The biggest question raised by the fans after they come to accept that JKR supported the flawed content within the play, was how even a cursory read of the first draft didn't raise red flags. The only conceivable answer is that, even though they developed the script together, she felt uncomfortable taking the helm or correcting the ship when it veered off course. Perhaps she's too much of a people-pleaser to work with other writers. I think this is accurate to a large extent, but not completely.

Two months ago, Jack Thorne gave an interview to the NewStatesman. This is the article that JKR linked to on Twitter, adding "I love @JackThorne", which you may recall from my earlier post.

Ahem, excuse me.

*retching sounds*.

Tiffany and Thorne trooped off to see Rowling and find what new material they could develop for Thorne to script. Thorne had long been a Potter addict and his anxiety about treading on such hallowed ground was assuaged by Rowling's involvement.

"I had a big advantage - my first reader was John [Tiffany], and my second was Jo [Rowling]. If you've got the person out of whose head these characters came, then you go, 'OK, I can make some choices. If they're the wrong ones, she'll say.' And she did. I'm pretty sure I could have been fired at any time."

From this quote, it's clear that JKR had every opportunity to override any deviations in canon and characterization. Thorne claims that she did on occasion. Which leads us finally to the evidence we needed that JKR not only helped to define the content of the script, but approved of everything during the drafting process. This proof is definitive and impervious to any counter-argument. Beyond all logical debate, we must now accept that J.K. Rowling helped write her own fanfiction, filled with all the classic tropes and benchmarks of obvious "author insertion". Yes, we also know from that article that the relationship between Albus and Harry was drawn from Thorne's own past experiences. Ugh...

Still, how did JKR not notice the errors in canon? While I've already established her inability to recall basic story details, and her blind trust of mistaken sources who seem confident in their knowledge of canon, we have a very simple explanation. J.K. Rowling created the books, which means that her experience with them is vastly different than our own. To Rowling, it's a story in her mind...with details that can be edited swiftly with a tap of the backspace key. To many of us, it's an obsession. Therefore, the finer details and nuances in character, she might be able to overlook. Even massive plot holes could be accepted if she was convinced to the contrary by a respected voice.

No matter how much I don't want to believe this, we can conclude that she listened to Thorne's ideas, worked with them to develop the script, vetoed what disagreed with her, and added her name to the cover without noticing the glaring irregularities and main plot devices that ignored the very foundations of the universe she created.

One of my favorite idioms is "A camel is a horse designed by a committee". In other words, different voices coming together cause so much compromise that they unintentionally create something antithetical to their original intention.

JKR expressed in the very beginning of this process that she had turned down similar ideas for bringing Harry to the stage. You have to think, this is her baby and the world that she created and continues to operate. She is the guardian of its integrity. And yet, she was finally willing to consider a pitch for Cursed Child when she probably gets thousands of pitches a month. It had something in it that not only caught her attention, but moved her to take a risk against her own time-hardened instincts. Now, this wasn't Jack and John. It was the producers, Colin and Sonia that she first accepted into the brain-trust of the wizarding world. They presented her with a story that JKR thought was compelling and emotional - something that elevated Harry to a level that audiences had never witnessed. And while those two stayed on to produce, they needed a director. Someone capable enough to bring forth their vision. For this, they brought on John Tiffany.

JKR was already pushing her limits in writing the screenplay for the Fantastic Beasts movie, and while she was familiar with film scripts, plays are an entirely different "beast". But knowing how capable of a writer she is, I have to believe that she took a stab at writing a first draft of the script. I could also see her feeling overwhelmed by the task and willing to cede control to another, more capable, writer. However it went down in those first days, the director brought in a playwright.

We've determined that the original story was to center on an adolescent Harry and what it was like for him to live as an orphan at the Dursleys. We were going to hear more about Harry's parents and explore his younger years - before magic existed. Thorne and Tiffany's influence on the script altered the story to the point that it abandoned the character-driven realism of Harry's upbringing and replaced it with an alternate universe time-travel fic set in the present day, filled with spectacles that upstaged our heroes and followed their sons instead. Oh, and somehow brought back the big-baddie, Voldemort.

This is all just speculation, but it seemed like they made too many compromises. JKR never wanted this to be a production of stage tricks, like Harry Potter on Ice. From all available research, it appeared as if they were interested in adapting the world of Harry Potter for the arena of live theater, while providing a compelling story in the process. Something that was going to be an early installment (dare I say "Prequel") to the story we had fallen in love with across so many years. But then the outline was moved into different conference rooms and new sets of eyes got ahold of the pages, inevitably lending their experience and particular viewpoints. A writer wanted to put his stamp on the story, and stage tricks came back into the picture, both of which inevitably affected the original concept. And then it became more and more convoluted, moving from one play to two and including live owls that eventually went haywire in previews. Where were the editors? Why didn't someone say, "Hey, gang...this is getting a little crazy!" That first spark of this idea was magical. And the development of that idea destroyed its magic.

While the play could very well be a spectacle for the eyes, winning on so many levels, JKR is invariably the one responsible for making sure that the plot didn't suck. Honestly, just watching Harry go grocery shopping would have been a success. But they wanted to "go big". Because this is a business and big means bank. And so, I think JKR was unwittingly manipulated into delivering a play that was a sideshow to the public with a story that was sub-standard to the fans. I personally believe that her trust was in the wrong places, and with people who were trying to make Harry bigger and fatter and more grandiose than ever before. I cannot believe that in the process of creating HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD no one thought to bring up these issues. In the end, they created a stinking camel when they were given the idea of a majestic horse.

And I truly feel bad for Jo. Because she didn't want all this. She wanted to be done with Harry and move on to other stories. She tried to write mystery novels under a pseudonym in order to avoid the publicity, but they betrayed her. She was convinced, as she always has been, to put her name and energies into new commercial endeavors by people who cared less about the end user of the product than the wallets we open to pay for it. They know that JKR is Gringotts. She is the U.S. Mint. She is a license to print money. Convince her to give up part of her magic to your cause, and you can retire on the drive home. And how do we know that she never really wanted all this? Because all she has ever desired in life was to be a writer.

When her options were limited, when she had the guts to swallow her pride and ask the government for assistance, she did it all for a deep, passionate need to tell stories (a drive I understand quite well), and never for the fame or fortune. She loved the craft and still needs it to this day. But when her wish was granted, it came with a disclaimer: success changes you. Her Harry became so immense that the fame turned her bitter and stubborn. And when she should have been safeguarded from negativity by the people she hired and trusted, they let her down.

I wanna make sure that you guys know, I absolutely adore JKR. I think she's human, she makes mistakes and that's fine. She gave us Harry Potter. For that, she will always be cherished. And despite the issues I might have here or there with the controversies of 2016, that doesn't change my impression of her. What it does is cause frustration in me, because of the people around her that are not keeping her safe.

Where are the seven Potters?

Sure, JKR's memory might not be serving her well. Frankly, there's too much for her to recall at a moment's notice.

That's why you must have a canon keeper who can do a quick pass on the story points of the play, so you can be guarded against errors in continuity before even getting started.

Her editorial staff didn't highlight areas of concern well enough to avoid scandals and conspiracies.

The folks at Pottermore HQ didn't double check the graphic designers for plagiarism.

Her PR people didn't take away her phone before one of her tweets could wind up offending entire swaths of her fanbase. Or worse, dividing them.

There was no one there to tell her not to confirm the canon of Hermione's racebending, or to give in to Thorne's new ideas for the plot, or Tiffany's suggestions based on stagecraft. No one stopped her, and she was exploited into giving us something as abysmal as the video I linked to at the top of this post.

Once you've reached her level of fame, and with a fanbase so large that you're practically a Monarch, you need to trust others. Not just trust them, but count on them to have the guts tell the Queen when she's flat out wrong. Obviously, I'm assuming these people let her down based on all these issues, but I just feel like, had she been surrounded by critical voices that were willing to stand up to her, like I have done here, we would've never gotten Cursed Child. At least not this version. And it's really not fair. Because I think Jo could've given us something truly amazing if all the greedy, self-centered voices would have left her alone.