Review of 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'

The eighth story, 19 years later.

Originally published on August 16, 2016

Obviously, spoilers ahead.

This past week I got my hands on Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and read it in an excited two hour blur. Despite being a little nervous about starting the final Harry Potter story, I was determined to keep an open mind. I had no idea what it was about before starting. I hadn’t read any reviews. I just knew it was about Harry and Albus, a look into the Harry Potter of the present to wrap up the little preview we got back at the end of Deathly Hallows. 

Overall, I really enjoyed it. I was sucked in and read it in one sitting. Here are a few main things I thought about while reading.

First of all, time travel. Oh man, the time travel. This was some hardcore, sci-fi, step-on-a-butterfly kind of time travel that was very exciting to read because this was not some “three turns” time travel done by a responsible person. This is years and years into the past done by amateurs. This wasn’t a fantasy story exactly. It was science fiction powered by magic and I loved every second of it. Every explanation made perfect sense. I really enjoy “what-ifs” and AU’s and to see the several different timelines based on the boys’ actions was intriguing to say the least.

This was also a story for the fans. The fact that it was not just about new characters made it to be an easy transition into the new world. The story focused on a pivotal event, the Triwizard Tournament, but also included so many little snippets and flashbacks and characters, like when Hagrid first found Harry in Godric’s Hollow, or when he found him again with the Dursley’s. We saw all the old gang and the old villains, Hogwarts and the Ministry. This is nice because it was familiar and full of callbacks but also added the new characters, the kids, in a natural way. Of course they would have heard of these things and read about them in history books.

It was interesting to try to picture how exactly some things would be done on stage. There were many time shifts, quick scene changes, and, since this is Harry Potter after all, so much magic. Polyjuice transformations, flying, a magic duel, and some charmed books to name a few things that I thought might be a little difficult. (“Expellarmius” on the other hand would be as easy as just throwing your wand). Could perhaps the original cast of the play create a special recording for everyone who wants to see it? (Please?)

The only thing I wasn’t thrilled about (very nitpicky of me, I know) was the whole “Delphi is Voldemort’s daughter”. I feel like since Star Wars, having a secret child of the bad guy has been overused. When they mentioned the whole Scorpius rumor, I was thinking, “oh no. Seriously?” Good thing that wasn’t true.

All I have left to say is if you are even a small fan of Harry Potter, you should read this.