Sometimes you just have to complain a little

Okay, complaint time. I've just watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1, again and, even though I like this movie a lot, there are some things that really bother me about it.

I've mentioned that ridiculous dance scene between Harry and Hermione before so I won't go into that debacle again.

Three things struck me this time, and the first two are related.

First, J.K. was very careful in the novel to explain how Snape finds out that Harry and Hermione are in the Forest of Dean in order to deliver the Sword of Gryffindor to them (remember, Hermione mentions the Forest while holding her bag open, thus allowing the portrait of Phineas Nigellus to hear her and report her whereabouts to Snape in the Headmaster's Office at Hogwarts?). I watched the movie carefully and Hermione is nowhere near her bag when she tells Harry where they are. So how, in the film, does Snape know where to find them?

Second, and on a related note, J.K. makes it clear that Ron, having abandoned his friends sometime earlier, begins to hear Hermione's voice through the Deluminator only after Hermione finally says Ron's name to Harry for the first time. In the movie, from what I could see, Hermione doesn't say Ron's name before he shows up. Yes, Ron says he heard her say his name but we never hear her.

So those two bug me.

An even bigger issue for me, however, is the fact that the screenwriter completely eliminates Harry's internal struggle to decide between pursuing Hallows or Horcruxes. The whole bit at Shell Cottage is intended to show that Harry is able to overcome his own needs and to focus on the needs of the magical world, thus allowing Voldemort to obtain the Elder Wand while he continues to hunt Horcruxes.

This is a huge issue and one that Dumbledore specifically mentions as a sign of Harry's worthiness when they meet in King's Cross Station near the end of the book.

Don't get me wrong. I understand why the movie makers chose to end the seventh film with Voldemort stealing the Elder Wand out of Dumbledore's grave (it's a very dramatic scene and sets the suspense nicely for the final movie).

But it just bothers me that, in order to give us that thrill, they have to sacrifice Harry's key psychological struggle, the pivotal moment where he proves himself worthy, to do so.

Ron Weasley gives himself away

I've just gotten to the part of The Deathly Hallows where, having learned that Ginny, Neville and Luna had broken into the headmaster's office to try to steal the Sword of Gryffindor, Harry and his two companions have their first conversation with the portrait of Phineas Nigellus Black that Hermione took from the house on Grimmauld Place.

I find this an interesting conversation. When Phineas calls Ginny a "silly girl", Ron immediately tells him to "shut up about my sister". A natural response, to be sure, but also a real bonehead move on Ron's part. Here they have gone to great lengths to protect the Weasley family from persecution by convincing the entire wizarding world that Ron is home sick from school (and NOT hunting Horcruxes with Harry) and Ron goes and blows his own cover with that single exclamation.

What I've realised is that this should have been a clue to me as a reader that Snape is not evil after all. Ron gives himself away to Phineas, who is in contact with Snape and yet there are no negative repercussions to Ron or his family. Had I been reading the book carefully the first time, this fact (as well as the fact that Snape sent Ginny, Neville and Luna to Hagrid for their punishment, knowing Hagrid is a member of the Order of the Phoenix), should have been enough to make me wonder if Snape was really as evil as he was presented to be.

Too bad I was so caught up in the excitement of the novel to notice these hints. I guess that means J.K. did a good job writing the book, doesn't it?