Pötterdämmerung

I read the final book and, well, it was okay. It did conclude the story in a generally satisfactory fashion, tying up most of the loose ends and providing a happy ending. But I was a bit disappointed, and a bit perturbed. Here be spoilers:


Spoiler

Harry freely uses two of the “unforgivable” curses, apparently without violating his conscience, and receives praise rather than blame. I suppose we’re to understand that desperate times call for extreme measures, but what exactly does “unforgivable” mean? As Eve Tushnet asks, “Who would Jesus torture?”

Dolores Umbridge returns, and she’s very much her kawaii-loving old self. A glimpse of a poster of “Undesirable #1” (i.e., Harry) in her office:

A little pink note was stuck to it with a picture of a kitten in the corner. Harry moved across to read it and saw that Umbridge had written, “To be punished.”

Bellatrix Lestrange may be Voldemort’s most powerful ally, but it’s Umbridge who raises my hackles. I put a little poll in the sidebar asking who is the more evil of the pair. (I also put the poll, phrased a little differently, on my other weblog. I’m curious to see if the difference in wording makes a difference in the voting.)

I was a bit irritated when Lestrange was finally killed. Mrs. Weasley is an admirable character, but Neville should have had the honor.

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(I didn’t think of the title of this post — I found it at Eve’s, and it’s not hers, either — but it’s too good not to use.)

One thought on “Pötterdämmerung”

  1. I agree about Neville. He should have done in Lestrange. I wondered about the unforgiveable curses too, a “whatever it takes” attitude. Those are the three curse of the Dark Arts. He wasn’t the only one to use them either, was he?

    I was disappointed in just how little Snape interacted with nobody. I that for Snape being so intrigueing a character, he was cheated. Just one sappy chapter for him!

    The idea that the dead are only ghosts or memories nagged at me, but Rowling redeemed herself with King’s Cross Station.

    The book was enjoyable, I am still digesting it, but I feel that Rowling was trying to get it finished.

    BTW, can anyone explain exactly what Dumbledore was talking about with Voldemort receiving Lily’s protection too from taking Harry’s blood? I may have stayed up too late reading it and missed the simplicity of the explaination.

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