What’s do you think is the best needle drop in the series? What’s your favorite?
Mine’s at the end of S7E8 “Severance” - the Peggy Lee song “Is That All There Is?” It’s just sooo perfect for the mood of that episode. Ken’s firing and then rehire at Dow, continuing to forego his writing career. Peggy’s first date, don’s dealing with Rachel’s death and the obsession with the waitress.
I find her incredibly distasteful. Everything she posts online reads like a racist dog whistle, and her comment sections are largely unmoderated, attracting some genuinely vile takes. As a longtime fixture of local news in Cincinnati, she's a disgraceful representation of this city.
This isn't new behavior either. Back in 2012 she got suspended after writing on Facebook that Rachel Maddow, an openly gay news anchor, was "such an angry young man." When backlash hit, she doubled down with "I am sorry. I should have said antagonistic," which somehow made it worse. She's been at Fox 19 since the 90s and has had over a decade to learn from that, and based on her current online presence, she hasn't.
Just look at any of her twitter or Facebook posts. The racist drivel underneath it is so bad. She moderates none of it. Anyway /rant
It’s like a religious experience. That’s all
Not from each book, but across the entire series. I just finished the Audible full-cast production and it made me want to do this having experienced the story in a completely new way. Here's my definitive ranking from 10-1, based not just on writing quality but on consequence, the chapters that actually moved the story and the characters forward in ways that mattered. Spoilers do exist below!
Honorable Mention:
10. The Very Secret Diary (B2, CH. 13) - This is where the world of Harry Potter cracks open into the past. You don't realize it at the time, but you've just met Voldemort as a boy, and by the novel's end it dawns on you just how cunning he really was.
9. The Boy Who Lived (B1, CH. 1) - The foundation. The blueprint. It sets up the central mystery the whole series rests on.
8. Diagon Alley (B1, CH. 5) - Harry's first real taste of the wizarding world and everything it has to offer. The way his experiences are described is as spellbinding for the reader as it is for Harry himself. His sense of wonder becomes your own.
7. Priori Incantatem (B4, CH. 34) - Harry escapes once again. The whole graveyard sequence showcases some of the most intricate and darkest magic in the series so far, but it's when the two spells collide that you truly grasp how bound together these two fated characters are.
6. Hermione's Secret (B3, CH. 21) - Such a wonderful ride. I don't have a ton to add here, but it's far and away the best chapter in POA.
5. The Mirror of Erised (B1, CH. 12) - The story pivots here. The stakes get revealed in a heartbreaking way. Imagine reading this at ten years old! Remarkably mature themes for a story that had been fairly light up until that point. Dumbledore's warning about dwelling on dreams instead of living - you just don't see a lot of that in children's literature.
4. The Lost Prophecy (B5, CH. 37) - Dumbledore finally tells Harry about the prophecy. I remember reading this chapter over and over again as a kid to make sure I didn't miss anything. Couple this one with Horcruxes in HBP, and you finally understand Voldemort himself created his own enemy.
3. King's Cross (B7, CH. 35) - What I view as the philosophical capstone of the entire series. Death, choices, and what's real.
2. The Lightning-Struck Tower (B6, CH. 27) - "Severus... please..." will haunt me forever. It is the shocking death nobody saw coming. It takes real guts to kill off one of the main characters of your story, but it serves the narrative and, as you later learn, was deliberate all along.
1. The Prince's Tale (B7, CH. 33) - Every piece of the story falls into place. It contextualizes the entire series and gives us a Snape far more complex and sympathetic than the one we thought we knew, the complete opposite, in fact.
I'm doing a rewatch. Only my second time. The first time I watched this show I was in college. I'm now well into my 30s and have over a decade in a corporate environment. I knew I loved the show when I watched the first time but I'm really obsessed the second time. I find each character so much more interesting and complex. I found Betty insufferable and childish in my college years. She still is on my second watch, but I'm so much more sympathetic.
What an incredible show, my God.
You can get CBC access with your Cincinnati library card btw:
https://chpl.org/magazines-newspapers/
Last fall, when Xavier's freshman class dropped about 20% to roughly 700 students, one of the smallest classes in modern school history, this sub had a field day.
Cincinnati Business Courier, today:
Xavier still ranks sixth in the region by enrollment (4,899 total in fall 2025) and UC is still the giant on the hill by that metric obviously.
The X is fine. Maybe the best shape it's been in a long time.
I found these two chapters to be the best of the audible series so far (a close second is probably the Quidditch World Cup in GOF). "Severus... please..." has haunted me since I read them all those years ago. Though I think the HBP movie is exceptional, I was disappointed at Gambon's line reading of it.
Hugh Laurie absolutely nailed it. He really brought Dumbledore's last moments to life that surprised me in the best way. He really was pleading by the end. It was so devastating. It's going to make finding out about Snape and Dumbledore's motives that much more rewarding in DH.
I continue to be in awe of these performances. They just keep getting better!