MuggleCast 207 Transcript
Show Intro
[Intro music begins]
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[“Hedwig’s Theme” plays]
David Heyman: Hello this is David Heyman and I’m the producer of the Harry Potter films and this is MuggleCast.
[Show music begins]
Micah: Because Matt can predict the future, this is MuggleCast Episode 207, for August the 25th, 2010.
[Show music continues]
Andrew: Welcome, everyone, to Episode 207! We have two people on the show this week that we haven’t heard from in a while, Mikey and Jamie. Hey guys.
Jamie and
Mikey:
Hey.
Jamie: So how long haven’t we been on for? Mikey, when were you last on?
Andrew: Well – you – it’s only been a couple weeks. But Mikey, I think this is the first time he’s on as a married man!
Jamie: No way!
Mikey: Well, maybe, maybe no, I think I was on once.
Andrew: Oh.
Mikey: Or maybe I was sick and that’s why I cancelled. No, I was – I was supposed to be, but I cancelled, because I was feeling sick that day.
Andrew: Well, let’s get an update on married life. What’s it like, Mikey? Tell us, tell us, please! We all want to know!
Mikey: Kind of like life before I was married. [laughs]
Andrew: Oh…
Mikey: I know, it’s not that exciting…
Jamie: Mikey, what’s your tip for staying together? “Mikey’s Top Three Tips for Staying Together.”
Mikey: She is always right.
[Everyone laughs]
Mikey: Two more…
Jamie: You can be abstract if you want, but say it like an old Chinese proverb.
Mikey: [laughs] Communication.
Andrew: And honesty, right?
Mikey: And – honesty. Definitely honesty.
Jamie: Awww.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Mikey: There we go. Thank you, Andrew.
Andrew: Well let’s…
Jamie: Three brand new things I’ve never heard before.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Mikey: Well you know, Jamie, it takes time. We’ll teach you a little bit here.
Andrew: Well, we all need to be honest for today’s show, because there’s lots of Deathly Hallows content to be talking about. There’s a news bonanza. We’ve got lots to talk about today. I’m Andrew Sims.
Jamie: I’m Jamie Lawrence.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Mikey: And I’m Mikey B.
[Intro music plays]
Andrew: Micah Tannenbaum! Give us the news this week, please. You are the leader in the news industry.
Jamie: Leader of the pack.
Andrew: I always look forward to your news reports.
Micah: Well thank you, Andrew.
Andrew: No problem.
News: Deathly Hallows Screen Test
Micah: [laughs] Well, Deathly Hallows was screen-tested yesterday in Chicago, and our own Emerson and Eric were there. It seems like Eric always ends up at a test screening of a Harry Potter movie somehow.
Andrew: He was also at the Half-Blood Prince one.
Micah: Yes, he was.
Andrew: But with a – he got lucky with the Half-Blood Prince one, and then with this one, Deathly Hallows, it was Emerson who was walking out of the movie theater, and some guy just approached him and said, “Hey, can you come to a screening tomorrow? We’re testing a movie.”
Jamie: No! No way. Really?
Andrew: That’s really what happened. Yeah.
Jamie: No, that’s insane. That’s like…
Andrew: You know…
Jamie: …I can’t think of what that’s like, but that…
Andrew: People think that there’s a conspiracy, but there’s really not. Like, it’s a Nielsen guy – you know, it was completely unrelated.
Jamie: It was a what guy? A what guy?
Andrew: Nielsen. Nielsen ratings.
Micah: Okay, so a couple of the big bullet points from the test screening, the first one is the movie is about two hours and thirty minutes so do you guys think this is enough time? I know Emerson said yesterday that he thought it might be a little bit too long for some of the casual movie goers.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: What do you guys think?
Jamie: Yeah, it probably is.
Andrew: [sighs] I guess, maybe. I mean most Harry Potter films are two and a half hours. I think the reason Emerson said that it would be too long for casual people because it that because it’s so loyal to the book, Part I, that it has a lot of things that non-fans would not appreciate. That’s the impression that I got.
Micah: We finally got confirmation that Hedwig does indeed die.
Andrew: Oh, good.
Micah: There was a lot of speculation about that the last couple of weeks because of the scene of Harry letting Hedwig go…
Andrew: Right.
Micah: …but we learn that she does come back and save his life in some capacity. So, I guess that’s a good thing that they didn’t cut it out…
Andrew: Yeah, people were really – people were really, very, horrible, I think. Like in the MuggleNet comments when we did a report on that; people were like, “No! Hedwig must die!”
Jamie: Why?
Andrew: They were saying it with such fury.
Mikey: Well, you know what it’s also, though – do you remember reading the book for the first time?
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: This was the first death we were introduced to, at the beginning of the book. It was like, for me…
Andrew: It was shocking?
Mikey: It was shocking. I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me! Really?”
Jamie: I didn’t think that.
Mikey: Of everything that dies, it’s Hedwig. So I was totally taken aback.
Jamie: Yeah, but Mikey, but Mikey, how much were you taken aback because the owl died or were you taken aback because it was an actually shocking death? Because I thought, wow that’s pretty bad, but I was sort of expecting – I don’t know what I was expecting. I just thought…
Mikey: You know, Jamie, I think it was you on the MuggleNet Deathly Hallows tour, afterwards, that you said, “When Hedwig died that was the end of Harry’s innocence.”
Andrew: That’s what Jo said. That’s what…
Mikey: Is that what Jo said?
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: Oh, I remember something like that.
Andrew: It’s the end of his childhood.
Jamie: Well Mikey, you must think – you obviously think well of me.
[Everyone laughs]
Mikey: Well, you know, I have to sometimes. But it’s one of those things where – I definitely agree. Hedwig had to die. It was part of the book.
Jamie: Yeah, true. That’s true.
Mikey: It was one of those – it was a pivotal moment in the book. Because now you knew that everything – there was – no one’s safe. If Hedwig is not safe, there’s nothing else safe in the book.
Jamie: No one is, yeah. It’s true and it kind of came full circle as well.
Micah: Now, one of the other things that was confirmed was the split and I know Jamie and Mikey, we don’t know what your thoughts are on this because, as Andrew was saying, you guys haven’t been on in a little bit. That the film is going to be split where Voldemort goes and grave-robs Dumbledore and steals the Elder Wand. So you guys think that’s a good spot for the film to be split?
Jamie: That’s quite a cannon part for it to be split. I guess that’s going to please people who know what comes next but is that going to be good for people who don’t know the significance of him taking the Elder Wand?
Andrew: I think it’s, well – there is some build-up prior to him taking the Elder Wand because in the book we do get an explanation. We learn that the Elder Wand is all-powerful. It can defeat anyone. So I think the movie-goers are going to get that introduction to the Elder Wand, realize that…
Jamie: They will get that, will they?
Andrew: What’s that?
Jamie: Well, they will know. If people go and haven’t read the book, will they get from the film how powerful the Elder Wand is?
Andrew: Well, hopefully. Yeah, that’s the hope. So they will get that explanation from Ollivander and then they see Voldemort taking control over the Elder Wand and then it cuts to black and my thinking is, W.B. is thinking, “Okay, this is a great spot because he gets the wand and everyone is going to be left thinking, Oh my God. How is Harry going to get out of this?”
Jamie: Yeah, true. Actually, that’s quite interesting. I mean, that is a good – that makes sense as long as people know the significance of it. Otherwise, it could look a bit – I don’t know what the word is, but not serious enough to split the film.
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: Well, I think it’s a good spot because I definitely think they’ll have something that you have to explain what it is. This is kind of like getting Excalibur. It’s a game changer. You know, once Voldemort gets this wand that is undefeatable, how is our hero going to defeat him? So definitely I think it’s a great spot because it leaves you wanting more.
Jamie: Yeah. Yeah, that’s true.
Mikey: That’s what W.B. wants. They want you to want more, to go see Part II. Not to just say, oh well, I’m over it. So definitely, yeah. I think it’s a great spot to end it.
Micah: One of the things that Eric talked a lot about in the part of his review was Bellatrix’s character development, particularly in the scene where she is torturing Hermione. He said that in it and of itself will give the movie a PG-13 rating. He said that it really brings out a side of Bellatrix, an aspect of her character that we haven’t seen before. What drives her to torture Hermione is both interesting and exciting on film. When Hermione awakens from being tortured, she notices the word Mudblood carved into her arm.
Andrew: That’s so cool. That’s so cool. That’s almost, that’s very Joker-like too. Dark Knight. You know how Joker would always leave his mark, like the Joker cards?
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: Now Bellatrix is leaving Mudblood in her arm. That is so cool.
Jamie: That’s kind of like Book 5 as well. Umbridge.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. Very true.
Jamie: In a way.
Andrew: So all these reviews, overall, were very positive. Everybody was saying – One reviewer said, “I can’t believe this is only Part I.” Which meant that she felt very fulfilled. She was very satisfied with this. So I think this is very exciting. I cannot wait to see this movie! And people were worried about Part I because Part I – it’s the slower part of the book. So, as one of the reviewers said, if Part I is this good – oh my God, can you imagine how good Part II is going to be?
Mikey: Well, my biggest concern for Part II would be is, because Part I is the slower part of the book, it means you have a lot more time to develop characters and get into it. The last thing I want is Part II being a big old roller-coaster where there’s no development, no story. It’s all action, action, action.
Jamie: I think it will be quite a bit of action, though. It’s going to – they’re going to concentrate on that.
Mikey: Yeah, I want plenty of action, you know, I want the battles. I do want that, but I want the – I really want the stuff that they’re dealing with because, again, we’re so emotionally attached to Harry at this point in time.
Jamie: It is going to be hard, yeah. It’s going to be hard to sum up everything, to…
Mikey: Yeah.
Jamie: …in two and a half hours, to take it completely full-circle – sum it all up, include all the action – and satisfy the big fans and the casual movie-goers and I think they’ve got their work cut out more in Part II than in Part I, to be honest.
Mikey: Yeah, because Part I, I think, is more like the other books where there’s a general pacing all the way through with enough action towards the end. And there’s enough action towards the end of where the split is to kind of give it the full movie effect…
Jamie: Yeah.
Mikey: Whereas, with Part II there’s just so much going on. The book – reading it was a roller-coaster, all over the place, but that was because it was the whole thing. Now, by taking it separate, they have a lot of work to do in Part II to make it a complete movie versus action, action, action.
Jamie: Yeah, yeah, and the end. The end as well.
Andrew: And so now we know that Part II will start with the heist, as Dan Radcliffe described it, when they go into Gringotts Bank and they break into the Lestrange vault. And from there it’s just action-packed! And there have been rumors of the final battle scenes lasting a good hour, which is incredible.
Jamie: That will be incredible.
Andrew: Yeah, that will be some damn good filmmaking.
Micah: A couple more things though; one of the ones I wanted to bring up that’s actually kind of big in terms of the plot, is that Pettigrew doesn’t die in Part I, he gets stunned by Dobby. And so the question is, how are they going to kill Pettigrew off in Part II?
Andrew: Oh wow! So maybe they’re just going to throw him into the battle. That’s odd. I wonder why they did that.
Mikey: It could be he’s also one of the characters we know throughout the films and it’s one of those things where seeing him in the battle – and dying in the battle – kind of could symbolize the death of the Death Eaters.
Andrew: The evil.
Mikey: Yeah, he’s also the one that brought Voldemort back. And he’s been there. He’s been this constant character that we realized was bad all the way across.
Jamie: So wait – are you saying that he isn’t killed with the hand? With the silver…
Micah: Not in Part I, no.
Jamie: So – oh right! That is quite weird though, because that was a great scene. That was an amazing way that – it’s quite a good moral for the whole…
Andrew: Did we ever get an explanation about his hand?
Jamie: Well…
Andrew: I mean, we see it in Goblet of Fire turn, but I don’t think we know what the significance was.
Jamie: Wasn’t there a theory about it that was Voldemort did it on purpose, knowing that Pettigrew was – his loyalty wavered and it wasn’t that strong and so he gave him this hand knowing that if Harry saved his life it would turn on him or something? I can’t remember what it was. But yeah, it was always an interesting thing throughout the books – what’s going to happen with his hand? Why would Voldemort help him even though he says he rewards his followers, why would he do that without…
Andrew: Yeah, I mean it did turn on him. I just don’t think in the films, we see an explanation for that, so maybe that’s why they changed the way he dies. Hopefully he does die, though.
Jamie: Perhaps. Hopefully. It was cool, though.
Andrew: He can’t escape again! [laughs] Yeah. Anything else?
Micah: What do you guys think about the Three Brothers being told as an animated sequence?
Mikey: I’m excited.
Jamie: I think it’s weird. It’s very weird, isn’t it? How are they going to do it?
Andrew: People were happy with it, they said in the reviews. I guess Hermione narrates. Is that right, Micah?
Micah: Yeah, that’s right. Now, speaking of Hermione, I don’t think we can do this episode without talking about the side boob?
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Andrew: Yes, there are reports that the love scene between Harry and Hermione is very sexual. It’s very sexy.
Jamie: I’m sure they’ve done it on purpose. I’m sure they’ve done all that on purpose.
Mikey: Of course, they did.
Andrew: They look like smoke figures, but they look real, and there’s a little piece of dialogue where Ron says something about Twilight? Like it’s not as good as Twilight?
Jamie: No way! Oh, that’s horrible!
Andrew: This one reviewer thought it was a Twilight – oh, here we go. This reviewer, Gabby, who sent a great review in, by the way, she said:
“A ‘Twilight’ reference was made when Hermione begins to read the ‘Tale of the Three Brothers’. The scene sort of went like this, not exact words: Hermione says, ‘One day long ago, three brothers decided to go out traveling the world together at twilight.’ Then Ron says, ‘It’s midnight. My mom always says midnight.’ Hermione gives Ron an angry look. Ron instantly backs off. Ron says, ‘Oh, no, you’re right. Twilight is good. Twilight is better.'”
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Oh, that’s ridiculous.
Andrew: I don’t know if that’s really…
Jamie: Is that word for word?
Mikey: I don’t think that’s a reference to…
Jamie: Is that word for word from the book? Or I bet…
Andrew: No, no, no. But she says it’s not exact words from the movie, but that’s basically what they said.
Jamie: If it’s like that, though, screenwriters think about every word, every sentence. I doubt they could read that without knowing what it meant.
Andrew: Thinking Twilight. Yeah. [laughs] That’s funny.
Micah: But let’s wrap it up with the house-elves. Kreacher – we had this issue on the MiniCast yesterday where Eric and Emerson paused briefly when we mentioned Kreacher and it was because they don’t do the flashback to Regulus and Kreacher in the cave, but Kreacher is in the film and it’s clear that he does obey Harry and do what’s asked of him.
Andrew: Okay. That’s good. And Dobby makes a surprise appearance we hear.
Micah: Yeah. I heard that people were clapping a lot every time Dobby showed up on the screen but that Dobby’s death is very emotional and pretty much everybody had some tears in their eyes during that scene.
Andrew: Yeah. Yeah. Oh boy. I’m sad just thinking about it.
[Jamie sighs]
Andrew: Those were the test screenings. Very exciting. This sort of came out of nowhere but they’ve done it for pretty much every film I think. And I’m sure it will happen again for Part II and we’ll get some nice early reviews for Part II as well.
Micah: For anything else, just check out the reviews because there is obviously a lot of stuff but those were kind of the major points.
Andrew: Yeah. We have five reviews on MuggleNet now. They’re all very good so visit MuggleNet and you’ll see them right at the top. What else is going on, Micah?
News: Deathly Hallows: Part I Video Game for Xbox
Micah: Well, the Phelps twins did a demo of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 video game using the new Xbox Kinect technology. What are your guys thoughts on this game? I mean, it seems to be a little bit better overall…
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: …than what people were expecting from Order of the Phoenix and Half-Blood Prince.
Jamie: I’ve not seen the game since Order of the Phoenix so this – I bet this is incredible now. I’ve completely lost track with the technology and I remember it improving a hell of a lot back then. So…
Andrew: Yeah, well, the special thing with this Part I video game for Xbox is it’s using the Kinect technology. It’s this new thing Microsoft developed where it…
Jamie: It’s like the Wii isn’t it?
Andrew: Yeah, yeah. But there’s no controller. Your body is the controller. So you’re going to be able to throw spells with your body and the Phelps twins demoed this and I was watching the video. It looks interesting. They really do move their wands – or their arm to cast a spell. It’s a good gimmick, I guess, but personally when I’m playing video games I’m there to be lazy. I don’t want to be moving around, standing up. I just want to sit there with my controller. So, Mikey, you’re a bit of a video game nerd. What do you think of this Xbox Kinect and how it relates to Harry Potter?
Mikey: I don’t really like the Kinect that much. I think it’s a cool concept, but you know what? I was really excited for the Order of the Phoenix game with the Wii and being able to cast spells and I was let down on that, let down on a couple other games that the Wii really was going to do all sorts of fun things with, even when they added the additional piece to give you 3D space with the Wiimote, I was kind of disappointed. I have a friend who has the Kinect and its – to me it’s a novelty kind of like – it reminds me a lot of when the Wii first came out and everyone’s like Wii Sports is amazing.
Jamie: Yeah.
Mikey: And don’t get me wrong, Wii Sports is fun and Kinect is fun, but it’s – I don’t know…
Jamie: Isn’t it…
Mikey: If a whole game played with it would be…
Jamie: Isn’t it a bit before…
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: …it’s time – that type of gaming where you don’t have a controller or anything just feels to me like its 20 years in the future when you’ve got a bit of VR or something like that. It just – I don’t know…
Mikey: Yeah…
Jamie: It just seems a bit…
Mikey: I agree with you. I agree with you on that. Its not that it’s too early for it I think it has to start somewhere, but I will say I think the technology and the game development on it – I think it’s a little disproportionate in the sense that – at least in my experience with the Wii that and don’t get me wrong I love the Wii. I play all the Mario Kart stuff and everything, but it’s one of those things where I think the ideal of it and the actual practicality of it’s just not there yet.
Jamie: Yeah, exactly.
Mikey: You’re not completely immersed in it yet.
Andrew: What else is going on Micah?
News: BBFC Rates Part I Trailer
Micah: Well, the BBFC has approved the first trailer for Part I of Deathly Hallows. But the question is when will we see it? According to their site, the trailer is two minutes and six seconds long, it’s rated PG, and as I made the mistake, this is the rating for the trailer not the rating for the film.
Andrew: Micah IM’d me in a tiff. He was like, “Are you serious? How could they rate it PG?” I was like, “It’s just the trailer. Don’t worry.”
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: So, pretty soon, I would think. Within the next couple of weeks we will get this trailer.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Right?
Andrew: Yeah, and there’s been rumors about the Part I trailer coming out at the end of August, and I don’t know what films are coming up that they could debut it with, but I think now is the time. We’re three months out. We need a trailer for this film – for this individual film.
Micah: Well, I was going to ask you if you think it would be similar to what you guys saw at Comic Con, but so much of that was from Part II as well. Right?
Andrew: Yeah. There was a big mix of both in that, so I don’t think that was it. Though we did see Seven Potters which was cool. There were also rumors that it could debut in September so I would say within the next month we will have this trailer. If it’s approved now then at least we know it’s finished. It’s ready to go, whatever they decide to do with it.
Micah: Well, now does it come here? Does it come to the MPAA to be approved?
Andrew: I guess – yes. But the difference is…
Jamie: It’s going to be quicker though isn’t it?
Andrew: Probably. But the…
Jamie: Than the initial one.
Andrew: …difference with the MPAA…
Micah: Yeah, we have no morals.
Andrew: …that you can’t go on their site and see the approvals. I guess it’s some law in England that the ratings have to be posted or whatever.
News: Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey Sees 1 Million Riders
Micah: All right. Final bit of news for the week, Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey down in Orlando has seen 1 million riders.
Jamie: Aw, that’s incredible. Have you guys been on that one?
Andrew: That’s huge. Yeah!
Micah: Yeah.
Jamie: And how is it? Is it fast?
Andrew: It’s…
Micah: It’s awesome.
Andrew: …it is fast. It does throw you around. I’ve got to be honest after I rode it for a second time, I’m not – it – I don’t know what to say. I don’t love it.
Micah: Oh, don’t trash it, Andrew.
Andrew: I don’t love it. I don’t hate it, but I don’t love it.
Micah: Well, I think the problem with it is that it shifts you too much in between virtual and actual set. You know what I mean, Andrew?
Andrew: Yeah and it’s just such a mess. The story – it’s all over the place. I feel like they could have come up with such a more clear story. I don’t know.
Jamie: Is it canon? Or is it completely made up?
Andrew: Yeah, it’s completely made up. You see a lot of stuff from the books and films, but it’s still – and you see the actors. They did a really good job with it. It’s just the story, it’s just, ugh. What am I watching?
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: I don’t know what’s going on. I just – you see people, you see scary things, and then it’s over and you’re like, “What just happened?” [laughs] I don’t know.
Mikey: But that’s how all the rides are. That’s how all the rides are. That’s how all those types of rides are.
Andrew: And as I have said on a previous episode that when you are doing one giant ride for the Harry Potter series I guess that’s the only way to do it. You have to throw as much in as possible so you can cover everything in Harry’s world. And there’s a lot of stuff in the Wizarding World. The theme park overall though is fantastic. I love it, but that that ride – it was 1 million riders? I did the math. That’s about 16,000 a day. That’s pretty incredible.
Jamie: Oh, that’s a lot. I wonder how many people they’ve got through the gates then. I wonder if they’re making money. Well, I guess they are making money, but profit I mean.
Andrew: Oh, yeah. They posted – Universal posted good results. They’ve spiked their ticket prices twice since the park opened.
Jamie: How much is it now?
Andrew: I think close to $100.
Jamie: Oh, what? Just to get into the Harry Potter one?
Andrew: I think for the day. No, no. Well, you get into the whole Universal park.
Jamie: That is a lot of money. Actually, actually, wait, wait. Is it for all of Universal then? Is that what you’re saying? It’s for all the entire complex.
Andrew: I think so, I think so.
Micah: The park hopper? Yeah, I just went ahead and bought a four day, which was only like $140. So it’s actually cheaper to buy it for multiple days.
Andrew: Right, right. The more you buy, the more you save.
Micah: Yeah, but that’s amazing though, if you think about that. You mention it’s only been open for a month, or a little over a month. Well, two months now, I guess. Right?
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: But when you posted the story, it had just been a little bit over a month. So…
Andrew: One day, two parks. Meaning you get access to both of their parks for one day, is $112.
Jamie: Whoa!
Andrew: One day, one park is $82. They do have one nice thing which is that if you – you can buy an after 2:00 PM pass for, I think, about $45. And that’s what I did one day.
Jamie: So when does it close?
Andrew: 8:00 or 9:00 PM? So…
Jamie: All right, that – that’s not bad at all then.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Jamie: That’s like eight hours.
Andrew: And there’s no line in the afternoon. When I went there, there was no – you just walk right in. You can – I mean you have to wait a little bit for the rides, but you can go up, get a Butterbeer, go to the bar, get a Strongbow.
Jamie: Yeah, oh yeah.
Andrew: It was all good. So I definitely recommend that after 2:00 PM pass.
Jamie: Hmm.
Andrew: Okay.
Mikey: Jamie, you want to go?
Jamie: Yeah, yeah. I’ll bear that in mind. I’ll just cough up $1,000 for the thing.
Andrew: You can buy it right now. It’s 3:00 PM right now when we’re recording.
Jamie: I don’t know if I can get there in time, but I can probably get like two hours. No, no…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I want the – I would have to fly now.
Andrew: You’d need a private jet. Anything else going on, Micah?
Micah: No, that’s it.
Andrew: Oh.
Micah: We’re done.
Chapter-by-Chapter: “Back to the Burrow”
Andrew: All right. So, Chapter-by-Chapter this week, we’re looking at Goblet of Fire, Chapters 4 through 6 – the fourth book. And it starts with “Back to the Burrow”, Chapter 4. And again, these chapters are pleasant in that they’re nice and short. So we’re going to get through them pretty quick. The chapter opens with the Dursleys eagerly awaiting the arrival of the Weasleys. And of course, again there’s all this awkward tension. The Dursleys are nervous, Harry is nervous that something is going to go down. And Vernon, of course, is concerned about what they’ll be wearing and their mode of transportation because Vernon hates not seeing – hates these wizards showing up, but then also them standing out. He doesn’t want to make a scene to the neighbors. So the Weasleys don’t arrive normally. They arrive by Floo Powder but they get stuck in the fireplace because Mr. Dursley has it all boarded up; he’s using an electric fireplace for some reason. And after some awkward tension among the two families, Harry’s things are collected and they head back one-by-one to the Burrow. And the Weasley twins came, and it seems like the only reason they came to help pick up Harry was purely to get back at Dudley because Fred drops the candy. He spills some candy on the way back into the fireplace, and he knows that Dudley is going to pick it up. And so finally, only when Mr. Weasley and Harry are left, Mr. Dursley only says goodbye to Harry once Mr. Weasley urges him to do so. And all of sudden, Dudley begins throwing up out of control. Mr. Weasley tries to fix it, but Petunia blocks Dudley and Vernon starts throwing objects at Mr. Weasley, and Mr. Weasley insists that Harry leave. Harry peaces out and the common trend between wizards and the Dursleys seems that nothing ever goes as planned.
Mikey: Was he throwing up or did his tongue get engorged?
Jamie: His tongue got huge.
Andrew: I think it was a mix – yeah, his tongue got…
Mikey: I thought it was just that his tongue got huge. You said throwing up, and I was like “Wait a minute…”
Jamie: But I think he choked on his tongue, didn’t he? Perhaps he threw up also, though.
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: Yeah, he was choking on his tongue because of him and Aunt Petunia were…
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: …trying to pull the tongue out of his mouth because it was so big.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
[Jamie laughs]
Chapter-by-Chapter: “Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes”
Andrew: And this is – as we get into the next chapter, Chapter 5, “Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes” – this is the first time we see the Weasley twins’ new business developing. So, as soon as Harry arrives at the Burrow in Chapter Five, Fred asks if Dudley ate the Ton-Tongue Toffee. It turns out they just invented it this summer. I’m pretty sure this is the first time we see one of Fred and George’s products that they developed. Right?
Jamie: Aren’t there fireworks before? I swear they let off something. When do they test them? Is it in this book that they test them in the common room? Because I swear in this one it’s the big testing session where they serve – taking down notes and stuff. But I swear in the past they set off a firework or something or I could just be making that up.
Andrew: Well, maybe they did set off fireworks, but I think this is the first time that we see their own products.
Jamie: It’s got serious as well, yeah?
Andrew: Yeah…
Jamie: That’s probably true.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah. But going back to what you said, though, about them going to the Dursleys’ with the strict intention to get at Dudley, I think it’s because Fred and George kind of view Harry as a brother in a way. And they’re kind of being protective of him and they’ve heard all the stories about Dudley, so they’re just looking to have some fun with him.
Mikey: And they’ve also been there once before when they broke him out of his room.
Andrew: And the Weasley twins, they’re smart. That is a good test subject to try out their new product on. So why not?
[Mikey laughs]
Andrew: And that is sort of what they explain to Mr. Weasley when he’s yelling at them. And when they do get back to the Burrow, we’re introduced to Bill and Charlie for the first time, and at the same time, we’re seeing Mr. Weasley return and yell at Fred and George for doing that to Dudley. And then Ginny and Hermione enter the room, and in a bit of foreshadowing, Jo notes that Ginny has been a bit taken with Harry ever since they first met.
Jamie: Oh yeah, the foreshadowing. Her foreshadowing has improved a lot since those days when…
Andrew: You think so?
Jamie: I think so. I can’t give any examples. That’s just my instinct, though, because I remember then it’s like Ginny went red, stuff like that. Actually no, that’s a complete lie because in the first book when Peeves is talking in his sing-song voice and then Fluffy is still asleep and that saves them. Do you guys remember that?
Andrew: Mhm, yeah.
Jamie: Yeah, that was a brilliant piece of – I guess that’s not foreshadowing completely, but it’s kind of not explaining what’s happening.
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: In fact, if anyone can make sense of that, email me because I don’t know what I’ve just said.
[Jamie and Andrew laugh]
Jamie: I swear – I got confused. I got confused.
Andrew: Are you saying that – I mean, on one hand, you don’t really know that there’s even foreshadowing going on in the first few books because – unless you go back and read those again.
Jamie: Yeah, true. Yeah, that’s true.
Andrew: So in that regard, you don’t see it coming. But I – and I’ve said it a million times on the show – I love catching up on the foreshadowing now that we do re-read the books, now that we are re-reading them after all the books have come out. And I’d never guessed that Harry and Ginny were going to get together. I mean, the hints were clearly there.
Jamie: It’s a bit taboo, isn’t it. Sort of…
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: …your best friend’s sister. It’s not…
[Andrew, Jamie, and Micah laugh]
Jamie: It’s not common. It’s not common at all.
Andrew: Right. And then seeing all this setup before they actually do get together, you know, Ginny was a bit taken with him. That can happen. I’m sure there’s plenty of instances in the real world or in the wizarding world where little sister gets taken with older brother’s friend, but nothing ever comes of it. [laughs]
Jamie: Yeah, except in this one they get married and have children.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: Because he’s the Chosen One. [laughs]
Jamie: Yeah. But it is weird, though. Ron, seeing your best friend married to your – at my work, there used to be a guy there whose sister was married to the boss, our boss. Oh, it was weird!
Andrew: Right.
Jamie: He claimed it wasn’t weird, but I think it was weird.
Andrew: That would be like Ben marrying my sister.
Jamie: [laughs] Yeah.
Andrew: Because I know Ben’s a bit taken with my sister, but I know they’d never get married. Because Ben’s not the Chosen One.
Jamie: It would just be like that.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah.
Jamie: Can you imagine that? If you went round, seeing your sister when you were in Ben’s house.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: I mean, if Ben had a nice house, I guess I wouldn’t mind too much. But other than that…
Jamie: Oh, I think that would be weird. I think that would be very weird.
Andrew: Yeah, it would be weird.
Mikey: That would be really weird.
[Andrew and Micah laugh]
Andrew: So moving along, while Fred and George are getting yelled at, Harry is introduced to the new business, Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes. And like I said earlier, it becomes apparent that this is what Fred and George will be doing in their future because in this little area it’s noted that they don’t – they didn’t do well on their O.W.L.s and Fred and George have said all they want to do was open a joke shop. So this is one of the first times it is becoming established that this is what they want to do for a living. We’ve always known that they’re pranksters, but we didn’t really know that they wanted to open a joke shop. And good on them! They’re being entrepreneurs. It’s good to see in the wizarding world. You don’t see much of it.
Jamie: It’s good. It’s good and it’s also nice that Jo shows that you don’t only have to be academic, if you can call turning pigs into cats academic.
[Andrew and Jamie laugh]
Andrew: They’re being resourceful.
Jamie: Resourceful, yeah they are. They are. They can be successful and everyone has got talents. Blah-blah-blah and everyone can do well at something. It doesn’t have to be academia. It’s quite nice.
Mikey: Well, I also like that their mom, Mrs. Weasley, wants them to follow in their father’s footsteps and work at the Ministry, and they don’t at all. And it’s like, you know what? That’s what they want to do. They follow their passion and they’re…
Jamie: That’s true, yeah.
Mikey: …extremely successful in it. So I think that’s a nice little encouragement, you know. Follow what you’re passionate about. So, I like it.
Andrew: Harry then catches up with Ron and Hermione and we see Percy developing his interest in the wizard government, calling for – [laughs] this is actually really clever on Jo’s part. She came up with this idea where Percy would be really into calling for cauldron thickness regulations. And it’s just so clever. I don’t know how you would possibly sit there and think like, “Okay, what can Percy really be about? Oh, I know! Cauldron thickness!”
Jamie: It’s a nice boring thing, yeah. What sums up his boringness.
Mikey: Yeah…
Andrew: But Percy does give a good argument. He’s bringing up the point that some cauldrons are leaking in these grooves…
Mikey: They’ve been rising. You know cauldron leakages have risen three percent over the past year. That’s a huge, huge rise in cauldron leakage! No, I agree with you completely, that cauldron – honestly, cauldrons are not necessarily a wizard type thing. They’ve – it’s a big pot! And I think that is just purely like Jamie said, it sums up Percy’s boringness…
Jamie: [laughs] Yeah.
Mikey: …perfectly. [laughs] Is boringness a word? Who knows.
Andrew: And this again, this chapter is like, “Hey everyone, here’s the future of the Weasleys.” Ginny’s going to get married to Harry, Fred and George are going to open a joke shop, and Percy’s going to get involved in the government. [laughs] This is just one big – you know, here’s what we can expect of the Weasleys in the future. So at dinner Percy and Mr. Weasley are in a deep discussion about things at the Ministry. They talk more about cauldron thickness and Percy tries to get the trio to ask him about a big top secret event he’s been bragging about. And we really see Percy’s character shine through here. And I always hate this when people do this. They try to get you to ask them about something like, they’re so – they want you to ask. They want them to – they want to feel need, they want to feel important. And Percy’s doing that. He keeps dropping that he’s working on this big secret event, which is the Triwizard Tournament, and this is unbeknownst to the trio at the time, but they just can’t be bothered. They don’t really care.
Jamie: They think it’s rubbish. They think it’s probably to do with cauldron thickness. They don’t…
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I guess that’s quite clever really. Because Percy’s obviously boring and he can’t be organizing anything interesting. And it’s probably about cauldron thickness.
Andrew: And that leads us into Chapter Six, “The Portkey”. Take it away, Micah.
Mikey: Before we jump into that, isn’t that where we discuss the missing person, Bertha Jorkins?
Andrew: Yes. Yes they do. I’m sorry I didn’t…
Mikey: Yeah. That’s where they’re missing – they discuss her missing and how Barty Crouch wouldn’t not let that be. He was actually concerned about her. Right?
Andrew: Right. Yeah. You’re right.
Mikey: Sorry, I just something in my head – trying to look it up in the book right now…
Andrew: Why was he concerned for her?
Mikey: Apparently she had worked in his department cause she’s been shuffled around multiple times…
Andrew: But did he really care? That’s what I mean.
Mikey: You know what? I don’t think so because again we know that at this point in time, Barty Crouch Jr. has already been released from Azkaban. And I’m wondering if, he was wondering if something else was going on because again Barty Crouch knew that the Death Eaters could be on the rise because his son – he’s already snuck out his son from Azkaban. I think there’s a lot more that could be read into that, but it’s all me reaching at strings here.
Andrew: Of course it was Peter Pettigrew that she ran into. All right Micah, you lead us through Chapter 6: “The Portkey”.
MuggleCast 207 Transcript (continued)
Chapter-by-Chapter: “The Portkey”
Micah: All right, well the chapter opens up with all of them waking up to go to the Quidditch World Cup, and as Harry comes downstairs he sees Mr. Weasley wearing a golfing sweater and a very old pair of jeans. Slightly too big for him and held up with a thick leather belt. This is just J.K. Rowling again showing how interested Arthur Weasley is in Muggles and Muggle clothing in this case because he asks Harry, ‘Hey, do I look like a Muggle?’. And Harry kind of laughs and says ‘Yes, you do’. A bit of comedy here. Now Andrew you noted that in this particular scene Mrs. Weasley continues to be…
Jamie: Not very nice.
Micah: A not very nice woman. About the practical jokes Fred and George…
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: When I…
Micah: Why can’t she just lighten up a bit?
Andrew: Well, when I read this I was just thinking about you know, as a parent sometimes you should really be supportive of what your children’s interests are and maybe instead of telling them…
Jamie: What if they were interested in prostitution? [laughs]
Andrew: Well, okay, there’s a limit but if they’re interested – okay, I get it, you don’t want these pranks happening to Muggles like Dudley and what not. At least say, ‘Hey, you know, I’m all for you guys develop – getting into this – developing your interests in the prank business. [laughs] Which I know sounds kind of funny but just try to do it in a controlled environment’
Mikey: I think it does take – she’s a mom! She understands where they’re coming from but at the same time they’re her babies and they’re not doing what everyone else in the family are doing. They’re doing something completely different, they’re taking a risk and she’s worried for them. Think about it, everyone else – Charlie works with Dragons in Romania, Bill works for Gringotts, Percy is working for the Ministry. She wanted them to work for the Ministry like their father.
Jamie: I think…
Mikey: She sees all the potential in them.
Jamie: Also, they don’t have any money so what they’ve got, perhaps in her eyes are career based – as you said Bill and Charlie both have good jobs, Mr. Weasley is quite high up in the Ministry and I guess she just doesn’t want Fred and George to not amount to anything, I think in her eyes…
Mikey: And she probably wants them out of the house too, she doesn’t want them to be 24 and living at home either.
Jamie: I know yeah, true.
Mikey: So, come on, imagine going into a new field ‘The Joke Business’ which we only know of one other joke shop and that’s in Hogsmeade in the Wizarding World so maybe it’s not that lucrative of a business.
Andrew: Yeah, I guess.
Jamie: It’s probably hard to make your money in. Thinking about it from a commercial point of view, if every single piece of magic is to do with creating – I mean, what can be a trick when you can cast spells daily?
Andrew: Well they’ve got the…
Jamie: What can surprise you and make you – I guess this is good.
Andrew: …I thought the fun of Fred and George’s stuff was that it was edible.
Jamie: It’s new magic.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah, it is, exactly.
Jamie: Oh you mean that stuff? Yeah, yeah. I think it’s just new magic put into new toys. I guess it’s kind of like when Umbridge was casting spells and their fireworks just split and got bigger and got more powerful. I guess that’s the real change that they sort of – I bet everyone can create fireworks, magical fireworks.
Micah: No, well I think the other side of it though is the intelligence it took for them to be able to make some of these things…
Jamie: Yeah, that’s true.
Micah: …as you see later on in the books, so she should be supportive in that respect. I know she yells at him – or yells at them – again in this chapter for not getting higher grades on their O.W.L.s. because – I think it was George who said that they’d been, or sorry, Fred who said that they’d been spending six months developing the Ton-Tongue Toffees. So, then she says “Well, oh, that’s what you were doing instead of studying for your O.W.L.s.” So they do have a bit of intelligence about them when it comes to developing these sorts of things.
Mikey: But you’ve got to understand, coming from Mrs. Weasley’s point of view, she can’t brag about her kids creating Ton-Tongue Taffy, or toffee. She can’t put it like, “Oh, together they got twenty O.W.L.s.” She can’t brag about that to her friends, think about it. She’s a mom, guys!
Micah: But… [laughs]
Mikey: She’s not…
Andrew: She can brag about it now though! They have a very – well, George – has a very profitable business.
Jamie: It wasn’t at that time though, was it?
Mikey: …but at that time she was trying to…
Jamie: It was experimental.
Mikey: …yeah! She was trying to get on her kids to make something of them. We see her change as they get older and they actually have their own shop. She’s worried about them because Voldemort is around, but she is proud of her sons! So yeah, she does take to change, but right now she just wants her kids to do the best they can.
Andrew: All right.
Mikey: Lay off her. Come on. It’s Mrs. Weasley.
Andrew: I don’t…
Mikey: She takes on Bellatrix.
Andrew: For the record if I ever have children, I will encourage them within reason…
Micah: To be practical jokesters.
Andrew: No. But Jamie’s right. If they’re in to prostitution I will of course discourage that, but if they have a…
Jamie: You’re a good man.
[Andrew laughs]
Mikey: You’re a good father there, Andrew.
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: You’ll be a very good father. Say no, don’t do prostitution.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Took a while for me to come to terms with that. I will not let my children do prostitution. Anyway. [laughs] Go ahead, Micah. It is funny analyzing their business.
Micah: So Mrs. Weasley uses Accio and collects all of the – the little Ton-Tongue Toffees they have around the house. It’s kind of interesting to see like – imagine standing there and seeing all these different wrappers…
Jamie: Sweets. Sorry candy.
Micah: …fly. [laughs] Yeah to Mrs. Weasley. I’m wondering why she didn’t do that beforehand. I think this was kind of the final straw where she said okay now I’m collecting everything. Because literally every little place that they’ve hidden over the course of I guess the last couple months is sort of found. We do learn about Apparition in this chapter I think for the first time. Harry talks to Mr. Weasley pretty extensively about what it is. We also learn that setting up the Quidditch World Cup is this massive production with all these wizards going to one area. and I thought it was interesting that the people with the cheaper tickets have to arrive two weeks early.
[Andrew laughs]
Micah: It’s kind of a little bit of a dig at people who aren’t as well off and it’s kind of interesting that the Weasleys are the ones with the better seats.
Andrew: Well, because they got them from the friend at the Ministry. I don’t think they paid for the tickets.
Micah: Right, but normally…
Andrew: They would…
Micah: …you would think they would have to be the ones would arrive two weeks early.
Andrew: …well, it makes sense to me because you can’t have all these wizards congregating towards one place at the same time, so they do have to stagger the…
Mikey: Arrival.
Andrew: …yeah, and I think that makes sense.
Mikey: Think of any sporting event.
Andrew: Is two weeks extreme? Maybe. Huh?
Mikey: Well, think of any sporting event though. There’s traffic going in, there’s traffic coming out, and it’s a pain. Most people say, “Okay, we’ll leave during the last inning of the baseball game,” so they can beat traffic.
Micah: Right.
Mikey: Or you just wait until it’s completely done and you get yourself a drink, and eat an extra hotdog after the game’s over and wait until it’s completely dissipated because it’s just so ridiculous trying to get in and out of that traffic. Even Andrew, you’ll know, at Disneyland, if you leave when the park is closing, how crazy is that traffic trying to get out of there?
Andrew: Right, or after the fireworks.
Mikey: Exactly!
Andrew: Nuts.
Mikey: It’s just nuts, and you’ve got to remember this is worldwide. If you remember reading in the chapter, they’re talking about how these are wizards from all over the world coming in and that’s why it’s such a big production! I can definitely see it taking two weeks, at least, of staggering people arriving, and it’s just going to be constant. If you remember looking at the movie when they actually arrive there, you can see how it’s just this endless array of tents and stuff like that camping.
Micah: Right, so we also learn that some of these wizards are taking Muggle transport, some are Apparating, and some are taking Portkeys, so it’s another introduction there to a form of magical transportation. Andrew, you pointed out that we do learn a lot about that in this particular chapter, so what is everyone’s favorite mode of transportation in the wizarding world?
Andrew: I think I like Apparition the best.
Jamie: Me too, me too.
Andrew: Because one, it’s dangerous, which is kind of cool. You can lose half your body as we learn in this chapter.
Mikey: Splinching.
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: Also, it’s obviously the most efficient. You can get there nice and quick, and you can go wherever you want, except for some places.
Jamie: It makes everything else just seem pretty pointless to be honest.
Mikey: Yeah. No, I agree.
Jamie: If you have to carry around a jar of dirt to throw into a fire, or you could just turn on the spot and appear somewhere else, it’s not exactly a tough choice, and these Floo fireplaces you have to add to the network so there is a lot of admin stuff to get out of the way. You have to call up and get it added, or you could turn on the spot, and appear somewhere else, anywhere in the world.
Andrew: The downside about Apparition is that you do have to take a test.
Jamie: If you’ve had a few glasses of wine as well, then you mess that up then.
Andrew: [laughs] Yeah. It’s just like no drunk driving. No Apparition…
Jamie: No drunk Apparition. [laughs]
Andrew: …yeah.
Micah: And again, this is J.K. Rowling introducing something earlier on in the book that plays a huge role later on, especially with the Portkey, and we all know what happens in the graveyard scene. They do continue…
Andrew: [in a British accent] Portkey.
Micah: …what’s that?
Andrew: [again in a British accent] Portkey.
[Jamie laughs]
Micah: Was that a good accent, Jamie?
Jamie: No, it was terrible. It was absolutely terrible.
Andrew: Aw!
Mikey: Aw.
Jamie: Andrew, Andrew, try again without trying to rib me. Try and do it so it’s…
Andrew: I wasn’t trying to rib you! I feel like I’ve heard that in the movies said like that, “Portkey,” I don’t know.
Jamie: …but just say it…
Andrew: [in a British accent] Portkey, Portkey.
Jamie: Yeah, yeah, there you go. Yeah, that’s better. Yeah, Portkey.
Andrew: [in a British accent] Portkey, Portkey, Portkey, Portkey, Por-kay?
Mikey: Yeah, it’s porky. I think that’s probably one of my favorite ways of transportation because just imagine, it’s anything. I would make the doorknob to my house a Portkey so every time someone touches it…
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: That’s a nice security system too!
Mikey: …it’d be funny.
Micah: Oh.
Mikey: Yeah, that would be a great one. How simple would it be to make the doorknob to your house a Portkey and it transports you to the living room?
Andrew: Yeah. [laughs]
Mikey: You just travel five feet, but it’d be hilarious, because every time they’d grab it, they’d just spin around and come out. It’d be amazing!
Andrew: I would do that – I would have a Portkey at my desk to bring me to the bathroom so I wouldn’t even have to get up. I’m just sitting at my computer chair one moment, and then I touch my mixer Portkey and then it just takes me to the toilet.
Jamie: Oh, that would be cool, that would be so cool! Yeah…
[Mikey laughs]
Jamie: …if you had a keyboard just with buttons on them, and each one was a…
Andrew: Right.
Jamie: …Portkey that said…
Mikey: It was a different Portkey and you just type in where you want to go.
Jamie: You just type in where you want to go, yeah.
[Andrew laughs]
Mikey: You’re like, “Bathroom. Living room. Bed. Food.”
Jamie: Anything, or countries as well if you had a globe.
Micah: And the bathroom constantly plays “The Downeaster Alexa.”
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: Oh, yeah! Yeah! Oh, I’d love that. That would be incredible.
Micah: So they all head out, and it’s actually a pretty long trip from the sound of it – an uphill trip too, Harry says he’s winded at one point – and they finally get up to where the Portkey is but just before that they run into the Diggorys. And I thought it was interesting how Amos Diggory was talking about his son because he talks about everything that‘s going to happen in the future. For example, he says “I’ll be glad when he’s got his Apparition test,” and then he says “Ced, that’ll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will. You beat Harry Potter!” And we all know that he ends up getting killed at the end of the chapter.
Andrew: Right, right. [laughs]
Micah: I mean the end of the book.
Andrew: Yeah and oh man, this felt so awkward when you’re reading this because he’s like, “Well Cedric, you’re the one who didn’t fall off your broom and Harry did so you’re clearly the better player.” It was so awkward, it was just so awkward, I felt awkward.
Mikey: Yeah, well I think it felt awkward too for Cedric if you read – I’m trying to find where it is in the book –
Jamie: Yeah, he hated it.
Mikey: …but it’s because he hated the praise from his father because Harry fell off because he was attacked by Dementors and stuff like that.
Andrew: Right.
Mikey: It’s not like Harry fell off his broom because he didn’t know how to fly, so it wasn’t necessarily “the best man won,” but I definitely see where it’s like Amos has all this future hope for his son and it’s all taken away from him. I think, yeah – it’s kind of showing you the emotional connection between Amos and his son, how he has all these aspirations for his son and then it’s taken away from him at the end.
Micah: Yeah, exactly. Well, you’re right, because he won’t pass his Apparition test and he won’t have grandchildren, unless there’s something Cho Chang isn’t revealing…
[Mikey laughs]
Micah: …later on in the series.
Mikey: Is there a scandal?
Micah: [laughs] So, just the last thing I wanted to mention about this chapter before they go ahead and take the Portkeys – we get the first mention of the Lovegoods, and the fact that they live so close, or in the same general area as the Weasleys, and we know that obviously comes into play…
Andrew: Right.
Micah: …in Deathly Hallows.
Andrew: Oh, wow. Very nice.
Micah: So. And Luna as a character – is she introduced in this book at all, or is not until Order of the Phoenix that they…
Andrew: I don’t think until Order of the Phoenix.
Mikey: Yeah, I think Order of the Phoenix is the first time we see her.
Andrew: Maybe a small reference, but of course, she comes into play…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …big time in Order of the Phoenix.
Micah: Because Jo has that way of introducing characters very quickly and you pay them no attention, and then later on in the series…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …they become important. Because she did that with Cho Chang…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …and she did it with Cedric Diggory.
Andrew: All right.
Micah: So they are now at the Quidditch World Cup, and…
Andrew: That’s where we’ll continue next time.
Micah: …that’s where we’ll start next time.
Listener Tweet: Harry at Peace
Andrew: We have a couple tweets to round out the chapter. These were sent via our MuggleCast Twitter, which is Twitter.com/MuggleCast if you want to follow us and stay up to date on everything MuggleCast. This first one comes from beccithenerd:
“In Chapter 5, it’s nice to see Harry at peace for once. He’s relaxed and enjoying the Weasley dynamics. Humor before the dark.”
It’s one of the last books we see Harry really be chill. [laughs]
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: And…
Jamie: That is true.
Mikey: Well, it’s also before Voldemort is back – comes back to life, so.
Andrew: Yeah, so things get really dark then. But Jo even mentions in this, “for once he wasn’t thinking about Voldemort,” or something like that.
Mikey: Yeah.
Listener Tweet: Accio What?
Andrew: This next tweet’s from andreaenero.
“Chapter 6, Mrs. Weasley Accios Fred and George. How did the spell know what she was summoning if she didn’t say, ‘Accio toffees?'”
You know, I was thinking this too…
Jamie: Maybe she…
Andrew: Hm?
Jamie: …Well I was going to say, perhaps she said the half of it in her head – silent spells, which would be stupid if she said, “Accio” and then the other half in her head, which wouldn’t make sense. Or perhaps, if you want something enough, you can just say the first part of it. Or perhaps Jo just made a mistake.
Mikey: Well, I think Accio would be a perfect spell for being part silent, because if you know if you want something, you don’t have to say what you want, and you know what you want already, and I think – you know – if you remember reading how to do silent spells in, what was it, Half-Blood Prince? that it’s one of those things where you have to have that idea in there. She wants the toffees; she might not know exactly what to call them, and that’s why they kind of just flew towards her. She just wanted what Fred and George made.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: Yeah. It’s her house, too, she probably has control over whatever’s inside it.
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: Yeah. She’s a pretty powerful witch.
Listener Tweet: How to Deflate a Tongue
Andrew: Next Tweet’s from Brady_Stonica:
“After what happens with Dudley eating one of Fred and George’s candies, how did they fix his tongue? Is there a tongue deflating spell?”
I mean…
Jamie: Perhaps you…
Andrew: Mr. Weasley knew exactly how to fix it…
Mikey: He said it was just an Engorgement Charm.
Andrew: so he would’ve been like, “Reducto!”
Mikey: That’s exactly it.
Andrew: Man, I’m good.
Mikey: You’re smart there, Andrew.
Andrew: And finally from jeremytwilliam:
“In response to something about last Chapter-by-Chapter: Nagini wasn’t a Horcrux yet. He became one after Voldemort killed Frank Bryce.”
So we were watching it being created there…
Micah: Oh, okay. Yeah, because I think last week what we said was that Voldemort was getting power from one of his Horcruxes by milking Nagini, but I guess Nagini wasn’t yet a Horcrux. So, sorry about that.
Muggle Mail: Matt Can See the Future
Andrew: Micah, time now for Muggle Mail. Can you read that first one from Nicole?
Micah: Yes, the first Muggle Mail comes from Nicole, 16, of Rochester, New York. Subject: “If Matt were a betting man.” Not Andrew.
“Hi, MuggleCasters. First and foremost, I wanted to say that you guys are totally awesome. To the main point, I was listening to an old episode, Episode 140, at the gym, and literally squealed during Chapter-by-Chapter, making everyone near me look at me oddly, then change machines like I was the one smelly guy that nobody wants to be around. You guys were analyzing Chapter 24…”
I’m guessing of Deathly Hallows.
“And Matt brought up the idea of the movies being split right after Voldemort gets the Elder Wand. You all shot him down quickly, though, and moved on. I thought it was amazing. Maybe Matt can see the future. Thanks for reading, Nicole.”
Andrew: We had been wondering if anyone had predicted this spot for the split, and it looks like Matt was one of the people who caught it.
Mikey: Good job, Matt.
Andrew: I don’t know, does he win something? I mean, it’s not that hard to do, gosh. No, I’m kidding. Very impressive.
Mikey: I could’ve done it. I just didn’t, so I let Matt do that one.
Andrew: And here now is the clip. Again, this is from Episode 140. It’s when we are doing our Chapter-by-Chapter segment on Chapters 24 and 25 of Deathly Hallows. So let’s flash back now. [makes time traveling sound]
[Andrew plays clip from Episode 140, click here for the transcript].
Andrew: [makes time traveling sound] I’m so excited about this split spot now. If they change it I’ll be disappointed because this is just too good now – it just seems too good and everyone liked it at the test screening, it seems like. Jamie, could you read the next email?
Jamie: Uh…
Andrew: From Alexandra?
Jamie: …Yes.
Micah: From the Alexa.
[Jamie laughs]
Jamie: The Downeaster Alexandra.
[Micah laughs]
Muggle Mail: There are Three
Jamie: This comes from Alexandra, 16, from Sydney, Australia, and she says:
“Hi, at the beginning of the Episode 205, you discussed the trailer where Ollivander says, ‘It is rumored there are three,’ and a thought occurred to me. In the book, Chapter 24, Harry asks him if he knows of an unbeatable Wand. Ollivander says, ‘It is rumored that there are three, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny, and the Elder Wand, but I believe only the Elder Wand exists,’ or something to that effect. Then Harry asks if he knows anything about the Deathly Hallows and Ollivander replies, ‘No.’ Perhaps Ollivander was in fact answering the question about the Unbeatable Wand, but in order to set the story in the trailer they did it the way they did. Just a thought, I hope it helps.”
Andrew: I think that’s a good idea. And the way they cut up these trailers sometimes is just so odd.
Jamie: A lot of the time trailers make no sense.
Andrew: Yeah exactly. Exactly, they just mix a bunch of audio bites together so it makes sense for the trailer.
Jamie: Yeah, exactly, yeah.
Micah: Right. Then – according to Eric though too, there is no conversation between Harry and Ollivander in Part I, so it will probably happen at the start of Part II.
Andrew: Oh, hm, all right. That’s interesting. We’d thought that would be Part I, I had thought it would be Part I. Because now the big question is, how do they set up the Elder Wand explanation?
Micah: Well, Voldemort is going around – I mean, he kills Gregorovitch. So he’s in pursuit of the Elder Wand, so – I’m not sure, maybe they explain it more through Voldemort than through Harry…
Andrew: Yeah.
Micah: …if that makes sense.
Andrew: I guess so.
Mikey: Well, I think also the story that Hermione tells of the three brothers, that would also explain the wand too.
Micah: And doesn’t he kill Grindelwald in this as well?
Andrew: In what?
Micah: In Part I. Well, he definitely kills Gregorovitch. We know that, right? Because he breaks into the prison.
Jamie: He breaks into the prison to kill him, yeah. But – oh no, wait, no. That would have to – he breaks into the prison, and while he’s breaking into the prison they’re torturing Hermione. Because at that point, they go to press the Dark Mark. And then he’s – then it’s like, “Oh, his terror was unimaginable, and if they’ve summoned him for no reason apart from Harry Potter then they’d all be dead.” So that was at the Malfoy Manor when he was killing Grindelwald, so was that…
Andrew: He was…
Jamie: Is that before the split?
Andrew: He was murdered by Voldemort in Chapter 23 of the book. So then yes, that would be before the split.
Jamie: All right, cool.
Andrew: That’s what I just read on the Lexicon.
Micah: So yeah, that’s what I’m thinking, that they’re going to be telling this more through Voldemort’s side, because of – he’s going about killing all these people in pursuit of the Elder Wand, and then he finally gets it at the end of Part I.
Muggle Mail: Brendan Fraser to Appear in Deathly Hallows?
Andrew: Okay, next email. Mikey, could you read that one?
Mikey: Yes. So the next email is from Christian, 18, Wisconsin. “Ronald Weasley and the Tidal Wave of Doom.”
“Hey, guys. Just listened to the latest episode about the EW article on DH. I thought there was a lot of good discussion on the split, but I was actually more interested in something else the article said. Ron and Hermione have recently destroyed another Horcrux in water, and were pursued by Voldemort-shaped tsunami. WTF? Did they cut out the Chamber of Secrets? How could water destroy a Horcrux? Will Brendan Fraser be there? What do you guys think?”
[Andrew laughs]
Mikey: [laughs] I’m excited to see a tidal wave shaped in the face of Voldemort. [laughs] I really am.
Andrew: Well, some people are thinking that happens in the Chamber of Secrets. The Voldemort-shaped tsunami. And, I – yeah, I could picture that being kind of laughable [laughs] because – I don’t know. That has the potential to be very cheesy. But I guess my thinking is they wanted to have it shaped like [laughs] Voldemort so you get a better visual representation of who is causing the tsunami.
Jamie: I’m lost. I’m lost.
Micah: So…
Jamie: Where is this happening?
Micah: What is this? This…
Andrew: I think it occurs…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …in the Chamber of Secrets. When Ron and Hermione go down there.
Jamie: I’ve – but…
Micah: That is the cup, right? That they destroy…
Jamie: No…
Micah: …down there?
Jamie: …it is the diary.
Micah: With the Basilisk fang?
Jamie: The diary. No, wait, what are you guys talking about?
Andrew: The diary is already…
Jamie: Oh. Sorry, sorry. I’m lost. You’re talking about Book 7.
Andrew: Yeah, yeah.
Jamie: I thought you were talking about Chamber of Secrets.
Andrew: Oh, no.
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: No.
Jamie: Yeah.
Andrew: They go into the Chamber of Secrets in Book 7. And I think we do see it in the film because there was a brief shot of them in what I think is the Chamber of Secrets in an ABC Family preview. So, some are speculating that the tidal wave happens in the Chamber of Secrets.
Jamie: What is a Voldemort-shaped tsunami? Surely a tsunami is shaped like a tsunami. I don’t know how you could get a Voldemort-shaped one. That’s going…
Mikey: All right…
Jamie: …to be weird.
Mikey: …it is Voldemort’s head as…
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: …water.
[Andrew laughs]
Mikey: It’s a big wave…
Andrew: And it’s just…
Mikey: …and it is…
Andrew: …like, “Ahhh!”
Mikey: …Voldemort’s head.
Jamie: Okay, that’s weird.
Andrew: [laughs] That’s weird.
Mikey: Yeah, it’s just like that. Maybe he will have his arms flailing above his head or something too.
Jamie: And there will be a guy surfing him as well. [laughs]
[Everyone laughs]
Mikey: It automatically goes into surf.
Jamie: Yeah.
Mikey: And it’s, like, “Brrr…”
Jamie: Yeah.
Mikey: “Wipeout!”
Andrew: “Wipeout! Ron and…”
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: “…Hermione!”
Mikey: Exactly.
Andrew: That would be so cool.
Jamie: That would be funny.
Mikey: [laughs] Just totally break from the movie…
[Andrew laughs]
Mikey: …into something else.
Muggle Mail: Wizarding World Theme Park on Halloween
Andrew: All right. And let’s see, we have one more e-mail here today from Karen, 54, of Churubusco, Indiana:
“Love the show and enjoy listening with my grandchildren. As you well know, Harry crosses all generations. We are planning on going to Universal Harry Potter world for Halloween this year, taking three grandkids with us. Any suggestions or advice? Thanks. Keep up the good work.”
Well, I’m sorry, Mikey and Jamie, but you guys cannot answer this question because…
Jamie: Oh yeah.
Andrew: …you have not been…
Jamie: No, no. I don’t have any advice on this. I…
Mikey: I need to go soon. Maybe during the winter.
Andrew: I would say – there is good news: you can easily knock out the Harry Potter park in a day. If you get there in the morning, you can knock it out in a day. Even if you get the ‘After 2:00 PM Pass’, which I recommended earlier in the show, you can knock out the whole – I mean, there is a lot to do. But at the same time, you can do all of it in a span of seven or eight hours if the crowds are reasonable. I don’t know what it is like down there in Halloween but you could – I…
Micah: It should be cool. I’m guessing they are going to do something special down there for Halloween.
Andrew: Yeah, I hope so.
Micah: What do you think?
Andrew: I – yeah, maybe add some pumpkins, add some more pumpkins. [laughs]
Mikey: [laughs] Maybe add some more pumpkins, make it Halloween-like…
[Micah laughs]
Andrew: Yeah.
Mikey: …or something. [laughs]
Andrew: But I would say if you are…
Mikey: If it is spooky…
Andrew: …going to go there multiple days, just – you don’t have to rush as much as you think you will, unless it is very crowded. Otherwise I think you can knock – if you get to the park – Universal park in the morning, you can knock out the entire Universal…
Micah: Yeah.
Andrew: …park in one day.
Micah: Well – and it also – it depends I think how old these grandkids are because they are probably not going to get on the Dragon Challenge ride. They are probably – that cuts down at least one ride that you’re going to be going on. But to me, the thing that always had the longest line was Ollivander’s.
Andrew: Yes, yes. That does take a while. I haven’t done that yet. That is where…
Micah: [laughs] Neither…
Andrew: …you…
Micah: …have I.
Andrew: Where the wand chooses you. But you go in a group of ten and they only pick one person out of the group of ten to have the wand-choosing experience. And I think that they usually – they pick little kids because little kids would be, like, “Oh, Mommy, come on. Buy this wand for me, please.” So…
Mikey: Except you would have bought a wand, Andrew.
Andrew: I – maybe. I don’t know. I’m not a…
Jamie: Did you? Did you buy one?
Andrew: No, I didn’t. No. I’m not a big wand guy. I don’t know.
Jamie: How much were they?
Andrew: They were pretty expensive. I want to say forty-five or fifty.
Jamie: Whoa! That is quite a lot.
Andrew: Because they are legit. I mean, they are well-made. It’s just that they are expensive. [laughs] So…
Mikey: Wow.
Show Close
Andrew: So there are a couple of tips, Karen. You’ll have a great time and like I said, if the crowds aren’t going to be too bad, you don’t have to rush. ‘After 2:00 PM Pass’ is a nice thing, especially if you’ve already done the park once or twice. Get the ‘After 2:00 PM Pass’ for basically half-price and the crowds will be relatively light. So, that does it for another MuggleCast. We just want to remind you all…
[Show music begins]
Andrew: …first about the website. MuggleCast.com has all the information you need about the show. You can subscribe and review us on iTunes. You can also follow us on Twitter and like us on Facebook, all from MuggleCast.com. All – and…
Mikey: Wow.
Andrew: …also there on the site, we have a video of our trailer analysis. You can listen to the trailer analysis as you watch the particular scenes that we are talking about. So, do enjoy that. It’s right there on the homepage. You can also find a contact link on the site where you can write to any one of us, or just use our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. Thanks everyone for listening! We hope you enjoyed the show.
Jamie: Thanks!
Andrew: And…
Mikey: Bye!
Andrew: Wait…
Micah: We ain’t…
Andrew: …don’t say…
Micah: …over the show!
Andrew: …bye yet! We have to…
Mikey: Wait, no?
Andrew: We have to…
Mikey: What?
Andrew: …remind everyone what our names are. I’m Andrew Sims.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Jamie: I’m Jamie Lawrence.
Mikey: And I’m Mikey B.
Andrew: We’ll see everyone next time for Episode 208. Buh-bye!
Jamie: Bye!
Micah: Bye!
Mikey: Bye!
[Show music continues]
Blooper: Jamie Loves Google Docs
Andrew: Well, I think W.B. hires them and – I don’t know. Anyway…
Jamie: I just have to interrupt quickly because I’m on the Google document, and I haven’t yet seen that thing that flicks back and forth with the name of the person…
Andrew: Oh yeah.
Jamie: …and where they are.
Andrew: You can see who is typing. [laughs]
Jamie: [laughs] Awww. It’s amazing! That is actually amazing. Awww, I haven’t been impressed with a computer feature for quite a while, and that is…
[Micah laughs]
Jamie: That is quite impressive.
Mikey: It’s all right. You haven’t seen the new iPhone either, Jamie. So…
Jamie: No, I have. I have. Oh right, you mean the one after the 4?
Mikey: Yeah.
Jamie: You get – awww…
[Mikey laughs]
Jamie: …no way. What’s it called, Mikey? Tell me what it’s called.
Mikey: The iPhone 5.
Andrew: He doesn’t…
[Jamie laughs]
Andrew: …have it, come on.
[Mikey laughs]
Andrew: Come on, Micah. Go.
Jamie: Yeah, but I could have said that, Mikey. That – I could have…
[Andrew and Mikey laugh]
Jamie: …said, “The iPhone 5.” What’s its codename?
Mikey: I don’t know. I’m making it up…
[Jamie laughs]
Mikey: …as we go.
Blooper: The Latest Movies
Jamie: Have you guys seen The Last Airbender yet?
Andrew: No, but I’ve heard it is crap.
Jamie: [laughs] It is terrible. It is so bad.
[Mikey laughs]
Jamie: It is unbelievably terrible. Oh, it’s one of the worst films. The only funny thing was when [laughs] one person says – [laughs] I think it was, “Since you were…” – no, no. “Since you’ve been born, we’ve known that you are a bender,” [laughs] or something like that. It’s really funny. What was I going to say? Oh yeah, it’s terrible. But Inception, Inception…
Andrew: [laughs] I haven’t seen that no.
Jamie: You haven’t…
Mikey: I haven’t…
Jamie: …seen…
Mikey: …seen it either.
Jamie: Awww.
Mikey: I haven’t even had a chance to get around…
Jamie: Awww.
Mikey: …to it, sorry.
Jamie: What’s wrong with you guys?
Mikey: I did see – I saw Scott Pilgrim. Sorry, that’s all…
Jamie: Oh.
Mikey: …I did…
Jamie: Oh.
Mikey: …see.
Jamie: Is it actually good, Scott Pilgrim? Or…
Mikey: Scott Pilgrim is amazing, although it did horrible at the box office.
Jamie: Why did it do so bad? I thought everyone…
Mikey: It – well, it opened up against Love, Eat, Pray, the Julia Roberts movie.
Jamie: Oh, yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Mikey: And it also opened up against The Expendables with…
Jamie: Oh, yeah. I’m going…
Mikey: …Stallone…
Jamie: …to see it this week.
Mikey: …and everyone else. So it – Scott Pilgrim did not do very well on that sense. But honestly, people at my work and stuff, they have seen it five, six times. I’ve seen it twice. It is, like – do I go see Inception or see Scott Pilgrim again?
Jamie: Awww…
Mikey: I’m going to go…
Jamie: …no…
Mikey: …see Scott Pilgrim again.
Jamie: No, Mikey. See…
Mikey: It’s…
Jamie: …Inception.
Mikey: Dude, when…
Andrew: All right.
Mikey: …you have…
Andrew: All right.
Mikey: …seen it…
Andrew: Great.
Mikey: It’s…
Andrew: Great.
Mikey: It’s amazing.
Andrew: I’m sure the movie…
Mikey: Anyway…
Andrew: …is amazing.
Mikey: …back on to…
[Micah laughs]
Mikey: …the news, Micah. Micah, back to the news!
Blooper: Outro Fail
Andrew: We have to remind everyone what our names are. I’m Andrew Sims.
Micah: Oh yeah.
Jamie: Oh sorry, sorry. Your voices keep going. It just keeps cutting out. So, what’s happening? Are…
Andrew: Just say your name.
Jamie: …we saying bye?
Andrew: Yeah.
Jamie: All right. Jamie Lawrence.
Micah: [laughs] I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Mikey: [laughs] And I’m Mikey B.
Jamie: Oh right. Oh sorry. That sounds stupid. I did an intro one.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: I mean…
[Micah laughs]
Jamie: I mean…
Andrew: Say it again.
Jamie: I’m – all right. I’m Jamie Lawrence. No, no. That is still bad.
[Andrew laughs]
Jamie: No, it ain’t…
[Mikey laughs]
Jamie: Micah, just do it. Yeah, you do it first and I’ll follow your lead.
Andrew: Okay.
Micah: Okay.
Jamie: Start again. Start again.
Andrew: I’m Andrew…
Micah: Okay.
Andrew: …Sims.
Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.
Jamie: I’m Jamie Lawrence.
Mikey: And I’m Mikey B.
Jamie: Yeah, there you go.