Bloomsbury/HBOKit Harington says he’s gagging to land a role in the Harry Potter TV show, but whether he does or not, there’s a strange plot hole in the books that he has “questions” about.
The actor is best known for playing Jon Snow in Game of Thrones, dedicating nearly a decade to the role. But that era of his life is well and truly over, as evidenced in an interview he gave this week with Variety.
When asked if he’d be up for voicing Jon Snow if a Game of Thrones audiobook were to happen, Harington replied, “No, god no. I don’t wanna go anywhere near it. I spent 10 years doing that. Thanks, I’m alright.”
Now, he’s focusing on a cornerstone of British pop culture by voicing Gilderoy Lockhart in Audible’s new Harry Potter audiobook series. But he’s got a question about a plot hole in the fourth book, Goblet of Fire.
Kit Harington points out Harry Potter plot hole
HBOThe plot hole in question relates to the Triwizard Tournament, an ancient magical competition between three wizarding schools – Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang – which is revived in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
There are many elements fans have questioned over the years, but Harington specifically points to the fact that, despite being marketed as a major international event, much of the tournament is entirely unwatchable for spectators.
On the topic of Goblet of Fire, the Game of Thrones star said, “It’s good and it’s got a great ending. I have some questions about the plot holes during the tournament.
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“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?”
Think back to the book and you’ll remember that the second task takes place underwater in the Black Lake, meaning students, staff, and visiting schools can’t actually see what’s happening beyond waiting on the shore.
The final task is even worse from a viewer’s perspective: champions disappear into an enchanted maze, leaving everyone else staring at hedges for hours with no visibility.
Once you move past this practical flaw, fans have long argued that the tournament raises much bigger questions about the logic of the story itself. The most common criticism is why Harry had to compete at all.
As said by one fan in response to Harington’s comments, “The biggest plot hole in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is this: what was the point of making Harry compete in the Triwizard Tournament (the entire premise of the story)?
Warner Bros.“Crouch Jr (Moody) could have simply used another object as a Portkey, then isolated Harry inside the school and made him touch the cursed object by exploiting his authority as a professor, instead of spending a great deal of time and resources having him compete in the tournament just so he could touch the Cup.
“According to some fans, the explanation is that Voldemort didn’t want it to be known that he had killed Harry, in order to prevent the wizarding world from discovering his return, so he decided to stage Harry’s death in the maze. But I don’t find this explanation convincing.
“First of all, in the earlier films Voldemort (or his servants) left plenty of evidence behind, yet the wizarding world didn’t become particularly alarmed. In fact, even after Harry reported Voldemort’s return following Cedric’s death, almost nothing changed…
“Second (and this is the real issue), wasn’t there a much simpler way to justify Harry’s death? Was it really worth wasting a lot of time and risking Harry being killed during the Tournament before ever reaching the Cup?”
They went on to say, “Third, I find the ritual itself to be a literary contrivance. It’s rather convenient for the plot that Voldemort specifically needed Harry’s blood.”
Another issue is the tournament’s supposedly foolproof age restrictions and safeguards, which are easily bypassed, forcing Hogwarts to let an underage Harry compete in deadly tasks.
While fans have offered plenty of in-world explanations over the years, the upcoming Harry Potter TV series could provide a chance to smooth out some of these long-debated inconsistencies.
Either way, Harington wants to be involved. When asked who he’d want to play in the HBO show, he replied, “I’d take on any of them. I’ll be a background extra, I don’t care. I would love to be in that.”
For more from Hogwarts, find out why a Cursed Child movie is impossible to make, whether Cillian Murphy will play Voldemort in the TV show, and what you need to know about Harry Potter’s new Snape actor Paapa Essiedu.