So
yes, I read the "Cursed Child". And NO, it is NOT written by J.K
Rowling. It has been written by two people who have appearently written a lot
of great screenplays, and believe me when I say, that it would have definitely
looked really great on stage. (Did you know that they screened the thing live
from London at Habitat Centre, New Delhi.. I did not even know that things like
this even happen.)
So, the thing is that it is a reharsal script. It is
therefore written like a rehearsal script. And it is at the end of the day
"fan fiction", where the playrights have used their imagination to
take forward the story of the Deathly Hallows. Deathly Hallows leaves us with
an Albus Severus Dumbledore Potter asking his father about how his life in
Hogwards is going to be if he gets sorted into Slytherin and the
reassurances that he gives by saying that he is named after two Hogwarts Headmasters; one
was a Slytherin (Snape) and
possibly the bravest man he ever knew. Harry also confides to Albus that the Sorting
Hat takes the student's own
choice into consideration, as it had done for Harry when he was Sorted -
something Harry has never told his other children.
Despite the original ending being so amicable, the Cursed
Child talks about the failing relationship of Harry Potter and his middle
child, and his best friend Scorpious Malfoy. While, it is all good that a
Potter and a Malfoy become “best friends”, the animosity shown between the
families seems to be a little over the top.
I am a biased reviewer here because, I have read all the
Harry Potter books with a devotion of a fan. From all the reading that I have
done, I think, (and I also believe devout fans all over the world) would not be
able to relate to the Potters, Weasely-Grangers or the other characters that
have been shown in the “Script”. One of the major flaws of the “script” was to
show that Ron and Hermione know about Snape’s real loyalties, despite the
losing the battle of Hogwards (where Harry dies). But, if we go back to the
original story at Deathly Hallows, we find that Ron, Hermione and Harry only
get to know about Snape, once they realise that Nagini is a horcrux, and they
stumble upon Voldemart killing Snape once he figures out why the Elder Wand won’t
obey him. This is where Snape gives his
memory to Harry. The alternate reality in the “script” deviates from this plot.
And this may or may not be counted as a blooper, but it
surely is a turn off.
And for all those who bought this thinking that it was
written by J.K. Rowling, people, read the news reports. For the fans who are in
love with Harry Potter, while we would love to know what happens next (and
await this news), read the Cursed Child, as an independent fan fiction only,
because thinking it to be anywhere close to what J.K. Rowling created would
only disappoint you. This is the curse of being a Potter Fan!
1 comment:
I agree with what you wrote - it is like a fan-fiction, and yes, I noticed that blooper too! For me, the series of 7 books will remain sacred. I didn't hate "The Cursed Child" because the one thing I realized was that it has had a good effect on the younger generation - my nephew and niece are people who first watched the movies, and then read the books. For them, it's all about the glitz and glamour (my nephew actually said he believed that Hermione could not be played by a Black character because in his eyes, Emma Watson was Hermione).
For people who migrated from books to movies, they had pictured Hermione as unattractive and not a bit like Emma Watson! The true essence of the book and its teachings on acceptance I feel was lost on the Gen-Next...This book made them realize how nothing is permanent - in one universe, Gryffindor is cool, but it is people who define what is good and what isn't. Not everyone is bad just because they are in Slytherin, and every evil person can change for the better (like what happened with Draco).
That is the message I am taking from the book and reading it independently of the series!
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