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"Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" Is Borderline Filler

Part 3 of Rereading Harry Potter in my thirties

I know; I'm going to piss off some people with this article. And before I continue, I want to say that filler isn't a bad thing. Filler doesn't automatically make it a bad book. It's #3 on my list of Harry Potter books from best to least best.

I say borderline because one part of the book that's essential to the rest of the story. One event is what's keeping it on the fine line between filler and plot-driven.

First Off, What Is Filler?

In tv shows, a filler is an episode that's unrelated to the plot of the show. They don't do anything to change the relationships between the characters, and they're there to fill time.

The best examples of these are when producers take mangas and turn them into anime. (Manga is a Japanese comic book. And anime is Japanese animation.) The filler episodes are the ones that have nothing to do with the manga. You could call them made-for-tv anime too.

It's trickier to find the filler when you're talking about a book series because the book exists. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban exists. The events in the film are similar to the book, if not distorted. (The third film is the worst of the movies.).

So, how can Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban be filler compared to the rest of the series?

Voldemort Has Nothing To Do With The Book

Most of the Harry Potter books have the same plot. Voldemort wants to try killing Harry again after Harry survived the first murder attempt. An old man's stalking inspires a teenage boy to become a cop.

Prisoner of Azkaban, however, is different. Voldemort is mentioned, but he doesn't do anything in the book. He's not putting a Death Eater in Hogwarts to do his bidding for him. Harry doesn't know what a Horcrux is in this book either. Essentially, Voldemort took a vacation from trying to kill Harry in Prisoner of Azkaban.

We have no idea what Voldemort's doing in the book. Maybe he's in hiding somewhere? Maybe he's looking for another host to live like a parasite again? We don't know. But his absence is noticeable.

The main villain's absence is the most obvious sign of this book being a filler book. The plot of Prisoner of Azkaban has nothing to do with the plot of the whole series. But it does introduce some characters who we see again later in the books.

The Third Book Gives A Backstory To Harry's Dad

I'm going to say it. Harry's parents are props, not characters. They're dead. They're not developing as characters.

If anything, they're motivators for Harry to step up and try to stop Voldemort from getting his way. But it's hard to have that motivation if you don't know anything about your parents.

With the appearances of Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew, Harry's dad gets a backstory. But because his dad is dead, he doesn't develop as a character, so there is no character development in the story. Therefore, there is no significant character development in the story.

No Character Relationships Change

Ron and Hermione have tense moments because of Hermione's cat, Crookshanks. But their relationship doesn't change. They don't talk for a while, but that's a typical teenager having a row with a friend.

Harry and Snape still hate each other. Harry and Draco Malfoy still hate each other. Dumbledore still doesn't interact with Harry or his friends until the end of the book. I'm still not sure he ever really talks to Ron in the series.

When it comes to characters and their relationships with one another, you learn more about who was classmates with Harry's parents.

The Only Event Keeping The Book From Being A Full-Fledged Filler Is Lupin Teaching Harry The Patronus

This event is essential for two reasons. Professor Lupin is the only Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher in the series that isn't evil. Lupin, like Sirius Black, was friends with Harry's dad, so he helped humanize Harry's dad for him.

The Patronus is one of the most important spells in the Harry Potter universe. It's an advanced spell that not many adult wizards know how to do. Harry needed to learn it because the dementors affected him worse than the other students at Hogwarts. But once he has it, it becomes one of the most powerful spells in his arsenal. The Patronus appears in every Harry Potter book after this one.

The Patronus changes a lot in the books. It helps Harry gain respect from his cousin. It motivates the other students to have Harry teach them to fight in future books. Someone else's Patronus helps him in the last book. Mastering the spell at his age established he would grow up to be a powerful wizard.

Final Thoughts

My friends and I gave the "filler label" to a different Harry Potter book in my teens and twenties. You'll learn which one it was in a future article. My best friend often said Prisoner of Azkaban was her favorite because Voldemort had nothing to do with it.

Now, in my thirties, I recognize Prisoner of Azkaban as the filler it is. As I said earlier, being a filler doesn't mean the book is terrible. If it's done well, a filler can be as good as the rest of the series. But we have to acknowledge the fillers when we see them.

Even with the label, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is still #3 on my Harry Potter list. It introduced one of my favorite characters in the series, and it's still a fun story.