Severus Snape: Friend or Foe?

[MaxWeiss]

I put this here and not elsewhere because I want people who respond to provide evidence from the series of Harry Potter books as to why the think he's a good guy or bad guy, and also because I think a lot of analysis into the moral mindset of the characters will be very interesting and entertaining. If mods need to move this thread, then so be it!

I also think with enough dissecting of the book we can derive a good lot of what book seven will be. Anyways, back to Snape... Despite the end of book 6, I think he is on the good guy's side. He made that promise at the beginning to protect Draco at all costs and did what he had to do. In the next book, it seems probable that, after explaining himself, he will play a double agent and be very useful.

Thoughts? Or am I just a royal douche for 1) liking Harry Potter, and 2) posting about it here.

[madnak]

Friend, totally. Spoilers! (In case you didn't expect that by now.)

Dumbledore's complete confidence in him.
The vague last words of Dumbledore.
Snape has plenty of motive to kill D in that situation if he's a friend, but his actions through the series are inconsistent if he's a foe.
Strange inclusion of the oath - it could only have thematic relevance if Snape's a friend.
Snape was in love with Lily Potter - that's not just going to slip through the cracks.
It would result in a clean resolution and be an epic (if predictable) plot twist.

[NotReady]

What madnak said. Plus some time ago I read a Potter forum (eek!) and one theory is that D was terminally ill from the wound he received so Snape was just taking him out early to keep Draco from crossing over to the dark side completely - D thought Draco could still be redeemed.

I wonder if JK will change things because of all the speculations.

[FortunaMaximus]

Over/under on Potterism becoming an established religion within five hundred years? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

It already has cult status... A good guy, a bad guy, a girl, myths, magickal stuffs.

(I've never picked up one of 'em or bothered watching the flicks. So I'm gonna make fun from a distance, politely.)

[madnak]

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Over/under on Potterism becoming an established religion within five hundred years? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

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Hey, if it can get both me and NotReady on board, maybe it's the faith of the ages.

[FortunaMaximus]

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Over/under on Potterism becoming an established religion within five hundred years? /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

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Hey, if it can get both me and NotReady on board, maybe it's the faith of the ages.

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It's not a horrible concept. A planet that's all Hollywood, baby.

Fade to black, oh, hi, next show rolls on for ya.

Seems like cheating, though. Oh, well.

[NotReady]

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(I've never picked up one of 'em or bothered watching the flicks. So I'm gonna make fun from a distance, politely.)


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You have the heart of a muggle./images/graemlins/cool.gif

Siskel and Ebert used to have a category of film they called "guilty pleasures". These were movies they couldn't really call "good" from a critic's standpoint but there was something fun or entertaining or even uplifting about them. I call the Potter series, books and movies, one of my guilty pleasures. The books are certainly not "literature" and the movies aren't really "classics". But they are fun to read though I rarely think about them for long. Can't wait for number 7, though. Will probably reread the first 6 as the publishing date approaches.

[FortunaMaximus]

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(I've never picked up one of 'em or bothered watching the flicks. So I'm gonna make fun from a distance, politely.)


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You have the heart of a muggle./images/graemlins/cool.gif

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Oh, come now. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif (Yeah, Wiki.)

It's a matter of genre preference. Perhaps this particluar muggle has learned the value of voicing his more extraordinary conclusions towards the realm of fiction.

If I mock politely, there certainly is no substance of meanness behind it. <shrugs>

Clarke's Third Law: Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic. /images/graemlins/cool.gif Good enough for me.

[ChrisV]

I'd be shocked if anyone who has read the whole series thought Snape would turn out bad. Also, I'd be very surprised if Draco doesn't redeem himself before the end. A more interesting question (and subject of a lot of betting lines on the internet) is whether Harry will die at the end of book 7. I'm leaning not, but I guess we'll see.

[ChrisV]

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(I've never picked up one of 'em or bothered watching the flicks. So I'm gonna make fun from a distance, politely.)

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If you ever decide to venture into the world, I highly recommend the third movie, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Directed by Alfonso Cuaron. Not merely vastly superior to the other films, but actually a good film in it own right.

[MaxWeiss]

I'm very surprised at all the people who think Draco is going to turn out good. I think it's a definite possibility, but I think he's more likely to stay on the dark side forever.

[ChrisV]

There has to be one story of redemption somewhere in the saga. I'll bet on it with you at evens if you like.

[NotReady]

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I'm very surprised at all the people who think Draco is going to turn out good.


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I'm pretty sure about Snapes, less about Draco. I like the theory that Dumbledore and Snapes agreed to have Snapes kill D. because he was about dead anyway to prevent Draco from taking the final step. But that whole theory could be wrong.

One thing about Rowling, even if she doesn't have the best literary style. She's excellent at plotting, and especially mystery. It wouldn't surprise me if she wrote some straight, Christie-like mysteries after Potter.

[MaxWeiss]

I'm not sure enough to make a bet out of it--for my comfort level, I need to be at least a 60-40 in my estimate to justify taking a wager like this where I have so little info--but I'm looking forward to bragging about being right, if I am.

[critikal]

I say foe. Only because everyone who talks about Harry Potter comes up with some excuse for why he killed Dumbledore and I'd like to see them all be wrong.