Too often book and movie franchises get caught in similar tropes. It happens all the time, and the most obvious can be boiled down to the simple good vs evil plot. Now, we’re not out here trying to disparage these storylines, mind you, but we do want to point them out.
One obvious trope that doesn’t get talked about much is that epic events only happen to characters within a family. If something epic happens to the parents, chances are, in the future, something epic will happen to their kids. You can see for yourself how often this takes place. There’s the Anakin – Luke – Ben Skywalker connection, the Han & Leia – Jaina, Jacen, and Anakin Solo connection, the James & Lily – Harry – Albus connection, the Naruto – Boruto connection, the Goku – Gohan & Goten connection, the Matthias – Mattimeo connection, these are just a few, the list can go on.
You might not think about it but this trope is out there floating around, but we’re still not disparaging it, we’re pointing it out. The trope works, people like know that the legacy continues on to their favorite characters’ children. It’s fun, it’s exciting, but for us at Of Blades and Kings, it’s a little dissatisfying. Some characters need that legacy, others, not so much. How often, in life, do children of extremely talented individuals (almost worldly or culturally talented like the characters mentioned above) perform the same tasks as good as, if not better, than their parents? It hardly ever happens, we won’t begin naming names, but think about the greatest world renown individuals, what’d their kids end up doing?
I don’t know, I couldn’t tell you, because that’s how life is, and it’s not the kid’s fault nor is it the parent’s. When an individual achieves that level of greatness, unfair expectations and unrealistic comparisons get placed on their children. No child will do or be anything exactly like their parents, and the kids who understand that will achieve greatness of their own. This is the reason why we don’t feel like the next generation of Harry Potter adventures should go to his kids. Harry’s kids wouldn’t be like him, they had a mom and dad who loved and cared from them dearly, they had an incredible support system of friends, and most importantly they never had to fight for anything. Harry had to fight his entire childhood, he fought for the chance to speak, for a moment alone, for friends, for the hope that things would get better, everything. Harry’s kids will never know that struggle and while they might have their own motivations and drive, Harry is a one of a kind individual. There’s no replicating him. A story about his kids just doesn’t make sense, not to us, not logically, not historically. We do have a good idea for who could usher in a new generation of Harry Potter stories. There’s one kid at the end of Deathly Hallows that’s primed for their own adventures and hardships to overcome.
Edward “Teddy” Lupin.
Yes, Harry is his godfather, but they’re not truly related. The greatness that Teddy acheives will not directly correlate to Harry Potter’s greatness, at least it wouldn’t be the same as living up to your own father’s expectations. His storyline would allow us to still remain in the Wizarding World, see familiar faces, and as an added bonus we’d explore a new organic adventure. Who’s to say that Lupin, through his travels as a werewolf, didn’t make enemies? What’s stopping these vicious creatures from hunting Lupin down to his son? There’s plenty of opportunity for Teddy to have his own adventures, while at the same time maintaining a connection with Harry Potter.
With Teddy there are similarities between him and his godfather: both of them would grow up with parents that had been killed because of Voldemort, both go on to live with relatives, and both would experience pain and suffering unlike regular children. We could get to see this young wizard grow through that pain, with Harry’s guidance. We could watch as Teddy learned from Harry just like Harry had learned from Lupin. We could see how Harry transitions from a 17 year old kid to a godfather. We could eventually see Teddy as his own person, rising above life’s challenges and becoming the wizard he was meant to be. Does Teddy need seven books year to year? No, probably not, but a trilogy would be neat to see. Hufflepuff would get a hero in the forefront and a new character would get the chance to make their own history.
Regardless of the future for the Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Teddy Lupin has incredible potential for an amazing storyline.
Let us know your thoughts, are you tired of the main characters always being in the same family? Do you think Teddy Lupin can lead a story on his own? Is there another future generation that could be brought in the spot light? We want to hear from you.
As always, thank you so much for your time and remember, all that is gold does not glitter.
– The Wandering One
Of Blades and Kings 