Editor’s note: In this article, a Hypable reader explains her concerns about The Cursed Child after seeing it on London’s West End. The author does not spoil anything about the plot.

It’s clear by now that, unfortunately, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child will be consumed by the fandom in a variety of ways. I had the privilege (and luck) of managing to secure last-minute tickets, and despite this, I still succumbed to temptation and devoured every single spoiler I could get my hands on before seeing the show.

While I was begrudgingly aware that I am maybe just too thirsty and weak for my own good, I was also aware that I was viewing Cursed Child in a somewhat different way compared to the gasps of the rest of the audience. I had a month to digest the plot, go through the stages of grief at the absurdity of one part, and eventually try to make the most out of the play. I had been planning to find the more, um, quirky elements of the plot funny and focus on the other positive areas of the production. I had even prepped what I would say to fellow fans when they asked me how I enjoyed it, giving them a firm spoiler-free warning of what they will be faced with on July 31.

A lot of this did happen. The twist made me laugh, the special effects blew me away, the acting made me cry, and I did warn my friends who wouldn’t get to see it live what to expect. But I also found myself feeling unexpectedly sad and frustrated, and not solely because seeing it live won’t be a universal experience. The play left me with a genuine frustration and sadness because, no matter what, the ridiculous and unnecessary elements of the plot are going to overshadow other important themes the play touches on.

During her discussion with Daniel Radcliffe for the Harry Potter DVDs, Rowling poignantly said this regarding Harry’s future:

I have said this before, for me, absolute heroism is rebuilding after that kind of trauma and I could think of nothing more noble than that he’s acting what Dumbledore preached but didn’t live [to see]. Dumbledore preaches… these are the values that see us through, that survive: love, those sort of human bonds. Harry’s actually living them.

(Skip to 48:52)

Based on the official synopsis, I don’t think it’s a spoiler to say a major theme of Cursed Child is dealing with trauma. Fiction, and Potter, often deals with the trauma itself: how it happens, how it develops. That’s the interesting element of any plot; that’s where the action stems from. While a lot of fiction puts the immediate consequences on the characters, it rarely has the space or time to adequately deal with the long-lasting affects in-depth. You get a quick glimpse of it, for example, at the end of the final Hunger Games novel. With these types of plots and stories, to explore the long-lasting effects, a sequel is required. Cursed Child is that sequel.

The play, in my opinion, deals with “rebuilding after that kind of trauma” perfectly. It is gut-wrenching, raw, and realistic. Thorne has written it beautifully, neither making the lives of those who fought in the war too perfect nor too unrealistically bleak. The play’s treatment of loving after trauma is incredibly important, as are the other themes that naturally stem from it. Cursed Child is also an emotional and beautiful exploration of family, when family has been tainted with the horrors of war and a traumatic past.

To go into detail would be to voyage into spoiler-territory. I will say this, however: I do believe that these themes have the opportunity to come across well even when being taken in as a script. But I also believe that, ultimately, they will struggle to. The ridiculousness of a certain moment in the plot will be what captures people’s attention and what gets people talking.

I should also clarify that I am not blaming fans for this. The blame, in my opinion, lies with Thorne, Tiffany and Rowling. They could have explored these important themes alongside a stronger plot, one which better complimented the themes. They could have created a plot that still got fans excited but also made sense with the canon. The problem with Cursed Child is that, based on the reaction to the spoilers, people are going to be immediately tempted to disregard the entire play as awful based on its plot. And, considering that this is being advertised as the “eighth story,” who can blame them?

On July 31 I urge readers to see past the ridiculousness if they can. This does, of course, rely on Thorne’s script having an emotional impact without being seen on stage. I hope, and believe, that it will. It’s still fine to laugh at some of the funnier plot decisions, to feel let down, or to talk about it with excitement! I want to join in with those discussions, too. But I also think it’s important to not disregard the entire play based on its plot because, in doing so, you might miss the opportunity to discuss and enjoy some of the wonderful and important aspects of Cursed Child.