ok yes the Delphi as Voldemort's daughter thing is wackadoodle nuts but besides that I truly enjoyed this book. Jo and her team got Harry personal PTSD so right in all its trauma.

Albus just wanted his dad to be straight with him. To let down his guard and address what truly terrified him during his childhood. It was heartbreaking to witness there relationship fall apart but I was craving so much to see anything canon that would show the Potter family dynamic and boy were we rewarded!

Ginny and Harry's relationship is so healthy and strong. They're even together in the first alternative universe! The ripple affect didn't affect them! But poor Ron and Hermione didn't fair so well. Glad it was resolved in the end though.

Albus and Scorpius were fast friends and there whole relationship even when they were separated was sweet. You can't help but want and need them together.

I suppose the Voldy kid plot does make sense if he saw the advantage to having offspring, or in his case spawn, to make him immortal if he was worried that one day Harry would eventually destroy all the Horcruxes and vanquish him completely. The chance that death eaters would raise the baby, teaching him or her the ways of the dark lord so that one day they would rise to fill in the shoes of their father. I mean Salizar Slytherin did exactly that as well so it's no stretch to see Voldemort having that same plan. I'm surprised he didn't spawn more children to be honest.

Let me start with the things I like:

- Harry's traumatic childhood is explored – I always thought he would end up with PTSD so I’m glad they did that. The dream sequence when we wets himself is so sad
- his difficult relationship with Albus
- Harry is a Head of Magical law enforcement
- Hermione a minister of magic and the fact she kept her surname – so typical from her
- the fact that trolley lady makes sure no one leaves Hogwarts express (typical Rowling fun imagination)
- Albus and Scorpius friendship for the most part (there are some heavy cheesiness in some lines they say)
- description of the world where Voldemort wins (it is disturbing but very interesting)
- McGonagall scolding Hermione, the minister for magic like she is still a kid for keeping the Time Turner.

I am a bit disappointed about not having trio moments in the play, it is a shame Draco has such a huge part. I get that it is about his son so it is understandable but more of Harry/Ron/Hermione working together would have been nice to see.

I really don’t like is how time-turner is used as a plot device. Why get back to that when Rowling destroyed every Time-Turner in the books? In the 3rd book Rowling gave all this restrictions how you can’t go back in time to make drastic changes - it prevents you from asking why in the world no one then tried to go back in time to prevent Voldemort from becoming an evil wizard or why Harry never tried to go back in time to save his parents or Sirius, or any other loved one that died.

And now the boys go back in time to save Cedric, with Time-Turners that somehow still exist. I just don’t like it. We already know this is bad, why go back to it again…

Besides, why did Pottermore delete the article about Time Turners and time travelling if everything is true to the Rowling writing? If that is not convenient to hide errors, then I don't know what is...

The thing is, this plot in its core really didn't give anything new, apart from Albus and Scorpius friendship & Harry's PTSD and his struggles as a parent which I really like. But this whole time-turner thing is such a predictable plot that didn't bring anything except that Delphi wanted to see her dad I guess. And also, if the point behind all this is to also teach the kids the lesson that going through time is bad - that is also a big cliche and already so overdone, not just in tons of other books and movies, but also in HP series, Rowling explained all that in PoA. That is why I don't see the point of doing this again - and not just once, but twice in the play.


But let me explain something else:

I presume I am in the minority when I say this 8th story for me is for the most part like some fan service.

I am talking about these few moments: on one hand it is great that Harry confronted Dumbledore, but all that was kind of downplayed and forgiven because Dumbledore cried and said he loves him so its is all ok in the end. For Snape is also all forgiven which is shown in the another timeline where he is a true hero. Even if he did do some truly heroic things that were instrumental to Voldemort's downfall, that doesn't change the fact that he was absolutely horrible not just to Harry but many other students as well. He was not some upstanding heroic figure, no one can't deny he was a nasty man. Dumbledore and Snape to me were great characters because they weren't simply black or white, they both made good and wrong decisions which made them grey in a moral sense. But now it looks like this play implies all is forgiven.

„Tell Albus I'm proud he has my name“ – come on, I don't remember Rowling ever be this cheesy, and this play has a lot of cheesy moments. I just can't imagine Snape saying this, in ANY timeline, I'm sorry.

Other cheesy quotes: To the depths of your belly, to the tips of your fingers. I truly believe Voldemort — Voldemort couldn’t have a child like you. You make me stronger. You may not have been there, Albus, but you were fighting — fighting alongside me.

I bet that we can all agree that most boys are not that emotional and open with their emotions as teenagers and yet we have 13-14 year old boys say that to one another? That is pushing it too much. If Scorpius was a girl, I bet everyone would consider them a couple no question.

Draco is also redeemed which I kind of like – some parts are good but it is a bit too much. It is hard to imagine admitting so many things to Harry. I can understand that Draco can change after everything je has been through but I just can’t imagine Draco opening up so much to Harry, having such a heart to heart conversation. It just looks like this play did want to please the fans who do romanticize him. Rowling did say herself that many wrongly romanticize Draco, that he isn't a saint at heart.

Same goes for Ron and Hermione whose love is repeatedly showcased in every timeline.

I get that play wanted to point out Ron and Hermione are meant to be but the fact that Hermione is a bitter teacher in the timeline without Ron is just pushing it way too far. Rowling always pointed out how Hermione is a strong and independent character so making her a bitter female version of Snape without Ron or any other man for that matter is kind of disappointing.

They just had to go down the line where Hermione can't achieve a high position like being a minister without Ron as her husband. And even this - while Ron is with Padma, Hermione simply can't be married to some other student or even a random guy she met after Hogwarts. No, if she is not with Ron, she has to be a bitter teacher on top of that.

If they really had to go down that route, they could have still make her a Minister, she is brilliant in her professional life but sad in her private life - I think that fits perfectly with how Hermione is portrayed in the book series.

The whole R/Hr thing in general is like this play says "Sorry about the media jumping the gun on that interview with Watson , here are Ron and Hermione are perfect and meant to be, 3 times in the play just so it reassures you".

It just feels so much like fan pandering to me at times – give them precisely what they’ve been asking for in many ways. Everything looks like fan pandering to me, except the crazy plot regarding Cedric ad Delphi – I think Harry’s response to Delphi is perfect, I think majority feels like that – “No, no, no. Anything but that. Heck, they even managed to give a nod to both Scorbus and Scorose fans – there are some heavy romantic moments between the boys throughout the play – I could even pick some of it by just reading but many who have seen the play say it is even more visible by the way the actors portray their relationship. However, in the end, Rose is thrown in there as Scropius love interest, she says yes to their date, even if she was actually mean to him throughout the play.

I bet all these scenes I mentioned above made audience emotional and got a lot of "awwwww" but that is exactly what I mean – Thorne/Rowling wrote that to please the majority of the fans. I mean, he even gave a nod to Dramione fans with that funny Draco line near the end.

Harry is a Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Hermione is the Minister - so an interesting villain or some kind of new problem is not too much to ask - after all, Harry wouldn't have a job if everything was now milk and honey. Rowling knows how to make a good plot, I loved the stories especially in book 2,3 and 4.The time-travelling mess up is not what I expected. I just think all this great character development that Harry had and his relationship with his son – those are essentially the only new things that we do get to see - could have also happened without a time-turner as a plot device.

But what really doesn’t sit right with me at all is:

1. If Cedric had not died, he would have become a Death Eater. What? And just because he was publicly humiliated, come on. .. He becomes humiliated and bitter, big whop - it is hard to believe that could turn you into an evil person. Cedric was a good guy, he wasn't abused and in a bad company like Snape, it is understandable why he became a Death Eater. I just can't imagine a guy like Cedric could turn evil just like that, that that one humiliation is the trigger point. Cedric is portrayed as a good guy with loving parents, very popular and adored in school, he helped Harry in the tournament even if he was his rival. Becoming a Death Eater because of one humiliation could happen to a person who doesn't have stability, who is weak - Cedric was never portrayed as such.

it just looks this piece of plot was thrown in there to unnecessary spice things up or even worse, to maybe even justify why was Cedric killed in the first place - Cedric doesn't need that, it made perfect sense that Cedric was just one of the million senseless murders because of Voldemort - the difference was that he was the first victim who died that Harry saw with his own eyes, he was just one innocent death.

2. Voldemort having a baby.

I know some say this could fit in a book, that Rowling had this huge info all along. But here is the thing: if that is truly the case, then how in the world nobody in the book knew about it? Ok, Bella could have hid the baby bump, she didn't appear in HPB and all that, it sounds acceptable in theory.

But... Snape was a double agent, closely "working" for Voldemort. Wouldn't it be safe to assume that he would have SOMEHOW found about that and let Dumbledore know? I consider this such a weird, unbelievable plot line, even if we can somehow swallow up the fact that this lunatic could create a baby. Not to mention I still remember one interview in which Rowling admitted that it is a frightening thought of Voldemort ever having a child…

The biggest issue I have is with overdone time-travelling, all the pandering to the fans, Cedric’s storyline and Voldemort’s daughter.


Also, I agree that Ron is OOC at times. While Ron still has a great sense of humor – he is too much of a comic relief. “I'm armed and entirely dangerous and seriously advise you - he realizes his wand is around the wrong way and turns it right” – Come on, that is borderline ridiculous. Even Snape is mocking him, saying he is less wanted. Or that part when he bursts into the scene with a napkin, that he got lost so he ate something in the kitchen. I get that all those moments are meant to make audience laugh but it is a bit too much - he sadly looks like some moron at times. The only joke I truly loved is when he said that thing about his aching bones and feet

Another thing, Ron giving a love potion to Al - that could also be considered as a bit of OOC since he almost died from a love potion in book 6 - if this was given by George, it would have appeared less odd.

For years I have this opinion that Ron is not that bad in the movies, that he isn't butchered as many say. Now, Ron IS nothing more than a comic relief AND Rowling agrees with it, you just can't blame the biased film-makers anymore.

I know many say how Harry is OOC in that fight with Albus when he said he wishes he sometimes isn't his son. I actually disagree because Harry displayed in the books many times that he says things he doesn't mean in the heat of the moment - what he said to Lupin in DH, that he is a coward was awful but he said that in the moment. Same cane be said with this scene.

However, he was absolutely obnoxious the way he talked with McGonagall - that was OOC for me. Yes, he is in different timeline but he isn't affected in it, only Ron and Hermione are. So he really was out of line and OOC to me. That was not in the heat of the moment, that was him being an ass and obsessed like he tended to be in the books - you would think he matured from it 19 years later but no.

So yes, overall I am just sad and disappointed now. I wouldn’t be half as bothered if this wasn’t promoted on and on as the 8th story.

1. First and foremost, It was like a dream come true and very fanfiction-ish. It was like all of our imaginations are correct, Albus being sorted into Slytherin, Scorpius and Albus getting along, even Scorpius and Rose

2. I actually didn't expect that Cedric will be involved but I'm glad. His father's grievance was really not explored in Goblet of Fire, even in OOTP.

3. I always knew that Albus is the cursed child. Even before the book, he was described as Harry's look a like and such. He's the my favorite potter kid

4. The idea of Voldemort and Bellatrix Lestrange is CRAZY!

5. It's sad that the Weasley Family is not that involved and there is no mention of Luna, Neville and the other members of Dumbledore's Family.

6. Very fast paced. But, I expected it to involved descriptions on how the other wizards lived after Voldemort's downfall...

7. I LOVE IT. Well, I love everything Harry Potter. It's so nice to read something Harry Potter related.

They start out to make you think either Al or Scorpius are the cursed child but after reading it, I think it's clear Delphi is. She was never shown love and was only created to ensure an heir. She was a sociopath, who's fate was associated with an Augurey bird. A bird who's cry fortold death. That's a curse if ever I heard one. And so Al and Scorps learn the truth and are grateful for their parents.

I would have loved to have seen Luna or Neville but I get it, they're lives aren't entangled with the Potters so it makes sense that they don't appear. Although it was shocking to hear Cedric killed Neville before he could kill Nigini and thereby making Voldemort the victor.

All the time traveling plots made much more sense once I read the play of myself. It's amazing how just five minutes can alter a whole universe and it's always best to leave the past in the past.

How come Albus and Scorbius were able to see Lily's and James' house when it is under fidelus spell?

And more importantly, why in the world are Potter strolling down the street with Harry when they are in such danger, their house is under protection and yet they go out for casual walks?

I find all this very strange.