Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2: A Social Responsibility

It all ended last night, July 14.

It felt like fulfilling one of those unwritten social responsibilities we have today—watching Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows 2 that is. (It has a gravity equal to the informally imposed rule of having to have a Facebook account.)

Well, I (and a lot of avid moviegoers) have always been compelled to watch every Harry Potter installment just to keep up with the world. And you got that right, most of the time, I had a hard time figuring out what was happening but that's what kept me intrigued. I got hooked to it anyway so there's no reason to miss Deathly Hallows at all.

I am a fan of the franchise but not really to that extent of dressing up as wizards at every Harry Potter premiere, not even near that level of classifying myself as Slytherin, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff or Ravenclaw, not also the kind that would have this conversation at the cinema after the movie:

Girl 1 (on the phone): Mommy tapos na, tapos na talaga (sobbing).

Girl 2 to another friend: Hindi ko na napigilan na umiyak nung---blah---blah? Ikaw girl, sang part ka napaiyak?  (Ha? Did I miss anything? May nakakaiyak pala 'dun? At dapat talaga may iyakan pagkatapos??)

and for the record, not even to the basic degree of finishing any of the 7 books. (I can always decide to read the books anytime but I can't stand imagining Voldemort's face, so no thanks. He scares the hell out of me.)

Anyway, there's more to the movie than just the big wand fight between Harry and Voldemort. Here are the some things that can be grasped moments after or even during scenes of Hp7 (simply put, don't be seriously immersed in the sad aura of fanatics who think it's the end of the world because the series had to end). Notice that:


1. Goblins are probably fascinated by things bigger and heavier than they are. (Gold and swords for example.) And you can't trust one. Odd enough, they run Gringotts (the bank).

2. Wands are choosy.

3. Nagini would be a bad name for a baby but still better than naming a baby "Facebook".

4. Harry and Ron seriously need some tanning. No joke.

5. Voldemort still looks like a hideous fish even on 3d.

6. Hogwarts never runs out of secret passages and stairs. (Yeah ok, who knows, a Potter geek may be able to identify each.)

7. The word "hocrux" would probably trend in Twitter and would top Google's most searched word either today or over the weekend.

8. A scene was somehow inspired by Plants vs. Zombies. (Come on, that's too obvious.)

9. Professor Snape is actually human. He passed through childhood. (What a relief!)

10. Voldemort still looks like a hideous fish.

11. Draco Malfoy's mom (yes she has a name, Google it) might be related to Cruella de Vil.

12. The students of Hogwarts did nothing else but run or stand behind Harry.

13. Hermione finally, for a change, toned down on being smart.

14. You'll try to recall who really disarmed Albus Dumbledore and it will bug you, I mean it.

15. Voldemort looks like a hideous fish.

16.  By the time you'll see flashbacks of the young Harry, Hermione and Ron, you can't help but say (or think) "Oh, cute." (I bet.) 

17. You'll realize you've missed the Harry Potter tune (Hedwig's theme.I Googled that. Don't even for a second think that I really knew what that tune's name was). And you'll be humming on your way home.

18. For a second, you'll hate Albus Dumbledore.

19.  In scenes where Harry's mom appears, you'd try to check if he really has his mom's eyes. Good luck with that.

20. Voldemort looks like a fish.

21. You would wonder what "I open at the close" means, really. I'm referring to non-readers like myself (but you can figure that out immediately anyway).

22. One or two of those seated beside at the cinema would ask: "What spell was that? What spell did Voldemort use? That’s because they only heard "kedavra".

23. That bloodied guy's name (again) is Neville Longbottom.You didn't care until he said it out loud.

24. You wouldn't want to touch any of the "flakes" (or whatever, the skin coming off) coming from Voldemort's body because the brain is so smart that it thinks it'd surely smell icky. (on 3d)

25. Voldemort is a fish.

But seriously, Hp7 offered a whole lot more. The Elder wand for example and what happened to it, posts a heavy message to those who seek invincibility. There was also an "epic" story of love (for a non-reader, that's surprising). 


To sum it up, it was a settling finale—wands were pointed, spells were cast, secrets had to be revealed, stories had to be told, some had to die, some had to show up and 19 years after, things seemed pretty well. 


The Harry Potter series has enchanted the world with magic for a decade and it will last for quite some time. It will go down in history as the best story (and set of movies) that had something to do with wizardry. It will be a standard. But above all, it will be a the new fairy tale, the new bedtime story, and might be the new school play. It will be immortalized. Exaggerated much? Well, the stories of Snow White and Cinderella still live on today and the those girls didn't even have wands.  


(Please, don’t even tempt JK to write another Potter series. Let it have a gracious ending.) 

(Mellan Mandapat and Armen Jade Simon, sorry for bugging you with my questions during the movie. And Truce, thank you for being my bookworm.)