How the Harry Potter Series Delivered an Almost Perfect Ending

When we look back at the way J.K. Rowling ended the Harry Potter series, most of us are satisfied, and that’s a hard thing to accomplish!

As someone who grew up reading the Harry Potter books and had to wait a fair amount of time between books, especially that seemingly endless three years between books 4 and 5, it’s fun to look back now at what we got and compare the feelings the ending of the series evoked in us with the way other very famous properties have ended.

Looking at you, Game of Thrones, looking at you.

Now, of course, I’m not going to sit here and tell you I wouldn’t change anything about the ending, because Remus Lupin is my favorite character and I’d bring him back in a heartbeat. But despite the fact that I hated it, the narrative reasons why J.K. Rowling killed him off always made sense.

There was a parallel to be had there, and boy, did it work.

Of course, it would have been much more powerful had we gotten to see the next-generation books, had we seen the relationship between Harry and Teddy develop, but still, the setup was there. Common sense was used to reach that ending.

Plus, there was the fact that the books never went for shock or prioritized plot over characterization. No, what J.K. Rowling did was follow the characters to the rightful conclusion, and that way, we were left feeling not just like we earned the ending, but like we wouldn’t say not to more.

Voldemort always had to die, but that didn’t have to be the end of Harry’s story. And it wasn’t – it was just the beginning of another journey, a different one.

And the fact that J.K. Rowling didn’t betray her characters to get there means that we are still, to this day, curious about what came after. We fell in love with Harry, after all, not with his journey towards defeating Voldemort. And while Harry remains alive, so will our curiosity.

Now, that’s how you end an epic tale.