After building an entire magical world from scratch, J.K. It’s not the execution of the scene but rather the scene itself that doesn’t work. The issues with the epilogue go much deeper than bad aging makeup or weird hair. Indeed, there probably isn’t anything the production team could have done, other than to acknowledge that the scene shouldn’t be included at all. But it isn’t the hair or the makeup departments’ fault. The kids get on the train, their parents tearfully watch them leave, and one would believe that all is sunny in their world, mostly because Rowling tells us so. And, besides, the Sorting Hat takes your own preferences into consideration before placing you into a house. Harry’s youngest son, Albus, is anxious that he will be placed in Slytherin, and Harry comforts him, reminding Albus that one of his namesakes was in Slytherin and still a brave man. The golden trio reunite at King’s Cross to see their children off on the Hogwarts Express. The production team was evidently satisfied that they had done their best, and this was the version that made it into the final cut of the film. Months after shooting had wrapped, the main cast was hastily called back for reshoots, this time with a simpler, more low-key visual aesthetic. ( Rupert Grint himself said of the initial cut: “The images of me still haunt me.”) When photos from the original epilogue leaked, there was an immediate fan reaction, and it was not positive. They filmed it once, and even the hair and makeup people on the crew admit that they went too far, giving Ron a potbelly, jowls, and a badly receding hairline. For one, no one knew the best approach to handle the hair or the makeup required to age the 20-something cast into believable 39-year-old parents of 11-year-olds. In practice, it was an absolute beast to film.
In theory, it provides closure, a happy ending for Harry, and the satisfaction of continuity with another generation of witches and wizards off to school. This “19 years later” segment closes the final Harry Potter book with Harry and company at King’s Cross, sending their own children to Hogwarts. But one final mountain loomed ominously before Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part II could wrap: the dreaded epilogue. After seven books, eight films, a theme park, and the creation of a veritable merchandising empire, you can hardly blame the Harry Potter production team for wanting to go out on a high note with the final installment of the beloved film franchise.