Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows: Criticizing the Criticism

Often times after I have read a novel or seen a film I will read reviews and see what others thought. I enjoy seeing if their opinions matched mine and what insights they found that I did not. What I do not enjoy seeing are criticisms that I feel are invalid.

I certainly understand that not everyone will enjoy something the same way I will, and I know that some reviewers are very harsh with their critiques. The problem I have is when a reviewer feels that a book or film should have been done differently. They take exception to the plot and post a poor review because the ending did not meet their expectations.

I found this to be prevalent in reader reviews of J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows. I expected this to a certain degree. Similar to the latest Star Wars films, the content had little hope of matching the hype.

Some readers however could not be satisfied with simply expressing disappointment but felt the need to point out plot flaws that are not, to my mind, flaws at all. Or they insist that that things in the book should have happened differently. I'm going to take a look at several of the more common of these and present my rebuttals to them.

Snape's Death
It has been put forth that Snape died an inadequate death, that he should have been wary when summoned to Voldemort, that he put up too little of a fight, and that he died too easily. None of these theories hold up to scrutiny. Of course Snape would be wary when summoned by Voldemort.

He would have been wary each and every time he was in Voldemort's presence. There was nothing that would have tipped him off that this visit was any different. And seeing that he was the current Headmaster of Hogwarts, and had knowledge of the Elder Wand, he would not have been at all surprised to be summoned.