*HP7 SPOILER Thread* - Now Open to Discuss here! About This Page:

[Jennifer2003]

Here is your Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows SPOILER Discussion Thread! This will be a sticky thread at the top of the forum for three weeks. I will unlock this thread for discussion once the book is officially released midnight EST 7/21/07(around 1AM). Please keep all Spoiler Discussions of the book to this thread.

For the Spoiler Thread...anything goes! (within board guidelines of course) I advise everyone not to read the Spoiler Thread until you're done with the book. I know I won't be!

Every Harry Potter fan has been waiting for this book for a long time, and I would hate to see anything get spoiled for anyone. If you have any questions, please PM a Library Guide.

Thank you so much for your understanding and participation in the Library!!!

[Jennifer2003]

* * * * * Spoilers to follow! * * * * *

[Chrissi]

Grr...one of DH's coworkers got an advance copy and I know the ending. Did JKR really need to bump off that many people?! Talk about a bloodbath.

[bonphil]

Just finished reading HP7. I cannot believe everything that happens in this book! So much happens and so fast, I couldn't put it down. I was so glad that Harry is the boy that lived in the end!

[dejavu]

I just finished and need some time to "digest" the whole thing. I was pleased that the book was again centered around the three main characters, yet each of the characters I was curious about had some form of closure bit included.

I also feel like all the happiness has been sucked out of me, knowing there will not be any more of these books to look forward to!!

[wvugrrrl]

I just finished....glad to know I was right about Harry being a horcrux. Take that, naysayers !
So, as a whole....there were parts of this book that I really liked, mainly towards the end - the battle scenes, when Harry figures out where the Hufflepuff cup is, etc....but for the most part, I thought that this book was really drawn out and not as well-written as previous ones.
It just felt like it had a "hurry up" mentality to it, which is ironic, because 90% of the book is a lot of Harry sitting around and brooding - in the house Sirius left him, in the woods while they're camping...and my personal fave - the fact that Harry has time to look at Snape's memories in a Pensieve while the battle of the century is going on outside.
Don't get me wrong, during most of these scenes, important things were happening - for example, I see the necessity of needing Snape's memories...just not at that particular moment. I think it would have been more prudent to have Harry having access to them earlier in the book...and I'm still not 100% convinced anyway that Snape would've been such a good person in the very end - I mean, it's not like he and Dumbledore had an Unbreakable Vow together; D just had S's "word," and to me, once D is dead, all bets are off..although I will admit, the line "Look me in the eyes," that he said as he was dying, really brought a tear to my eye when I looked back on it after we learned about his feelings for Lily.
Another thing I didn't like about this book was the fact that JK Rowling seemed to have put everything AND the kitchen sink into it. There seemed to be a lot of elements in this book that could've been put in small measures in the other books, as well as the fact that she seems so hurried in the entire book to "tie up all loose ends." I understand the necessity to make sure that alls well that ends well, but to me, it just reinforced my belief that no matter how many times she would say in interviews that she'd "had it all mapped out from the beginning..." clearly she didn't. Clearly she may have had an overarching idea for how things were supposed to go, but to me, there were a lot of times in this book where it felt like, "I better go back and clarify that little insignificant bit from book 3."
The ending itself, with the quibbling between Harry and Lord Voldemort over who had the best wand was to me...just ridiculous. Interesting,but kind of lame in a fan-boy sort of way. To me, it was the one time I felt that Harry could really prove his magical ability. To stand up and show the world that he wasn't just the sum of his friends...and well, it became something out of a movie where the villain and hero have a 20 minute long convo about why the villain had a screwed up childhood. I just kept thinking about that scene in Austin Powers 2 where Scottie yells at Dr. Evil for always letting Austin get away.
Anywho, I know this is long enough. It's just my opinion...and I was generally happy with the way that the book ended. It's not going to be my favorite...but it's certainly not going to be the one I dread going back and re-reading.

Also, Chrissi, I agree with you - not so much that I cared about it being a bloodbath - I kind of thought it would be even before I read it..but there were just a lot of unnecessary deaths in the book - Tonks and Lupin, Fred, and even Hedwig? C'mon...maybe I am bloodthirsty, but I just expected the people who were dying to have a little more than a few scenes in every book.

[denwol]

I agree completely with wvugrrrl.....

I can't say that I really loved this book. It just seemed all over the place and too long. There was IMHO quite a bit of unnecessary information and not as well written as the others. Yes, there were a few deaths, but the weren't of people that we really had much emotional investment in........at least not for me. I agree that the end was sort of stupid with all the stuff about the real owners of the wand, etc......and Voldemort killing himself. I didn't like the ending much at all.

[Belle*]

I just finished and I agree. It seemed like JKR was just trying to cram too much into too little time. Where was George when Fred died? What was his reaction? Why kill Hedwig? Mad Eye? And I have to say, I find the "19 years later" ending a bit much. Maybe I'll feel differently after I've had a chance to process and possibly re-read but my initial impression is one of disappointment.

[Chrissi]

Personally, I got so impatient with all the meandering-getting-nowhere-nonsense, I just skipped around reading the highlights after the first 14 chapters to pick up the big stuff since I already knew the ending. (This was not my favorite of the 7 books. ) With Harry not going back to Hogwart's, why did all this crap have to get crammed into one final book? 7 years at Hogwarts as a student and 7 books made sense, but once he dropped out and decided not to return after his 6th year - why not break it down into two final books? Unless in my skipping about through the story I missed something that claims a reason for cramming it all into a single year/book? Guess I better just suck it up and reread it tonight.

And how long do you think it will be until there's a cartoon in development about the new generation of Potter and Weasley kids? DJ would love that. It would be perfect for a cartoon - light-hearted with lots of opportunities for kids getting themselves into predicaments and learning life lessons.

[wvugrrrl]

Originally Posted by Chrissi

With Harry not going back to Hogwart's, why did all this crap have to get crammed into one final book? 7 years at Hogwarts as a student and 7 books made sense, but once he dropped out and decided not to return after his 6th year - why not break it down into two final books? Unless in my skipping about through the story I missed something that claims a reason for cramming it all into a single year/book?

Nope, you absolutely didn't miss anything. And that brings me to another point I'd like to make - because apparently there was a lot of stuff going down at Hogwarts (Neville being totally hardcore...who knew?!), yet we didn't hear a whisper about it until the last few chapters of the book. I mean, kids were learning Crutiatus curses to use as detention punishment, Death Eaters had taken over Muggle studies, etc. but it's a good thing I've got 4 chapters of Harry sitting in a tent in the woods being all butt-hurt over the possibility that Dumbledore might not have been as saintly in his teens as everyone thought he wass.
And here's another question - if Death Eaters and Snape were running Hogwarts, why would they tolerate having having the "good" professors still there? And I don't want to hear a question of that's Voldemort's way of not causing a complete uprising - a subtle war of terror, if you will. I understand why the good teachers like Flitwick and McGonagall would stay - to protect the children, but I mean...McGonagall is a known member of the Order...I just can't imagine her and Severus just hanging out in the teacher's lounge just glossing over the fact that she doesn't trust him and she knows that he killed Dumbledore.
I thought the same thing about them running the Ministry of Magic, and Mr. Weasley still working there - Death Eaters HATE the Weasleys!!! Small things like this just don't make sense to me. Rowling had the previous Muggle History teacher being tortured by Death Eaters at dinner in the beginning of the book - and this is a character who'd never been talked about previously. Why not go after the knowns? Why kill off insignificant characters? It's like she was itching to keep the "dark" tone of the past 2 books but knew that she had to restrain herself because fans would flip out.
Personally, I had prepared myself for a possible Ron/Harry/Hermoine death. I mean, if she's willing to kill off Dumbledore, to me, she's willing to go to any lengths.
Ughh. I'm just so dissatisfied.

[denwol]

Originally Posted by wvugrrrl

Nope, you absolutely didn't miss anything. And that brings me to another point I'd like to make - because apparently there was a lot of stuff going down at Hogwarts (Neville being totally hardcore...who knew?!), yet we didn't hear a whisper about it until the last few chapters of the book. I mean, kids were learning Crutiatus curses to use as detention punishment, Death Eaters had taken over Muggle studies, etc. but it's a good thing I've got 4 chapters of Harry sitting in a tent in the woods being all butt-hurt over the possibility that Dumbledore might not have been as saintly in his teens as everyone thought he wass.
.....................

Ughh. I'm just so dissatisfied.

Once again.....I couldn't agree more. The more I think about it, the more annoyed I'm getting.

And what about the Dursleys? Why was Dudley suddenly nice to Harry - What did he see with the dementors, etc.......?
What was the point of the Hallows? There were entire chapters devoted to these, and in my opinion they totally weren't necessary to the story....In fact, I feel like they took away from what should have been more important to the story - the horcruxes and the other kids at Hogwarts.

I also agree that the prologue was a bit much.

[dejavu]

I enjoyed the book, wished I could savor it, but felt compelled to finish as quick as possible to avoid hearing spoilers on the news or radio. I understand and agree with some of your points, but I still really liked the book.

I enjoyed Hermione throwing herself on Ron when he said he wanted the house-elfs to be free. Just enough of them "getting together" without overdoing it.

I was really sad when Hedwig and Dobby died. I kept asking myself "is this one of the main characters who die?" every time someone died. I also wondered which death she found hard to write.

I liked that the book seemed to go back and forth between lighthearted and upbeat, and dark and intense.

I liked that Harry got to be taller and bigger than Ron for a little while thanks to the polyjuice potion. The visual of Ron having to look up at Harry made me laugh.

I am so glad that the main 3 characters survived. If that was Rowling's original intent, who knows. I thought she mentioned someone getting a reprieve.

I wasn't surprised by the 19 years later bit, as Rowling stressed how this would be the last book on Harry. I thought it was fun to imagine their kids going to Hogwarts with Neville there to teach them. I wanted more info on what career choices Harry, Ron and Hermione made..

I was glad that Snape turned out to be good. I was holding out hope for him until the end. I did feel that Snape's memories were oddly placed in the book. Does the pensieve make it seem like you're in there a long time but in reality it's only a few seconds? Otherwise, it was odd timing during the big fight.

I thought it was terrific that Neville had his chance to "step up" at Hogwarts while the main 3 were gone. I wish we could've had some scenes from the school while he was blossoming and to give a sense of the treachery going on there with Snape and the Deatheaters in charge.

I think in the end, Harry is still just the boy who lived. The wand thing was a little confusing. He did defeat Voldemort, but didn't seem like he was of ultimate magical power status in doing it. It was certainly a bittersweet victory with all those deaths.

My immediate thought at him being asked to be a godfather was "uh, oh, Tonks and Lupin are history." I did like that full circle aspect when he thought to himself he was becoming a reckless godfather, just like his own was.

There were several spots where I started laughing or giggling out loud. Now I have to go back and find what those things were. I remember laughing a lot more in the earlier books.

I am going crazy waiting for my 15 and 13 yr. olds to finish reading it. My son will have all the analytical complaints no question, and my daughter will be less critical and more accepting of it as it is.

I love Crissy's idea for a Hogwarts cartoon featuring the new gang of kids. Who wouldn't want to watch that?? Although without Snape thumping them on the heads it might lose a little of its charm. I'm sure the Malfoy spawn could cause lots of trouble.

Is it still safe to turn on the tv or have they already started the dissection?

[WillCAD]

Okay, I have a number of impressions:

1. Way back after I read Book 5 I predicted what it was that made Dumbledore trust Snape so completely - that he was actually in love with Lily Potter (hence his hatred of both James and Harry), and that Voldemordt's murder of her turned him against the Death Eaters completely.

2. I wasn't 100% sure that Harry was the last horcrux, but I had a strong feeling that it was so. The facts laid out in Book 6 pointed to it very strongly.

3. Somehow I knew that Jo would end the book with some sort of a glimpse into Harry's future life (I never thought she'd kill him off.) But My guess about Harry's future was that he would wind up as Headmaster of Hogwarts, which obviously didn't happen. In fact, he's not even a teacher, which is a sore dissapointment to me considering that my favorite chapters in all 7 books were the DA meetings in Book 5.

4. I am also disapointed that Jo didn't make it clear whether Harry, Ron, and Hermione returned to Hogwarts for their final year after the end of the war. In fact, I was greatly surprised that she chose to put them on the run for the entire book instead of having someone reluctantly convince Harry to return to Hogwarts for his final year and base his search for the horcruxes there, for the continuence of his education, the protection of the castle's many enchantments, the availability of the extensive research library, and the certainty that at least ONE of the missing horcruxes must be hidden at the school, since it was one of Voldemordt's favorite places.

5. I knew the Weasley family would not emerge from the war unscathed. I had no inkling who would buy the farm, but I knew they'd lose at least one member. Molly was right in Book 5 - "Practically the whole family is in the Order now, it'll be a miracle if we all get through it alive!"

6. The deaths of Mad-Eye, Remus, and Tonks were also major losses, especially in light of Remus and Tonks having a baby.

7. I was shocked by Kreacher's change of heart, and far more shocked at the deaths of Dobby and Hedwig.

8. Wormtail got no more than he deserved; still, his ending was somewhat anti-climactic and almost an afterthought.

9. Jo has categorically stated that there will be no more Harry Potter books after Book 7.

But she hasn't said anything about Harry, Ginny, Ron, or Hermione's children. In the Star Wars book universe, there has been an entire series of books detailing the adventures of the children of Han Solo and Princess Liea, and the son of Luke Skywalker; who knows if Jo might pen a series of books later detailing the new generation of Hogwarts kids? Or perhaps she might allow other writers to tackle the subject...

[ripkensnana]

I just finished reading the book, and I have to say I'd really love to know what happened to the Durselys. Am I the only one who's curious about this? I mean, they get whisked away, presumabley to a place of safety, and are never heard from again. Did the Death-Eaters find them or not? Did they come through the whole thing unscathed? Okay, not earth-shaking details, but I'd like to know.

[TheGoof]

The series was great, and this was a good finally.

(Note I had posted this on MSNBC's site, so some of it is directed at other posts there, but the points are valid anyway. Most Notably about the Christian Nature of the books.)

Yes, people died, it was a war. Pointless deaths happen in war, and this was necessary. If anything, JKR pulled her punches here because none of the major kids died.

Snape was a character that in this type of story was destined to die in the final battle from the moment he was conceived. He was probably the most tragic character in the books, as he never had a break in his whole life. Lily could have been his savior, similar to Elizabeth in A Christmas Carol, but his life choices pushed her away and she ended up with James. The rest follows from that.

Regarding Harry & Ginny, Ron and Hermione, there was never any doubt that IF they survived they would be together in this way. JKR made that clear throughout. As for becoming "baby factories" that is what people do after a war with lots of losses. True there were only 50 deaths in the final battle, including Fred, Tonks and Remus, but the death toll over the last couple of years had been significant. Not to mention all of the muggle borns that were kissed, which of course does not quite kill them, and is far worse then death.

The witchcraft in the Potter series is not evil, and the books are remarkably Christian. Harry dies and is resurrected. Voldemort is given the opportunity to seek forgiveness and redemption before he dies, he fails to take it. In the Kings Cross Purgatory, we see a glimpse of Voldemorts future as the creature, which was the part of Voldemorts Soul that had died with Harry, was past help. Harry tries to warn Voldemort, and gives him that chance for remorse, and the healing of his soul.

The whole series has been one of Good versus Evil, with Love triumphing in the end.

Having said that the comparisons to LoTR, while definitely an influence, while there are not all that strong. If it had been, Harry would have been damaged and haunted and an outsider of the wizarding world he had saved, never truly being given the credit for it. Ron would have been the big public Hero in a Pippin sort of way.

JKR did not go that route at all, and really any comparison to LoTR would be superficial. I happen to love both series, and had fully expected it to follow. Both follow a classic Hero's journey, as does Star Wars.

(I was pleased that unlike in Star Wars, were after all that Vader did, the genocide he was responsible for, he was redeemed simply by saving Luke and sacrificing himself, that Peter Pettigrew, for his moment of hesitation died, but he did not show up with James, Sirius and Lupin, nor did Snape for that matter.)

These books are much deeper then what we would typically call a Children's book, but yes because they were marketed to them, I'm sure that JKR toned down some of the possible darkness. It also, I think, ensured a mostly happy ending.