Epic. This word is extremely overused by the likes of my generation. A walk to the park can be “epic.” That Taco Bell burrito you just ate was “epic.” Your grandmother’s homemade peach pie is “epic.” Unless you are me, in which case the previous use of the word happens to be very appropriate. The overuse of such a word eventually waters down its original definition into something meaningless, something that’s just more of an expression. However, I can honestly say that the midnight showing of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was an EPIC experience.
In the final installment of the Harry Potter franchise Harry, Ron, and Hermione are still on their quest to destroy the Horcruxes that will lead to the final showdown with Lord Voldemort. In case you forgot, Voldemort split his soul into seven pieces in order to make himself as close to immortal as possible. He placed each piece into an object, making that object a Horcrux. As The Deathly Hallows: Part 2 opens, Harry and the gang still have three more to find with not a clue of what they are looking for.  
Part two seemed to be more lighthearted than part one, despite the fact that spells were flying left and right through the whole movie. There were deaths of main characters, a little bit of comedic relief, and most importantly: The Ron and Hermione kiss. That is something fans have been waiting over a decade for. Part two seemed to follow the book pretty well, except for the final scene between Harry and Voldemort. They stretched that scene out which didn’t add to the suspense since almost everyone knows how the story ends anyway.
The death scenes were hard to watch, but surprisingly not as hard as the Dobby death scene in part one. In part two they seemed to skim over the death scenes a bit faster and get straight into the Harry/Voldy scenes. The main three did their best acting in the ten years they’ve played these characters. And finally, we delve deeper into the character Snape and understand how big his role is in the entire series. All in all, the film did the book justice and really, that’s all we can ask for as fans. What was more interesting, though, is how the Harry Potter became a communal experience.
The midnight showing as an event was taken more serious than the movie itself. People all over the Central Valley, not to mention the world, paid high prices to see the final film in 3D. People began waiting in line because it was rumored that theaters had sold more tickets than they had seats. And let’s not forget the most important part of the Harry Potter viewing experience: the costumes. I attended the premiere at Edwards stadium 21 in Riverpark, and the costumes were unique, to say the least. Every character was represented from Harry to Sirius Black to Bellatrix Lestrange, I even saw people painted up like some Star Wars characters… I’m not sure what that was about…
My friends and I showed up fashionably late to the midnight premiere—at 8pm. We were soon let into the theatre only to wait another 3 hours until the movie started. We killed time by eavesdropping on the people behind us. They were trying to decide which Hogwarts House they would be in, if the magical land was real.”No, Gryffindors are supposed to be brave, but I’m intelligent like a Ravenclaw.” “You can still be a Gryffindor, remember? The Sorting Hat lets you choose!”
I’m not making fun of the fans that sat behind us. I’ve been a fan of Harry Potter since the first book came out. I can still remember reading the first book in the fourth grade and falling in love with reading. In fact, that’s what made the last film premiere so epic. I knew that everyone else had the same memories I did and I knew that we were all reliving our Harry Potter memories together. It’s not just the end of a film series; it’s the end of my generation’s childhood. 

To read more by Nicole Abate, please check out her blog at www.talesofapreppywhiteguy.blogspot.com