So I read the playbook for The Cursed Child back when it was first released. Then I saw the play twice. I even bought the “making of” book. Aside from the great theatrics, I’m left with many solid questions.

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Who is the cursed child?

Are they all cursed children? Is Harry one of them too? I posit this because they’re all riding the childhood trauma struggle bus.

Albus: resents his fathers fame. Tries to change his fathers’ mistake.

Scorpius: has a distant relationship with his dad and a lot of rumor-shame.

Albus and Scorpius are codependent and that’s the only way they know how to survive being outcasts.

Delphi: idolizes her fathers fame. Tries to change the past to get her father back. To meet him.

Then there’s Harry: missed the parents he never had. Accepts the past, because at times he forces himself to, and eventually it happens. That’s real adult pain.

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Or is the curse some universal hardship that one must navigate through to eventual acceptance? They all have things they can’t accept, whether it’s about themselves or other people. And maybe the child part refers to it being growing pains.

I agree with this title the most.

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Another big question: Why is Albus so obsessed with bringing Cedric back?

The author says Albus’ big fight with his ‘special’ dad is what moved the whole plot forward. I still don’t know why Albus is so invested in the past. What is his motivation, and how does he think meddling in a specific event is going to solve his, or any global problem? It’s never really clear to me why he embarked on such a mission.

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Maybe someday I’ll causally think of these questions and an answer will pop into my head. But for now, they remain a mystery.

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