The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Was: Book 6 &7 clichs)

[antoshachekhonte]

No: HPFGUIDX 91340

I'm snipping much, though I enjoyed all:

Ginger:
> Good:
> Harry as Seeker for the Cannons.

Doesn't the boy deserve a quiet retirement after the seven years of hell JKR will have put 
him through???

>Ginny Potter as MoM.

I think we need to buy into the fact that the seventh book is going to end in 
mid-June of 1998--that is, at the end of the Trio's seventh year. So, much as I 
buy the Ship, and much as I think she'd serve admirably, I think (given 
Ron's "I'm as likely to win the Quidditch Cup as my Dad is to become Minister 
of Magic" foreshadowing) we're more likely to see Arthur take over the Ministry 
somewhere in Book Seven: Harry Potter and the Return of the Weasleys.

> Snape accidently curing lycanthropy and having 
> to be the object of Remus' undying gratitude.

Ooo, now that's a good one I hadn't thought of!

> Healer Neville Longbottom curing his parents.

Likewise! That is a very satisfying idea....

> Bad:
> Dead!Molly or Arthur before the end of the series.

I don't know that I agree. But then, I've been dealing with the loss of a 
parent recently and so that plotline has a certain resonance for me.... 

> Redeemed!Draco, although Inept!Draco accidently 
> aiding the Order would be funny.

Agreed on both counts.

> LV turning into just plain misunderstood little Tommy. 
> Bleh! He *chose* to go bad.

Oh, yes. That would stink. Although, I must say, much as Return of the Jedi is 
my least favorite of the original Star Wars movies, the redemption of Anakin is 
one of the most satisfying parts of the film--sappy, but satisfying. So 
perhaps, with those three drops of Potter blood in his veins, LV will lose the 
purity of his evil...

> Dead!Dumbledore.  I just think he deserves to see things 
> turn out well.

Actually, I think it's time for Harry and Company to be forced to battle the 
nasties without the DD cavalry there to save the day. The final victory has to 
be entirely the responsibility of Harry and (possibly) his friends--if we get 
yet another DD-explains-everything ending at the end of Book 7, it won't be 
anywhere near as satisfying as Harry making the end happen, in full knowledge 
and power--and with no one to back him up. 

Hate to bring up SW again, but there's a reason that Obi Wan and Yoda die 
before the ends of the first and third movies...

> Things not turning out well.

No kidding. If it ends up all going to hell, or all a variation on the movie 
Brazil (ie, Harry dreaming in the cupboard--brilliant but thoroughly 
depressing) I think JKR will watch the series go from the most popular ever 
straight into the dustbin of popular culture.

Not that we want all sweetness and light, of course. ;-)

> Ugly:
> Bill and Fleur.  Oh, the family reunions.  Indigestion would reign.

I don't know--Imagine their children's hair! And the addition of a little 
French cuisine to leaven Molly's taste for country-style English food!

> Harry/Pansy.

Ick!

> Snape and Lockhart in a Mindmeld or Freaky Friday situation.

Ibid.

> Weird: 
> Harry writing his memoirs, and sending them back in time via 
> clockwork owl to a certain J K Rowling to publish.

Well, that's better than the Brazil/Bob Newhart Show ending, with him waking up 
at 4 Privet Dr, yes?

> JKR is actually a listee with just a *little too much insight* 
> into this world. 

Well, in that regard, you can be assured she ain't me!

Here's a few items from my Wish/Don't Wish list:

Good:

Continued maturation and growth for ALL the characters--including the baddies.

Some new characters to continue changing the mix, a la Tonks, Kingsley, 
Mundungus, etc.

Some insight and surprises into Harry's family background--both on the Muggle 
and wizard side.

Harry actually learns to trust someone. (Let go of your anger, Harry. Use the 
Force... er... Find the magic within!)

Bad:

We never get any further insight into Snape/Draco/etc. than we've already seen 
(I really don't think this is likely.)

Harry gets more and more bitter and just turns his back on everyone. (Ditto)

We finish the series without having met a single Slytherin with any redeeming 
qualities at all.

Ugly:

One of the Trio switches sides.

Draco/Crabbe/Goyle/Pansy falls in love with Hermione/Ginny/Harry/Ron and 
instantly becomes a goodie-goodie. I mean, in Pride and Prejudice, Austen sets 
that up from page one (or maybe its page three)--there's just no support for 
that kind of revelation here. At least, not yet.

We spend two more books of Harry being surly and snapping at people constantly. 
I mean, even teens do move beyond that phase eventually.... 

Ron/Hermione finally figure out that they like each other in the last chapter 
of Book Seven. I mean, come on, even Ron's not THAT dense! (I'm not saying they 
HAVE to end up together, but they need to at least acknowledge it sometime in 
the next sixteen-hundred pages, right?)

The actual person who saves the day--that is, the subject of Trelawney's famous 
oracle--is someone we don't even know. I mean, it COULD be a wizard from 
outside of England, yes? But wouldn't that be a total let-down?

JKR kills off so many of the main and secondary characters that there isn't a 
single Ship left.... but then, I love Jane Austen novels ;-)


Yers,

AC