Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely love Harry Potter. I talk about Harry Potter a lot and I have so much Harry Potter merchandise that I'm always carrying my love for Harry around. So needless to say I was really excited to learn that there would be an eight story in the form of a play on West End and subsequently a book of the script. Earlier this week I shared all of my experience of getting my copy at midnight, and I wanted to do a follow up post on my thoughts of the story. There's been a lot of mixed responses from fans. I really loved the story but I did have a couple problems with the book and some other opinions (SPOILER WARNING) that I'm sharing down below.
Things I loved:
-The story: I loved being back in the wizarding world. Although the time travel elements don't make a lot of sense, I think that the story is a lot of fun and the descriptions sound like it will be amazing to see live.
-The Malfoy Family: I am so in love with Scorpius Malfoy as a character and his relationship with Albus (ngl I ship them). Scorpius is with out a doubt my favorite character in this story, and I couldn't stop comparing him to a puppy dog while reading his moments. He's basically the complete opposite of his father, and I loved that difference. I really enjoyed the Draco/Scorpius father and son dynamic a lot more than Albus and Harry's (although they had better development among them). I love that this book also expanded the Malfoy family's redemption arc that was touched upon in the last book.
-The Cursed Child: I really liked symbolism of "the Cursed Child" figure and how it had multiple meanings.
-Albus getting sorted into Slytherin: I really love the idea of the wizarding world evolving past the notion that all Slytherins are evil and I'm so happy that this was an element to the story. But the whole part where Harry had Albus get put into Gryffindor was so stupid.
-Harry's character development: Harry had some really weird characterization at the beginning of the play, but I really like how we got to dig deeper into his past, especially seeing the emotional trauma he suffered at the expense of the Dursley's and Harry's confrontation with Dumbledore. Additionally I really like how Albus and Harry were able to understand each other and the development that they both had to get to that point at the end.
-Hermione's job: I'm so obsessed with the fact that Hermione is Minister of Magic and the fact that her title didn't change because she's female.
Things I disliked:
-The trio's characterization: There was just something off to me about the way that the trio was characterized. I think the 19 year jump definitely had something to do with it, but they didn't feel like the same characters as they had in the previous book. There were elements where I recognized their traits but Ron seemed too much like a goofball in this. And not for one second would I buy into the idea that Harry would not support his son as a Slytherin and his choice of friends. These elements were my main issue with the plot.
-Alternate universe Hermione: I hate the idea that the only universe in which it seems that Hermione can become Minister of Magic is the one where she married Ron. I hate that it implies that Hermione's success is tied to a man, when it shouldn't be. I think that regardless of her relationship status, she would have found a way to become Minister.
-Characters: We get to revisit so many characters from the original story, but there are so many that were left out. I was not expecting to see either Snape or Cedric (I've seen people rant about his characterization a lot and I generally agree with what's been said), but I was expecting to see Teddy, Neville, more of the Weasley's, Hagrid, Hugo, Luna, and so many other characters. I was really hoping to see Teddy in this story and he wasn't even mentioned, I just want to know how he is, what he's doing and if he's still with Victoria. I also was hoping to get more from Astoria and to learn more about her, but she was hardly brushed upon. And with some of the characters we did get to see (Ginny, Rose, and Harry's other children) we didn't get to learn a lot about them and they were much more one dimensional than I hoped.
Alright so those are some of my opinions on The Cursed Child, it's already been over a week since I've read the play and I've had time to process a lot of the details that some people didn't like. I can understand why some people didn't like the story, but overall I just loved being back in the Harry Potter universe and I really enjoyed the story. Hopefully one day I'll be able to see it live. - Jessica
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