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Re:The Moral Economy of the Shire by WalterBright on Tuesday June 04, 2024 @12:58PM (#40576628)
Yeah, that looks like the scene. Thanks! It was a long time ago that I saw it.

The problem is the existence of the magical car was not previously mentioned.

Re:The Moral Economy of the Shire by kelnos on Tuesday June 04, 2024 @04:01PM (#40578368)
I don't really see that as a problem, though. This is a world where magic is a thing, and is commonplace. That's the entire point of the world and the story wouldn't exist without it.

A flying car seems utterly unsurprising, especially when we've already seen flying broomsticks. I think I'm more surprised that we didn't see more of the flying car.

Re:The Moral Economy of the Shire by dylan604 on Tuesday June 04, 2024 @01:10PM (#40576756)
Why would you mention something while it was not relevant? The Weasley's dad was known to be intrigued by things of the Muggles, and was known to collect items such as the specific Ford (car not available in the US so the reference was a bit lost).

If Ron had told Harry about the car in some random conversation in a previous book, you would probably then complain about some bit of obtrusive foreshadowing ruining the plot line. Okay, maybe not you specifically, but that's another common trope of criticism of fiction.