Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince Review 

To those that keep saying you love my long HP reviews.... I'm putting you to the test with this one

I HATED that the film left out Dumbledore's words with the Dursleys. This would have been so amazing to watch on film!!

"Severus... Please..." Such a powerful line.

I also enjoyed when Dumbledore referred to Dudley's upbringing and how much harm have Vernon and Petunia done to him.

Me: **Sees video is 41 minutes** "This video is too long" Also Me: **41 minutes later** "This video wasn't long enough!"

Half blood has always been my fav. I love the scene between the minister and prime minister. It’s rare we get to see the muggle world and magical world interact together openly.

I think it makes sense that Tom Riddle Senior never married. He would have no doubt questioned his own feelings and whether or not they were genuine due to previously being under the influence of the love potion.

These magic folk need to hang around muggles more often. If only they just brought a water bottle into the cave with them...

people dont like book 6? damn it's my favorite for sure

I remember reading the end of this book when I was 13 years old. I was sick, it was windy outside in the middle of the night, I couldn't sleep. I woke up at 3am and started reading with my little lamp on...When the sun set up I was finishing the book... I can tell that reading the cave scene in such mysterious atmosphere was something spectacular and it is till this day probably the best experience I had with any book. Those were great times

Honestly. All the negatives you brought up about the trio made me like the books more. I know it's not pleasant but its something that gives these KIDS more depth. I mean they're only 16. The ups and downs makes it more compelling.

I liked how this was more of a “normal” year for Harry. For the most part, Harry’s mental stability was really in check. The guy was very well respected by his peers, became quidditch captain, and all the girls were flocking towards him. The dude was a total Chad in this book.

This book is an example of a good villainous monologue, because that's essentially what Malfoy is doing but it makes sense because he is first subconsciously and then intentionally stalling.

My favorite theory i heard between books 6 & 7 was 'Draco gets expelled from Hogwarts for killing Dumbledore, and Hagrid "adopts" him as an assistant-gamekeeper' and sometimes I miss the days of insane fan theories.

I've always found it funny that Harry's best potions professor turns out to be Snape all along. If there had not been so much bitterness and enmity between the two, Harry could have learned quite a bit from Snape. I'm guessing Draco is actually a "Dabhand"(What Slughorn called Harry in HBP)by his last year, because he is Snape's favorite.

Your Draco redemption fanfic exists. His name is Zuko and it’s a television show.

I also like how this book shows how powerful Snape really is. Harry says something like: "My father beat you. coward!" Snape answers: "Your father wouldn't tangle with me unless the odds were four to one. What would you call him?" well something along those lines.

I feel like that’s the point with Malfoy. He’s just a kid in a horrible situation who’s doing his best, yet continually failing because he’s not ready for this. I feel like it’s an interesting contrast to Harry who has experienced a lot of abuse and has been forced to develop some independence where Draco has been spoiled and babied his whole life.

The book really likes to slide past that a girl straight up tries to roofie Harry doesn’t it.

I have to half disagree with the Harry/Ginny foreshadowing. It was there earlier just from Ginny though while Harry was oblivious. Thinking back to book 4 when Ginny is mortified to realize if she hadn't excepted Neville's invite, she would have been going to the ball with Harry.

If Voldy used a password instead of blood offering at the cave, locket they might have never got there

Merphy: "I just wished Dumbledore would've apparated to Malfoy, apparated to harry, and apparated away" Hermione: "Seriously, has ANYONE read Hogwarts: A History?!"

I accept your absolutely valid criticisms of the characters' actions, but also they're like 16-17, and as someone who was recently 17 and who has many 16-17 year old friends, teenagers are dumb, and we don't always make good choices and we don't always think in the long run, even when lives are potentially at stake, because a lot of us have a sort of "I'll kick Death's ass" mentality. (I know gen z people have a reputation of being the most chill with death, but I feel like a lot of people haven't fully internalized their own mortality unless they're been personally affected by death)

My most favorite line in in the WHOLE series : " Dumbledore’s man through and through" That's right!

About the invisibility cloak - in my opinion, we know that it was THE invisibility cloak, not any cloak that fades in time while Draco didn't. If he wanted a cloak, he would have bought one. 🤷‍♀️ Let's all agree that the evil plans are super complicated in the Harry Potter universe.

i would say that ginny and harry did develop a friendship in book 5! a lot of d.a stuff, the st mungo scenes, and the department of mysteries battle - it’s just not as prominent as the book 6 stuff but it’s there! i always viewed the “lucky you” moment as the defining moment that made harry view ginny as a friend

I remember reading this book. Early in the book there are a couple of lines of dialogue that impressed me. Snape explains that you can cast spells silently. He asks the class why this is good and Hermione gives the answer. Snapes says the answer is correct but notes that it is copied almost verbatim from a book. Harry then thinks to himself that the answer still deserved some points to griffindor but that Snape is a biased jerk. So much is conveyed with this simple scene and it fits so well with what is to come. Silent spellcasting is introduced. Snape is the one who explains silent spellcasting since keeping your intentions hidden is just the thing double agent Snape is all about. Hermione is ahead of the class like she always is. Hermione is diligent but a bit uninspired, setting up how she would feel about scribbled improvements in the sidelines of a manual. Snape does not particularly respect diligence, like the kind of guy who would proudly call himself a prince, a hereditary title that demonstrates no work. Snape reprimands Hermione for overreliance on a book, a very subtle hint that he is the sort of guy who might scribble all kinds of notes, corrections and improvements in his copy of a potions manual. Snape is biased against griffindors. Harry dislikes Snape and interprets what he says and does in the way that makes Snape look the worst. Everything anyone says gives us information both about the speaker and about what is being said and this is done without any part of the dialogue feeling contrived. Rowling really shows a mastery of her craft here.

And this thrilled me: I know that Dumbledore was trying to buy time with Draco until Snape got up the tower, but Dumbledore is the perpetual teacher, you know? "How did you do it? Well done!" Even though it's the worst thing Draco could have done morally speaking, Dumbledore is still fascinated by the ingenuity it took. But above that, his concern for his students is just...wow. He already knows he's going to die, so his sense for self-preservation is gone, of course. he's not fighting for his own life, and yet he's STILL THINKING of the morality of Draco introducing Death Eaters into the school. Priorities, people.

Haven't started the video yet but HBP is my favourite Harry Potter book just before Order of the Phoenix; I really find it so interesting, it's got the perfect combination of all the elements I find so engaging about HP. I feel like the story was paced really well between the fun Hogwarts moments/entertaining character interactions and the overarching series plot line regarding the conflict against Voldemort. I felt it also added much needed layers to Voldemort's character, the exploration of his backstory was incredibly interesting and the continued involvement of characters like Luna is very welcome. Ron and Hermione's relationship, despite some issues I have with it, was pretty interesting to read about, at the very least moreso than the incredibly poorly developed relationship between Harry and Ginny. HP has a ton of problems, but to this day the execution of Harry/Ginny is one of the biggest ones for me. Characters and their relationships are incredibly important to my investment in the story and simply nothing about Ginny is developed enough to warrant that emotional investment from me.

I think that in this book we see Harry being corrupted by power (all the magic spells he has exclusively access to), and if it weren't for his friends, he could have ended up becoming evil. When I reread the book, I thought that this was another way for J.k. Rowling to show us how friendship truly important is. We are all weak and with a potential to go bad, but with the support of the right people we can be the best version of ourselves.

Half-Blood Prince is my favourite of this series. In my opinion, it was Rowling's best writing and the most time spent with Dumbledore, who is my favourite child endangerer in this whole magical world! ;)

This is making me want to reread these again. HPB is favorite of the seven because a) Ginny is a badass and b) Hinny is my ship 😂 I get so mad at Rowling for being all wishy washy about Romione. It's not the first time opposites have attracted and I think with some maturity they would have done really well.

Man listening to this im realizing how underdeveloped the soft magic system is in Harry Potter

It still pisses me off to this day that Dumbledore and Harry basically went to the cave for NO REASON. What an absolute waste of time and power and energy.

I actually love Hermione’s flawed character. Her jealousy, and her need to always be right, is actually what makes her such a great, complex character. The films completely disregarded this aspect of her character, and it frustrates me. I love the book Hermione!

Am I the only one who finds her reference to Dumbledore as "Dumbles" and Voldemort as "Voldy" surprisingly quite funny?

I like Ginny as a character, but I agree that her romance with Harry doesn't feel earned. It honestly could have been entirely cut out and not affected anything.

This is my favorite book in the series. We got a much more complex version of the characters. I loved getting to see the ugly side of Harry and Hermione (we've already seen jealous Ron). The book also takes a much much darker turn. With regards to Malfoy, I don't think he ever wanted to be the bad guy. I think he's expected to be and act a certain way because of his family name. Most of the time when we see Malfoy alone he's very vulnerable and he's constantly goofing off in class. I think he just wanted to be a liked guy and have fun. But because of these expectations he has to do terrible things, but he never does them to his full capacity. I think when he looks "proud" to be a death eater it's just a front. Also they completely ruined it with the movie. The movie goes on a completely tangent. They didn't include any of the good parts. Like Dumbles going to privite drive. Or the entire battle at the end of the book! Then they added scenes that don't make any sense. Like the burrow burning scene.

Merphy: * creates a 41 minute video thinking it's long * Me: * after finishing a 3-hour long, multi-part Star Wars critique * ooh look, a short video!

I remember reading HBP when it first came out (binged it) and I got to the Dumbledoor scene. I just started reading the page and my eye caught *the* spell several paragraphs down....I tell you my hand started shaking and the words on the page started to get out of focus. It was also around 2am. I haven't read a book series since that made me equally loathe the wait and dread the story that was to come after and author killed off such a fundamental character.

I loved getting to know Voldemort's past, his family, his visit to Hepzibah Smith.. the darker tone of the book, Draco becoming a scared and misunderstood boy (him becoming friends with Moaning Myrtle lol) Harry's relationship with Ginny and his friendship with Dumbledore, and so much more.. This book is fantastic!!

Harry could have drowned in his blood, or even worse, have been expelled!

“and then harry’s like, ‘i’ll try everything *but* that!’” 😹😹

It’s my favorite Harry Potter book EVER. The drama, action, romance, and history inspire me as a multi-genre fiction writer. It is also my 2nd favorite book EVER. ♥️

Will you rank all seven books when you finish DEATHLY HALLOWS?

Yayyy! I’ve been waiting excitedly for this! My re-read of this book over Christmas was so much fun and I think this book in particular I appreciate more and more each time I re-read. I personally love Harry and Ginny together and don’t mind that there isn’t a lot of foreshadowing for them, because I think that that’s just real life sometimes. I also think that Harry had to wind up with a more-minor character, because the story is about Harry & Voldy (and second to that: Harry and Friendships) and I think more focus on Harry’s love life could have potentially been distracting. I’m a sucker for a good love story, but I just really appreciate how Ginny and Harry play out.

Also... Can you do a video in regards to how in the films, Hermione has a lot of Ron's lines throughout the first few books and sometimes throughout the later books? I would constantly get upset reading the books and remembering the movies and how they adapted Ron for the screen. Ron is street smart in wizard information which makes more sense than Hermione knowing things due to being a muggle born witch. Some things you can't find in a book and Ron knew many things in regards to the Wizarding World due to his life and situation with his family, etc. Hermione in the books finds things out for the first time as well as Harry in a lot of instances. I feel the need to start writing all of these downs my next read-through.

I love book 6, it was always my favorite, I very much enjoyed the set up, the insight into Tom Riddle the changes you see in the characters from beginning to end.

"How does the economy work in this world?" sign of a true fantasy fan lol

I’m starting to think you and Daniel decide on posting together so I have to watch one after the other

Ginny loved Harry from book 2. She’s the only one that knows what its like to have Voldemort posses her body just like Harry. She really powerful and really good at qudditch. Harry and Ginny are perfect for each other. She’s the only one to really feel what Harry feels. As for Ron and hermione they act like an actual couple they fight make up fight again. Their relationship works so well because it’s so realistic to the real world. After cursed child which is not cannon to me I don’t take what jk says now as serious. Anyways love your channel.

I'm not a mother, but my sister has three kids and I love them like they're my own. I'd take bullets for them, obviously. I truly appreciate how indignant you get in these videos about how the Dursleys treat Harry, because anyone who abuses a child is at the bottom of the barrel for me. Not even "bottom of the barrel": that's giving too much credit.

The whole "Ron and Hermione don't work well together" thing is pretty annoying. In the books they compliment each other well, and have great chemistry, even if it's in the form of bickering like a married couple while they were still tweens and teens. Relationships and especially marriage aren't all sunshine and roses. One perspective on the whole point of marriage is to socialy (and legally I guess) bind yourself to another person and basically say: "We're stuck with each other. So any problems we have, any flaws we have, the other can't just get annoyed and up and leave. We're in this together, so we have to help and fix each other and make each other better because there's no alternative." Ron and Hermione demonstrate a supreme ability to be honest with each other, respect each other enough to call each other out on their flaws, and still have the capability to make up afterwards. Best I can tell, the perception of them not belonging together is purely a product of the movies overwriting people's memories of the book, because it's shorter and so much more vivid and memorable of a medium. In the movies, Ron is mostly whinging luggage who does very little and contributes very little. And this is largely a result of just about all of his strong moments being given to Hermione. So OF COURSE movie-Hermione is better off without movie-Ron and doesn't need him. Because she's a complete, competent, stable package all on her own. Book-Ron and book-Hermione make a good, balanced couple. It's not their fault the movie made Ron redundant. As for Ginny and Harry - it DID start in book five. People complain that JK Rowling can't write romance... but that's bullshit. She can't write book-romance. Instead she actually wrote a very good portrayal of how romance develops from a guy's perspective. A very common way romantic feelings develop for a guy is within friend groups. A girl they know decently well, their mind starts wandering to in small, vague instances of attention. They start noticing a person's presence a little bit more, actions a little bit more. And it grows subtly to the point that they don't even realize it's been going on until their own brain smacks them in the face with: THIS PERSON IS VERY INTERESTING AND LIKABLE AND YOU OUGHT TO MAYBE ASK THEM OUT. Once Ginny stops (openly) obsessing over Harry and gives him a couple books of space, she starts interacting with him normally in Order of the Phoenix. And all throughout order of the Phoenix, we keep getting these little snippets sprinkled through the book. In any situation where Ginny is present, Harry thinks about the situation by describing her role in it, and vaguely commenting on her good qualities. Like the mesmerizing music box they found at Grimmauld place until "Ginny had the good sense to shut it." And commenting on her Reducto curse in the DA. And when he's in a funk about his visions with Voldemort, she's the person that comes around and smacks him out of his self-doubt and anxiety. With a shared experience, and - more importantly - without any concern for being gentle or telling him off. Repeatedly in book five she confronts Harry about his moodiness and temper. Just as Ron and Hermione are perfectly comfortable with criticizing each other openly, Ginny is the one who's unafraid to do that with Harry. These are all little, things that add up to Harry actually spending a lot of attention on her, sussing out who she is as a person, without really noticing it himself. Whenever she's present in these non-plot unimportant scenes (day to day events), he's either thinking about her reaction to a situation, or commenting positively on her actions in a situation. So, after a book where Harry starts noticing her as a person, and not just his friend's younger sister that's a little weirdly infatuated with him, he gets to see her as a feisty, competent, loyal, creative, no-nonsense person. And then come book six, he's perfectly comfortable treating her as an automatic fourth member of their friends group during the Summer at the Burrow. It just seems natural to him, and he surprised himself that he forgot Ginny doesn't actually hang out with them at school. Until finally Harry's brain, which has been stewing this attraction for a book and a half, slaps his conscious mind over the head with it. This is, generally speaking, a very accurate portrayal of how romantic feelings develop for guys. The cliche about them seeing an attractive person they know nothing about and immediately falling in love is just that - a story cliche. Basically the subconscious mind develops a crush long before the conscious mind is even aware of it.

Wasn't Dumbledore dying anyways from the ring curse? I thought I read that he only had maybe a year left at the start of the book, though it would've been nice if he had gone on to book 7 D: Love the review regardless!

I got the impression that the Riddles were Upperclass, ergo they don't move out until they're married, or at all if they're the oldest, especially then. See Downton Abbey for examples.

I’m so excited for this review!!! Your Harry Potter videos are some of my favorites! I love your channel, and it inspired me to start my own! Thank you for sharing your bookish thoughts with us!!

My favorite Book, but how could you not mention CH20 “Lord Voldemort’s request”? (my favorite Chapter in the whole series) It’s so awesome to see Dumbledore and Voldemort together before they start to fight each other. Every word in that chapter is wrapped in suspense!

I never read the books and barely remember the movies, but watching these videos and hearing your enthusiasm for the series is entertaining. I could definitely do with more long form discussion for book reviews from you.

Finishing a re-read and watching these reviews (both videos) is such a delight so much so that I look forward to watching your reviews on every book eagerly while I’m reading the said book. 💖

i am so happy when you make this long videos , ty

Finally! Someone else who doesn’t like book 2 as much!

I currently reread chamber of secrets, and even in this book, we can see how much Harry cares for Ginny. He literally risked his own life to save her and worried very much about her. Of couse he was not in love with her during that time, but he cared about her! So their romance didn't came out of nowhere. Their relationship was slowly developed in the background.

29:40 the quailty of any food or drink decreases when multiplied or replenished

Rowling never said she planned on putting Harry and Hermione together and the changed it. She stated that all along Harry/Ginny and Ron/Hermione were end game and this was clearly evident from the very first book.

Also, THANK YOU for what you said about Harry having that potions book NOT being cheating. Makes me so mad. I've argued with so many people who think Hermione was justified in being a snotty, jealous little brat about it. Harry's book just had different and BETTER information in it than everyone else's. It didn't GIVE him answers or make the position for him. Just gave him better tips on how to get there.

Omg that scene between Malfoy and Dumbledore is so heartbreaking I love it so much but it’s also so incredibly frustrating because you know that Draco wanted to say yes to Dumbledores offer and wanted to get out of this mess and that he is just a teenage boy who is scared and it makes me sympathies with Draco so much and you also see that Dumbledore even though we always saw how he biased Gryffindor cares for all of his students but then the other death eaters come and Draco doesn’t even have the chance to make the right decision.

I've been waiting for this review/talk! This is my favorite book and the perfect way to end my long day! P.S. I love how long these are if you need an hour and a half to talk about the last book I will watch and love every second of it

The way your voice shakes when speaking about the basin and Dumbledore drinking the potion is why I love your reactions! It conveys exactly how I felt whilst reading that part

No mention of Lavender Brown? I know the review was on the longer side, but I could've gone for another 10 minutes at least. Definitely my personal favorite HP book.

This is particularly my favorite one for you get to see a lot about Snape's, who's my favorite character, past. Besides, you also understand why Voldemort keeps coming back and what the fate for Harry is. This is one of the few book from the series that answers more questions than it leaves unanswered. Btw, I'm surprised that you haven't heard the audiobooks of the series. Stephen Fry does an amazing performance. I'm positive that once you listen to him you'll be his fan. I love your videos and I'm looking forward to more Harry Potter content

Sooo this is like the third time I am watching this because I just like hearing you talk about HP and anything in general! But one thing I observed which I love is that you manage to walk the “I don’t care how you pronounce this or what’s the character name and still show soo much love for this series” like if I forget a detail, people ask me how can you say you are a big fan but you do it soo convincingly and I love it! It should be like that! Love your work! Keep it up!

Your videos of HP inspired me to start my own reread. I’m about half way through book one. I can’t believe it has taken me this long to pick them up again. I am loving that it has taken me right back to my favorite world.

I’m adding my voice to those who have already shown the love for HBP, it’s my favourite of the series, so much so I am a little nervous of your ‘It doesn’t make sense’ upload!

This is why you’re so awesome 😭 I can feel your passion for reading and books! This was great! HP will always be one of my favorite series! Watching this made me want to re read the entire series AGAIN 😂 I’ve always wanted JK to rewrite the entire series from Malfoy’s or Snape’s perspective! They are 2 of my favorite characters and among the most underrated in my opinion. I will die defending Snape. He was the most brave, clever, and courageous out of everyone.

I love your long video love your insight and enthusiasm it’s too cute honestly good job 👏

I remember listening to the audio version of that book. I was at one of my boys soccer game and the death scene came on. I was sitting on the sidelines crying and I don't cry at books.

That scene at the beginning with Dumbledore and the Dursleys is my absolute favorite! It was so funny and Dumbledore's every word is true!

Dumbledore's chewed them up too little, too late. Also, he should have knocked the door with baby Harry and tell them, instead of just leaving a letter

I’ve been waiting so long for this 🙏🏼

Whenever you mention Doctor Who related things in your videos my heart just flutters unexpectedly because I love my fellow Whovians

I really liked Harry's inner monologue on felix. It kinda shows how easy it would be to become addicted and there are apparently really bad things that can happen if you do become addicted. So it kinda fills a plot hole imho

I'm pretty sure JK Rowling did originally plan for Hermione and Ron to end up together and for Harry and Ginny to. It was in later books that she began to regret that, but she stuck to her original plan.

Book six was my favorite followed by the fifth. There was so much in both of these and you see a lot of growth within both of those novels. It was a great set up at the end of the sixth. Thanks for the review. It was interesting to hear your take on it. 😁

Great shirt. Also the content is very well spoken and well versed in the hp books

I think Tom riddle never remaried because he had some pretty severe trust issue after being drugged and basiccally abused by Voldemort's mom. I'd have trouble trusting another woman too if one did that to me.

Hope you don't mind I'll borrow your head canon. It's brilliant! Harry and Draco have to find a way to work with each other and slowly find respect for each other, maybe opening up a bit about their childhoods. Yes! I want to read this!

I believe Tom didn't remarry because after being under that love potion for so long he might have believed all romantical love he felt was not really his... And where fake... So he stood home in a comforting environment.... Poor Tom senior...

Omg thank you for this. I love reliving the hype with you! 🥰 This is my favorite HP book. I loved learning about Voldemort.

I LOVED Half Blood Prince. I remember it was my favourite out of the series. It was just so fun, I loved finding out more about Voldy's back story and how sassy Harry was. Fred and George's shop was so cool and I absolutely loved the scenes with Slughorn, especially the one where Ron ate the love potion chocolates and Harry takes him to Slughorn. I really enjoyed the scene at the end. I loved how Dumbledore tried to talk Draco out it, it really shows that he cares for his students, even if they are going down a dark path. These videos really renew my love of Harry Potter. I had completely forgotten a lot of the details. Maybe it's time for a reread!

Personally, I interpret Tom Sr.’s being “stuck” after his marriage as an expression of trauma. He was essentially abused and controlled by his so called partner for all those years; when he was no longer under the influence of the love potion, did he have memories of having this whole long relationship with a woman he didn’t really know or desire as a partner? How did he feel about those memories? At the very least that’s going to give a guy some serious trust issues

Love this video, love how long it was, love ⚡️, Gryffindor for life 🦁, thank you for this!

I think maybe Malfoy thought the invisibility cloak was one of those common ones so he wouldn’t necessarily want or need it. Also sure he hates Harry but I think to him, at that point, Harry was just a nuisance. Malfoy knew his primary objective was Dumbledore, not Harry.

20:00 Filch deserved it: Did you forget how he bullied every student since book one, being optimistic he might be allowed to torture and whip them and even siding with Umbridge? He deserved every spell from snapes school book - even Sectumsempra (maybe).

A moment that pained me was Harry's breakup with Ginny. Just finished reading this book and am looking forward to book 7. Great reviews

Yayyy I love your reviews! Book 6 has always been my favourite. It's the perfect mix of just fun times at Hogwarts, mystery, action and devastating events. The pensieve scenes were the most interesting parts. Ugh it's so good.

A FORTY MINUTE VIDEO?! THANK YOU MERPHY!!!

It’s my fave if the series! Also, the dumbledore scene at the beginning makes me giggle, favorite scene in the entire series. I’m always disappointed that it didn’t make the movies!

Although I’ve read Harry Potter before but you’re right, I don’t remember it being so difficult to read especially the death scenes throughout the series. As Merphy quotes it “ YOU’RE TAKING IT TOO FAR MAN...IT’S TOO MUCH PAIN!!” Maybe we were children when the books came out and didn’t understand grief and sorrow as well as we do now at being adults. But still...Gosh Rowling.... “IT’S TOO MUCH PAIN!”

I'm taking a break too. I read 1-5 and I can't pick up 6 right now cause I'm so in need of a break! Glad you posted your review. Hopefully it will motivate me!

Dumbledore only had a few weeks left to live so although his death was shocking it wouldn't have made much difference if he had lived.