#*groan*

It was never going to be good. The movies are too iconic, they will forever overshadow the project. The thing I'm comparing it to is Superman: They made a good movie in 1978, then took almost 50 years before they managed a second one that was doing its own thing instead either trying to imitate or trying to get away from it. And Superman has much more freedom of movement than That Book Series.

The show looks exactly the same as the movies. Which is in part because the people making it also spent the past 25 years watching those movies and can't imagine the world in any different way. But also in part because, honestly, there are not that many ways to do the set design. It's a school. In a castle. Every schoolroom ever looks almost identical, and so does every castle (more or less - you could go to Germany, and the castle would be different, but you also very much can not go to Germany).

One day, people will start making visual media again where you can see the characters that are on-screen. Even at night. Today is not that day.

The people celebrating that "it is going to be 100% true to the books" baffle me. Like, that is a terrible idea, don't they see that?? You can't make a TV show like a book, because TV shows are not books and need to be paced differently. Unfortunately, She Whom We Don't Call By Name has already proven that she doesn't understand different mediums and that they need a different approach to work, and we also know that she has got tangible creative control here - be serious. Do you really believe that she will move a scene from episode 1 to episode 3 because it works better thematically and/or pacing-wise? She won't.

The race shift... Was a choice. I honestly don't know what they were trying to achieve, beyond exposing their actor to some extremely violent racist backlash, because they knew exactly what would happen. Also, as someone somewhere pointed out: If they were after low-effort token diversity, they would have cast actors of color for background roles. If they were after actual diversity, then it wouldn't be just this one character. It's just bad, no matter how you look at it. I do feel sorry for Paapa Essiedu, because nobody deserves the treatment that he is receiving. But also, he too must have known that this would happen. (He does look good in costume. But also, if you had to race shift someone, literally any other character would have been a better choice.)

For the rest... It was very meh. Like, yeah, that is You Know Which Story. I already have two versions of it. If I wanted to re-experience it, I would just re-read the book, or re-watch the movie (more likely, but also not very). As I said, this is a very rigid story, so it was always going to be hard to add anything of value to it. So far, it doesn't look like they succeeded. Not with a single thing.

The children are cute. But they are 11-12 years old, I am biologically hardwired to find them cute. Also, I am not supposed to think that they are cute children, I am supposed to identify with them.

Why is Dumbledore wearing black?! That is just so not his color palette!! That man would not wear black. Weird minor detail to fixate on, but we all deserve to have one of those, as a treat.

Idk. This is going to be such a train wreck. I genuinely feel tempted to watch just for the train-wreck of it. But it is also so not going to be worth anybody's time. Political connotations aside, because enough people have talked about those already.

“hey, i think my body does not respond to normal doses. i know when i say ‘i think i need a higher dose,’ it sounds like i am trying to get drugs, but no, i just think i am not unlocking the full effect of this pharmaceutical at this level.”

and

“hey, so i know what you’re going to think when i say this, and you’re wrong, but i very much think it’s important for these medications to work: i think i am metabolizing the drugs too fast. not because of anything else i’m taking. just— because, idfk, bodies are weird?”

and people were like “no that doesn’t happen”

EXCEPT IT DOES AND I WAS RIGHT.

sorry. i just got a text from my psychiatrist to confirm my appt next week and so I’m a little mad because i know i’m going to give him my printed out diagnosis, with the part about medications highlighted and circled, and he’s going to be like “ok well i can’t do anything about it,”