#Tom Blyth’s face did a lot of work but—is this too far?—it was in the name of Art

[herbofgraceandpeace]

well, I quite liked tbosas.

[ispiderdudei]

Only-part three

prologue part one part two part three part four part five

dad! Tom Holland x OC

only masterlist

my masterlist

Summary: Tom was living his dream as a rising star in Hollywood for the past six years. Even though it was everything he ever wanted he missed everything that he left behind. His family back in London. His best friend who’s career had also taken off and though they were roomates they never had time for one another. His first love that was torn apart by a dimbass decision. He wished he could take it all back. All the stupid decisions he made in the past that could have been the other way around if he choose the right choice. What happens when he wakes up one day in the life he should have chosen?

warings: angst, cussing, drinking, fluff, can bad writing be one, confused tom (again) and Harrison being adorable

word count: 3258

aurthors note: So I suck as a person and an author on the updates for this story and I am so terribly sorry. My life is a mess. Ive been applying for colleges taking the ACT, doing my job that sucks ass right now, and have been trying to get my service hours in to get into an organization that is going to help me get more scholarships. I am so slammed at this time of the year that it is so incredibly awful. The last time I updated this story was at the beginning of December. The next on is coming soon is in the works. Also, please excuse my editing. My life will be as normal as it can be in the next two weeks so expect more updates soon:) lol this is my second time to upload it and I'm sorry I was having problems with my account. 

The car ride to the coffee shop wasn’t supposed to be long. In fact, they could have just walked to the cafe all together. Instead, they were sitting in Harrison’s Tesla with the soft sound of the radio playing filling the car and the street outside.

Tom was never one for awkward silences and this was definitely not far from it. He just watched the buildings passing by his window. With the occasional glances from Harrison, but ignoring it all together. Arriving at the coffee shop that Tom didn’t recognize he knew that getting out of the car meant having to flood Haz with questions and probably the other way around knowing his friend was just as confused as he was.

It was anything you would expect out a local coffee shop. It had its unique features and the parts of the shop you can find anywhere else in the world. Tom was only paying attention to the details of the room to distract him from everything else that was running through his head at the moment. From the thought that Blythe was is daughter to the way he was living now was different from the life he supposedly left behind just yesterday.

They ordered their drinks, well, Harrison ordered their drinks and sat down at the nearest table. It was just the two best friends staring at each other waiting to see who opened their mouth first. The shop was slightly busy with the bell above the door ringing every once in a while with a customer leaving or coming in. The sound of small conversations between people throughout the seating area. The bubbling of the espresso machine filling mugs and environment friendly disposable coffee cups. Tom just looked around cupping his hands around his cup avoid any and all eye contact with his best friend.

He heard Harrison sigh and the shifting of him in his seat, “You know, making the situation better isn’t going to consist of us just sitting here like we don’t know each other because we do.”

Tom looked at him sighing and running his hand through his hair, “I know, I just don’t know what to say.”

“How ‘bout I start by asking,” Harrison suggested.

Tom nodded.

“What do you know so far? I mean, about… this Tom.”

Tom took another deep sigh, “I know I’m still in the acting business I just don’t know if it’s the same criteria. A lot of the movies I did before took up a lot of my time.”

“You’re still the face of spiderman if that’s what your worried about,” Harrison said before taking a sip of his coffee.

Tom chuckled, “Well, that much I found out from opening up my phone, and my sons room.”

“Elian, we call him Eli. Where you came up with the name I will never know. You-,” He paused looking at Tom nervously, “I mean the other Tom told me that it was all of Lennons doing. He’s almost two.”

“What about Blythe,” Tom said a little too quickly, “I just want to know the story.”

Harrison nodded, “Lennon found out she was pregnant with her after you both had a huge fight. You felt bad about what you told her-”

“I think what we are supposed to do is call things off and go our separate ways for now,” Tom cut him. Regret filling his face.

Harrison scrunched his eyebrows, “Yeah… I guess you didn’t go back. In your other… life.”

“Yeah, and I regret doing that,” Tom clenched his fist on the table looking away from Harrison, “I feel like if I do get out of this and wake up to my old life Blythe will still be in the picture.”

Harrison was quiet. Probably in shock from Tom’s assumption that Blythe was even a possibility in his other life. He clenched his jaw slightly still thinking of something to say, “Then why do you think this happened?”

“I have no fucking clue,” Tom said letting out a shaky breath. He honestly didn’t really think about why this happened to him. He had been so indulged in everything that kept coming up that it overlapped the thought of why he was in this situation. “When did we get married?”

“A few months after Blythe was born,” Harrison replied, “Got engaged when you both made up after the fight. I got a video if you want to watch.

Tom nodded and Harrison took his cracked samsung out of his pocket. He faced the phone towards Tom to reveal a nervous Tom riding in the back seat of the car next to Harrison. Tom paused it really quick and looked at his friend, “Did I even know you were filming?”

Harrison smirked, “Nope.”

“I guess you being a cheeky bastard hasn’t changed,” Tom said letting out a relieved laugh followed by Harrison chuckling with him.

He pressed the play button and watched as the video to them walking through the airport with him wearing a hat and a with his hands stuffed in a fleece denim jacket. He couldn’t see his face due to Harrison trailing behind him but he knew it would tell him that in that moment he was scared shitless out of his mind. The footage was blurry and the audio wasn’t the best due to the people walking past Harrison and him. He could hear himself calling out Lennon’s name over the sound of the airport’s noise.

The camera quickly jerked up to Lennon with an oversized hoodie and leggings with her glasses. Standing next to her was Xio and they were waiting by the baggage claim. Tom walked up to her, but she turned avoiding him.

The latina stepped in front of her friend being the only thing in between her best friend and him. “What do you want Holland?”

“I just need to talk to her. Lennon, please, I fucked up just let me explain,” he said looking at Lennons whose back was still facing him.

“Explain what!” Lennon said harshly turning to Tom walking past her friend, “You made it very clear that you did not want this relationship to work.”

“I know I did, but I shouldn’t have let my doubts get to me.” There was pain in Tom’s voice making himself shift in his seat as he watched the scene unravel before him. “I love you Lennon, and I just wanted you to know that. I love you so much it fucking hurts. I do see us having a future together I just didn’t want to admit it because I was scared it wouldn’t work out. But I know it will, I have you.”

Tom paused the video, “Did you really record our whole conversation?”

“For fuck sakes Tom,” Harrison let out a groan rolling his eyes, “Just watch the fucking video.”

He heard her scoff, “You really think that everything would just go back to how what it was.”

“I thou-”

She cut him off, “Thought that since I usually am one to forgive we would kiss and make up. It can never happen.” She crossed her arms looking down her voice dropped in volume, “We can’t continue to live the way we were.”

He saw himself perk up at her words tilting his head to the side, “Why?”

She shook her head, “If I told you it wouldn’t matter because you can go on with your perfect life.”

Tom blink back looking up at his friend seeing him motion to continue to watch the video.

He looked down seeing him on one side of the screen and her on the other. From the profile on her place he could tell she was either on the verge of blowing up in his face or breakdown into tears. “What do you mean,” his voice was filled with confusion and laced with a certain uneasiness.

Tom, the one watching the video, knew exactly what it was. He couldn’t believes  how totally oblivious his past self was. Then again, he was stupid enough to leave and not have the balls this version of himself had to actually go back to her.

She just shook her head and turned walking the other way. Tom’s younger self looked at in the direction of the camera. Tom could hear Harrison let out a huff through the video, “Well what the fuck are you looking at me for go after her.”

The video cut to stumbling as if harrison was trying to get his phone back out of his pocket. Tom was breathless, heaving as he was trying to catch up to the two girls a second time. They were in a secluded hallway making the sound of their voices easier to hear and easier for Harrison, by the looks of it, to video the young couple.

Tom grabbed her hand making her turn revealing her flushed face with tear streaks and her eyes red and puffy. It made his heart stop and he couldn’t imagine what it was like in that moment, he never wanted to imagine what it was like in that moment.

His jaw clenched and he squeezed her hand again grabbing the other one cupping them. He let out breath, “Whatever it is you are scared of we’ll work through it together, I promise.” She was avoiding eye contact with him looking everywhere but his face. “Lennon, look at me. I love you. Okay, I do so fucking much. What I said before I was scared and shit I still am. I’m willing to do anything for you. I’ll make sure that I won’t open my fucking mouth again, or let my second thoughts get the best of me.” He let out another shaky breath, “Just tell me what to do and I promise I won’t fuck up again.”

“I’m pregnant Tom,” she said quickly not missing a beat still avoiding eye contact. “I didn’t pick up any of your calls or answer you texts because I didn’t know what you would say. I don’t want you to think that you would have to hold everything back for a mistake that you can’t control. I do love you, Tom, but I don’t want something as time consuming as a child to get in the way of your career.” It was silent. Tom couldn’t hear anything, but it his mind he was screaming at himself to do something. Lennon shrugged letting go of Tom, “You can go and just forget… everything because I kn-”

Tom grabbed her by the waist smashing his lips into hers. Hearing Harrison let out a cheer and Xio saying, “fucking finally.” He pulled away, “Don’t you ever, for one second, think I would not want you because you are carrying our child you are so wrong.” He took a step back, “That just makes what I’m about to do so much easier.” Tom kneeled down on one knee, “Scratch the fact that you just told me the best news ever and the fact that we broke up recently. You know what, just ignore every stupid thing I’ve ever done in this relationship. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. So will you, please, become my other half for the rest of my life.’

Lennon let out a laugh and a slight cry nodding her head, “Yes, but don’t ever be that cliché again.” He stood back up smiling leaning to kiss her again hearing a groan from both Harrison and Xio.

Tom stopped the video setting it down on the table rubbing his hand over his face, “Shit.”

“About what,” Harrison asked leaning back in his chair.

“Everything, I didn’t do that Haz, and if I tell her that I’m not him then I have no fucking clue what I’m gonna do. How I’m going to tell her? After watching that I don’t think I could ever top that, and after this whole thing. If I wake up from this, I have to go and tell the same Lennon I want to fix everything after years of not talking to her.”

“Woah, Tom, slow down. You do have tell Lennon you're not the Tom you say you are,” Tom opened his mouth to protest, “And you have to do it before tonight. Our wives talk to each other, mine extremely loud, about things they plan for us. Let’s just say I- I wish my wife wasn’t loud and obnoxious when talking to her best friend.” He blinked a couple of times shaking, probably, the thoughts that were going through his brain at the moment, “My point is you need to talk to her. Don’t wait, if you’re anything like the other you… Y-you tend to wait at worst moment in case didn't pay attention to the video I just showed you.

“I can’t tell her,” said letting out a frustrated groan. “I’ll just I act like I don’t feel good during the party, at my parents house. Then we’ll just work it out until it all just disappears.”

“You do know you could be in this situation for however long, and you are willing to risk a perfectly good marriage. Tom, that is probably the most dumbass thing you could do to her,” Harrison paused, “Are you still in love with her?”

Tom clenched his jaw. After seeing her that morning again he knew the answer to that question. He just didn’t want to talk about that. He didn’t want to admit that he was still infatuated with her, but this was his best friend, “I do still love. After I saw her today, fuck, every year I spent without her felt like it never happened. Like, like- everyone of my problems disappeared and I don’t need to screw shit up again.” Harrison narrowed his eyes in deep thought. He didn’t say a thing for the next few minutes. He finally looked back up at Tom, “If you’re not going to tell her now… Then- then… you need to understand that this happened for a reason. I don’t think you were just randomly put into this situation. You said you still think about her maybe… this is the universe's way of saying you need to get your shit together.”

Tom took in Harrison’s words thinking it probably was true. His life has been shitty for the past few years without her. “If you’re right. Then I have no idea how to fix it.”

“Like you said, you love her. Maybe,” Harrison paused, “you just need to realize that… you can get just not in the way you think.”

Tom nodded.

Harrison let out a chuckle and put his hand on Tom’s shoulder, “How about let back before my wife has a fit and kills me for keeping you away from Lennon.”

They stood up and left the coffee shop having less awkward situation on the car ride back. The tension wasn’t as thick as before. Making it seem like it was almost normal.

Pulling into the driveway Tom felt completely different from when he woke up that day.

He felt an enormous weight lifted from just talking to someone about his situation. He still felt on edge but the anxiety was less effective. He knew that he would be able to get through it without having to overthink everything and not being able to talk to anyone.

Harrison opened the door, “Hey babe, we are back.”

“Took you long enough,” Tom heard a voice he recognized too quickly, “thought I would have to call your mom to get you and Tom.”

The two of them walked into the back of the house to the kitchen with the smell of cookies in the oven and the sound of Blythe singing along to some cheesy pop song playing over the speaker. Harrison walked over to her ruffling her hair.

“Hey don’t do that. It took me forever to tame those curls,” Xio said from the hall that was next to kitchen. Tom still couldn’t see her.

“Well you can blame that on Tom because I just have the weird waves that come with just whatever mood my hair is in,” Lennon said walking into the kitchen with Eli on her hip.

“Well then our kids are screwed because we both have the tameless curls,” Xio walked in with a stack of hand towels.

Tom’s eyes widened a little at the sight of Xio’s pregnant belly that looked about eight months in. He swallowed hard at the sight of Harrison’s wife who looked the same except was carrying his best friend’s child. She had the usual smirk on her face at the sight of Tom, “What’s wrong superstar still not used to the fact I’m carrying your godchild?”

“No, I think it's because he hasn’t seen you in a while,” Harrison said shaking his head walking over to his wife placing his hands on her hips kissing her cheeks.

“Yep, five days seems like forever to Tom,” Xio raised her eyebrows using a sarcastic tone.

“Don’t mind him he has been acting like that all morning,” Lennon rolled her eyes, “I think by now I should have learned that he can’t take watching horror movies after dark.”

“He also cries when we watch Toy Story 3,” Blythe giggled at her father scrunching her nose reminding him of Lennon.

Lennon walked over to her kissing the top of her head, “Well, you did too, so don’t be making fun of your father little bird.”

“You cried when you watched me die the first time on screen,” Tom said smiling softly at the both of them. Everyone was quiet for a moment. The two women looked at Tom with wide eyes and Tom quickly realised that they probably haven’t showed Blythe any of his movies where he didn’t live to the end considering they were all too old of a rating for her. He scrunched his eyebrows looking in between the three adults in front of him. He was a little shocked himself that was only going to mention Lennon but somehow he was talking about Blythe too.

“Daddy!” Blythe gasped, “You were supposed to tell them that we watched you as Peter Parker.”

“Hold up, if any one is going to take the blame it’s going to be all three of us ‘cause I was there too,” Harrison laughed, “You can’t yell at us because she was already watching it when we walked into the room.”

Xio crossed her arms and turned back around at Harrison, “Remind me to never put you in charge of our child.”

“Come on Xio this isn’t the worst thing they could have done,” Lennon shrugged.

“Yeah, well, it’s still not the best,” she scoffed rolling her eyes making Harrison chuckle.

“He said I couldn’t watch the avengers because Uncle Robert says too many naughty words,” she said nonchalantly as she went back to her coloring.

Lennon put Eli in the high chair next to the bar sitting down next to Lennon resting her arm behind her daughter on the back to the seat, “Oh really. When did he say you can watch it.”

“Soon,” Blythe hummed as she continued to color. Watching the two interact made Tom reconsider a lot of things. Even if he didn’t get to watch Blythe grow up into the child she is to say he knew he could take advantage of his new found life like Harrison said. He decided sulking wasn’t going to get him anywhere and he need to enjoy it while it lasted.

taglist @let-me-luve-you @lemondropirwin @afterglowparker @underoos-shield

[torestoreamends]

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Recap: Cast Four – 22/23 & 26 May (Part Two)

Because my recap of these two shows got so long, I split it in half for ease of reading. You can read Part One and my first impressions for Cast Four here, and Part Two is below!

*

Death Eater Dance (Act Three, Scene One)

I had the nerdiest way of figuring out they’d changed this bit of choreography. At the very start, before anyone comes onstage, a wall of white light unfurls across the back of the stage, and I looked at it and thought ‘wow, that light doesn’t normally move so fast’. About two seconds later, the lead Death Eater stepped through it, which he’s never done before, casting a shadow, and I realised I had been right.

My first thought was is nothing sacred? On reflection, however, I absolutely love this new version of the dance (and I love how this cast performs it — I’ll say it again, they’re all great movers). 

The lead Death Eater stands at the back initially, watching and occasionally gesturing to direct those walking across the stage. It reminded me of a darker version of the Sorting Hat’s choreography from the opening of the show. 

After that things proceed in a very similar way to how they always have, but there are just enough little changes to throw the whole thing off kilter slightly, and I mean that in a good way. There’s a vibe that there’s something unsettling going on here, something slightly unexpected. The lines are clean and precise, but there’s an occasional lean or spiky gesture that throws the lines out of place. As a viewer you feel like Scorpius in that world — like the whole thing is unpredictable and untrustworthy, dangerous almost, and it leaves you on edge. 

My favourite moment for that is when all the Death Eaters are walking in their arrow head towards the back of the stage, and they suddenly all lean to the side. It’s a sharp movement that comes out of nowhere. Very jarring, as it should be. 

The other fun little detail at the end is that the Death Eaters sort of bow to Umbridge. It’s not quite a bow, more a sort of arms in the air, lean forward ‘all hail’ kind of motion, that feels so true to the dictatorial nature of this world and of Umbridge’s hold over the school. 

Inside Hogwarts (Act Three, Scenes Two, Four, and Five)

This section in the Voldemort timeline really emphasised for me how much I enjoy this cast’s Yann, Polly, and Karl. On Thursday we had Craig’s Karl doing a badass jumping, spinning high kick as he came on stage, and on Sunday we had Gordon’s brilliance (and slightly more restraint), which matched really well with Luke’s Yann. I noticed in both shows as well that Yann and Polly share a moment of eye contact as Yann goes off after confronting Scorpius. I like the idea that those two come as a pair. 

Polly’s scene on the stairs was really nice too. She seemed truly confused by Scorpius. At the end of the scene she starts walking down the stairs, but as the staircase is swept towards the wings she starts running back up them again, peering over the bannister and frowning down at Scorpius, like she wants to keep watching him for as long as possible to try and figure him out. It’s almost as if she realises that this isn’t her Scorpius, it implies a relationship with and knowledge of the Scorpion King that’s really interesting. There’s a lot to think about there. 

Have I mentioned before that Ronnie as Craig is wonderful? Even if I have it bears repeating a thousand more times. In the scene with Scorpius in the library he’s sort of skittish, constantly keeping his distance, shying away, head bowed. He’s just very sweet, with a soft northern accent. Not really pompous in any of the timelines. Just a good kid who wants to get on with his quiet life. Sadly it’s never going to happen for him...

My love affair with David’s blackboard writing is well documented, and over cast change he really delivered with some appropriately feelingsy Latin phrases. For cast four’s first show we had the perfect Carpe Diem — seize the day. It was such a sweet little message from Snape to a brilliant incoming cast, and I hope this will become a tradition now (just assuming that David will stay as Snape forever, which hopefully he will). 

Scorpius joins Dumbledore’s Army (Act Three, Scenes Eight and Nine)

There were definitely a few things to mention in the second half of the Voldemort timeline, so here’s a quick rundown:

It is an inescapable fact that on Thursday the Dementor trick didn’t work for Michelle. As far as I’m aware that’s only happened now three times in the history of the show, and it was heartbreaking to see it happen to someone on their first show in front of an audience. Thankfully on Sunday it worked, and I can only assume they practiced it about a thousand times on Friday because she was almost as quick as Tom that time (which is saying something because Tom has got really good at it).

There are some interesting new colours going on with the Time-Turner in Part Two, which I have a very underdeveloped theory for (I’ll work on it). It looks like whenever the Time-Turner is used in the past or an alternative timeline, the face is blue not yellow. Having said that, when Delphi uses it to take the boys back to the maze it’s also blue, and technically that’s from the restored timeline, so who knows! Also, just for fun, the gold Time-Turner (which is an entirely different entity) flashes pink when the adults arrive in Godric’s Hollow.

Jonathan feels like he’s pushing himself really hard and trying so many new things. I absolutely loved his interactions with the Dementors and hiding from Umbridge. He’s doing a wonderful job, and I think acting with Dom is going to bring some really fun new stuff out of him. 

On Broadway the Patronus is sort of lifted out of the floor already lit (I’ve only seen it once, but that was how I remember it and how it was described to me as well), and I think that might have made it to London now. From further back on Sunday I saw the Patronus very distinctly being lifted from the ground, and the clunky ignition is definitely a thing of the past. I’m not sure if the London trick is now exactly identical to Broadway’s (I doubt it, just because the abilities of the spaces are slightly different), but it’s certainly more similar now. 

Edge of the lake and McGonagall’s office (Act Three, Scenes Nine cont. and Ten)

Blythe’s McGonagall is so gorgeous, just a sunshiney human being. I loved how on Thursday she couldn’t stop herself from smiling at Scorpius’s antics as he came out of the lake. For as stern as she is, she also recognises a boy thrashing around in complete joy (and how can you not smile at Scorpius’s happiness? You’d have to be heartless).

No one will be surprised to hear that the gossip choreography has changed, just like everything else. There are a lot more people on stage at once, so there’s a lot going on. For me sometimes the interactions seem a little less clear, there’s no longer one message being passed in a clear sequence, but the chaos isn’t bad either. The weirdest bit for me is that Yann now, instead of being lifted off the stairs, sort of falls sideways over the bannisters. Also, at the end of the dance, the kids now end up on the stairs in a different order, with Karl at the bottom, below Rose, James above her, and then Yann and Craig at the top as they always were.

Once they’re all in McGonagall’s office, I have to mention Draco because he’s wonderful. When McGonagall called Scorpius brave, Draco lit up smiling at his son. He looked so unbelievably proud, it was stunning. Also, we all know about how he puts his hand up when he says ‘seems fair’, but it’s worth mentioning that Harry now also raises a hand to mock him. Petty idiots that they are. 

The dorm scene with Harry (Act Three, Scene Eleven)

I absolutely adored the dorm scene between Harry and Albus. It was a beautiful example of how similar Harry and Albus are. Not until they’re together on stage do you realise that Dom and Jamie B’s mannerisms are almost identical. They both twist their hands together and make a lot of gestures. At times they seemed to mirror each other. And then of course there’s the similarity in how heated they get. 

One of my favourite Dom lines in both of these two shows was ‘I know, okay? I know’. I don’t know why, but the word okay is a real speciality of his. It’s guaranteed to hit you in the feels no matter when or why he’s saying it. 

In this scene it was an explosion, accompanied by this big gesture with his hands. He’s so frustrated by Harry, all wound up and taught (his shoulders are constantly hunched, chin sticking out, a bit like a little turtle), you can see the tension in his body, and at a moment like this he can’t keep it all contained. The emotion bursts out in his tone of voice and in his gestures. 

The other really interesting thing from this scene is right at the end, when Harry mentions that Ginny was really scared by Albus running away. It seems as though Dom’s Albus takes that to mean that Harry wasn’t scared or worried. Harry didn’t really care. Ginny did, but he knew that already. And then of course Harry realises how Albus has received that and the mention of him being scared too comes almost as an afterthought, a clarification. Which is why Albus scoffs at it. ‘I thought Harry Potter wasn’t afraid of anything.’ 

This scoffing, sarcastic sharp Albus is so wonderful. He doesn’t have time for his dad’s crap. He doesn’t have the energy. Everything Harry says seems to confirm the worst for him, so while in this scene other versions of Harry and Albus have begun to connect, these two are driven even further apart.

The dorm scene with Scorpius (Act Three, Scene Fourteen)

Oh the glorious new antics that come with a cast change. This scene is a prime example of Jonathan trying new things and them working delightfully well. On Thursday not much was different, but by Sunday it was completely new.

Albus sleeps on his side most of the time, and in this scene he slept on right side, so he was facing into the room and towards Scorpius. So when Scorpius woke up he got off the bed and crawled across the floor to Albus, at exactly face height with him, and when he finally shouted Albus’s name, he was inches from Albus’s face. Albus essentially woke up to a face full of Scorpius attempting to be scary — as if the poor kid needed any more trauma. 

It’s the closest I’ve seen Jonathan (possibly any Scorpius) get to Albus when he’s yelling in his face, and it actually did look scary. It’s one of the most effective versions of the waking up yet, so I hope it stays.

There’s a really nice new line in this scene. When Scorpius tells Albus that he was fighting alongside him, Albus asks ‘really?’ I think it just emphasises how much Albus needs to hear Scorpius’s story. He’s so deep in his own despair, and feeling so guilty about having caused all this, that to hear that he had some hand in sorting it out is a real boost for him. It’s exactly what he needs to hear right then, and isn’t that what Delphi says? ‘You don’t know what he needs, you only know that he needs it.’

Owlery Scene (Act Three, Scene Sixteen)

There are some new lines in this scene! As if anyone didn’t know. 

Essentially, the order in which Albus and Scorpius exchange lines throughout the scene has been switched (I think in its entirety, but I can’t be sure because I keep forgetting there are new lines until ‘and wake up everyone in Hogwarts’ jars me halfway through). But basically, now Scorpius is the one making all the suggestions (even the stupid ones) while Albus shoots them down, and I’m still not sure what I think of that.

Before I really enjoyed that Albus was making ridiculous suggestions and Scorpius was vetoing them, because then it came to Godric’s Hollow there was a nice switch, with Scorpius making all the suggestions until Albus came up with the big one. So now it feels like Albus doesn’t really suggest anything until he solves it right at the end.

I suppose you could argue that that makes sense character wise. Scorpius is the more magically knowledgeable, Albus at that point is lacking in confidence, and I feel like as a planner Albus is probably the more inclined of the two to sit in silence and think before speaking. 

But at the same time I liked how Albus’s reckless energy came out in this scene. Particularly with Joe there was a sense of fun and freedom, that they were about to end at least some of their problems. It was nice to see the two of them unleash their more ridiculous sides, and it showed so much of their friendship. Perhaps the scene still does that, but I don’t think it does it in quite the same way.

I know we get ‘let’s make history’ out of it so we can’t really complain, but as nice as that line is, and as strong as it is as a line that sums up their relationship, I don’t know if even that has the power of what’s been taken away. I’ll have to have a few more watches.

A quick shoutout to Jonathan in this scene though. I love how his Scorpius sits up straight, crosses his legs, and prepares to go into full, slightly sanctimonious, lecture mode as he says ‘I think it’s a much underestimated part of modern witchcraft’. We’ve always known that if Delphi didn’t interrupt the scene would go on with the boys arguing for hours, but it’s never been more apparent. That lecture alone is about to last at least a good ten minutes until Albus gets bored and threatens to do something stupid to make him stop.

But Delphi does interrupt, and that’s when the fun begins. 

I mentioned earlier that Madeleine’s Delphi curtsies a couple of times during the show, and this is the second of those. When Scorpius calls her The Augurey she acknowledges it with a little bob. She also emphasises the ‘The’ in The Augurey when she repeats the title. She seems so pleased by the idea of being the one and only, someone really unique and important. 

The interesting thing about Madeleine’s Delphi is that she doesn’t seem to change much after the reveal. When I first saw her I was almost disappointed by that, because she seemed to be playing Albus and Scorpius so hard, but now I actually love it. The fact that she can be bubbly and nerdy and young but also a heartless torturer is really creepy, and it seems quite real too. She’s someone with a mask so good that it’s part of her, and even once she’s shown her true nature, that thing that was attractive to Albus and Scorpius never quite goes away. That’s still in there. 

Sunday’s Owlery Scene provided the perfect start to the torture sequence, setting a momentum that never let up. It was one of the most exciting torture scenes I’ve seen, and I’m willing to bet that it won’t be long before we see some of the wildest torture scenes ever from this cast. 

Torture Scene & the maze (Act Three, Scenes Nineteen and Twenty)

This whole sequence is one of the most difficult for a new cast to nail, and on Thursday I didn’t particularly like it much, but on Sunday it absolutely blew me away. 

It all began with Delphi kissing Scorpius on the cheek. It’s always particularly gross to see her kiss him, not Albus, probably because she has no interest in him whatsoever, but also because it psychologically affects both boys, and that’s her ultimate aim. To break them both.

There was a great rhythm to this version of the scene. Each element was given time, but it didn’t feel slow. Delphi torturing Scorpius for the first time and Albus running at her were two very distinct actions. You could hear exactly what Albus yelled, and it meant that when he was knocked back by her spell and collapsed in a heap on the ground, all eyes were on him. (Dominic makes that knockback spell look much more lethal than anyone else ever has, and I love that because it’s just like her. She wouldn’t not hurt Albus simply because he’s useful, and I like that he gets his fair share of pain.)

Once Albus is on the ground he stays there through the second torture and Craig’s death. There’s a new scream of Albus’s name before Craig runs on, and I’m convinced it’s Craig, but others have reckoned it’s Scorpius. It’s very difficult to tell, but I’ll keep an eye on it (cause I’d love to know who it is). 

When Ronnie dies, he throws himself straight back onto the table that catches him, and he ends up falling with both feet off the floor. I love the idea of the AK blasting Craig off his feet, and there’s something morbidly beautiful about him falling to the ground in slow motion (which in a way mirrors Delphi’s fall from grace later). It could be that the boys are just seeing it in slow motion thanks to their horror, or it could be that the AK really does slow everything down like that. 

There were a couple of other noteworthily creepy bits and pieces in this scene. On both Thursday and Sunday, Delphi held Scorpius by the chin while she talked to him and Albus, before throwing him aside like a piece of rubbish so he collapsed to the ground. Also on Sunday she held him so close to her face that they were inches apart, while telling Albus that if he didn’t help her, Scorpius would die. It was horrifying. 

Moving into the next scene, I have to give a shoutout to Gordon as Krum. He was perfect. Clean and sharp and precise. The other person who was perfect was Ryan as Cedric. On Sunday we had the most beautiful little interaction between him and Albus.

Dom’s Albus doesn’t sit or kneel down in this scene, so when he interacts with Cedric he’s standing. He still looks small and nervous, shoulder rounded, but it takes so much boldness to reach out like he does. It’s so brave. And on Sunday it was said with just the right amount of softness. Sort of stammered, blurted out at first, but then more considered the second time. I don’t think Dom’s Albus will ever be quiet, but he’s thoughtful and gentle as well as fierce. It’s such a perfect mix, and it makes this scene work so well. 

With cast three Ryan was good, but he’s really come into his own this year already. His Cedric has just the right nobility, but he also seems perplexed by Albus. He doesn’t know what to make of this strange boy, and that confusion is tangible throughout the scene, even when he says thank you. But he has courage too, because as uncertain as he is (he even thinks twice before freeing the boys), he still accepts Albus’s words. These are two boys putting themselves out there and blindly trusting, even in the midst of so much fear and uncertainty. It’s gorgeous to watch.

On Sunday this whole sequence finished perfectly with a shower of glitter in the air (on Thursday it all fell straight to the floor). The boys had so much energy and dynamism as they tried to work out what to do. The whole thing was fabulous. Full of life and interest, and it’s only going to get better. 

Delphi’s room (Act Three, Scene Twenty-One)

There’s a really cool new creepy purple light in Delphi’s room. When Ginny takes the lightbulb off the wall, the diamond behind it starts glowing with the purple light, ready to spread and illuminate the whole room. It also emits puffs of smoke that curl across the scene. It really works, accompanying the Parseltongue to instantly suggest that they’ve found something here. 

Godric’s Hollow (Act Four, Scenes Three and Five)

There were some really sweet little moments throughout the two Godric’s Hollow scenes (as there always are).

I love watching how Albus hides (or attempted to hide) from Bathilda. His idiot side comes out, and he does delightful things like freezing in plain view and pretending not to exist. Dom was no exception, and he went pretty much face first into the wall. If she can only see his back, he’s not there, right? (Wrong, Albus, but you’re adorable so we’ll let you off.)

When Scorpius was freaking out about Bathilda, Albus did a little ‘breathe’ gesture. It’s something that Joe used to do a long time ago, and James does it as Draco sometimes after Scorpius and Draco hug. I adore the fact that both Jonathan’s associated Albuses and his Draco have all agreed that he doesn’t breathe enough, and are all on a collective mission to remind him to do so. There’s something sweet about the fact that all these people have separately come to the same conclusion about the role they need to play in relationship with this boy. 

At the beginning of the second Godric’s Hollow section, Albus and Scorpius duck under their dads’ arms and walk in a circle around the stage before taking up their thinking positions. On Thursday they did this, and on Sunday Jonathan did it, but Dom did something way more interesting. Instead of walking in the circle, he paced back and forth across the stage a couple of times, gesturing silently like he was thinking aloud. 

It reminded me of what Samuel used to do during the part of the Voldemort timeline where Scorpius is explaining to Ron and Hermione in slow mo about the Time-Turner and the other timelines. He’d pace around, making talking gestures with his hands, and ultimately arrive in his final position with the conversation almost mid-flow. 

When Dom finally sat down on the doorstep on Sunday, he started talking and it felt like he’d been thinking and talking for hours and that we just happened to have tuned in on this bit of the conversation. It was very cool to see an Albus so obviously mid-planning. That little bit of movement worked incredibly well, and I hope it stays. 

Dom and Jonathan’s version of the eureka moment felt more measured than others. There was still lots of energy, but there wasn’t lots of running and leaping around the stage. In a way that was quite nice, because it kept the focus on the fact that they actually had to make this plan happen now. 

One of the best bits of their celebration was actually the moment when they opened Bathilda’s door and did a delighted double high five. I love it when the boys do recognisable best friend things, and that one really resonated with me because just a week earlier in a moment of sheer joy I’d done exactly the same thing. It felt really right. 

My other favourite little detail from this scene was the fact that Dom’s Albus, exactly as it says in the script, didn’t seem entirely sure how to pronounce demiguises. There was a minute hesitation there, and he said it almost as a question. I think of all the Albus’s I’ve seen, Dom’s is instantly the one that most takes me back to those details from the script, which is lovely. 

The adults arrive in Godric’s Hollow (Act Four, Scenes Six, Seven, and Eight)

Ever since Cast Three, the scene where Harry and Ginny find the blanket, especially the line ‘we’re starting with Dad’, has become an absolute favourite of mine. Dom’s Albus is so adamant about that line, in his own firm, fierce way. I love how that line shows Albus starting to assert that he wants some sort of relationship with Harry. It’s such an important moment for the character, and when it’s delivered with such power it really sings out. 

I also want to talk about Harry and Ginny’s interaction at the start of this scene in Albus’s room, because it’s the culmination of an arc that really starts with that new silent interaction they have in the scene by the map back in Act One. There’s a really interesting conflict established in their relationship. Although Ginny understands that Harry is trying, her priority is Albus, and Harry keeps pushing him away. It happens in the blanket scene, in the second timeline, in the dorm scene, and now here he is in Albus’s room, and there’s almost a sense of judgement in Ginny’s ‘surprised to find you here’, which instantly puts Harry on the defensive. The conflict seems set to continue, but then, instead of fighting, they take a breath and start talking.

This is a scene that sees them, in a real mature way, address the conflict they’ve had and apologise to one another for it. They forgive each other in just a couple of short lines and instantly start working together and comforting one another. In a sense, it’s the strength of Harry and Ginny’s relationship that saves Albus and Scorpius. If they’d fought instead of coming together and talking maybe they’d have never found the message on the blanket.

I can’t write about the arrival in Godric’s Hollow without mentioning James Howard — you know how it is. Once the hug with Scorpius is over, Draco sets about trying to calm his son down. He puts a hand on his shoulder or reminds him to breathe. Recently, as part of this, he’s started cupping Scorpius’s cheek with his hand, as both a reminder to focus and a gesture of intimacy. 

I love the juxtaposition of that gesture. There’s the size of Draco’s hand, the heaviness of the rings on his fingers, the perception the world has of everything Draco is — dark and dangerous, maybe even cruel. And yet the gesture is so tender and gentle. It’s his past versus his present almost, everything coming together in this one moment to show the person he’s become. I love that something so simple can mean so much, especially coming from that particular character.

As the action moves into St Jerome’s Church, it’s worth a mention that the blocking in the transition has changed slightly. The pumpkins now all line up, and then form a sort of diamond shape, instead of the blob that they used to. 

St Jerome’s (Act Four, Scenes Nine, Ten, and Eleven)

Albus now sleeps the other way round on the bench in St Jerome’s. He used to have his head facing the audience, but now it faces the centre door. I was wondering whether it’s so people can see his face during the scene (not that it does much during that scene). Although the show sends very mixed messages on this. There’s a point in the scene where Ginny walks away from Albus to talk to Harry by the door, and when she does, the light that is on Albus slowly fades out so Albus is in shadow. We’re definitely not meant to be looking at Albus at the time (and I always feel like the lighting is calling me out for doing so) but in my defence, sometimes it’s nice to watch him all peaceful like that. 

There’s some slightly new positioning in the main St Jerome’s scene. Hermione now stands directly behind Scorpius, so when Albus asks what the history books say it could feasibly be a question directed at either of them. 

I adore how proud of Scorpius Draco looks when Ron says ‘blimey, there’s two of them’. Scorpius glances back at him, and Draco gives him a big, warm smile. It must be so nice for Scorpius to finally be bathed in his dad’s approval, especially after everything he’s been through. 

Jonno and Nicholas have ruined ‘Draco, trust my dad’ for me forever, so I was very grateful that Dominic made the decision to stand about as far from Draco as he could get when he said that line. In fact Albus was right next to Harry, and he kind of glanced at Harry as he said it too. I love it when that line is really for Harry, and when Harry takes it as the gift that it is. He sometimes looks at Ginny afterwards, who smiles at him to tell him he’s done well. 

I made it my business to make sure that I could see Albus and Scorpius at the back of the stage during Harry’s transformation, and I spotted Scorpius holding tight to Albus’s arm as Albus stared in horror at what was happening to his dad. Sometimes it feels like Scorpius is all that’s supporting Albus during that moment, and that Albus might collapse without him there. 

When the Malfoys are watching for Harry and Delphi by the door, Draco puts a hand on Scorpius’s shoulder, and Scorpius jumps out of his skin. It’s sad how unused to being touched he is. It’s like when he tries to run away when Draco goes over to hug him. Jonathan’s Scorpius is so skittish around physical touch (including from Albus).

The final battle (Act Four, Scene Eleven cont. and Twelve)

One of the changes with this cast is that Delphi’s voice manipulation has sort of come back. It’s not the same effect as it used to be, where she’d sort of throw her voice around the auditorium, now it’s a more subtle effect that’s applied directly to her speech. There’s a darker, hoarser voice beneath hers that’s a kind of homage to the original trick, and I’m actually really glad it’s back. 

There are a bunch of different possible inspirations for the name Delphi, but one of them is the oracle of Delphi, an Ancient Greek prophet. It links to the fact that she has a new prophecy, and obviously in Harry Potter, true prophecies are spoken in that hoarse, deep voice. I like the connection to that, and with the importance of a prophet as a speaker, a teller of truth and setter of agendas. 

Delphi’s voice manipulation always had real meaning to me. There was a reason to it being there, even if in a narrative sense it sort of came out of nowhere (the trick isn’t introduced to the show before St Jerome’s, which I think I most other things are). There’s no real foreshadowing of it, which is perhaps why it was originally cut. But I am very glad it’s back. 

In this show what I want is to see changes with meaning, purpose, and thought. Changes that have the same level of artistry and love to them as was applied to the original show. Not all of the new changes seem to have that, but I think this one does, so I’m very happy to have it. 

A less successful change in this scene is that they now very briefly unhook Delphi from the wires so she can walk to the front of the stage, before going back and getting hooked on again two seconds later. On Sunday the result was that her face was in darkness for some key bits of dialogue (they took the spotlight off her while someone was unhooking her). It seemed really random and unnecessary, and I get that it’s desirable to show her getting near the pool of light Harry is trying to entice her towards, but ultimately it seems like so much work and faff for very little gain. Hopefully it’ll be smoother next time I see it, but at the moment it’s not really working. 

At the end of this scene, I absolutely loved Delphi’s ‘fall from grace’. As she fell from the air she flapped around, and it looked like a bird whose wing had been injured, which worked so much better than her going horizontal and staying totally still — when she does that it looks like she’s dead, which she’s obviously not. 

Once Delphi had been bound she was really feisty. She snapped at Ron when he grabbed hold of her to keep her still, and then when Albus is telling the others he’s seen her murder she goaded him, giving him a big evil grin, daring him to do it. 

On the subject of Albus during that line, it was one of the most beautiful and effective deliveries I’ve seen. Dom’s Albus runs at Delphi, like he really does intend to try and kill her. It’s almost like Albus has forgotten his wand. All he wants is to get to her and strangle her with his bare hands for what she’s done. He was so desperate to get to her that Harry had to put real physical effort into holding him back, and even Ginny ran round to grab hold of Albus’s arm and help restrain him. 

I love that as a detail because this is the first moment that Albus has had physical power over Delphi since she first bound him and Scorpius. This is his first opportunity to get back at her for the torture she’s put them through and the fact that she murdered Craig. Everything he’s just seen and been through comes bubbling to the surface and he wants her to feel the same pain that he’s been feeling. It’s one of his most powerful moments, and even though it’s misguided, I love that grey side of Albus, the side that is desperate for revenge, the side that is in so much pain that he’s ready to snap. It’s what makes him human as a character. And the fact that Harry and Ginny fight to hold him back as hard as they do shows such love and commitment to him. They’re going to help him stay on the right path no matter what. There’s no judgement associated with it, they perfectly understand why Albus wants to do what he wants to do, but the simple fact is that it’s not the right thing, in fact it’s what Delphi wants, and they’re going to protect Albus from causing himself even more pain by acting emotionally in a moment when his trauma is still so fresh. 

When Albus did finally back off, he and Harry ended up gripping each other’s forearms for a moment, and there was something mutually supportive about that. It’s a band of brothers sort of gesture. They’re in this together. They understand each other. And they’re going to get through it together. 

Another moment of Albus supporting Harry comes during the death scene. I actually saw two different versions of this, because Dominic did it slightly different on both the Thursday and the Sunday. 

On Sunday he gently took Harry’s wand from his hand (Joe style) when he said ‘there is something you could do, to stop him. But you won’t’. It was like he was taking the lesson his parents had just taught him, and the compassion they’d shown him, and was passing it back to his dad by disarming him so he wasn’t tempted to do anything he’d regret. It was a beautiful little reflection of exactly what had gone before. Subtle and quiet and loving. 

On Thursday it was much more of an emotional struggle. When Harry collapsed to the ground after Lily was killed, Albus was holding onto Harry’s wand at the same time as Harry, and was trying to wrestle it out of his hand. Harry’s grip was so strong that it was impossible, so they ended up kneeling next to each other, struggling together, as they were spun away into darkness. Albus was much more desperate about trying to disarm Harry on Thursday, and he didn’t manage it, but just the attempt was really powerful. And the fact that it came at such an emotional moment was beautiful. It wasn’t clear what Harry was going to try and do about what he’d just seen, but he was in such desperation that perhaps anything would have done, and Albus was trying to relieve him of that desperate temptation. 

A big shout out has to go to Ryan, Lucy, and David for their death scene, particularly on Sunday. When I say that Ryan has come into his own with this cast this is the sort of thing I mean. The raw emotion of his performance was breathtaking and so powerful. Lucy was brilliant too, and David brought a creepy softness to parts of the scene that made it spine chilling. 

Penultimate scene (Act Four, Scene Fourteen)

The biggest thing to talk about in this scene is the hug, if that’s what it can be called. This Albus and Scorpius have some truly awkward hugs, which are very sweet but they’re a massive disaster. In this one they ended up doing a lot of patting of each other’s shoulders, chests, arms, hands, and just generally looking like they didn’t quite know what to do with their hands anymore once they’d hugged. Did they want a second hug? Did they want a friendly pat on the back? Who knows! Not me. Possibly not even them. 

The best thing about this scene though is that it was a return to happy Albus. When Dom’s Albus smiles you can see it from miles around. It’s this enormous oval grin, and it’s adorable. I love Dom’s Albus’s capacity for happiness, and it’s nice to see Albus have that side again after two very depressed Albuses in a row. 

Final scene (Act Four, Scene Fifteen)

The ending of the show is sprung upon you in this new version of the show, because they’ve arranged the order of the lines, so lines that used to mark the gateway to the end of the show have now been switched with lines that were a bit earlier on in the scene. It means that as a viewer you’re relaxed thinking you’ve got plenty of scene left to enjoy, and then suddenly Harry and Albus are looking at Cedric’s grave and it’s seconds from the end. 

Basically, the scene goes as normal until about halfway through the section where Albus is talking about his Slytherin side. At that point Harry addresses his names and why they shouldn’t be a burden before going back to the part where he tells Albus his heart is a good one. In a way, the names are used as an explanation of why Albus is fine just the way he is. They’re more integrated into the scene in a way, and I didn’t mind the change (although some people have argued that it interrupts the flow of the scene a bit). 

During this scene, Dom’s Albus sort of hid among the gravestones, keeping his distance from Harry until the very end. He was still clearly anxious around his dad, but when he eventually let go of his inhibitions he was rewarded with one of the most glorious final hugs we’ve ever seen. 

Jamie B and Joe used to share a really tight, warm hug as the lights faded at the end of the scene, but they would always wait until they were almost entirely in darkness. It felt more like them embracing as two actors who’ve just gone through something emotionally exhausting together, and I don’t think Joe’s version of Albus would have hugged his dad like that. However, with Dom, essentially the same hug now begins before the lights have started going down. It becomes much more part of the characters, and I think that shows a real different between Dom and Joe’s Albuses. 

By the end of the show Joe’s Albus still had a long way to go, and he was always going to be a bit of an awkward, miserable teenager. Whereas Dom’s Albus feels much more on the verge of things being okay. He’s happy to accept a hug like that and for it to feel like a sign of things to come. His ending of the show is less about hope and more about arrival — he and Harry are already there, and everything is okay. 

*

So that’s the recap (which got very long, sorry about that...). One final thing to mention before wrapping up is that when you think the show has run out of things to change, they go and make all the post-curtain call music different too. Typical. 

The changes this year are many and overwhelming. The first time I saw them they were almost exhausting because there was a feeling that nothing was the same anymore. But actually, I think a lot of them are good, and we’ll get used to them soon enough, especially when they’re being performed by a cast like this. 

Cast Four really are brilliant. I know there are mixed feelings among fandom about some portrayals, but I’m confident that after a settling in period everything will be wonderful. Already there’s so much detail and so many interesting thoughts. Once we get into the part of the year where the cast really start exploring and digging and playing around we’re going to get some really incredible shows. I think it’s going to be a nice year.