My Review of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince SPOILERS for DH

[Carol]

Carol earlier:
> <SNIP>
> And I disagree with Alla about a weakened Dumbledore being unnecessary to the scene--it showed the potency of that horrible potion and it made the moment more gut-wrenching for Harry and the reader and probably for Snape as well. His revulsion at having to kill Dumbledore should match Harry's in having to feed DD the potion in the first place. <SNIP>
> 
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> Alla:
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> I did not say that it was unnecessary to the scene. Of course it is necessary to the scene in the book for all the reasons you described and to be faithful to the book it could have been there. I am sure JKR still wants us to sympathize with Dumbledore in this scene, she just cannot convince this reader and viewer to do so anymore.
> 
> I said that in light of new information in DH scene lost its poignancy for me and to me it does not matter anymore whethere Dumbledore looks sick or not. I was feeling a lot of sympathy for him in part because he was in so much pain. All this sympathy is now gone. Even if his body is shown to be suffering in the book I still see a man who IMO methodically and mercilessly enlisted unwilling man  to do his bidding for him. Thus in the book I still see Dumbledore who is in his mind extremely satisfied that his plan came to the fruition. To me all that filmmakers did was to materialize Dumbledore as he is imagining himself in his mind if that makes sense.

Carol responds:

I see. Sorry I misunderstood you. Strange, isn't it, how such a powerful scene in the book (it tore me to pieces on first reading) loses its power once we know for sure that DD planned it all (and still wants Snape to kill him even after the Elder Wand has literally gone out the window). I still feel sorry for Snape, though, and I still feel some compassion for DD (and more for Harry) in the cave scene.

But I'd like viewers of the film (those who haven't read the books) to feel the full impact of the scene as readers of HBP experienced it, whether they think that Snape is a traitor and murderer (the intended reaction of both JKR and the filmmakers, presumably) or hope that Snape is really Dumbledore's man, acting on his orders (as Book!Hagrid actually suggests before he realizes that DD is actually dead).

Anyway, sometimes a scene played out on the screen more or less as written in the book its based on can create an emotional impact even though we know what's going to happen. ("Fly, you fools!" in "Fellowship of the Ring," for example, though, of course, there's no way to replicate the grief and horror I felt when I first read that scene at age fifteen. But for moviegoers who hadn't read the book--or seen previews with Gandalf the White, it must have been devastating.)

Of course, if our feelings about the character have changed as dramatically as yours for DD have done, I suppose it makes no difference how well the scene is written or performed. For me, that scene is a precursor to the tragedy of Snape's death (and the Elder Wand fiasco, but I won't go there.) And it also explains *Harry's* feelings, especially his continued hatred of and desire for revenge against Snape, all of which makes the truth more poignant when its revealed in DH. Dumbledore's weakness and helplessness make "Severus, please!" more terrible for *him,* and, of course, make Snape seem all the more evil. And all of that is taken away--in part because neither Rickman nor Gambon has bothered to read the books, so neither knows how the scene is supposed to play out.

Obviously, of course, it can never have the full impact of the written scene for those who have read the books, but it's unfair, IMO, to deprive filmgoers who haven't read the books of the opportunity to feel as we did in the year or so that we waited for DH to come out. The tower scene was primarily responsible for the suspense and even dread that many of us felt, not to mention the heightened pro-Snape, anti-Snape tension on the list. (I'm sure that it's hard for them to remain completely unspoiled as we were, but still, the revelations in DH ought to be properly set up.)

Carol, who thinks that she would have cried over the tower scene if it had been depicted as it is in the book despite knowing what's to come and disappointed that she won't get the opportunity to find out