Hi, can you elaborate on how everyone is ooc in deathly hallows?
Well, no, actually, because it's been eons since I read the book and don't remember it very well. 😅
But okay, exaggeration aside, I had very serious issues with Lupin's, Tonks's and Snape's arcs.
Lupin disappointed me SO MUCH. He's so...flaky. Getting into the relationship with Tonks, getting married immediately, then getting cold feet and practically leaving his pregnant wife behind, then they're back together and happy? IDK that's not the vibe I'd gotten from him during the previous books. He's avoidance personified. I expected that even after getting in a relationship with Tonks, he'd be dragging his feet about it, not get it all done whirlwind style. I think the idea is that this was a bit how he was with the Marauders as well - thought their shenanigans were a bad idea but let himself be convinced time and again - so it's not that it DOESN'T make sense at all, it's just not how I expected it to go. And the fact of the matter is that, let's face it, this was all done to lead to Lupin dead for the Stone scene and an orphan Teddy, and while yes, it's a book, plot devices abound and *should* be there... eh. I feel like this was a cheap shot overall.
Same for Tonks. I am absolutely an advocate for the early marriage and kid when it comes to Jily, but Tonks is absolutely NOT in the same position as Lily. She is older, she is educated, she is actively in the workforce in a career that puts her in the frontline of the war, she is from a different generation... she should not be the person who gets married and pregnant immediately just like that. Again, you can twist it to work but it was done for the ending's sake and not with the characters in mind. (Side note: how much more intriguing and realistic - and truer to their characters - would this whole situation have been if they'd gotten pregnant without getting married? Have Tonks devastated, thinking Remus had been serious about their relationship, Remus being like 'I never wanted this to happen' and fucking off to find Harry. Just one detail that would have made all the difference. But we can't have a child out of wedlock, JKR, can we?)
And then there's Snape. A complex, mysterious character who has been a source of doubt for everyone and a source of grief for Harry, our central character... and turns out to have done it "all for love". PLEASE. Another super cheap shot. Presumed love for someone when he can't even see her child with the minimum of sympathy, and that turning out to be his whole purpose in life. For something that was supposed to be the plan all along, it wasn't even particularly well done. It was, again, part of a larger theme, which you can see, and it makes sense in the structure of the story, and Snape is a flawed person and he hated James even though he loved Lily blah blah blah - but I think a complex character like him merited a more complex background and motives.
All that said - DH is part of canon and of the characterization of these characters, and the fun of fanfiction is trying to work with what you have. Besides, characterization is not a strict route - people are complex, and they surprise you, and they respond differently to different circumstances and a good writer can twist the circumstances so that the characters end up doing what the writer wants. So my complaint that "everyone is OOC in DH" is more about the fact that, however justifiable all the characters are and how explainable their actions, it carries too much the mark of "this happened for plot reasons" and not because it was the natural progression of the characters' arcs.
(And again, there are even excuses for that - mainly, that they are not main/POV characters and you don't see their whole arcs, you're supposed to have missed stuff etc.. Fair's fair. I'm not dissing the book, nor am I claiming to know better. I'm not some characterization authority. But the book overall has left me with a sour aftertaste - I remember reading it the second time and thinking 'hey it's not as bad as I remember'. And it's sad that a book that's not bad upon reading, doesn't hold up after you finish it and reflect on it. Especially when it's the culmination of a series you loved. But if that's the book or just me, who knows? Matter of taste, I guess.)
