New Harry Potter Star Nails a Goblet of Fire Problem Not Even the Remake Can Fix

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is one of the best books and movies in the Harry Potter series, but it’s not without its flaws. This is where the story really starts to expand in scale and scope, and that’s not always for the better as it’s forced to juggle more characters, storylines, and convoluted lore. On the film side, it’s also very frequently criticized for one single line: Albus Dumbledore not-so-calmly asking Harry if he put his name in the goblet, which is firmly among the most hated Harry Potter movie moments.

Now, a newcomer to the franchise is pointing out another issue. Kit Harington, who voices Gilderoy Lockhart in Audible’s Harry Potter: The Full-Cast Editions, spoke with Variety about his love for the book series, citing The Half-Blood Prince as his own personal favorite. When the interviewer mentioned The Goblet of Fire and the Triwizard Tournament, the Game of Thrones jokingly star pointed out an issue that he’s absolutely correct about:

“It’s good and it’s got a great ending. I have some questions about the plot holes during the tournament. It’s not a great tournament to watch, is it? Other than the dragon one, they don’t get to see underwater and they can’t see in the maze, so I don’t see what’s in it for the rest of the school?”

Harry Potter’s Remake Can Improve The Goblet of Fire, But Maybe Not This Tournament Issue

Harington raises an excellent point, and a problem in the setup of the tournament. Even though it draws a huge crowd, with all the students from Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang gathering to watch, they can’t actually see anything that’s going on. You might think that there’d be a magical solution to this, such as a screen that would allow them to see it, but that’s negated by what actually happens: Dumbledore has to converse with Murcus, leader of the merpeople, to get a full account of the second task; the maze obviously can’t be visible given one of the participants is cursed and attacking his fellow competitors.

This is a built-in issue with the Triwizard Tournament, so it’d be very difficult to fix it, even for HBO’s upcoming Harry Potter remake, so it once again means we’ll likely witness all those spectators gathered in their droves to watch… almost nothing. That does, however, add to the drama and emotion of the ending, when Harry returns with Cedric Diggory’s body, so while it may not be great for those in the stands, it does actually serve clear narrative purposes and is mostly just a problem in-universe.

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On a more serious note, though, The Goblet of Fire is one of the books that should benefit the most from the expanded runtime of the TV remake. Because it’s where the books started getting longer, then it’s also where more cuts begin to happen in the movies and a lot is lost from this one. Almost all of the Quidditch World Cup is condensed down, as we see very little of the village beforehand and the scenes with Ludo Bagman; Winky the house-elf was omitted, and so too was Hermione’s S.P.E.W. story. All of that and more – including Dumbledore asking calmly – will hopefully be done justice in the TV show.

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Full-Cast Edition) is available now on Audible. HBO’s remake is expected to release in 2027. All eight Harry Potter movies are streaming on HBO Max.

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