As I mentioned, I finished the final Harry Potter book this weekend. I rather enjoyed it–both the last book, and the series as a whole. The more I’ve thought about it, though, the more I’ve begun to dislike various elements of the final book.
[WARNING:] Spoilers Below!
It turns out that most of my issues are with the ending. I thought the battle between Harry and Voldemort was fine, and I have no issues there. One issue I do have, however, is that Mrs. Weasley defeated Bellatrix Lestrange. I don’t get that at all. I don’t see how she would, in any way shape or form, be experienced or skilled enough to defeat her. To me, that job belonged to either Neville or his grandmother. That’s still not my biggest problem, though.
I didn’t like the randomness with which some characters died. Hedwig, Lupin, Tonks. Their deaths were meaningless. At least Moody, Dobby, and some of the others seemed to serve a purpose or drive the story a bit. Granted, it’s war and there will be casualties. I understand that. Oftentimes those deaths will be meaningless. But the world of Harry Potter is a fantasy world… It’s not real. On top of that, it’s a children’s story. I just think of that as requiring more reason to kill a character. 30 pages after Hedwig was killed, her named wasn’t mentioned again. How quickly Harry seemed to forget about her… And yet, that’s still not my biggest issue.
What upsets me, apparently sentimental guy that I am, is Harry’s (and, to the same extent, Ginny’s) reaction after he’s victorious. I certainly understand the desire to see Ron and Hermione. But at the same time, it’s clear that he and Ginny are supposed to have rather strong feelings for each other. That’s further evidenced by the epilogue, which I’ll get to in a minute. So, it would really seem only natural that they sought each other out almost instantly. No, though, quite the opposite. Harry almost ignores her. In fact, not at one single point in the book did they seem to really want to embrace each other. Sure they kissed, but it felt too manufactured. At one point or another, it seemed to me that they should have had an “explosion” of excitement at the sight of the other.
As for the epilogue, I thought it was utterly weak. In my opinion, the only reason you write an epilogue is because you know the fans would want it. Otherwise, why bother? With that in mind, put some heart into it.
Honestly, I doubt many fans at all (myself included) really want the series to end. After seven books and ten years, it’s a strong commitment. I’m rather invested in the characters. I actually care about them. So give me something worthwhile. As far as I’m concerned, there should have been another couple chapters rounding the series out. I want to know what became of everybody. I want to know who Draco married. I want to know who became Hogwarts’ headmaster. I want to know who raised Ted Lupin (most likely his grandmother, I suppose). I want to know the immediate happenings after Harry defeated Voldemort. I want to know all these things.
To compare, in book six they had a funeral. It made sense. Dumbledore was such an important character, the book would have been incomplete without it. Just the same, these characters are too important to just end. Most importantly, for me at least, I would have liked some more info on Harry and Ginny. Their relationship, or at least its beginnings in book six, was probably my favorite part of the series. Something about it just seemed right to me, but I was hugely disappointment with how it ended in book six. And, to continue that, I was very disappointed with the major backseat it took in the final book. Then, I was left with a 19 year gap in that storyline. I couldn’t have been more let down with that.
The one thing I really like about the end, though, was what Harry said to his son Albus about Snape. For one reason or another it just stuck with me.
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