XPOST: Lupin is Ever So Evil Part One -- The Prank (long)

[nkafkafi]

Pippin wrote:

> Tut, tut. Plotting for film is an entirely different art than
> plotting novels.
> 
> No script-writer would introduce the hero's girlfriend,  leave her
> to languish for a sequel or two before showing up for the 
> wedding, then plop the leftover bits into appendix A part V.
> 
> The protagonist of the prank story is Snape, the antagonist is
> ostensibly Sirius, but since Sirius is in no condition to become 
> Harry's antagonist, the real antagonist must be someone else 
> (sorry, Kneasy.) Not until Harry is about  to confront the real 
> antagonist can the prank story be introduced to
> the film.
> 
> Meanwhile, stepping back to look at the prank as a plotline, we have:
>  
> an initial situation: Lupin has a secret; Snape wants to know what it
> is
> development: Snape sees Lupin being taken to the willow
> first plot point: Sirius tells Snape how to get inside
> second plot point: Snape tries it
> climax: Snape is rescued
> denouement: Snape learns the secret, but is not allowed to reveal it
> 
> 
> As Kneasy points out, the denouement is deficient -- what 
> compelled Snape to keep silent?  Snape had/has  a secret 
> of his own, surely.
> 
> But that's not the big gap. What's  missing is what Aristotle called 
> recognition-- something  between the two plot points (it would be 
> the centerpiece of the second act, if this were a three act play) 
> has to change the relationship  between Snape and the other 
> characters and make the second plot point  inevitable. 
> Luke finds out Vader is his father, Frodo realizes 
> he'll never get to Mordor without Gollum's help, etc.
> 
> I suspect my "Lupin coerced Snape"  theory is unpopular because
> as a standalone recognition  it's not dramatically 
> satisfying -- it doesn't change Snape's relationship with Lupin
> whom he hates already. It would, however, dramatically change
> Harry's relationship with Snape to find out that the real antagonist
> is Lupin and has been all along.
> 
> Then of course, there's the problem of seeing Lupin as an antagonist.
> But in hero-worshipping Lupin, we make the same mistake that 
> Lupin himself made, IMO, in hero-worshipping his friends and later
> Voldemort. Greatness <>goodness.
> 

Neri:
May I humbly (heh!) point out that all this wonderful lit analysis
depends on one critical assumption: that there's a story here.
Something with three acts, a protagonist, an antagonist, etc. This is
a rather big assumption considering all we have on The Prank (even
this title is a pure fandom invention) is less than one page in large
font. I suspect we might be mistaking a peace of the setting for a
whole play. Plotwise, the whole purpose of the Prank might be to have
Snape owing a life-debt to James while still hating James and the
Marauders more than ever. That it. Mission accomplished. All the
inconsistencies only suggest to me that JKR never put much thought
into it, and had never imagined we would pick it apart so obsessively.
I won't be surprised if all we get on the Prank will be one additional
page, which will perhaps solve an inconsistency or two and will
probably introduce several new ones, but none of the major points will
change. 

Remember, JKR have only two books left. She doesn't have enough room
in there for a whole prequel with six major characters (at the very
least the four Marauders, Snape and Lily) and still keep track of so
many characters in the here and now. And considering how Lucas managed
his prequels (yuck, yuck and YUCK) I'm rather thankful for that.

Neri