1. Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows, Part 2 - Time To Say Goodbye
One of the things that struck me most in first reading this book was that there was too much that could not be translated to film. There is Harry's suicidal thought at his parents' gravesite. There is the extremely long and complicated Prince's tale. Most importantly of all, there is Harry's "cold-blooded walk to his own destruction" and his musings on how little he has appreciated his own life. I cry at the beginning of "The Forest Again" and don't stop until halfway through "King's Cross" whenever I read it. The adaptation was amazingly effective. The moment that Harry leaves Snape's memories, he looks completely changed. He looks as though his soul suffered a compound fracture at that moment. Without a word, he goes to his destiny. I love the addition of the goodbye to Ron and Hermione and this is my favorite of the added scenes. Hermione's realization of what Harry's tie to the Horcruxes means is immediate and severe; she recognizes a truth that she feels she should have seen coming. She knows that no matter how long she would have known about Harry being a Horcrux, it wouldn't have saved him. Ron's overall tone is horror. He can't believe that Harry is going to give up on life, on the fight, on victory so easily. They omitted the part from the book where Neville tries to comfort Harry by saying they're all still fighting. Ron has lost so much by this point, but I don't think he actually believed that Harry would fail or surrender. The best moment for me is Hermione's "I'll go with you." She's not offering to die in his place or fight Voldemort. She knows where his path leads and wants to walk at his side. I have seen criticism that Ron seems "feeble" or "just stands there," but this is the Ron who is not openly demonstrative. He will show gratitude or embarrassment at times, such as when he was wrong in Year 4 or when he returned in the seventh book, but Hermione is the one who wants to be a physical support instead of a moral one.
Kaki Olsen
Contributor
That's Kaki pronounced like the pants, thank you very much, my family nickname and writing name. I am a Red Sox-loving, Doctor Who-quoting, Shaara-reading walking string quartet of a Mormon writer from Boston. I currently work 40 hours at a stressful desk job with a salary that lets me pick up and travel to places like Ireland or Philadelphia. I have no husband or kids, but I have five nephews to keep me entertained. When not writing, working or eating too much Indian food, I'm always looking for something new to learn, whether it's French or family history.
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