“Held the Idiot Ball” does not mean “made a large mistake”. It means “behaved implausibly stupidly so as to cheaply advance the plot”. If Voldemort could never make significant mistakes then Harry could never defeat him.
I agree with you about what “Held the Idiot Ball” means.
I evidently disagree with you about how implausibly stupid it is for Voldemort to accidentally, for no apparent reason, magically bind himself to the infant Harry in the middle of a fight.
Or do you imagine this to be a thing that happens a lot when wizards fight, such that it happening in this case is plausible?
I don’t think it happens a lot, because I don’t think such ironic offers are made very often. The reason for Voldemort to say what he said was to be prideful and cruel, to make Lily feel how futile her sacrifice would be. In the heat of the moment, in his cruelty, he might not have thought of the magical significance of verbally accepting such a bargain. If indeed this theory is correct, his first fall was a result of his hubris, which fits his character well; and it also fits his character well for him to have learned from it and to not make the same mistake again in the future.
I’m not married to this theory. I’d put it at maybe 50% or 55% confidence? But it seems clear to me that Voldemort made some large mistake that night, because no explanation I’ve seen for Voldemort willingly stopping his war in 1981 holds any water at all.
But it seems clear to me that Voldemort made some large mistake that night, because no explanation I’ve seen for Voldemort willingly stopping his war in 1981 holds any water at all.
Still… one of the very first lessons of Quirrel was about pretending to lose when that gained you more than fighting would.
Granted that Voldemort back then was seen to be winning. But he was winning a war we still don’t know his motivations for starting in the first place...
because no explanation I’ve seen for Voldemort willingly stopping his war in 1981 holds any water at all.
True, no explanation offered so far explains it convincingly, but I don’t see the idea that an Avada Kedavra bounced off a baby holding any water either.
An experienced mage making an unforced error of that magnitude sounds an awful lot like the Idiot Ball to me.
“Held the Idiot Ball” does not mean “made a large mistake”. It means “behaved implausibly stupidly so as to cheaply advance the plot”. If Voldemort could never make significant mistakes then Harry could never defeat him.
I agree with you about what “Held the Idiot Ball” means.
I evidently disagree with you about how implausibly stupid it is for Voldemort to accidentally, for no apparent reason, magically bind himself to the infant Harry in the middle of a fight.
Or do you imagine this to be a thing that happens a lot when wizards fight, such that it happening in this case is plausible?
I don’t think it happens a lot, because I don’t think such ironic offers are made very often. The reason for Voldemort to say what he said was to be prideful and cruel, to make Lily feel how futile her sacrifice would be. In the heat of the moment, in his cruelty, he might not have thought of the magical significance of verbally accepting such a bargain. If indeed this theory is correct, his first fall was a result of his hubris, which fits his character well; and it also fits his character well for him to have learned from it and to not make the same mistake again in the future.
I’m not married to this theory. I’d put it at maybe 50% or 55% confidence? But it seems clear to me that Voldemort made some large mistake that night, because no explanation I’ve seen for Voldemort willingly stopping his war in 1981 holds any water at all.
Still… one of the very first lessons of Quirrel was about pretending to lose when that gained you more than fighting would.
Granted that Voldemort back then was seen to be winning. But he was winning a war we still don’t know his motivations for starting in the first place...
True, no explanation offered so far explains it convincingly, but I don’t see the idea that an Avada Kedavra bounced off a baby holding any water either.