Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

Okaysie, y'all, you know the drill. Spoilers, spoilers! Mwhahaha!

That said, I think this is the kind of story that needs to be discussed to enjoy it at all. Being that it's a script for a play and not actually a book, it requires interpretation at a level unfamiliar to most American readers. Which is my way of saying that The Cursed Child reminded me strongly of why I don't read Shakespeare.

Now, reading the speculation ahead of time, I expected several
things that didn't happen. Voldemort is barely discussed and, while his inability to love might have been caused by his conception under a love potion, I still haven't seen any sign of that in the books. Maybe it's just a fan theory, but I thought I'd heard that Rowlings said it. Also, the burden of a name had nothing to do with the problems of Albus Severus, even though one imagines that this is a difficult name.

The real problem between Harry and his second born son is the last name. Everyone knows the Potters. Everyone expects certain things of the Potter boys. James is willing enough to go with the flow, but Albus wants to be his own man and he isn't sure he'll keep his father's love if he does. In the first few scenes, Albus chooses Slytherin over Gryffindor, thereby signaling to the world that he isn't just his father's son. Even though Harry had told him that would be okay with him, Albus, Harry, and Ginny aren't all sure if Harry meant that. None of the three are really sure why Albus chose Slytherin either. Speculation is that Harry liked Scorpius Malfoy enough to join his house, but Albus was already talking about joining Slytherin before the boys met.

Scorpius Malfoy is rumored to be the son of the Dark Lord via time travel. He was born in seclusion and rumor has it his parents weren't able to conceive, so that seems the logical explanation to the busybody community. Rose Weasley pointed out that this is unlikely, since Scorpius has a nose, but, Dark Lord's son or not, she doesn't like Scorpius at all, even though Scorpius is determined to believe this situation is only temporary.

Yes, I have to admit that amuses me. Poor Scorpius!

All of this only sets up the plot, which I won't spoil except to say that it involves several parallel universes. In most of these, Ron and Hermoine don't get married, which means Rose doesn't exist and that disappoints Scorpius. In one of them, Voldemort won the battle of Hogwarts and Severus Snape is still alive. I think that universe was my favorite part, as it showed Draco's true character and Scorpius had the opportunity to discuss with Snape the things that Harry Potter himself never had the chance to say. I found it deeply satisfying.

For purposes of the central problem, it's worth noting that Albus is able to open up to his dad more after visiting the universe in which he cajoled the sorting hat into putting him in Gryffindor. The relationship between father and son is not improved by the choice, which shakes Albus into realizing that his simple explanation might need revising.

Meanwhile, Harry takes bad advice from Dumbledore's portrait and comes to realize that his relationship with Dumbledore should have involved a little more rebellion. That, in turn, opens him up to a better discussion with Albus, so that he continues after "I didn't have a father" to "I don't have a good example of fatherhood to follow or reject." It was as good to see Dumbledore getting called out on his failures as it was to see Snape and Draco in their best lights.

All in all, it was a good story, but the style requires extra digesting. Worth buying, but I'd love to see it performed.