(no subject)

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

Am I the only one a little bothered by Dumbledore? Not only with the fact he could end up in the Guinness Book Of World Records for "Most Incompetent Headmaster of All Time" (though I'm sure there's worse. :P), but also because...he just bugs me. I know JKR was trying to write him as the "flawed Yoda", so to speak (and to be fair, he's nowhere near Yoda. XD), but it's also how...preachy he gets. Towards Fudge, for example. You know, in Goblet of Fire, with, "You place too much importance on purity of blood, yadda yadda et cetera et cetera" -- which considering how he treated Tom Riddle and the Slytherins is...slightly hypocritical isn't it? Probably bad writing on JKR's part, though. :/

Anyways, sorry 'bout the rambling. Thoughts?

Comments

[aikaterini.livejournal.com]

Yes, Voldemort said something along the lines of, “Yes, boy, your parents were brave. I killed your father first – he put up a tremendous fight. But your mother needn’t have died; she was only trying to protect you.”

Where in that story did Voldemort imply that James had run at him without a wand and had died in five seconds? Where in that account did Voldemort imply that Lily had done nothing but shriek at him and beg for mercy? Why on earth would Voldemort, who’s supposed to be evil beyond measure and who’s trying to kill Harry, lie to him to make him feel better about his parents? What motivation would he have for doing so?

/Isn't this the witch who was so talented she had mastered wandless magic as a kid, was able to control magic rather than release it in uncontrolled bursts like normal kids?/

Just like Tom was. Yet when it came time for the final showdown, she wasn’t able to do anything to defend herself against him. I was confused and disappointed too. We were told so many times about how clever and powerful Lily was, yet when we finally saw her in action, she didn’t use any of her magic at all. Where was her wand?

/Yeah, she obv knows he's there for Harry- why the hell would he come there for the boy and then kill her and leave him alone?/

This is the same reason why I thought that Bella Swan’s “sacrifice” in “Twilight” was stupid. After James, the villain, tells Bella to come to him or her mother will die, Bella just obeys his orders without question. Somehow, she just thinks that James will let her mother go as soon as she arrives. Never mind that James is a vampire and there’s nothing to stop him from killing Bella’s mother after he’s done with Bella, making Bella’s sacrifice completely pointless.

[oryx_leucoryx]

Why on earth would Voldemort, who’s supposed to be evil beyond measure and who’s trying to kill Harry, lie to him to make him feel better about his parents? What motivation would he have for doing so?


Well, he did need something Harry had. Perhaps he was hoping that would convince Harry to give him the Philosophers' Stone? He did tell Harry that he should give him the Stone so his parents wouldn't have died in vain - so it seems Tom was attempting to put up his old charm from his school days. But he obviously lost much of his charisma and brains when he vaporised.

[ladyhadhafang.livejournal.com]

That, or the fact that Voldemort's reserved some of his Affably Evilness. *Some*, that is. (GoF, even DH) Sadly, Rowling didn't explore some of his more redeemable traits; ergo, he's kind of a plot device, really. :/ (Which would have worked if Dumbledore was the real villain instead, ala KOTOR II and ROTS, but instead...)

[oneandthetruth.livejournal.com]

Yet when it came time for the final showdown, she [Lily] wasn’t able to do anything to defend herself against him [Voldemort]. I was confused and disappointed too. We were told so many times about how clever and powerful Lily was, yet when we finally saw her in action, she didn’t use any of her magic at all. Where was her wand?

OTOH, if Lily's putative awesomeness and power was 90% BS, that would explain why she didn't do much to rescue Snape besides nag James and Sirius. She wasn't able to rescue him.