Ep 65. "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix" by J.K. Rowling

[@GuilhermeNetto92]

I always understand that harry started to see the thestrals after the trauma of witness death. I think he wasnt old enough to understand before. JK always links thestrals to the death of her mother and how it changed herself, so maybe thats why. He just wasn't mature enough to change himself after seing death. Also, yes, justice for cho!

[@ANovelReview]

Thanks for the comment and for taking the time to let me know about the Thestrals :) Haha justice for Cho!!

[@rica3947]

I agree with you about the fact that Harry behaves in really annoying and unfair ways in this book (especially towards Cho!) but that's actually something I personally really like about it! To me this book is mostly about Harry's emotional journey as a traumatized teenager continuously going through rough stuff. To me it would be kind of boring or annoying if Harry was able to handle all the horrible stuff he went through in a super mature way because firstly it's just A LOT with Cedric dying, Voldemort returning and most of the wizarding world turning against him and secondly where would he have learned healthy coping mechanisms for all the emotions that he's experiencing because of these things - certainly not from the Dursleys! So to me this book humanizes Harry quite a bit after he was rather calm and unreactive in the previous books. I also really enjoy how Hermione continuously calls him out on his shit when he starts being hot headed and unfair. It adds something to their friendship and shows how close they have become! Concerning the plot holes - JKR has addressed the thestrals, saying that you really have to understand and process the death, and be affacted by it, but personally I think that's kind of a cop out because while baby Harry might not have properly understood what was happening, he was definitely deeply affected by having his parents die. In Prisoner of Azkaban he even has flashbacks to his mother's death showing that part of him does actually remember it, so I think it should absolutely count for the thestrals. The aspect of Voldemort now having Harry's Blood and still not being able to attack him at the Dursley's is really interesting, I hadn't considered that before and I think it's a really good point. There's probably some arguments one could make against this but it definitely seems like a plot hole!

[@ANovelReview]

You are so right that Harry isn't equipped to deal with this kind of pressure and in a lot of ways i wanted to see more emotion from him, especially since he suffers a lot in Goblet. I think just reading the books back to back I was probably a bit fatigued myself and feeling like Harry 😂 Hermione was a star in this book, she really held it together I feel just calling Harry out which was great to see! Thanks for commenting about the plot holes, I can see what JKR was trying to do with the Thestrals and the death of his innocence but yeah, it doesn't fully stick and the blood remains a mystery.. Thankgoodness they are such fun books that we can excuse the occasional plot hole!

[@cait_murphyhurrell]

Just stumbled across your videos/podcast and enjoyed your analysis :) Order of the Phoenix was also my least favourite HP for all the reasons you mentioned - Prisoner of Azkaban still reigns supreme for me but Half-Blood Prince is definitely up there! Looking forward to your next episode :)

[@ANovelReview]

Thanks for the comment, I am glad you enjoyed it and that you felt the same about Order. I was surprised how much I loved Prisoner of Azkaban!

[@toodlescae]

Yes Harry can be annoying but how many 15 year olds wouldn't be with all he's dealing with. He obviously has PTSD and survivor's guilt, he's being kept in the dark and ignored by Dumbledore, the majority of people think he's either an attention seeking liar or crazy, Umbridge is torturing him and he's seeing abd feeling Voldemort's emotions and thoughts. I think that's enough to put *anyone* on edge. Voldemort still isn't related to Harryby bloodline. Plus it wasn't *just* what Lily did that extended the protection to the home of Harry's blood relation...it's what Dumbledore did to extend that protection until Harry and his aunt *both* accepted that he would be leaving his "home" with no intention of returning.

[@ANovelReview]

Thanks for the comment :) You are right, I am treating Harry too harshly and I think in your comment you have highlighted the real reason this wasn't my favourite book. I wanted more Dumbledore, more information about what is actually going on but Harry is in the dark so we are in the dark!

[@toodlescae]

@@ANovelReview I think in a way she wanted us to feel as frustrated as Harry was.

[@ANovelReview]

I think she more than succeded 😆 Would you say Order is your favourite HP?

[@toodlescae]

@@ANovelReview nope. That would be the next book Half Blood Prince..despite the flood of teenage hormones at the school. God I remember when my twins (boy & girl) hit 16. It was a nightmare!

[@ANovelReview]

First person i have met that agrees that Half Blood Prince is the best! Dumbledore showing up, some solid fantasy action and yes, of course the teenage hormones taking me back to my first read!