OS Book Club Pt II

[Majingir]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Yeah I hated Snape. It's odd to me how many people come back song how great of a character he was, butI feel like that had more to do with Alan Rickman than the actually story character. Snape was a poorly developed character and is one of the most nonsensical aspects of the series.

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Snapes my fave character in the series. Maybe it did have to do with the acting, but I loved it. From half blood prince onwards he got really interesting (prisoner of Azkaban he was good too), but it was really the moment after

Spoiler

he died

that I really started liking him, viewing his character completely differently and really seeing him as the victim.

Similarly with how Hermione is my next favorite. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I liked Emma Watson playing her, specifically from 3rd movie onwards, but she was great.

Speaking of Harry potter, I've been thinking about getting the cursed child book. I saw it's as advertised, just a screenplay, not a regular book like the others were. Is it a good one to get? Just $25 for hardcover so I figure why not? Especially if there really are no plans to make it a movie. No point not reading it to avoid movie spoilers.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Snapes my fave character in the series. Maybe it did have to do with the acting, but I loved it. From half blood prince onwards he got really interesting (prisoner of Azkaban he was good too), but it was really the moment after

Spoiler

he died

that I really started liking him, viewing his character completely differently and really seeing him as the victim.

What? How is Snape the victim?

Similarly with how Hermione is my next favorite. Maybe it has to do with the fact that I liked Emma Watson playing her, specifically from 3rd movie onwards, but she was great.

Speaking of Harry potter, I've been thinking about getting the cursed child book. I saw it's as advertised, just a screenplay, not a regular book like the others were. Is it a good one to get? Just $25 for hardcover so I figure why not? Especially if there really are no plans to make it a movie. No point not reading it to avoid movie spoilers.

Hermione is the MVP of the series. If this is ever turned into an episodic series (please don't let Netflix get hold of this) I would welcome a different imagining of the character, but Emma pretty much nailed the personality from the books.

Cursed Child (not canon) is a fan-fic play. $25 for a play is fairly expensive. Heck, $25 for a hardcover is fairly expensive regardless of length. I typically balk around that price personally unless it's a bonafide classic. I read the premise of the play and enough impressions to figure out I would never enjoy reading it because it involves one of my least favorite mechanisms from the series (Time-Turner) and makes the ridiculous assertion that Voldemort procreated.

[Majingir]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

What? How is Snape the victim?



Hermione is the MVP of the series. If this is ever turned into an episodic series (please don't let Netflix get hold of this) I would welcome a different imagining of the character, but Emma pretty much nailed the personality from the books.

Cursed Child (not canon) is a fan-fic play. $25 for a play is fairly expensive. Heck, $25 for a hardcover is fairly expensive regardless of length. I typically balk around that price personally unless it's a bonafide classic. I read the premise of the play and enough impressions to figure out I would never enjoy reading it because it involves one of my least favorite mechanisms from the series (Time-Turner) and makes the ridiculous assertion that Voldemort procreated.

Snape was in love with Lily, but by fate he was separated because of the sorting hat, Lily ended up with James, the guy who bullied Snape. He always loved her and did what he could to protect her(including being a double agent of sorts by joining Dumbledores side). Even after she died he still tried protecting her son (even if Harry reminded him of James.. Except for his eyes). Despite all that, everyone viewed him as a bad guy and Harry didn't see Snapes true purpose or feelings until he died.

He went from being "It was always Snape! (the one to turn on Dumbledore)" to "It was always Snape? (the one who actually had Dumbledores back)".

Everyone's interpretation can be different, but that's how I saw it.

I probably do go more back and forth on Hermione and Snape in 1-2 fave characters. Probably more 1A and B. I liked Snapes progression throughout the series, but Hermione was good all around. Her smarter than everyone attitude was best part.

I forgot about the Disney side of things, their streaming service probably gets the new series if it happens.

I hope we don't have a reimagining. Movie franchise was too big and popular to have one without people comparing every little aspect of it to the movies. That's another reason I hope a new series focuses on a story we haven't seen. The first wizarding war. We know details from it, but not a full version from the buildup to it, all the way to "boy who lived" end,or immediate aftermath (maybe books covered it more, but movies definitely didn't)

Cursed child isn't a direct continuation? Guess I won't bother then. The time changing stuff was interesting to me, but if it all isn't really part of the story, then like you said, it's just fan fiction.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Snape was in love with Lily, but by fate he was separated because of the sorting hat, Lily ended up with James, the guy who bullied Snape. He always loved her and did what he could to protect her(including being a double agent of sorts by joining Dumbledores side). Even after she died he still tried protecting her son (even if Harry reminded him of James.. Except for his eyes). Despite all that, everyone viewed him as a bad guy and Harry didn't see Snapes true purpose or feelings until he died.

He went from being "It was always Snape! (the one to turn on Dumbledore)" to "It was always Snape? (the one who actually had Dumbledores back)".

Everyone's interpretation can be different, but that's how I saw it.

Definitely one way to look at him. Snape was always a dick, though. Even to Lily. They were always "separated," but remained friends. Snape got jealous because Lily had other friends while Snape was doodling in Dark Arts and making bigoted remarks against half-blood wizards and witches. He may have loved her, but it felt completely one-sided (and creepy) by the time she dies at the beginning of the series.

I always saw Snape's actions as motivated by guilt. His "love" for Lily led to his jealously which led to him snitching to the Dark Lord like a rat. Even when he was protecting Harry (Dude was given the single biggest "protection" task and completely balked it because he was too damn snide and couldn't distinguish between Harry and James) he was only doing it for Lily. Heck, he tried to barter with Voldemort to let Lily live and couldn't have cared less about baby Harry living or dying.

I forgot about the Disney side of things, their streaming service probably gets the new series if it happens.

I hope we don't have a reimagining. Movie franchise was too big and popular to have one without people comparing every little aspect of it to the movies. That's another reason I hope a new series focuses on a story we haven't seen. The first wizarding war. We know details from it, but not a full version from the buildup to it, all the way to "boy who lived" end,or immediate aftermath (maybe books covered it more, but movies definitely didn't)

Cursed child isn't a direct continuation? Guess I won't bother then. The time changing stuff was interesting to me, but if it all isn't really part of the story, then like you said, it's just fan fiction.

Harry Potter is a WB property so it won't be on Disney's streaming service anyway. I would definitely welcome another look at the books because they really left a lot out. Dobby is only in what 2 movies? They pretty much cut out his whole importance from the books.

Cursed Child picks up at the epilogue of the series and follows Harry's son as he attends Hogwarts and befriends Malfoy's kid. Plus, you have Voldemort's love child running around. It sounded bad to me, but I hear the actual play is really good.

[Majingir]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

I saw HP movies air on ABC alot, thought their company was owned by Disney.

[KSUowls]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

100% accurate that Hermione was the MVP of the series. It's not even that she was the brains behind much of what they accomplished. From start to finish can you really name another character who was as steadfast in her resolve or loyalty to their friends, even when she didn't agree with them? The story is about Harry, but Hermione's resolve was a pillar in every conflict.

The problem with Snape redemption story is it comes off as completely contrived. At the end of the 7 book series we get this eureka moment that Snape was "the bravest" character with all he went through while still remaining on the side of good. We're led to believe that his story is one of tragic circumstance where we should forgive the entirety of the Harry Potter universe prior to the last 100 or so pages of the 7th book in favor of the redemption arc that is forced onto us. Even if you explain away some of his early antics as a kid as well as his his original turning to the side of Voldemort as mistakes of youth or circumstance then I don't know how you explain his own abuse of authority and bullying to an entire generation of Hogwarts students. The only way to really reconcile these competing personas is to accept that Dumbledore ordered him to maintain such a hateful facade all those years (long before Voldemort's rebirth) in the interest of maintaining his ability to act as a double agent for Voldemorts eventual rebirth, which is not a level of depth I'm willing to give JK Rowling credit for.

[Majingir]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

It's not so much that Snape was secretly a good guy all around and pretending to be that mean professor. To me it's more about what led him to be like that. Bullying by James and his group is what turned him into this angry guy.

But deep down he had some good in him and was loyal to Dumbledore until the very end.

Back to Hermione, the first 2 movies she was ok, but 3rd movie is when she really broke out as the star.

[DieHardYankee26]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

**** Snape.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Man. Snape was always "that angry guy." Dude was a dickhead even as a kid.

[KSUowls]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

It's not so much that Snape was secretly a good guy all around and pretending to be that mean professor. To me it's more about what led him to be like that. Bullying by James and his group is what turned him into this angry guy.

But deep down he had some good in him and was loyal to Dumbledore until the very end.

Back to Hermione, the first 2 movies she was ok, but 3rd movie is when she really broke out as the star.

You could definitely say that he was a product of circumstance, but even when he got out of that environment and away from the bullying he was still a bad person, aside from his loyalty to Dumbledore, where he was himself a bully to 14 years of young students while being a figure of authority. You can certainly say again that even when he got away from James and others who bullied him that they he had already been molded into the person he would become. As with any character backstory that just explains why he was the way he was though. A villain is still a villain no matter what happened in their past to lead them to that point. What I think really hurts him here is that there wasn't some redemptive moment where he realizes he was wrong all along or that his actions were misguided. We just get this contrived explanation that he was on Harry's side all along due to a crush he had in the equivalent of grade school...meaning that his character at the end is no different from the awful person he was leading up to that end because there wasn't some epiphany or alteration in his mindset.

As for Hermione. You're right that the 3rd movie is where she really broke out, but you could see those traits in her character as far back as the philosophers stone. She was the most decisive of the main cast and arguably the most brave. She faced her biggest fear, McGonagall, in order to save the boys after they saved her from the troll, and she didn't hesitate to stun Neville when it seemed like they would be blocked on their way to protect the stone. Though I will say the moment she punched malfoy in prisoner of Azkaban was the first really epic moment of hers lol.

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[Majingir]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

Lol ya, the Malfoy punch was great. And then once she had that time thing to go back and change history, that showed how special even the professors knew she was since Mcgonagall gave it to her.

[Fresh Tendrils]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

The Time-Turner is such a low-point to me. This device is regulated by the Ministry of Magic, but they're going to let a student have one so she can fit an extra class or two into her schedule? Not to mention the whole "complexities" of time-travel anyway.

[Cod]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

I just finished up Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams by Matthew Walker. All I can say is "Wow!". The book really opened my eyes to the importance of sleep. We've all been told the importance without any real evidence as to why. For example, it is impossible to "make up sleep" when missed after an all-niter. This book answers a lot of the "why" and will make you re-think your sleeping strategies (bed time, daily routine, etc.).

Highly recommend everyone read this book.

[Majingir]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

The Time-Turner is such a low-point to me. This device is regulated by the Ministry of Magic, but they're going to let a student have one so she can fit an extra class or two into her schedule? Not to mention the whole "complexities" of time-travel anyway.

Its Hermione, let her do what she wants.

[Cod]

Re: OS Book Club Pt II

I just picked up The Silk Roads: A New History of the World by Peter Frankopan. Saw it on Bill Gates' recommend book list and a number of co-workers recommend it. I can't wait to dive in!