Harry Potter and the Cursed Child discussion

Regardless of whether it is canon, whether we hated it (Ooh, I did! Pick me, pick me!!), whether it was an awesome live performance, I DON'T THINK THIS IS MEANT TO BE CANON!
Think about it. Everything in Harry Potter ties up so perfectly in neat little bows all over the place, and this fails completely in that aspect. (view spoiler)[It gave Voldemort a daughter. It messed up time travel. It completely counteracted "All was well." It erased the hope that Albus would be safe and happy at Hogwarts in Gryffindor. Whereas the novels explain EVERYTHING, draw connections between everything, and cross-check on just about everything! (hide spoiler)]
Now, why would it completely change our basis of Harry's world? Because it ISN'T MEANT TO BE CANON! It is an adaptation, an expansion, of the Wizarding World. J.K. Rowling said on many occasions that she didn't want to write an eighth book. Notice the word choice: an eighth book. She didn't write an eighth book because she left it up to us to imagine what came next. This script is a few people's interpretation of what happened after the train left platform 9 and 3/4. It is meant to be seen as a play so that readers will visually see everything with which they were familiar from the series, and this medium, I think, was meant to prove that it's just a spin-off. A canon sequel would have been a book. Cursed Child is no more real than "Harry Potter Puppet Pals," or "How Harry Potter Should Have Ended."
Does anyone else draw a connection between "not a novel ergo not meant to be seen as canon?" Or is this just part of a wave of acceptance of all mediums being able to produce canon?

I think it's more realistic to accept the ridiculousness of it being canon and then knowing and discussing how these new plot points make no sense- as opposed to pretending JK didn't allow this to become canon. The latter would be giving her the benefit of the doubt, and she definitely praised and acts like this is canon.

But for the sake of the good Harry Potter series (scratch that, great), I'm not going to refer to the facts in this book as canon or part of the original series because it was written so long after and under different circumstances- in other words, it's almost impossible that things in books 1-5 or so were impacted by things we learn here because JK had no idea she'd be writing this sequel-y thing.

I think it would be okay if they hadn't strapped the Harry Potter names onto the characters... if it had been "Harold Porter and the Cursed Child," or even something totally random like "David Mckenzie and the Cursed Child--Inspired by events of the Harry Potter series"... then maybe...? Generally I love messy time-travel (Back to the Future; X-Men Days of Future Past; Men in Black 3, etc.) and stories with secret children from another time-line. But never in Harry Potter.

Julia wrote: "Regardless of whether it is canon, whether we hated it (Ooh, I did! Pick me, pick me!!), whether it was an awesome live performance, I DON'T THINK THIS IS MEANT TO BE CANON!
Think about it. Everyth..."

Julia, you watch HISHE and HPPP? Nice!

*ahem* Sorry. Off topic. Anyway, I did not like this "book" either. It's not canon to me, never will be. Voldemort's daughter, the sudden inclusion of time travel (THE TURNERS SHOULD HAVE STAYED GONE!), the ridiculous plot, the alternate universes. They even brought Snape back, only to kill him a second time. Everything was flung at you, like SURPRISE, SURPRISE! Voldemort has a kid, he and Bellatrix had an affair, the story is not over, all is not, in fact, well! Nothing had a connection or an explanation. I felt like I was being handed Harry Potter fanfiction. Honestly, some tones of it rang a bell. It baffled me that J.K. Rowling, my favorite author, had a part in this. It just made no sense to me.

Bre wrote: "Julia, you watch HISHE and HPPP?..."

I completely agree about everything being flung at you. You can check out my full review here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I was beyond shocked by the events of this book, starting with sweet little Albus getting Slytherin, the way Harry seems to hate him, and even the rumours at the beginning that Voldemort could have a child. I had to keep notes during the whole read, because I just needed to express all of my frustration, which are all found in my review. As you will notice, about half-way through I put myself in a numb trace just to get to the last page!

Here are some of my other discussions on this "book":
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

Julia, I loved your review. You clearly love Harry Potter and no detail in any book slips past you.

Your theory pertaining to Albus's Sorting into Slytherin was interesting and unlike anything I've ever heard before. Perhaps the line has been cursed.

But as you mentioned with Neville, he was Sorted into Gryffindor despite pleading to be a Hufflepuff. Harry was close to becoming a Slytherin, but he didn't, because the Hat saw the bravery and determination in him. Decided that wouldn't be the best place for him. I think what Harry said about "choice" doesn't make the Hat's decision final, it just influences it.

The Hat isn't all-knowing and certainly isn't God, but if it Sorted Harry's son into Slytherin, I respect that. His personality certainly opposes Harry's. But Slytherins don't have to be walking bully stereotypes; they have a wide range of dispositions, just like the other Houses. Slytherin is all about ambition and cunning. Albus exhibited these traits; doesn't Scorpius describe him as a good liar? The ambition might come later, as he still is very young.

It was a bold move to put him in Slytherin, but I think it was justified. Though I despise the screenplay, some of it I can agree with.

I believe your theory is very likely, but what if it's not just that?



Then again I might be wrong and Albus either forgot to ask for Gryffindor or it was just meant to please fans and create drama and conflict...

Bre wrote: "Julia, I loved your review. You clearly love Harry Potter and no detail in any book slips past you.

Your theory pertaining to Albus's Sorting into Slytherin was interesting and unlike anything I'..."

It created a lot of conflict for me, for sure!! And I agree that in this version, Albus is nothing like Harry, but I also think he is nothing like the Albus we met at the end of Deathly Hallows either, sadly. :,(

As far as a house goes, if not for the reputation of dark wizards, I respect what Slytherin stands for: determination. Yet J.K. Rowling always painted them negatively, with Harry's first impression of them in book one being that none of them looked very friendly (or something similar). The Hat is not described as being on Albus' head long, so it really didn't give him the chance to make a choice, but while many of his actions throughout the play could perhaps be described as ambitious, I think they took a lot of bravery as well. However, I would describe the Albus I met at the end of Deathly Hallows as brave rather than ambitious, or any other House traits for that matter. I think it took a lot of courage for him to admit to Harry that he truly was afraid of ending up in Slytherin. I think it takes a lot of courage for him to even walk into the Great Hall with a name that precedes him, and likely with a chocolate frog card with his father's picture and legacy in his pocket!

It is my love of Harry Potter that makes me fight against this book so much, "until the end." If they had at least provided ANY sort of explanation as to why he was put in Slytherin (he gave up the choice/the Hat ignored him/he didn't want to be compared to his father/he truly was ambitious/he didn't have time to choose--I have touched on all of these already), then maybe I could accept it. Much like how it took seeing Snape's memories of his love for Lily for us to fully understand and appreciate his motives, I need something, ANYTHING!, to explain why Albus was sorted the way he was, and these forums have been the closest I have been able to get to an answer that J.K. will never reveal. :(

And as far as "cursed" goes... it felt a tad... overdramatic for a title. Like I said, if my theory is actually wrong, I don't get why Albus gets the label of "cursed." He has a hard time connecting with his father, and in one time-line that exists for about one or two scenes, he was never born because his father is dead. But other than that, his only "curse" seems like puberty, teenager issues, and an identity crisis. Harry on the other hand, who was raised an orphan and bullied by his guardians, the victim of the Dark Lord from infant-hood through adolescence, and a young man constantly faced with the deaths of loved ones while being personally victimised by the government, is not considered "cursed"? ;)

Julia wrote: "As far as a house goes, if not for the reputation of dark wizards, I respect what Slytherin stands for: determination. Yet J.K. Rowling always painted them negatively, with Harry's first impression..."

I've tended to notice one recurring thing in Rowling's books: she likes to only showcase the worst side of something and then the best. No in-between. Because Draco Malfoy and a handful of Slytherins are bullies, naturally everyone hates Slytherin as a whole. It seems unfair to me. Like sticking a negative label on a different race (not that I'm trying to delve into racism here) that stays on for too long. It's like every Slytherin is destined to be evil. Judging from all of the Slytherins on Pottermore (and most are good people, by the way), if it were more realistic, we would see much more friendly or halfway decent Slytherins. Remember, a Slytherin's defining traits are supposed to be cunning and ambition. I know plenty of great people that have a lot of that in them. Why the stereotypes?

Every House has its flaws. Some Gryffindors can be arrogant. Some Ravenclaws can be condescending, and the list goes on and on.

My point is, Rowling sometimes sees a subject in black and white. There isn't really a middle. That's one of the only things that I didn't really like about Harry Potter.

And yes! Why is Albus cursed? The only "curse" on him seems to be the one called "puberty," and I'm positive that every other teen has endured it at some point. I hate the title because I feel like there's some indication that points to Albus having something deeply wrong with him when there isn't. He is almost every teenage boy on Earth. I wanted it to be called something better. Like Albus Potter and the Twist in Time or something. Not as vague, but still better.

That reminds me, WHY is this using the "Harry Potter" prefix in the title again? This isn't Harry's adventure. This is supposed to be about Albus. I know that everyone can recognize a title that has Harry Potter anything in it, but is it needed? I don't really want updates about Harry, I want updates on his kids and the next generation. Out with the old and in with the new, you know? If this were all about Harry, we'd focus on his oh-so-exciting desk job at the Ministry. Sure, there are interesting parts of his life and his job, but from what I could see from Cursed Child, is it really book-worthy?

Ruby wrote: "I think it's more realistic to accept the ridiculousness of it being canon and then knowing and discussing how these new plot points make no sense- as opposed to pretending JK didn't allow this to ..."

I agree.

I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible.

C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible."

Yes, she did, but that means nothing to me. Similarly she said that Neville marries Hannah Abbott, but I believe he ends up with Luna. I believe that stories are living things, and just because the author sees them one way doesn't mean that that is the only way. And frankly, this play was the wrong way to see what would happen to Harry and Albus.

Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible."

Yes, she did, but that means nothing ..."

I couldn't agree more! Having Neville marry Hannah instead of Luna was just so random and cruel. They would've been wonderful together. I guess I could sort of see Luna with the grandson of Newt Scamander, what with the whole fascination with magical creatures, but Neville with Hannah? Really?

And agreed, it was so sad to read about Harry as a bad father, I just didn't believe it. And to see a lack of friendship between Albus and his siblings and even his cousins? How would that even be possible. I'd like to believe James would be a protective older brother who wouldn't let Albus get bullied; not one that practically ignored him.

C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible."

Yes, she did, but that ..."

Exactly. Plus, JK said she thinks that Luna believes in too many random things for Neville, but aside from that, what about the fact that they have both lost their parent(s)? I think Luna would really help Neville come to terms with the state of his own parents. Yes, Luna and Rolf Scamander would have a fascination of bizarre creatures in common, but Luna and Neville led Dumbledore's Army, helped Harry retrieve the prophecy, and fought side-by-side in war. Yes, Hannah eventually lost her mother as well (HBP), but Hannah and Neville have no history.

Our Harry would never be a bad father, and if the argument is that Albus didn't choose Gryffindor because he met Scorpius, how does this trump him wanting to not be teased by James for getting Slytherin? I hardly even noticed James in Cursed Child, and I would have preferred him being front and center with Albus. After all, a healthy brother bond between only two boys was never established in the original books... yes, Ron had many brothers, but he was never close with just one of them.

Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible."

Yes, she d..."
You took the words straight out of my mouth. Luna and Neville would have balanced each other out and supported each other and made each other really happy. We didn't even get to know Hannah, and we all love Neville, and it wasn't fair to the readers to just leave him with some personality-less, random character. Neville had such a hard life, we as readers deserved to see him with a wonderful happy ending. Would Neville even truly have been happy with Hannah?

And I don't quite believe the son of Harry and Ginny Potter would be anything but a Gryffindor, especially since Albus so wanted to be one (no offense to Slytherins, or any other house, I myself am a Hufflepuff). Rowling sacrificed staying true to her writings in order to have an interesting plot with this one.

Also, I agree. It would've really been nice to see a brother bond in the books. I was hoping that Cursed Child would have one with James and Albus, and I like to believe that they were really close and stuck up for each other and had each others' backs, no matter what this sorry excuse for a Harry Potter book says. And then there was Fred & George in the original series who could've been great to read about, if only we got to spend more time with them, and got to know them on a deeper level.

C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible..."

I just wanted to say that I was sorted into Slytherin (wanted Ravenclaw), but now I am proud to be considered determined and ambitious, even though I still want Albus in Gryffindor!! Slytherin does not have bad traits per say, but the way Harry Potter presented it to us was as an unhappy and dark bunch. Ergo not where Albus from the DH epilogue should belong!!

And it seemed like it was forgotten that Albus was half-Weasley, all of whom end up in Gryffindor. Albus was *not* just Harry's son; he was Ginny's, too. It seemed bizarre that while the love between Lily Sr. and Harry was front and center in the original books (even though she was dead from the first page), Ginny is not shown to be closer to her son.

I have said on another discussion that if we are led to believe that Albus gave up his choice because he wanted a friendship with Scorpius, then why didn't Lily Evans and Severus Snape end up in the same house? Lily knew Severus wanted Slytherin, and he saw her get Gryffindor, yet neither of them could choose to be with the other. It seems very sloppy in Cursed Child.

Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculo..."

I can relate! I used to want to be a Gryffindor so badly, but now I'm proud to be a Hufflepuff!

Right? It doesn't make sense to have Albus a Slytherin, considering family members are usually all in the same house. It was a cheap cop-out plot device that was really disappointing to see.

And exactly!! Ginny was so vague and useless as a mother figure, you would think that she'd show some more love to her family, having come from such a big one. I found it really hard to believe that Albus, son of Harry Potter and a WEASLEY, would be so lonely and only have Scorpio for companionship. He has two siblings and a bunch of cousins!! They should've all been very close!

And I don't think Albus was even really searching for a friendship with Scorpius, it just happened. Especially not enough so for him to give up being in Gryffindor like the rest of his family. And agreed, this creates a lot of plot holes in the series.

And you know what else made me mad?? The terrible time travel outcomes. I found it disappointing to read that Ron and Hermione would've never ended up together if Ron didn't get jealous of her and Victor Krum. Like, yikes. I'd like to believe their relationship meant more than that. And I'm not even a Romione shipper.
Plus for Hermione to become a mean bitter teacher just because she and Ron never ended up together? Hermione is a strong independent woman who doesn't need a man. She would've been just fine without Ron. If anything it would be the other way around. But I didn't like her as Minister of Magic. I mean, she could've handled it and all without a doubt, but I liked Kingsley Shacklebolt as minister. I'd prefer to see Hermione as the head of something involving the mistreatment of magical creatures, seeing as she started S.P.E.W and was into that.
And then there was Cedric Diggory. He was such a good boy, I really find it hard to believe that he would literally become a death eater because he got embarrassed at some school competition.

C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was..."

On the Hermione comment... my question is, how could they make such a fuss about showing equality in races by casting Hermione as black, but then tear her apart as one of the best female characters in literature by reducing her to a loser/spinster teacher just because she didn't get the guy... like, really? It's like, we can show racial equality, but it will cost us showing gender equality. P.S. Who do you ship with Hermione?

And I am glad to find someone else who didn't like Hermione as Minister of Magic! I remember thinking as I read it "We all know that Hermione is awesome... I don't need her to be Minister of Magic to prove that point!" Considering how much the Ministry opposed Harry, I can never imagine Hermione stepping up to LEAD IT. Yes, the Ministry has changed since Voldemort died, but I see Hermione as a mother first, not someone so obsessed with climbing the corporate ladder. Yes, she is very capable of the role, but after seven years of helping Harry defeat Voldemort, I imagine she would just want to be a wife and mom. Yes, she can still have a successful career, too, but it doesn't need to be inflated to the point of Minister. I also saw her as leading some sort of equality among species department for the S.P.E.W. reason, as well.

And Cedric had no cruel bone in his body! It was like they were trying to soften his death (from YEARS AGO) by saying, "Well, Neville would have died if Cedric lived, and we all prefer Neville... so make your choice."

Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as..."

I thought it was pretty cool that Hermione was black, especially considering there's like 5 POC characters in Harry Potter, (they got 6 minutes total of speaking time in the whole movie series) but they managed to ruin the rest of her character. What happened to her old spunk, wittiness, and pure heart? It's a shame. Not to mention it's such an insult to her character for her to end up alone (and she should've still been fine alone or not) and for Ron to end up married with a kid (his name though, Panju? Really?). Hermione was a fantastic character. She could've ultimately ended up with Victor Krum or someone random like Dean or Seamus or Neville or even Harry. Ron was definitely not the only boy who was willing to be with her. Meanwhile, Ron was a jerk for so much of the series, to Harry (Goblet of Fire!! Deathly Hallows!!), Luna, Ginny, Neville, you name it. He liked girls mainly just for their looks (hence his refusal to go to the Yule Ball with Eloise Midgen, and his sudden fierce attraction to Hermione at said Yule Ball). So for Ron to end up lucky in love and not Hermione? Completely ridiculous.

And I'm glad the you agree with me on not liking Hermione as Minister, too. A lot of the books had to do with how corrupt their government was, she literally had to run from them by the last book. And remember Cornelius Fudge? The Ministry of Magic didn't even believe Harry that Voldemort was back. And they threw Hagrid in Azkaban in Chamber of Secrets, and tried to do the same with Dumbledore in Order of the Phoenix, and had Dolores Umbridge in such high positions?? And Lucius Malfoy?? Like the Ministry of Magic was almost always their enemy so to have Hermione as the head of it seemed to wrong and kind of hypocritical. I had always imagined Hermione to be in a more morally sound and ethical line of work that was more down to earth but also showed off her cleverness and kindness. Minister of Magic is a really serious job and I don't believe that it would truly make Hermione happy, just stress her out. It exposes her every day to her biggest fear, failure. And yes!! Something with equality! She was always so passionate about her beliefs. If not fighting for house elf rights, I would think maybe muggleborn rights. And I had always thought that if any one of them had to go on to be Minister, it would be Harry...But I mean at least they didn't make Ron Minister. I would've thrown away the book. Not to mention Harry becoming the head of the boring Department of Magical Law Enforcement. What happened to them all being courageous, heroic, aurors together? Idk it just feels to me like the our heroes were just forced to grow up and get white collar office jobs. Kinda stinks.

And right??? This book was an insult to Cedric's memory. It tarnished his character, and was disrespectful to his death. They should've just left him alone. He was so good and kind, and they messed that up. Plus, EXACTLY. I really didn't like reading in the beginning how Harry refused to go back to save Cedric with the time turner when Amos Diggory asked. I understood why he couldn't do it and why it was a bad idea that could cause problems, but it was sad to see him refuse Amos like that. Like he didn't even consider it. Just because Cedric wasn't important enough. Yet when Sirius died in Order of the Phoenix, he would've definitely done it for him. Like I agree that it would've been a bad idea, but it was still sad to see Harry say no like that, especially since he was there for Cedric's death. And it really was like that- certain characters were considered more significant than others, and their lives were valued moreso than others, and that's how some time-turner outcomes were considered totally unacceptable.

UGH and everything was just so out of character.
-Harry forcing McGonagall to keep Albus and Scorpius apart?? That was not only unfair to his kid, but he was being disrespectful to such an important woman. He was talking to her like he was her superior.
-Draco just being all serious and solemn and depressed for the whole dang book
-Voldemort and Bellatrix having a child?? I mean, Bella would (I guess around Half-Blood Prince it had to have happened...but wasn't she married?) but Voldey would never. He'd see it as a waste of time. Plus I'm pretty sure I read fanfictions in which that happened.
-Ginny being about as bland and lacking in personality as movie Ginny. Not that I liked book Ginny much either (But I do really like how she's a Quidditch writer for the Daily Prophet. That seems like a good fitting job for her. Unlike the rest of the characters'.)
And more that I can't think of.
But I hated how so many characters we loved weren't even apart of the story. I wanted to hear about George and Angelina, Neville, Luna, Teddy Lupin and Victoire Weasley-Delacour, heck even Seamus and Dean. But we didn't get any of that.

Furthermore, all the Albus-Scorpius shipping annoys me. Can't people have friendships without them being romanticized? And I thought maybe Scorpius and Rose could be a possibility, but for some reason the authors wrote Rose as heartless, rude and arrogant. She was so mean to poor Scorpius for no reason! And Albus was rude to her too. Why oh why couldn't all of the Potter and Weasley children have been the best of friends?

P.S. I used to be a die-hard Harmony shipper, when I first read the books. But now I see that it really was just a platonic friendship, although it would've been interesting to see them as more. I've lately been considering a Hermione-Fred match up. I think they would balance each other out. Challenge each other. If only Fred didn't...Ugh. I can't even say it. I'm a proud member of the Fred Weasley Death Denial Support Group.

What I don't get is how so many people love this book DESPITE everything we pointed out in all of these posts. But I am really enjoying reading all of your comments! Most of them are the things I pointed out in my review.

I also dislike the Albus-Scorpius shipping-- can't two boys just be super good friends?

About the casting of Hermione again: I think I personally might have been okay with it if I hadn't come to love Emma Watson in that role. I was not quite 6 years old when I got into the series by watching the first movie, and I think the reason above all that I loved it was because Hermione was me. She looked like me. She talked like me. She was an annoying little know-it-all like me, and we all loved her because of it. I was essentially watching myself. When she was recast for Cursed Child then, you can imagine the disjoint I felt... and perhaps if I had waited to read the books before watching the movies, I could have imagined her any way I wanted. But above all, it was just like an identity crisis for me.

But yes, I definitely agree with everything else you have said!! Outside of Goodreads, I haven't really come across anyone else who has even read Cursed Child, despite having been a die-hard Harry Potter fan. I think one of my teachers from high school is the sole person I actually know who read it.

I have to agree.

Just something interesting to note about it being canon or not... despite being a play first, it was published as a book, albeit just a hard-cover (and now also soft-cover) version of the script. Interestingly though, a quick Google search of "Harry Potter" indicates "Number of books: 7"

It doesn't say 7 + 1 debatable screenplay. It just says 7.

Why this can never be canon!!

Julia wrote: Interestingly though, a quick Google search of "Harry Potter" indicates "Number of books: 7"

"It doesn't say 7 + 1 debatable screenplay. It just says 7."

lolololol this is my new go to argument for why it isn't canon

Bre wrote: "And yes! Why is Albus cursed? The only "curse" on him seems to be the one called "puberty," and I'm positive that every other teen has endured it at some point. I hate the title because I feel like..."


I agree so much! This title made zero sense. I finished the play and was still asking myself... Who is the cursed child? I was genuinely confused. Maybe Scorpius... being cursed with a shitty rumor looming over his head. But Albus is just a moody teenager.

I agree too about why did they use the "Harry Potter" tagline. They should have done something with one of the kids names "Albus Potter and The Worst Idea Ever" could have been a better, less misleading choice. Obviously, they did it for wider name recognition and because they didn't want to reveal what time period (pre or post HP) this play... duology... would be set in, but it made no sense beyond publicity.

This article really supports the "this should not be canon" argument: https://scifi.stackexchange.com/quest...

This whole debate is really interesting but I think the main evidence that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is NOT canon is this: WHERE THE HELL IS TEDDY REMUS LUPIN, godson of Harry and boyfriend of Victoire?? Harry was offering to have him MOVE IN in the epilogue, and now he isn’t even in the Cursed Child??? That is why the Cursed Child is clearly not canon.

Sayo wrote: "This whole debate is really interesting but I think the main evidence that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is NOT canon is this: WHERE THE HELL IS TEDDY REMUS LUPIN, godson of Harry and boyfriend..."

That is an excellent point!! I really missed seeing him, too. I was also really anticipating meeting Neville again as PROFESSOR LONGBOTTOM (he seemed like an obvious character to come across AT HOGWARTS!!) and Luna, too...

Plus, Teddy has grown up as an orphan but somehow whiny Albus is "The Cursed Child"? Harry was an orphan raised by people who hated him and was targeted for death by Voldemort, and he is not "A Cursed Child"? All I have to say about Rowling picking Albus as the Cursed Child is...

Julia wrote: Plus, Teddy has grown up as an orphan but somehow whiny Albus is "The Cursed Child"? Harry was an orphan raised by

I sooooo would have loved for this to have been Teddy's story. I mean... he is half werewolf!!!! Like... there are just so many possibilities. Also that he's an orphan as well...

I wonder if this would have been better had it *not* been labelled canon....
Say this was the synopsis:
"An exciting fan-written adventure based loosely on the characters and symbols of Harry Potter. See a new imagining of the Wizarding World, where choices and destiny battle for their place," --i.e. Albus getting Slytherin-- "darkness takes over even the truest of hearts," --i.e. Cedric!-- "and the Dark Wizard, Lord Voldemort, reveals a terrible secret that questions the soulless ever-incapable-of-love monster we thought we knew." --i.e. Delphi-- "Through this, we hope you will be able to fully respect the struggles our heroes faced by seeing an alternative where every spell is at the fingertips of teenage boys. From Polyjuice Potion being made available in hours rather than a month to a time-turner that will re-write any moment of the past, this play will allow you to expand yet another perspective of the Harry Potter series as you realize that if everything was so easily achieved with magic and death could be reversed, the truly dark and wonderful tale that is Harry Potter would never have been told completely."

Maybe? The fact the Rowling approved this just makes it that much harder to digest, and it leaves me questioning things like, did she always plan for Albus to get Slytherin, hence his initials spelling ASP?; did she always plan for Voldemort to have a daughter?; had she originally written GoF and saved Cedric with the intention of him becoming a Death Eater??

Or did she just say yes to anything Thorne and Tiffany suggested because she just wanted to make more money?

Julia wrote: "I wonder if this would have been better had it *not* been labelled canon....
Say this was the synopsis:
"An exciting fan-written adventure based loosely on the characters and symbols of Harry Pott..."

I completely agree with this. If this was marketed as fanon and they kept JKR's name out of this (because based on the way it was written I know she didn't have much hand in this) I could just enjoy it as basically a published fanfiction story. I would be totally fine with it.

But to market this as "the last book in the series" and to have it be canon (just to make more money I might add) is disgraceful and a complete joke.

C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "I wonder if this would have been better had it *not* been labelled canon....
Say this was the synopsis:
"An exciting fan-written adventure based loosely on the characters and symbols..."

YES! Thank you, C.A.! Because I swear that all of this has been written in fan-fiction already!

I just did a custom Google search of fan-fictions written before The Cursed Child was published, using the key-word "Voldemort's Daughter", and THERE ARE A TON OF RESULTS!!!!

https://www.google.ca/search?tbs=cdr%...

Julia wrote: "C.A. wrote: "Julia wrote: "I wonder if this would have been better had it *not* been labelled canon....
Say this was the synopsis:
"An exciting fan-written adventure based loosely on the character..."

It has! I distinctively remember seeing a LOT of fanfictions in which Albus was sorted into Slytherin, and people are ALWAYS setting up Voldemort and Bellatrix in their fanfics.

C.A. wrote: "It has! I distinctively..."

Yup! Here is the list of results of fan-fictions--again, published before Cursed Child-- that had Albus put in Slytherin and befriending Scorpius:
https://www.google.ca/search?tbs=cdr%...

To be fair, just about everything exists in fanfiction. Kinda like the golden rule of the internet. lol.

To be honest, I'm not against Albus being in Slytherin or being friends with Scorpius, or even Hermione ending up Minister of Magic, etc. HOWEVER, it needs to be sold to me in a way that I believe. (IE: It's canon that Albus expresses worry about being placed into Slytherin... But perhaps this is because he thinks he belongs there but is afraid to be different from his Gryffindor family.) The problem with Cursed Child is that it is written carelessly. These HP fanfic tropes are just chucked into the story with no attempt to create a sense of realism. Though... I'm not sure anyone can seriously write about Voldemort having a child. =p

Samantha wrote: "To be fair, just about everything exists in fanfiction. Kinda like the golden rule of the internet. lol.

To be honest, I'm not against Albus being in Slytherin or being friends with Scorpius, or ..."

True, but I do feel like most of the plot of Cursed Child came from some of the more popular fan-fictions. I don't read a lot of fan-fiction, but I think most people have considered even outside of fan-fiction (and firmly disregarded the theories of) "what if Voldemort had a child"? and "What if time-turners could fix everything?"

When I started reading, I was so upset about Albus getting Slytherin, but like you said, an explanation would have been nice, and I really expected to get one! Yes, these plot details really did upset me personally, but I was expecting to at least understand why they happened. I mean, I was upset when Cedric died in GoF, but it made sense to the plot. I was upset by how Umbridge took over Hogwarts, but in an empathetic way to the characters--I thought it made a lot of sense in the context of the world.

Here, I was just constantly upset that everything was done carelessly! They put Harry Potter names on the strangers of characters they created. They created conflict by bringing up events from some 15 years earlier. It was just sloppy.

And as for Hermione getting Minister of Magic, this seems like something that would have happened to old Hermione, i.e. the uptight and rule-abiding little know-it-all, which all changed when Ron and Harry saved her from the mountain troll. She lied to Professor McGonagall to earn the respect of Ron and Harry, and from then on, the rules became more of "suggestions" to her as she broke several of them over the next few years for the "greater good" (i.e. brewing illegal Polyjuice Potion and breaking every educational decree Umbridge invented). The Hermione she became would never have become someone who spends all her time punishing wizards who break the law--instead, I am certain she would have been a mother and wife first, and left the job of Minister of Magic to someone with different priorities.

To see her as Minister of Magic, where she is enforcing laws constantly and fighting for status, and is the head of what was once a group totally opposed to her best friend (even though she would have definitely turned it around while in power) reduces her to the annoying, friendless girl she was in the opening of Philosopher's Stone.

I read here: http://perezhilton.com/2011-07-21-alt... and http://theweek.com/articles/483039/ri... (although I doubt this is credible...) that an original plan for the ending of DH had Harry as Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Ginny had transfigured herself into his pet bird, and they have a great-great-grandson named Tom (yeah, that's likely...) who is to become the next Dark Wizard. Maybe this was just another fan-fiction, but somehow I feel like the whole "All was well" doesn't sit right with Rowling, and this play was one way to bring chaos back into the Wizarding World.

There is a section on the Harry Potter Wiki that mentions how Rowling originally said that McGonagall was retired by the time Albus Potter started at Hogwarts, however this website lists it under the section: "Non-canon"
http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Cat...

http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Min...

Why is it that a specific comment Rowling made years ago has since become non-canon, and why can Cursed Child trump it??

Harry only had the ability to speak Parseltongue because he was a Horcrux. He never knew how to speak it himself. It only happened because he had a piece of Voldemort's soul residing in him. Rowling stated this to be correct in an interview when she confirmed that Harry "lost the ability and was very glad" when Voldemort destroyed that part of his soul. However, in the play, he speaks it anyway as though he had never lost the ability. (Taken from Harry Potter Wiki)

Many fans have debated the canonicity of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. The play is based on an original idea by her and she had some part in the development of the plot. However, she did not write it and fans with a negative view of it have commented that it cannot be considered canon as it also contradicts previous canon. It is not known exactly what she came up with. Some fans believe the dialogue is not canon and separate the script from the plot entirely. (Also from Harry Potter Wiki)

On my latest read of Deathly Hallows, Hermione boldly states that she DOES NOT care to end up in a Ministry position. She goes as far as telling the current Minister that she wants to actually do some *good* in the world when he suggests a job in magical law. (sigh) I love the original books....

C.A. wrote: "I'm 99.9% sure J.K. Rowling confirmed it as canon, but regardless of that I refuse to acknowledge it as such. It was that ridiculously terrible."
YES! Although I like to pretend it doesn't exist...