Yesterday I saw the final Harry Potter movie for the second time in a week. I find with movies such as Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings - where I am so completely invested in the story and the characters - it takes two watchings to really see the movie. The first time I am too busy feeling it all to be thinking, and then the second time I can analyze and synthesize what I'm seeing. For some I have even enjoyed it more the second time, as I can truly appreciate what the director did with this beloved text.
So Harry Potter is over, and though I do feel as though this is a time of mourning, I am mostly overjoyed with the ending provided. Since Peter Jackson left out the Scouring of the Shire from the final movie, thus hacking off a major Tolkien-Christian theme, I was worried that the HP writers and directors might do the same, either editing out the "heaven" scene with Dumbledore or the "19 years later" scene. I've heard some people argue that this final scene takes away from the story arch - that there is too much denoument beyond the triumphant climax - yet this scene is nearly as important as Tolkien's Scouring. After triumph - after resurrection and truth and light and love - real life continues, and we must continue within it, like Sam and like Harry, maybe even becoming adjusted and normal people, whatever that may mean. And so that is the challenge: real life continues, but have I changed because Harry Potter existed?
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