:::: One Part FANDOM RETROSPECTIVE, One Part ANALYSIS ::::
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a play that premiered in London, 2016. It was met with praise by theatergoers and disdain, even hatred, by those who read the script. Today, there is a...
The conflict between these two begins in Act One when Draco tells Harry that he needs a favor. There are some nasty rumors going around that his son, Scorpius, is actually the child of Voldemort. Draco asks Harry if the Ministry could"release a statement reaffirming that all Time-Turners were destroyed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries". Harry suggests to Draco that he should "let it blow over". In my opinion, this is dumb. Such widespread gossip could lead to panic, and the Ministry would have made sure to eliminate any rumors about the existence of an heir. This forced conflict leads to a pathetic dueling scene in the middle of Act Two that takes place in Harry's kitchen.
HARRY: Are you sure... are you really sure he's yours, Draco?
There's a deadly silence.
DRACO: You take that back... right now.
But HARRY doesn't take it back. So DRACO takes his wand out.
How is it that Harry Potter, who had defeated Lord Voldemort and was sporting a cut on his cheek earlier in the play after successfully defeating Theodore Nott, can't keep up with Draco? He's the Head of Magical Law Enforcement! I'll circle around to this later, because most of this duel is a joke.
After this, Draco apologizes to Ginny for making a mess in the kitchen, and then we get this totally uncharacteristic exchange:
DRACO: As hard as I try, I can't reach him. You can't talk to Albus. I can't talk to Scorpius. That's what this is about. Not about my son being evil. Because as much as you might take the word of a haughty centaur, you know the power of friendship.
HARRY: Draco, whatever you may think...
DRACO: I always envied you them, you know - Weasley and Granger. I had -
GINNY: Crabbe and Goyle.
DRACO: Two lunks who wouldn't know one end of a broomstick from another. You - the three of you - you shone, you know? You liked each other. You had fun. I envied you those friendships more than anything else.
GINNY: I envied them, too.
Stop. Just stop.
The private actions of Harry, Ron, and Hermione were not public knowledge. We, the readers, were privy to that because, you know, we read the books! This DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. It's an example of the writer, who knows the importance of the trio's connection, putting a retroactive envy of that relationship onto another character. Stop changing the way we interpreted the original books! Draco Malfoy could've never had this perspective on the three of them. No one other than Ginny would've truly understood. And since we're on the topic...
Ginny
Oh, I have so much to say about Ginny in the characterization section. For now, let's just touch on the unexplained and abnormal elements. First, the creative team made this big announcement before the premiere by revealing glimpses of the props and design sketches of custom wands. Ginny's wand was highlighted in that release, and yet she barely uses it. Albus and Scorpius use their wands constantly, but theirs wasn't on the sketch. So were you just messing with us? Why make so much hoopla over someone's wand construction when it doesn't have a purpose? Why get our hopes up? Or, rather, why give us another reason to feel let down by you?
Ginny is so blah in this play. And when they do attempt to give us a genuine moment between Mrs. Potter and her famous husband, they sacrifice her development for a forced reconciliation (with dialogue that's full of contradictions). And worse, she allows Harry to slip off the hook when he doesn't deserve it!
GINNY: I was wrong - to blame you. I always accuse you of jumping to things and it was me who - Albus went missing and I assumed it was your fault. I'm sorry I did that.
HARRY: You don't think this is my fault?
GINNY: Harry, he was kidnapped by a powerful Dark witch, how can that be your fault?
Come on, now, Gin. There's no way you could even know this...
A) There is nothing to indicate that Delphi is powerful.
B) There is nothing to indicate that Delphi took Albus against his will.
So, based on everything Ginny had to go on up until this point in the play, it was *very much* his fault for the way he treated Albus.
Act Four of Cursed Child just absolves Harry of any wrongdoing, while completely diminishing the significant role of Ginny as both mother and wife. At this point, why should I be surprised? More poor treatment of women. Ooohhh, you just wait until I get to the section on the mishandling of women in this play...
My fingers are itching at the thought of typing it all out. Lots of goodies to come, WattPotters!
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