Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

<u>DO NO READ THIS THREAD IF YOU HAVE NOT READ THE BOOK AND DON'T WANT TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. THIS THREAD IS FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE READ IT TO DISCUSS IT OPENLY WITHOUT HAVING TO POST IN WHITE. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED</u>

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

I was surprised by a few things.

Firstly, as mentioned in the other thread the book was really slow in the middle. The first couple hundred pages were exciting and the last couple hundred incredible but the middle seemed to drag on and on.

It was a lot darker and more adult than I was expecting. There was some line about a Merlin's hanging left ----- which referred clearly to his left nut, they said "effin" repeatedly, and Mrs. Weasley referred to Bellatrix as a bitch. I wasn't really expecting that. Plus a lot more sideshow characters died than I was expecting.

On the other hand I expected one of Ron, Hermione, Harry, and I guess including Ginny to die. That none did was surprising given what Rowling had said.

I felt like the perfect ending actually would have been to have Harry die when was AKed, which would then kill Voldemort. They would have to have killed the snake somehow though I guess. I tend not to like happy endings that seem to come out of nowhere and while this wasn't really that I think having an ending that was less completely happy would have been good. Only Fred dying was the real downer.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

Ill start...What did yall think of the epilogue? It was probably the only part of the book i was disappointed with...I mean heck after 750+ pages..She couldnt extend it out another 20 or so to give us a real "where are they now" situation. I wanted to confirm that Harry and Ginny and Ron/Hermione ended up together but I also would have liked to know what else was going to happen.

I mean lets be honest. Harry wasnt going to ever just lead a normal life, but JK made it sound like he was just a plain old person.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ill start...What did yall think of the epilogue? It was probably the only part of the book i was disappointed with...I mean heck after 750+ pages..She couldnt extend it out another 20 or so to give us a real "where are they now" situation. I wanted to confirm that Harry and Ginny and Ron/Hermione ended up together but I also would have liked to know what else was going to happen.

I mean lets be honest. Harry wasnt going to ever just lead a normal life, but JK made it sound like he was just a plain old person.

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The epilogue was pretty crappy IMO. It contributed nothing, and the book would have been better without it.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

The epilogue I felt was just a way JK of saying "After Book 7 nothing bad happened to Harry. Voldy stayed dead, DEAD. No one touch my works and write Book 8!"

I felt the book picked up around the Gringotts section and really started going strong at Hog's Head what with learning Neville's granny can whup people still, DA was back, every living good guy somehow came in a moment's notice to fight, Harry giving the one guy Crucio, etc...

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

I have said this some other places but I think it would have been very cool to end the book after chapter 34 (Kings Cross).

Instead they went with an incredibly cliche and cheesy ending, which while not unexpected, was a bit disappointing.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

That ending was way too obvious. I wish JK had been more creative. It was plain in sight for miles. As for the epilogue, I agree with the poster before me who said JK did it to ensure no further HP books. If I were JK I would've ended with Harry's death and continued the series with Teddy in a similar situation as the one Harry was left off in, with a destitute world. That would've been way better and she could've left the reigns to write for someone else.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ill start...What did yall think of the epilogue? It was probably the only part of the book i was disappointed with...I mean heck after 750+ pages..She couldnt extend it out another 20 or so to give us a real "where are they now" situation. I wanted to confirm that Harry and Ginny and Ron/Hermione ended up together but I also would have liked to know what else was going to happen.

I mean lets be honest. Harry wasnt going to ever just lead a normal life, but JK made it sound like he was just a plain old person.

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I would have liked to know what happened to the Death Eaters after Voldemort died. Did they all go to Azkaban? Also, did the climax completely kill off the dark magic movement or would they have just gone underground?

I would have liked to learn more about whether there would still be any sort of fight afterward or even on the horizon. I guess Malfoy acknowledging them is maybe a sign of concession but he sort of came out as being all talk and not much of a dark wizard anyway. Maybe a line about Harry vowing to fight it wherever it was would have been good.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

The epilogue closed the door on "More Harry!" type stuff. I liked it for that purpose, it brought finality both internally and externally.

I really enjoyed the book, and never felt it was slow at any time. I think a "happy ending" was appropriate, although ending it with Harry's sacrifice would have been pretty impressive. Still, I think Harry sacrificing himself was pretty cool. It worked, it worked very well.

One of my ways to judge a book's greatness is how badly when I finish I wish I could go back and reread it all over again for the first time. I definitely feel this way today. I do get to sorta enjoy it all over again though as my 10 year old daughter is working her way through it. This whole series has been a really cool bonding thing with us.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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The epilogue closed the door on "More Harry!" type stuff. I liked it for that purpose, it brought finality both internally and externally.

I really enjoyed the book, and never felt it was slow at any time. I think a "happy ending" was appropriate, although ending it with Harry's sacrifice would have been pretty impressive. Still, I think Harry sacrificing himself was pretty cool. It worked, it worked very well.

One of my ways to judge a book's greatness is how badly when I finish I wish I could go back and reread it all over again for the first time. I definitely feel this way today. I do get to sorta enjoy it all over again though as my 10 year old daughter is working her way through it. This whole series has been a really cool bonding thing with us.

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That's kinda odd you mention how badly you want to re-read it. After the first 6 HP's and many other great books, I'll be upset that I never get to read it for a first time again. But throughout this book I just kinda wanted to get it over with. Not sure what happened.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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[ QUOTE ]
Ill start...What did yall think of the epilogue? It was probably the only part of the book i was disappointed with...I mean heck after 750+ pages..She couldnt extend it out another 20 or so to give us a real "where are they now" situation. I wanted to confirm that Harry and Ginny and Ron/Hermione ended up together but I also would have liked to know what else was going to happen.

I mean lets be honest. Harry wasnt going to ever just lead a normal life, but JK made it sound like he was just a plain old person.

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I would have liked to know what happened to the Death Eaters after Voldemort died. Did they all go to Azkaban? Also, did the climax completely kill off the dark magic movement or would they have just gone underground?

I would have liked to learn more about whether there would still be any sort of fight afterward or even on the horizon. I guess Malfoy acknowledging them is maybe a sign of concession but he sort of came out as being all talk and not much of a dark wizard anyway. Maybe a line about Harry vowing to fight it wherever it was would have been good.

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All of Voldermort's team was completely surronded. With him 100% dead, those who made it out of Hogwarts alive would be hunted down.

Can a Dementor die BTW?

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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I have said this some other places but I think it would have been very cool to end the book after chapter 34 (Kings Cross).

Instead they went with an incredibly cliche and cheesy ending, which while not unexpected, was a bit disappointing.

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Ending it right after Chapter 34 would have been horrible. Although with a little clean-up after it would have been a good ending. Leave Neville killing the Snake and the whole end battle (slightly-modified since Harry's dead), then end with Ron/Hermione/Ginny drinking to Harry's memory and work in a bit of the overall state of the world. Since the Ginny/Harry relationship was slightly understated it wouldn't have been horrible to have Harry die. After book 6 it was fairly obvious that Ron or Hermione couldn't be killed since it would have been pretty lame.

That being said I like the ending. I'm a sucker for that though. The epilogue could have been better, but I don't mind not knowing about the details of death eaters and stuff. We can assume that what happened after Harry survived the first time happened again.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

this book needed more plot-integral hermione nude scenes IMO

I thought the epilogue was purposefully sparse to allow the fans to imagine what happens while purposefully closing the door on anyone else writing a sequel.

JK Rowling is a smart woman

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ill start...What did yall think of the epilogue? It was probably the only part of the book i was disappointed with...I mean heck after 750+ pages..She couldnt extend it out another 20 or so to give us a real "where are they now" situation. I wanted to confirm that Harry and Ginny and Ron/Hermione ended up together but I also would have liked to know what else was going to happen.

I mean lets be honest. Harry wasnt going to ever just lead a normal life, but JK made it sound like he was just a plain old person.

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agreed completely. After an amazing book she tries to wrap everything up way too neatly. I guess after traumatizing little kids with the ridiculous amount of violence (I love the Reservoir Dogs style ear chopping!!!) she needed to end it semi-happily.
Also, the line that Mrs. Weasley screams at the end was exactly like the end of the movie "Aliens"....and I think I had the same gleeful reaction

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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The epilogue closed the door on "More Harry!" type stuff. I liked it for that purpose, it brought finality both internally and externally.

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Yes and no; it also obviously opens doors for the next generation to go off to Hogwarts, if anybody cares to play that game.

I actually liked the happy ending, for the most part. I think it just fits much better with what the series was than the alternative where Harry dies. As for those complaining that not enough central people got killed, that seems like a bizarre complaint to me. I don't feel that it really cheapens things that she kept the core three alive - I thought Fred, Dobby and Hedwig dying were all bummers to various degrees. The epilogue sucked, I agree. The Onion's AV Club reminded me of Rowling's claim that the last chapter had been written for years, and also points out how totally believable it is, given how saccharine and spiceless it is.

EDIT: I would have liked more Snape, though the memory he gives Harry was pretty cool.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

I thought this was an amazing book, although I agree the middle dragged on. But what a [censored] rollercoaster the end was. I mean [censored] Snape, and I was beside myself when I thought Dumbledore had [censored] Harry over. I just finished it like 5 minutes ago and am just stunned.

Also on people dying what about Lupin, Tonks, and Mad-Eye besides Fred, Dobby, and Hedwig.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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I thought this was an amazing book, although I agree the middle dragged on.

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What are you people thinking? The middle + the scene where Harry is walking into the woods with the ghost are the payoff of the entire series!

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

Are you referring to his parents and sirious and lupin?

If so I don't consider that the middle because that was an awesome awesome part.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

Yeah I am not sure either...though let me say that that I by no means think the middle was bad...It just seemed like a lot of inaction. I didnt hate the middle..just felt like it was a lull type session before the big battles

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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Yeah I am not sure either...though let me say that that I by no means think the middle was bad...It just seemed like a lot of inaction. I didnt hate the middle..just felt like it was a lull type session before the big battles

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Basically, the first 6 books show us how Harry gained magical knowledge, personal understanding, friends, the D.A., the Order, popular support, etc., all to help him fight Voldemort. Then, gradually, he has to leave all his friends, Ron splits, his wand breaks, he doesn't know what he's doing, he loses all of his supports. But then Ron comes back, Snape pitches in, Dobby helps, Aberfort plays a role. It shows just how far he's come, and, significantly, how important the things are that Voldemort doesn't understand (non-humans, friendship, family.) It's huge. And the tone is amazing. The fight between Harry and Lupin is fantastic.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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EDIT: I would have liked more Snape, though the memory he gives Harry was pretty cool.

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Yeah I loved the memory. When I was reading book 5 I remember thinking that it was lame that 'Snape's worst memory' (the title of the chapter) was being hung upside down and made fun of by James and Sirius. I mean he had to have had similar things done to him throughout his time at Hogwarts and worse things on top of that. Seeing that it was actually about him calling Lily Mudblood was pretty cool.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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Also on people dying what about Lupin, Tonks, ...

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The whole Lupin/Tonks dying seemed pretty weird to me. Its such a tie in to Harry, but then nothing happens with it. It seemed slightly strange to me.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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Also on people dying what about Lupin, Tonks, ...

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The whole Lupin/Tonks dying seemed pretty weird to me. Its such a tie in to Harry, but then nothing happens with it. It seemed slightly strange to me.

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A little but I think it was a good ending, was Harry indeed taking care of litte Lupin in the epilogue I was a little confused?

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

Wow do yall have any idea how lame you are? Go chase some girls or something. This is the weepiest [censored] I've seen on here.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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Wow do yall have any idea how lame you are? Go chase some girls or something. This is the weepiest [censored] I've seen on here.

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Meh, I'm pretty secure with myself and I don't feel the need to justify or defend myself to anybody. Its a good story.

Have you read the books?

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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Also on people dying what about Lupin, Tonks, ...

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The whole Lupin/Tonks dying seemed pretty weird to me. Its such a tie in to Harry, but then nothing happens with it. It seemed slightly strange to me.

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A little but I think it was a good ending, was Harry indeed taking care of litte Lupin in the epilogue I was a little confused?

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Didn't seem like it, just that he visited a lot. It would be slightly weird if he had lived with Harry, since 'present day Harry' probably wasn't ready to care for a newborn kid after killing Voldemort.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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The first couple hundred pages were exciting and the last couple hundred incredible but the middle seemed to drag on and on.


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The middle part, which I'll assume starts when Harry, Ron, and Hermione escape the wedding and go into hiding on their own, was great in an unexpected way. The feeling of being a fugitive really came out and it was obvious that Harry genuinely didn't know how to accomplish the mission.

When they were stuck in one of several woods, not knowing how to destroy the locket, not knowing where to search for more horcruxes, and then having Ron leave, I thought for a moment "Could Rowling actually have them fail and Voldemort win?". It didn't seem they could complete the mission they were on. That can't be an easy goal for an author since just a couple seconds thought should tell you the good guys are going to win (even if it means Harry dying).

I didn't expect Voldemort to actually win the war- which is what I'm saying he did when Kingsley Shacklebolt's patronus arrived to announce "The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.". I thought it would be a mostly even battle between good and evil through most of the book. Then when it appears Voldemort is about to win, Harry would save the day. In particular, the Muggle-born Registration Commission and all that's implied with it was a particularly distrubing part of the story.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

[ QUOTE ]
Ill start...What did yall think of the epilogue? It was probably the only part of the book i was disappointed with...I mean heck after 750+ pages..She couldnt extend it out another 20 or so to give us a real "where are they now" situation.

[/ QUOTE ]

No matter how long the epilogue was, readers would want it to be longer. For any little bit of new information given, people would easily find a need to ask for more details.

The only important part conveyed by the epilogue is that Harry is living happily ever after (as are Ron, Hermione, and Ginny) and Voldemort has been commpletely vanquished (due to the comment about the scar).

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I mean lets be honest. Harry wasnt going to ever just lead a normal life, but JK made it sound like he was just a plain old person.

[/ QUOTE ]

Rowling made a point of showing that Harry was still being recognized decades later.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

best death: dobby
best moment: Harry gets [censored] for being shady with the goblin, and loses the sword.
biggest dissapointment: that rowling was really that obvious with the snape plot


the most important thing that was done with this book, was that it really was important to dumbledore's plan that Harry not know enough. it was pretty contrived, but it would have been terrible if I finished the book, and thought it would have all wrapped up better if Dumbledore had just been honest with Harry.

too many books in this series were ruined because people were not being honest when it was clear they should be, so I'd rather have some contrived writing than that mistake having been made with the whole climax.

I really enjoyed the real dumbledore backstory a lot.

at one point, I had started to build up hope that ginny was going to die, and the epilogue that was obviously going to happen would end up with Harry married to Luna. (did anyone else note the odd moment when Harry lists Luna in the people he loves, along with Hermoine, Ron, and Ginny?)

I would have preferred that, if harry doesn't die, that Neville have stolen the spotlight from killing voldemort in the end, somehow. it didn't really work with the whole plot of this final book, however.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

this book was soooooo sick good. I loved it, and thought it wrapped everything up well.

I think the purpose of the epilogue, as others have mentioned, was both to give closure to the situation, and to ensure that others do not start their own spin-offs. But JK has definitely still left a lot of room for writing more if she ever gets the urge. Just b/c Voldemort never came back doesn't mean that they could not have run into other crazy/interesting adventures in the 19 years that elapse...

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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this book was soooooo sick good. I loved it, and thought it wrapped everything up well.

I think the purpose of the epilogue, as others have mentioned, was both to give closure to the situation, and to ensure that others do not start their own spin-offs. But JK has definitely still left a lot of room for writing more if she ever gets the urge. Just b/c Voldemort never came back doesn't mean that they could not have run into other crazy/interesting adventures in the 19 years that elapse...

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ah shes a billionaire, i would be disappointed if she would write anymore about harry. One of the biggest things that makes a legacy is knowing when to stop.

I thought there might be some more stuff with Regulus in there. Snape's memory was really tight but was hoping more from him.
Im guessing Neville works his way up to headmaster

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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I think the purpose of the epilogue, as others have mentioned, was both to give closure to the situation, and to ensure that others do not start their own spin-offs. But JK has definitely still left a lot of room for writing more if she ever gets the urge. Just b/c Voldemort never came back doesn't mean that they could not have run into other crazy/interesting adventures in the 19 years that elapse...

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This doesn't make any sense. HP is copyrighted. People can't just write more books without her consent.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

So...

How did Dumbledore beat Grindelwald when he had the elder wand???

This has been bugging me for a while.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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So...

How did Dumbledore beat Grindelwald when he had the elder wand???

This has been bugging me for a while.

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It was probably like Rita said. It wasn't much of a duel, but rather Dumbledore convinced him to give up.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

I love the series and this book. My one wish would be that JK made Snape being good even less obvious. Even though for a second I thought Snape was bad at the end (right when Voldemort killed him, when I thought that was it for him), I had pretty much expected always that Snape was good. I'm not sure if JK could have tilted us towards really thinking he was evil, but it would have been cool to be really shocked.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

I would have liked either a longer epilogue or no epilogue at all. Give us some more updates of life at hogwarts in the future and hopefully some info on the main characters future jobs. Is Harry an Auror? Wizardly Wheezes or whatever its called still open?

Also I was hoping that Draco's charracter would somehow end up doing something against the Death Eaters.

Obviously though enjoyed the book very much. Snapes backstory was great. Dumbledores backstory was great. Liked the Dursleys part. Loved when Percy came back. Very action packed. Will read again soon.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

Also I thought Neville should have gotten Bellatrix.

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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So...

How did Dumbledore beat Grindelwald when he had the elder wand???

This has been bugging me for a while.

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Wizard makes the wand. even if it is the most powerful wand, im sure someone who uses it for good/ love/ etc could take it. Seems to be the answer to any tough question

Re: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows discussion thread (SPOILERS)
 

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So...

How did Dumbledore beat Grindelwald when he had the elder wand???

This has been bugging me for a while.

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Wizard makes the wand. even if it is the most powerful wand, im sure someone who uses it for good/ love/ etc could take it. Seems to be the answer to any tough question

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Wizards who held the Elder Wand have been defeated throughout history. After all, somebody had to beat the owner of the wand in order to get it. This includes Dumbledore who was disarmed by Draco Malfoy.