Jayson’s Reviews > Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix > Status Update

I think Neville and Mrs. Weasley each had about equal narrative clout for getting to kill Bellatrix. One is the son of parents tortured into insanity; another, an advocate of genuine love rather than mad obsession. Had Neville been the one to get to do the deed, then Molly would have needed to take up on some of his other plot points, lest his presence grow too high and hers too low. And... I don't see her decapitating any snakes.

Besides, it made for an awesome scene. Rather over-the-top in the movie, but still.

Juho wrote: "I think Neville and Mrs. Weasley each had about equal narrative clout for getting to kill Bellatrix. One is the son of parents tortured into insanity; another, an advocate of genuine love rather th..."

I don't know if Molly necessarily needed to have a high profile scene during the battle. Very few characters did. I mean, if it was about looking like a badass, calling a witch a bitch, and then blowing her to smithereens, I'm sure there's no shortage of madly obsessed Death Eaters who could fill that role.

Yeah would have made more sense if it was Neville.

TMR wrote: "Yeah would have made more sense if it was Neville."

Perhaps it made too much sense, and Rowling wanted things not to end up so perfect. To me, I can't see anyone reading that candy wrapper scene and not wanting Neville to exact some modicum of revenge on Bellatrix.

But as I say, Neville already had great many important, plot-relevant, and most of all badass scenes that only Neville could pull off. You can only give one non-main-character so much screentime, else the balance of supporting cast suffers and it starts to just look weird. It'd be like, I don't know... picture having Gimli grieve for the loss of Balin, all the while reading about the last days of Moria, and dropping the rock in the well to attract the attention of the enemy. He might conceivably have the time for all three, even the reason to, but it would make the rest of the cast just stand there and look useless. It would not work.

You need to let someone else do something important as well - and out of all the characters to bring down Bellatrix, Molly was as good a second pick as any.

Juho wrote: "But as I say, Neville already had great many important, plot-relevant, and most of all badass scenes that only Neville could pull off. You can only give one non-main-character so much screentime, e..."

As a second pick, sure. Why not. 🤷‍♂️

The first pick is not available, so we must make do.

Juho wrote: "The first pick is not available, so we must make do."

Well, the first choice was available. Just not chosen.

First of all Jayson.... that Gif will probably be scary for non Potterheads 😆For Potterheads it will be justice well served
Also l didn't want Neville to kill Bellatrix
It would have been awesome to see him torture her till she " BEGS" him to kill her
And rather than killing her he should have tortured her some more

Also l think the reason J.k.Rowling decided to let Molly kill her was to show how really powerful Molly is
For most of the books she was shown as someone who cared and loved fiercely
But if someone threatened her loved ones she won't hesitate to destroy them

Mrinmayi wrote: "First of all Jayson.... that Gif will probably be scary for non Potterheads 😆For Potterheads it will be justice well served
Also l didn't want Neville to kill Bellatrix
It would have been awesome ..."

Hmm... I don't know whether Neville's the torturing type. I mean, there's killing in the heat of battle, and then there's torture, which requires a sort of cold-hearted cruelty in a person. Even if the Cruciatus Curse wasn't illegal, I can't say I see Neville having it in him.

As for Molly, like I said earlier in the comments, it didn't necessarily need to be Bellatrix she killed to show off her magical prowess, it could have been any Death Eater. Possibly, it's more morally palatable for a woman to kill a woman than if a man had done it, and the match-up was chosen to be kind of a witch duel. Alternatively, it could be because they're related, and represent different life choices off the same family tree.

In any case, as you suggest, it would have been nice to see Neville get some sort of retribution.

Naw, Neville isn't the vengeful sort. Having him kill Nagini because it was necessary to bring down Voldie was a much better use of his character. He didn't need to kill Bellatrix personally to be relieved she's gone.

Looks like Linda got there first. I was going to say, Neville isn’t a vengeful and violent character. Killing Nagini for Harry is the sort of brave thing he’d do, knowing it was necessary. Making him kill for revenge would mess up his character

Agree with the above commenters. Killing Bellatrix would have destroyed Neville. He would have been crying after doing it. Neville could have obliviated the crap out of Bellatrix though... It would be a spectacle to see her at St Mungo's with the tortured parents.

Linda ~ they got the mustard out! ~ wrote: "Naw, Neville isn't the vengeful sort. Having him kill Nagini because it was necessary to bring down Voldie was a much better use of his character. He didn't need to kill Bellatrix personally to be ..."

Well, I don't know if a thirst for vengeance is necessarily in anyone's heart among the heroes. To quote Harry, "There's a war going on here!" The Battle of Hogwarts was a conflict in which a great many people died, and Neville was an active participant. I think it's likely he was either directly or indirectly responsible for the deaths of more than just Nagini, so why not count Bellatrix among them? That's all I'm saying. It would be more a symbolic justice than anything.

He took up the fight of his parents. That's all they'd ever have hoped of him.

Annie wrote: "Looks like Linda got there first. I was going to say, Neville isn’t a vengeful and violent character. Killing Nagini for Harry is the sort of brave thing he’d do, knowing it was necessary. Making h..."

Well, Neville does have the capacity for being violent and hot-blooded. He went into a rage and fist-fought Malfoy in the second book. He nearly does the same in this book when Malfoy mocks patients at St. Mungos. Furthermore, to make anyone kill for any reason is liable to mess someone up. Yet, this was a large battle in which many people died. War messes up people's characters, that's an unavoidable fact. It doesn't mean that people still don't kill in wars.

Florence Bernice wrote: "Agree with the above commenters. Killing Bellatrix would have destroyed Neville. He would have been crying after doing it. Neville could have obliviated the crap out of Bellatrix though... It would..."

I agree that killing Bellatrix may have been more emotional than killing just some random Death Eater, but I think by the seventh book he has more of a spine than he did previously. As I've said earlier, it's likely that coming out of the battle that he has blood on his hands. Nearly everyone who actively participated would, and he was a leading student combatant. I don't know if he would be crying significantly more than anyone else over deaths.

Juho wrote: "He took up the fight of his parents. That's all they'd ever have hoped of him."

I don't know... taking out Bellatrix, either killing her or taking her back to Azkaban, wouldn't hurt. If anything, to keep her from inflicting pain on others. It would certainly be bonus points in addition to simply being in the resistance.

100% (1)

Aoife - Bookish_Babbling wrote: "100% (1)"

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Jayson, a really good series about how war messes up children especially is Animorphs. It's a 62 book series, though all are less than 300 pages. If you can find it ( was an early 90s series) I highly recommend it

Jenny wrote: "Jayson, a really good series about how war messes up children especially is Animorphs. It's a 62 book series, though all are less than 300 pages. If you can find it ( was an early 90s series) I hig..."

Thanks for the recommendation, Jenny! I'll definitely look into it :)

You're welcome Jay! I hope you enjoy it when you start it!

Jenny wrote: "You're welcome Jay! I hope you enjoy it when you start it!"

😁👍

I love your Harry Potter updates, really makes me want to re-read the series!

Morgan wrote: "I love your Harry Potter updates, really makes me want to re-read the series!"

Thanks, Morgan! I'm really happy you're enjoying them :)

YES! Whenever I watch the movies i always think Neville should've been the one to kill Bella, his character develop was awesome though!

Sakshi wrote: "YES! Whenever I watch the movies i always think Neville should've been the one to kill Bella, his character develop was awesome though!"

Yeah, I agree. It would have brought his character full circle. But perhaps it was too apropos or too cliche to include. He ended up a hero regardless :)