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lilphve · 5 days ago

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lilphve · 5 days ago

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One of the biggest changes made to 2023's version of Solitaire was the omission of every Harry Potter reference, except the opening conversation, and even that conversation is heavily cut down from what it was originally.

I understand why this change was made (I think it would be awkward if they were all left in). And, omitting the HP references is a very cosmetic edit. It doesn't change anything crucial to the plot or to the characters.

That being said, there are two moments of HP getting omitted in 2023's Solitaire where, I think it would have been better to swap HP with a different franchise instead of cutting out the reference entirely.

The first moment is in Part 1 Chapter 11: Becky asks Tori which costume she should wear for her birthday party.

In the 2014 version, Becky's choosing between dressing up as Tinker Bell and Hermione. In the 2023 version, she's choosing between Tinker Bell and an angel. In both versions, Tori immediately says "Tinker Bell".

But, in 2014 after saying this, Tori thinks "Seeing as Becky maintains her coolness and hilarity by acting like an idiot, it would be an insult to the name of Hermione Granger and [you know who] and all Potterheads to allow Becky to be the brightest witch of her age."

In 2023, Tori says out loud to Becky "At least Tinker Bell is from a movie. 'Angel' has to be one of the most generic fancy dress costumes ever."

I don't know about you, but that's a small, but stark difference. 2014 Tori shows us more on what she thinks of Becky in one sentence. I think instead of swapping out the Hermione costume with something generic, it could have been swapped for a different smart girl character from a different franchise, and Tori could still make an internal comment on how it would be an insult if Becky dressed up as said smart girl character. It hits different than just "angel is too generic".

(Also, I don't know if it's just me, but the decision between dressing up as Tinker Bell or a generic angel just...feels like a no brainer. Especially when you consider everyone else at the party dresses up as some kind of identifiable character, I think)(It feels off for Becky to even consider wearing a generic costume to a costume party. Especially since it’s her own birthday party that she’s picking a costume for).

The second moment is in Part 2 Chapter 6: Tori and Kent are talking to each other, and Kent brings up the subject of friends. Tori says "Are friends really that important?" then Kent says "Think about all the films you’ve seen. Most of the people who do well, and turn out happy, have friends, yes?"

And then Kent lists lots of pairs or groups of friends from different films. In 2014, one item on this list of friends is HP's golden trio, and it's the last item on Kent's list. This item of the list is cut out 2023.

Which on its own is fine. It's a superficial edit.

But paired with what Kent says next, I think this edit is not quite cosmetic.

In 2014, Kent follows his list of film friends with "People who are alone are usually the antagonists. Like Voldemort." Then Tori responds with "Even Voldemort had followers," Then Kent says "Followers: yes. Friends? Real friends? Definitely not. You can’t always rely just on yourself, even though it can seem like an easier way to live."

In 2023, the HP references are all cut out, and Kent just says "People who are alone are usually the antagonists. You can't always rely just on yourself, even though it can seem like an easier way to live."

Again, it's just a few more sentences, but they're very telling. I like Tori's little moment where she argues that an antagonist has followers, and then Kent basically says followers does not equal friends.

These two moments expand Tori's character just a tiny bit more. Again, ultimately, the omission of the HP references, plus most of the other major edits made to the updated Solitaire don't actually change much. Still, these are two little things that I wish the essence of which were kept. I think that prety easily could have been done by switching out the HP characters with characters from a different franchise that fit the same bill.

I will say though, I also feel that 2014 Tori is more judgy and cynical than 2023 Tori, and these two moments can be seen as just more of that. So maybe it was better to completely cut those lines out to better fit 2023 Tori?

(Also, I was talking about this with a friend, and she proposed swapping out HP with Percy Jackson, and swapping out Hermione with Annabeth Chase. And you know what? I'm not opposed to that.)(I don't know who you'd swap Voldemort with for Kent's line though. Kronos maybe?)

What do you think?

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lilphve · 5 days ago

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