So I finished the book Sunday. Took a few days to sink in, I think. So, what did I think about the book? Well, it wasn't bad. I'm not a fan of the ending. Seemed a bit of a cop out. What happened to Luna, for instance? And with all the death eaters in charge of the ministry, surely it wasn't just an instant change. There's got to be a lot of things happening there. Then there's the entire career of Harry as an auror. Jumping ahead 19 years was nice, but without a single bit of information on what happened between Voldemort's death and then, it just isn't a satisfying ending. There's a reason for this.
If anyone has studied storytelling they will know about The Hero's Journey. There is a series of events that a typical story goes through. It's not something that anyone enforces, it's just something that fits in with what we have come to expect from stories. If a story doesn't fit in with this pattern, then it doesn't seem like a full story to us. This is a confirmed fact. Unfortunately Harry Potter 7 does not follow this pattern completely. Now, I admit that almost no story actually follows the Hero's Journey completely, and the stories that do usually seem cliched and predictable, there were important things left out of the end of HP7.
We don't get to see the return to the real world at all. Voldemort is dead and then it's 19 years later. There is no final scene with Ginny before they're married and have 3 kids. There was no final reconciliation with the Dursley's. You might say the scene with them at the beginning of the book did that, but they were sent into hiding with wizards, then they were never mentioned again. You can't make a big deal about something in a story and then just leave it to assumption and the reader's imagination. The Dursley's needed a Return of their own. It just wasn't enough. Also, what about Harry, Ron, and Hermione's last year at Hogwart's? Technically they're not finished with school yet. So are they going to have to go back or do they get a pass? And if they do, what about the tests that told whether or not they'd be able to do the jobs they want. J.K. Rowling, do you hear me?! We need more than this! This story is not finished!
So, on that note, I have a proposal. A TV show, based on what happened after Voldemort's death. Start with them after school. Maybe start with some sort of graduation or something. Then jump ahead a bit to Harry and Ron being Aurors. Then you have the setup for an action crime drama type show with magic. How cool would that be? And you know who would do a great job of it? The same people that are doing the Dr. Who show now. That show is so great. It's got that British charm and humor that would fit into Harry Potter's world very well. They're also willing to go absolutely random with the sci-fi aspect, imagine what they could come up with when they have wizards under their control. It'd be great. Plus it's not Hollywood, so they can do things Hollywood would never do, like come up with truly original story lines and actually kill off major characters. Or at the least take them out of the show. The Harry Potter world is dangerous and needs to continue in that vein. Many people have died, why suddenly make everyone invulnerable? If Hollywood get ahold of this show it would end up like another Smallville. An interesting idea that ends up just another teen romance drama.
Not that anyone's ever going to listen to me, but if suddenly they announce this in a couple years, you heard it here first.
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