Not My Canon!

WTF: Heart

Comedy or Tragedy?

There was evidence that JKR and Co. wanted this to be a mystery, but the reveal of Delphini Diggory as heir to Lord Voldemort was so awkwardly positioned that it fell disastrously flat. In fact, much of the play felt confused. Is this a happy tale? Is it sad? Or in the lexicon of the stage, did they write a comedy or a tragedy?

Cursed Child seems to struggle throughout the duration of the play to know what it even is.

Pacing

This was never more apparent than in the sporadic dream sequences of Harry as a young boy. To be fair, I think this whole idea was a holdover from the first draft, when the play was going to follow Harry as an orphan living with the Dursleys. It was a good concept, and I think JKR knew that. Which is why a few scenes were most likely lifted from the cutting room floor. I understand why they used the dreams as some form of Divination in the mind of Harry, but it further convoluted the narrative because it was obvious that they were trying to shoehorn a second play into this one.

The pacing was constantly an issue, with strange or worthless dialogue slipped in during intense moments. A few settings seemed as if they were included for the purpose of providing cover during a set change. The plot twists were predictable (and then irrationally unpredictable). And some of the scenes were so overly dramatic and implausible that readers were left disjointed.

Audience

The play, while written to be a harrowing continuation of the future (and alternate future) of Harry Potter, is intentionally a show for general audiences and not hardcore Potterheads.

Beyond playing fast and loose with canon and characterization, the story was a spectacle. We have Dementors flying around the aisles, tons of fire and lights and projections on the stage, an actual, REAL LIFE owl delivering a letter, tricky Polyjuice transformations between actors, ravenous bookshelves eating our heroes, Vegas-style magic acts, a human-sized Sorting Hat parading around the stage, and a pseudo-concert for Imogen Heap. Just add a floor of frozen water and it's Harry Potter on Ice.

Whether done well or not, CURSED CHILD is neither an intimate story reserved for the stage or an appropriate continuation of the Potter franchise.

Purpose

But even with all of these factors taken into account, the play simply has no heart.

I'll say that again.

This story, about the developed life of a now-mature child hero, has no heart. Any connection it had to what came before it felt manufactured. All emotional moments felt forced.

While this is depressing to acknowledge, it must be stated that...the final Harry Potter story was anti-climactic. I cannot believe I just typed that.

The worst part is that the story doesn't even feel necessary. In a world with boundless potential, we were given a plot that didn't have a point or consequences. Did it even need to happen? Nothing of substance was added to the canon. It was a lazy, poorly contrived coat of thin paint over a series that, in two decades, had never once felt like a waste of our time.

Question: Why did we even need this?

Answer: We didn't.