Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Parenthood
Time, Mistakes, and the Past
Friendship, Family, Love, and Bravery
Reputation and Expectation
Death and Sacrifice
Summary
Analysis
At the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Scorpius and Albus catch a glimpse of Hogwarts. Scorpius explains that he still gets excited every time he sees the castle. When he was young, he was desperate to go—he always wanted to find a best friend to get up to mayhem like Harry Potter, and he got Harry’s son. Albus says he’s nothing like his father, but Scorpius protests that Albus is better—he’s his best friend, and they’re getting up to some pretty great mayhem. When Scorpius and Albus then hear voices in the forest, looking for them, Albus activates the Time-Turner. It vibrates and explodes as the stage warps. Time spools backwards.
As Scorpius talks about how much he wanted a friend like Harry Potter, Albus again struggles with the comparison to his father—and it is this comparison that makes his time at Hogwarts so difficult. But Scorpius illustrates, and also helps Albus see, that it is precisely their friendship that makes Hogwarts so magical: they are able to go on adventures together and lift each other up, showing again how important friendship is in helping overcome both internal and external barriers.
Themes
