Potter-Watch (44 of 77): Reflections on the Mirror

Since nothing much has been going down recently concerning the impending Harry Potter finale, I feel it's a good idea to reflect on a few of the extraneous details of Deathly Hallows: Part 1 that make it one of my favorite films of 2010. At the start of the film, Harry is gazing into this mysterious shard of glass that is showing a reflection that isn't his. For the uninitiated in the series, this is indeed quite a mystery, especially if you haven't read the books. For the sake of the film series, lets disregard what actually happens in Rowling's literature and focus on the film at the moment. Harry takes the mirror out at several different points in the film, and in ways it can be seen as a dial to illustrate his state of mind.

In the beginning, when Harry is swallowed by depression over Dumbledore's death, he sees what appears to be the image of his old headmaster. Much later on in the film, after Ron has left and his wand is broken, Harry stares into the shard out of desperation, and sees nothing but an empty room, showing just how alone he is in this fight. At the end of the film, it actually proves itself to be useful, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione are trapped in Malfoy Manor. Harry desperately takes the shard out of his sock, with Luna noting on how odd it is that he's carrying it around. In the reflection, he sees the man he saw in the beginning of the film, and cries out for help. Moments later his prayer is answered by a heroic house elf named Dobby, and we all know what happens from there. What we don't know is who was on the other side of the mirror, how did they know Dobby, how did Harry come to own the piece that he has, and will these questions be answered in the finale. Hopefully they will, because otherwise Steve Kloves makes the mistake of leaving out important and potentially emotional details. You can't fit everything into this saga, but you can try. And yes, that is a marvelous new image from the final film.