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‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince,’ Ch. 20-23

Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion continue their journey through the Potterverse by examining the theme of clarity

Hello! (Yeah!) And welcome to Binge Mode! Mallory Rubin and Jason Concepcion continue their exploration of the Harry Potter universe by diving deep into Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, chapters 20-23. To help guide you on that journey, here is a map of the 40th episode of Binge Mode: Harry Potter. It’s not quite as detailed as the Marauder’s Map, but don’t fear: The podcast is just as magical.

  1. Mallory and Jason start their journey, of course, on the Hogwarts Express, providing a brief refresher on what actually happened in these four chapters. Harry learns more about Voldemort’s past, receives a swath of help from the Felix Felicis potion, and gains a new understanding of what it will take to defeat the Dark Lord.
  2. They continue by diving into the Pensieve, where they analyze the central theme of this section of the book: clarity.
  3. Next, they sneak into the Restricted Section so Mallory can teach us everything we need to know about the history of horcruxes.
  4. After reemerging from that section of the library, Mallory and Jason discuss the Seven, where they share their seven favorite insights and observations from this swath of chapters. Here, they examine Dumbledore’s relationship with a local barman, the Defense Against the Dark Arts professorial jinx, and more.
  5. Finally, they award the House Cup to a worthy winner of the four chapters. This episode’s recipient is Dumbledore, who learns his extensive theorizing is correct and impresses upon Harry the importance of the task at hand.

On Wednesday, Mallory and Jason return for Episode 41 of Binge Mode: Harry Potter, in which they will break down chapters 24 through 26 of Prince. For the full podcast, subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever you get podcasts, and follow along on Twitter and join the Facebook group, which is just for Binge Mode fans. We await your digital Owl Post!