Imagine it. You are standing in line to get your copy of “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.” You finally get it in your hand and are ready to relive your childhood once again. But… there’s something missing. The spark that comes when you read a Harry Potter book.
So why is Cursed Child so important? While we have seven books detailing Harry’s life, Cursed Child is considered the eighth Harry Potter book, following the story of Albus Potter. This script goes into his struggle to live up to his father’s name, while being best friends with Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Draco Malfoy who is his father’s childhood rival. While Albus is figuring this out, we meet a young lady named Delphini, who is not all she seems. Later, it is discovered that she is actually the daughter of Lord Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange. She concocts a plot to travel back in time and stop her father from trying to kill Harry Potter yet she ultimately fails and is imprisoned in Azkaban. This story puts a new spin on the famous story we know and love and gives the fans more information into the story after 19 years later.
There are negative reviews of “Cursed Child” all across the Internet. Some fans are even afraid to read it because of the awful things they have heard, when in reality, it’s not as bad as they say. As I am a Harry Potter enthusiast, people come up to me all the time and ask what my view is about “Cursed Child,” saying things like, “Oh, I’m almost afraid to ask,” or “Did you want to rip the book apart?” We may not like the script that was given to us, but as fans, we were supplied with this new information. We should accept this and not complain about it, since for right now, this is all the new material we have.
Here are some of the problems fans have with “Cursed Child.”
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Why are fans upset at “Cursed Child” and JK Rowling?
Fans were expecting to get an actual novel, not a screenplay for a play. No matter how many times JKR insisted that this was not a book, just a script, fans just wouldn’t believe her. All the problems with “Cursed Child” have fans fearing and wondering about the state of Fantastic Beasts.
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What’s wrong with “Cursed Child”?
“Cursed Child” is a script for the play, so it doesn’t contain the same spark many fans feel when reading the Harry Potter books. The first two acts of the script sound like badly written fanfiction that make us wonder if JKR even wrote it! And not to mention the amount of plot holes the script contains. Many people also don’t agree with characteristics of certain characters in the script, which makes them feel as if the character isn’t really that character.
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What plot holes are in this script?
Why I am so glad you asked. We never find out where the time turner came from or why Theodore Nott had it. Does Ron actually work with George? How does the trolley lady survive since Hogwarts was founded; why is she able to get on top of the train; is she the Hogwarts’ Express horcrux? In Act Four, Scene Twelve, the scene ends with the gang being rotated off and away from the past. Scene Thirteen is Hagrid discovering Harry in the rubble of Godric’s Hollow. Scene Fourteen is Albus and Scorpius at Hogwarts. I don’t exactly understand how JKR did that. Even though we know that they had a time turner on them, I feel like you should have included them, returning home safely through the time turner, not just jumping into the next part.
But there is one plot hole that is the biggest: Who exactly is the “Cursed Child”? Many people in the play are called out as being ‘cursed’ or ‘a curse.’ Harry was called a constant curse on Draco’s family. Scorpius could be the Cursed Child since everyone believes he is Voldemort’s son. Delphi could be because she is actually Voldemort’s daughter. Albus could be the Cursed Child because he has to rise up to his father’s standards or because Bane stated that Albus had a black cloud around him. Or did JKR want the reader to come up with their own hypothesis on which it could be? The world may never know.
4) What do you think about “Cursed Child?” Do you like it?
I agree that the story line could happen. However, I do believe that, while not the best method of telling the story, it was a rather good one. We find out so much useful information! I had no idea the Cushioning Charms incantation was Molliare! Hermione’s riddles to get to the Time Turner were absolutely brilliant! And the fact that Voldemort had a daughter? All of my Head Canon dreams come true. I have written dozens of fanfictions about Voldemort secretly having a child, preferably a daughter, and I had no idea that JKR would have come to the same conclusion. When I read that scene, I started screaming with excitement. Voldemort is one of my favorite characters, and I truly hope we will get to find out more about his daughter.
5) Fantastic Beasts is coming out in November. Will “Cursed Child” have an effect on who goes to see the film?
Fans love Harry and his story more than an interesting script with a bunch of plot holes. I believe that fans are still going to go see the film, just with a little sense of uncertainty of how it will be portrayed. The film comes out November 18th so I do hope everyone will go see it and use their brain to make an educated decision.
If you want to know more about “Cursed Child,” go buy the book at your local bookstore. If you would like to know more information about upcoming Potter material or find out more on Fantastic Beasts, visit JK Rowling’s online website, www.pottermore.com.