Hoping against disappointment in Book 6

[losangelis]

No: HPFGUIDX 73358

Just a thought, but if anyone watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (hate 
to make comparisions), I was disappointed with how the final season 
played out.  About halfway through the season, they started 
foretelling this big huge "final battle" that we all knew would be 
played out in the series finale, but it almost seemed from that point 
on, no episode "did too much"...advancing plot lines and deepening 
characters was put on hold...just had to hold off until the last 
episode.  To me, then, the last episode was a disappointment after 
all the waiting for it.

While I enjoyed Book 5, my concern was that it kind of did what I was 
scared of:  GoF set up the new war, and OoP set up the final battle.  
To me, it seemed like book 5 didn't do a whole lot to progress the 
plotlines of the canon, other than the charming Dumbledore's Army.

My sincere hope is that Book 6 is given a full identity of its 
own...not setting up the finale so much that little is done.  I think 
there is already a buildup to the finale in book 7 that book 6 NEEDS 
its own story and its own identity.

Nothing really played out in OoP with Voldy and the DE's, and nothing 
really formed on the SHIPping front, either, other than Cho being too 
upset to form a healthy relationship with Harry (which most of us 
deduced after GoF).

The other analogy I make is the original triology of Star Wars.  The 
first movie (of course, I being 8 years old at the time and seeing it 
20 times in the theatre) was a wonderful movie, beginning to end.

It seems like the first three books of the canon also are good stand-
alone books.  They were enjoyable and had a good, settled conclusion.

However, GoF is similar to the second movie (Empire Strikes Back?).  
It left unresolved threads that needed another movie to tie up.  
Finally, when that third movie came out, while good to watch, you 
couldn't help getting that feeling after all the anticipation that 
it, somehow, wasn't worth the wait.  The second movie was like the 
first half of ONE movie, with the other half needing three years to 
wait for.

OoP didn't do a lot to reassure me that the last three books aren't 
just 
going to work towards the conclusion, being careful not to stir the 
pot too much until then.  

With all the tense waiting for Book 5, it is certain waiting for Book 
6 will be equally intense.  Just hoping we don't get let down with 
Book 6 becoming backstory for Book 7, and establishes its own 
identity, start to finish.

Wiley o' Ravencaw