*This article contains spoilers!*

First off, I know, I know, I'm a bit behind. J.K. Rowling's newest addition to her beloved Harry Potter series was released on July 31st of this year, but with finishing up summer jobs and moving into school, I only just got around to reading it. However, now that I have read it, I have a few thoughts.

For some background, Cursed Child isn't a novel- it's a script. The play itself is currently being performed in The Palace Theatre in London in two parts, (so technically it's two different shows.) The plot takes place 19 years after Harry defeats Voldemort. Now he's all grown up and married to Ginny with three kids; James, Albus, and Lily. The plot focuses mainly on his youngest son, Albus, and his struggle adjusting to life at Hogwarts- eternally in his father's shadow and this is where the main conflict of the play lies.

I can't lie- I wasn't super enthusiastic to read this play. I personally enjoyed how Harry's story ended- nicely wrapped up with Voldemort's defeat and the beginning of an era of healing within the magical universe. I felt like the original trio didn't need any further development and considering all of the heartbreak and sacrifices that were made in their epic quest to rid their world of evil, anything else would just seem boring in comparison. But I was curious to see what became of their children so I gave it a try.

I'll start out with some plot devices and characters that I liked:

The Albus/Scorpius Friendship

The relationship between Harry's son and Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius was actually quite heartwarming. The play begins where the epilogue of Deathly Hallows left off- at King's Cross Station on September 1st. Albus is worried that he'll be sorted into Slytherin and Harry comforts his son, telling him, "...if it matters to you, you'll be able to choose Gryffindor over Slytherin. The Sorting Hat takes your choice into account." When Albus gets onto the train he chooses to sit next to the lonely Scorpius Malfoy who is currently being bullied because there's a rumor going round that he's Voldemort's son. (Yes, Voldemort has a child, but more on that later.) Unlike his cousin, Rose Granger-Weasley, Albus doesn't care about the rumor and together they share candy and laugh. Once they arrive at Hogwarts they are both sorted into Slytherin. (A Potter in Slytherin? Shocker right?) Nonetheless, Scorpius's witty and sometimes geeky playful insults towards Albus and Albus's response are what give their friendship life. They're both kind of the black sheep of their families and these differences are what bring them closer.

Minerva McGonagall

Now the headmistress of Hogwarts, Professor McGonagall stays true to her character that was present throughout the series. She remains calm and focused under pressure and wants nothing more than for her students to be safe; McGonagall even goes as far as to scold Hermione (now the Minister for Magic) on certain rash decisions. Honestly, I would've liked to have seen more of her.

The Alternate "Voldemort Universe"

The plot focuses a lot on time travel, (which I found a bit odd because throughout the series we've been informed that meddling with time can lead to serious dangerous consequences), but nevertheless, Albus and Scorpius get their hands on an illegal time turner and accidentally get stuck (or rather, just Scorpius gets stuck) in an alternate dimension where Voldemort killed Harry and is now running the world. Also in this world we really get to see the extent of Scorpius's intelligence when he strategically fixes the situation and a return of the dreaded dementors.

Now onto some of my critiques of the story.

The Original Trio/Plotlines

To put it plainly, there was just too much of Harry, Hermione and Ron. This play was supposed to be the beginning of bringing in the next generation of wizards, but instead, the original characters appeared just as many times (if not more) than the newer characters! Not only this, but as the central conflict revolved around time travel, the new characters were placed in the exact same situations as their parents; the Tri-Wizard Tournament, Godric's Hollow on Hallows Eve, sneaking into the Ministry of Magic using Polyjuice Potion, etc. Not only this, but the Harry/Draco rivalry continued as heated as ever despite almost twenty years of maturation.

Albus's Defiance

I get it, teenagers are moody and want nothing to do with their parents. (Especially if that parent is the famous, Harry Potter.) However, Albus Severus Potter intentionally and irrationally brings danger upon himself in an attempt to separate himself from his father. In all his attempts at heroism, Albus actually attracts evil rather than diminishes it. This is different from Harry, in which the lightning-scarred wizard really had no choice but to fight off the evil that was already posing a massive threat to his world.

Voldemort's Daughter

This addition to the plot is what made the whole story read more like fan fiction to me. It is revealed that Amos Diggory's niece and nurse, Delphini, was born before the great Battle of Hogwarts, to Bellatrix Lestrange. Out of nowhere, a mysterious silver-blue haired girl with wings tattooed onto her back, appears to avenge her father and restore the Dark Lord to his former glory using (of course) a time turner. My biggest issue with Delphi is there was not even a notion that she could possibly exist in the original series- her entire existence seemed more like an afterthought in an already muddled story. Also, despite no longer being a Horcrux, Harry's scar starts to hurt when Delphi enters the story! (Call me a stickler, but that just doesn't make sense.)

All in all, I still think that the Harry Potter Universe has a lot to it that could still be explored, but that's exactly what Cursed Child didn't do. Instead of creating a new story with new characters, J.K. Rowling decided to turn back to old plot lines and interactions that we've already seen in a more detailed and coherent fashion. I still have high hopes that the franchise will stick around for many years to come, but a bit of a revival may be in order to keep things interesting.