544: The Harry Potter Stars Reunite, and We Review!

MuggleCast excitedly kicks off the year 2022 with their review of the brand new Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts reunion special! Join Andrew, Eric, Micah and Laura as they go "chapter-by-chapter" on the 100 minute show and discuss the highs and lows, cast members who were noticeably absent, and how the reunion special did or didn't meet their expectations. We also have a mail-bag show next week, so be sure to send us YOUR thoughts on the special!

• 2022 started off with a brand new Reunion Special, looking back on the making of all 8 films and featuring the cast including Dan, Rupert and Emma
• Harry Potter Reunion Special First Impressions: did it satisfy our craving? Did it make us cry? (Spoiler alert: yes, it did.)
• Andrew found the beginning to be a little clunky, and the fact that Rupert, Dan and Emma were not physically all in the same space was ultimately a missed opportunity.
• Laura thinks the special would have benefitted from having a dedicated host to guide us through the many different interviews and set a more static tone for the special.
• Micah wanted to see more groups together and would have expected a higher focus on the first film, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary and not the others.
• Eric wanted more Ian Hart! They brought him in for a whole day and he only appears in the last 5 minutes of the show? Release the Snyder Cut of Back to Hogwarts, you cowards!
• We all appreciate getting to hear from all 4 directors who helmed the Potter films.
• Dan Radcliffe's chat with Chris Columbus and some archival footage of the young trio warmed all of our hearts, multiple times.
• Hearing Alfonso Cuarón discuss Prisoner of Azkaban changed Micah's mind on the film! Eric is not so cheaply bought... but admits that Cuarón clearly really cares and that his take on Harry's adolescence is valid.
• Dan Radcliffe and Gary Oldman's chat shows that they truly mean a lot to one another and is great to see.
• After seeing Mike Newell wrestle with the Phelps Twins and break some of his own ribs while doing so, everything we've ever wondered about why the Goblet of Fire movie is the way it is makes perfect sense.
• The trio talking teenage hormones reignites the spark of all of our ships, including Emma and Tom who CLEARLY HAVE SOMETHING GOING ON...
• ...but perhaps not as much as Dan and Helena Bonham Carter! That steamy handwritten note, wowza...
• The hosts lament the exclusion of a Sirius/Bellatrix duel that was evidently filmed, and recount other surprising times during this special where an actor says something shocking which paints director choices in a questionable light.
• Evanna Lynch appears with an inspirational message for the outsiders in all of us.
• The cast discussing their on-screen kisses is very popcorn worthy, even if the kisses themselves weren't all so.
• The In Memoriam segment touches us all as we reflect on cast members who are no longer with us, and the nice things said about them in this special.
• RIP also to Millie the hamster. We never knew ye before!
• The special ends back at the beginning, with footage of the 11-year-old trio, and lots of emotional admissions from the actors about each other and the films' legacy.
• The hosts discuss JK Rowling's appearance in archived footage and what mystery still remains about her involvement in this special.
• Quizzitch: What is the name of Rupert Grint's child? Submit your answer! 
• Finally, Eric and Micah played Fandom Feud last week, with fellow members of HP Fandom to benefit trans-supportive charities. Check out the whole video of both games they played over on YouTube!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices