Harry Potter: 5 Reasons You Need To Rewatch The Half-Blood Prince

If you don't think The Half-Blood Prince is one of the series' best, you may want to look again...

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Warner Bros.

Harry Potter is one of the greatest film sagas of all time, and there's nothing quite like putting on one of those beloved movies and settling in for a spellbinding couple of hours. But when you set about choosing which film to watch, how often do you pick the sixth instalment?

Sure, it features one of the most impactful deaths of the entire story, but other than that, why should you choose to watch it over the magical nostalgia of the first movie, or the dark and gritty nature of the third or fourth?

The Half-Blood Prince is often overlooked by the everyday Potter-viewer, but what it lacks in flash and colour, it more than makes up for in subtle beauty. The film is a delicate and intelligent part of the Harry Potter narrative, and has a very strong case for being regarded as the BEST of the HP movies. Yes, really!

From clever foreshadowing to capsules of cinematic gold, the Half-Blood Prince is packed full of hidden gems that make it a must-see movie! And if you've already seen it, this list will convince you to give it another watch...

5. The identity of R.A.B

Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
Warner Bros.

The Half-Blood Prince ends in a very frustrating way as the audience are told the excruciating fact that the horcrux that Harry and Dumbledore went to retrieve from the cave was a fake. From a note hidden inside the necklace, Harry learns that the real necklace has been replaced by an unknown person known as R.A.B, and the journey to find it was ultimately a waste!

Both the characters and audience are left wondering who this person could be, but the film is swiftly concluded before we can get our answer. It is a cliffhanger that leaves us wanting, but what if we had ALREADY been told the identity of this mysterious character?

At the start of the film, Harry accompanies Dumbledore to the home of Horace Slughorn in an effort to convince the retired professor to return to Hogwarts in the new term. During this visit, Slughorn tells Harry about his favourite students - each immortalised in a small shrine in the corner of his living room. Everything is normal enough until Slughorn mentions one student in particular, a young quidditch player by the name of Regulus Black...Regulus ARCTURUS Black.

Of course, at first glance this means nothing to the viewer, but on second viewing, it becomes clear that this is the answer to the frustrating question upon which the movie finishes. This is R.A.B!

The scene then utilises the mention of Sirius's death and a gorgeous piece of flute music to guide the viewer's attention away from this fact, but when fans look back with a sharp pair of eyes, they see that this scene is an amazingly subtle piece of foreshadowing.

The truth was right beneath our noses the entire time, and returning viewers can't help but gasp when they realise.

Contributor
Contributor

Hello! I'm Jordan, a young writer and recent Journalism graduate of the University of Leeds. I love putting pen to paper, especially when it's about movies or videogames!