- This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.
You know what they say about oxygen masks.
Secure your mask before helping someone else.
Therapy is kind of like that, in slow motion.
You have to work on yourself first
so you can show up the way you want to
in your relationships and your life,
so, take care of yourself at betterhelp.com/super.
Hey brother!
My goodness you guys, if we've set it once,
we've said it 1000 times!
One of the most iconic moments in all of Harry Potter
has to be when Molly steps in to kill Bellatrix.
Duels have broken out all over the Great Hall,
Voldemort's dueling McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn!
Meanwhile, Bellatrix is taking on Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.
It's brief, but it does give you some scope
as to the true power of Voldemort and Bellatrix,
they're outnumbered by some of the best witches and wizards
in the entire story, and they're still holding their own.
But then Bellatrix scales it up a notch,
Narrowly missing Ginny with a killing curse,
when Molly steps in and says:
- Not my daughter you--
- Beast mode engaged, am I right?
Molly in full-blown protection mode
is straight up formidable.
What Hermione, Ginny, and Luna
and the entire Order of the Phoenix back in five
couldn't do together, she does alone.
She immediately forces Bellatrix on her heels,
and within seconds has defeated
Voldemort's most potent follower.
As ever, it's vital proof of the power of a mother's love.
And maybe also worth a TED Talk
on how being kind, warm, and gentle
doesn't exclude you from being insanely powerful.
But one curiosity I've always had about this scene is,
what spell does Molly use on Bellatrix here,
like does she use a Avada Kedavra,
because Bellatrix definitely dies, and because she dies,
does that mean Molly split her soul in the process?
Well today, we find out!
(exciting percussive music)
- Hey brother! - Hey brother!
Okay, so the two big questions
we're trying to answer today are:
did Molly split her soul when she killed Bellatrix,
and what spell did she use to do it?
The obvious choice for which spell she kills with
is Avada Kedavra the killing curse.
- Avada Kedavra!
(spell bursts)
But, I have to tell you, I really doubt it.
At no point in any of the books
does anyone in the Order of the Phoenix
ever use Avada Kedavra.
- Avada Kedavra.
- Uh, except for that one time.
Harry himself does use the other two unforgivable curses
at different points in the story,
but even in the final dual against Voldemort,
he relies on ol' trustworthy, Expelliarmus.
But could Molly defending Ginny
be the exception to this rule,
I mean, the book does say each woman is aiming to kill.
"Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twirled,
"and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile faltered
"and became a snarl.
"Jets of light flew from both wands.
"The floor around the witches' feet
"became hot and cracked.
"Both women were fighting to kill.
So there's that,
then in the movie, Molly's spells, if you look closely
are actually tinted green, the color of Avada Kedavra.
And back in the book, when Bellatrix does finally go down,
she crumples in a way that is very consistent
with the killing curse.
"For the tiniest space of time, she knew what had happened.
"and then she toppled,
"and the watching crowd roared, and Voldemort screamed."
Of course, in the movie,
they opt for the way more satisfying explosion-style death.
(moans in pain)
(explosive burst) (audience applauds)
- And the Oscar goes to--
- Honestly, we might need to come back to this one,
because at the moment I feel like I'm leaning towards
maybe it was Avada Kedavra,
So let's focus on the other question.
Did she split her soul when she killed Bellatrix?
Well, what are the rules here,
does magically killing someone
guarantee that you're going to split your soul?
Or is that just an option you could pursue
if you were trying to make a Horcrux?
For that matter, does it matter if you magically kill them?
And if so, does it have to be a Avada Kedavra,
or could it be any spell?
The answer to both of those is no,
I don't think it has to be Avada Kedavra,
nor do I think it has to be done magically at all
for your soul to be in jeopardy.
On the still magical, but not Avada Kedavra front,
Tom Riddle uses the Basilisk to kill Myrtle,
which we know he uses to split his soul
to then make the diary, so that still counted.
And then on the non-magic side of things,
we just have to look at
all of Draco's failed attempts to kill Dumbledore,
and Dumbledore's overall concern
for the sanctity of Draco's soul.
In Deathly Hallows, we finally learned the truth
about why Snape killed Dumbledore,
and we actually get to return
to the conversation where they arranged it.
"Snape raised his eyebrows and his tone was sardonic
"as he asked, 'Are you intending to let him kill you?'
"'Certainly not.
"'You must kill me.
"'That boy's soul is not yet so damaged,' said Dumbledore.
"'I would not have it ripped apart on my account.'
"'And my soul, Dumbledore?
"'Mine?'"
It's a tiny conversation,
but a lot is revealed about death and soul splitting here.
First, Dumbledore seems certain that if Draco kills him,
it will rip Draco's soul,
and he wants to avoid that at all costs.
But on that note
Dumbledore doesn't know how Draco is planning to kill him,
so, it's safe to assume that Dumbledore is concerned
that any form of murder will affect Draco's soul.
And all of that is true
even though Draco is doing it on somebody else's orders,
he doesn't really want to do it,
and he's not planning on making a Horcrux.
Personally, I've always read this moment
as the moment for Draco, where we finally learn
if he's actually as evil as we've always thought he was.
Which, obviously he's not, I mean,
he might be a very entitled kid
who doesn't mind bullying others.
But I think it's essential to draw the line between that,
and cold-blooded killer slash career Death Eater.
On the other hand, though, we have Snape in this situation,
and while Dumbledor doesn't say it won't rip his soul
he does say: '"You will alone know
'"whether it will harm your soul
'"to help an old man avoid pain and humiliation,'
"said Dumbledore."
We're also learning much
about how Dumbledore feels about Snape in this moment.
Despite having defended him for years and years,
and constantly insisting
that Harry refer to him as Professor Snape
and not just Snape.
We also know Dumbledore did manipulate Snape
into switching sides,
and doesn't think particularly highly of him,
or at least didn't then.
But he does trust him, which he usually insists upon
in his defense of him.
So all that being said,
Dumbledore may believe that if Snape kills him
it could tear his soul.
And maybe he doesn't care about that for Snape,
because he has done some truly awful things,
and in the end, he's still protecting Draco's soul,
which is like untarnished at all, so that's a win.
And that's of course the preferred scenario,
because Draco can still grow up and turn into a good person
and do good things later in life.
But I think it's more likely
Dumbledore's real interpretation here
is that because they're arranging it between them
it will not harm Snape's soul to kill Dumbledore.
And yes, I know we're dissecting a lot of nuance here,
but that's because I think, in situations like this,
how it's going to play out
isn't really that straightforward.
It seems like Drake's definitely going to tear his soul
doing something he doesn't want to do, but has to do,
but at the same time,
Snape is not at risk of tearing his soul
doing something he doesn't want to do but has to do.
You see what I mean?
Feel like it made a lot more sense when Dumbledore said it.
Alright guys, now we need to take a quick moment
to thank today's sponsor, Factor_.
Tell you what guys, summer is always so busy,
whether you're out there just takin' trips,
just bein' active,
or doin' your regular routine in the heat.
So it's a fact that the factor of coming home every night
and then having to cook dinner as well
just adds to all of that exhaustion.
I mean, let's just face the facts,
it's a factor you don't wanna have to deal with.
Unless you have Factor_.
(clicks tongue) And that's a fact.
No, but in all seriousness,
Factor_ is America's number one ready-to-eat meal kit.
They help you fill up fast
with flavorful and nutritious meals
all delivered straight to your door.
So you'll save time, eat well
and not have to rearrange any of your plans,
wondering "Am I gonna have enough sustenance?"
You get to skip the shopping
the prepping, and the cleaning,
while getting all the nutrients you need
and incredible flavor.
And the meals are ready to eat in two minutes,
and they are fresh, never frozen.
So all you have to do is heat and enjoy.
They have over 34 chef-prepared, dietician-approved meals
to choose from weekly, all with healthy, tasty ingredients,
and even the option to add extra protein
to help fit your needs.
So I highly recommend checkin' out Factor_,
and you can begin enjoying eating without any of the hassle,
And if you head over to factormeals.com/super50
and use promo code Super 50,
you can get 50% off your first box.
One more time, that is promo code super 50
at factormeals.com/super50 to get 50% off your first box,
links in the description down below.
Anyway, that brings us back to Molly
and her epic duel with Bellatrix.
There can be no doubt in this situation
that Molly knows what the stakes are,
there's no chance she just accidentally cast a spell
and is surprised by the outcome.
Meaning I think we can all agree
that if she's given the chance, she's gonna take the shot.
But it's also very situational,
this is not Molly's resting demeanor at all.
It's not like if she just walked out onto the street
and bumped into Bellatrix Lestrange,
she'd suddenly whip out her wand
and start dueling her to the death.
Molly's circumstances seem much more similar to Snapes.
She's having to do something
she wouldn't normally want to do,
but the situation has just forced her hand.
Here's what's happening right before Molly steps in.
"Hermione, Ginny, and Luna, all battling their hardest,
"but Bellatrix was equal to them,
"and Harry's attention was diverted
"as a killing curse shot so close to Ginny
"that she missed death by an inch."
It's full-blown war,
and Bellatrix has just made a very clear,
very real attack on her daughter's life.
Molly stepping in here to defend her daughter
is precisely that: standing in defense.
Again, someone who just proved
they are not opposed to killing even a child.
And as such, I think Molly can attack Bellatrix,
even with the intent to defeat her entirely,
without risking any damage to her soul.
I mean, after all, a mother defending their child
is the setup for the entire Second Wizarding War, isn't it,
like that's how the story starts.
Think about it like this.
Do you think her soul would've been split
if Lily had had her wand with her
when Voldemort attacked Harry as a baby,
and she had managed to land a killing blow on Voldemort?
No, of course not, your soul's not getting split
because you defended your baby from a mortal threat.
However, knowing all of this, the threat, the circumstances,
and even Molly's intended outcome of the battle.
I don't think she used Avada Kedavra.
Again, there are zero instances of the Order of the Phoenix,
the good guys, using the spell throughout the entire series
with two minor exceptions.
The first is, of course, Snape,
who uses the spell on Dumbledore, on Dumbledore's orders,
in the name of good.
And the second is Moody,
when he's demonstrating the Unforgivable Curses in class,
but, that's on a spider,
and also it's not even the real Moody,
it's Barty Crouch Jr, so.
No matter how good of a teacher he actually ended up being,
and how good of an impersonator he was,
I mean when we meet the real Moody,
I feel like we all kinda already met him, right?
Except the real Moody wouldn't use a Avada Kedavra.
Well, I don't know, Moody's been around for a while,
he's been in a lotta scraps,
and Barty Crouch Sr. allowed for this sort of thing
when the First Wizarding War was in full effect,
so, yeah, maybe Moody did,
but that was in the First Wizarding War, not in these books.
On that note, though,
the Order is not against delivering a death blow.
In fact, Lupin, even chastises Harry for the mercy he shows
during the Battle of the Seven Potters.
"Harry, the time for Disarming is past!
"These people are trying to capture and kill you!
"At least stun if you aren't prepared to kill!"
So they are okay with killing,
and yet no one ever uses Avada Kedavra.
That means they must have their own ways of doing it.
Which really isn't that hard to believe,
I mean, obviously there are other magical ways
you could kill somebody.
Sectumsempra comes to mind almost immediately,
but even as a third year,
Harry seems to believe he knows a spell
that could kill Sirius Black in the Shrieking Shack.
"Harry raised the wand.
"Now was the moment to do it.
"Now was the moment to avenge his mother and father.
"He was going to kill Black.
"He had to kill Black.
"This was his chance."
Spoilers, he doesn't do it.
Spoilers!
Although what spell do you think Harry
was intending to use there,
'cause he doesn't know that much lethal magic
in his third year that I'm aware of,
I mean, I guess he could like, set him on fire or something.
No yeah, that would do it.
As for Molly though,
I think I know exactly which spell she used on Bellatrix.
Unfortunately, it doesn't have a name that I'm aware of,
outside of just Dolohov's Purple Flame spell.
This is the spell Hermione's hit with
during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries,
and, well, lemme just read you the passage.
"But the Death Eater Hermione had just struck dumb
"made a sudden slashing movement with his wand,
"from which flew a streak of what looked like purple flame.
"It passed right across Hermione's chest.
"She gave a tiny 'Oh' as though of surprise,
"and then crumpled onto the floor."
Okay, so we have a slashing motion.
The spell is done non-verbally,
it hits Hermione in the chest.
She gives a moment of surprise and then crumples.
And now let's review Bellatrix's death.
"Molly Weasley's wand slashed and twirled,
"and Bellatrix Lestrange's smile faltered
"and became a snarl.
"Molly's curse soared beneath Bellatrix's outstretched arm,
"and hit her squarely in the chest, directly over her heart.
"Bellatrix's gloating smile froze.
"Her eyes seemed to bulge.
"For the tiniest space of time, she knew what had happened,
"and then she toppled."
Okay, so Molly uses a slashing movement to cast the spell,
it hits Bellatrix in the chest,
she has a moment of surprise,
it's cast non-verbally, and then, she topples.
No, the apparent snag here
is that Hermione survives while Bellatrix does not.
But that's not as much of an issue as you might think.
Madame Pomfrey actually says
that the reason Hermione is able to survive this spell
is because it was not spoken out loud.
Had it been performed out loud
it would've been more powerful,
and she probably wouldn't have made it.
"The curse Dolohov had used on her, though less effective
"than it would have been had he been able
"to say the incantation aloud, had nevertheless caused,
"in Madame Pomfrey's words,
"'Quite enough damage to be going on with.'
"Hermione was having to take
"10 different types of potion every day."
"Uh, but J, Molly's spell was non-verbal too, right?"
And yes, you are correct, but the point is
that these two situations are the exact same,
and the spell clearly has the power to kill
if it has enough umph behind it.
That's a technical term.
Umph.
Ultra Mgical Power Hungry.
Umph.
And I don't know about you,
but I personally have no issue believing
that Molly Weasley has more power than Antonin Dolohov,
especially in this exact situation,
where she is defending Ginny.
I will add, though, that as a final note here,
I think in the movie
it's an even different different spell, Reducto.
Which in some ways I kind of love even more,
because in the movies, they've sort of established Ginny
as this like accomplished user of the Reducto Spell.
Reducto, as you can probably tell
is a spell that blasts solid objects into pieces.
- [Ginny] Reducto!
(wall bursts)
And Ginny's prowess with the spell
actually really isn't present in the books at all,
she only casts it one time.
But I love that in the movies they use it over and over
to demonstrate just how powerful Ginny really is.
And Bellatrix exploding is very in keeping
with how this spell has been portrayed to us, the viewers.
Which makes it a very nice payoff
for why Ginny is so good at this spell, it's because,
she gets it from her mother,
who uses that very spell to defeat Bellatrix,
who was attacking Ginny.
There you go, guys, that, I think,
is the actual spell Molly used
in the books to defeat Bellatrix,
and the spell she used in the movies to defeat Bellatrix.
And why she was able to do it without splitting her soul,
I hope that clears up any questions you might have had
about this particular scene.
(vibrant electro-8 bit music)
Guys, thanks so much for watching today's video,
if you don't wanna miss
any future Harry Potter action from us,
make sure you hit that subscribe button
and the bell down below.
If you wanna see proof that Snape is a vampire,
you can check out this video right here,
but, otherwise, Ben, until next time,
I will see you in another life, brother.