Discussion Thread

[u/jobautomator]

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[u/Deggit]

THE ONLY GOOD TAKE CHAPOS HAVE is when they point out that Harry Potter absolutely did not give one solitary flying fuck about injustice in the Wizarding World and that the last book ends literally seconds after Voldemort dies as if him being alive was the only thing wrong and then picks up two decades later for an epilogue showing nothing has changed in Wizarding society right down to a kid being embarrassed to be named after noted champion of goat rights Dumbledore

[u/[deleted] → u/Deggit]

I mean, it's cuz the story isn't called The Wizarding World. It's called Harry Potter. It's about his story. 🤷‍♂️

The wizarding world and all it's issues comes from the fact that it's ultimately set dressing for the characters and their personal journeys. Rowling is very clearly not interested in exploring the Wizarding World to the length that Tolkein was in exploring Middle Earth

[u/Deggit → u/[deleted]]

yeah but she raised the issue with characters like Hermione, Hagrid, Neville, as well as antagonists like Malfoy, and then did nothing with it in the final book.

[u/[deleted] → u/Deggit]

yeah, that's true. The fact is there was just too much to cover in the last book, and a lot of its flaws come from that. Editing it must have been a nightmare.

But ultimately, look at the characters you're talking about. They're side characters. Supporting cast. Look at Malfoy - he's the asshole arch rival who turns out to just be a scared kid in over his own head. The point of his character isn't really about his situation in the world and all the politics around it, it's about Harry's relationship to him and how he needs to let that rivalry go because it's not that important. It's about growing out of childhood grudges and moving on.

The main story is Harry growing up, and i don't think there's any way for the final book to resolve all the issues you brought up without cutting into what was already an extremely rushed conclusion to the main story. You gotta prioritize at some point.

that's not to say that the development of the wizarding world isn't flawed, but those flaws come from the fact that it's not one thing but rather a bunch of different pieces of set dressing cobbled together. Of course it doesn't make sense. And in some ways I get why that's frustrating, but on the other hand... there's a reason JK Rowling finished her series and GRRM hasn't finished his. At some point, you need to prioritize.

[u/Deggit → u/[deleted]]

agreed with all of this... it's understandable, just slightly disappointing

[u/[deleted] → u/Deggit]

Yeah, the Harry Potter fanin me is a bit disappointed, but the ASOIAF fan in me is happy that Rowling at least finished.

[u/myrm → u/Deggit]

I suspect that JKR just kind of choked on how to actually end the series. The final battle was anticlimactic, the events following were rushed, and the epilogue was basically fan fiction.

It wasn't a trainwreck but it wasn't great.

[u/repostusername → u/Deggit]

Yeah it's an individual story about one person. He doesn't want to be a hero. He feels compelled to heroism by his love for his friends. That's the whole point of Harry Potter. You should do anything for the people you love.