I remember reading the final Harry Potter book, and was pretty satisfied with the way it all turned out. (The final battle between Harry and Voldemort was underwhelming but I really wasn't expecting anything huge). I even found the epilouge to be kind of touching, and a nice final send off for the characters. Then I go online and chat with my friends. Needless to say they HATED it. When I asked why, they either said: "What the hell was up with that fan-fic-like Epilouge?!" "WTF? Harry LIVES!?!?!?" "They killed Snape?!" Stuff like that. The most popluar complaint was that Harry lives and the Epilouge. And I'm trying to figure out what the big deal is. Were people actually expecting Harry to die? He's the Main Character for goodness sake. And yes the prophecy said one them had to die, but that seemed obvious from the get-go. Of course he was gonna find a way to kill Voldemort. It was a no brainner for me. And I liked the Epilouge because despite all the crap Harry went through he still managed to have a happy life in the end. Him dying would just be too much. Sure he'd be with his parents and all, but who would stop Voldemort for one thing. And wouldn't that send the wrong message? "Your life has been hell, and the only way out of it is to die"? Not exactly uplifting.... So what's with all the hate?
I agree! I loved the epilogue. Why should Harry NOT live? People are being too picky about it. I've been a Potter fan since I was seven, as have many of his fans, and it would be a sure disappointment to us if he died, wouldn't it?
The problem people have with the epilogue is not that he ended up happy. It's because it's cluttered and introduced so many new characters all at once, way too fast. Nobody needed to see any of the stuff she put in it. We all knew who would marry who, and that Neville would end up being the herbology teacher and all that. Why bother showing us all those things? Why do we care about their children when the series is about them as children?
I saw it as her showing that things have come full circle. Harry seeing his child/children (forget how many he had) go off to Hogwarts, knowing just how much it'll change his childrens' lives like it changed his. I also liked because it gave a sense that the characters have lives outside of the plot. It's not going to start a whole new series, just gives the reader the idea that the characters lives don't stop with the final battle.
First, it's spelt epilogue. Second, you should warn people you have spoilers in your post. Third, in every book I ever read, I want to know what happens after. I've built a relationship with these characters. To know for certain that they have all settled as I hoped they would is a great way to end a book. I liked it!
I didn't like the epilogue; it cemented Harry as a pretty dull person after everything ended. Also, I agree with the fan-fic like complaint; a lot of fan fics have that very same naming scheme for original characters and such. It just wasn't fit as an appropriate ending to the series. Main characters can die you know. If only to subvert people's expectations. Not saying he should have died, just saying. I stopped expecting uplifting messages from about mid way the series, when Cedric died.
Well, the title makes it clear that we're talking about the end of an astronomically popular series. That's all the spoiler warning we need. I, for one, didn't care for the epilogue, but I didn't hate it, either. For me, it was "Okay, that's the end of that. Next!" The rapid intros for new characters were a little disorienting, though.
Some people like Harry Potter. I wasn't upset that Harry lived, but I did think the epilogue was terrible. To me, it just seemed like something sloppily thrown together at the end to satisfy the fans that really wanted to see all the happy endings. I didn't think the writing was as good as it was for the rest of the series, and it also bothered me that she felt the need to spell out exactly what happened that many years down the road...I don't like it when all the loose ends get tied up at the end of a story. I like some things to be left to the imagination.
I found the epilogue pointless. It was unsatisfying at telling us what had become of the heroes beyond what we already knew would happen. The only thing that surprised me, and in a good way, was Harry naming his son after Snape. Other than that, it served no purpose. It would have been light years better if the last line, the one about Harry's scar not hurting in nineteen years, had been followed by "until now."
That would have been great! And I agree about it being pointless. It was almost like she was trying to eliminate the possibility of there ever being any kind of follow-up story.
I'm sorry, I stopped reading at book five. I hate that damned British wizard.... sorry, I should have probably kept that to myself... damn British wizards...
I liked the ending, except for the fact that it left me yearning for more adventures in Hogwarts. And as you pointed, my expectations for the battle between Harry and Voldemort had been higher. I mean, we read seven friggin' (but great, needless to say) books waiting for it. Rowling could have exploited the situation better.
I liked the epilogue, personally. There was something very comforting in knowing that future generations of kids would get to go to Hogwarts and have fun. Thinking about it, it was like ending the series with a "and they lived happily ever after", without actually spelling it out. As for it being all fanfiction-like: I actually liked it because it kinda felt like the premise for a fanfic. She managed to wrap the whole story up and still have something of an open ending. "What about Harry's children? Will they get along with that Scorpio kid? What happens next?" She actually left something for the fanfic authors to write about. You know what happens when an author does that? The fanfiction community keeps writing about it. For decades. I'd bet good money that in twenty freaking years, they'll still be churning out fanfics.
Personally, I loved all the Harry Potter books. I think they were all good, and I liked the fact that she didn't end it right there where the actual story stops. I like that she gave us something to go on. I admit that it could have been a little better written, but, look at the other 6 books. They are awesome and well written. Oh and if you think that its "unsatisfying" there is always fan-fiction. Use your imagination people!
I liked the series, (loved the last 3 books) but when I got to the epilogue, my interest was dead and buried, which is normal for me. I'm always a little numb when I read epilogues, and I don't really care what happens next, unless it hints at future installments, etc. . . The epi was there for whoever cared - people who perhaps needed to have the happy ending spelled out for them. If she hadn't written those (obvious) details, a lot of people would have bitched. Can't please 'em all. I don't even remember the epilogue, tbh. I recall that it wasn't stunning, but neither was it bad. In any case, it's nothing to get one's panties in a bunch over. I don't see why anyone would expect Harry to die. It was pretty clear to me from the beginning that I was reading a book with a classic premise and message, and there was only one way for that to end. The question was how, and she delivered on that - she kept me guessing as few others have done.
I think that's what bothers me about it. It's obvious that she had it in her to write a better-quality epilogue. It seemed like she just kind of slapped it together at the last minute.
Something tells me that was probably the case... I know I can sometimes purposefully make my writing dull as a "so-there" to someone who forces me to write something. I have a feeling publishers were pushing her to do it, and unfortunately the really terrible ending was the compromise --too bad it compromised my love for the story as well. Words need to sing at the conclusion of a novel or series, especially a series so epic as this one. Left me feeling empty and bored; not a brilliant way to end the series I grew up with.
According to her, that epilogue is the very first thing she ever wrote in the Harry Potter franchise. So before the first word of the Philosopher's Stone was written, she had that epilogue done - the seven books were always written with that epilogue in mind.
Why? With all the people here who do believe in having a detailed outline, why would it be a bad idea to have the final scene drafted from the outset? Keep in mind that that doesn't prevlude her having revised it a few times over the years in response to details of the plots of each volume.
The very first thing I wrote when I began my novel was the last chapter. It was the basis for the entire novel, and the final idea is what bred the story, so I see where she was coming from. Different writers have different methods. I was honestly kind of disappointed, just because I like more of a twist ending to things sometimes. It was satisfying, and nice that things turned out well, but imagine the uproar that would have happened HAD Harry not survived, how the lives of the supporting characters would have been different. I just think it leaves it open for more, and I wouldnt be surprised if ten years from there aren't books based on Potter's children that my son will be reading.
Personally I think it's a very good idea to know how your story is going to turn out before you begin, if not by writing the ending, at least by planning it. But different people write differently. Some are "plotters." Some write on the fly, saying the story seems to write itself and the characters do their thing. I'm a plotter. The book I'm writing, I had outlined (including knowing the ending) before I started. Before the outline, I had specific visions of specific scenes I wanted to include, and of course, the basic idea of the story and some idea of who the characters were. I tried the "let it write itself" method also, without planning an ending or anything particular. I felt my story had no direction. I created characters on the fly that I hated, my characters had no motivation, no direction, my story had no direction, and I'm very glad I threw out the 50 or 100 pages or so that I had written and wrote a plot, including a plan for an ending. If writing the ending first is helpful to the writer, he should go for it! (This whole thread should have spoiler warnings all over it, by the way.) I liked the ending. And I think that the whole series, it seemed so logical that Harry would die (because Voldemort and Harry supposedly "must" die together) when the author was able to find a loophole and avoid the unavoidable, I found it satisfying. Even more satisfying was the solution to the Snape conundrum, and it was similar, as conventional wisdom suggested, surely, Snape must be a bad guy.
