Come and talk me through my Half-Blood Prince film canon WTF moment

[birdsofshore]

OK, this is going to take some explaining, but bear with me.

I was looking up something about the Vanishing Cabinets, and, being lazy and feckless, I looked on the Harry Potter wiki. YES I KNOW. We have had a lot of trouble with it before, I know, stating film canon as fact even when it contradicts book canon, using lego games as canon, I KNOW.

This is a bit different. It's about something that isn't mentioned in the books, but only in film canon.

When Draco is trying to fix the cabinet in the film, he tests it with various things: first an apple, which comes back with a bite out of it, and then a white bird, which comes back dead. Now, I took these as signs that the cabinet was now WORKING - that the apple and the bird had been successfully transported, and that Death Eaters had done these things to them to show that they had indeed traveled to Borgin and Burkes and back.

However, Harry Potter wiki (and on googling, loads of other sources on the internet) states that these things proved the cabinet was NOT working - that the apple came back 'missing a moderate chunk' because Draco HADN'T fixed it properly, and that the bird came back dead for the same reason. WHAT? I mean-- WHAT? REALLY?

OK, I am annoyed about this for lots of reasons. One, because it's WRONG. Two, because it's WRONG-- no, two, because there's clearly a BITE taken out of the apple. Three, because the interpretation that the Vanishing Cabinet isn't working when these things happen ruins all the implications of these scenes that I really like.

A bite from an apple has all sorts of symbolism: the poisoned apple that kills Snow White, the innocence lost in the Garden of Eden. There's chilling music when we see the bitten apple, not because "oh dear, Draco hasn't fixed it yet", but "oh shit, some Death Eater bit the lovely perfect apple with his big old teeth and ruined it", and both we and Draco know the implications for the school when Death Eaters come into Hogwarts via the cabinet.

The same with the bird. When it comes back dead, Draco looks stricken - and lots of sources are saying this is "because he knows he hasn't fixed it properly". NOOOO! It's because he knows he HAS. We have the symbolism again of the white bird (peace, love) being destroyed by the Death Eaters who are waiting at Borgin and Burkes.

This feels important to me, for the development of film!Draco's character. He isn't celebrating that he's repaired the cabinets - he's appalled, fearful, sickened and anxious at the knowledge of what it means that he has. The apple and the bird symbolise, to me, the innocence of the lives that will be lost at Hogwarts, but also Draco's lost innocence. I think Tom Felton did a bang up job of portraying this, and it makes me annoyed to read these scenes so misinterpreted.

I know it's all a bit cheesy, but I really like these scenes :( If you want to review them yourself, they are here:

Apple scene: from about 25 secs here

Bird scene: from about 3 mins 15 on the same video (which is a random collection of Draco scenes from the first 6 films).

What do you think? Am I completely wrong? Is Harry Potter wiki completely wrong? Am I mad for caring? Shall I go and do deep breathing? Will I have to sob in annoyance now every time I watch the Half-Blood Prince?

Comments

[traintracks.livejournal.com]

The way I've interpreted those scenes is that while the apple worked, and indeed Death Eater Anon sent it back with a bite out of it to prove it had gone somewhere, the bird did NOT work; the Vanishing Cabinet malfunctioned with a living thing and killed it, thus it wasn't yet ready to transport actual, living Death Eaters from the shop to Hogwarts.

Of course, the flaw in this is that one COULD assume Death Eater Anon DID kill the bird to prove it had gone somewhere. But then why does Draco, as you note, look so afraid and despairing that the bird is dead? I think he does assume that the cabinet malfunctioned and, therefore, that is perhaps what we are to take from that scene as well.

???

[birdsofshore]

I think he looks afraid and despairing because SOMEBODY KILLED THE BIRD, the little white bird he had held in his hands tenderly and nestled to his innocent breast (OK I am reaching very slightly here). And next they are going to come through the cabinet and kill a whole load of other people. DDD:

*sobs at poor Draco being misunderstood*

[kitty_fic]

I interpreted it the same way that you did!
I thought he was upset that it was working! D:

[birdsofshore]

YES YES! His sensitive soul trembles at the face of Death Eaters coming to Hogwarts. Book canon does back this up. He's not happy about it by any means.

[alisanne.livejournal.com]

Hmm.
I always interpreted the defaced apple and the dead bird as Draco NOT YET having gotten the cabinet working. He looks upset because he knows the DEs are waiting on him and he knows if he fails in his task that his parents' lives are forfeit.

[birdsofshore]

That sort of makes sense. But I don't like that explanation so much as my one :DD Don't you think the apple looks like it has a bite out of it?

[nathalieweasley.livejournal.com]

My interpretation was that the apple was working. But when he tried using the bird, a more complex, living thing, transport was more complicated and didn't work.

[birdsofshore]

This is so interesting! I had no idea there were different interpretations before tonight, yet here we are all coming up with various scenarios.

[evilgiraff.livejournal.com]

I am in complete agreement with you - both examples are demonstrations that the cabinets are working. I have never considered otherwise; they both have far too much Death Eater = Bad symbolism to mean anything else.

[birdsofshore]

Yes, the symbolism of the bitten apple and the dead dove seem far too clear for it to be a mistake, to me. I do see the bird coming back dead could be interpreted the other way, but the additional symbolism of the bird says otherwise, to me.

There's a later bird, a black one, that survives, and it flies out of the cabinet later (I think when Harry and Ginny are in there?). Again it's a bit cheesy, but the Death Eaters have killed the white bird and left the black one to live.

[themostepotente.livejournal.com]

Draco Malfoy = Seth Brundle

[birdsofshore]

Ah, thank you so much! It has been nagging at me all evening where there are similar scenes of someone trying to transport something and it not quite working. Brilliant. Yes, so the precedent of that film adds to the confusion, yes?

[capitu]

I think I got it all wrong? After reading some comments.

I thought the apple showed the Cabinets were working to transport things, but next he had to try on a living thing. When the bird came back dead, it wasn't yet fixed because, well, dead bird.

(the bf agrees, btw)

I think Tom Felton did a bang up job of portraying this, and it makes me annoyed to read these scenes so misinterpreted.

Yep. YES.

[birdsofshore]

I don't think you got it wrong, capitu, there seems to be 3 schools of thought and they all have some persuasive arguments. I love discussing this kind of thing and hearing everyone's views.

I even asked Mr Birds, but he very wisely agreed with me :DD

[who_la_hoop]

I just thought it was third time lucky - apple fails, white bird fails, but the final attempt, the black bird, is successful. He's scared because it's not working, and if he doesn't succeed then he's fucked.

[birdsofshore]

Yes... could be... but why choose an apple and a white bird, if not to show what the nasty Death Eaters could do?

[meglw0228.livejournal.com]

I'm not watching the video because I don't want to get sucked into that, but just wanted to really ask something quick...

Doesn't he first say the spell once... and nothing at all happens, or the apple is gone, but hasn't come back? That's when I knew the spell failed(if I'm right) and the vanishing cabinet still didn't work. Then he says the spell again and the apple appears to have a bite(there are teeth marks! clearly a bite!) so we know it's working... and then of course the dead bird. But am I wrong about seeing the spell performed once before hand or something? Or did the people who posted that stuff in your post not see the spell failing the first time? That was an obvious fail/vanishing cabinet not being mended and the apple and bird were as you say!

Sorry for the over-rambling question! That sorta inaccurate information pisses me off a bit! And then I get confused!

[birdsofshore]

I didn't think the spell failed... I think the first incantation takes it to Borgin and Burkes... he opens the cabinet to check, and the apple has gone... then the second repetition brings it back to Hogwarts.

I thought there were teethmarks too, but others are not seeing them. Maybe the power of our imaginations because we want to believe someone bit it, LOL!

[unbroken-halo.livejournal.com]

The wiki, like Pottermore, rather pisses me off but for now, since it's the only one of the few sources we have, we have to make do. But I can also say this; as fabu as JKR's world is, she ain't exactly on the ball either. When the damned creator can't even keep shit straight in their own world, then it isn't going to be easy for anyone else either. We're all human, you know?

So, yeah, moving on.

I can honestly say I took the moments to mean Draco's failure. Here's why. In the book, we are shown everything through Harry's eyes. He wants Draco to fail. Doesn't matter what it is. Books don't translate easy, to movies and there's an wider, easy method of getting everyone;s POV across without confusion. So I figured this was Hollywood translation of Draco's talking with Moaning Myrtle. If I recall correctly, he's talking about his failures and he's crying is how it happened in book canon.

Movie translation canon: The missing chunk of the apple to me reminded me of the kid Fred and George shoved in the cabinet: don't remember his name but he was a Slytherin. Anyway, he was lost for some time before he reappeared later in the year. His memory had been altered, if I remember correctly.

The dead bird, honestly no clue cause it creeped me out, but again, I thought, shit failed again because of the look on his face. It never occurred to think about his transitioning character, just his desperation that he wasn't doing any better than his father and that he'd alienated Snape.

Me canon: Draco's distress was extreme and with each failure, those of trying to kill Dumbledore included, were just compounding his issues.

It wasn't until I rewatched the clips you posted and my daughter says, 'who bit the apple?' and 'how did the bird die?' that I had to consider it as you had laid it out.

Maybe it is just a personal interpretation of the scenes, characters and not so much about who is wrong or right, because either way they are taken, they both get the point across that this child is in trouble.

[birdsofshore]

I like your thoughts about POV and this being a stand-in for Draco crying to Myrtle. You're also right to bring up the boy who got lost for a while - was it Montague? Montescue? Hmm, I want to read fic about what happened to Montague while he was in there, now :D

It's interesting you say you could consider my version of events while watching the film and there was some plausibility to it. I've found everyone's arguments feasible, it does seem to be a choice of which version you prefer, and the implications for Draco are bad either way. I just prefer us witnessing his fear and horror at the fact that he has been successful, as it deepens his character in my opinion, but we feel pity for him either way.

[0idontknow0]

I didn't see teeth marks on the apple, it looks more like someone carved it out so I took it as an equivalent of splinching.

And then the bird, I interpret it as having died and Draco despairing because if he doesn't get that ish fixed he and his family will die. If someone sends the bird back dead then they're assuming that Draco will interpret it as them doing it and not as the bird dying on it's own. It's a very convoluted way to say "Yes, this cabinet works."

[birdsofshore]

It's a sick, twisted Death Eater way to say the cabinet works!

If the bird comes back exactly as it was, then there's no proof it's been anywhere at all. That's my understanding of it.

But obviously there is room for different interpretations even if that is what they decided to do as a 'sign' it was working... as this whole post and all of the comments are showing!

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

Felton acted the hell out of those scenes. It's unbelievable how much emotion he was able to convey with his eyes alone. Nnngh.

I read the books before I saw the movies, so maybe that colors my interpretation. Because I don't see this...

He isn't celebrating that he's repaired the cabinets - he's appalled, fearful, sickened and anxious at the knowledge of what it means that he has.

...in book!Draco at all. And by extension, I can't buy it in film!Draco, either. I think Draco's sole concern was for his safety and the safety of his family.

I thought the apple indicated that the cabinet was working, and Draco seemed pleased. But when he tried to transport a living being, the bird, the cabinet didn't work. And I thought Draco's angst was the result of knowing he was in trouble if he couldn't figure out how to make it work.

[birdsofshore]

I see the fear and the sickened reaction in book!Draco a lot. He is genuinely horrified when they bring Fenrir into Hogwarts, he can't even look at Ron and Hermione when they are brought to Malfoy Manor, and he seems pretty appalled and frightened when he finally faces an unarmed Dumbledore at his mercy. He is shaking all over and in tears, when he could quite easily kill him in a moment.

I think movie!Draco was made a bit more overtly sympathetic than book!Draco, though (partly because Tom Felton MAKES us see his vulnerability and his humanity) and I see the vanishing cabinet scenes as a continuation of that. If we think about the deleted scene where they had Draco throwing Harry his wand in the final battle, I think it's clear that they wanted a redemption for film!Draco that we didn't get for book!Draco. I think his ambivalence at fixing the cabinets reflects that story arc towards a partial redemption.

I didn't see Draco looking pleased when the apple came back, either! The music is chilling and I felt his reaction was more fearful than jubilant.

I COMPLETELY agree about his eyes <3333 I've seen a clip of DanRad complimenting Tom on his acting in that film. I wonder where it was.

[icmezzo.livejournal.com]

Sitting here with another fandom friend and we both saw this as a sign that the cabinet wasn't yet working. I love your interpretation, and can totally see it working. But until reading your post, I never guessed there was another way to look at it.

[birdsofshore]

How funny it is! We're all seeing different things! Some of us see toothmarks and others can't see them at all... I found it annoying when it was strangers on the internet contradicting me, but now it's my flist, it just makes for a great discussion :DD

[melusinahp.livejournal.com]

I can't tell you if you're wrong or right (although film canon means nothing to me as far as characerisation goes), but this is how I interpreted those scenes: The apple came back with a bite out of it, meaning that Draco had fixed the cabinet enough to transport an object.

The bird came back dead, meaning it still wasn't fixed enough to transport a living object without killing it.

Then, after that, he worked more on the cabinet and a live bird flew out, meaning he's finally worked out all the bugs and it was ready to go.

[birdsofshore]

You are in good company with that *nods*

I still like my interpretation, but my flist has managed to convince me that the others are valid too...

I enjoy film canon very much and regard it as an entity in itself, if that makes sense. It is connected to book canon for me, in that I like to reflect on how they compare and whether one can throw light on the other, but film canon has no direct influence on book canon and doesn't supercede it (unlike Harry wiki seems to think)

[digthewriter]

I haven't read the other comments yet, but, I thought he saw the dead bird and started crying was b/c he realised that it was fixed and that someone on the other side--which I assumed was Bellatrix had killed the bird and sent it back. He was crying because it was fixed and because the Death Eaters are ruthless.

[birdsofshore]

Yes, I thought the same. It's interesting you thought it was Bellatrix - someone else said that, too!

[fantasyfiend09.livejournal.com]

I actually interpreted it the way you did when I saw the film. I imagined Bellatrix biting the apple and Fenrir snapping the bird's neck. But now that I've read through all these comments and thought on it, I don't think that was the film makers' intent. I think they intended to represent splinching and death as signs of the cabinet's failure.

That said, I think they could have made it much clearer. The symbolism of apples and white birds lends itself so well to our interpretation. They could have had a different (mundane) item come back in pieces or a brown or grey bird come back dead.

I do think that book!Draco was very upset each time he failed and thrilled (deliriously so) when he succeeded. I think his situation, in his mind, was that he had a piece of furniture to fix and failing to fix it would lead to death for his family. I don't think he ever stopped to think about what the Death Eaters would really do with the fixed cabinet. And there was little point in him wasting thought on it when he felt that his only choices were to fix the cabinet or condemn his family to certain death.

That night, when he actually sees the results of his actions and fully realises that he is expected to murder Dumbledore, is when I think he has his turning point. He was a boy of 16, and I think that moment in the Astronomy Tower is when he suddenly grows up and understands what war really means.

[tamlane.livejournal.com]

That night, when he actually sees the results of his actions and fully realises that he is expected to murder Dumbledore, is when I think he has his turning point. He was a boy of 16, and I think that moment in the Astronomy Tower is when he suddenly grows up and understands what war really means.

This is exactly how I see it!

Even as late as Slughorn's Christmas party, Draco still doesn't fully understand the consequences of his actions, if we can trust the overheard conversation with Snape:

"[...] if you are placing your reliance in assistants like Crabbe and Goyle —"

"They're not the only ones, I've got other people on my side, better people!"

"Then why not confide in me, and I can —"

"I know what you're up to! You want to steal my glory!"

It's like he keeps on parroting his father's ideals until the moment when he's faced with committing his father's crimes. And then Draco becomes his own man.

[amorette.livejournal.com]

The point being conveyed with the apple and the bird: The apple traveled just fine. It went to the other side, someone on the other side took a bite and sent it back, and it arrived back to Draco. The bird, however, did not travel safely - it died on the journey either to or back. So a living thing like a bird cannot make a safe journey; ergo, a human won't be able to make a safe journey either.

The purpose of the vanishing cabinet was to transport the Death Eaters into Hogwarts, so the cabinet had to be able to safely transport living, breathing things.

[birdsofshore]

Yes, I see what the tests were for, but I don't agree with your conclusions! At one point the bird is shown alive at B and B's - it doesn't make sense to me that it arrived safely but died on the way back.

[facecat.livejournal.com]

If the bitten apple meant that the cabinets worked he wouldn't have had to send the bird. I took them both to mean that the cabinet was not working yet especially given that Harry and Ginny let the living black bird out of the cabinet which signifies then that the cabinet is working. Why Harry didn't catch on at that point is what I want to know since he saw Draco at B & B with the sister cabinet earlier.

[birdsofshore]

They think there's only 1 cabinet and that it's been moved, at first. There's a deleted scene where Harry almost cottons on! He says "what if there were 2 cabinets?" Then he gets distracted because he's going to meet Dumbledore, to get the locket I think.

[omi-ohmy.livejournal.com]

Okay, I've watched the clips and they've confirmed that I fall into the splinched-apple, faulty-cabinet-still-killing-living-things school of thought. I think that if they were supposed to show it working, then only one scene would have been used.

[birdsofshore]

I think he's checking to see if it works with something that's a living creature, personally. Somewhere else in the discussion, it's pointed out that we hear the bird arriving alive at B+B's, so it doesn't make sense to me that it would arrive safely but then die on the way back.

But it's very interesting to see how we all agree / disagree!

[isinuyasha.livejournal.com]

I always thought that apple worked (because Draco looked kinda satisfied when he pulled it out) but when he did the same with the bird I thought the cabinet malfunctioned... Maybe it's because I always thought his expression was more like "It didn't work, they're gonna kill me" than "oh what did they do to my poor little birdy" :D

But I like your idea better because it implies that Draco is already feeling regret about what he does whereas mine would imply that he is mainly afraid of what will happen if it does NOT work :D

[birdsofshore]

Well, those of us who are softies for Draco will probably prefer that interpretation! I think the scene can work either way, can't it, and we all know Draco's ambivalent about how things turned out in the end, so I guess it's not of vital importance!

[faithwood.livejournal.com]

What Mel said. That's what makes sense to me because it takes what the books described and shows it with a few visuals.

Also, Draco very much didn't want to share his ideas with anyone so no one could steal his glory, dammit.
Also, it's very hard for me to imagine any DE, especially Bella, waiting around at the other end to bite apples and kill birds. Voldemort basically trolled Draco with the Dumbledore-killing assignment. I can see it now: huge DE meeting, Bella reading Draco's note: "Dear Auntie Bella, I'll be conducting experiments on Saturday evening around midnight. I need you to collect the items I've sent you and send them back. You can get back to your important evildoing after three or four hours of apple-biting and bird-killing. kthnxbi. xxx Draco" And everyone's all: "LOLOLOL, n00b."

Yeah, I just see him telling them about it only after he succeeded, and I don't see anyone believing him before that. Or being at all willing to spend time on a kid being trolled. Esp. Bella who thought the problem was handled (through Snape's vow) and she's, well, Bella.

That said, I now what a fic where Draco is waiting around for the DEs to show up that night and instead of succeeding, they all come through dead. D: What happens then!?

[birdsofshore]

hard for me to imagine any DE, especially Bella, waiting around at the other end to bite apples and kill birds

LOL! No, I'm sure they were most keen to perform such a task. What else could they possibly have to do that was of higher importance than to bite Draco's apples in a sinister way? :D

That fic idea is dreadful! So macabre! There's definitely loads of exploration that needs to be done about these cabinets, via fic. I hope we spark someone off with all this discussion.

[enchanted-jae.livejournal.com]

I prefer the birdsofshore version of events.

:D

[birdsofshore]

Yay! :D This post has definitely given me food for thought, though. I can kind of twist my head to accept other people's explanations as well, now, so it was a good discussion.

Sorry I never got round to replying to this sooner :(

[gamma-x-orionis.livejournal.com]

Oh, I like your interpretation so much better than the 'official' one! I never gave it much thought (because... movies. Better to turn one's brain off in these situations), although I /guess/ my assumption was pretty similar to what HP Wiki says... *shrugs*

What I'm really confused about now is that gif caption. According to google translate, that's latin for "contrived harmony suffered"... um, what does that mean? (I always thought that Draco praying in that scene. Is this a prayer that I've never heard of?)

[birdsofshore]

Sorry I never got to this comment sooner, gamma! I think it's the incantation that Draco says, to make the Vanishing cabinet 'work'. If you watch the video, he says those words each time before looking inside to see if the thing has gone, or come back.

birds

[timemixer]

have not read the books seen the film HBP. Cannot recall seeing a black bird in a cage but have seen a white and black bird in a cage on Wiki in an entry birds on the seventh floor but also have seen an empty cage in the Draco poster at Harry Potter Wall art. Will have to review film to see if black bird is visible in any cage...is he ? Will also have to see if bites appear to be in apple to have any leaning towards theories. Sniggering at shop where second cabinet is kept can be interperted in several ways. Will have to review part where black bird ? Flies ? from cabinet at Hogwarts....BUT if this is a black bird why would it appear then ? Would DM send it then leave before it returned or just leave it in the cabinet afterwards. Additional scenes in HBP do not show any birds. Believe DM felt remorse as he caused bird to die. the poster of Draco at Harry Potter Wall Art seems to show this. Would really like an explanation if both birds can be seen in a cage anywhere ? Some posts in other forums talk about black bird being seen being put into cabinet in film. Does this make sense ? thanks for any help

[cagnurit.livejournal.com]

Sorry for being so so late (as I've just started stalking your #(am i in love with draco malfoy) tag recently).

I just want to add an (important, I think) scene with the birds: at earlier of the movie, about minute 43-44, there is a scene with both the birds (one black, one white) in a beautiful delicate cage, right before the scene of Draco walking in and standing in front of RoR the very first time. So we can be sure the birds are both sent from Draco.



About the interpretation, I read others' comments, and while I think they are logical, I agree with you. This is how I see it: 1) The apple is a success, Draco is pleased with that. 2) The white bird is also a success, because it is chirping at B&B's; and when it comes back dead meaning someone kills it, Draco feels distressed, even frightened to realize the cruelty of DEs and the desperate situation he is in. 3) But I'm still vague about the role of the living black bird. I think one explanation is that Draco still wants to experiment with the remaining bird as he's fixing the cabinet, but I'm not sure.

[birdsofshore]

Ah, you can stalk my Draco tag any time! It is the best tag <3

I like your thoughts on this thorny question. Especially the bit where you say I am right. ;) It's the kind of thing that can drive me mad if I think about it for too long. You could come up with 20 different answers and still nobody would agree :D