this is, as they say, your party
Jul. 21st, 2007 05:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
labellementeuseobligatory HP spoiler post of doom:
Hmm, OK, obviously it was a blast and I adored it, especially the Trio throughout, as well as the three from the track (to apply one fandom to another... is six a super-special number?) I was actually really surprised by how few people she killed. Mandatory tears shed for Fred, Dobby, Remus and Tonks - especially Fred, because OH, GEORGE, and Remus because he's my favourite. I had a strong worry that she'd kill one of the twins so I saw it with a certain inevitability, and Snape was pretty doomed no matter his allegiance. OTOH, colour me SHOCKED and relieved that Percy, Hagrid, McGonagall and all the rest of the Weasleys survived. Dobby's appearance and death were rather beautiful and appropriate. THRILLED that Ron survived, thank you, doubters!
I was pretty weirded out by Fleur's sudden transformation into Mrs Weasley 2.0, not to mention Tonks' surprise pregnancy! although I can handwave Fleur into someone who would at least want to want to be a homemaker, especially just after her wedding, Tonks randomly deciding to get pregnant weirds me out - and it was, as we all see, a fundamentally stupid decision: hi, baby-with-dead-parents! The overwhelming stench of heteronormativity did bother me and I feel no compunction in admitting that I continue to be frustrated by the portrayal of ultimate happiness as a heterosexual, childbearing marriage.
I thought it was interesting that Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione all appeared to be living muggleside (in reference to comments about driving and why's everyone looking at dad? Also, Ron was thoroughly adorable in the epilogue.)
Other moments of awesome: the DA; Neville, every single time he appeared (making up for not being in most of the book by being CONCENTRATED AWESOMENESS, I guess); McGonagall, Flitwick, Trewlawney, Sprout, but particularly Minerva with her fleet of Transfigured desks and her 'CHARGE' - such a goddess; Aberforth - good job, fandom; RAB, always obvious, but still; Harry being a Horcrux, which I had guessed just like everyone else in fandom; the Room of Requirement, which came to me independently but I'm sure was pretty guessed at by fandom as a whole, too; KREACHER, dude, awesome. The occasional echoes of PS were pretty fabulous - "I hope I'm not in Slytherin, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" - Charming, James. "Are you a wizard or not?" Mrs Weasley, of course and always.
Actually, a second thought in re: deaths. I am just as glad that she killed as few people as she did, so don't misconstrue this as a complaint, but saying that fifty people have died or whatever, and then having Harry choose not to look at the bodies, strikes me as a particularly obvious and cheap trick to avoid having to actually name any of those people. Not that I'm complaining that Ernie and Zacharias and the Patils and Lavender and Cho and Marietta and Justin and Dean and Seamus and Luna are all still alive, or presumed alive - it's just, well, way to pull your punches, JKR. NOT that I'm not sad enough already, of course. *sniff*
Hmm, OK, obviously it was a blast and I adored it, especially the Trio throughout, as well as the three from the track (to apply one fandom to another... is six a super-special number?) I was actually really surprised by how few people she killed. Mandatory tears shed for Fred, Dobby, Remus and Tonks - especially Fred, because OH, GEORGE, and Remus because he's my favourite. I had a strong worry that she'd kill one of the twins so I saw it with a certain inevitability, and Snape was pretty doomed no matter his allegiance. OTOH, colour me SHOCKED and relieved that Percy, Hagrid, McGonagall and all the rest of the Weasleys survived. Dobby's appearance and death were rather beautiful and appropriate. THRILLED that Ron survived, thank you, doubters!
I was pretty weirded out by Fleur's sudden transformation into Mrs Weasley 2.0, not to mention Tonks' surprise pregnancy! although I can handwave Fleur into someone who would at least want to want to be a homemaker, especially just after her wedding, Tonks randomly deciding to get pregnant weirds me out - and it was, as we all see, a fundamentally stupid decision: hi, baby-with-dead-parents! The overwhelming stench of heteronormativity did bother me and I feel no compunction in admitting that I continue to be frustrated by the portrayal of ultimate happiness as a heterosexual, childbearing marriage.
I thought it was interesting that Harry and Ginny and Ron and Hermione all appeared to be living muggleside (in reference to comments about driving and why's everyone looking at dad? Also, Ron was thoroughly adorable in the epilogue.)
Other moments of awesome: the DA; Neville, every single time he appeared (making up for not being in most of the book by being CONCENTRATED AWESOMENESS, I guess); McGonagall, Flitwick, Trewlawney, Sprout, but particularly Minerva with her fleet of Transfigured desks and her 'CHARGE' - such a goddess; Aberforth - good job, fandom; RAB, always obvious, but still; Harry being a Horcrux, which I had guessed just like everyone else in fandom; the Room of Requirement, which came to me independently but I'm sure was pretty guessed at by fandom as a whole, too; KREACHER, dude, awesome. The occasional echoes of PS were pretty fabulous - "I hope I'm not in Slytherin, I think I'd leave, wouldn't you?" - Charming, James. "Are you a wizard or not?" Mrs Weasley, of course and always.
Actually, a second thought in re: deaths. I am just as glad that she killed as few people as she did, so don't misconstrue this as a complaint, but saying that fifty people have died or whatever, and then having Harry choose not to look at the bodies, strikes me as a particularly obvious and cheap trick to avoid having to actually name any of those people. Not that I'm complaining that Ernie and Zacharias and the Patils and Lavender and Cho and Marietta and Justin and Dean and Seamus and Luna are all still alive, or presumed alive - it's just, well, way to pull your punches, JKR. NOT that I'm not sad enough already, of course. *sniff*
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Date: 2007-07-21 07:52 am (UTC)Firstly, book was amazing, like, met and exceeding all expectations and it should keep interesting discussions going for the next few months.
The catch-phrase of HBP was "Snape kills Dumbledore!" and I'm guessing the one for this is "Molly kills Bellatrix!" - totally unexpected but totally bloody awesome. They managed to explain so much stuff, like the "gleam of triumph" in Dumbledore's eyes and stuff. Although the sword out of the hat at the end was a bit weird, I know Neville was being brave and all but what happened to Griphook?
And yeah, to what you said, it seemed that a twin would die, and not George cause he'd already been, changed as it were. As soon as Lupin asked Harry to be Godfather I would've put money on both Lupin and Tonks dying which was a bit sad.
Wow, long comment, one final thing, I really wished that Arthur Weasley had more of a role, he kinda disappeared at the end there.
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Date: 2007-07-24 09:58 am (UTC)hahah, I don't know if molly/bellatrix (AHAHAHA pairing for the AGES) was really the er, monumental moment it was in HBP. I think the equivalent Sirius-dies-snape-kills-dumbledore moment is probably voldemort-kills-harry-but-it-doesn't-stick. But you're right that Molly-kills-Bellatrix is more dramatic!!!
As soon as Lupin asked Harry to be Godfather I would've put money on both Lupin and Tonks dying which was a bit sad.
For some reason this didn't occur to me on my first readthrough, but in retrospect, yeah, horribly obvious.
Yeah, actually, Arthur was pretty quiet. I feel like after Fred died the Weasleys except Ron & Ginny were probably pretty subdued and I see Arthur as being a lot less able to get up and fuck shit up than molly after the death of his son, you know?