HARRY POTTER vs. Bullies

[@heatherjasper97]

I think part of the reason why Umbridge is so universally hated above Voldemort is that she exemplifies a lot of people. She's the unfair boss, the cruel teacher, the unforgiving leader. Voldemort is just your run-of-the-mill bad guy that the main character fights. Almost everyone knows an Umbridge, but almost no one knows a Voldemort.

[@Frostfern94]

Yeah, she's realistic. She's terrifying. People can see abusers that they know and relate them to Umbridge.

[@avocado3-in-182]

She’s like Hitler in that book while Voldemort is Satan.

[@arandomuser9459]

Yeah and to add to that Voldemort is common in stories as evil and awful as he is most villains are somewhat similar and he’s the main villain you’re supposed to hate him umbridge feels like the main villain yet she’s only really the villain for a couple books

[@RashaundaSpears]

Seeing as Voldemort recruited people based on inner hatred for Muggleborns and Half-bloods, I would compare him to Hitler. In a way, Hitler was a cult leader too.

[@akkiko]

I think it's also in part that she's (for the most part) socially accepted. Society saw Voldemort and vilified him, appropriately so, for his inhumanity but Umbridge was celebrated and rewarded for her cruelties up until her comeuppance.

[@jdc._.]

Umbridge is giving me big "there is no war in Ba-Sing-Se" energy

[@You-ip8dn]

Lol yes

[@commandertoast9763]

There is no dark wizard in hogwarts

[@Felicite-Etoile]

😂 Deadass

[@hellenz-b9227]

The truth in this comment, priceless.

[@tinaty9278]

Oooh,that was good .Oh ,it would be so great if they did Avatar analyzing😍😍

[@redressedpreciosa]

I think the way Umbridge dresses, her obsession with the colour pink or the cat plates are not a mask at all, but rather they point to her own self perception; She doesn’t feel evil, she is the innocent one in her story following the “right path” and abiding by all the rules, living an orderly and appropiate lifestyle and reconducting those who deviate from it. She is doing others a service by helping them be “better”. To me the most dangerous people are those who do horrible things with a clear consciousness.

[@cdorothy444]

Ya they think they are doing good. Actually the death eaters too

[@hayleybartek8643]

Something something something "The most evil oppressors are the ones who oppress with the consent of their consciousness. Even robber barons may sleep, but people who think they are doing good will never rest."

[@MD-cs7jd]

Interesting echo to today, when so many are chomping at the bit to create a two tier society, to deny people work, access to services because of a medical choice. Very revealing

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

Umbridge wearing Pink is pretty symbolic.

[@platinum_noelle]

And this is why she, unlike Voldemort and most of his Death Eaters, can cast a patronus.

[@thekatarnalchemist]

I always found it sweet that Richard Griffiths, the man who played Vernon Dursley, was so kind and mentoring towards Daniel Radcliffe that the latter found it difficult to act intimidated by him during their scenes together. Even after HP was over, they went on to do some stage plays together.

[@Tareltonlives]

He had the same rapport with Alan Rickman- the most cruel and vicious characters are often played by the sweetest people. Richard and Alan are sorely missed

[@midorana2902]

@@Tareltonlives that is awesome, since the kids don’t get traumatized from the cruel scenes they have! and love for Alan Rickman

[@A_Random_Ghost]

I'm imagining them being bullies to the kids and saying they were method acting.

[@raspberryjam3724]

@@Tareltonlives one of the first plays my actress sister was in, she played a funny but ditzy girl. The character's brother wasn't exactly a villain, but he was a bit of an ass sometimes. At one point he yelled at her, which really shocked my sister, and he immediately started apologizing and asking if she was okay.

[@broadwaybrook2319]

@@Tareltonlives It's like how Danny DeVito was actually really kind and sweet to Mara Wilson backstage of "Matilda." So it makes it interesting when you watch scenes where Mr.Wormwood is being mean to Matilda.

[@dahcyarie]

One of the things that stood out to me about Harry's decision to save Malfoy: When Narcissa leans over him in the forest and asks him if Malfoy is alive, he says "yes." Had he said no, Narcissa likely would have had an emotional reaction, or perhaps even willfully outed him, giving away that Harry wasn't dead. Harry probably would have died in that moment. His decision to save Malfoy's life ended up saving him in the end. It's a beautiful demonstration of how kindness can breed kindness in others.

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Beautifully said.

[@lexwithbub]

You could also say that Harry is saved by narcissa's love for her son. Repeatedly through the books, they say about Malfoy "at least his mother loves him" - a love which ends up saving the day in the end.

[@quentinantoine4183]

Ever played ori and the blind forest Don't read there are spoilers At some point the protagonist saves an enemy then the enemy gives the protagonist something that allows them to beat the game the same befriended enemy also allows the protagonist to progress at a vital point and also brings the protagonist mothr who in turn saves the protagonists life its a bit of a random example but it shows that when you are kind to someone they will probably repay you

[@SingingSealRiana]

It also is a very strong characterising moment for Narcissa who had been basicly not a character up until now. She does not care for the war, she does not care for pure blood, she got tugged along on strings the whole time, but the monent she stands up she does not care about her own safet or any real gain. With how good at spotting lies Voldemort is, it was a very high risk for her to claim Harry was dead. But the fact that Harry showed compassion for her son despite everything made her take that risk without any real hope of reward or gain from it. But she is a loveing mother and there lies a child who saved her sons life, if there is the slightest chance of protecting him, where she could not protect her own , she would do it.

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

Great analysis. I think one of the reasons Voldemort didn't go check if Harry was dead himself was he wanted one of his underlings to do it and announce it, thus proclaiming his superiority over Harry. Because Voldemort did not inspire loyalty or friendship (except for Bellatrix, who was a psychopath and clearly wanted to be his woman), he ultimately lost because two of his followers betrayed him. In her own way, Narcissa is an unsung hero of the series. Certainly cut from very different cloth than, say, Bellatrix.

[@gracie_bex]

Why aren’t more people commenting on the fact that Jonathan’s saint of a mom is so much more evolved than the rest of the human race

[@Brisingam]

Because it's most useful thought in video

[@iforkinglovelemonade]

YESSS!!!

[@KayliePrice]

Totally agree.

[@Satherian]

Yeah seriously. The woman sounds like such a great mom.

[@dexa6623]

Yeah. It seemed like based in the Brave video, they started out a little rocky, but they've both taught each other some really incredible lessons.

[@Merlinchen01]

"Kindness is a wildcard. It doesn't always work, it doesn't always change hearts. What it does show is that YOU can't be changed". What a beautiful sentence - thank you!

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

You're so welcome!

[@scribbles_spills_the_ink]

My favorite little detail in the Prisoner of Azkaban is how Snape grabs Harry's collar of his shirt, he's obviously pissed at him and you can tell he's ready to absolutely chew Harry out, but then he hears Lupin growl and without thinking, completely on instinct, he puts his arms around all three of them and pulls them all behind him to protect them and let's himself be struck by Lupin to protect the kids. I think that's such an underrated moment for Snape's character that when the kids are truly in danger he protects them.

[@noahwesterberg8566]

I have said, and will continue to say, that Alan Rickman's version of Snape is the superior version of Snape. Sure, he has his dickish moments, but I can tell that Alan is still a good dude deep down. The book version of Snape does some irreprehensible things, and I cannot believe that he is a good man.

[@stephanieclark8327]

@@noahwesterberg8566 Another really strong little moments in the film series - but not the books - is in the Half Blood Prince. Harry bumps into Snape while Dumbledore and Draco are in a confrontation scene and Snape puts a finger to his lips, Harry immediately obeys to be quiet. The level of trust in Snape suddenly displayed despite their hatred was extremely powerful considering Snape immediately 'betrays' this to 'murder' Dumbledore. Best moment in the Half Blood Prince hands down.

[@cosmicriptid]

Snape: "I'll psychologically abuse children for years, but setting dementors after them and letting them get eaten by werewolves is a little too far even for me.

[@Gfriend_Buddy99]

@@cosmicriptid you can't abuse and kill them.... That's my job... 😁

[@syedarizvi7290]

@@noahwesterberg8566 I agree. That werewolf scene was movie original and it was pretty sweet! But I hate book Snape

[@dswan1418]

The most interesting part of Harry's story arc re bullying has to be when he discovers Snape's memories and sees his own father being a bully to Snape. He's really disappointed in his Dad's ugly behavior. It explains Snape -- he just assumes Harry is like James and projects his anger onto him. I really find it fascinating that Harry could have been a very different person had he not been raised by his Muggle relatives -- because of their abuse, he can empathize with the vulnerable, and he chooses to act in contrast to those who abuse power and instead to fight for good.

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

The idea that living with the Dursleys made Harry more compassionate is gold. I'd never thought about that (Jonathan). I always thought he was naturally resilient, but your theory makes more sense to me.

[@WanderersBallad]

Thing I find with harry only seeing through his dad bully snape through snapes memory is that memory's are going to have a bias and memory's can change to fit you bias so when Harry sees the mauraders he sees Snapes perception of them.

[@crazyminegamer2339]

As someone who grew up being bullied and looks back on the negative experiences in my life with appreciation for them, I completely agree with this idea. If I didn’t go through the suffering I did, I probably wouldn’t be as compassionate, resilient and willing to stand up for myself and others as I am. Although they were painful and they were difficult, I never once regret them and wouldn’t change them for the world. I’m proud of the lessons I learnt through those experiences and I’m sure Harry is the same. Without going through that sort of suffering, he wouldn’t be able to understand and feel compassionate for other people who were and still are suffering just like he was.

[@jennv2948]

@@WanderersBallad That’s not how pensieves work in Harry Potter lore. The whole point is that you can objectively examine memories and see things you may have missed. To be fair, according to Sirius and Lupin, James matured and “grew out” of his bullying behavior (at which point Lily was willing to give him a chance). We didn’t see any of those later memories (presumably Snape might not have had much later interaction once he and Lily had their falling out and the Marauders stopped bullying him) or any of the dark magic, nasty things Snape and his friends were supposedly doing. So in that sense, we were only seeing “select” memories, but the memories we saw were accurate to what happened.

[@seaglxss.sakura7439]

I agree! I see in life a lot that trauma and bullying can make someone a lot more compassionate. I think his experiences could also contribute to why he stood up for his friends immediately as well. He had been told his whole life so many insults so he knows how it feels and seeing that being inflicted on someone who has been nice to him and is his friend and doesn't deserve it fuels him and he no longer is worried as much about what could happen to him, he just wants to defend his friend and it's empowering.

[@emilyrln]

"Kindness won't always change someone, but it shows them *you* won't be changed." I love this. Thank you, Wholesome Cinema Dads!

[@themoldysausage]

"cinema dads" What a perfect description 🤣

[@g.d.graham2446]

Definitely

[@anastasiiagoralska4258]

Love this too, absolutely! Kindness won't always change someone's heart, but it shows them you won't be changed!

[@oversizedspeedbump9375]

"Wholesome Cinema Dads" should be the new name of their channel XD

[@danika9411]

Wholesome cinema dads 😂 I want this on a shirt of cup.

[@jennifermk4059]

"Kindness is a wildcard. And it doesn't always work. It doesn't always change hearts. What it does show is you won't be changed."

[@elenaekkert9615]

as someone who was bullied all throughout school these are strong words. There's not many people who'll be mature enough to be able to deal with bullying in a wise way. I certainly wasn't. And even today there's so many situations when even being bullied as an adult you take it personally and wonder what's wrong with you though the real question is why do other grown people feel compelled to behave in such a way.

[@mollyb8136]

Ya blew my mind a little there with that. Brb, now adopting that as my new life philosophy

[@daniellemusella1594]

@Jennifer M K "Truth may not always win friends, but it certainly influences people." - Batty Coda, "Ferngully: The Last Rainforest"

[@elenaekkert9615]

@@thegreattotemaster bullying others is the right thing to do? Or are we misunderstanding each other? BC I meant why do other grown people still feel like bullying others.

[@zeddy2284]

D

[@Kittinkatt]

In the books Harry met Draco in Diagon Alley, buying robes. His first thought was that this boy is obnoxious and the second was that he reminds him of Dudley. Basically these were huge red flags, he figured out that he didn't want another Dudley in his life, and when they met again in the train, he was ready to stood up to himself.

[@Tareltonlives]

It's the most obvious thing in the world is that Dudley and Draco are two sides of the same coin, but it flies over people's heads.

[@tanvitasnim326]

@@Tareltonlives it’s obvious tho why it flies over people’s heads Draco’s conventionally attractive and Dudley’s not people are willing to look over Draco’s flaws but not Dudley’s because of that sole reason

[@Tareltonlives]

@@tanvitasnim326 Bingo

[@Mix090]

Also, draco had disrespected Hagrid during that part of the book. Harry didn't like how badly he talked about his friend and was happy to be away from him

[@Tareltonlives]

@@Mix090 How Hagrid is treated shows the quality of the character: the Malfoys hate him, Fudge doesn't like him, and Umbridge really didn't like him. Terrible people hate Hagrid, dating back to Voldemort framing him.

[@freefratellis]

Harry Stands up to Draco because he's not standing up for himself. He's standing up to the first person his age who's shown him genuine kindness, Ron.

[@helledising8273]

I love that in the books the first scene with Draco and Harry, Harry learns that he doesn't like Draco much, not because he insults Ron, but because he insults Hagrid, which at that point is the first adult person that has ever been kind to him. The scene with Ron and Draco just affirms this and my heart goes crazy every time I think about it

[@adiksaff]

That was bloody brilliant. Amazing!! I have renewed appreciation for HP because of this...

[@grosebud4721]

Yeah I also think Harry found it easier to stand up to someone his age. Dudley was a bit older right? But he also was a part of the family that has so much power over his life (food, shelter, other necessities).

[@helledising8273]

@@grosebud4721 yeah! Tho Dudley is like a month or so older than Harry if I remember correctly, he still has a lot to hang over his head like his parents providing shelter etc!

[@janhavi1977]

One of my favorite "Harry standing up for his friends" moments is in Philosopher's Stone. Neville is almost crying because Draco Malfoy has been bullying him, and he feels he's not brave enough to be in Gryffindor. Hermione urges Neville to report Malfoy, and Ron tells him he should stop letting people walk all over him. But Harry just gives Neville some chocolate and lets him know that he definitely deserves to be in Gryffindor. It's a great message to send to kids. That maybe victims of bullying might just need a few words of kindness and reassurance that they are not worthless in order to give them confidence. Ron and Hermione advise though well-intentioned didn't really help Neville in any way. But Harry's few words of kindness and encouragement gave Neville so much confidence, he actually stood up to Malfoy quoting Harry's words to him and took on Crabbe and Goyle single-handed.

[@agenttheater5]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="210">3:30</a> Behind the scenes confirms that Petunia was always jealous that Lily had powers and she didn't, in the books we find out she actually wrote to Dumbledore asking him why she couldn't go there as well, his reply was very kind but very clear, she couldn't come because she didn't have any powers. She felt overtone by Lily and felt overlooked by her parents ("But as for my mother and father, oh it was just Lily this and Lily that they were PROUD of having a witch in the family!) and because of that she started calling her a freak to her face as well as behind her back. Because she felt like her parents didn't love her she's overly affectionate with Dudley, and she thinks she's being a loving, doting, caring mother, and doesn't realise that all she's done is raise a fat, spoiled, lazy, arrogant, stupid bully (in the book whenever he gets a bad mark from school she insists "that Dudley was a very gifted boy whose teachers just didn't understand, while Uncle Vernon would just say he didn't want some swotty little Nancy-boy for a son anyway" and whenever the school reports on his bullying other children she just says "he's a boisterous little boy but he wouldn't hurt a fly") deliberately closing her eyes to her sons faults and basically damaging him as he's never experienced not getting what he wants or having to wait, ask, or even work for something, he's just gotten it all so he'll basically grow up not realising that the outside world won't treat him like that. Her jealousy is also the reason why she treats harry like that, jealous that he also has powers, that there's a whole community who has powers like "that Potter at that school", that she still hasn't gotten over the fact that her sister had powers while she didn't, but she also bullies him because his existence is a daily reminder to her that her sister is dead and that her sister died before they could make peace and that the reason they couldn't make peace was because she couldn't let go of the past (even though I'm sure she denies that).

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Love these insights. Yeah, the relationships are super deep and well-drawn, especially in the novels. Petunia is such an underrated, rich character. Not that she's a great person, but there's a lot there in that story. I love Dudley's change of heart once Harry saves his life.

[@ZetHololo]

@@CinemaTherapyShow I wanna just point out that maybe she IS aware that Dudley's a monster, only she's afraid to admit it to herself and afraid of the knowledge that she's a bad mother. Remember when Harry pulls a summer of threatening Dursley with magic at his 2nd year? There is NO WAY Petunia didn't know that he couldn't use magic while still underage. Maybe she felt guilty and thought that her son needs to fear Harry to better hismeslf? Edit: a letter

[@alicetheneko7529]

This also includes Dudley in the first part of the Deathly Hallows. When he was attacked by a dementor, he saw himself for how he acted. For those who haven’t seen the deleted scene, Dudley walks up to Harry and says “I don’t think you’re a waste of space.” I found that very meaningful and I wish they kept that in the movie along with the scene with Petunia talking about her sister in a melancholy tone. Both Dudley and Petunia, have changed and I love that. They were no longer bullies. Though I can’t say the same about Vernon.

[@annieweasley3339]

Also while she resented her sister, Petunia never joined Marge's bully, in fact, she seemed kind of horrified with the comments she made.

[@alicetheneko7529]

@@annieweasley3339 I didn’t notice that. I’ll have to go back to Prisoner of Azkaban and see

[@BHRamsay]

I think Harry's most important moment was discovering the man he admired and respected (his father) was a bully. Up until that moment Harry's view of the world was kinda black-and-white. Suddenly finding out his father bullied Snape made him understand just how easy it was to abuse power and how easy it was to justify that abuse.

[@lambchop6278]

Good point.

[@katieking165]

I'm glad you said that because I was just gonna flag it up & you beat me to it. 100% agreed !!!

[@lkcullen1918]

“I wouldn’t like you to judge your father on what you saw there, Harry. He was only fifteen -” “I’m fifteen!” said Harry heatedly.

[@Tareltonlives]

And it helped him stop turning into Snape himself

[@ala.peterson5462]

@Sanjana Roy Lupin was not an exception, and Harry actually confronts him about this also in the last book. Lupin was constantly looking the other way and ducking out of situations in which he should have stayed and helped. All of his choices were driven by low self esteem, feeling like a burden, and not wanting to “rock the boat”. Lupin himself even brings up his character flaws a few times and is basically like look I’m not catching heat for these crappy things that happened because I kept my head down and stayed out of the way, but my keeping my head down is WHY I deserve some blame. Compare Lupin to Neville, for example, who is commended for his bravery in standing up to his friends. Lupin just always wanted to be a Nice Guy and fit in.

[@kahn04]

The real telling detail with Umbridge is her ability to maintain a patronus in the presence of dementors in the Deathly Hallows during the interrogation, she either wasn’t really paying attention and putting her whole energy into happy thoughts, or she genuinely enjoyed what she was doing and that was her happy thought.

[@ObligatoryRaven]

I believe this was meant to represent how much she truly enjoyed her role in what she was doing.

[@jadatownsend5014]

She was putting so little visible effort into creating that patronus.... it was lazily walking around the room.... it was a cat.... I think this was an example of how much she was TRULY enjoying herself... she likes to play with the things she hunts and kills... even if she isn't eating them...

[@tripleS1906]

In the books I saw Umbridge being even worse than Snape because like you said she seemed to enjoy her interrogation of people and seeing them being terrified of the tormentors. Another thing that seemed even worse is the treatment of the Hogwarts students, especially, the pen that would use your blood as ink and cut what you were writing into your flesh.

[@WalkerRileyMC]

She's a sadist. She gets off on torturing people and holding power over them.

[@grainneocruhuir6383]

Umbridge isn’t the type of bully to be pitied or understood she’s a horrible abusive monster who hurts people cause she like hurting them just thought I should put that here

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Oh, she's terrible. The pity, in our opinion, comes in seeing that she's miserable and, like Voldemort, she'll never know friendship or love. Pity replaces hate or fear, not because she deserves it, but because those emotions can consume the victims. But yeah, she deserves a special level of hell.

[@KassWinnie]

All the bulkies i ever had in life look way more like Umbridge than Snape, to use another character. I deeply hate them both (even tho i think they're exceptional characters), but Umbridge, especially, has to burn

[@avocado3-in-182]

Bruh, she’s a dictator. She doesn’t care unless someone agrees on her views, she hurts others who think differently.

[@cmykat7839]

@@CinemaTherapyShow What would it take for someone like Umbridge or Voldemort to change into a character like Harry?

[@DoddyIshamel]

That is why she is a weak character to be honest. Most of the evil characters have either some form of redemption or we can see how they ended up as they did. Even entirely evil characyers like Voldemort and Bellatrix have clearly dysfunctional or non existent family situations which not excusing them does explain them. Umbridge is just a bit too 2 dimensional.

[@laurenhawes7201]

"At the beginning arry was just trying to keep his head down" Harry: "Sassing the shit out of the Dursleys"

[@saidafrhn]

lol he found a way out and he took it "You can't use magic outside of school" "yeah? try me"

[@tetsudikawakami3071]

Its in his way showing that he isnt their slave...well,at least not fully.

[@actualtorchwoodagent]

*this*

[@purcascade]

Sassy/Book Harry is the best Harry.

[@janhavi1977]

Uncle Vernon: What were you doing under our window? Harry: Listening to the news. Vernon and Petunia: Again?! Harry: Well it changes every day, you see.

[@dazeddamien5625]

I believe the pink has a further meaning, it's meant to be so extravagant, so over the top, that it's unbearable, like emptying an entire bottle of perfume at once, it's overwhelming and suffocating, toxic, even, just like anything else that's taken too far.

[@beckag2286]

I totally agree! I could never figure out how to put it into words.

[@swagwanhyung8413]

Wow! Well articulated! I have it on the top of my head and can’t put it into words but you said it. Pink is also the stereotypical color for women. It is kind of weird as to how she thinks she is at the top yet still follow the set ideals put into the society. It shows how she is a really strict person, follows the rules all the time, yet abuse it in order to feel significant. It would be amazing if they tell us her backstory, if she even has one.

[@originelly1568]

@@swagwanhyung8413 yeah, she is upholding everything that represents the social structures she used to get to power. Everything needs to be neat, clean and orderly. Everything needs to be acceptable. Pink is considered a very sweet colour, a colour that ist "acceptable" or "ministry approved". She is not rocking the boat, but cementing the anchor firmly in the one single Spot that is "correct". Because that will keep her in Power.

[@DecemberSfy]

That's a beautiful analogy!

[@Golgigolgigolgi]

Possibly, pink is right in the middle between red, a color of anger and fury and white, which is seen as innocent and pure. She plays both sides.

[@AutumnRayne936]

I am a writer and I sometimes find it hard to create compelling, interesting, and relatable characters. So what I've begun to do is pretend my character is in a movie you two are reviewing and imagine what you would say about them, good, bad, and everything in between. It has really helped me develop interesting and well rounded characters, so thank you very much

[@samikaislasalo3947]

GL with your writing

[@wunderedich5101]

Well... that seriously got me interested in your stories!

[@twweety9]

Please please let me know when your first book comes out I would love to read it

[@Squishy_Seal]

I hope your writing comes along well. Notify us when it comes out !

[@amanabookclub4198]

Yess let us know🌟🌟prayers for a successful career🌸

[@asakiijrii]

Honestly , everone hated Snape so much until Alan Rickman got cast into that role. And he just played him in such a perfect grumpy way that one enjoyed him as a character, and suddenly everyone was on the Snape fan-train. Alan Rickman was just too loveable.

[@lw5264]

Obviously you didn't read much fanfiction before the movies started coming out, lol.

[@gordonchell4364]

Plus they took out a lot of Snape's asshole moments from the books. Which I think was a good decision in hindsight.

[@JR-sx3gl]

I'm guilty of that. I first watched the film before reading the book (first one). It was Alan Rickman's fault I loved Snape so much and felt bad about it reading the books.

[@albanegauran4283]

There is an argument to be made that Snape's portrayal by Alan Rickman and changes in the adaptation made Film!Snape a completely different character from book!Snape, i think.

[@FulcanMal]

It's interesting that the first book to be released after the first film came out was Order of the Pheonix, which is the book where we first see Snape being bullied by the Maurauders.

[@redunkulous9901]

Don't forget HP taught us that it takes bravery to stand up to your enemies, but even more so to your friends.

[@beatrice-e4r]

"sorry Neville" :')

[@aberteau2]

“I have thoughts as a therapist, but I’m interested in your ideas as a person.” The subtle implication that therapists aren’t people

[@rrraven369]

lmao

[@elishad.6546]

I get what you mean, I also get what he means. A therapist shouldn think objectively, and as a living being, he thinks subjectively. Part of being a mentally stable and operational therapist is to separate both identities to prevent clouding of judgement between his personal life and work. But it does sound like that. XD

[@ip1136]

He means as a person who hasn't had any education in psychology and who is unbiased.

[@aaronyayger]

@@ip1136 No shit that's what he meant lmao. The OP was joking.

[@TallDrinkOfCoffee]

Nah we're actually lizard people

[@agenttheater5]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1370">22:50</a> Except that James didn't take Lily. An important part of Snape's memory of James bullying him - the one that Harry saw - was Lily defending him and telling James to leave Severus alone (James tried to mess his hair up and make his voice sound deeper and tries the 'I'll let him down if you say you'll go out with me' line which obviously didn't work) and then Severus in his humiliation yelled out "I DON'T NEED HELP FROM FILTHY LITTLE MUDBLOODS LIKE HER!" The thing is that since being sorted into Slytherin Severus had been hanging out (I don't know if he as actually friends with them or if they just let him hang out with him) with a lot of other Slytherins who later ended up becoming Death Eaters, and they kept on harassing and bullying muggle-born students. Snape was still friends with Lily but she couldn't understand why he would hang out with those other Slytherins. My own guess was because it was out of loneliness, and because of that Severus tried to brush their actions off as "just a bit of fun". James Potter was a bully but he didn't target people based on their parentage. As Lily put it "James Potter is an arrogant toe-rag - and I can see that on my own without you reminding me of it every five minutes - but your friends...their idea of fun....it's evil", not that Severus heard that bit, he was too happy to hear her insult James Potter. But when he called her a 'mudblood' that broke their bond - James tried to force an apology out of him but that just made Lily even angrier that she already was, she even told James "you're just as bad as he is" - she cut ties with Severus after that though it might have been more because he would use that word at all rather than just that he called her that, I'm not sure, only know that she said when he tried to apologise to her "why not? You call everyone else like me mud blood, how am I any different", also saying "You and your death eater friends - see you don't even deny it now? You can't wait to go off and join You-Know-Who. Well you've chosen your side and I've chosen mine" and even added "I've been making excuses for you for years, none of my friends understand why I even talk to you." She started going out with James in their 7th year, over a year since that incident. So while in a way there's probably a feeling that James stole her from him (though they were friends, not actually dating), what probably hurts Severus even more is the knowledge that his words and actions drove her away and that he ruined his own chance with her. So I think seeing Harry reminds him of both those facts.

[@Mia_M]

I think it's because he called her that because she said he used it to call other people of the same heritage, so why should she be different. And I don't think it was purely out of loneliness. I think he actually did share some of their beliefs. You don't allow anyone to brand your skin unless you're all in.

[@agenttheater5]

@@Mia_M Says a lot when you think about it. Harry was bullied by his muggle relatives but he didn't fall into that mindset, Snape was (from what I can tell) pretty terrified of his muggle father (even if he didn't bully or hit him I get the feeling he hit his wife) and he did fall into that mindset. I mean it's understandable that he'd be resentful towards muggles since they probably reminded him of his father and then he found himself surrounded by a lot of anti-muggle fanatics but there's only so long you can use that as an excuse. I also think what you said was really spot on though, and that it wasn't so much that he called Lily a mud blood that she broke off their friendship but that he used that word at all.

[@shelleywinters6763]

wow that's an amazing insight into the interaction between snape and Lily. I did read the book, but I forgot that. I just thought they were friends and he never could have been with her. Not that he drove her away because of his words and deeds. Good points.

[@Mia_M]

@@agenttheater5 I think Harry and Snape internalised their upbringings very differently. Snape always at least knew he’d be able to escape and he idolised Slytherin because of his mother. He was always ambitious and wanted to show he was something. He hated his father and likely attributed his abusive behaviour to him being a muggle as opposed to the ugliness of humanity. It probably didn’t help that he already saw himself as somewhat superior to muggles for having magic. Harry never expected to be a wizard. He had no explanation for the weird things that happened to him. He came back into the world he was born into very ignorant (not in a bad way) but lacking some of the prejudices that others had. On top of that, he didn’t want to be like his relatives. And meeting Draco solidified that he wanted nothing to do with Slytherin house, especially after discovering Voldemort was a member. For him, he wanted a low-key life, where he just got to be Harry without all of the attention. I would also add that it was just the final straw for Lily. She had cut him a lot of slack over the years, and him turning on her because he was humiliated and she defended him was too much. She couldn’t make anymore allowances for him, especially when we consider that mudblood is as bad as racial slurs in their world. She probably made excuses for him when people wondered why they were friends, especially given how he did look down upon muggles and muggleborns.

[@agenttheater5]

@@Mia_M good reading of it

[@pokefan213]

I always said that the only reason Umbridge never had a Dark Mark on her despite her OBVIOUS loyalty to Voldemort was because he refused to allow her to get it in pink.

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

Lmao

[@criss4457]

Facts.

[@tinaperez7393]

@@nharber9837 V: I am NOT letting you have one in "pink cat", Dolores! 😂🤣

[@Verbose_Mode]

I don't think she's loyal to him at all. She just really, really _loves_ the cruelty she can enact. That's why she's horrifying. To her all the awful things she does, and under Voldemort's rule is _encouraged_ to do, is _right._ In her head she's the good guy, nothing is wrong with tormenting people, to the point that she can make a full Patronus (which requires positive emotions and even love) while abusing someone. She's a complete sociopathic sadist who's just been put in a spot where she thrives. Umbridge doesn't need a Dark Mark. She doesn't even have to like or know Voldemort is pulling the strings. She just needs victims.

[@pokefan213]

@@Verbose_Mode if a criminal minds parody for the Harry Potter world existed umbridge would be a season finale on the last 2 episodes, with a follow-up on the first episode of the next season and (if she survived and was jailed) a further follow-up episode enlisting her "help" to catch a copycat or fan of hers.

[@cijmo]

Draco was a bully because he had no control over his own life. His only "friends" were ones he could control. That's why he was almost overwhelmed when Harry saved him. "Why would you do that for me? I treated you so badly." Especially when you got to know his father who had less and less 'pull' as the series went on. Lucius was just so pristine and 'blonde' in Chamber and he got rattier and rattier until Deathly Hallows, after being in Azkaban, he was like someone who slept on a park bench.

[@desirosethorne4429]

I never hated Draco, he's such a well written character. He seems so mean in the first few movies and books but then we find out why and he has a huge redemption arc. He never wanted to do any of those things. I feel bad for him and honestly, he's my favorite character. He's so well written and is just misunderstood and is abused himself. It could be because I'm a Hufflepuff though. I sympathize too easily 😂

[@dew__drops7844]

@Zayalla Fantasy I’m so glad people here (at least some) don’t think Draco was a bully. I mean, he was, but he was to be pitied. Not hated.

[@Flintstone_o7]

@Zayalla Fantasy EXACTLY

[@Flintstone_o7]

EXACTLY

[@janicevasey4038]

If you ever get to see the stage play “The Cursed Child” you’ll understand Draco even better, and his son Scorpius is wonderful.at the end of the show there are three different children who could be the cursed child!

[@lilj4818]

Ah but Harry acts so different in the books! He doesn’t take Snape’s shit at all. “I don’t know,” Harry said quietly, “but I think Hermione does. Why don’t you try her?”

[@Jacob60Mr]

My opinion, I think this is still avoidance and deflecting it to someone else.

[@tinselPixie]

They did film that and it's in the extended cut, also in deleted scenes. I think it was only cut for film length.

[@DaDunge]

Yeah unfortunately being cheeky was a great way to entrench in Snape's eyes himself as the second coming of James Potter.

[@P.samathe]

Also "There's no need to call me Sir professor" I remember at the time I laughed so hard it gave me an asthma attack.

[@DaDunge]

@@P.samathe That was very late though.

[@mx.viscera2247]

The story about John’s mom is incredible. What a smart, kind, and wonderful woman. Sending my thoughts to her today wherever she is.

[@asthajindal5275]

In God's house. May she rest in peace.

[@emilykennedy4304]

Yes, she sounds like the most pure, kind and loving woman. It takes a very special person to do what she did.

[@musica623]

"Clearly, Hermione knows, seems a pity not to ask her." Really wished they'd kept this in for the theatrical version.

[@TheHcjfctc]

Me, too. I had only ever seen the extended version, but saw a theatrical re-release and was sad this part was gone.

[@grosebud4721]

I know he’s supposed to be unfair, but it ALWAYS grinds my gears SO BAD when in the first movie Harry is taking NOTES on what snape is saying, so clearly he’s paying attention, and yet he claims Harry ISNT paying attention. That part always makes me SO mad because that was ME IN CLASS, I would feverishly write notes out of anxiety, so to say he wasn’t paying attention is unfair and it always hits me personally when I see that scene.

[@SilverGallowglass]

I was always like "Look at the paper! Snatch the paper and read it, like the overbearing teacher you are! You will be pleasantly surprised and life will be a lot easier for everyone!"

[@lumossk3657]

I think that's the point, Snape hates Harry without having tried to understand him.

[@slimegirl4099]

I had the same experience because of having a teacher who screamed at everyone despite any of the students having anxiety or IEP

[@plushy_doctor2299]

I hope you're doing better now :)

[@slimegirl4099]

@@plushy_doctor2299 which person?

[@TheUncouthGentleman]

Ah, Delores Umbridge, the magical Karen.

[@Xehanort10]

"I'd like to speak to the Minister for Magic."

[@aisling_90]

@@Xehanort10 🤣🤣

[@gil.8674]

wow

[@arandomuser9459]

@@Xehanort10 I thought that said Manager and read it as she wants to talk to the literal leader of magic. Like the first wizard ever or something before remembering Fudge existed and that says minister.

[@ladygiseler2187]

Lucius Malfoy is the Karen imo. And Draco is the entitled crotch goblin.

[@colorfullyme]

I would LOVE a psychology of a hero series for some of the more “minor” characters: luna lovegood, neville longbottom, molly weasley, the list goes on..! Or to look at the concept of fate vs creating your own destiny through the lens of the prophecy. In any case more harry potter please!!!

[@Shan_Dalamani]

Sirius Black deserves some analysis. He was like Draco - child of pureblood fanatics who tried to make him in their image, but he rebelled and finally escaped when he was 16 and taken in by the Potters. In the novel we meet the portrait of Sirius' horribly abusive mother, Walburga, who taught Kreacher to hate anyone not pureblood or who didn't espouse pureblood supremacy.

[@emsitdown9141]

I think an examination of mentorship through Harry Potter could also be really interesting! A look at who affected and taught this orphan and what influences they had exactly on building him into the person who was able to defeat his nemesis

[@thecheetahchica]

Dumbledore and Hagrid videos pretty please!

[@susannairisastarte5192]

YES

[@SiriuslyBlack7]

Professor Treelawney's prediction referred to TWO boys,but only one of them was marked by Voldermort. If he went after the Longbottoms himself, Neville would have been the "Chosen One",as he and Harry's birthday are very close, and both of their parents thwarted Voldermort 3x.

[@SerenityM16]

Wonderful fact: the kittens that appear in the saucers in Umbridge office were all homeless that they immediately found homes for after filming ♥️

[@showandtell1313]

the best fact of my day

[@katwebbxo]

🥺💖

[@angela_aubrams]

omg really? That made my day

[@clare1759]

alan: "the sound design was perfection" voldemort: eeeeYAAAAAAAAAHHHHH

[@fannfannmsb]

but it's the most perfect eeeeyaaaaaah

[@bonithechubbypotato5100]

It was the best eeeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhh that I've ever heard though

[@S3rp3rior]

Ralph Fiennes does that in the Prince of Egypt as Ramses. It's when he is leading his troops down the hill towards Moses and co. after he parts the Red Sea. GOTTA SAY... really breaks my immersion in the scene. Then again a fire tornado comes out of nowhere right after so who cares lol

[@lazrustosadow5880]

Cant forget Voldies famous NYEEEHEEHEE

[@Xehanort10]

"Harry Potter is dead. Eh heh heh."

[@FREAKOFNATURE-mb8oo]

What I noticed about the saying "Hurt people hurt people" applying to this situation is that in the books, it is shown that Harry's aunt Petunia hates Harry because he is the son of her sister, whom was beloved by her parents more than Petunia. She felt bitterness towards him because he was a representation of her sister, the favorite child. This almost mirrors Snape in a way...

[@aden538]

Yeah, the movies shorted her character in the end. There was that very short moment between just her and Harry, which I think it helped reframe her as more than an evil aunt caricature. She's someone who was hurting and never got over the loss of her sister, nor the regrets she had for cutting off contact. She couldn't let go of the resentment towards Harry, but he's still her sister's only son and she doesn't want him in danger.

[@FREAKOFNATURE-mb8oo]

@@aden538 exactly. She's a very interesting character, in my opinion.

[@delireent.3960]

To me Pétunia is almost the same as Snape. It's kinda sad that fans admire like one of them and hate the other. Snape had a bigger redumption.

[@Tareltonlives]

Exactly-like Snape she's evil, but that doesn't mean she's not a victim as well

[@nessnness]

I always thought petunia hated her sister, harry and magic because she didn't have it. She was not allowed to go to hogwarts.

[@ms.wilson6439]

I LOVE that you mentioned that bullying isn't JUST at school.... And saying that it's"in marriage". It's so true.

[@tusharlakshminarayanan3776]

I love having people analyze my favorite films like this, on a psychological level. You guys are doing great, I’m glad I found this channel!

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

We’re glad you found us too!

[@seefoon7574]

HECK YEAH!!

[@bluestacks8227]

ditto

[@EH23831]

Yeah - I’m seeing these movies in a new way and deeper level! ❤️ it!

[@MelHyde]

Agreed

[@natkatmac]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="780">13:00</a> A thing to consider: we value standing up to bullies in media, but we punish it in real life. People don't have protagonist vision of you and they don't understand all the things that led to that moment. If I swing back at the bully, I'm forcing them to (finally) be on equal ground to me. And then from an outside perspective, we're two people fighting, not one person standing up to the other. It's one of the many ways that the Fundamental Attribution Error hinders society's ability to help the suppressed.

[@Tareltonlives]

In media we also punish it

[@NicoUnken]

I've heard far too many stories where bully victims stand up to their bullies, and the school's policy forces administration to punish BOTH of them. Either let yourself get beat up, or get suspension. So infuriating.

[@Tareltonlives]

@Dr. Diofenshmirtz I forgot condemning bullies and Nazis was a punishable crime. I forget this is the internet.

[@anthonyguillory4036]

@Dr. Diofenshmirtz curse you perry the platypus!

[@makeda6530]

Can confirm, even if you get fed up, the one who 'won' gets punished and it's usually the one who decided they weren't gonna get beat up anymore.

[@marycapossela2090]

I think Umbridge infuriates people because she exemplifies the unfairness of the world. Her actions represent dangerous, systemic, and abstract concepts like fascism and government censorship, but also remind us of personal slights we've all experienced due to an imbalance of power. Like when adults (or whoever's in charge) doesn't believe you and completely overrides your truths.

[@Tareltonlives]

Just like snape

[@tracy4290]

@@Tareltonlives ...not really "just like Snape"; Snape's *obviously* mean; Umbridge's meanness is *sneaky*, hidden under that "sweetness". She gets away with a LOT of subtle or hidden abuse.

[@Tareltonlives]

@@tracy4290 True. She pretends she's not like Snape when she really is the same

[@Mia_M]

@@tracy4290 Snape is mean. He gets away with a fair bit of abuse too. He found ways to dock points from students, to continuously punish Harry for basically existing. While Umbridge holds more power in the scheme of things, she and Snape are cut from the same cloth in terms of how they wield their power.

[@irinad.7802]

Alan is such a gentle giant! Him showing authentic emotion gets me every single time 😭

[@maryk5225]

"I thought I would be the crier of the two of us" "Have you met me?!" We love men openly showing emotions!

[@Habizuh_Studios]

Harry: Yes... Snape: Yes sir. Harry: There's no need to call me sir professor. -The Half-blood prince

[@vermilion6966]

Legendary

[@tiph3802]

Oh, how I howled!

[@OfficialROZWBRAZEL]

Harry Potter and the Abundance of Sass

[@26lea07]

Best line ever !

[@cotevallejos7230]

@@OfficialROZWBRAZEL I definitely need that spin off 🤣

[@enneki929]

the dursleys did not bully, harry was severely abused. theres not enough talk about that.

[@mellemadswoestenburg1296]

Emotionally? Yes. Physically? I don’t know. I can’t remember if that was ever established.

[@enneki929]

@@mellemadswoestenburg1296 they locked him up in a closet, starved him, gave him no appropriate clothes, mentally abused him. But they didnt beat him up. Thats the one thing they didnt do, everything else was.

[@mellemadswoestenburg1296]

@@enneki929 yep. I think that’s worse.

[@celianunn2070]

@@enneki929 Dudley and his gang beat him up...and Vernon pulled his hair...and I wont ne surprised if Harry got a few smacks here and there

[@EndisNai]

Bullying is, by it's nature, abusive.

[@Zazabazaa]

I like Dudley's transformation especially. I forgot who made the video on it but someone pointed out how essentially the moment he met those Dementors he began his transformation. It was like background development, when he was met with everything horrible about himself and his life and he basically began to shift his perspective from there. Apparently after both Dudley and Harry made their own families, they visited each other annually or something, to allow their kids to play with each other. And I like that. The fact that Dudley and Harry didn't necessarily become super close afterwards but they had a mutual understanding and respect for each other, staying in each other's lives despite how badly they had started off. Also, I hate that they removed the scene where Harry is confronted by his aunt and they basically have a moment where she admits that she did in fact love her sister and grieve for her despite their distance. It was a moment of admitting that she did care even if she failed Harry miserably. Sometimes people do terrible things, but that doesn't mean they're evil, it just means they've lost their way.

[@personafanatic4597]

also in the books dudley didn't want to leave harry. he didn't understand why they were leaving without him which suggested concern for harry who he tormented for years growing up. he had a lot of character growth that unfortunately got overlooked

[@AH-is5yg]

At the end Dudley learn to be better than his parents after everything that has happened and Harry did saved him in Book 5. Dudley change a lot.

[@ZaphiraX]

I actually hate the scene with the aunt. The entire series, she has been nothing but hateful. But now suddenly she feels bad about the sister? The freak? The monster who was loved more by mommy and daddy. The aunt doesn't deserve it

[@louestu]

I guess you wanted to talk about this subject with a specific angle but i think it would have been interesting to talk about Luna and Hermione. Because Harry and Ron, at the very beginning are also bullying Hermione. She doesn't have any friends because she's a little "know-it-all", Ron make fun of her, and they finally bond when they come to rescue her from the troll. After a time we meet Luna, and we discover that Hermione was also kind of bullying her, not actively but she uses that ridiculous nickname so she actually let that girl being bullied even though she knows how it is. I think it's so interesting to show that the hero is the one being bullied and becoming strong, the one protecting friends but can also be a bully (or let someone bullying) because he is not perfect.

[@sailiealquadacil1284]

The bullying of Luna is actually movie-Hermione only. In the books, Luna is introduced by Ginny, who is in her year and therefore knows her, on the train ride to Hogwarts. Not sure why the filmmakers decided to give that to Hermione, other than to save time.

[@natsukitatsumakiniji]

Luna Lovegood! She really did get the nasty end of that one. Even her friends treated her oddly. It might be good for looking at how people can be different and still get along.

[@romualdandrzejczak4093]

It's because Hermione is a borderline rationalist, and to her, Luna is basically, I don't know how they are called in English, but in Poland we say "foliarz" i.e. someone who believes in things like alt-med, vaccines being dangerous and similar stuff.

[@wanderlust9372]

About Luna, still mad they didn't keep the scene (7th book) where we saw the ceiling drawing in her room with all her friends aka really dear people to her heart, and I felt that was the moment the trio fully realized how much they meant to her. I would love to have a friend like her, helping me to see things from a different perspective with a very open heart, borderline naive tho

[@lawfulhusbands]

@@wanderlust9372 Luna's not naive though. She's open minded and different from others, but she is also perceptive and tough. She joined DA and went with Harry to rescue Sirius and what not. She has a way of looking at things that people fail to understand.. and honestly? That's their problem. Luna is awesome

[@AleeraKnight]

I honestly need to re-read this series as an adult. I feel like I can learn a few things.

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Jonathan here. I'm reading it now with my kids. Yeah, it hits you differently at different stages of life, for sure.

[@ladria9743]

i first read them when I was maybe nine, and I read them at least once a year. Now I'm 20 and in the ten or eleven years I read them, everytime I noticed thinks I didn't understand the year before. It's like growing up with the books, but the books grow too, because the older one gets, the more on understands about the maturer themes in this series.

[@liliannas.theythem4764]

I first read them when I was 8, and rereading the books as a 14-year-old, I really noticed many more things.

[@AK-ir4cv]

Honestly me too. There are many lessons in these series that I can use in my life.

[@kiyahforever]

I recommend Harry Potter and the Sacred Text - a super cool podcast!

[@acecat5575]

only just found this channel... just one question... how does one stop bingewatching these videos? I need to finish my work...

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Jonathan here. I love this! Serious answer: let our channel be your incentive to finish your work. That is to say, when you finish your work, reward yourself with... us, I guess. It's awesome to think that someone sees us that way, lol. But this is what I do with my shows and movies. I set my tasks for the day, and when I'm done I reward myself with down time.

[@salomefaria3762]

As a person currently prepping for finals... I am in the same boat as you 😂😂

[@glitterberserker1029]

You watch all the videos. As someone that also just discovered the channel there is no other way, lol.

[@ShamsunNahar-nf1ty]

Yeah I just can't stop as well. Idk how will I prepare for my damn exams...

[@nm9tf]

They will always be here, but the undue work won't stay ungraded. just do your work 😭

[@TheLostAirbender]

Something else that's important to note is how Harry also grew up in a household without love and yet he never became a bully (only in the 5th book when he was suffering from Depression). Being able to break the cycle is really powerful stuff

[@Furienna]

When was Harry a bully in the 5th book?

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

@@Furienna He wasn't an outright Bully yes but he had become extremely aggressive often Lashing out on his friends and others. He had developed a temper problem that got him into a lot of trouble.

[@Furienna]

@@ruturajshiralkar5566 Which was only understandable considering the circumstances.

[@jademaverick8291]

When I found out that my bully had a bad home life, I did feel sorry for her. But it didn't mean that I then liked her. No, I understood why she was the way she was, and just went on being indifferent to her. I never thought of being friends with her or anything, I just thought well, that's awful, and I understand that negative stuff has to come out one way or another, and I guess it just depends on the person how they're going to react to it. I don't think it's right to be a bully, but I understand it and wish for things to be better for her. Kind of how I think about Snape. And I guess it's just different, because this is fictional and I know his life story and all, and I feel like I have way too much empathy, and I really get frustrated when people just curse Snape and hate on him. Like, "Ew, a creepy evil guy who is obsessed with Lily! What a piece of s***!" I know that he's not a nice man, he's not even mostly a good man. But he's not evil either. He's someone who has been through so much, and has gained little in his life. the way he is Isn't right, but it's understandable. What else is he supposed to cling to, when the only good thing in his life was Lily? He might not even be in the right state of mind anymore after everything he's been through. I could go on and on about everything he could have done, he should have done, what he could be, and what he should be, but that's how he is. That's how he was. I don't have to like him, but I can understand him. I can feel compassion for him, wish for things to be better for him(though it's all too late for that). Maybe it's because of what I've been through, which I'll say is nowhere near that bad, but is in some form similar to what he does, and I understand, and I can be a little more forgiving. Also, I just found your channel, and I am loving you guys and your content. I'm eager to watch more reviews on movies that I've watched. ^^ I wanna say more animated movies because I watch a lot of animated movies. >< I can't think of any topic in particular that I wanna know about, but if it's a movie I know, I'll most probably watch it and enjoy it. ^^

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Such thoughtful thoughts! Snape is endlessly fascinating. I love your insights here. So glad you found us! Please tell your friends and share our stuff... you know, if you want to ;) We'll definitely keep animated movies in the shuffle moving forward!

[@avocado3-in-182]

I really can’t hate the guy cuz I always think that he is just some bizarre mysterious teacher until someone pointed out that he is a bully towards Harry and his friends. But I do agree that Snape has chose a wrong approach of unleashing his frustrations towards Harry because of James.

[@annabanana7659]

I understand that Snape can have a grudge against the Marauders since they bullied him but I don't think I can like Snape as a person. I get why he's like that, but it should never be an excuse to act like an a-hole. Not only to the Golden Trio, but he tormented Neville to the point that the boy was so traumatized that he became Neville's boggart. All because Neville could've been the prophesized Chosen One and Snape fed his boss the info. Neville is like the living proof of his sin on Lily and he can't help himself. And not to mention, he joined a Neo-Nazi group and only left because Voldy killed Lily. I don't think he had ever renounce the mentality of blood purity. That's my opinion of course, you can still like Snape if you'd like.

[@ZetHololo]

Snape's redemption doesn't come from his obsession for Lily. It comes because despite being a horrible, vindictive person he dedicated his life to fighting evil.

[@Tareltonlives]

@@annabanana7659 I agree

[@paleoclipper6771]

Umbridge not only physically resembles my mother, but her behaviors are almost identical to my mother as well. She scared the hell out of me the first time I saw her because it suddenly clicked just how horrible my mother can be.

[@tinselPixie]

Yeah that moment when you realize it was way worse than you thought it was. It's a jolter for sure. I hope this insight enables you to keep some safe distance for yourself. I was lucky in that my mother moved away and I only had to endure her phonecalls after that. I never shed a tear when she passed, and I never will. I was free!

[@erikperhs_]

Yeah, I saw my grandmother in her the first time I watched. She was also a kind and mannered woman in the outside but very homophobic, racist and etc in the inside.

[@maryjoyspohrer9011]

The hardest part of the loss of Lily's love was the fact that he did it to himself. Instead of appreciating the fact that Lily stood up for him, he turned on her and called her a Mudblood and that really hurt her.

[@maryjoyspohrer9011]

Meaning Snape.....

[@Tareltonlives]

Most of Snape's problems are his own fault

[@davidalves31057]

@@Tareltonlives His stupid father actually, a bully and also a muggle!

[@larirodrigues25]

also he was the one who told Voldemort about the prophecy (without realizing it would lead him to Lily) so he lost her in life and in death, both times his fault, it's a very hard thing to get over, some people say he was obsessed with her but I think that he was just feeling a lot of guilty and remorse

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

James started the whole mess by Flipping Snape upside and humiliating him by forcing his pants down infront of a crowd. I don't absolve Snape of his mistakes, but I do feel that had James not bullied him, then Snape most probably would've turned out a lot better. Snape chose to become a Death Eater, primarily due to his desire to look cool (like James) & win back Lily. However this instead Repulsed Lily and in the end Snape chose to go his own way and Lily chose her own path.

[@cheezemonkeyeater]

"We're in Utah, there's some worse names here." One of my teachers told me about a woman who named her kids Oranjello and Lemonjello. After her two favorite flavors of jello. So, can confirm. We have terrible names in Utah.

[@798jeremy]

Hahaha, seriously, wtf is wrong with these people...!? XD

[@avril6922]

JAAJAJJAJAJAJAJAJSAJAJAJJSJAJAJAJAJAJALKKAP

[@fernglade]

Wow, Oranjello? That's very similar to what my 8 year old little sister named her new kitten. We call him Jelly, but originally he was Oranjellyumper. So that woman was literally naming her children what an 8 year old would call their pet cat.

[@JedioftheRose]

That's an old, old, story.

[@ChubbyUnicorn]

Ouch 😖

[@DarkLordGanondorf190]

Voldemort is this abstract big bad evil - a merciless, soulless fascist. Not everybody will have to deal with that, ever. But everybody has had an Umbridge in their lives. Addendum: Being nice to your bullies or demonstrating to them that you are a person and not just a punching bag, sadly never helped me. I was mostly bullied in elementary and I never found out if there were bad things going on in the lives of my bullies. What I did notice was that whenever they were placed next to me or paired with me back then, one on one, they gradually thawed and were actually decent work partners etc. because no matter what came before that, I was very much interested in getting along (less stress for me and also being conflict-avoidant). But without fail, the moment they were back with their pals or at their seat, it was back to bully in a heartbeat. I think they had an image to maintain.

[@MedusaLegend]

That’s the group effect.

[@yanawilliams6302]

@@MedusaLegend Also can be a form of peer pressure. @DarkLordFanondorf190 Even with you being partnered with your bully, they were pressured (good pressured) into being like you which is working on a project to get the project done quickly. But they also were pressured to hurry along with the project because they're friends and them had a reputation to hold. Kind of like a two way sword.

[@magpie322]

I was a good friend with this one kid when I was younger, he was pretty cool and we got along rather well, until some of his other friends came along. He never bullied me, but he actively pretended to not know who I was any time we were in the same class (his toxic friends were in another class and would only find him at recess)

[@glitterberserker1029]

That is why I think so many people hate Umbrige so much. As bad as basically being wizard Hitler is it's difficult to relate to especially for a kid. Basically everyone has an innate understanding of being bullied and in many cases being bullied by an authority figure. It's the sort of thing where there is no imagination required. Also I think this is why 5 is my least favorite book. It is at times difficult to read about Umbrige abusing her authority because it feels too real.

[@magpie322]

@@glitterberserker1029 a lot of teachers and nurses I've had over time have bullied me in little ways (claiming I was a liar over my asthma, getting upset over me making a mistake and then saying that everyone makes mistakes when they do the same), so I related to Umbridge on too personal of a level for me to be comfortable rereading the book.

[@FirstLast-cg2nk]

The thing about that scene with Umbridge that I notice is how absolutely orderly everything is. A place for everything and everything in its place. For Umbridge, everything is about control, putting things in their place, or at least what she believes is their place.

[@cindyhutchins9216]

I'm a trans man. For years I repressed everything on my life, my gender, my emotions, for years I couldn't cry. But now, I revel in my tears. For a while after coming out I was conscious of everything was I sitting masculinely did I move my hands like a girl? Then I realize I define my masculinity not the other way around. So cry bro. Don't hold back. It's important that we decide the men we are and get rid of the stereotypes.

[@lina.mandarina.15]

Hugs ❤

[@NiNa-hp6wr]

I don't know you, but your journey seems to have come to a very healthy place! I wish you happiness and love in your life :)

[@Aruynn]

Same case and totally agree with you. Always be proud of being able to shed tears.

[@captainharkness8011]

"I define my masculinity, not the other way around." You put it beautifully ❤️ do not deny your own catharsis for someone else's comfort; you are a person too. Proud of you for your growth! Cry on friend!

[@foxpro3002]

Crying isn't something you should be happy about

[@tinof23beans]

I think that one of the most important things to remember when talking about stuff like this, is: if a bully (or anyone for that matter) has problems at home or has bad things they have to deal with, it's not an excuse; it's an explanation. There is absolutely no obligation for you to feel sorry for or forgive someone who's hurt you, just because their dealing with their own sh*t. They were fully responsible for their own actions, even if they had reasons behind them. There's actually a trope in stories that outlines this as well - something like "The villain became a villain because this happened; the hero became the hero because they went through the same thing, but changed for the better."

[@Pippa87]

Feel like Harry could have squeezed “Hagrid” into that long ass name for his kid. Just saying

[@Black-Swan-007]

Hagrid was definitely more brave than Snape. Albus Rubeus Potter or Albus Hagrid Potter are way better than what he went with.

[@Ergoperidot]

@@Black-Swan-007 I don’t knooooooow. Hagrid’s brave but being an undercover agent is straight up one of the bravest things you can do. I could never.

[@Black-Swan-007]

@@Ergoperidot Snape was only undercover because he was obligated, not because he really wanted to be. Hagrid rescued baby Harry from the mess in Godric's Hollow, rescued Harry from the Dursleys on his 11th birthday, bought him an owl, was the first person to be kind to Harry that Harry could remember. So many, many things Hagrid did for Harry. He loved him like a son. And instead Harry names his kid after the guy who called his mom a racial slur and pouted for 20 years because she didn't choose him.

[@masatiselj8777]

But Hagrid isn't dead. His children's names pay respect (and love) to those who have died in the fight against Voldemord and personally meant a lot to Harry.

[@Black-Swan-007]

@@masatiselj8777 "But Hagrig isn't dead" Touche. That's a fair point!

[@ashleymkott]

Could you do a video about Harry Potter on how he was affected by child abuse?

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Good idea!

[@Ikajo]

@@CinemaTherapyShow Maybe you could also do a video about Loki, from the Marvel cinematic universe? That would be really interesting.

[@Lauren_210]

Especially with all of the warning signs with how Harry was living with the Dursleys. There are many things they do that would have qualified for Harry to be taken out of their house by CPS (mostly the warning signs of neglect and child maltreatment).

[@bex9158]

@@Ikajo omg yes a video about loki would be amazing

[@that-possum-guy3209]

@@Lauren_210 I saw a German Harry Potter analysis video point out that the Dursleys didn't just make Harry live in the cupboard under the stairs, they also locked him in there (you can see it in a quick scene in the movie), and sometimes they closed the door's VENTILATION SLITS on him. They could have killed that boy.

[@May-qb3vx]

I really miss all the sarcastic one-liners Harry put out in the books when addressed by the bully characters. The one thing I miss in the films.

[@ZielonaPastela]

But he also had some lines in the movies that weren't in the books, like the famous "I'm sorry professor, I must not tell lies" in the 5th one when the centaurs take Umbridge in the Forbidden Forrest.

[@swagwanhyung8413]

He is such an OP character... so badass... but I felt like they made him kinder in the film versions. He had his moment so it’s okay i guess... he is the MC afterall

[@janhavi1977]

@@swagwanhyung8413 Agreed. He's kind in the books too, but he definitely has douchey moments as well. Unlike movie Harry, book Harry is my favorite character. He's a lot more interesting because you get a better sense that he's just a kid who's in way over his head. Movie Harry is calmer and more mature. Whereas in the books there are moments where he makes mistakes and throws temper tantrums, but despite that he still has good intentions and would risk his life for his friends. He's way more realistic in the books.

[@wolfishpotato6978]

Nah, if there's one thing I wish the movies had included it would be the twins basically blowing up the school when Umbridge is there and then just ditching XD

[@mesCheerios]

@@wolfishpotato6978 wait wha...i thought that was in the movies? It's one of my fav scenes i can't have this wrong surely

[@sapodilla25]

Please do a video on friendship! Especially how having Ron on his side from day 1, and Hermione later, gives Harry so much more strength and shapes his personality for years to come. Ron's friendship to Harry is challenged a few times in the series but he never leaves.

[@martabreccia]

"for a lot of fans she's worse than Voldemort". Well of course she is

[@unknow11712]

Voldemort whole mission, was to kill her . and he failed .

[@Bla7754]

Exactly

[@c.9231]

I absolutely HATE Umbridge!

[@dew__drops7844]

If you don’t hate Umbridge more than Voldemort, you’re living in sunshine and rainbows.

[@Tareltonlives]

But still not as bad as Malfoy and Snape

[@maryammoghaddas768]

Harry's compassion for Draco actually started when he saw him crying in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. it started there for me too!

[@shydreameress264]

her? ^^

[@maryammoghaddas768]

@@shydreameress264 edited lol

[@tanyawales5445]

I think that Harry got a good idea of what kind of father Draco Malfoy had when Harry tricked Lucius Malfoy into giving Dobby that sock releasing him from bondage. Lucius Malfoy reared back starting to say the Killing Curse and was stopped by Dobby.

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

@@tanyawales5445 The Killing Curse attempt in Cos film was an improvisation by actor Jason Isaacs. In the Book there is no explicit mention of Killing Curse. Here he simply whips out his wand and advances towards Harry, but is thrown off by Dobby. But Harry did indeed start feeling sorry for Draco when Harry finds him crying in the Bathroom. He feels even more Sorrier in the final battle where he sees a Draco Malfoy, at his complete vulnerability (Harry instead choses to blame Snape entirely for Dumbledore's Death).

[@davidwillcocks808]

Accidentally almost killing him just after might have done it too.

[@erictaylor5462]

When Snape asks him all those questions trying to embarrass him, I so wanted Harry to say, "I don't know sir, but I'm sure if you are a good teacher, I'll learn soon enough." The thing I really liked is, 6 years later, when Ron was positioned, Harry remember how to cure him, even when Slughorn was too stunned to act.

[@fairystail1]

Sadly that wasn't from Snape's teaching (well not directly) it was a line from the Half Blood Prince's potion book. It had no advice for antidotes beyond 'Stick a bezoar down their throat' and Harry used that in class. That's why he remembered it.

[@MandyRoeske]

Something I’ve always noticed was that Harry’s go to fighting spell is Expelliarmus. He never wants to harm the person he’s fighting, he just wants to disarm them. (Yes he used Sectumsempra against Malfoy but he didn’t know what it would do.)

[@SkyBlueDevilsNest]

Also it's like the only spell he actually masters I think, other than the patronus charm. At least the main offensive one, and one of the few actually mentioned that he learned in the books or movies.

[@timecrayon]

<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="643">10:43</a> I'd also like to add: In the books he meets Malfoy even earlier, in Diagon Ally. And at that point he still avoids conflict. Malfoy is mean or at least prejudiced and Harry doesn't stand up to him, but only until Malfoy starts insulting Hagrid, then Harry instantly starts defending him.

[@xXdyinginside32Xx]

@edo0girl Really? I tried looking it up, but in all my old copies of the books and a quick online search, Draco and Harry have always met in Madam Malkin's robes shop. Do you have a copy of the book where they first meet in the Great Hall?

[@crispybacon9917]

In the book Malfoy says: "or he'll kill my family," big difference and huge insight into how much of a role his family played in making him 'evil' Edit: Managed to start a debate about how the Adams Family and the Draco Family differ in morals.

[@Tareltonlives]

Exactly. All his motivation is about his family. He's evil because he loves his family- it's an interesting paradox how love created evil. If he didn't love his family, he'd be able to judge for himself. However, he can't dissociate his bigotry because it's so intertwined with the love of his family. He's evil because his family is evil, and he and his family genuinely love each other

[@Arguing.With.Idiots.]

@@Tareltonlives So they're addams family

[@Tareltonlives]

@@Arguing.With.Idiots. Don't you insult the Addams family like that

[@Tareltonlives]

More like the Mansons

[@abigaildurant5925]

I remeber in deathly hallows where Voldemort is asking ppl to join him or die. Draco doesn't want to go. He sees what Voldemort is doing and the difference Harryvis making. It's his parents that teach him to submit to Voldy and follow him out of fear

[@magdalfalfa]

I love every single time Alan cries. To see the emotion in his eyes every time is as beautiful as to see someone laughing. There is so much beauty in human emotions, we shouldn't hide it.

[@MsWinterlife]

On the topic of the OTT pink style of Umbridge, I read it years ago that the colour pink has pacifying effects on people, especially men who generally display aggressive and intimidating behaviour. So when I undertook some safety training on the job (I worked for the metropolitan rail network operator at that time and safety was the number one focus for obvious reasons), I purposely picked out a baby pink lacy cardigan to layer over a sky blue dress with bright floral patterns. Part of our training that day involved conflict resolution in a mocked up site office, where an actor would pretend to be a grumpy foreman of a crew that got told to stop work because of unsafe practices, and we (the site manager of the day) would have to engage him in a peaceful but assertive conversation to calmly convince him to wait until a safety inspection clears his team to resume their work again. I could hardly hide my glee when it was my turn to be the ‘site manager’ because I was so keen to see how things would turn out, and let me tell you that the actor guy was totally unprepared for what he was up against that he was visibly taken aback half way through storming into the room, and his well rehearsed “what’s going on…?!” was followed by an open mouthed stare so comical that I couldn’t help but giggle. Long story short, the pink lacy cardigan helped me sail through the safety training with flying colours, partly because many of the trainers there were unable to unleash the full weight of the usual aggression and intimidation (which I’ve been told is commonplace within the construction industry) onto some soft speaking young lady in a pretty dress who was clearly too sweet to be sworn at. Maybe, just maybe, Umbridge also read that theory about pink…

[@swatisaini6447]

Interesting! Now I am off to buy bunch of pink clothes to wear next time a conflict happens

[@fleetskipper1810]

I love this reminiscence! I never thought of that before.

[@sugar-high_kitsune]

That... is a brilliant, personal anecdote. And it makes me wanna lean in a little more into my desire to own pink clothing.

[@robbynellis4764]

That’s interesting because red and hot pink cause people to feel more aggressive. You’ve got to get the right shade of pink, or that’s going to go horribly wrong.

[@adrianadetrinidad901]

Brilliant! Well done!

[@lisaseibold3751]

What I find interesting about Umbrige is that she is so obsessed about cats but also about cleasiness that she never would get an ACTUAL Cat. She just has pictures of them.

[@aliyahpulido953]

That and the fact that McGonagall can turn into one, so there must be other Animagi (Animaguses?) who can turn into cats and she likely doesn't want the risk of being spied on by a human disguised as a pet. *cough* Peter *cough* Pettigrew *cough, cough*

[@Shan_Dalamani]

@@aliyahpulido953 I've wondered sometimes if Umbridge's kitten plates aren't her sanitized version of trophies on the wall, like the dead house-elves at 12 Grimmauld Place. She doesn't love the cats - she killed them. Her obsession with cats would take different directions at Hogwarts. Hermione's familiar is Crookshanks, who some fans think is a human who got stuck in cat form due to a failed animagus transformation and that's why Crookshanks is so smart and relates to Sirius (as another animagus, albeit a dog). And then there's McGonagall... and Filch's cat, Mrs Norris. I've sometimes wondered what those three cats would do if they ever got together.

[@Perid0tStar]

@@aliyahpulido953 I've been curious about if she ever turned into a cat to hang out with Mrs Norris to walk around the school every now and then. If I could turn into a cat that would be fascinating.

[@nebelparder9]

In my opinion, the shape of Umbriges partronus proves that she is actually loves cats / associate happy thoughts with cats. What is pretty interesting considering her extreme order compulsion and that cats always do what is on their minds and are not receiving orders like dogs.

[@professorbutters]

They’re not even cats. They are cute little kittens. There’s a difference. McGonagall is different. Her Patronus is also a cat. There is SO much to say about the cats of Harry Potter.

[@ashleighchambers8468]

My headcanon is that "Albus Severus" was actually named "Arthur Rubeus" 'cause Arthur Weasly & Hagrid was nearly as important to him as the other two and it sounds infinitely better.

[@Call3ndra]

He could definitely have called his son Remus too.

[@princeofflowers8607]

@@Call3ndra i think he saved Remus for Remus's son in the books

[@Kchan250]

I’m in full support of this! Those two were indeed the most important male figures in his life. Arthur as a stable and loving father, Hagrid as a unflinchingly loyal and open minded friend.

[@SabiaSparrow]

Those two survived though, maybe he was more inclined to honor those who didn't survive by using their names instead (not that there weren't better choices, though)

[@themysteriousone33]

@@princeofflowers8607 Yup! Teddy Remus Lupin

[@1bendykat]

I think it's important to distinguish the Dursleys as abusive, not bullying. Abuse victims deal with different things than people were bullied. And I'd like to also note that one or the other isn't better or worse. They're just different.

[@PcCAvioN]

Bullying is abuse

[@amazinggrapes3045]

​@@PcCAvioNbullying from peers is not the same as someone abusing power over others, psychologically or ethically

[@luthesouza]

Damn, Dudley and Harry making peace is one of my favorite moments in the book.

[@sweariefaerie9621]

Same. It gives me hope that Dudley could have become a good person despite his upbringing.

[@EdslilNeko]

Honestly, I have no issue with the idea of Harry's compassion for Snape evolving to a sort of respect for his bravery. He did risk his life and save Harry's many times over. But where JK lost me was the bit about him naming his son after him, middle name or no. Respecting a man's bravery doesn't mean you want to immortalize him in your own legacy. Snape was an objectively horrible person who only did good things out of a (depending on your interpretation) sick obsession with an object of his desire. He couldn't let go despite being rejected. And let's not forget that Snape wasn't rejected by Lily because Lily started seeing James, he was rejected because he called her a Mudblood. He essentially used a racial slur against her and she decided in that moment that he was clearly beyond help. She had still been his friend after she started dating James, she still wanted to be in his life, he was the one who wrecked that, he only blamed James so he didn't have to take responsibility himself for ruining the only good relationship in his life. He was a grown man who regularly humiliated and bullied children, not just Harry but a lot of them, and even what good he did for Harry wasn't because he personally valued Harry's life but because Harry was the last piece of Lily that was left, and he was still obsessed with her. Apologies for the rant but the "redemption" of Snape is a sore spot for me. He was not redeemed just because he loved Lily, too many of his abhorrent actions had no connection to his cover or his relationship with her, a lot of it was just him being an asshole.

[@Metherine26]

I am in the exact same boat. There is nothing that excuses Snape's behaviour. Yes he was bullied, and the things that James did was horrifying. But I was bullied too, and if I met my childhood bully I wouldn't immediately show hatred, and moreso if I taught her CHILD I wouldn't decide that I will make that child's life hell. In Harry's case, he wasn't even LIVING with the bully Snape had to deal with. He's literally a horrible person to multiple students for no reason. The only other reason I could think of was to make Voldemort believe that he was on his side, he had to be pretty foul in general. But even that's a stretch. He could be strict and even a bit unfair, but some of the things he did to Harry is absolutely atrocious for a grown man, and everyone is supposed to forgive him because he had a hard-on for Harry's mother? Nah, not worth naming your kid after, Harry you weirdo. Why not let Ginny name a kid anyways? All of their kids are obviously named by Harry only.

[@amandapeterson790]

I AGREE!!!!

[@hillarydimig4851]

I feel like the overarching moral of Harry Potter (and this video) is that being able to empathize with someone is not the same as giving them a free pass. Snape can be both the bravest person Harry knew (and I do think that's true) and have done awful things that Harry can be rightfully upset about.

[@hestia_or_adhdsteph]

@@hillarydimig4851 The problem is, at least as I see it, many people in the series, THAT HARRY KNEW, were far braver, and were better people than Snape. While I understand using Albus, Dumbledore was his closest mentor and one of his first real father figures, and I can understand not using Remus or Fred (letting Teddy and George have those make sense), however, he could have used, for example, just off the top of my head, Alastor (for Moody), Rubeus (for hagrid) or Regulas (will check spelling, but Sirius' brother) for Albus' middle name, and honored someone who didn't spend a decent part of their adult life bullying children. (sorry for any caps, i don't know how to underline or italicize, otherwise i would have done that)

[@sammygecko_]

At least it wasn’t his daughter Lily’s middle name.

[@femailler22]

I watched this with my teen daughters tonight. My 17 yo said "Finally, they're looking at bullying in HP." It was well-done and well received, and had some good talking points. In the progression from hiding to standing up to compassion, we agreed that there is another "step" but we're not sure where it fits chronologically (if it even does) and that is - neutrality. Not reacting, either by ignoring or by responding calmly and neutrally (to a verbal assault, at least) - "I'm sorry you think so" or "Why would you say such a thing?" or else pretending not to understand: "What do you mean?" - someone having to explain an insult takes a lot of the teeth out of it. If the bully tries to push a button and nothing happens, the "cause/effect toy" loses its appeal after a while. These all may be things that a child might be unable to do (and some adults), but then the ultimate goal of compassion for "enemies" (which a bully certainly may be construed to be) is the highest form of response and also might not be expected of a kid (or even some adults). BTW Jonathan's Umbridge simper around <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="570">9:30</a> was chillingly well done. ;) We can hardly wait for the next installment. Strong work, lads.

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

Jonathan’s Umbridge gives us all nightmares. And he’ll have to weigh in on this, but that neutrality you’re describing may actually be a very subtle, almost passive-aggressive version of an Attacker response. It’s not avoiding, and it’s not Affirming, and it’s not an aggressive attack, but it seems to me (Alan) that it may be an attack all the same. Probably more likely to have a positive outcome than outright attacks, but still feels attack-y. Then again, I’m not the therapist on this show, I’m the filmmaker, so I’m a bit out of my depth. Very solid insight though. Next time we talk about that in a movie, I’ll be sure to bring it up! Thanks again Wendy!

[@femailler22]

@@CinemaTherapyShow interesting idea. I hadn't thought of it as a "passive-aggressive" (or "covert" aggressive, as George K Simon calls it) response, but I suppose it can construed that way. It's hard to read tone in text; I imagine it said in a genuinely curious (for a question) or conciliatory tone ("I'm sorry to hear that"), in a disarming way, not in a smarmy way. I'll have to think about that some more. There's a book I recommend to parents called "Ignore It," by Catherine Pearlman, about the technique of not reinforcing negative behavior by responding to it (because any response can be reinforcing). I wondered if this kind of repeated neutrality might work to disarm bullying, especially in the thick of things... I do like the idea of getting to the compassion level.

[@JonathanDecker]

Excellent insights, Wendy. I agree, neutrality could go in several places and be interpreted several ways. For example, if displayed between hiding and standing up, neutrality would likely be passive-aggressive or a means of "standing up" covertly or quietly before standing up more forcefully. If displayed between standing up and compassion, however, it can be a stepping stone from self-confidence to empathy, a neutral stance that says "I refuse to bear you ill will, even if I don't fully care about you yet."

[@felixflax19]

Luna Lovegood reacted with neutrality to the Ravenclaws that stole her stuff

[@eyesofthecervino3366]

This "neutral response" has a similar energy to Jean Valjean burning himself with the red-hot poker people were threatening to torture him with -- like, "Oh, I'm sorry . . . Was this supposed to hurt?" It's a direct attack on their assumption that they have any power over you -- an attack on strategy, as I believe Sun Tzu would say :)

[@MsBlue68]

Being kind to bullies is so so difficult. Harry makes amazing growth throughout his journey.

[@emmaventura8778]

I think Harry started standing up to the Dursleys and to other bullies more after he finally found people who truly love and support him. Harry looking forward to going back to Hogwarts and seeing his friends always touched me when reading the books, the thought of his friends got him through some tough times (except for a book where he was mad at them for an entire summer lol).

[@Black-Swan-007]

And therein lies Dumbledore's greatest flaw. His darling Harry, the boy he's using like a tool, just faced Voldemort and witnessed the death of a classmate and needs all the support he could get right now, but sure. Let's isolate him *completely*. Smart, Dumbledore. Great plan.

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

I'm Surprised Harry did not end up as Voldemort part-2.

[@vinnyl264]

@@ruturajshiralkar5566 I think that was the whole point. He had a strength of character and a strength of will that Voldemort did not have. That was the difference between the 2

[@ruturajshiralkar5566]

@@vinnyl264 Yes. True. Harry had something that Voldemort didn't i.e. "Friends"

[@ameena6485]

@@ruturajshiralkar5566 And a nose

[@You-ip8dn]

“Snape’s a professor, he’s taller, he’s meaner...” “His clothes are blacker...”

[@ClaudiaDavZam]

His cape game is stronger

[@tuesday1672]

@Who needs profile Pictures Really? lmfaoo

[@bigbundle3223]

In visual language, that kind of thing matters.

[@justjukka]

Hey, it's difficult to prevent fading! 😩

[@blondiiv6]

Regarding the Umbridge line, tossing in some HP Folklore because Potterhead: Patronuses can only be cast from good and happy memories and general positive mojo, this is why Deatheaters (like Lucius and most of the others, Snape is the one exception) cannot conjure a patronus at all. HOWEVER. UMBRIDGE CAN. Her really terrible personality, her acts and decisions, all add up to mean that she takes some form of pleasure in inflicting misery on others, likely in some sort of distorted delusion of magnified superiority complex that she is right in everything that she believes, says, and does. (Unironically, her patronus is a cat, as seen in the Deathly Hallows, don't remember which one, probably Part 2, when the gang takes Polyjuice to infiltrate the ministry.) As far as the lore behind why her patronus is a cat, no clue. BUT the fact that she is quite frankly the worst person in the entire series AND can conjure a patronus is profound to just how rotten and evil she really is.

[@vee1267]

Umbridge’s patronus being a cat 100% makes sense when you consider how playfully sadistic cats can be towards prey animals; Umbridge has that personality trait in spades. There’s the well-known “game of cat and mouse” where a cat will toy with a creature it’s already caught & let it “escape” so the cat can catch it again. There’s also the fact that cats consistently kill more animals than they’ll eat, even when they’re feral and don’t have a human to feed them; they literally hunt & kill for fun, to keep their skills sharp. (This is coming from a cat lover btw, my cat is my precious baby & I even praise him when he leaves dead mice on the porch because it means we won’t need an exterminator - it doesn’t change the fact that cats are murder machines lmao)

[@blondiiv6]

@@vee1267 she's just terrible. And people wonder why we hate/loathe/despise her more than Voldemort, even though Voldemort is still pretty bad.

[@magpie322]

Wasn't it a Persian? It was a long hair, I know that much

[@Cerberusmon]

To quote the great George Carlin: "As it turns out, extremely aggressive, violent people think very highly of themselves."

[@themysteriousone33]

I always thought it was because of the cat plates she had in her office lol

[@kerrietc]

as a therapist in training, this channel has helped me understand some concepts that my class doesn't and has given me examples for projects and clients to examine. Thank you for sharing. I love this channel!

[@CinemaTherapyShow]

That's so cool! Thanks for watching!

[@CinnamonHopes]

My childhood bully is currently in jail for assaulting his girlfriend and biting and ripping her nose off her face. Some people are just f*cking violent and evil.

[@learningandcooking]

okay but--what the fuck? ripping nose off????

[@pumpkinwaffles7569]

Wtf....

[@ishastrega6851]

Like throwing acid on a woman's face, he wanted her to be undesirable and unloved. For many men it's the ultimate power trip and maybe worse than killing a young woman.

[@lemurlover7975]

he needs Jesus. you can walk really far into darkness which makes that sort of act seem fun to you, if you are worshipping Satan... I know cause I was raised by Satanists. I'm glad I still have a face. They did los of things to injure my face and the rest of my body...fortunately I still have my nose and ears. :) though my mom kept trying to cut off my ears when I was a child...she wasn't trying to remove my nose, just punch my nose a lot so I would bleed. I fought her every time she started cutting my ears with scissors so I got to keep them, but not without a fight. CPS never helped me :(

[@Flintstone_o7]

@@lemurlover7975 I'm so sorry you had to go through that! I hope you are ok now and I am glad you found God. :)

[@inspectorlunge3887]

Sometimes people don't stand up to bullies when they're the victim because they don't know that anyone's going to have their back. If you're standing up for someone else, there's a strong motivator for them to back you up, since their neck is on the line.

[@sezzadore]

It could in a way be a self reflection thing. How we as people are always really bad at looking back on ourselves, especially in times of stress. So how in the world do we back up the things we say when standing up for ourselves, if we cannot recall certain things. But with other people, there’s a few things at play, your sense of justice, on seeing a ‘weak’ person being crushed, you want to help. So defending them is easy, because they mean something to you, you’ve thought about how you can protect them. So you can. Whereas we often don’t give a lot of thought to ourselves 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@rayn0577]

In Harry’s case, it’s also because he’s dealt with it for so long that it’s been normalized in his mind. He’s so used to being bullied because that’s what his entire life was with the Dursleys, and he’s passive when he’s the victim because it’s what he expects by this point. He sticks up for his friends because he sees them as worth protecting, but doesn’t really think that way about him self (in the first book especially his internal monologue is very self deprecating).

[@originelly1568]

I'd really love to hear your take on the question of Dumbledore's manipulation of Harry. Especially, because he does it in order to benefit "the greater good". Because Dumbledore teaches harry, that Intention in performing magic has a powerful influence. So he's keeoing the information from Harry, that he might have a chance to survive, if he is willingly giving himself up to Voldemort, so that his motivation remains pure. But what does this do to Harry? And also, how does this compare to manipulative people in real life? I mean, Dumbledore plays the great political scheme, outside of official departments. I'd be interested in your opinion. ;)

[@serpentinewolf7085]

Yeah I hated the bastard.

[@TheOriginal_Unaleska]

This is like the whole do we have free-will verse destiny situation. Destiny is a path you will take. Free-will is choosing how to take that path. You will always end up in the same situation, it's just a matter of how. Dumbledore is destiny, he knew the path that was laid out before Harry (even when he was a baby), however, he allowed Harry the free-will to choose how (by allowing Harry to live as a mortal) instead of taking away Harry's free-will by just outright telling him (taking him to a wizarding family). At most, Dumbledore guided. That's different. Dumbledore believed that if he told Harry anything, it will take away any experiences or opportunities Harry would have learned and grown from. Harry would not be the hero he ended up being if Dumbledore just TOLD him his destiny. This is the same in real life too. If we knew your future and if you knew where it would lead, you would avoid anything that will bring you pain. But its through that pain, that you learn and grow. This can also be applied to God as well. May people blame God for a lot of problems, but its just destiny that can unfortunately bring misfortune, but we still have the free will to make our choices.

[@MHScrat]

@@tz3656 by not leaving him with the Dursleys, he would have been playing God. Harrys only living relatives were the Dursleys. I believe Dumbledore was trusting in the best of humanity, after Lily had sacrificed herself for Harry, he probably believed that Petunia would show him kindness and come to love him. Dumbledore was wrong, very wrong, and he admits that, but I don't think he should be villified for trusting in the best in people. Not to mention that regardless of all that, living with blood relatives, no matter what condition the relatives treated Harry, he would be alive. Dumbledore had more foresight than any other wizard and he knew Voldemort would likely be back. He kept Harry alive, besides that he left Harrys life up to him, allowed him to make his own decisions and choices, and when he got older Dumbledore taught him about Tom Riddle and left Harry the tools necessary to either survive, defeat Voldemort or run and hide. He provided Harry with life and options, choices. I don't see how that's bad.

[@MHScrat]

@@tz3656 do you not remember Mrs Figg? Dumbledore actually set a squib to live across the road from him to keep an eye on things. Dumbledore was made aware that Harry wasn't exactly treated the best, but from the outside it probably didn't look that bad, before none of the other neighbours reported them. And as I've said, Harry needed to stay there for the blood protection. Idk what Gryffindor has to do with this, but when is he biased towards it? That one time in first year when he gave points to Harry Ron Hermione and Neville for saving the philosopher's stone from Voldemort? I'd say that's justified.

[@MHScrat]

@@tz3656 😂😂😂 does that mean I win? 😂😂😂😂😂

[@cosmicriptid]

In this age where J.K.Rowling has made a lot of public mistakes and we are picking apart all the story's failings, which it does have, it's really nice to remember all the special things that made Harry Potter an integral part of so many people's childhoods.

[@nevaehhamilton3493]

How is transphobia a mistake, exactly?

[@SamMallaghan]

​@@nevaehhamilton3493 how is transphobia NOT a mistake

[@nevaehhamilton3493]

@@SamMallaghan transphobia is a CHOICE. A choice that she proudly made.

[@SamMallaghan]

@@nevaehhamilton3493 just because she "proudly" made the choice to be a fucking transphobe doesn't suddenly make it ok

[@lars7747]

​@@nevaehhamilton3493why

[@jazzie_wolf]

It's really interesting to see how Neville deals with stressors in his life as well. I think that his storyline really shows a sweetness to the idea of gaining positive coping skills, focusing on the ones who love us, and making wise choices of friends.

[@ashleycordova9183]

When I was younger I had this bully, I’ll call her Mandy. Mandy was one of the thin popular girls in middle school who loved to call me fat and point out all my insecurities. I had thought I had grown past that when I was older until I saw her at my sister’s wedding (she was dating a friend of the family so that’s how she ended up there). It brought all those feelings back and I HATED that she was there. How dare this person who made me so unhappy come and interrupt this happy moment with my family with her presence. When I told my mom and aunt I felt a little betrayed by my mom because she told me “Well thank goodness you’ve grown up and are now the bigger person” I wanted her to stand up for me, my aunt was ready to kick her out and probably would have if I asked but I didn’t want to risk ruining anything on my sister’s big day. Fast forward a few months later and I admitted it still bothered me that Mandy had never apologized for her behavior any of the times we’d seen each other as adults, it wasn’t many but there’s no statute of limitations on being a jerk to someone. However my mother said “Maybe she should have and this is no excuse but maybe she just doesn’t see a reason too, she’s moved on” and that’s what stuck with me. Mandy moved on, my bully no longer exists, she’s a mother now and has her own life. So I forgave her without an apology because I deserve to move on too. And to whoever listened to my long rant, so do you, don’t let hurtful words from the past stop you from being happy now, it’s not worth it

[@rebix6848]

Wow.

[@pearlofthedarkage]

*This.* If I could, I would take you out and treat you to some ice cream or whichever treat you fancied. This really, _really_ resonated with me. I've been on the receiving end of both bullying and abuse for decades. I too have a hard time understanding and accepting that the ones I love aren't "sticking up for me" when I want what I perceive to be justice - or even just an acknowledgement. I'm going to have to marinate on this for a while... and probably do some overdue crying. Thank you for sharing this! It really means a lot to me.

[@K_A80]

I was bullied by a trio of boys in 6th grade almost daily. Flash forward to my early college days and I'm at a friend's house party and Chris - one of the boys who tormented me for a year - is there and he tries to hook up with me. I shut him down quick and was annoyed and tipsy enough to ask him flat out why he thought I would ever be interested in him after he spent a year bullying me. Turns out Chris had virtually no memory of tormenting me except for a vague 'Oh, yeah. I guess I picked on you a little.' Now I remember regularly locking my bedroom door after school and crying because of him and his buddies. I'm only thankful this was the early 90s and there was no social media so they couldn't follow me home. I'm not saying I would have killed myself, but I don't think it is outside the realm of possibility had I been unable to escape them for a few days each week. What I came to realize very quickly from this interaction was that kids who bully don't necessarily remember their victims or even realize the extent of the trauma they are inflicting on others - particularly if you are good at concealing your emotions. Chris did apologize to me, and it did feel like a sincere apology at the time, but it remains disconcerting to me that someone can hurt another person so deeply without realizing or remembering it. All this to say it would not surprise me in the least if Mandy had virtually no memory of picking on you. You may have been one of a thousand people she did that to over the years.

[@dreamyanon5151]

I have personal feelings on this because while my first instinct would be the conclusion you came up with instead of expecting or feeling entitled to an apology but I feel differently about having family that don't stick up for you? On one hand, I wouldn't want my family to cause a ruckus unless this person planned on doing any present harm to me, it's unnnecessary imo, but they could validate your feelings and while maybe your mother was right she could've allowed you the space to feel hurt by it instead of speaking over your feelings and assigning a narrative as the right one for you to feel, the second thing she said was correct but the first one rubbed me wrongly. And sometimes even if people don't fight others over you, seeing them be upset at your pain makes you feel that they care and want to protect you.

[@Alina-pf3ob]

I WANDER HOW MANDY WOULD FEEL IF HER KIDS WOULD BE BULLIED.

[@justanotherredheadattheend955]

God, I don’t think any moment of Voldemort...is as viscerally scary to me as the way Aunt Petunia says “freak”. Her voice is shaking with disgust and hatred, and there’s this almost insane light in her eyes 😳 It’s one of these small, terrifying human moments, almost like The Shining. Like this tiny glimpse that makes you worry she could do something truly terrible to Harry, and that she could have done the same to her own sister.

[@jellowyacket9500]

There was also a thing Snape never got over - James Potter saved his life. And Snape could never forgive him this, cause he couldn’t stand to owe him anything. And that’s also a reason why he protects Harry, he wants to kinda give it back to James so he doesn’t owe him anything anymore and could just hate him again.

[@angelyuqi6709]

Not true. James Potter "saved" his life which was put into danger by him in the first place. The only reason he decided to switch sides & protect Harry because of his guilt of causing Lily's death. He doesn't care about about james, he didn't care about Harry in the begining but definitely grew to care about him in the end (his conversation with Dumbledore in the memory suggest so).

[@stephanieclark8327]

@@angelyuqi6709 James didn't put Snape's life in danger. That was Sirius, once Sirius told James what he did James raced down to rescue Snape. A fairer point would be that saving Snape meant he was also saving Remus so it was less noble and more about protecting his friend.

[@shhibe]

loving someone's mother is not a good enough excuse for bullying and degrading countless children. snape abused his position of power over his students to abuse them, and it's disgusting.

[@apathetic_aesthetics]

I think you're missing the point. It doesn't excuse his actions, nor does snape's situation excuse his. There is no excuse for bullies, but realizing what's going on and connecting with them to try and help, or at the very least stand up to them is what Harry does when he sees how loving Draco's mother is.

[@grosebud4721]

I don’t think they were saying. That it wasnt, if that’s what you’re implying?

[@mylene6425]

A good enough excuse lmao. Is there a good excuse for bullying. Don't be so shallow and self righteous. Understand the point they were making.

[@tinselPixie]

@@nharber9837 Interesting idea and well worth thinking on, that Harry harboring a horcrux/being one may have affected Snape. I do agree though that it never excuses Snape's awful behaviour to Harry or other students...he destroys Neville relentlessly for example. Still hung up on/obsessed with Lily, Snape it seems loves and hates Harry at the same time as Harry perpetually reminds him of what he lost and what could have been his. Still he sure needed to "get over it." Ugh.

[@comparsa1]

if dumbledore had done for snape what he did for harry nothing would have happened (don't forget how james sexually abused him by placing him face down showing his underwear and then lili laughs at him)

[@Tesakeks]

Talking about standing up for yourself: I feel like it takes not only self love or being aware of your own worth but also being sure in your own identity. Also, examples help a lot. Seeing other people standing up for themselves, especially people close to you who are role models, will teach you how to deal with bullies yourself.

[@eliasbrook8991]

"The most unfortunately named child-" "I don't know, we're in Utah. There's some worse names here." "...Yeah, you're right. I'll give you that." GOLD!!!!

[@cryofpaine]

And clearly this was before they did Twilight. If Stephanie Meyer had written HP, the kid would have been named Albeverus. Severalb. Saelvbeursus.

[@Tac495]

When Allen was upset Johnathan: “I love you man. This is beautiful.” and turns to him. THAT WAS SO GENUINE AND SWEET! ❤

[@risacooper]

"He's just a little person" It's called a child

[@caitlinschippers6824]

Yes but doesn't little person just sound 100 times better? 😂

[@samanthafox3124]

He means "little" in not a physical way.

[@kimonaNo1]

Children are people too

[@DecemberSfy]

And little people exist too !

[@manager-nim2623]

There's one thing worse than a rapist

[@michealthekaminoshinagami54]

There's a very good reason that the fandom hates umbridge more than voldy. Voldy is blunt evil, umbitch cuts directly into harry, the person we as readers empathizes the most with.

[@ame-chan579]

With Voldy is nothing but a fantasy but with her... With her, *shit's personal*

[@arandomuser9459]

Also I think another big reason is we see voldemort die we see him get defeated but with umbridge her getting defeated (for lack of a better word) isn’t as obvious or isn’t as big as Voldemort’s. By the end he’s gone permanently and she’s still somehow there. We also see her at her prime and Voldemort at his kinda weakest so that’s probably part of it but I’m not sure.

[@cjdoesyoutube6148]

Well not directly, it was through some sort of curse that made him cut himself when he wrote. (This is meant to be a joke)

[@grosebud4721]

Cuts into him, quite literally

[@aleece4]

I love hearing stories about Jonathan’s mom ❤️ they make me think of my own mom! I experienced bullying as a kid and my mom taught me to kindly and privately ask them, “have I done something to hurt or offend you? Because I don’t understand why you’re treating me this way and if I owe you an apology, I want to make things right” It was scary asking that of my bullies, but 9 times out of 10, they left me alone after that conversation. It 100% true that it takes courage to be kind, and I’m so thankful for my mom who intentionally fostered that in my sisters and me.

[@katwebbxo]

Great advice. Not only does this open the doors for communication and conflict resolution but it also allows the "bully" to self reflect.

[@swatisaini6447]

Wow Wonderful advice!

[@juliawashburn675]

Glad you had an understanding mom. I was always blamed for provoking the bullying. So frustrating. Not untill I hit one of the assholes with a yardstick, they left me the hell alone. Sadly, my mom still blames me for being bullied. But it doesn't matter anymore. I'm an adult, and I can simply walk away, or go straight to HR if I get harassed. Lif is so much simpler in the adult world.

[@videoket]

That anecdote about Jonno’s bully shocked me. What a mom.

[@JohnnyJacoby]

(Deleted Scene) On Harrys first day of school, he stands up for himself, when Snape‘s asking him the hard questions by responding: „And you see that Hermione knows. So why don‘t you pick her?!“

[@juliz2500]

Maybe it's not so much standing up for himself as desperately trying to turn Snape's attention away from him, right?

[@gaildahlas]

In the books it comes across as a kind of sarcastic dig at Hermione too (this is before they're friends and all). He's standing up for himself a bit, but it's not his finest moment.

[@larirodrigues25]

Harry gives some answers, sometimes very sarcastic (I love him for it), but that doesn't mean exactly stand up for him, the bully still has the last word (Snape and Dursleys) the first time we see him like actually making someone shut up or go away is with Draco

[@ScientificallyStupid]

can 100% relate to Harry's non-confrontational behavior, I will stand up and defend anyone who's being bullied-except for myself.

[@20dabarr58]

I was the same but after therapy I realised that stemmed from self-esteem issues :')

[@ScientificallyStupid]

@@20dabarr58 my therapist and I are working on it

[@HeidiLynOVeran]

True... I don't understand why is like that we can defend someone but when it comes to ourselves. It seems that we just let it slide. Maybe because we're non confrontational and we gauge the situation on how to act on it.

[@jadejones5539]

I think I just realized something. Harry hears that he has his mothers eyes (but fathers spirit) all the time. And it always mean nothing more then Harry's eyes are the same his moms. But when Snape says the he has his mothers eye as he passing away, I think he means Harry has learned to see people as his mother once did. Lily and Snape were friends, Lily seen the good in Snape, not the brave face he put up all of his life. Harry seen Snape can and does care about people, and Snape kinda shows that he wants people, Harry speifailly, to know he cares by making those words his last. He never got a chance to tell Lily how much he cared for her, but not Harry. In this moment these to charaters find true understanding of one another and themselves. The development of Snape and Harry's relationship is brought to a close beautifully.

[@tinselPixie]

Brilliant. I never realized that until you said it....that is likely exactly what Snape means when he says Harry has Lily's eyes. Wow. Thank you!

[@supercalifragilisticexpial2293]

that's an incredible observation that really makes a lot of sense, thanks for sharing it :)

[@shayla106]

Until they had Harry name his son after him which makes no sense no matter what anyone says.

[@datheamore6395]

I feel like that is why coming of age stories are so painful and relatable... they remind us of our own vulnerability at a time in our lives where we didn't know our selves fully and were awkwardly trying to get to know and love that part of our self at the same time a bunch of other people our age are doing the same and lashing out at their own vulnerability. Those years can make or break a person.

[@kirti-k]

In a way Snape's the only one to ever give Harry something about his mother, Snape's memories are probably precious to Harry as well because people never actually talked about his mother, they never told him stories about her. The memories made her real to him.

[@broEye1]

Thing about Severus and Lily, I don't think it was really all that much that she fell in love with the bully instead of him and he couldn't do anything about it. In the book it made it look like her love came later for one thing, after he managed to mature a bit. But another very big thing is that it kind of looked like he had a chance and blew it, letting himself go deeper and deeper into the darkest parts of his House's views until, out of instinct and/or to maintain his face among his "friends", he called Lily a Mudblood right to her face. His isn't so much the story of a man whose love was doomed because the girl loved his bully as that of a man whose choices and mistakes shattered any hope he ever had of being with her.

[@magicwinxcrow2612]

I realized a few new rereads into the Harry Potter series (mostly the Goblet of Fire and The Order of The Phoenix) that Harry's shift of personality in the Order of the Phoenix from before he saw Cedric Diggory die and after he saw Cedric Diggory die...he wasn't going through an "emo phase," he wasn't "whiney" he wasn't "depressed." He was a traumatized 15 year old boy who just saw someone he knew and was kind of friends with die and the saw Dark Lord return and was kind of involved in it (Bone of the father, flesh of the servant, blood of the enemy.) It makes more sense to me as an adult. I'm 21 now and I was 14 or 15 the first time I read Harry Potter (and fell in love with it and became obsessed with it.)

[@kaylee5438]

Harry was deeply and continuously abused and used his entire life (from age 1 to 17 where the story takes place). It's to tell the story, but as an adult re-reading the books I've read a 100 time, it doesn't sit as well with me anymore. I get so angry at these characters. I will never get behind Harry naming his kid after Severus. Because, regardless of the work he did against Dumbledore, which came from an extremely selfish place, he was a bully and an abuser (to everyone but his favored students). He was a representation of everything Harry hated. And while the story arc and character development warranted the compassion and pity, he did not earn the right to be a symbol of bravery and moniker for Harry's child. If I was Ginny, I would have been like, "over my dead body".

[@Lightdevildarkangel]

@@kaylee5438 OMG yes! In all honesty, the fact that Albus was named after "two great headmasters of Hogwarts" was seriously cruel. Snape was, at his core, a bully who never got beyond "being a victim". I acknowledge he dealt with some serious trauma and abuse as a kid- but there are a good number of characters who suffered just as bad in this series and never stayed in that mind set NOR did they (if they remained there) get the redemption arc that Snape did. Dumbledore was a master manipulator who had LITERAL children do his dirty work for him by playing on their weaknesses and spinning them to make it seem like HE was their savior and a benevolent man. Why does Voldemort fear Dumbledore? Because Voldy knows that Dumbledore is not only more powerful than him, but also more devious and dangerous- he was playing the game longer AND knew how to stay under the radar with his ambitions, especially after losing his best friend and his sister.