Disappointment with the Final Duel

[wickedwickedboy]

Well I think since Harry's power that was greater than magic - also worked his magic at times, JKR could have had him do enough to survive a major duel and then just end it the same way she did. That would have been more exciting. I found it a little dull; all that talking and then boom, it was over. I'd of liked a more exciting finale. That Harry was less talented would only increase the drama.

[TheBoyWh0Reads]

I am disappointed with the final duel because Harry defeats Voldemort on a mere technicality. Harry wins only because Voldemort is unaware that it was Draco rather than Snape who defeated Dumbledore. This infuriates me because it means that the outcome of the duel is determined greatly by chance, which makes me want to retch. Throughout the series, we have been told that Harry has "power that Voldemort knows not" (which is, of course, Harry's capacity for love and compassion), but when Harry and Voldemort finally duel, this fact is forgotten! In my opinion, this should be the centrepiece of the final duel, but it isn't even mentioned.

*Rant ended. Retreating to the shadows so I can brood some more...*

[skippaduu]

obviously the final duel was a joke, such a dissapointment

[Noldus]

Originally Posted by skippaduu

obviously the final duel was a joke, such a dissapointment

It was a very serious moment to me, but I'd ironically wished the ending was more magical.

[HedwigOwl]

Originally Posted by willfitz

I'm afraid I disagree. In the final duel, the curse does rebound:

"Voldemort was dead, killed by his own rebounding curse." (DH)

We have two instances where the curse rebounds- the first when Harry was a baby, and Lily's blood protection meant that he was invincible against Voldemort, the second where Harry casts expelliarmus at the same time, and the Elder wand decides to rebound against itself. We have one circumstance where it does not rebound, in which Harry would have died if not for Voldemort having Harry's blood in his veins. I don't think any of this is really conclusive in any way, but given Harry seems to think that he needs to cast a spell at the same time as Voldemort, I give him the benefit of the doubt and say that yes, it was necessary to cast a spell to make AK backfire.

Sorry, but the curse seems to have been repelled by the Expelliarmus, it didn't rebound off the Wand or Harry:

DH The Flaw in the Plan The bang was like a canon blast, and the gold flames that erupted between them, at the dead center of the circle they had been treading, marked the point where the spells collided. Harry saw Voldemort's green jet meet his own spell...(snip)

The spells collided, and the AK was repelled back on Voldemort by the Expelliarmus.

My original point was, even if the Elder Wand had not obviously hesitated on casting Voldemort's AK (which JK implies in that same paragraph) to make sure that Harry -- the Wand's true master -- would survive, the AK would have, in that case, rebounded off Harry because of the blood protection in his own & Voldy's veins, and Voldemort would have died. I liked the ending JK wrote much better, though.

[Tripleh213]

Yea why was the final duel so short? It could have been so much better in a lot of ways.

[XenoLG]

The things that disappointed me were the length and the amount of talking. The dialogue (or at least Harry's) was a little overdone. And I think it would have realistically taken more than just one spell for each Harry and Voldemort in the duel.

[OldMotherCrow]

I liked that there were only two spells cast. Elphias Doge had written in Dumbledore's rememberance about the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and how everyone spoke of it with awe, but the awe was generated by both Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's great talent. With the duel between Harry and Voldemort, I don't think anyone will pair the the name "Voldemort" with "awe" when describing it, and I think that's a good thing. I think it was essential for the Wizarding World to get over the fear and terror Voldemort had instilled in them and had used for so long to bolster his agenda.

[Nyjets4004]

i would have liked it more if harry disarmed voldy and then he gets stormed by aurors and he gets arrested and questioned just for an add on to the story then after that they give him the dementors kiss. its not like they'll have anything to kiss him having no soul but it would have been exciting to see his reaction to that

[HedwigOwl]

Originally Posted by OldMotherCrow

I liked that there were only two spells cast. Elphias Doge had written in Dumbledore's rememberance about the duel between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, and how everyone spoke of it with awe, but the awe was generated by both Dumbledore's and Grindelwald's great talent. With the duel between Harry and Voldemort, I don't think anyone will pair the the name "Voldemort" with "awe" when describing it, and I think that's a good thing. I think it was essential for the Wizarding World to get over the fear and terror Voldemort had instilled in them and had used for so long to bolster his agenda.

That's an interesting perspective. I hadn't thought about the wider impact on the crowd's witnessing the verbal battle between Harry & Voldemort.

[halfbloodsnape]

Originally Posted by HedwigOwl

That's an interesting perspective. I hadn't thought about the wider impact on the crowd's witnessing the verbal battle between Harry & Voldemort.

I believe that was all of the essence. The duel between Harry and Voldemort was not of magical ability, and I think that was clear form the beginning.
All those times when Harry protests that he has not power that the Dark Lord knows not, and he is always told that he can love... all that always has foreshadowed the fact that they won't be dueling on magical abilities. Besides, I think it would've been fake if a seventeen year old could've defeated Voldy with his magic. THe reason Harry could is precisely because he didn't have to defeat him by superior skill, but he was protected from Voldemort by his mother, and other things.

[wickedwickedboy]

Yeah but the chat wasn't exciting. I waded through that expecting a battle which never materialized, so that was why it was a let down.

[OldMotherCrow]

Originally Posted by HedwigOwl

That's an interesting perspective. I hadn't thought about the wider impact on the crowd's witnessing the verbal battle between Harry & Voldemort.

I admit that my satisfaction with the final duel has to do with my veiwpoint on this matter, that it was really about killing off the Idea of Voldemort, and that's why IMO Harry needed to step in and do the job: Because only he had the knowledge that could to strip away the shroud of fear and mystique that surrounded Voldemort. I think if it was just about physically killing Voldemort, anyone could have done it-- but only after an epic battle that would have lived on in the minds of the watchers for years, and would have added to Voldemort's mystique. Of course, Voldemort would have been dead and unhappy, but I don't think it was about what Voldemort wanted or didn't want, but about what the Wizarding World needed: To get rid of him and move forward. So, I like the final duel because I see it as a fitting end to the Myth of Voldemort.

My dissatisfaction with the final duel is centered around mechanical confusion. I don't think it is really clear in the text what is exactly going on with all these magical effects-- from Lily's protection, the blood connection, and the wand mastery-- and how they interact together. I like things to be clear in the end so I'm thinking, "Ah, so that's why that happened!", rather than, "What the--? Why did that just happen?!"

[msstinson]

part of the point of the series (your choices make you who you are) was that harry would not want to kill voldermort unless he had to. voldemort was so very bent on death and destruction, that he only hurt himself. that was the point of her doing it that way. harry is such a beloved character for so many people that the idea of him dong anything to harm another person intentionally would have devestated a lot of people. after all, harry is the good guy who saves people, voldemort was the bad guy who kills them.

i know you're thiking that if someone were trying to kill you you'd damn sure try to kill them back and i understand that. i'm just saying that i don't believe that harry would have the heart to deliver a death blow on his own. the final duel was perfect voldything was done in by his own evil nonexistent heart.