Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Chapter 32 to Chapter 35)
STATS
Title: Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Series: Harry Potter (Book 4)
Author(s): JK Rowling
Genre: Young Adult Fantasy (Urban)
First Printing: 2000
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books
SPOILER WARNING
Heavy spoilers will be provided for the entire Harry Potter franchise. Heavy spoilers will also be provided for the entirety of both Fourth Wing and Iron Flame (but not Onyx Storm, which was released on January 21st). I will be confining the Fourth Wing and Iron Flame spoilers to the sections where I analyze the plot of Fourth Wing and compare it to Goblet of Fire. All spoilers shall otherwise be unmarked and can pop up at any time.
STORY
The Portkey delivers Harry and Cedric to the graveyard. Cedric is killed, Harry is tied to the grave of Tom Riddle, Sr., and Voldemort is resurrected. Voldemort then summons the Death Eaters to him and explains to them how he was brought back, before challenging Harry to a duel to prove to his followers that he is still the greatest wizard. During the duel, Harry’s wand links to Voldemort’s, creating the circumstances that facilaite Harry’s escape.
In the chaos that ensues upon Harry’s return to Hogwarts, Mad-Eye drags Harry to his office. It is there revealed that he was the one who put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire and orchestrated Harry’s success in the Triward Tournament. Before he can kill Harry, Dumbledore arrives with Snape and McGonagall. We then get the further reveal that Mad-Eye is Barty Crouch, Jr. when the Polyjuce Potion wears off. Under the influence of Veritaserum, Barty Crouch, Jr. explains both his involvement and the mystery surrounding Mr. Crouch.
ANALYSIS
The execution of this book is masterful - but not because the conclusion itself it all that remarkable.
Yes, Voldemort coming back is a powerful moment that redefines the entire series and dictates the trajectory of the story going forward. Yes, having Mad-Eye be the secret villain is a fun new angle to the running trend of Defense Against the Dark Arts professors not lasting more than a single year in the job. However, as we covered in The Eye of Minds, a twist isn’t worth much in isolation. It needs a strong foundation.
Rowling delivered that foundation. The previous thirty-one chapters of this book have been dedicated to building anticipation, ramping up tension, posing questions, and luring the audience in with mysteries. These aren’t just reveals that send the story in a new direction; they are the payoff of everything the book has built towards.
Mysteries
Explanations
Back in the Iron Flame review (I shall remain spoiler-free here), I said this.
An audience should not need to have a twist explained to them in detail for it to make sense. Some notes about how a twist offers new context to past events is fine; a broader explanation of the solution to a mystery (which may include a twist) is fine. If the author needs to pause a story to explain how a twist makes sense, though, then that twist has fundamentally failed.
What Rowling does with both Voldemort and Mad-Eye is a perfect example of explaining the solution to a mystery. Rowling isn’t trying to convince us that Voldemort’s resurrection or Mad-Eye being Barty Crouch, Jr. totally make sense in spite of everything previously established. She is turning to the audience and saying, “Maybe you’ve figured out the answers to all the mysteries already, but in case you haven't, here’s the cheat sheet.” She is simultaneously rewarding those who figured things out on their own and getting everyone else caught up so that they can enjoy what comes afterwards.
Also, it’s important to note that all of the answers provided here are just putting existing information into proper context. It’s the same thing that was done to allow Hermione to crack the code about Skeeter being an Animagus. All the pieces needed to solve these mysteries already existed. All Rowling is doing by giving us the answers is delivering the final pieces with which we can finish assembling the puzzles.
Voldemort’s Speech
In Chapter 33, Voldemort provides the following key information, wrapping up multiple mysteries in the process.
He explained the events from his “death” to his resurrection.
He explained Bertha Jorkin’s role in providing information about Barty Crouch, Jr. and the Triward Tournament.
He confirms that he used a Death Eater embedded at Hogwarts to put Harry’s name in the Goblet of Fire, and that all of this was done to facilaite Harry’s abduction for the sake of this resurrection ritual.
What’s particularly impressive about this is that Rowling even manages to build up mystery around this Death Eater for a final payoff with the Mad-Eye reveal.
[Voldemort] had reached the largest gap of all, and he stood surveying it with his blank, red eyes, as though he could see people standing there.
“And here we have six missing Death Eaters . . . three dead in my service. One, too cowardly to return . . . he will pay. One, who I believe has left me forever . . . he will be killed, of course . . . and one, who remains my most faithful servant, and who has already reentered my service.”
The Death Eaters stirred, and Harry saw their eyes dart sideways at one another through their masks.
“He is at Hogwarts, that faithful servant, and it was through his efforts that our young friend arrived here tonight. . . .”
At this point, the audience is aware of two people at Hogwarts who had been Death Eaters (Karkaroff and Snape) and one who was accused of being a Death Eater (Bagman). In hindsight, it is clear that Bagman is a red herring, Karkaroff is the coward, and Snape is the one who left Voldemort’s service. In the moment though, this is a mystery. We don’t know which man is which, heightening anticipation and dread for what might happen to Harry even if he escapes Voldemort and returns to Hogwarts.
Mad-Eye’s / Barty Crouch, Jr.’s Testimony
Both before and after the Veritaserum, Mad-Eye fills in the answers for most of the remaining mysteries.
He confirms that he was the Death Eater who out Harry’s name in the Goblet.
He outlines how he discretely helped Harry through each of the three tasks.
He details how he escaped Azkaban, how Bertha Jorkins learned about him, how he stole Harry’s wand and conjured the Dark Mark during the events of the Quidditch World Cup, and how he was eventually rescued by Voldemort and replaced the real Moody.
He explains that he had searched Snape’s office earlier in the book as a pretense to get Polyjuice Potion ingredients and continue his ruse.
He explains the events of Mr. Crouch’s odd behavior, including Mr. Crouch’s sudden appearance and disappearance in Chapter 28, in detail.
He claims responsibltiy for turning the Triward Cup into a Portkey.
The Dark Mark
Neither Voldemort nor Mad-Eye go into serial about what exactly the Dark Mark is or how it works, yet much of that information is implied. Harry witnesses Voldemort summoning the Death Eaters with Wormtail’s Dark Mark. Mad-Eye also references that Karkaroff fled upon feeling the Dark Mark burn. This partially explains the mystery of what Snape and Karkaroff have on their arms. (The rest of the explanation comes in Chapter 36).
Fluff versus Chekov’s Gun
Many weeks ago, I praised how Rowling set up Mad-Eye’s damaged Dark Detectors to feed into the reveal of his true identity. I also criticized the introduction of the Veritaserum, despite it also being a worldbuilding detail that feeds into the reveal after only coming up at one other point on the story. Now is where I clarify their role in the story and the difference between them.
First, there is the matter of the ripple effect.
The Dark Detectors are a bit of world building fluff that doesn’t radically alter the setting. We already knew about Sneakoscopes because of the pocket-sized Sneakoscope Harry received from Ron early in Prisoner of Azkaban. The Foe Glass and Secrecy Sensor are natural evolutions on the concept. Rowling also has set clear limits on these devices: the Sneakoscope can be set off by the slightest bit of dishonesty, and while Mad-Eye was lying about his reason for disabling his Dark Detectors, it is not illogical to assume that they would likewise be distorted by the school environment. It makes sense that these would be specialist tools that would not be all that useful in daily life.
Veritaserum is a brand new development that should make it impossible for anyone in this society to keep secrets. It begs the question of why, for example, Hermione didn’t brew this potion in Chamber of Secrets, since we are given no indication that it is harder to brew that the ridiculously complex Polyjuice Potion and it would have spared all the drama of needing to acquire hairs, hide bodies, and sneak into and out of the Slytherin common room within a time limit (just spoke Draco's pumpkin juice at lunch and have him spill his secrets to the whole school). Saying that some people can resist it or that an antidote exists is not enough, as we never get any clarification on either of those elements. They feel like Rowling realized her mistake and made onto a token gesture to walk back the potion’s power.
Second, there is the issue of focus.
The Dark Detectors are mentioned as part of Harry’s exposure to Mad-Eye’s office, serving as a form of environmental characterization to contrast him from his predecessors. The explanation of them is a natural bit of conversation that stems from Harry noticing them, and then the scene moves right along.
The scene in which Veritaserum is introduced swerves so that Snape can threaten Harry with it and explain what it does.
Lastly, there is the matter of impact.
The link between the disabled Dark Detectors and the Mad-Eye reveal is not spelled out. Instead, it is a detail the audience can pick up on and appreciate.
Veritaserum is used to facilitate Barty Crouch, Jr.’s confession.
To sum up, the reason the Dark Detector introduction is strong while the Veritaserum introduction is weak is a matter of how much they affect the narrative. The former is a background derail that allows the readers to have lightbulb moment. The latter is screamingly obvious plot device that damages the wider integrity of the setting.
COMPARISON TO FOURTH WING (Chapters 35 to 38)
Most of what I have to say about the reveal of the smuggling operation and the venin was said more than a year ago, when I first reviewed Chapter 35 and when this series was first conceived. You are welcome to go back and read the whole analysis if you choose. Here, I will merely give a summarized version and point out how this mess could have been avoided.
The twists revealed in Chapter 35 could have worked. Not flawlessly, perhaps, but these are still ideas that are not inherently broken. The issue is that they are the antithesis of the twists in Goblet of Fire. Yarros did not build towards them. Any and all information that might have built towards them feels like an afterthought, as if Yarros hadn't conceived the twist until this point and then did as few edits as possible to account for it. The opportunities for the audience to ask questions and build anticipation were either brushed off, buried in the noise of the rest of the plot, or actively cauterized by Yarros to prevent further engagement.
Yarros could have had Violet’s interest in folklore be a defining attribute that colored her perception of the world and was focussed upon throughout the story, rather than merely being referenced at awkward moments. She could have built a foundation for how Violet would he emotionally affected by the reveal of the truth about the venin.
Instead, the reveal about the venin feels like bland exposition that is being rushed, with all of the emotion focussed not on how Violet's worldview was wrong but on how she was lied to (which, as covered back in the Fourth Wing review, also doesn’t hold up).
Yarros could have had the smuggling operation be a mystery that Violet engaged with as early as Chapter 7. Her investigation into what Xaden and the rebel children were really up to could have been a source of intrigue that drove the plot. What’s more, this could have provided a chance to build a connection between Violet and Xaden that was based on something other than pure sexual tension. It could have even have been an avenue by which Violet discovered and delved into the lies of the rider leadership, building yet further intrigue.
Instead, Yarros insisted to the audience that all the questions were answered before throwing down an UNO Reverse card.
This ending could have been earned. All it required was that Yarros have priorities other than her personal sexual and power fantasies. If she simply cared about telling a good story, so much could have improved.
THE BEGINNING OF THE REST OF THE SERIES
On March 21st, we bring this series to a close with Chapters 36 and 37 of Goblet of Fire and Chapter 38 of Fourth Wing.
The books are effectively over at this point. All that follows is sequel setup. Yet, even here, Rowling continues to shine, and Yarros continues to disappoint. Goblet of Fire has its remaining mysteries to resolve, as well as one or two new mysteries to introduce. Fourth Wing, meanwhile, just slings more unearned reveals at the audience and ends before we have time to adequately process the information.
Thank you all for coming on this journey with me. I hope to see you all in two weeks; please feel free to subscribe to the newsletter if you’d like an e-mail update when that finale comes out.
On a related note, the Onyx Storm series is bearing down on us. Next week we will be discussing an interview that Yarros did with ELLE.com as part of the marketing for that book. It’s not necessary for understanding the finale to this Goblet of Fire series, but it will be a useful primer for understanding the Onyx Storm series, so I do recommend checking it out.
Regardless, I appreciate you all for stopping by. Have a great day.
