'The Boy Who Lived...Come to Die'

I’m finding it difficult to type and breathe because I just watched the first full trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (posted below). My entire body is currently riddled with goosebumps. Who else is suffering from a goosebump overdose? Anyone else hyperventilating like I am?

First impression: Our beloved Harry Potter definitely looks like an adult in the final installment, and not just physically. The Boy Who Lived lived through so much during what should have been his final year at Hogwarts, and you can see it in Dan Radcliffe’s weary eyes. If the trailer is any indication, the final two films will certainly live up to Warner Brothers’ proclamation that the Potter series is a “WORLDWIDE PHENOMENON” and this two-part finale will be the “THE MOTION PICTURE EVENT OF A GENERATION.” These words are hardly an understatement folks. It. Will. Be. EPIC.

Among the trailer’s high points were glimpses of Harry’s fight with Nagini, the flight of the Seven Potters, the Battle of Hogwarts, and, most importantly, Harry’s walk into the forest and his final confrontation with Voldemort. Okay, getting goosebumps and chills just writing about it.

One of the things I did notice, however, was that the final showdown between Harry and Voldemort does not seem to appear as J.K. Rowling wrote it - inside the rubble that was formally the Great Hall, with everyone in Harry’s life surrounding him. As a deeply dedicated Potter fan, I know I should take issue with this, and perhaps in the coming weeks I will. For some reason though, I think it’s unlikely. These final two films are about bringing the entire Harry Potter phenomenon to a close and it almost seems unreasonable to begin questioning individual frames when it’s about the finale as a whole. It’s about fans like me completing the journey with all Potter fans alike. I’m looking forward to it.

The end is certainly near, friends. In the meantime, enjoy the trailer over and over again. If you haven’t watched it yet, what’s the matter with you?! Accio Goosebumps!