The Shrieking Shack

Deathly Hallows chapter 28. We spend a weird amount of time talking about mouths before catching up on the latest reports from Fantastic Beasts film production world and, for some reason, Good Housekeeping, where JKR deigned to give an interview this week. This episode's chapter is fairly lurid and dark, but we keep it light by chatting about bread, cheese, Dobby, and more! Finally, we visit Wizarding World dot com to take their new Christmas Experience for a spin.

Content stuff: JKR is in the news segment again (saying nothing you haven't heard her say before, but still; skip to 34:19 to go right to the chapter discussion. Likewise, the chapter this week is pretty Generally Rough, so I can't really timestamp around anything specific: just know this is the Ariana Dumbledore chapter)

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Merch: teespring.com/stores/dobbys-funeral-gift-shop

Deathly Hallows chapter 27. We're back! And we're calling Mads in to ask hey, c'mon, do you really need to be in a Harry Potter movie? Plus, some questions for the other actors who had a lot to say a few months ago. Then we theorize about what on earth this Frankenstein movie could possibly look like when it finally arrives in 2021 (or is it 2022?), what it could be titled, and who will allowed to be not-straight in it.

Our chapter this week is a bit of filler, but we manage to squeeze a lot of discussion out of it since it really highlights a lot of frustrating omissions from this book, and tees up a plot to get things moving with ten chapters left to go. From Spyro dragons to evil house elves, we've got a lot of ideas. Finally, we check in with the Wizarding World's plans for Christmas 2020, and read a very sad listicle about Snape 😢

Deathly Hallows chapter 26. After our double-length news blowout last week, we don't have too much to cover this episode, save for some updated Fantastic Beasts casting rumors and some speculation about the general future of the franchise. Our chapter this week is another heist, during which Harry casts an unforgivable curse like ten times without anyone so much as blinking and a theatrical Death Eater tags along to make things more complicated until JK Rowling decided she couldn't figure out how to utilize him so just had him go hide in a corner. No, I'm not making that up, that's actually what happens. We also witness the EVIL PLANS of Griphook, whose plan to double-cross Harry is worse than Harry's plan to double cross him, for some reason. We also read another shockingly out of touch article from Pottermore that comes this close to realizing what's messed up about the Goblin stuff but misses spectacularly. Finally, we log into Jack Sloper's account and return to the associated subreddits to find a grab bag of cursed and delightful content.

Content warning stuff: the whole news section is dedicated to ripping on JKR and Johnny Depp (and Marilyn Manson) and if you don't fancy listening to anything to do with them directly, the chapter discussion starts at 34:47.

Deathly Hallows chapter 25. With both our lives making this week extremely busy, we almost didn't make it together to record this week--but here we are, because the news stops for no one! We discuss all of the massive Fantastic Beasts news that came out right after last week's episode was in the can, from Johnny Depp's exit from the franchise to JK Rowling's absence from easy US election-related content to the release of The Ickabog and more. Then we dive into... maybe the worst chapter in the series? Certainly one of the most galling. Buckle up, because if you thought the goblin stuff in previous books felt uncomfortable those moments have nothing on the absolute pile of antisemitic content rolled up into Griphook's character. Intentional? Probably not, but does it matter? (Incidentally if this doesn't sound fun, skip 1:22:00ish to 1:41:00ish) We also see the return of Theatrical Lupin, and the slow depressing march of every woman in the series to their final form as Molly Weasley. Finally, we speculate about how the third Fantastic Beasts film will handle its actor change!

Deathly Hallows chapter 24. With absolutely nothing going on in the real world, we immerse ourselves in a backlog of Wizarding World news. Last week we watched the midpoint film; this episode, we continue reading the novel, and learn all about Harry's sudden discovery of labor as a political concept and (second? third?) bout of religious mania. Two paths diverge in a wood, and our hero must choose which order to talk to two C-list characters who will dump pages upon pages of very important lore and worldbuilding, as well as highlight some of the more collar-tug worthy instances of Meaningful Storytelling. Would it surprise you to learn that the house elf and goblin stuff in this series is still insanely fucked up? Can the fandom remember that the elves are literally slaves? Please??

Finally, we catch up with our hero, Spartan 117...

Deathly Hallows Part 1 film. As is tradition, we spend longer than the runtime of the actual film walking through and breaking down the first of the two movies based on The Deathly Hallows! Where does it rank compared to the other adaptations? What does it do with the awful source material? Did it really need to be split into two films, and do we believe the producer's claims that it wasn't a money-motivated decision? (no)

We also take a little adventure at the end of the episode that you won't want to miss!

Deathly Hallows chapter 23. We receive an update from an anonymous benefactor regarding the Harry Potter pin collecting scene before we check in on an unfortunate Yahoo op ed about whether or not it's okay to play the video g- sorry, whether it's okay to wear a halloween costume. Then we chat about the continuing Fantastic Beasts production drama before diving into a true Clusterfuck Chapter tour de force. That's right, we have the grandaddy of all Hagrid's Hut style chapters here that transcends space, time, and distance, and drops a bunch of new random lore to justify its ticking clock structure. And, of course... we say goodbye to that funny little guy we all love.

Deathly Hallows chapter 22. We investigate the Wizarding World brand's Halloween plans for this year and end up stumbling into some incredible Christmas lore instead before discussing a chapter that finally honors the REAL heroes: podcasters. We also chat about the ever-unraveling state of the story's theology, worldbuilding and politics before taking an accidental deep dive into the world of official Harry Potter pin collecting... in 3D!

Deathly Hallows chapter 21. After checking in with Buzzfeed to see how they're handling Harry Potter clickbait these days, we finally learn all about the Tale of the Three Brothers: a wizarding world story so common, why, everyone knows of it! We also learn about a bunch of aphorisms and other cultural artifacts that surely anyone would recognize, because they've been part of the wizarding world this whole time and definitely not pulled entirely out of the author's ass just now. Finally, we head over to reddit and quora for a grab bag of third segment goodies.

Deathly Hallows chapter 20. We catch up with Eddie Redmayne and the WB Game Studios statements on Rowling before making our way through an absolutely dire chapter where all of our heroes are unrecognizable, even by the shifting standards of book 7. Arguing about what 'rook' means, having youth pastor chats, and holding extremely strong opinions about the role of the press for teenagers--that sounds like the golden trio alright! (?) Then we head on over to the subreddit to learn about more Game Ideas.