*SPOILER ALERT!!*
What didn’t I like? Hardly anyone but Harry figures anything out! Or gets their proper moment to shine … (Read on only if you’ve already read the book)
Hermione: Such a genius, and she’s studied all about horcruxes, but doesn’t it ever occur to her, in all those months of seeing Harry’s Voldemort visions, that her pal is or has a horcrux? She get in any good shots at the villains, upstage or defeat any one of them? No, and neither did their best bud, Ron.
Snape: Here this super-wizard has pulled off the all-time deception act, and does he get to betray Voldemort to his face? No, zap, he’s dead, and gets no chance to enjoy even a moral victory. Indeed, no one would know if Harry didn’t collect Snape’s thoughts and relive them in the Pensieve.
Ginny: Along with Luna, I think, she’s battling the infamous Bellatrix, and do they get a chance for the kids to win a big one? Nope, in jumps Mrs. Weasley to take over the battle.
Lily Potter: Here, I thought Harry’s mom was a genius, too, and had deliberately acted to save her son, making him a horcrux, but no, it was your basic noble sacrifice which lucked out to good effect.
Aunt Petunia: Didn’t you expect she’d turn out to have some noble or magical side that helped protect Harry? I did. Still scratching my head over how “love” protected Harry when the Dursleys had no love for him.
Voldemort: Crafty villain who gets outsmarted? No, he’s Homer Simpson, making blunder after blunder, wasting his time on miscalculating myths.
Hagrid: A fave but hardly a factor at all. Couldn’t he have brought all sorts of magical creatures to the final battle?
Dumbledore: Gets knocked down a few pegs himself, even though he’s somehow wise from beyond the grave.
McGonegall: Funny bit where she animates desks to do battle, but hardly impressive for such a powerful witch.
So who, besides Harry, manages to shine? Dobby! Oh, and Neville has a moment, killing the horcrux snake Nagini. Kreacher made a comeback, but then he drops out of sight. Even Draco Malfoy can’t rise to repent — or be truly bad. At least Draco’s mom didn’t rat out Harry, but who was rooting for her?
Was there a point to this mediocrity? We’re all flawed, it’s only faith that can truly guide us? To me that means Voldemort was right: Harry was just lucky.
Could have been a great book, full of satisfying table-turning, skill-proving, moments of poetic justice and glory. Instead it was merely a good wrap-up, full of camping, to a great series, full of great characters, imagination and wit.
Wish J.K. Rowling would steal this idea: Rewrite the book! Bet it would sell another 12 million copies. Heck, even be generous, and sell it cheap to anyone who trades in the earlier version.