The plot twists in Harry Potter are, for the most part, very Good Plot Twists.
A bad plot twist does one of two things. One, it comes totally out of left field, and makes much of what went before complete nonsense. Or two, itâs telegraphed way in advance and you totally see it coming.
A good plot twist is highly unexpectedâor at least, unexpected if you arenât genre-savvy and trying to predict plot twistsâbut once you know it, the entire narrative is viewed in a different light.
Philosopherâs Stone is an entirely different book when you read it knowing that Quirrell, not Snape, is Voldemortâs minion. Itâs even more different when you reread it understanding the complexities of why Snape hates Harry but protects him anyway, or why Dumbledore wonât tell Harry the whole truth yet.
Chamber of Secrets is an entirely different book when you read it knowing who the Heir of Slytherin is. You thought it might, somehow, be Harry, too, the first time you read it. AND the whole thing takes on yet ANOTHER layer of meaning after the end of the series, knowing that Harry was also a Horcrux.
Prisoner of Azkaban is an entirely different book when you read it knowing that Sirius was framed. And yet again, when you reread it knowing the history of the Maraudersâand especially if you reread it in light of all the fan-lore about the Marauders, if thatâs your bagâit takes on a different character again.
Goblet of Fire is an entirely different book when you read it knowing about Barty Crouch Jr. You felt sorry for that boy in the pensive too!Â
Order of the Phoenix is a different book when you read it knowing what Voldemort wanted in the Department of Mysteries, and how he meant to get it.
Half-Blood Prince is a slightly different book when you read it knowing that, holy s***, Harry â0 for 5 on spotting the bad guyâ Potter is actually right about Draco Malfoy being a death eater, but itâs vastly different when you read the Horcrux lesson and Harry and Dumbledoreâs relationship in light of the Deathly Hallows. Snapeâs departure at the end of Half-Blood Prince is an entirely different scene when you read it after having read The Princeâs Tale.
The reason people think that Harry was a dumb-a** for falling for all of this stuff is that you can only read that first bookâthe one you read without knowing the twistâone time. These twists are beautifully, wonderfully set up, so when you read them the second time (or the third, or the twenty-fifth), you absolutely see them coming, you see all the signs, you canât imagine how anyone (for example, your past self) could have possibly missed it. But they are twists. You might see them coming if youâre genre-savvy, but you certainly wouldnât see them coming if you were a person living the events.
