Not My Canon!

WTF: Misleading Mystery

Storytelling relies on a few strategies to guide the reader toward a conclusion. Manipulating that conclusion can come in many forms, as you've seen. One tactic that JKR has always kept near at hand is the manipulation of the mystery through outrageous misdirect. Without revealing any names, just look to her most recent foray into mystery writing for an example (semi-spoiler ahead). The killer in her first novel of the series was the absolute last person you could possibly imagine.

"Well...I want you to be surprised," she could say.

Mmm, it seems more like you're fearful that we'll figure it out, so you mislead the reader so severely that it makes the solution unsolvable. Unsolvable riddles aren't mysterious. They're controlling.

"But, Mike," you say, "isn't an author supposed to control the flow of information so the mystery isn't exactly solvable until the end?"

Here's what I think. A good mystery writer should be viewed almost like a stage magician, who sets up their act with subtle tricks, using sleight of hand and audience perspective to implore you into accepting that what you had just witnessed was complex and even impossible to figure out until that very moment. This is typical with books. Like a magician, authors are supposed to be able to pull this off without their audience knowing how the trick was played.

Cursed Child fails at this.

Delphi and Amos

The antagonist of Cursed Child, who we learn by the end to be the heir of Lord Voldemort, was disguised from the get-go. The mere introduction of her as Delphini Diggory defines her identity. If there was any sense that an heir could reveal themselves later in the book, since it was brought up in rumors about Scorpius' birth, the reader was incapable of guessing Delphi as that heir. This is further defined by a confirmation from Amos Diggory that she is a niece of his - a tactic that is certain to achieve the desired result. The reader has faith that if a character is introduced as the niece of a trusted character who has no reason to conceal her identity, then she is. For that reason, she could never even be added to a list of suspects. Which is an underhanded trick by the writers to control your problem-solving reflex, and to keep the identity a secret until they say it's okay. This is controlling and, quite honestly, betraying your trust.

In a normal situation, this sort of "stolen identity" misdirect is easy for any investigator, and thus, the audience, to solve. It plays by the rules of civil society. Ask around, and you'll eventually learn the truth about that person's identity. The basic reasoning behind Cursed Child is not fair, because the use of magic in the story means it doesn't have to follow the same rules. It's an example of manipulation because Delphi confunded Amos Diggory into validating her identity.

Under those circumstances, it removes the possibility of guessing her true identity. This ability to hide in plain sight through magic suddenly throws all laws of normal character behavior out the window. If anyone, at any time, could be confunded (or disguised within someone else's identity through Polyjuice - looking at you Goblet of Fire), it interferes with our ability to understand the mystery we're given until the writer steps back and says, "Ta-da". And rather than invoke cheers, it gets the reader to say, "Whaaa?" And there, in the smattering of applause, are the inaudible sounds of fans grunting internally, because the trust they once had in the writers has quickly become strained.

Delphi's character

And if this ploy wasn't enough to keep you from learning the secrets about Delphi, JKR and Co. introduced her by pouring the foundations of a completely different character into her shoes.