The Potter Discussion: Harry Potter, Fantastic Beasts and the Wizarding World Fandom Sound Owl Media

In this episode, we discuss some of the more confusing aspects of Fantastic Beasts. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      1:50 Yusuf Kama. He was introduced later in the story and seemed to play a strange role in the story. I wasn’t sure which side he was on for the entire film and I’m still not completely sure. Another thing that made him so confusing is how he was trying to tell us the true background to Credence when his entire story wasn’t the truth. Now that we know that Credence is actually a Dumbledore, it makes Kama’s story all the more confusing because it plays no part in the story and its existence has become pointless. 
·      7:04 Tina Goldstein. Tina was a fantastic character in the first film with multiple layers and was a true 3D character. However, that didn’t last. In the very next film, Tina became this dark and depressed person who wore long trench coats and had a different hair style. It was further exaggerated in the third film when Tina seemed to return from the dark and was still kept away from the story. Why? It’s strange that a main character just disappeared, and we never saw her again for the longest time. What is going on with Tina?
·      12:51 Couldn’t the obliviating rain have missed someone? It must have. An umbrella worked to keep the rain away from Queenie, so what about the muggles who put up an umbrella. And the aurors were walking around in the open air and they were just fine? What if someone just stayed inside and didn’t take a shower or a drink of water? It would be such a simple to fix this problem, yet we got no more information. 
·      18:53 Why didn’t Newt’s case get all shaken up? And how it is so big? Newt runs around and does all these crazy things holding his case. How does all his stuff stay the same? And it seems far too big. It is absolutely huge. An entire world exists inside of that little case. And there are some extension charms within in case, so could you just keep on extending until you had an entire planet? This is far too big a plot hole to be ignored.

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In this episode, we break down the character of Severus Snape. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      Huge thanks to Leona Dolfie who submitted a fascinating theory about Grindelwald’s skull. If you want to submit any questions, comments, or theories, you can email it to thepotterdiscussion@gmail.com.
·      2:57 Who is Snape? He was born on January 9th, 1960. He died on May 1st, 1998. Snape grew up in a rather depressing area, but he did have a friend. Lily. Lily had no idea about the magical world and wanted someone to tell her about it, and Snape wanted a friend. They were perfect for each other. They both went to Hogwarts together, but they drifted apart after Snape slipped and called Lily a mud blood. They never made up. 
·      8:32 What is Snape’s role in the story? There might be a fancy English term that could get close to describing him, but he is too much of a complex character to be fully encompassed in a single term. He played both sides while fighting for only fighting for himself. There is an art to what he does and the things he says. He is way bigger than a single role in the story. He is a 3D character for sure. He fights for so many things and so many people, there is no way we can call him just one kind of hero. 
·      13:42 How would the story be different without him? First, Voldemort would have won and there is nothing they could do about it. Harry would have gotten captured far earlier, Dumbledore would have been killed, and there would have been no hope. Dumbledore would have tried to make a plan without Snape, but Snape’s position as a trusted advisor of Voldemort. Harry also wouldn’t be as good a wizard. We can lose sight of how good a wizard and teacher Snape was because of how mean he was to Harry. Come to think of it, Harry would be dead without Snape. Think of the first book. Quirrell was trying to kill Harry in the quidditch match, and Snape stopped him. Without Snape, Harry would have died.
·      21:40 What is his motivation? Obviously, his love for Lily is paramount. However there are others. When James died, Snape felt bad. Not for James, but about the fact that he died thinking Snape hated him. It was true, but Snape felt like he owed him. So Snape decides to protect Harry in his first year at Hogwarts. He did, and Harry lived. Snape went back to hating James’ memory. After a while, another motivation starts to evolve. He begins to care about Harry. Snape saw Lily’s son in Harry and wanted to protect him for the person he was.
·      26:32 Is Snape a good person? Is he trustworthy? Of course, we know that Snape is a good person. But is he trustworthy? Know it gets a little more complicated. This is the root of his character. At his core, he is trying to protect, avenge, and remember Lily Evens. So technically, he is loyal to Lily. If Voldemort decided to protect Lily, Snape would have been loyal to him. So is he really that trustworthy after all? 

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In this episode, we discuss the downfall of Cornelius Fudge. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      2:09 The downfall of Cornelius Fudge. His reign began pretty well. The economy was stable and the secret of magic was safe. However, that didn’t stay. Once Voldemort began to creep back into the picture, Fudge fell apart. He was alright in the first book, but when the Chamber of Secrets opened, he was under fire. He arrested Hagrid just to show the world that he was doing something. In Prisoner of Azkaban, they can’t catch Sirius Black for the life of them. Fudge is panicked and he put everything they could on the case. It does eventually work, but Sirius then escaped, and they never saw him away. So, he was already set up for failure in the Goblet of Fire. The dark mark was cast at the Quidditch World cup and the world goes into a panic. Fudge denies Voldemort’s return as much as he can and convinces himself that Voldemort is gone. How wrong he is.
·      12:35 Fudge didn’t listen to Dumbledore. This was really the final nail in the coffin. Dumbledore is the one of the most powerful wizards in the world and the only person Voldemort feared. Fudge knew this and was writing to Dumbledore early on in his career. The times became good, and Fudge stopped writing. When evil came back, Fudge still believed Voldemort was gone, scared that the dark days would return. Dumbledore could see his crumble, so he sent envoys to the giants and pretty much became the Minister. There is a direct correlation between listening and the times going well, and not listening to him and times going bad. 
·      19:21 Fudge was far too controlled by fear. Fear dictated his entire life after the Prisoner of Azkaban, and it prevented him from seeing the truth. He had the facts in front of him and simply ignored them. He did everything he could to make sure the world thought Voldemort wasn’t back, as if that would kill Voldemort again. If he had just done one single thing right, they would have stood a chance. But he didn’t and Voldemort returned. Fudge acted too late and didn’t do what he was supposed to. By the time Fudge finally realizes what was really happening, it was too late.

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In this episode, we discuss whether the Defense Against the Dark Arts job is cursed. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      This episode was submitted by a listener! If you want your idea featured on the show, send it in to thepotterdiscussion@gmail.com.
·      2:14 A history of Defense Against the Dark Arts (DADA) teachers. First is Quirrell who appeared in the first book. He seemed like a good person, but was actually harboring Voldemort in the back of his head and was burned to ash a the end of the book. Lockhart in the Chamber of Secrets seemed too good to be true, and turned out to be a complete fraud. He placed a memory charm on himself that made him forget his entire life.  Lupin was probably one of the best teachers Harry had, but he had one flaw: he was a werewolf. He resigned quickly after that. Alastor Moody seemed like a good person at first, but was really a Death Eater is disguise. Umbridge was arguably the worst DADA teacher we have ever seen, teaching through a book for fear of an uprising. Snape was the final DADA teacher we saw at Hogwarts. Snape took his class very seriously and had some very strict policies. Snape was killed by Voldemort who was in pursuit of the Elder Wand.
·      11:53 Does the subject itself have anything to do with their deaths? The reason why there is a higher rate of death for DADA teachers is the fact that those people are most involved with dark magic and dark wizards. Quirrell was young and wanted to teach, so when he took a trip to Albania and met Voldemort, it was the perfect situation for Voldemort to descend and get an inside man at Hogwarts. Similarly with Moody, Barty Crouch Jr. was a very skilled wizard that the world thinks it dead, so he was in the perfect position to take a post at Hogwarts. His downfall came when he had no Polyjuice potion. He was also one of Voldemort’s closest followers. Snape is also a Death Eater who is mostly in support of Dumbledore. Snape’s end comes when he became too involved with Voldemort and his position was one Voldemort wanted. 
21:03 Is the DADA job cursed? Absolutely, but not for the reason you might think. There isn’t any magic that is involved with the position, it’s just the fact that DADA teachers are more involved with the dark arts than others. It is very difficult to find a DADA teacher who is morally good and good at magic. That’s why Dumbledore is forced to hire these people that aren’t the perfect choice by far. There are two ways you can avoid dying as the DADA teacher. The first is: completely eradicate every ounce of evil from every part of the world and make certain that there is no chance of any evil coming back. Or 2: don’t take the job.

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In this episode, we discuss Tom Felton's new book. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:
·      Get Tom Felton’s book here.
·      1:47 What can be gained from this book? There are a lot of different stories that have a wide variety of stages in Tom’s life. The book doesn’t move in perfect chronological order. It’s very well done and every piece of the story fits in place. As to what can be gained, we can gain a peek behind the curtain of production on the Potter set and of Tom’s life. We now have a different view of the filming that deepens our understanding of the filming. We also see what was going on in Tom’s head. It’s hard to be put on a set with millions of dollars on the line and pressure of producing a fantastic film. With this book, we can fully understand what was going on in Tom’s head every step of the way.
·      9:52 Was there an element of surprise? No! Granted, I didn’t know 99% of the things he wrote about in the book about his life and just about every page held a story or piece of information I had no idea existed. But at the core of the book, it is the story of a kid dealing with the difficulty of being in a stressful situation.  
·      14:55 Did Tom’s childhood affect his acting? Of course. He had a pack of brothers that showed him the world and were some of his first big supporters. They taught him how to fish and how to keep a job and how to steal something from a store. Perhaps what was more influential in his acting before Potter was his experience acting beforehand. He did several ads and projects including The Borrowers which was his first real time on a large-scale set.
·      19:24 Should similar books be published like this? Absolutely. Having this 3D view of the story is extremely valuable and any more stories of the goings on behind the curtain on set are only going to help the story. Anyone else who worked on the set could write something just as amazing.
·      22:25 What are some of my favorite parts in the story? First is the first chapter where he stole a CD. It showed his character and was a great introduction to the book. I enjoyed his stories of getting driven into work and his dyed hair. He also wrote about how often they corpse on set. A story that stood out to me was toward the end of the book when he left rehab for a bit and wanted to see some of his friends across town and met some very amazing people along the way. 
·      28:25 Thumbs up or thumbs down? Well, surprise surprise, I give Tom’s book a giant thumbs up. It is a fantastic behind the scenes look on Harry Potter and what goes on in Tom’s life.   

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In this episode, we discuss Ravenclaw and how it is very underrated. Enjoy!

Topics/Summary:

·      This episode comes from a listener! Thank you very much. If you want to have your own idea featured on the show, submit it to thepotterdiscussion@gmail.com.
·      2:11 Who are some famous Ravenclaws? Rowena Ravenclaw is the founder of Ravenclaw and the founder of the diadem of Ravenclaw. Luna Lovegood and Cho Chang are some of the modern students in Ravenclaw house that we know in the story. Ollivander the wand maker is another Ravenclaw that is a huge help to the wizarding world. Flitwick is an awesome character with fantastic lines and a great sense of humor that brings a fascinating depth to the story. Perhaps the least known on this list is Millicent Bagnold who was the Minister of Magic when Voldemort was first in power. She handled the situation well and famously said “I assert our inalienable right to party.” Click here to learn more.
·      9:55 What are some of the traits of Ravenclaw house? First and foremost, there is intelligence. But it goes past a good grade on a test. Ravenclaws think about what they say before they say it and are very quick thinking. They make clever jokes and have form a retort in a matter of seconds. They are also funny. You can always count on a Ravenclaw to give a good jibe. Ravenclaws are also quite intuitive. They can read the room and have a good sense of what’s going on just by looking at someone’s mannerism. 
·      15:59 What would happen to Hogwarts if Ravenclaw house didn’t exist? The education would skew away from wand-based magic. Thinking back, the things that are associated with Ravenclaw are dueling and quick thinking, the wand user’s friends. So, if Ravenclaw were to disappear, learning the theory behind magic would become a lost art. You’ve got to know what you’re doing instead of what happens. 
·      21:50 What are some common myths and misconceptions? There have been several Ravenclaws who haven’t aligned with the Ravenclaw values and began some of these myths. Firstly, the thought that every Ravenclaw is a smart-Alec. It is very easy for a joke to come off as made to put someone down than get a laugh. Ravenclaws might also be seen as self-centered. Professor Lockhart might have something to do with the beginning of this one.
·      25:13 What are the takeaways? It’s simple: Ravenclaw is cool. There are a ton of amazing qualities Ravenclaws have and there is so much depth they bring to the story.

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