Kit Harington Calls Out J.K. Rowling’s Worst Harry Potter Arc, Sparking a Fandom Firestorm
Game of Thrones alum Kit Harington says Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire sticks the landing, but the Triwizard Tournament’s logic still doesn’t add up from a viewer’s seat.
Kit Harington watched Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and had the same thought a lot of us had back in 2005: for a massive school spectacle, the Triwizard Tournament is kind of a dud to actually watch. And once he said it out loud, the fandom immediately reopened the case file.
'It is good and it has a great ending. I have some questions about the plot holes during the tournament. It is not a great tournament to watch, is it? Other than the dragon one, they do not get to see underwater and they can not see in the maze, so I do not see what is in it for the rest of the school?'
- Kit Harington, via Variety
The take lit up the fandom, fast
His comments kicked off another round of debate among Harry Potter fans, especially on Reddit, where people revisited long-standing gripes about Goblet of Fire. A lot of the conversation circled the same issues: some argued parts of the story simply do not add up; others pushed back that what look like plot holes are actually just under-explained choices. Pretty quickly, the chat moved from Harington himself to the tournament format and then to how the movie adapted the book.
The Triwizard Tournament: great idea, shaky execution
On paper, the Triwizard Tournament is supposed to be a prestigious, tightly run event. In practice, it plays like a tradition that no one fully thought through. The rules are introduced as absolute until, suddenly, they are not. The age limit is framed as ironclad, but once Harry's name pops out, there is no real mechanism to challenge or fix it. We are told there is a binding magical contract, but the story never explains what that actually means or why it cannot be worked around, even with serious safety risks in play.
Judging is another head-scratcher. Points get handed out after each task, but what they are based on is unclear beyond a general vibe of 'did they survive and was it cool?'. And for a school hosting an international tournament with life-or-death obstacles, safety feels like an afterthought. The underwater task is invisible to the crowd, the maze is basically a blackout box, and only the dragon challenge gives the audience anything to actually watch. As Harington points out, if you are a student in the stands, what is the point?
Why the movie magnifies the problems
Goblet of Fire was the longest Harry Potter book at the time, and squeezing it into one film meant a lot had to go. Some cuts are expected; the volume of them here changes how the story lands on screen.
The Quidditch World Cup match? In the book, it is a full set piece that broadens the world beyond Hogwarts; in the movie, it is basically a hard cut from hype to aftermath. Winky is gone, along with much of Barty Crouch Sr.'s storyline, which makes later reveals feel sudden and less supported. Hermione's S.P.E.W. arc is cut too, which strips out a chunk of her character work and the social commentary that runs through the book.
The third task in the maze is also dramatically shorter than on the page, which flattens the build-up and makes some beats harder to track. The movie still hits the major events, but the pacing can feel rushed. That is why you will often hear fans say Goblet of Fire is a favorite book but, for some, their least favorite film.
- Franchise: Harry Potter
- Author: J.K. Rowling
- Genre: Fantasy / Drama / Coming-of-age fiction
- Books released: 7 main novels (1997-2007)
- Movies released: 8 films (2001-2011)
- Total movie box office: Over $7.7 billion worldwide
- Where to watch in the U.S.: All Harry Potter movies are available to stream on Peacock and HBO Max
Bottom line: Harington is not wrong. The Triwizard looks epic from afar, but up close it is a messy watch, and the film's cuts only make the seams show more. The debate is not new, but it is not going anywhere either.