Transcript #149

MuggleCast 149 Transcript


Show Intro


[Intro music begins]

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[Harry Potter theme plays]

Jim Dale: [as Professor McGonagall] This is Professor McGonagall welcoming you all to MuggleCast hoping you all enjoyed – Dobby! Dobby, come here! Here! Dobby! [as Dobby] Yes, I’d just like to say how very pleased I am to introduce MuggleCast to all of you! Thank you! Thank you!

[Show music begins]

Micah: Because the Democrats have a presidential nominee before we have a teaser trailer, this is MuggleCast Episode 149 for June 15th, 2008.

[Show music continues]

Andrew: All right, we managed to keep Micah off the west side of Manhattan this week. Micah, thanks for joining us.

Micah: No problem, Andrew.

Andrew: I mean, you know, we enjoyed playing Spy on Tannenbaum but there is nothing like having you back in the studio.

Micah: Yeah, I like how you’re being so kind to me after last week you guys had a few good laughs on my behalf.

Andrew: No we didn’t!

Matt: I was laughing.

Laura: What are you talking about?

Micah: Oh, well..maybe I just misheard. When I was listening to the show.

Laura: Why would we make fun of you, Micah?

Micah: Oh, I don’t know.

Laura: You’re our friend. We would never do anything like that.

Micah: Never.

Andrew: Well, we got a reply from Janet, who was downing Micah. Isn’t that right?

Laura and Micah: Yeah.

Micah: She apologized. She says that she’s written into the show so many times that she was kind of feeling a little bad that out of all the e-mails that she sent in, that this was the one that made it on air. So – but, you know, everyone’s entitled to their opinion. Right? If that’s how she really felt then that’s fine. I can take it.

Andrew: Sure. Yeah, you’re a big guy. Well, you can redeem yourself this week because we have a lot to discuss as always. Can you promise the audience that you’ll be completely, 100% into it?

Micah: Oh, yeah. Absolutely.

Andrew: So if I bring up a new Half-Blood Prince picture, will you…

Micah: Andrew, we need to take small steps, Andrew, small steps.

Andrew: All right, I’m Andrew Sims.

Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.

Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.

Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.

[Music continues]


News: Harry Potter Prequel


Andrew: Okay, well, we’re recording early this week but there is one big news story this week. Isn’t that right, Micah? Do you want to take over the news again?

Micah: I will, yeah. I heard you took care of things last week. How’d that go?

Andrew: Mhm. I love being…

Matt: Not so good.

[Laura and Micah laugh]

Andrew: No, that’s not true. I loved being a news anchor. It was very fun.

Micah: Thanks, Matt, for being honest. Anyway…

Matt: Sure, yeah, I knew what he was going to say.

Micah: But the whole Harry Potter prequel that J.K. Rowling was writing for charity was auctioned off, and it sold for close to 25,000 pounds, which is almost 49,000 U.S. dollars, and it was – the winning bidder was Hira Digpal, who is president of a Tokyo based investment consulting company. And the auction overall raised around 47,000 pounds, and what’s interesting about what Hira wants to do, and I hope I’m pronouncing his name right, but he actually wants to auction this off again and raise more money for charity, which I thought was kind of interesting.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Hmm.

Andrew: Yeah, it is. It’s an interesting idea. I was surprised by how much it sold for. I was expecting it to go for higher when you’re comparing J.K. Rowling’s Tales of Beedle the Bard, which went for almost two million.

Matt: Yeah, but…

Andrew: That was…

Matt: I mean – this is a little bit different. This is a very small version of, you know, her works.

Micah: 800 words.

Matt: It’s like what, a page? Yeah, so it’s like two pages long.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: And this one’s open to the public to read, too. I mean – we – we ourselves even read it.

Andrew: Yeah. This isn’t as – yeah. I just think that anything by J.K. Rowling, no matter what the size, would go for a lot of money.

Laura: Mmm…

Andrew: I don’t know. I mean – that is a lot of money, and that’s great that it went to charity. Laura, what do you think?

Laura: I kind of have to agree with Matt just because there was a certain rarity attached to Beetle the Bard, whereas with this, anyone can read it, so I would think – I mean as bad as it sounds, people aren’t going to be as inclined to bid on something that they’re going to be able to read for free.

Matt: Mhm.

Andrew: But I just wonder. I mean, you know, it’s a big difference: 50,000 dollars versus two – almost two million dollars. Maybe I’m just…

Matt: Well, it’s a big difference between this – this…

Andrew: Yeah, I know.

Matt: …thing that she wrote and Beedle the Bard.

Andrew: I know.

Matt: And Beedle the Bard had so many stories. I mean – it was full of her illustrations, and it’s a little different.

Andrew: Well…

Micah: The other thing was, didn’t Hira mention that he wanted to be woken up in Tokyo if his limit was surpassed? And I don’t know if we learned what his limit was, but, you know, it – it’s just kind of interesting to see the – it didn’t possibly go for as much as it could have.

Andrew: Right. Yeah, that’s true. And I was thinking, you know, 50,000? Hell, I mean, we could have won that thing. [laughs]

Laura: Yeah.

[Matt laughs]

Micah: Well, actually it says in Bloomberg News that he had a closed bid of 50,000 pounds before having his offer. So he was willing to pay up to 50,000 pounds…

Andrew: Oh, wow.

Micah: …which is less than the auction overall earned. So, he got a bargain.

Andrew: There wasn’t even much of a bidding war.

Micah: So let’s talk about the actual story, I guess, shall we?

Andrew: Laura, you read it most recently so it’s most fresh in your head. What did you think of this story?

Laura: I thought it was a cute, kind of quaint story. The way I’ve always felt about the Marauders, was that even though the presence of Voldemort was extremely huge in their lives, like it was in Harry’s, it always seems like what we learned about them was so much more light-hearted than a lot of Harry’s stories.

Andrew: Yeah.

Laura: So this was just a nice little story about James and Sirius getting – well, attempted – they were attempted to get pulled over by cops for speeding on the motorbike. It was cute; they were really cheeky and very sarcastic, exactly the way you would imagine those characters.

Micah: Yeah.

Matt: Kind of like a Starsky and Hutch kind of thing.

Laura: Yeah, it was a nice little tidbit.

Micah: They actually reminded me a lot of Fred and George when I was reading it.

Laura: Yeah.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: Kind of back and forth.

Andrew: I kind of feel bad that we – in hindsight, we probably shouldn’t have called it a Harry Potter prequel. It just doesn’t like – the name is a bit misleading.

Laura: Mmm….

Andrew: Because this story didn’t really relate to the Harry Potter stories. Do you guys know what I mean?

Laura: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah, it’s no prequel to Harry, in retrospect. It’s pretty much just a little novelty piece of his father and his best friend.

Andrew: Yeah. I guess it is telling. It is pretty informational for us Potter fans. It gives us an idea of, you know, what kind of thing James and Sirius would do on an average night. I assume they would cause trouble like that pretty often.

Laura and Matt: Mhm.

Matt: Do you think they maybe drank in a little bit too much butterbeer?

Andrew: Maybe.

Laura: Now, something I was kind of confused by when I read this, I know that there’s obviously a restriction for underage wizardry, and they clearly weren’t underage here, but I’d always been under the impression that there was also a restriction against magic in front of Muggles.

Andrew: You know what? I actually thought of that same thing too while I was reading. What’s up with that?

Laura: It just…

Matt: They’re reckless.

Laura: Obviously, they wouldn’t care, but I just wonder if this was something they did regularly, you know, they would have to get in trouble for it, right?

Andrew: Yeah, right. So maybe they didn’t do it regularly. But even still, they would probably get in trouble after this situation.

Laura: Yeah, I mean because the Ministry can track – I mean – well, they take the trace off when you turn 17.

Andrew: Yeah.

Laura: So maybe they – I don’t know, maybe they don’t and they would really have a hard time proving it. I mean…

Matt: But, I mean, you know, I mean, look at what happened to Harry and Ron when they used the flying car. I mean it was a huge risk exposure.

Laura: Yeah, that’s true.

Matt: But, I mean, then again, there weren’t that many people that actually saw James and Sirius. So, you know, it would probably be a lot easier for them to erase the Muggle police officer’s mind, rather than, you know…

Andrew: Like a whole group of people.

Laura: Mhm.

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: Yeah, but I mean…

Laura: True.

Micah: …if you’re a police officer, who’s going to believe that story, that all of a sudden the police car raised on its back wheels and, you know, knocked you to the ground.

Andrew: There probably would be damage on the car, and maybe there would be no other way to explain it, ’cause there’s no other evidence.

Micah: Yeah…

Andrew: I don’t know.

Micah: …the two guys that you’ve pulled over got on a motorcycle and flew away.

Andrew: Yeah. [laughs] What did you guys think of the nicknames that – I think it was James who came up with?

Laura: Oh yeah. When the officer said “Names!” like trying to get them to give their names, and he started…

Andrew: Right.

Laura: Yeah that was cute.

Andrew: Bathsheba Elvendork. Everyone really liked – I was looking at the comments, and everyone really liked Elvendork.

[Laura and Micah laugh]

Andrew: It’s just kind of so random. [laughs]

Micah: Which is…

Laura: Yeah and…

Micah: …unisex, by the way. That was funny.

Andrew: Oh, yes. [laughs] Yeah.

Laura: That also strongly reminded me of something Fred and George would do.

Micah: Yeah, exactly.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: It seemed that this was written probably pretty easily. I know she kind of alludes to that at the end…

Andrew: Yeah, she did.

Micah: …but it just kind of shows you that, if she really wanted to, she could go down this avenue and continue to write about – something like the Marauders.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Mhm.

Andrew: And even if she wrote little stories just like this one…

Matt: Mhm.

Andrew: Say you she wrote like twenty, thirty of them, threw them in a book. Little two page stories. Those would sell like crazy!

Micah: Absolutely.

Laura: Mhm. That’s true.

Andrew: So, it’s interesting. I guess the one thing that did bother me was that their was no room for development. I mean, I prefer a Harry Potter where there’s development and, you know…

Laura: Mhm.

Andrew: …a lot more detail. [laughs]

Laura: Yeah, that was the big problem…

Andrew: And I’m sure…

Laura: …with the story.

Andrew: And I’m sure Jo was dying, only having – only being limited to write on the front and back of a piece of paper.

Micah: Think about how many of these types of stories she must have in her head, or written down somewhere, that she could just throw together and…

Andrew: Right. Right.

Micah: …it would certainly appease a lot of people in between now and whenever she plans on releasing an encyclopedia.

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: Yeah. Absolutely. So, I guess that’s really all that’s going on in the news this week. As I said, we are recording earlier in the week, so there’s not as much news available to us.


News: New Photo of Harry and Ginny


Andrew: There’s a new photo of Harry and Ginny available. Micah, what do you think of that new photo from Half-Blood Prince?

Matt: Mm.

Micah: There’s a new photo from Half-Blood Prince?

Andrew: Why yes, Micah! There is!

Micah: Wow. That’s just unbelievable. You know that?

Andrew: I know. It’s really exciting.

Laura: I really liked…

Andrew: It’s Harry…

Laura: …her hair.

[Andrew and Micah laugh]

Matt: It’s purty.

Andrew: Harry and Ginny are just hugging. It looks like it’s in the Burrow. It’s nice.

Matt: It’s kind of bright.

Andrew: It is kind of bright. Matt thinks it could be from the teaser trailer.

Matt: I think it’s just too theatrical of a piece. You know, when they release pictures, it’s usually like an established shot or something. This looks to me like it was just like a snapshot or something, from something else.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: From like a video. And I was just thinking it’s probably the teaser trailer.

Andrew: I think the quality of the photo hints at that too. It looks like – I don’t know.

Matt: Yeah, it’s not as… [sighs] …I don’t know how to explain it. It just doesn’t look like the photos that we’ve been getting. I don’t know.

Micah: You know what I think you have to do? Really? Seriously?

Andrew: What? What?

Micah: Is – WB is putting up these photos online and what you have to do is you have to print them out, put them in sequential order from when they were released, and make like a flip book, and that’ll be your teaser trailer.

[Laura laughs]

Andrew: Oh! [laughs]

Matt: Ooh.

Andrew: And add some music.

Micah: Yeah! There you go.

Andrew: Like in iMovie on Mac. You can add some music. Aw, that’d be cool. We should do that and put it on YouTube!

Matt: Wow.


Teaser with Get Smart?


Andrew: Good idea, Micah. You know, speaking of the teaser trailer, June 20 is quickly approaching, which is when Get Smart – WB’s Get Smart – will be released. And some people may remember – well, this is now the film that’s rumored to have the teaser trailer on it.

Matt: Mhm. My Potter senses are tingling.

Andrew: [laughs] The Order of the Phoenix DVD came with a preview of Get Smart, so people are saying, “Oh, well, this is a little hint, then. Maybe they’re using – both franchises are using each other to pump the promotion up.” So, if there is a teaser trailer with Get Smart on this coming Friday, then it looks like we’ll probably be doing a live show sometime that weekend.

Matt: Mhm.

Micah: Well, this is a smart idea.

Andrew: So keep…

Micah: No pun intended.

Andrew: What?

Micah: Umm…

[Andrew laughs]

Micah: Because, does Get Smart appeal to the same audience as Harry Potter? I mean, I know…

Andrew: No.

Micah: …you got WB connected, but…

Matt: No.

Micah: …and Steven Carell, yeah…

Matt: But…

Micah: …he’s a funny guy, but I don’t really think the demographic age-wise for Harry Potter is going to be seeing Get Smart.

Laura: I don’t know.

Matt: No.

Laura: I mean, I thought it looked like something that parents would take – I thought it looked kind of like a family movie.

Matt: Mhm.

Laura: Like, the kind of thing that parents are going to take their kids to, you know?

Matt: Yeah. I mean, they’ll take their kids to see Get Smart before the go see The Dark Knight. And that seems to be the other film that people are – that we’re just debating whether it’s going to be released with The Dark Knight or Get Smart. And I think, if they were to pick the two, they would pick Get Smart, because it would just incline people to go see Get Smart more than The Dark Knight. WB knows a whole bunch of people are going to go see The Dark Knight anyway. But they’re probably more inclined to advertise at the Harry Potter trailer will be on for Get Smart, so people will go see that movie more.

Laura: Yeah. I agree with that. Because for people who don’t know, I believe Get Smart is actually based on an older TV series by Mel Brooks.

Andrew: Yeah.

Laura: Yeah, and so not as many people can identify with that as can with Batman. So, they already know people are going to go see that. So, why not…

Andrew: Yeah. Right.

Laura: …throw Harry Potter on to Get Smart?

Matt: Just to throw out more publicity to go get the numbers up for that film.

Andrew: I’m trying to find the rating of Get Smart, too, because, I mean, Dark Knight‘s going to be rated PG-13, I believe, so…

Matt: I think Get Smart is PG-13.


Announcement: Favorite Moment of MuggleCast


Andrew: Oh, okay. All right. Well, either way I’m sure an announcement will appear on MuggleNet early in the week, and, well, when there is an announcement it will appear on MuggleNet and then we will be Twittering and announcing that at whenever we’ll be doing our live show to discuss the teaser trailer, which also will be our 150th Episode, which leads us into our announcements this week. Micah, we’re trying to put some plans together for Episode 150, isn’t that right?

Micah: Yeah, we are. One of the ideas that we came up with was we wanted to get the fans’ favorite moment, or even favorite episode may be too much, but kind of the favorite moment over the past 149 episodes. [laughs] You know…

Andrew: There’s a lot of moments.

Micah: There’s a lot of moments, but we want to pick out the very best and fans can submit the parts that they think were the best, and they can do that by sending an email to you, right?

Matt: Mhm. Well, how many do you think we’ll post?

Andrew: Well, what we’ll do is we’ll play them throughout the live show, like before and after breaks, I’m thinking? Would probably be the best time, so we can play them throughout the show.

Matt: There’ll be a lot.

Andrew: “Before we’re going to take a break, but first,” and then, you know, here’s a couple moments. So, yeah. Maybe we’ll try to fit in, like, 8-10?

Micah: That sounds about right.

Andrew: I mean, that’s a lot. Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: Yeah, that would be a lot, so if we do two each break or something, or four each break, that would be…

Micah: And we want people to do some research. Really go back into these episodes and find the very best moments. Go as far back as Episode 1. You know, don’t just be like, “Oh, okay, I’m going to look over the last 20 episodes” and find the best, you know, moments. No, we want you to go through all of them.

Matt: And we’ll know if you don’t go to the first one first.

Andrew: We’ll be honest, we’re busy. We’re busy right now. We don’t really have time to go back to the archives and pull out our favorite moments. Besides, it’s the listeners who made this show what it is today, so why not let you guys decide what the best moments are? So, send those in to andrew at staff dot mugglenet dot com. All you need to do is email me, in the subject line put “Best of MuggleCast Entry,” explain why it’s your favorite moment, include your name, and also the time code. So, if you’re listening to MuggleCast right now look at your iPod, mp3 player, or your computer and you see that little time that’s clicking by. It may say 25 minutes, 30 seconds, 31, 32. Send in that time code along with your email where the moment begins, and then I will go back, pull it, and then there you go. We’ve been getting a lot of entries already ’cause this news has already been posted on MuggleCast.com. In other news, Laura, would you like to enlighten everyone about where we’re going to be this summer?


Announcement: Portus 2008


Laura: Prison?

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: Prison?

Micah: Wow.

Laura: Oh, you mean before that. We’re going to be in…

Andrew: [laughs] What?

Laura: …Dallas, Texas at Portus 2008, which is going to be really fun. I feel like I say the same thing about this every week, but it’s going to be awesome, so you should register.

[Andrew laughs]

Matt: It’s going to be so fetch.

[Laura laughs]

Andrew: We’ve got to keep plugging it as much as possible because it’s coming up soon and we want to make sure everyone can come. I made a mistake last week. I said the podcast is on Saturday. It’s not on Saturday, it’s on Friday.

Matt: Duh!

Andrew: So, yes.

Laura: God, Andrew, you can’t even get your own venue time right?

Andrew: Yeah, I know. My bad, but now I know…

Micah: What time is it at?

Laura: This is terrible.

Andrew: It’s going to be at midnight.

Micah: So it is Saturday.

Andrew: So technically…

Micah: You were right.

Andrew: Technically it’s Saturday, but if you tell people Saturday, they’re going to show up Saturday night. [laughs] So…

Matt: Mhm.

Laura: And no one will be there.

Andrew: The palooza starts around six or seven. They’re actually going to put the podcasting panel, which is going to be all the podcasters, like, talking about podcasting, at the start of the palooza. That will be – I don’t know the exact time yet; they haven’t nailed that down, but MuggleCast will begin at midnight. Also…

Matt: Also…

Andrew: Sorry to keep talking. The MuggleCast – we are going to do a MuggleCast meet-up at Portus, so we can hang out with you guys more for a couple hours at a designated time. I mean, we’ll see you at throughout the event multiple times, but we’re going to have a MuggleCast meet-up most likely in the “Common Room.” There’s going to be a room in the hotel called the “Common Room” that Portus is owning, so to speak, and there’s going to be a time for MuggleCast listeners to hang out there, and we want to have lots of fun. We’ll have games. We’ll try to have some food. We’ll have some music, some cool music.

Matt: Cool music, not like…

Andrew: And, of course, we’ll be there. So, we’ll announce when the MuggleCast meet-up is as soon as we have that nailed down, but I feel like it’ll be kind of fun, you know, to spend some extra time with the listeners. Right, guys?

Micah: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah, sure. Why not?

Laura: Yeah, that sounds great.

Andrew: So, that is that.

Micah: Yeah, and…

Matt: That is that.

Micah: …Jim Dale’s going to be at Portus, too. That’s another reason to go. Right?

Matt: No way! Shut up!

Andrew: That’s an excellent reason to go. Jim Dale will be there.

Micah: I hear he does voices.

Laura: Plus, everything’s bigger in Texas. So you’ll have fun.

Andrew: Including the fun!

[Micah laughs]

Matt: Wow. [laughs]

[Laura laughs]

Andrew: Let’s move on to Muggle Mail this week.


Muggle Mail: Suggestion on Where Show Should Go


Micah: The first Muggle Mail comes from Chris Prithertch Roberts, 28, of Wales. He says:

“Hi all. First of all I’d like to say what a fantastic show you guys put on and how I really appreciate all the hard work you put in. I’ve only recently been able to listen to your shows, even though I’ve been following MuggleNet almost from the start. I think that you should not go to two weeks or when news breaks shows.” Wow, that’s not English. “I think that you should not go to two week shows, or when news breaks. I would prefer shorter, perhaps thirty minutes, weekly shows. You should ask for a fan referendum as to how you should proceed once you have finished the Chapter-by-Chapter and for any segment suggestions. Keep up the amazing job you do. Chris.”

Andrew: Okay. Well, I think that’s a good idea. I like what he’s saying there, maybe a weekly half-hour show. That could be fun.

Matt: Yeah, but I mean half-hour? We spend a half-hour alone just talking about the news.

Andrew: Well, exactly.

Matt: Oh.

Andrew: That’s all we need. Maybe news and fun segment? I don’t know. There’s still a lot to be decided. It’s hard to…

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: It’s hard to figure out what to do.


Muggle Mail: Snape’s Song


Matt: Our next email comes from Stephanie, 17, of Texas. She writes:

“Hi, MuggleCasters. So I was just wondering why Snape didn’t get a song played for him in Episode 148. He’s one of the most pivotal people in the series, and I think he deserves some closure. Maybe you all just forgot? Anyway, keep up the good work. I love all of you, especially those of you who haven’t fallen prey to Stephenie Meyer’s abomination of a series. ‘Twilight’ makes me want to gag. Seriously.”

Andrew: Oooh.

Matt: Dang. I love this.

Laura: Oooh, ouch.

Matt: I love this whole fight between the Twilight fans and the Harry Potter fans. It’s so hilarious to watch.

Andrew: Well, for anyone who also does not like Twilight, you can visit TwilightSource.com

[Laura laughs]

Andrew: …for a complete list of why you should hate Twilight. So we did forget, we’ll admit, we did forget to play a song for Snape. This was the fault of, I guess, all of us. Micah had an idea and then I forgot to get the song.

Micah: Except me. It’s not my fault. I wasn’t there.

Andrew: [laughs] But I did text you and ask you for what the song was before we started, and you never replied, so. Okay, well, we will play the song now. Micah, what is the song we will be playing for Snape?

Micah: The song is by The Who. It’s called “Behind Blue Eyes,” even though, you know, there’s that little issue about the eyes. They were black, but, you know, we can’t be perfect.

Matt: We’ll just say they’re Dan’s eyes.

Micah: Pay attention to the lyrics. That’s what’s the most important thing.

[“Behind Blue Eyes” by The Who plays]

Andrew: All right, there we go. Rest in peace, Snape. How we love you.


Muggle Mail: Origin of Shrieking Shack


Laura: Our last Muggle Mail comes from Lauren, 16, of Peach Tree City, Georgia. She writes:

“In the Episode 148 Chapter-by-Chapter discussion, you guys commented on why Voldemort was in the Shrieking Shack. One of you mentioned that Voldemort knew it was there because it had been there before the Marauders. However, if I remember correctly, Lupin discloses in Book 3 that the Shrieking Shack was built for his purposes to use during the nights in which he transformed into a werewolf. He needed a safe place and thus the Shrieking Shack was built, and the Whomping Willow was planted. I’m pretty sure this is what happened, but I might be wrong, so just let me know what you guys think.”

Andrew: So there’s been – there’s been a lot of debate about this. What did you guys think it was?

Matt: I always thought – I thought – I thought they did the whole Whomping Willow and the tunnel to the Shrieking Shack was for Lupin, but I forgot that Dumbledore actually made that.

Laura: Yeah, see, I thought that that was all created for him, but I didn’t know that the actual Shack itself had been created for him.

Matt: Yeah, that’s, yeah…

Andrew: So I decided to look this up because I was tired of hearing, you know, people go back and forth on this. Mikey even said it wasn’t created just for Lupin, but Mikey was wrong about this. The quote is from Prisoner of Azkaban, and I don’t have a page number because I looked it up on a digital copy, but this is from the book: “‘The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts.'” This is Lupin speaking. “‘This house,’ Lupin looked miserably around the room, ‘The tunnel that leads to it, they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle into this place to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous.'” So there you go. It was…

Matt: Yeah. It’s – it makes a lot of sense.


Chapter-by-Chapter: Chapter 33, “The Prince’s Tale”


Andrew: Yeah. All right, well, it’s time to move on to Chapter-by-Chapter! This week we’re talking about Chapter 32…

Matt: Actually, 33.

Andrew: 33?

Matt: Yes.

Andrew: “The Prince’s Tale”!

Matt: Ooh, how ’bout that tale?


Voldemort Gives Harry One Hour


Andrew: So, there’s a couple things – to start out this Chapter-by-Chapter discussion there’s a couple things that really grinded my gears, personally. Everyone will remember that a couple weeks ago we discussed how the whole midnight request – that – that – that – Voldemort made and how I thought it was very Cinderella-ish. Well, this time, instead of the midnight-style request, Voldemort gives Harry an hour to present himself. And I think – what do you think was the difference between – why do you think he gave Harry an hour this time instead of the half hour? Because it’s sort of like, “Okay, you’re making me wait longer. Let me give you even longer.” You know what I mean?

Matt: Well, the situation has changed a little bit. A lot of people have died now, and so he’s trying to use the guilt trip on Harry now, and he’s saying, “Well, you know, okay, dude, you have one hour, or we’re going to do the same exact thing we just did, but now – but next time it’s going to be everybody.”

Andrew: Mmm.

Matt: “So, you let your friends die for you. You have one hour to stop this from happening again.”

Micah: Right, and, I mean, he even says that he will join the fight himself, which is, you know…

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: That’s obviously going to cause more casualties just by him showing up.

Andrew: So after this request, Voldemort says he’ll – what was the quote, I don’t have it here. Voldemort says basically that he will – “do you want to sacrifice more people, Harry,” blah blah blah blah blah.

Matt: Oh, okay.

Andrew: And Ron says, “don’t listen to him,” and at this point I was thinking, what? Really? I mean, shouldn’t they be thinking about the students a little more in this situation? Like I know Harry has to do this, but maybe should he – shouldn’t there been a little more…

Matt: I think Ron was just telling Harry don’t listen to him based on, you know, the whole guilt trip that Voldemort was trying to put on Harry.

Laura: Yeah, because he’s going to kill everybody anyway. I mean if these people have been by Harry’s side to this point, and they’ve already suffered a mass slaughter, then there’s no reason to assume that they would just, you know, pick up their swords on Voldemort’s side of the battle. Of course they wouldn’t, regardless of what, you know, happens to Harry. So they were going to die anyway. Not to say that that degrades the – not to say that degrades their lives, but it just shows that they have something worth fighting for, you know?

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: It’s true.


Voldemort Tries to Persuade Harry Supporters


Micah: Something that kind of surprised me is what he said right at the beginning of the chapter when he was doing this whole, you know, voice over the PA like you’re in high school type of thing, where you get called down to the principal’s office or something. But he said every drop of magical blood spilled is a loss and a waste. That doesn’t sound like Voldemort to me, you know?

Matt: Mmm. He’s trying…

Micah: I don’t know if he was trying to use it to his own advantage or…

Matt: He’s trying to persuade some of the survivors to stop fighting for Harry.

Andrew: I was just going to say, who was he addressing?

Matt: I think he was addressing the people who are still either injured or alive in the castle.

Andrew: Yeah, I would think he’s just trying to get on the good side of the people he wants.

Laura: Yeah.

Matt: Because now they’re a little more, you know, vulnerable.

Micah: Battle worn?

Laura: Well, he’s trying to appeal to their survival instincts.

Matt: Their best interest, which is, yeah, their survival interests.

Andrew: So…

Laura: And you can also relate it to when a politician says something along those lines.

Andrew: Yeah.

Laura: You know, they have a certain agenda they’re trying to achieve, and they try to make it sound like they’re doing it for the good of the people, when really it’s a personal agenda.

Andrew: Read my lips: no new taxes.

Micah: Really? Politicians do that?


The Grieving Scene


Matt: We see a few cameos in this chapter in the very beginning; we see Madam Pomfery again, who is treating a lot of the injured people in the castle, and we see Firenze, who fought in the battle as well, and he apparently is badly injured. His flank is poured with blood, and he shook where he laid, so he’s in pretty bad shape. And then the sad part where Harry finally sees where all the dead bodies are being laid. They’re being laid in the middle of the Great Hall, and I think now was the time that J.K. Rowling is letting the reader’s grieve a little more for Fred Weasley’s death, because we never really had a chance to, because the pace was so fast, but now we see Mrs. Weasley, she’s outstretched on Fred’s body shaking, and we see Mr. Weasley just crying, holding her head. We see George kneeling at Fred’s head, and we also see Hermione approaching Ginny to hug her, and Ron is embraced by his two older brothers, Bill and Percy, and his sister-in-law, Fleur. And this was just a sad scene to behold.

Andrew: Yeah, and like Matt pointed out earlier to me, there’s really – you can really feel the change in mood in this scene. It’s so somber. You can actually feel it, can’t you?

Matt: Yeah, it’s – the part where it’s unnaturally quiet and the book states how Hogwarts was almost too quiet that it was unnatural, and… [sighs] …it’s just sad.

Laura: Yeah.


Tonks and Lupin Are Dead


Matt: And then it couldn’t make the situation any more upsetting than seeing both Lupin and Tonks’s dead bodies right next to Fred’s. What’d you guys think of Lupin and Tonks dying? I mean this was kind of just a shock because we didn’t see it actually happen.

Micah: Honestly, I’ll just say this. To me, when I read it for the first time it just seemed – it seemed right…

Andrew: Huh.

Micah: …in the sense that he was just going through – not right in the sense that they deserved to die, don’t get me wrong, because I know I’ll get plenty of – it just seemed like a natural progression because of the way that that scene was written, that all of a sudden he was going to turn around and he was going to see other people who he held very close to him lying there as well.

Matt: Mhm.

Micah: And I think what it did even more was it kind of isolated Harry from the whole scene that was taking place. You had the Weasleys, and Hermione and, Fleur who were surrounding Fred, and he really felt uncomfortable in that position, more so now because of what Voldemort had said earlier in the chapter. And he also felt, you know, like he didn’t belong, and that this was really his fault, that Fred had died because of him, that Remus and Tonks had died because of him, and it – when I read it through for the first time, it – I don’t know that struck me as hard as it struck some other people. It just seemed like there was going to be casualties of war, and it was a reality.

Laura: I felt very – sorry.

Micah: No, go ahead.

Laura: I felt very numb when I was reading it for the first time, because it was like everyone was dying. Didn’t they say in this scene there were something like fifty people, just spread out dead across the Great Hall?

Andrew: Yeah. They were all lined up, I think, against…

Matt: Yeah.

Laura: Yeah.

Andrew: …one of the walls.

Matt: They were all sleeping-looking.

Andrew: Do you guys think that Tonks and Lupin should have deserved a death scene, or do you think it was right for these two deaths to sort of come out of nowhere and just be listed?

Matt: Well, Lupin and…

Andrew: For such – such two big characters, though, Tonks and Lupin…

Matt: Lupin and Tonks weren’t originally supposed to die, is that right? Wasn’t J.K. Rowling…

Micah: That’s right.

Matt: …decided to kill them off later?

Micah: Right, yep.

Laura: Yeah, that’s right.

Matt: Did she ever say why?

Micah: She was supposed to kill – she was supposed to kill Arthur Weasley in Order of the Phoenix, but she allowed him to live.

Andrew: Right.

Micah: And she killed these two characters instead.

Matt: She said in the interview that she reprieved Mr. Weasley, but killed two others instead at the same time. So…

Micah: Right.

Matt: The first time I heart that, I thought, well, okay, so she let this person live, and then she just automatically just killed two other people.

Micah: What was so weird about it was that she reprieved the character from a completely different book, and decided to kill the other two in Deathly Hallows

Andrew: Yeah, yeah.

Micah: …which is what didn’t make sense to me. If you were – everyone was thinking, “oh a reprieve, she must have reprieved a character that was supposed to die in Deathly Hallows…”

Andrew: Right.

Micah: But, in fact, it was from two books earlier.

Matt: Yeah, I was not expecting Book 5.

Laura: Yeah. It just goes to show, Jo has a death quota.

Andrew: [laughs] Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Laura: Has to fill it in just the same way police officers have a ticket quota at the end of the month.

Andrew: But, you guys…

Laura: End of the book, you’ve got to have a certain amount of people dead.

Matt: Mhm.

Andrew: But you guys still didn’t answer my question. Is…

Matt: Well, we didn’t want to answer it.

Andrew: Do you think Tonks and Lupin deserved a death scene? Because a lot of people were complaining that poor Tonks and Lupin, here we are, they’re made out to be pretty big characters; we see and hear from them a lot. Harry obviously has a lot of interaction with him in Prisoner of Azkaban. And then he just suddenly, out of nowhere, we just see that Tonks and Lupin are dead.

Matt: Well, Harry doesn’t have to be around where all the people he knows dies.

Andrew: Well, that’s my question.

Laura: Yeah, I think that would have been too much.

Andrew: Okay.

Laura: He had so many other things he was doing, it would have been, frankly, impossible for him to be around for every big character death. You know?

Andrew: Yeah, I guess it would have been…

Matt: Mhm.

Micah: And you have to think of the position, too, that would have put him in, because doesn’t – Remus dies from, was it Dolohov? And then Tonks dies at the hand of Bellatrix. So, it would – he would have been in a very precarious situation there, where really – I mean he was a little bit safer off, not much, but a little bit safer doing what he was doing.

Matt: Mhm. And…

Micah: It would have been weird of them to cut to a scene where Remus and Tonks would die.

Matt: And if Harry was with them when Lupin and Tonks died, he would have been at the hands of Bellatrix and Dolohov. I mean, he would have been in the heart of the battle.

Micah: Exactly.

Laura: Mhm.

Matt: That’s where they were. I mean, Tonks and Lupin knew pretty much what they were headed for at the beginning of the battle. And I respect that.

Micah: And to go back to what you were saying before, Matt, the reason why I think she killed them, she said in an interview she wanted the story to come full circle in the sense that, you know, a child was orphaned and was still able to grow up and have a good life, even though his parents were not around. And that was the reason why she felt that she needed to kill those two characters.

Matt: Yeah. I can understand that. Just to kind of, like, put Harry’s little orphanage story full circle with that.

Andrew: Well, let’s move it along.

MuggleCast 149 Transcript (continued)


Harry Leaves The Great Hall


Matt: Okay, moving along. After the sight of the death in the Great Hall, Harry leaves the Great Hall trying not to let the emotion of all the passings affect him. And what do you guys think about that? Just the fact that Harry is trying just trying to just shut everything out at the moment. Do you think it’s, you know, it’s a good thing to suppress all that emotion?

Andrew: Well, when you see so many people in one room that you’re close to, or when you see so many people dead because Voldemort wants you, I can’t imagine how Harry would’ve been able to control his emotions and get that out of his head.

Matt: Yeah.

Laura: Obviously, none of us have ever been in that position.

Andrew: Right, but even…

Laura: I mean, I have, but…

Andrew: Well, yeah, like the death of a loved one?

Matt: Yeah.

Laura: Well, no, no! [laughs] I was being sarcastic.

Andrew and Matt: Oh!

Laura: You know, I went up against this dark wizard once.

[Andrew laughs]

Matt: Oh, that’s right! Oh yeah!

Laura: Fifty of my friends died because of it. But I just – I can honestly understand how he was numb, you know? Like, it’s such an emotion overload.

Andrew: Yeah.

Laura: You know how it is, like, when you’ve just had such a bad day, you had so much stress, and people have been yelling at you, at your job or school or whatever, and you get home and it’s like nothing anyone else can say to you can make it worse.

Andrew: Right.

Matt: That’s true, yeah.

Laura: And so it’s like your mind’s reaction is to just shut down, you know? Just, like, erase all reaction to that circumstance.

Matt: Yeah. You’re just numb to anything else. I mean it’s basically his emotion bucket is filled…

[Andrew and Laura laugh]

Matt: …and it can’t get anymore full.


A Song for Lupin and Tonks


Andrew: All right, so now in memory of Lupin and Tonks, we will play, “Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers.

[“Just the Two of Us” by Bill Withers plays]


Snape’s Childhood


Andrew: So, now we move on to the part of this chapter that really takes up the majority of it. And it’s what we’ve really been wanting to know since Half-Blood Prince; it’s Snape’s memory. Everyone will remember that last chapter, Snape gave Harry a couple of his memories, so Harry went into Dumbledore’s office and he’s now going to jump into Snape’s memories.

Matt: In the beginning of this Pensieve scene we see Snape looking at – watching Lily and Petunia with a greedy expression on his face. And I was just wondering, what kind of a – why would his emotion, or his expression, show greediness in it?

Andrew: He wants Lily. Is that what it means?

Micah: Well, we know that’s the case, but… [laughs] …I also think it’s a little bit of the fact that he likes what Lily’s doing to Petunia, in the sense of, you know, she’s not really supposed to be doing magic, but is doing it anyway to kind of aggravate her sister.

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: So Snape likes that rebellious attitude towards someone else.

Matt: Well, he may just like the fact that, you know, Lily has the upper hand on her sister, and because – I don’t really think he sees the two as sisters; he probably sees Lily as the witch and Petunia as the Muggle. And he just likes the superiority of the two sisters.

Micah: Yeah. And he does call her Muggle-born, doesn’t he? Or…

Matt: Yeah, he calls her Muggle-born, or Mudblood, a lot actually, until she starts to yell at him to stop. Yeah, okay, so what I was just wondering was, since Lily is underaged and she’s, you know, underage wizards and witches can do magic unintentionally or without, you know, being reprimanded, but Lily can do it, you know, whenever she wants. She can do it as intentional, and Petunia told Lily that, “Mummy said not to do magic.” And I was just wondering, was her mother ever informed on this, or was it just her mother telling her to stop doing those silly things? Was her mother, like, told by a Muggle, you know, witch enforcer, about, children should not be doing magic in front of Muggles.

Laura: Well, it could be, but if I recall correctly, didn’t Hermione not know she was a witch until she got her letter from Hogwarts?

Matt: Mhm. But she didn’t know…

Laura: So…

Andrew: Did she know that she was doing the magical stuff?

Laura: Well, they might not have known that it was magical, but, like, I kind of liken it to how kids will just do things and – and this is my experience, like I work in retail, so we get a lot of people coming in who aren’t paying attention to their children, and then their children are doing dumb things, and then they kind of say, “Oh no, honey, don’t do that,” you know, and that’s kind of what I liken it to. Like, maybe she did magic, but then her mom didn’t see what it was and just saw that she had just done something weird, like maybe she got mad and she broke something…

Micah: Yeah.

Laura: …and her mum assumed that she threw it, you know.

Matt: And she probably told Lily not to do that because it upset Petunia, also.

Andrew: But I still wonder what her mom was thinking. Like, was her mom like, “What is this? Is she magical? Or…”

Matt: Okay, so as we go along in the chapter, Snape confronts Lily and just, you know, her that he’s been watching her and for awhile. And I was just kind of wondering, how long has Snape has actually been, you know, spying on Lily, you know? This was – I found this kind of cool that when Snape and Lily – when Lily starts to, you know, asking questions to Snape about, you know, being a witch and the wizarding world and everything, she actually queries about Dementors in Muggle world and underage magic. And I just thought it was a great parallel to her son from, you know, Order of the Phoenix, because, you know, that’s exactly what happens to her son, is Dementors come into the Muggle world and attacks him while he’s underage.

Laura: Yeah, and what’s also great about this is we had assumed when Petunia had talked about talking about Lily and a man talking about Dementors, we all thought it was James, but it was really Snape.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Mhm.

Laura: But yeah, it is interesting. It’s a nice little bit of foreshadowing on Jo’s part. Well, not really foreshadowing but…

Matt: Pre-foreshadowing or something.

Laura: Yeah. Yeah. Pre-foreshadowing. [laughs]

Andrew: So there’s a point here where Lily is talking to Snape, and Lily says, “He couldn’t believe a Muggle could have contacted Hogwarts, that’s all. He says there must be wizards working undercover in the postal service who take care of…” blah blah blah. How could this have been? Could there really have been wizards working undercover who handle – who keep an eye on the postal service for – for people writing to Hogwarts?

Matt: I can believe that.

Laura: Why not?

Matt: Yeah. I mean, not every wizard has to work in the Ministry.

Andrew: Yeah, but in the U.S. post office – but working undercover. I don’t know, it just seems a little – it would be interesting if they did, but…

Matt: I mean…

Micah: And this is after they find out, or we find out as readers that Petunia had written to Dumbledore?

Matt: Yeah this – this is after when Snape read Petunia’s letter, and he was just surprised that – that Petunia got a letter back from – from Dumbledore. That’s what it was.

Micah: What if when it goes in the mail it just magically goes to Hogwarts? I don’t know, that sounds kind of stupid, but…

Andrew: That’s not a bad idea.

Matt: Like if someone writes an address and it magically just Apparates?

Andrew: Sorry, when I first started talking about this I said Lily talking to Snape or vice-versa, it was actually Lily talking to Petunia. My bad.


Petunia’s Character


Matt: So moving along, let’s talk about Petunia as a child and just her character at this point in the series. This is finally the part that J.K. Rowling has told her fans that we’ll find out more about Petunia later on in Book 7. And do you guys think that this was kind of like a cop out? To me it seemed kind of just too – kind of an easy outcome for Petunia’s character. Okay, she was jealous of being a witch – that she wasn’t a witch. That’s what I got from it.

Micah: I think that, based on her character throughout the entire series, that this was kind of surprising to see how badly she wanted to be like Lily and how badly she wanted to go to Hogwarts. But then I think, if we would have known this beforehand and known the way that she turned out, I guess it would’ve been kind of expected that that’s how she would treat Harry…

Matt: Uh-huh.

Micah: …because Harry was something that she could never have been.

Matt: But isn’t it kind of obvious? I mean, didn’t we all think that that’s the way she was? Like I mean – I thought that there was this huge secret behind her or something.

Micah: Didn’t a lot of people also contemplate that she was the one who was supposed to be able to do magic later in life?

Laura: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: Are we going to see something from her?

Andrew: Right.

Micah: But that ended up not happening.

Matt: At all?

Micah: J.K. Rowling said she left it out of the book completely. So no one ended up doing magic later in life.


On the Train, Meeting James and Sirius


Matt: We skipped through the pensieve through transitions, and we come to the part where Snape and Lily are on the train, and they meet Sirius and James. And what I – which was kind of a cool quote was, basically find out what Snape’s vision of what Gryffindors are, because, you know, Sirius and James were talking about like, “Well, I want to be in Gryffindor, Gryffindor is the bravest and everything.” Snape says “So, you’d rather be brawny than brainy?” And I was just wondering if that’s how the whole Slytherin House sees Gryffindor. Just this full brawns and no brains.

Micah: But why Slytherin, that’s my question. If he wants to be brainy why wouldn’t he be in Ravenclaw? What’s the draw for Snape to Slytherin?

Matt: Well, I’m sure the Slytherin’s pride themselves in pretty much the best in all of the categories in the Houses. So they probably just…

Andrew: Maybe.

Matt: …see themselves more – but you always compare brains and brawns too. You don’t compare like – with anything else.

Andrew: What is brawns exactly?

Matt: It’s like brute strength, I think.

Laura: Yeah.

Andrew: So why…? Was Gryffindor a bunch a jocks back then, in the day? Because look at it now; it’s got, you know, characters like Ron Weasley or all the Weasleys.

Laura: Well, it’s not – it’s not – I wouldn’t consider it like jock. I mean technically it’s…

Matt: It’s mighthood.

Laura: …strength. It’s like strength against intelligence basically. So like, for instance, we know that a Gryffindor is far more likely to leap before they look.

Matt: Right.

Laura: You know? So I think it’s just kind of that whole dynamic that we’ve seen that’s almost stereotypical of Gryffindors and Slytherins. Slytherins are more inclined to look both ways, whereas Gryffindors are very charged by their emotions and their gut feeling as opposed to thinking.


A Different Dumbledore


Matt: Slytherins are more concerned for their well being than, you know, for the fight itself. The whole Snape versus Dumbledore we actually get to see again when Snape comes to Dumbledore for, you know, for repent on the stuff that he did. And what did you guys think about when you read this chapter? I – I mean we get to see a side of Dumbledore that we haven’t seen before, a more of a disgust look, and it was just a different side that we haven’t seen before.

Laura: Yeah.

Andrew: Well, it finally connects everything that we’ve been – this whole seen finally we’ve been wanting to hear for so long, and of course this is also the scene where we find out that Harry needs to die, which we will talk about in a second, but…

Laura: Yeah, well, I also think that it goes to show that Dumbledore got almost stereotyped by a lot of his critics, because people would say that he would just welcome people back with open arms. And it’s really not the case here. He very much criticizes Snape. It’s not that he won’t allow him the opportunity, but he does make him prove himself.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Yes.

Micah: Absolutely, and, Matt, you even put the line here where he says, “You disgust me”, and, you know, it said in the book that never had Harry seen such contempt in Dumbledore’s eyes. So it’s a completely different look at Dumbledore from what we’re used to seeing, as Laura mentioned.

Andrew: Dumbledore was essentially saying take it or leave it.

Laura: Mhm.

Andrew: You know, are you going to be on my side or not? And it’s just amazing that Snape actually just is like yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s like Dumbledore doesn’t need to…

Matt: Well, there is an instance…

Andrew: …try to pull Snape in. Snape just comes to him.


Lily is Snape’s Motivation


Laura: Well, yeah, Dumbledore is offering him what Voldemort won’t, you know? And I think that goes to show that Snape, it’s really hard to call him a good or a bad person, because on the one hand he is actually protecting someone he loves at great expense to himself, but on the other he’s only doing the right thing because of her. And furthermore, Dumbledore even said – what was it? “You do not care then about the deaths of her husband and child. They can die as long as you have what you want?”

Andrew: Yeah.

Laura: And so it was to show that Snape, he might not even care so much about what Lily wanted. You know?

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: But Dumbledore is being hypocritical there himself, though. I mean it’s funny because in this very instant, he is manipulating Snape and playing off the fact that Snape cares deeply for Lily. And that’s kind of what Voldemort does to a lot of his victims throughout the course of the series. He plays off their emotions.

Matt: Right.

Micah: In that instant Dumbledore is no better than Voldemort.

Laura: Well, except for the fact that he’s not doing it to kill people.

Matt: Well, and also, Dumbledore’s basically telling him, you know, there are certain, you know, things we’re going to have to do in order for you to uphold what you promised. As, you know, like – in order to protect Lily and her remembrance, you have to basically just swallow the contempt you have for James and protect his son.

Micah: We learn a lot about Snape kind of through these intermittent memories that pop up, and, you know, that he’s really doing a lot of this that probably wasn’t expected of him, and that the whole reason behind him protecting Harry was for Lily. Everything throughout the rest of the series that he does is really for Lily.


Harry Raised as a Pig for Slaughter


Andrew: Yeah. Well, moving along. Then we find out about the ring Horcrux. Snape was able to stop the spell temporarily, hence the black hand, but Snape just tells him – does Snape tell him or does Dumbledore just says it?

Matt: Snape basically – yeah, Dumbledore asks how long does he have, and Snape tells him he has a year to live.

Andrew: So Dumbledore breaks the news to Snape that Harry has to die in order for Voldemort to die. It’s something that really hadn’t been speculated about much, although I know MuggleNet Emerson and Ben were big believers in the fact that Harry was a Horcrux. Micah, what did you think when you read this?

Micah: Yeah, it was – Eric did a whole show about it. I mean he raised him as a pig for slaughter.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: Absolutely. And Snape went off on Dumbledore, and he had every right to.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: Well, that was the big bombshell, and I believe that’s what happens at the end of the chapter.


Laura Disappears


Andrew: All right, well I want to point out real quick that Laura was in the middle of some really heavy thunder storms and her Internet died, so she may be back on the show, but probably not…

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: If not…

Matt: Let’s just hope she’s still alive by the morning.


Quote Quiz


Andrew: Well, it’s just a thunder storm. Anyway, it’s time for Quote Quiz! [echoes] “It’s all part of the plan. There’s something I’ve got to do. Listen, Neville!” That’s Quote Quiz this week.

Matt: Oh, geez. So, it’s not Neville who talks?


Favorites


Andrew: So now that it’s just the three of us, let’s do Favorites this week.

Matt: Mm’kay!

Andrew: Haven’t done Favorites for a while, and we’re going to do one sent in by a listener. It’s from Kaitlyn, 20, of Alabama. She writes:

“Hey y’all! I love the show and have been a listener since Episode 50. Hope y’all are still doing favorites because I have an idea. I’m about five episodes behind so I hope y’all have not done this yet. In Episode 133, y’all briefly discussed teaser trailers and I was wondering which one y’all…”

[laughs] She likes saying “y’all.”

Matt: Y’all!

Andrew: “…like the most. My favorite is the one for ‘Goblet of Fire’ when they showed shots of the trio in years one, two, three, and four. I love how they showed how much the trio has grown up and how much closer they’re becoming. I hope you like my idea. Pickles, Kaitlyn.”

So, I think this is fitting since we’re hoping that the teaser trailer comes out – the next teaser trailer comes out with Half-Blood Prince – er, with Get Smart on June 20. Matt…

Matt: Yes?

Andrew: We’ll start with you. What’s your favorite teaser trailer?

Matt: My favorite teaser trailer will have to be just like Kaitlyn’s; it’s the Goblet of Fire one, because for pretty much the same reasons. I love the whole transition from the trio’s age through, you know, chronological order of how they grew and just the music from the third film, “Window to the Past” by John Williams, of course, and it just flowed so naturally good, and it was just a great transition between the last – the previous movies to the new one that you’re going to go watch!

Andrew: Yeah. I’m actually going to agree with Matt and Kaitlyn. The Goblet of Fire teaser trailer, it really sent a powerful message when that beginning – they added a whole beginning to it just to take a look back, and they extended the typical teaser trailer length – just to get a look back at how much they’ve grown. And I have to wonder why they did that, because I don’t know if that was necessary, but I do think that it was a good idea, and it was very touching. Now, Micah, how about you?

Micah: Well, I’ll go with the Order of the Phoenix because I’m not going to agree with three other people.

Matt: Why not?

Micah: I think that’s too easy after, you know, letting you guys go first.

Andrew: Right. [laughs]

Micah: So I like the whole Dumbledore and the Ministry courtroom going, “The evidence the Dark Lord has returned is incontrovertible,” and the whole Snape scene telling Harry to prove it.

Andrew: Yeah.

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: That was great. That’s what really got me really excited for that movie.

Micah: And then it was a miserable failure, so…

[Andrew and Matt laugh]

Andrew: Well, don’t say that. It wasn’t a miserable failure.

Micah: No, it wasn’t. It was a good movie. It wasn’t the best one, I don’t think, but it was a good movie.

Matt: Yeah.

Andrew: All right, well, now we’re going to move on to some voicemails here.


Voicemail: Accio-ing People


[Audio]: Hi MuggleCast! I’m Iris, from Montana. I have a question about Accio: I always thought you couldn’t Accio a person, but in the chapter “The Seven Potters” when Harry and Hagrid are flying on the motorcycle, and Hagrid is knocked into the air, Harry yells, “Accio Hagrid!” and Hagrid zooms back up to the motorcycle. Then, I got to thinking – if you could Accio people, why has no one ever tried to Accio Voldemort? I mean, I know he probably uses protective spells around him, but not always. So couldn’t someone just Accio Voldemort and then before he realizes where he is, they could quickly Stupefy him and kill him. Anyway, I love the show. You guys are awesome. Thanks. Bye.

Matt: Didn’t she – I could’ve sworn I read an e-mail exactly like this.

Andrew: Well, there’s always a lot of questions over Accio, because…

Matt: Is that true, though? Did he call on him – did he call Accio on Hagrid and he flew back?

Andrew: He didn’t come back, but he tried to.

Micah: He tried to, yeah. But it didn’t work.

Andrew: Right. But apparently, in theory, it would work. So…

Matt: Is it – does that work on just inanimate objects, though?

Andrew: Well, I don’t think so, because Harry was trying it. I don’t know if Harry would make a mistake about that.

Matt: Well, he probably said it in like desperate – I mean he was – in despertation. You know, you just say what the first thing comes to your mind. And Accio is a summoning charm.

Andrew: Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. Micah, do you have any thoughts on this?

Micah: I mean, why would you want to Accio Voldemort?

Andrew: Well, then her idea was…

Matt: If it works ways, why couldn’t Voldemort Accio Harry?

Andrew: That’s true. Well, I think Accio‘s one of those things – I think by definition it’s only an object. I don’t know if [unintelligible] said that it would work.

Micah: Doesn’t have to be within reach though, too? I mean, you can’t just say it and have Voldemort fly five countries away.

Matt: Well, Harry’s Accio-ed his broom during the Triwizard Tournament, too.

Andrew: Right. And that was from really far away.

Matt: That was from the castle.

Andrew: Yeah.

Micah: But then didn’t she say Stupefy Voldemort and kill him? I mean, that’s not exactly going to work, is it?

Andrew: No.

Micah: Because of all the Horcruxes.

Andrew: Right. I think Accio is just one of those things in Harry Potter that, you know – it’s sort of a flaw but it’s not. It’s just one of those – it’s like one of those – why do you never see them use the bathroom? It’s just another one of those types of things, I think.

Matt: I guess.

Andrew: I think there’s only one answer to this.

Matt: M’kay.

Andrew: Another voicemail!


Voicemail: Naming Houses


[Audio]: Hi MuggleCast, this is Nicole. I’m from New Hampshire. I have a really random question that I was thinking about the other day, is why that so many people in the Harry Potter series have a name for their house? Like, the Burrow and Shell Cottage. And I was wondering, like, do you think it’s because to make it easier to, like, Apparate there or something? I don’t know, I was just wondering your thoughts on that, because, I don’t know, I found that really interesting, like, why so many people name their houses. I don’t know. I love the show, and Matt’s my favorite. Bye!

Andrew: Is it a literary device to just have names for the houses, like the Burrow, the Shrieking Shack…

Matt: Well, we never hear any addresses, maybe that’s just the way they get around is they call out, you know, names for like Floo Powder…

Andrew: Well, right, that’s what she was saying. By Fl – it would help by Floo Powder if places just had names. It is kind of worth noting. Or is that just how storytelling works? You have names instead of addresses? What do you think, Micah?

Micah: I mean, I think it just gives a different feel to it. It separates them from the Muggle world, like Number 4 Privet Drive, you know?

Andrew: Right.

Micah: It’s just…

Andrew: Only that’s an actual address.

Micah: It’s different. I mean, I know you got Grimmauld Place.

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: So. I don’t know, maybe it’s just J.K. Rowling’s writing style. Maybe it’s just the way the British do it.

Andrew: All right, so we have one more voicemail to get to. Laura is back. Laura, you got your Internet – you got your Internet fixed? You survived?

Laura: Oh, for right now, anyhow. You know.

Andrew: Okay, well we’ll try to…

Matt: Way to stay optimistic there, Laura. Woo!

[Andrew and Laura laugh]

Andrew: All right, let’s – next voicemail!


Voicemail: Ending the Movie on a Sad Note


[Audio]: Hi MuggleCast, this is Molly from Rhode Island, and I’m just calling because I just finished listening to Episode 148, and you wanted – didn’t want Dumbledore’s funeral cut, but you felt that it might because it was too sad, but I was also thinking that in Movie 4, Goblet of Fire, they had a pretty sad ending with Cedric’s funeral, so I know not everybody likes Cedric. So I’m [unintelligible] to the show, but I just thought I might add that. So, thanks! Bye!

Matt: Well it wasn’t – they didn’t – that wasn’t a funeral. Cedric Diggory – did he even have a funeral?

Laura: No…

Andrew: But that was their…

Laura: …he didn’t.

Andrew: That was their way of…

Matt: Their eulogy? Sort of? They just used…

Laura: Yeah, but Dumbledore did give that presentation in the fourth book, though.

Matt: Yeah, they didn’t take anything out from…

Andrew: Well, I think what the caller was just suggesting was that that’s one way they could do it instead of doing a funeral.

Matt: Well, that’s basically what happened at the funeral, too, is that there was this huge speech, but, I mean, are they going to really have that? I think that’s what we were discussing in the last episode was…

Micah: You know what I thought was kind of weird, though? Was – you know how at the end of Half-Blood Prince there’s that burst of flames and the Phoenix rises, or what Harry thinks is a Phoenix?

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: But then in Deathly Hallows, Voldemort goes into the casket and takes the Elder Wand.

Matt: Right.

Laura: Mhm.

Micah: How is that possible…

Laura: Oh yeah, it’s going to be random.

Micah: …if the casket burst into flames?

[Laura laughs]

Micah: No, but isn’t that a book mistake? I mean…

Laura: Oh, no…

Micah: …the casket burst into flames.

Matt: No, the casket doesn’t burst into flames. It’s like a magic thing where it – it…

Laura: It enclosed his body, didn’t it?

Matt: Yeah. Yes.

Laura: His body caught on fire…

Micah: Oh, okay.

Laura: …and then the tomb grew around him.

Micah: Gotcha.

Matt: It was kind of like a magical way of burying him.

Laura: But I think you do bring up kind of a problem because it’ll just – I mean at least to me, and not that these movies haven’t been random before, but it’ll seem somewhat random if they completely disregard a funeral scene and then suddenly, in the seventh book, you have Voldemort breaking into Dumbledore’s coffin.

Andrew: Oh yeah. Yeah.

Laura: It’ll seem weird.

Micah: He’s still going to die, though. I mean…

Laura: Yeah, he’ll die, but it’s just – I don’t know. I think it will seem random because it’s, like, the place will hold no significance, really, especially for people who haven’t read the book. They’re going to see Snape and Voldemort approaching this coffin and they’re…

Matt: I think it’s sad…

Laura: …going to be, like, “What the hell is this?”

Matt: …just in general, because they’re going to – odds are they’ll have Dobby’s funeral scene and cut Dumbledore’s funeral scene.

Micah: But what if – what if he just burst into flames right on the ground in front of them, sort of like…

Matt: Yeah.

Micah: …a mock grave was created right there? Could they get away with it like that?

Matt: It’d be cheap.

[Laura laughs]

Micah: Yeah, well…

Laura: A mock grave at the foot of the Astronomy Tower?

Andrew: Yeah, exactly.

Laura: [laughs] How random would that be?

Micah: I wouldn’t put it past them.

Laura: Walking around the castle and there’s Dumbledore’s…

Micah: Because the thing is…

[Andrew laughs]

Micah: …they don’t bring back the characters, right?

Matt: They just light him on fire. That’s so sad.

Micah: They’re not bringing back all the characters that show up at this funeral.

Laura: Oh, I’m sure not.

Matt: Yeah, they’re not going to bring Umbridge back until the…

Andrew: That’s right. She was there.

Matt: …seventh – yeah.

Andrew: Yeah. Well, I don’t know. It just seems like a really big deal, so that’s why we’re talking about it more. But, to wrap up the show today, we have a Chicken Soup.


Chicken Soup for the MuggleCast Soul


Laura: Our Chicken Soup comes from Kelsey, age: old enough to appreciate goat jokes. Ooo.

[Andrew and Laura laugh]

Laura: Location, Texas. She writes:

“Hey, MuggleCasters. I’ve been listening to MuggleCast since Episode 20 and I’m an avid fan. However, once my life became centered around my boyfriend, later my fiance, I had less time to listen to your weekly episodes. Well, recently, he decided that I wasn’t the girl for him, leaving me devastated. I am currently unable to listen to music or watch movies without bursting into tears. Happily though, MuggleCast has become my cure. I’ve been catching up on all the episodes I’ve missed and am not reminded of him. I actually laughed for the first time since he left me at one of Andrew’s jokes and I’m doing a lot better. He and I are going to be friends and by listening to MuggleCast, I am able to face that with a smile on my face. My favorites are Andrew, Matt, Micah, and Ben, who needs to host again and make me smile. Thanks for…”

Micah: And Laura. You forgot Laura.

Laura: Yeah, and Laura.

[Andrew laughs]

Matt: Laura’s my favorite.

Laura: [laughs] “Thank you for helping my heart heal. Kelsey.”

Matt: Awww.

Andrew: Well, I’m glad my joke made such an impact. I mean, I know I’m very funny, so…

Matt: And very…

Laura: Yeah.

Andrew: So, it was no surprise, personally.

Matt: Yeah, okay. I’m going to deflate your head right now.

Andrew: [laughs] Well, thank you for that, Kelsey. I hope things work out. But, really, you know, we here at MuggleCast, if we’ve learned anything, it’s that you don’t really need real friends. You have the MuggleCasters. Ding!

Matt: Well, I mean, we’re not saying don’t get friends. I mean, it’d be kind of nice.


Next Episode is Live


Andrew: We’re your friends. No, I’m being a bad influence. Well, I think that wraps up our show for today. I personally am looking forward to the live show next week. I don’t know about you guys.

Matt: I’m really, really, really…

Laura: Yeah, they’re so fun.

Matt: …really, really, really excited.

Andrew: They are so fun. Everyone always loves them when we do them. But the good thing about MuggleCast live is that it is live and completely unscripted and if one of us curses, which, of course, we don’t, but if one of us curses…

Micah: I might.

Andrew: …you know, there’s no going back. Micah might. If we bring up a new Half-Blood Prince picture he just may.

[Laura laughs]


Contact Information


Andrew: Or if he doesn’t like the teaser trailer. Look out! But in the meantime, let’s remind everyone of our contact information if they want to get in touch with us. Laura, what is the P.O. Box?

Laura: [laughs] It’s P.O. Box 3151, Cummings, Georgia, 30028.

Andrew: You can also call in a MuggleCast – you can also call in a question if you would like to be part of our voicemail segment. To do that, if you’re in the United States you can dial 1-218-20-MAGIC. If you’re in the United Kingdom you can dial 0-20-8144-0677, and if you’re in Australia you can dial…

Andrew, Laura, and Matt: 028-0335-668.

[Laura laughs]

Andrew: You can also Skype the username MuggleCast to call us that way for free, or just visit MuggleCast.com…

[Show music begins]

Andrew: …for our handy feedback form to contact any one of us, or use our first name at staff dot mugglenet dot com. Don’t forget that MuggleCast.com also has a variety of community links to get more involved in the MuggleCast fandom. We have our MySpace, Facebook, YouTube, Frappr, Last.FM, and the fanlisting and forums at MuggleCastFan.net/Forums. I was under scrutiny this week for not saying the URL because we…

Matt: They were so ticked off with you, Andrew.

Andrew: Because we plugged TwilightSource but we don’t plug the fan forums. So there they go, there they are. You can also follow us on Twitter at Twitter.com/MuggleCast. Digg the show at Digg.com, and vote for us once a month at Podcast Alley.


Show Close


Andrew: Once again, as a reminder, keep an eye on MuggleCast.com this week for an update about a live show if the teaser trailer does come out with Get Smart. And also we’ll be Twittering about it the moment we decide on a date and a time. So that does it for us this week. Episode 149.

Matt: Wow.

Andrew: 150. What’s 150 in Spanish?

Laura: It would be ciento…

Matt: Ciento mucho.

Andrew: Muchos. [laughs]

Laura: Ciento cinquenta, I think. I think. I’m terrible with numbers in Spanish, though.

Andrew: Ah, well, okay, well, point being, it’s a big episode, and we hope it’s the live show. That would be wonderful timing. So thank you, everyone, for listening. Once again I’m Andrew Sims.

Laura: I’m Laura Thompson.

Micah: I’m Micah Tannenbaum.

Matt: And I’m Matt Britton.

Andrew: We’ll see you next week for Episode one hundred…

Andrew and Matt: 50!

Andrew: Buh-bye.

Laura and Matt: Bye!

Micah: Bye.

[Show music ends]


Blooper 1


Andrew: Let’s move on to Muggle Mail this week. Matt…

Matt: Oh, hell no, you are not giving me this one.

[Micah laughs]

Andrew: What is it?

Laura: [laughs] What, because you can’t pronounce the last…

Matt: No, the middle – yeah.

Micah: You want me to try it? I’ll go for it, I don’t care. If I butcher he name, I butcher the name.


Blooper 2


Andrew: All right, there you go. Rest in peace, Snape. How we love you.

Matt: How we all misunderstood.

Micah: Where the hell’s the song?

Andrew: I can’t play it. I don’t have it set up. We’re just going to pretend I just played it.

Micah: Oh.

[Everyone laughs]

Micah: Oh!

Matt: So let’s just pretend we just listened to it.

Andrew: Next week hopefully I’ll have the whole studio set up, and then we…

Micah: Oh, gotcha.

Matt: Are we going to redo that?

Andrew: No.

Matt: Oh, okay.


Blooper 3


Laura: Can we not do anything the easy way away here?! Good God.


Blooper 4


Matt: Well, Lord Voldemort – Lord Voldemort is basically giving them an option to live, and…

Laura: I could not hear a word you just said.

Matt: I love you.

Laura: You guys there?


Blooper 5


Matt: It’s a very peaceful kind of quietness when you get from a dead body. But I mean, I don’t get it, but… wait, that didn’t make any sense. Can we just cut that part out? [laughs]