I saw the play. I read the play. I have issues with the play. Ultimately though, I enjoyed Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and found lots of things to love about it.
It’s easy to focus on the problems with Cursed Child, whether it’s characters that are out of character, canon wizarding rules broken, or just a poor plot. However, there are plenty of things Cursed Child gave us that are awesome and worth recognizing.
Without a doubt, the best thing about Cursed Child is Scorpius. He’s a gift on a golden platter. He’s the epitome of the ‘precious cinnamon roll too pure for this world’ trope. Outcast since a child for being the rumored son of Voldemort, it never squashed his good nature and positivity. Scorpius is the bright light in this play who makes every character and scene better. His friendship with Albus, in particular, is a high point.
Moody and broody Albus meets perky and quirky Scorpius, and the two develop a friendship rivalling that of the trio. Brought together by mutual feelings of exclusion, Albus and Scorpius grow by bringing out the best in each other. Albus helps Scorpius develop courage, and Scorpius helps Albus develop empathy. Their patience, kindness, and frankness with each other is sweet and heartwarming (and leads many to believe there’s more here than what’s on the page).
Albus and Scorpius as characters also cast a shining light on Slytherin house, giving it the positive representation it’s severely lacked. For too long, Slytherin house has been regarded as evil by characters and readers alike. In the Harry Potter series, we’re never treated to reading about helpful Slytherins, sympathetic Slytherins, or courageous Slytherins. We see them through Harry’s eyes, and it’s a biased perspective.
Having Albus and Scorpius sorted into Slytherin shows us that Slytherins can be more than just evil or scathing. They can be timid, kind, moody, intelligent, and loyal just as much as any other house. Cursed Child also shows how previously distasteful Slytherins can grow into mature adults. I’m looking at you, Draco.
Draco Malfoy, teenaged brat and spoiled git, grew up to be a loving father who puts his son’s happiness before his own biases. True, that’s an obvious thing to do as a parent, but when you’re Draco Malfoy, it’s quite the character development.
Arguably, the Malfoy family is the best part of The Cursed Child. Hearing Draco speak so lovingly of his wife, witnessing him learn how best to parent a son so unlike himself, and meeting Scorpius for the first time, are all among the best parts of the play. It’s touching family drama that adds something to the Harry Potter canon, without changing the canon we know.
Then there’s the fantasy turned reality of Draco trying to include himself in the trio’s friend group. It’s hilarious to see characters who previously hated each other forced to interact and work together. Whether Harry and Draco like it or not, their sons are best friends, so they have to learn to get along. The development of this long awaited friendship shows us that anybody can change at any time, and holding grudges is only a detriment to yourself.
There’s also some great fan service by way of cameos. Myrtle is delightfully wacky, as we always knew her to be. In an alternate universe, Umbridge is still jaw-clenchingly awful. Hagrid brings the gruff heart like he always does, and even Snape makes a redeeming appearance (though I would say uncharacteristically so).
Of course, we can’t forget about new information dropped that adds color to our canon. Hermione becomes Minister for Magic, the trolley witch is secretly a badass, and the boy who took down Voldemort is afraid of pigeons.
From brilliant new characters to returning faves, long awaited redemption, and sprinklings of new information, Cursed Child has some great moments to please any Harry Potter fan. It’s easy to dwell on the parts you didn’t like, but the fact is, this is the story we’re given, so why not make the best of it?
Ultimately, this is your story. It’s just like the movies. You choose what you want to be canon. You choose if you want to focus on the parts you don’t like over the parts you do. It’s not the eighth book. Even though it’s approved by JK Rowling, it’s still not written by her. If you want to consider it a fun companion to the series, then so be it.
I didn’t love it when I first saw it. I still don’t love it after reading it. But I’m learning that I can enjoy it, and love it, as a separate entity if that’s what I choose, no matter what Jo says.