I like how Harry and the Big Bad are established since the beginning as Not So Different. Harry’s Wand is linked to Voldemort’s. The Sorting Hat wanted to put Harry in Slytherin. And Harry’s Parseltongue turns out to be a dark power associated with Voldemort.
Harry at one point threatens to kill Sirius for revenge. And reality ensues when witnessing Cedric’s murder takes an emotional toll on him. And his “then I don’t want to be human” is the moment of his having darkness within him, since Voldemort deliberately made himself less human. And Harry admitting he’d want to kill Voldemort even if there were no prophecy is a bold move on Rowling’s part.
I like the theme of Dark Is Not Evil that remains throughout the books. Snape turns out to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold not a villain. Barty Crouch Sr sent his son to prison but BJ was actually a Death Eater who really participated in the Cold-Blooded Torture of Neville’s parents. And Crouch legalized using the dangerous forbidden technique on the DE. And in the later books Harry himself uses 2/3 of them.
I like how with RAB and Kreacher there are complicating factors to them and that the same applies to Wormtail. And I like the Decon-Recon Switch with Dumbledore.
The bigotry allegories might have been anvilicious especially by the end but for the most part I find it does well.
And I think the books handled Cerebus Syndrome correctly. Having Cedric’s death be a wham episode and have at least one good character die in every sequel.
And I like Neville’s arc. And how often there are plot twist endings.
I do have a few nitpicks and I talked about those in my reviews of the individual books but in terms of the overall series. I love it.
I love these books
I like how Harry and the Big Bad are established since the beginning as Not So Different. Harry’s Wand is linked to Voldemort’s. The Sorting Hat wanted to put Harry in Slytherin. And Harry’s Parseltongue turns out to be a dark power associated with Voldemort.
Harry at one point threatens to kill Sirius for revenge. And reality ensues when witnessing Cedric’s murder takes an emotional toll on him. And his “then I don’t want to be human” is the moment of his having darkness within him, since Voldemort deliberately made himself less human. And Harry admitting he’d want to kill Voldemort even if there were no prophecy is a bold move on Rowling’s part.
I like the theme of Dark Is Not Evil that remains throughout the books. Snape turns out to be a Jerk with a Heart of Gold not a villain. Barty Crouch Sr sent his son to prison but BJ was actually a Death Eater who really participated in the Cold-Blooded Torture of Neville’s parents. And Crouch legalized using the dangerous forbidden technique on the DE. And in the later books Harry himself uses 2/3 of them.
I like how with RAB and Kreacher there are complicating factors to them and that the same applies to Wormtail. And I like the Decon-Recon Switch with Dumbledore.
And I like the themes of the power of heroic sacrifice, the importance of true companions and yes, even The Power of Love.
The bigotry allegories might have been anvilicious especially by the end but for the most part I find it does well.
And I think the books handled Cerebus Syndrome correctly. Having Cedric’s death be a wham episode and have at least one good character die in every sequel.
And I like Neville’s arc. And how often there are plot twist endings.
I do have a few nitpicks and I talked about those in my reviews of the individual books but in terms of the overall series. I love it.