SciFi Friday: A Week of Harry Potter (Movie 5 and Book 7)

In just a few hours we’ll be in line to pick up a few copies of Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows and at the moment all the non-Harry Potter news can wait until next week. The whole week has been dominated by Harry Potter, even with the avoidance of all the supposed spoilers on line. Last weekend I saw the movie version of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and Harry Potter was already the topic of one blog post this week. Those who need a quick refresher on the novels so far might check this one from BBC News.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix received mixed reviews, but I did enjoy it. The movies have become more difficult to film as they can no longer get by simply by showing special effects of magic around Hogwarts. David Letterman even quipped that the only magic in the movie was some card tricks. The movies, like the books, are also getting darker as they approach the finale, making them less fun for those looking for an escapist movie. The movies also increasingly suffer from the problem of middle chapters in a long story in that they can never provide a full ending.

The other problem faced by the movies is that it is impossible to show everything which occurs in the book as the books have become extremely long. Some reviewers felt the movie left out too much, but there were really only two items which I missed. The first element of the book which I missed was the total absence of Quiddiitch in the movie. This was especially significant as one of Umbridge’s punishments (which occurred more frequently in the books than the movie) was to ban Harry from playing. The more significant absence was the explanation for why Harry survived and must return to his aunt’s home every summer. Harry survived due to his mother’s love, and the protection she provided him continues as long as he sees his mother’s blood relation at least once per year.

While there is yet one more book between Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Harry Potter and The Deathly Hollows, the movie still acts as a good reintroduction for those whose memory has become foggy as to the details leading into the final novel. The movie prepares us for the inevitable final battle between Harry and Voldemort and reminds us of the prophecy that one of them must die.

In recent weeks it seemed like most have predicted that the series ends with Harry’s death. I have avoided all the spoilers and am just guessing, but my prediction is that Harry will live (but someone close to him such as Ron will die). The fateful prediction is that one will die, implying that the victor does live. While it might have been possible to envision an ending in which Harry sacrifices his life to destroy Voldemort, I cannot imagine that the series would end with Voldemort killing Harry and surviving. If we can rely on the prophecy, Harry must be the one who survives.

Such an ending would also fit into the formula we have seen, keeping in mind that ultimately this is a children’s series which follows a definite formula. If this books follows what we have been led to expect, Harry and friends will search out some McGuffins, or in this case the remaining Horcruxes. This will set up the final battle scene, in which once again Harry will win, the school year ends, and things are calm once again. The difference is that this will be the final battle, and instead of going home for the summer Harry will graduate, and hopefully we will learn about his future Iand if it includes Ginny Weasley).

There are also other questions beyond the battle between Harry and Voldemort. I’m especially interested to find the full story on Snape. I suspect we’ll find out that he’s not as evil as portrayed. However, if that is the case, it might also lead to finding that Dumbledore might not be as good as we believe. There also remain many mysteries going back to the start of the series, such as how the Weasleys can be so poor that they have difficulty obtaining clothing and books when they can do magic. It’s not like they have a Darrin Stevens ordering them to do everything the mortal, or muggle, way.

Even if my predictions about the book are incorrect, I believe we will receive a clear ending. Fans would be extremely disappointed if the book ends abruptly with Harry and Ron having a meal at the Hog’s Head pub in Hogsmeade while Hermione is outside trying to parallel park her broomstick, and then…

(SciFi Friday is a weekly feature of Liberal Values. If my predictions about Harry Potter are correct, you’ll hear about it next week.)

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