Pretty sure Dumbledore was not Michael Gambon’s defining work. I remember one time he did a thing where it was just him with a fixed camera and facial expressions, he actually made it work. RIP.
Pretty sure Dumbledore was not Michael Gambon’s defining work.
I agree, but unfortunately these articles usually choose the most recent and/or widely known work to mention in the headline even if it may not adequately represent the best of the person’s career.
The Potterverse (shoot me) suffers from the same problem as Star Wars: an overzealous creator who, as it turns out, probably just got lucky the first time around and is doing their best to sully any good memories people may have of the franchise.
Dumbledore is a decent mind reader iirc but Snape was the OG. He didn’t need to read Harry’s mind, he cast the spells on the cup and knew Harry wouldn’t have been able to get his name in there and that someone else had to do it.
As I recall (it’s been a while) you have that backwards, Snape was the OG at blocking mind reading, but only reasonably proficient at doing it himself, whereas Dumbledore was able to weedle memories out of people that they didn’t even know they had
I mean imo JKR is a bad author for about a dozen reasons but that line in particular is not me of them.
Tbh the entire plot hinging on the idea that it is unthinkable to every single person in the Wizarding world that someone would prank the most famous kid in school by putting his name in the cup without his knowledge is a way worse writing decision. Given that’s exactly what happens though Dumbledore acting calmly and implying he knows Harry didn’t actually do it is the most reasonable thing to come out of that book.
Yeah JKR is just immensely bad at world building and macro level details - how, in the hundreds or however many years the Triwizard Tournament has been going on, has no one thought to enter someone else’s name? Why didn’t any of the spells on the cup detect that sort of fraudulent entry, but it could detect magic that physically ages a person? Those kinds of logical holes and inconsistencies are everywhere in her writing. The thing she usually gets right though are the micro details - she’s decently good at character building, character interaction, and keeping characters true to their… Well, character, throughout the books.
It’s literally a core facet of dumbledores character that he’s always genial and calm, even in the face of total disaster. It’s part of what made him an intimidating wizard.
Even besides that though, why wouldn’t he ask calmly? One of two things are true
Harry did put his name in the goblet and is lying about it, in which case going full on “DIDYOUPUTYOURNAMEINTHEGOBLETOFFIRE!?!?” is only likely to put Harry on the defensive and make him less likely to own up.
Harry didnt put his name in the goblet and is being setup by voldy or his buddies. In which case Harry is a victim and should be handled as such. At this point Dumbledore had very good reasons to think this was the more likely of the two.
Dont get me wrong, if you wanna talk about JKRs shitty writing, I’ll happily join you, but this is actually an example of good writing on her part, given that the character in question is supposed to be the smartest wizard alive, it makes perfect sense that he’d react rationally instead of lashing out emotionally
Harry’s reaction alone is probably enough for Dumbledore to know something’s wrong, and asking Harry is just confirmation. Like you said, no reason to be aggressive to him.
I think Dumbledore overall is a brilliantly written character. His calmness portrays a deep wisdom and vast knowledge. The only time we’ve ever seen him outright angry is when Umbridge began to manhandle the student who sold out Dumbledore’s Army. He instantly touched upon a fury that made Umbridge and the Ministry realize they needed to calm down.
He really hasn’t expressed anger otherwise. He was calm facing off against Voldemort in Book 5. He was disappointed in the Dursleys for abusing Harry. He was apologetic when Harry lost control while grieving for Sirius.
Don’t blame her or Gambon either. The director is the one who would be responsible for that scene. He’s the one who decided that Dumbledore should freak the fuck out. Don’t let him off the hook just because of your personal biases against Rowling.
It’s weird, I thought there were a ton of great performances in that movie, and yet I really didn’t like it at all. I’ve even watched it twice because I thought maybe I missed something the first time, but nope.
It goes against the usual, overly romanticised trope for Country House dramas, to be much more gritty and seedy. I like it. Lots of cameos too, a real ensemble piece.
It’s strange that it’s not as well known given that it was Julian Fellowes’ proto-Downton Abbey. It’s one of my favorite movies of all time and it’s like a who’s-who of the best of British actors.
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