in character development. In the IoD JK Rowling told us that this is the book where Ron matures. Like I earlier stated, this is one of few if not the only scene where we get to see Ron being more mature than he had been in previous books. So therefor it's interesting that Ron's display of maturity is in relation with Luna, for two reasons: 1) Seeing as JK specifically said that he had matured in terms of relationships with the other gender, one would think that Ron would be shown to display this maturity while interacting with the one girl he will have a serious relationship with. 2) In HBP, especially if one compairs with OotP, Luna is more in the background. So to have her be in a important character-scene with Ron seems a bit exotic. What I'm trying to say is that Luna draws attention away from a scene that is important for Ron. Or that would be how one would have to view her presence there, unless one were to consider that she was there because Ron's character-scene was related to her.
Shantar: *drinks a glass of water* Woah!
Announcer: Don't overdo it.
Shantari: Thanks for the concern. So, this scene had a very present and very unnecessary feel of Ron/Luna over it. If Luna hadn't been the one to bring the note, the book would have overall still been the same. It didn't bring anything new besides showcasing the new dynamics between Ron and Luna. Which brings me to the next point: The devlopment of Ron/Luna through OotP and HBP.
Ron: You're not going to whip up any books or screens now, are you?
Shantari: Don't be silly, have you never heard of powerpoint?
Ron: Power-what?
Luna: I think I've heard of those... Aren't they a kind of muggle battery?
Shantari: Hm, maybe we should just do it the old fashioned way. Jerry! Bring out the white board.
Stageworker Terry: For the last time it's Terry.
Shantari: Didn't I say that?
*Terry sighs, but rolls out the white board regardless.*
Shantari: *picks up a pen and starts writing* So, in the beginning of OotP Ron and Luna have their first meeting, as far as the reader knows. Did you guys know each other from before?
Ron: Both yes and no.
Luna: We didn't really know each other by name, although we had seen each other before. I of course knew of Ron, as-
Shantari: Ehh, Luna, no long answers please, we can take that in a different episode.
Stageworker Terry: *under his breath* If there ever are any...
Shantari: So, lets count that as their first meeting, as it at any rate is the first time the reader gets to see them interact with one another. What we first notice is that Luna gives Ron much more attention than she gave even Harry Potter, peculiar considering her upbringing as a witch. Ron on the other hand seems to be mostly confused by her. The rest of the book mostly has smaller hints of Luna thinking of Ron, and Ron thinking of Luna. Also Luna telling only Ron good luck seems to make it clear that Luna likes or liked Ron just as he was. Then they went to the Department of Mysteries, where they fought side by side. Although we did not see much of it, what we did see was that Luna got to meet the less pleasant parts of Ron. This leads us up to HBP, where Luna clearly says that she knows of Ron's bad sides. The interesting part here is that through the quidditch commentary, and Ron having it as his only link to the quidditch game, Ron got to see and appreciate the good sides of Luna. So when Ron and Luna meet after the quidditch game, there's a role reversal from their first meeting in that now it is Ron that gives the positive attention to Luna, whereas she is the apprehensive one. This means that we've gone from their unequal original positions, and come to a stage where both can view each other fully as they are, the good and the bad. Ron though, still has to convince Luna that he does like her, and that she has a dampening effect on his bad sides.
Ron: You know we're sitting right here...
Luna: But I think she's talking about the Ron and Luna that will be in the last book.
Shantari: Yes, exactly. And it's in this book that Ron and Luna still can get together as a couple, because of the changes in their relationship through the books have opened up the path. So what do you think?
White board:
1. Luna gives positive attention to Ron, Ron is questioning.
2. Ron/Luna on each others' minds.
3. Luna sees Ron's bad sides.
4. Ron sees Luna's good sides.
5. Ron gives positive attention to Luna, Luna is questioning.
6. ? Lots of snogging? Maybe?
Luna: I can go for number six. *snogs Ron's brains out*
Shantari: *slightily embarrassed* So anyway, that's that for the final part of episode 3. I bid you good night, or a good morning, or a day for doing good things. And now, a word from our sponsor.
*The screen is completely black.*
Announcer: *voice only* Last on The Ron and Luna Show.
*Clips in the form of flashbacks start speeding across the screen.*
Announcer: Shantari brings up the core of Ron/Luna's possibilites as a canon pairing.
*flashback* Shantari: Namely whether or not the romance is "there" enough, or if another romance would be likely.
Announcer: She reveals a organized side to herself.
*flashback* *Shantari pulls out a cliboard with a list clipped on to it.*
Announcer: Great surprises unveil themselves.
*flashback* Ron: Phil?
Announcer: The brightest witch of her and our age appears.
*flashback* *Hermione Granger enters the stage, shaking hands with Ron, Luna and finally Shantari.*
Announcer: As does the dream of every girl and quidditchfan.
*flashback* *Viktor Krum enters the stage under heavy loads of squealing from the females in the audience.*
Announcer: The true origin of the Yulebrawl finally revealed?
*flashback* Ron: It's just plain unfair, that's what it is!
Announcer: Our host makes a narrow escape from certain death.
*flashback* *Terry, the stageworker is trying to attack Shantari from behind in an uncontrolable rage, as the Announcer holds him back.*
Announcer: An amazing discovery is made.
*flashback* Shantari: We have a alloted time?
*Screen turns black again, aside from a close-up of the Announcer's face.*
Announcer: And now we reach the final conclusion to the question that must be answered! Regardless of interview, is Ron/Luna doomed in the books because of the books?
Shantari: Does this mean that we're through with the flashbacks?
*Screen zooms out to reveal the Announcer standing with his head infront of a piece of black paper held by Terry, and Shantari sitting as usual by her desk.*
Shantari: They were making me dizzy.
*Terry exits off the stage, carrying the piece of paper. The Announcer coughs.*
Announcer: Well, yes. No more flashbacks.
Shantari: Good, then lets say we get started.
Announcer: Right! Laaaaaadieeess and gentlemeeeen! I give you Shantari!
Shantari: Right! Today I'm going to start off by finishing what I was saying lastly, namely about the reason of the Gurdyroot-scene's existance. Also, we will be going into the development of Ron/Luna in both OotP and HBP, and how it could continue to develop in the seventh book. But fiiiiirst! Take it away, Phil!
Announcer: Laaaaadieeeesss and gentlemeeeeen, Ron and Luna Lovegood Weeeeeaaasley!
*Ron and Luna enters the scene as per usual, shaking hands with Shantari before seating themselves in their sofa.*
Shantari: Well then, to get started I would like to go through the Gurdyroot scene. And I'm afraid that it might be necessary to refresh our memories.
*Ron starts to stiffen in anticipated nervosity.*
Shantari: Take it away, Phil!
*The Announcer takes out his copy of the Half-Blood Prince, opens it up at a certain pagenumber and coughs a little.*
Announcer: "Nice commentary last match!" said Ron to Luna, as she took back the green onion, the toadstool and the cat litter.
Shantari: And stop! Now, as we notice, Ron is taking the initiative here, for the first time in their interaction together so far.
Ron: Whoah, hold it!
*Shantari looks surprisedely at Ron.*
Shantari: Are you saying that you didn't take the initiative here?
Ron: Well, ehh, I did take the initiative, because I had been hoping to get an opportunity to tell Luna how much I liked that commentary.
Shantari: Then what's the problem?
Ron: My problem is why didn't you just have the announcer read up that excerpt the last time we went over this scene? Why did you have to bring in a big screen TV with all the humiliating footage of me being a teenager?
*Shantari shrugs her shoulders.*
Shantari: More fun that way.
Shantari: Right then, moving on. Taking the initiative also showed Ron for the first time being actively interested in associating with Luna, as previously any interaction not depending on outer circumstances had been on Luna's initiative. Nicely enough he starts off with a compliment the first thing that he does, which coming from Ron is actually rather rare.
Ron: Hey!
Shantari: Well, isn't it? At least when you were a teenager and all.
*Ron shuffles his feet slightly.*
Ron: Yes, I guess so. Yeah, I know, I was a twat back then. Everybody was, even Harry could be at times.
Shantari: Right! You can continue now, Phil!
Announcer: Luna smiled vaguely.
"You're making fun of me, aren't you?" she said. "Everyone said I was dreadful."
Shantari: Now, some have, for some reason beyond me, taken Luna's initial reaction to his compliment to be showing of how little she thinks of Ron. But she does have every right to be questioning, besides knowing that Ron can be unkind. Likes she says: "Everyone said I was dreadful", she could have been tricked before by someone saying how they found the commentary to be good only to then go back on their words as soon as she'd gotten her hopes up. Interestingly enough you get the sense of a small hope of hopelessness in her vague smile. The feeling of "I wish I could believe you, because it would be nice to hear a compliment from you, but I've been let down before."
*The entire audience leaves out a Awww-sound in their sympathy for Luna.*
Shantari: Moving along.
*Shantari makes a rotating hand-gesture.*
Announcer: *silence*
Shantari: *clears her throat* *coughs*
Announcer: *more silence
*Frustrated, Shantari finally throws a eraser, hitting the Announcer straight in the head.*
Shantari: That means continue reading, for crying out loud!
Announcer: Oh yes, sorry. My bad.
*The Announcer clears his throat again.*
Announcer: "No, I'm serious!" said Ron earnestly. "I can't remember enjoying commentary more! What is this, by the way?" he added, holding the onionlike object up to eye-level.
Shantari: Alright, now this is interesting. First off, the word earnestly is used. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary earnest is "characterized by or proceeding from an intense and serious state of mind". In other words, Ron was in an intense and serious state of mind when he was assuring Luna that his compliment to her, the first one she had heard, was honest and serious. This shows Ron in an entirely new light, as he isn't usually the serious guy. Except for the case of highly intense situations, it's mostly Harry and Hermione out of the trio that displays serious minds. Secondly, he goes as far as saying that he couldn't "remember enjoying commentary more". This quite easily defutes the idea that Ron only enjoyed the commentary because it painted guys he didn't like a in a bad light. He has heard commentary from Lee Jordan that has pulled down other cocky people he has had reason to dislike, so if that was his only reason to enjoy it, saying that he couldn't remember enjoying it more is clear overkill.
It's also very interesting how he not only continues the conversation by changing topic, rather than to just settle with having told her about the commentary, but that he also does so by asking her about one of the highly odd things that Luna had put into his hands.
Luna: There's nothing odd with Gurdyroots. The truth is that if all wizard households had a plentiful supply of Gurdyroots in their cupboards, as is just common sense, then all matters of Plimpie-related diseases and property damage could be avoided.
Ron: It's true you know. I mean, back then I didn't have the faintest idea about it, but now I realise how important it is to spread the message. Never neglect your Gurdyroot supply, only you can prevent Plimpie-infestations in your home.
Shantari: *drops her jaw* Wow... That was more than I knew. Should muggles also be concerned?
Luna: That we don't know of as yet.
Ron: Even wizards have difficulty to tell the difference between a Plimpie-infestation and damages caused by humidity and rats, so there's no way to be sure.
Shantari: A bit more information than I needed... Anyway, as I was saying. He asks her about something that he at a earlier stage in the books would have considered too weird for him. It is one of the things in this scene that show Ron's maturation which few scenes in the book otherwise shows. Also it displays one of the usual tell tale signs of having a romantic interest in another person, namely that of taking an interest in their interests and in getting to know them.
Announcer: "Oh it's a Gurdyroot," she said-
Shantari: Thank you, Phil, but that won't be necessary.
Announcer: No? But we were just getting to the good parts!
Shantari: Yes, but everything else shippy about that scene has been covered before. The more important question about that scene, is its overall purpose.
Shantari: If we were to look at the scene in its whole in the book, it is an overall fairly long scene. This in a book that is smaller, and thus tighter than its predecessor. Looking at it for pure plot service, it does nothing. The note that Luna brings Harry, could have and have been brought by anyone else. The Gurdyroot doesn't play a role within HBP itself, and overall it doesn't add to anything else happening in the book plotwise. Since plot and filler can be ruled out, I believe this has to have its purpose in character development. In the IoD JK Rowling told us that this is the book where Ron matures. Like I earlier stated, this is one of few if not the only scene where we get to see Ron being more mature than he had been in previous books. So therefor it's interesting that Ron's display of maturity is in relation with Luna, for two reasons: 1) Seeing as JK specifically said that he had matured in terms of relationships with the other gender, one would think that Ron would be shown to display this maturity while interacting with the one girl he will have a serious relationship with. 2) In HBP, especially if one compairs with OotP, Luna is more in the background. So to have her be in a important character-scene with Ron seems a bit exotic. What I'm trying to say is that Luna draws attention away from a scene that is important for Ron. Or that would be how one would have to view her presence there, unless one were to consider that she was there because Ron's character-scene was related to her.
Shantar: *drinks a glass of water* Woah!
Announcer: Don't overdo it.
Shantari: Thanks for the concern. So, this scene had a very present and very unnecessary feel of Ron/Luna over it. If Luna hadn't been the one to bring the note, the book would have overall still been the same. It didn't bring anything new besides showcasing the new dynamics between Ron and Luna. Which brings me to the next point: The devlopment of Ron/Luna through OotP and HBP.
Ron: You're not going to whip up any books or screens now, are you?
Shantari: Don't be silly, have you never heard of powerpoint?
Ron: Power-what?
Luna: I think I've heard of those... Aren't they a kind of muggle battery?
Shantari: Hm, maybe we should just do it the old fashioned way. Jerry! Bring out the white board.
Stageworker Terry: For the last time it's Terry.
Shantari: Didn't I say that?
*Terry sighs, but rolls out the white board regardless.*
Shantari: *picks up a pen and starts writing* So, in the beginning of OotP Ron and Luna have their first meeting, as far as the reader knows. Did you guys know each other from before?
Ron: Both yes and no.
Luna: We didn't really know each other by name, although we had seen each other before. I of course knew of Ron, as-
Shantari: Ehh, Luna, no long answers please, we can take that in a different episode.
Stageworker Terry: *under his breath* If there ever are any...
Shantari: So, lets count that as their first meeting, as it at any rate is the first time the reader gets to see them interact with one another. What we first notice is that Luna gives Ron much more attention than she gave even Harry Potter, peculiar considering her upbringing as a witch. Ron on the other hand seems to be mostly confused by her. The rest of the book mostly has smaller hints of Luna thinking of Ron, and Ron thinking of Luna. Also Luna telling only Ron good luck seems to make it clear that Luna likes or liked Ron just as he was. Then they went to the Department of Mysteries, where they fought side by side. Although we did not see much of it, what we did see was that Luna got to meet the less pleasant parts of Ron. This leads us up to HBP, where Luna clearly says that she knows of Ron's bad sides. The interesting part here is that through the quidditch commentary, and Ron having it as his only link to the quidditch game, Ron got to see and appreciate the good sides of Luna. So when Ron and Luna meet after the quidditch game, there's a role reversal from their first meeting in that now it is Ron that gives the positive attention to Luna, whereas she is the apprehensive one. This means that we've gone from their unequal original positions, and come to a stage where both can view each other fully as they are, the good and the bad. Ron though, still has to convince Luna that he does like her, and that she has a dampening effect on his bad sides.
Ron: You know we're sitting right here...
Luna: But I think she's talking about the Ron and Luna that will be in the last book.
Shantari: Yes, exactly. And it's in this book that Ron and Luna still can get together as a couple, because of the changes in their relationship through the books have opened up the path. So what do you think?
White board:
1. Luna gives positive attention to Ron, Ron is questioning.
2. Ron/Luna on each others' minds.
3. Luna sees Ron's bad sides.
4. Ron sees Luna's good sides.
5. Ron gives positive attention to Luna, Luna is questioning.
6. ? Lots of snogging? Maybe?
Luna: I can go for number six. *snogs Ron's brains out*
Shantari: *slightily embarrassed* So anyway, that's that for the final part of episode 3. I bid you good night, or a good morning, or a day for doing good things. And now, a word from our sponsor.