I think that's where she was going with that, but she ruined it for me by having Harry finish up by saying, in essence, "But listen, you can always go to a BETTER house by asking the Hat nicely." I realize this might seem an unfair reading -- Harry is sharing with his son that he very nearly ended up in Slytherin -- but that's the way it immediately struck me.

I'm not bitter about the various deaths, I'm really not: They were largely expected. It's the thematic choices that trouble me.