Well said Nick. You make sense regarding Harry/Luke not defeating Voldemort/Emperor with strength but something else, and in order to really defeat the embodiment of "evil" it would certainly take something besides or instead of strength (like the mercy I somewhat jokingly referred to). Think of shitty action movies where the good guy wins by killing everyone else but is still good because he is the one the camera is focused on. I just don't get the sense Harry can survive a fight with Voldemort long enough to pull out a goodness/love trump card.
I thought about one more slight disappointment about books 1-6. I don't feel like the table is set for a true showdown, like when the #1 and #2 football teams in the country square off for a championship game. Remember when Nebraska got into the BCS title game instead of Oregon? Everyone knew Nebraska wasn't that great and would be crushed, which they were. I had hoped to close book 6 and say "Awwwww shit! It's on now!" Voldemort goes in to the Rose Bowl as wire-to-wire #1 and Harry is...#19. On the other hand, it is pretty cool when an underdog dethrones a heavily favored champ ("miracle on ice," Oklahoma beating FSU...or Ohio State v. Miami in 2002...remember how much better Miami was...OSU didn't have a chance...not enough speed...and that Kellen Winslow...dang). I just feel strangely stuck in some limbo between these two possibilities, and I can't really explain why.
Nick, I, for one, love (most) long posts, but could you break up some paragraphs? My crappy eyes keep getting lost in the middle.
