JK's new interview

[_rp_zeal_]

The parts she talked about relationships and Tom Felton, right, Jo, whatever you say okay? It kind of amuses me that she sees Draco as such a huge badass, I mean... well... maybe there was a little more to what was between Jo and her school bully ;-)?

Comments

[sistermagpie]

Woo-hoo with her making the connection to Regulus. He's a wild card, if nothing else.

I think there are certain bombs exploded about Draco in this book that she's now free to talk about, but she's probably still keeping close-mouthed about what that means for the future. Which is probably also why she's able to talk about her distress at people thinking his fear of killing makes him a fluffy bunny. I'm beginning to think differently about her constant insistance about Snape and Draco being horrible and all that, perhaps because I think if in the end they wind up surprising us it's much more in her interest to stress how horrible they are than to encourage sympathy and ask us to see their pov.

Of course, I really wish she would just shut up and let us work out what everything means.

[primroseburrows]

JKR says so much by what she doesn't say. She says Draco is "not a nice man", but she doesn't say he's evil, or will be evil. Just that he's not nice. We all KNEW that, right?

[sistermagpie]

Just as she's always tried to stress about Snape, and I don't think he's Mr. Evil either.

And dude, she compared him to Regulus, whom I have loved since we just learned his name! As far as I'm concerned these three "not nice" men are the most interesting in canon!

[_rp_zeal_]

Of course, I really wish she would just shut up and let us work out what everything means.

It's interesting, you know how pre-HBP I often had to grit my teeth reading her interview and thought, "Oh shut up, Jo!" And now, I am able to read it with a smile (yes even at the Tom Felton bit), I was still thinking, "Jo, really, my like for you is restored now but, would you shush?" :-P

Regulus is king of the wild card, I suspect his arc in the next book would distract a lot of my Draco and Snape love.

I'm beginning to think differently about her constant insistance about Snape and Draco being horrible and all that, perhaps because I think if in the end they wind up surprising us it's much more in her interest to stress how horrible they are than to encourage sympathy and ask us to see their pov.Yes. It's like how she's now talking about Sirius's 'glaring flaws' which before OOTP she kept quiet about, she wanted Sirius's half self-induced demise to be a surprise, and hey her strategy worked on me regarding Sirius- I used to loathe him

[go_back_chief]

maybe there was a little more to what was between Jo and her school bully ;-)?

Thatt's what I'm beginning to wonder, too. I mean there's something almost obsessive, the way she has made it her life's mission to stop any fans from lusting over bad boys. Or as my sister said "no one but she is allowed to like Draco." Er...

The serious stuff about Draco is really interesting, and hope-inducing, she says plain out that he wouldn't have killed Dumbledore, after all! I agree with you that Draco is, especially in the first five books, really not that good at hiding his emotions (yeah, he's better than Harry, but how hard is that?), but I can still see her point; I do think he's quite good, and used to repressing emotions, which isn't exactly the same thing. He can be transparent when he tries to hide his immediate emotions, but I definitely think there's a lot of feelings going on on a more subconscious level, that he just never acknowledges, and that therefore remians hidden. (his good side perhaps. ;-) Loved that line too

[sistermagpie]

That's what I thought too, about DD's death speech being meaningless if Draco doesn't somehow switch sides. And after all, it appears Regulus *did* switch sides, as he was actively against Voldemort. He wasn't in the Order, but as an outcast (as Maya says so wonderfully), he chose to do something that will ultimately be revealed. If Draco's in the same spot it seems like it makes sense to have him do that too, with the difference being that his action is known and allows for a change for the future. Regulus' until now was for naught.

The other big difference being that nobody on the good side knew Regulus had the potential. In his generation he had Sirius who dismissed him as useless and evil. Harry has seen the potential.

[go_back_chief]

If Draco's in the same spot it seems like it makes sense to have him do that too, with the difference being that his action is known and allows for a change for the future. Regulus' until now was for naught.

Yes, that's what I'm hoping for, too. A common pattern in the HP books is that history repeats itself, but what's great is that it never does so the exact same way. There are always variations and differences. This somehow makes me hopeful for Draco, but he could still die. :-( Speaking of which, are you familiar with an interview in which JK supposedly said that Harry and Draco would never be friends as long as they're both alive??

[_rp_zeal_]

are you familiar with an interview in which JK supposedly said that Harry and Draco would never be friends as long as they're both alive??

AFAIK, she's never said that. All she said I believe, was that 'Draco fighting alongside Harry against Voldemort was a *rumor*'. Mind you, rumor does not equal to untrue, there's a subtle but important difference.

Delusional? Who me ;-)?

[ginzai]

But I thought of Draco as someone who is very capable of compartmentalizing his life and his emotions, and always has done.

This bit fascinates me. If Draco is meant to be someone who easily represses his emotions, perhaps the reason we never really noticed before is because so much of what Harry saw of him focused, well, on Harry. We do see Draco attempt subterfuge in HBP, when he's caught and accused of gatecrashing. And we know that he's been attempting to hide his emotions from either Snape or Voldemort (either way Snape's "what are you hiding from your master?" comment goes, I find it particularly interesting) and apparently, doing a reasonable enough job at it to not be killed. And that's not mentioning how sneaky he's become, able to outsmart Harry on the train and the plots with polyjuiced!V&G.

It makes me wonder if Draco's had these abilities all along and we didn't see it, or if he had them but wasn't being pressured to use them to their fullest extent. Ages back, I thought that Draco wouldn't make a good spy

[_rp_zeal_]

It makes me wonder if Draco's had these abilities all along and we didn't see it, or if he had them but wasn't being pressured to use them to their fullest extent.

I agree with the not pressured enough explanation, I don't think he was even trying! I guess what this revelation from Jo does is strengthening the H/D aspect of things *cackles* Harry was all along a special case to Draco- thinking back to little diplomat!Draco in M&M's robe shop, his would-have-succeeded-if-it-were-any-boy-but-Harry attempt to befriend Harry on the train, his cool, detached attitude when he knew dad and friends were torturing innocent muggles. Draco lost all his self-restraint when in front of Harry because Harry continued to beat him, until HBP when Draco just couldn't spare any more thought on Harry because his life is at stake. I thought it interesting that Rowling said Draco made an effort to surpress his pity and compassion, ohhhhhh, he had those too ;-)?

[go_back_chief]

It makes sense to me if Draco has developed this ability over the years and especially when hee was taught occlumency (which must have been over the summer, since Bellatrix was in Azkaban earlier). Draco has always tried to restrain his emotions (the pink spots on his cheeks when Harry rejects him indicates that he tries to hold back but doesn't entirely succeed), but it's possible that if we go back through the books, we might notice that he was worse at it when he was younger? However, even in OotP, he has a bit of a problem with it, he isn't quick enough to mask his expression for Umbridge not to see through him in OotP, and he's also white of fury when he loses the Quidditch maatch in the same book. However, unlike Harry and Ron, he's always restrained enough not to immediately act upon his feelings.

Of course, an alternative interpretation would be that Draco always is viewed from Harry's POV, and just because he thinks he can read his feelings correctly, doesn't mean he always can. Though, I don't think that holds up all the

[romeo_ambiences]

JKR's interviews always leave me with a sick feeling

[_rp_zeal_]

Perhaps if the appalling actions of "good" characters were to be given due consideration in her "warnings" to the readers, I wouldn't feel so frustrated.

This is exactly what I have been trying (and failing) to explain to JK fanatics makes some of her interview answers so problematic in my eyes. Draco's imperfections are as OBVIOUS as a huge billboard 3 inches in front your face, with the authorial voice persistently reminding us over and over again just how horrible his mistakes are. So if some little girls are determined to ignore or overlook his faults, you know what Jo, let it go. They are either too far gone or they actually know much better about what they are doing than you are presuming.

The much more worrisome issue at hand is what the younger readers are learning from the series' heroes, the 'good guys' who have become the role models of kids around the globe. That's why I thought it was nice (*finally!*) of Jo to have addressed Sirius's not living to the personal phylosophies that he 'sprouted' himself. Because to kids

[merrymelody]

Perhaps if the appalling actions of "good" characters were to be given due consideration in her "warnings" to the readers, I wouldn't feel so frustrated.

*a stone tablet rises from the mist. 'WORD' is carved on it* (ITA, in other words.)

[malafede]

I think I ship JKR/Draco like I ship Harry/Draco now.

[_rp_zeal_]

I am beginning to think JKR/Draco is where all the real tension is, the woman clearly has unresolved issues with her own RL Draco. I mean I can't believe little girls having a crush on Draco or Tom Felton's movie!Draco is that huge a shocker, when as she said there are people who believe all Voldemort needs is a little love and maybe some chocolate? Though considering the Gary Stu nature of Harry, H/D in canon should be very reflective of JKR/Draco anyway ;-)