# Harry Potter and the Cursed Child \[open spoilers\] **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 11, 2016, 2:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815 "2016-02-11T14:23:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![appleaday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@appleaday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleaday)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2016, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/21 "2016-08-12T01:58:12Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I read in on an airplane two days ago. I liked it a lot, but am surprised by the fact that > > Delphi really is Tm Riddle’s daughter. I had figured it would be revealed she was misled or deluded. > [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > That’s pretty much the point where I realized that I had pretty much been reading fan fiction. It was a decent enough short read though. This caused me to raise an eyebrow, too, but I figure that Voldemort could have deliberately fathered a child with nefarious intent – perhaps some kind of dark magic that required a blood relative. Or maybe he wanted another horcrux. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/22 "2016-08-20T00:18:27Z")
I have a question as I read it a second time, this time with my wife. They basically killed Rose(made her never exist) by altering the first task. When they return to the present, Ron has a son or daughter named Panju; he had him/her with Padma. When they reset everything back to “normal”, did they basically kill Panju by making it so he/she doesn’t exist? ---
**Author:** ![Fair\_Rarity](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fair_rarity/32/153_2.png) [@Fair\_Rarity](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fair_Rarity)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2016, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/23 "2016-08-20T01:27:43Z")
I assume so. Kind of a bummer when you think about it. ---
**Author:** ![NeonMadman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58f4c7/32.png) [@NeonMadman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NeonMadman)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/24 "2016-09-03T16:49:19Z")
I just yesterday finished reading this book/script, and I have to say I enjoyed it more than a lot of reviewers did. I would really like to see it performed on stage, just to see how they deal with the constant changes of sets and the oddball sets that would be required (really, how would you do the underwater parts?). My wife, who has much more amateur theater experience than I do (which isn’t hard) had pretty much the same reaction. She said, “There are just too many scenes.” But here’s the \*big \*question I have after finishing the book: \*\*\*Who is the cursed child? \*\*\*Is it Delphi? Albus? Harry? There doesn’t seem to be a clear identification, unlike in the earlier HP books, in which the mystery implied in the title became clear by the end of the books. I’m leaning toward Delphi, because of her (_ahem_) parentage, but I can see where an argument for someone else could be made. What are your thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [September 3, 2016, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/25 "2016-09-03T17:43:37Z")
> [@NeonMadman](#): > > But here’s the \*big \*question I have after finishing the book: \*\*\*Who is the cursed child? \*\*\*Is it Delphi? Albus? Harry? There doesn’t seem to be a clear identification, unlike in the earlier HP books, in which the mystery implied in the title became clear by the end of the books. I’m leaning toward Delphi, because of her (_ahem_) parentage, but I can see where an argument for someone else could be made. What are your thoughts? I think the author’s intention is that Delphi is the cursed child. I have no cite, but it just seems like we’re supposed to wonder if it is Albus or perhaps Scorpius, but it ultimately ends up being Delphi in the end. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2016, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/26 "2016-09-19T13:55:59Z")
Finally got around to reading this. Meh. Seemed half fan service and half fan fiction. Lets bring back Snape and show he stayed noble in the evil alternate universe! I also found it odd that even though JK has publicly stated she had regrets about Hermione marrying Ron, that in the AU where they didn’t marry she became an embittered teacher instead of the MoM. I think the comparisons between Rowling & Lucas are appropriate. Hopefully she keeps any future work in the Potterverse well in the past like the Magical Creatures movie. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 20, 2016, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/27 "2016-09-20T01:44:45Z")
I had a few nitpicks about the story, though I did like it: 1. In the original books, Polyjuice Potion didn’t change voices, right? In HP&TCC, everyone’s voices were changed (admittedly, magic might have progressed over nearly 20 years). Likewise, the time turners of Prisoner of Azkaban didn’t allow events in the past to be changed - another advance in magic? 2. I’m not sure how Scorpius knew that Cedric had become a death-eater in the alternate future - he had no idea about other changes until someone told him, but we never see anyone tell him about Cedric’s death eater days. ---
**Author:** ![OHS201](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/6de8d8/32.png) [@OHS201](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OHS201)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/28 "2016-09-26T18:18:03Z")
I started it recently, and gave up after maybe 50 pages. It seemed like something written by a junior-high school writer-wannabe. Completely uninteresting to me. ---
**Author:** ![ISiddiqui](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/97f17d/32.png) [@ISiddiqui](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ISiddiqui)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/29 "2016-09-26T18:24:55Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > 1. In the original books, Polyjuice Potion didn’t change voices, right? In HP&TCC, everyone’s voices were changed (admittedly, magic might have progressed over nearly 20 years). In the books, the voices change. In the movies they do not. ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [September 26, 2016, 11:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/30 "2016-09-26T23:43:11Z")
I was disappointed. It wasn’t bad, it just wasn’t up to the standard of the original HP novels. ---
**Author:** ![Andy\_L](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c67d28/32.png) [@Andy\_L](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Andy_L)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/31 "2016-09-28T14:46:19Z")
> [@ISiddiqui](#): > > In the books, the voices change. In the movies they do not. Thanks. I saw the movies more recently than I read the books. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2016, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/32 "2016-09-28T20:21:31Z")
I wanted to like it. I tried to like it. I didn’t like it. Maybe it would be better had I seen it performed (or as a movie) but just reading the script didn’t work for me. I need another 600-page book, darnit! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![appleaday](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/41988e/32.png) [@appleaday](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/appleaday)\ **Post date:** [September 29, 2016, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/33 "2016-09-29T01:40:04Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I need another 600-page book, darnit! > > Regards, > Shodan I’ve heard rumors that there’s another on the way, but not about Harry. ---
**Author:** ![Sir\_T-Cups](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ed655f/32.png) [@Sir\_T-Cups](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sir_T-Cups)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/34 "2018-07-06T14:32:52Z")
Bumping this two years later because I just remembered this existed and read it on the plane ride home. (Insert some joke about Cedric being a zombie like this thread) The comparison of this “book” to shitty online fan fiction is pretty sound I think. The characters were weird bastardizations of their book selves and the plot choices were pretty dumb, but what really screamed “shitty fanfic” to me was how the characters’ actions were described. There is nothing that angers me more than when The Internet tries to throw gay subplots into stories when they aren’t there. I remember when this first came out how The Internet was all aflutter because they were bitching and complaining about Albus and Scorpius being gay, but no one said it out loud. My reaction to that was my usual “omg settle down not everything is gay”. Now that I’ve read the book, omg those two are so frickin gay. I know this because the stage direction for their hugs and the way they talk and look at each other just screams it, yet we’re supposed to be invested in Scorpius apparently liking Rose? The two opposing viewpoints is why this reads like shitty fan fiction. Oh well, I’m glad I read the book from the library and I didn’t spend any actual money to read it. I’m also glad I read it because I now have some context to other things I hear from fellow potter fans. ETA: Has anyone seen the play? How does it look when compared to the book? ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2018, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815/35 "2018-07-06T18:29:44Z")
I saw the Broadway production right before the Tonys (I had not read the script and had somehow managed to know nothing about the plot for this one) and as a stage show it is, pardon the phrase, magical. It was one of the most enthralling and entertaining plays I’d ever seen. The break between Parts 1 and 2 left me on edge until I could see the resolution. The stage effects are just outstanding, the way they show the time turner being used had me in complete awe. I see tons of Broadway shows and I was so very impressed. So I can’t evaluate the script by itself as it was written to be produced on stage with all the associated stagecraft. As a whole, it was a brilliant piece of theatre. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/harry-potter-and-the-cursed-child-open-spoilers/745815.md?page=1)