The Potter Discussion: The Harry Potter TV Show Podcast

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In this episode, we discuss imaging from page to screen. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      1:53 Hogwarts. This is one of the best imaging feats in the series. The style of the castle set the mood for the rest of the story, and it was the first real breath of magic we witnessed in the films. The silhouette is one of the most famous in literature. But apart from the outside, the interior of the castle is also a fantastic translation from page to screen. 

·      9:37 Voldemort. He is the big bad villain of the story. Voldemort’s image is much stricter and more outlined in the books, which gave the filmmakers a more difficult task. However, they still carried it out well. One change they made was keeping his eyes human instead of the book’s red. 

·      15:57 Quidditch. This is the sport of the wizarding world and deserved a good representation, which is absolutely got. The thing that sets it apart is the amount of moving parts. The little things like the shape of the quaffle and the design of the stands make up such an interesting and magical picture that injects the charm of Harry Potter into the sport. 

·      20:48 Ministry of Magic. Apart from the grates in front of the fireplaces and the fountain in the atrium, there are few descriptors. One choice that made the Ministry pop is the dark green stone. There have been few happy occasions when Harry was happy to enter, and that color is reflected in this. 

·      24:21 Death Eaters. They have one of the most interesting costumed in the series. It is everything we read it to be, but it changed dramatically between films. From the graveyard to the Ministry, the Death Eaters had a complete wardrobe change. It was the perfect mix of magic and evil, metal and silk.

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In this episode, we rename each book according to different characters. Enjoy!

Summary/Topics:
·      2:18 Severus Snape

·      16:12 Ron Weasley

·      22:03 The Dursleys

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In this episode, we discuss some of the best story lines in Harry Potter. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      1:50 Horcruxes. Without these, we wouldn’t have some of the most important parts of the story, especially in the later books. Harry’s hunt for horcruxes and his task of destroying Voldemort go hand in hand and are the two things that he is bent of achieving. This was a story line that was set up farther towards the beginning of the story and gives us a call back to things like the diary when the whole thing is revealed.

·      14:28 Harry realizing that he is a wizard. This is a much shorter story line than horcruxes, but it is no less impactful. One of the reasons that I think it is so effective is it becomes better the more we read it. It had a huge importance for the story. Looking back after reading all the books and going back to that moment, we understand what it means all the more. From that moment, he embarks on a journey that will be filled with countless unforgettable moments. 

·      18:24 Patronuses. This isn’t a story line exactly, but it allows us to see the storylines much clearer. A patronus is the purest form of a person: who they are and who they want to be. When we have moments like the casting of the doe in the Forest of Dean, the true nature of characters is revealed.

·      Listen to episode 80 about character arcs here.

·      24:24 Snape. Snape’s arc is one of if not the best character arcs in the series. He is also a story line within himself. We have to work to understand him, and he dies still being somewhat of a mystery. He touched so many lives and made such a difference.

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In this episode, we discuss some of Harry's biggest regrets. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      1:27 Cedric’s death. We didn’t get to know Cedric for a while in the story, and it took a few chapters with him in the fourth book to get a good idea of who he was. Cedric was a genuinely good person, and as readers we had a front seat to how close he and Harry grew. The deal was sealed when they helped each other out on the tasks. So when Cedric was killed, it dragged on Harry’s soul because he couldn’t stop it.

·      9:53 Disliking Snape. From the beginning, Snape and Harry were enemies. Snape clearly hated Harry, and the two knew it. At the end of the story, we finally realize that that may have not been the case. Harry regrets his relationship with Snape so much because they only realized that they could have a good relationship a moment before Snape died, and Harry can never go back and make up.

·      Listen to episode 225 about how the Dursleys aren’t that bad here

·      16:30 Making an enemy of Dudley. They were pitted against each other for their entire time together. Vernon and Petunia hated Harry, and that shed off onto Dudley. It took seven years for them to understand each other and for Dudley to break out of the prejudice brought on my his parents. When Harry parted from the Dursleys, Dudley realized that they could have been so much better friends than they had been. 

·      21:49 Dumbledore dying for nothing. This is a huge regret of Harry’s! The locket was a fake and the cave was completely unnecessary. They only realized that when it was too late and Dumbledore was already dead. He died in the best way possible with Snape killing him and getting into Voldemort’s good books, but he still could have had a few more weeks to teach Harry valuable lessons that could have given him the skills to win with fewer losses. What would Harry give for just one more hour with Dumbledore?

·      26:33 All the people that died for him. There is no way to get around it. His friends, family, students, and people he never knew all withstood torture and gave their lives for his cause. It takes a certain kind of person to live through an ordeal like the Battle of Hogwarts, and everyone that didn’t weighs on Harry like nothing else. 

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In this episode, we discuss what would happen if the Order didn't arrive to the Ministry in time in the Order of the Phoenix. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      2:08 Harry and his friends will be killed. The Death Eaters have a lot of leverage on Harry to hand over the prophecy and in doing so hand them the victory. If the Order hadn’t arrived a moment after that, it is very possible that they would have promptly killed Harry and his friends and moved on.

·      Listen to episode 237 about themes in Harry Potter here

·      8:39 Voldemort would take control of the Ministry. Fudge arrives after Dumbledore fights Voldemort and he sees Voldemort standing in a pile of sand before he disappears. Voldemort would have had all the time in the world to kill Fudge and the others that showed up and take control of the Ministry ahead of schedule without the opposition from the Order.

·      13:54 Death Eaters would be on the loose. In the Deathly Hallows, there were no limits on the abilities of Death Eaters and their freedom. They could walk down the street and kill whoever they wanted because Voldemort controlled the Ministry. With this jumpstart to his plan, this would certainly become the case much earlier.  

·      18:49 Harry would go out to find horcruxes far earlier. Voldemort’s timeline is moved up from this major victory, so Dumbledore would have no choice but to send Harry out into the world to find the horcruxes earlier than we know he does in the story. Dumbledore would have no choice after Voldemort forced his hand. Harry wouldn’t be as successful because Dumbledore took the time to show him how to find and destroy them, and without those lessons, Harry wouldn’t find nearly as many as quickly.

·      24:19 The public would lose faith in the Ministry. If Voldemort returns, enters the Ministry, kills a bunch of students, and walks out, I don’t know how much faith everyone could have in them after that. Especially if Voldemort managed to kill Fudge and install a minister of their own, there would be no world in which the public would still be hopeful that the Ministry could do something. 

·       27:06 Would Dumbledore arrive and survive as planned? He would arrive and survive as the story is written, but because Voldemort’s timeline is moved up, he would send out his minions to kill Dumbledore at Hogwarts earlier. He gains his foothold in the wizarding world and would use that to move forward as far and quickly as possible.

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In this episode, we discuss some of the core themes of Harry Potter. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      Listen to episode 236, QuizMaster: Sirius Black here!

·      3:25 Death. Death is a huge theme in the story and it is very influential in every boo. However, the meaning of this theme is sometimes farther from the surface of the text that we think. In the Chamber of Secrets, Harry fights the memory of Tom Riddle who is dead but becoming alive. In the Prisoner of Azkaban, Harry fights hundreds of dementors who are the very embodiment of death itself.

·      Listen to episode 231 about undeserved deaths in the Battle of Hogwarts here!

·      15:44 Sacrifice. This isn’t death as one might imagine, but there are parallels. For example, Harry sacrifices his life at the Dursleys to go to Hogwarts. He isn’t leaving a warm, loving home, but he has had more turmoil that necessary and he gave up another status quo. At the end of the story, Harry sacrifices his own life to destroy the final horcrux and eventually win the war. 

·        23:59 Courage. This is much more positive than the previous two, and also perhaps one of the most prominent. This had been a theme throughout every book and is often the deciding factor between life and death. Harry fights off dementors at once, goes down the Chamber of Secrets, and during the third task of the Tri-Wizard stood his ground and fought Voldemort.

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In this episode we test our knowledge on Sirius Black. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:

·      1:33 Warm Up Round

·      4:17 Question 1

·      9:12 Question 2

·      12:16 Question 3

·      16:18 Question 4

·      20:41 Question 5

·      24:06 Question 6

·      26:38 Question 7

·      30:44 Challenge Question

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In this episode, we discuss the good and bad parts of the trapdoor and replace the worst obstacles. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      2:20 Fluffy. He doesn’t really do anything. Playing music to put him to sleep is a weakness that is far too easily exploited to be considered an effective obstacle.

·      7:32 Devil Snare. This is a very good choice. In order to escape, the wizard must know what it is and how to defeat it. In addition, death is the punishment for failure. This is a puzzle that must be completed by someone who know knows what they are doing.

·       12:35 Potions. Snape’s room has fire at the front and back and the wizard must choose the right potion to get through. This is terrible! Logic is a good skill to have, but they could just put out the fire or blast the wall down. Instead, they should be poisoned when they walk in and must make an antidote.

·      17:35 Flying Keys. This room is a thumbs down for sure. It tests how well you can play quidditch, not use charms. A better room would be to lock them in the room with protective charms around it. They would have to figure out how they can escape. 

·      22:08 The Chess Game. Thumbs up! As long as we are sure that the wizard cannot leave during the game, this is a good task. Chess is one of the bests tests of brain power and thinking ahead.

·      24:14 A boggart. The troll for Defense Against the Dark Arts is a terrible task, so replacing it with a boggart is perfect. The door is open, so you have to have courage to walk past it to make it further.

26:10 Mirror of Erised. This is a very clever task, but there is an asterisk. There is nothing stopping someone taking the stone after someone who didn’t want it already got it. Harry got it from the mirror and then Quirrell could have just taken in. If it only gave the stone to one person would be best. This is of course all to say this: the smartest change of all would be to put the stone somewhere else.

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In this episode, we discuss some of the unsung heroes of Hogwarts. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      2:25 The Fat Lady. We never hear from her despite having such an important tole. She is the guard of the secret common room of the Gryffindors When Sirius Black attacks the school, she doesn’t let him in and sacrifices her portrait to make sure he can’t make it in. The other guards of the tower didn’t do the same thing.

·      9:37 McGonagall. Don’t get mad here because by no means is McGonagall unsung. She teaches classes and defends Hogwarts and we know it, but what she does on the back end is what is unsung. She is Dumbledore’s fixer. If he wants something done on the DL, she can handle it. We don’t hear about some of the biggest problems at the school for a reason…

·      15:27 Percy Weasley. It is difficult for the readers to look past the fact that he is stuck up and ambitious, but the misconception here is we think that means he doesn’t care. In actuality, Percy does all these things and bosses people around because he cares about what happens to his peers and values things like the rules and respect.

·      21:24 Professor Grubbly Plank. She stepped in when Hagrid was unable to teach and later when he was on a mission for Dumbledore. Further, she asked no questions and filled the role without a second thought. She is fair and to the point. It is no small task to come teach at a moment’s notice. 

·       25:10 Madame Pomfrey. She takes care of the entire castle! If Dumbledore needs a medical solution to a problem, Pomfrey is well up to the task. She can regrow bones and cure illness and do anything else the students need. She also has been at the castle for a long time and helps during the Battle of Hogwarts.

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In this episode, we rewrite the Tri-Wizard Tournament. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
Listen to The Tri-Wizard Tournament is the smartest and dumbest competition of all time here

·      2:16 Cedric should get hurt in the first task. This would be a good way of foreshadowing his death, but further, it would show the dangerous nature of the competition. None of the champions receive terrible injuries that shock the schools into realizing that this is no joke, so a moment where the audience goes silent after a blow would go a long way.

·      6:55 Fleur should come out stronger. She is the bottom of the pack character and she doesn’t do well in any of the tasks. If she were to do well in the first task, it would set her up as a stronger competitor. More importantly, it would create more of a buzz around the times when she is stopped like when she was attacked in the lake and then again in the maze.

·      15:38 Harry and Cedric should switch places. Harry stays behind to make sure every prize is brought up and Cedric arrives second but doesn’t hesitate to go up and gets first. These two should be switched. Harry should get a leg up and shown to be in the tournament for the win. It would also make Cedric’s loss so much worse if she was shown to be a truly good person and willing to stay behind and sacrifice first place.

·      19:23 Giving Krum and Fleur less sideline parts. Their big moments aren’t very central to the story and it might make for a more interesting task if they were involved. Maybe Harry and Krum work together to find the settlement because they both want to find Hermione. Maybe Fleur arrives late and they all have an underwater conversation about what kept her and they all go up after that.

·      24:34 Cedric should have put up a fight. He was killed far too easily. Pettigrew walked out, got the order from Voldemort, and Cedric was killed. If someone walked out from a building in a graveyard and yelled “Kill the spare” I wouldn’t stick around to find out what he meant. Cedric’s end in wrought too easily for the caliber of character which he brought. He deserved and much more fitting end.

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