**SPOILER ALERT**
If you still haven’t seen the film, note that this article includes several spoilers about Fantastic Beasts – The Secrets of Dumbledore, so don’t go further reading.
Let’s start with saying that I always believed in J. K. Ro’s mind, and I had no doubt she would have created an amazing film, but in my opinion she really got higher every expectation. The Johnny Depp’s cloud created a mistrust around this film, and Mads Mikelsen’s performance, but I can guarantee you that, that was the least of the successes of the film.
The film is about a political situation that faces a scenario with three big head-chiefs of the political scene: Antonio Vogel, Minister of the Germany Ministry of Magic, who is at the time competing with two others Ministry of Magic Chiefs Liu Tao and Vincencia Santos. The population is spread between who to chose, even if at the moment it would have seemed that the majority was for Santos. Dumbledore who knew Vogel at a personal level, seemed to understand the peril they were going to face, and sends Newt to tell Vogel to “do what it’s right, not what is easy.” But exactly how Dumbledore predicted, Vogel doesn’t listen to his advice, and decide to absolve Grindelwald from all his crimes, and let him candidate along with Santos and Tao. The population understanding that Grindelwald is innocent, stand by his side as he promise a world where Witches and Wizards are no longer needed to hide themselves.
Ariana Dumbledore
Eventually, Albus Dumbledore finds the courage to speak to someone about his sister Ariana, who he loved very dearly. He trusts Newt, telling him about how young he was, when he got into a duel with Aberforth, duel that got out of hand. He took out his wand, and Albus did too, they didn’t notice Ariana coming down from the stairs, Grindelwald was laughing, he doesn’t know whether the spell was his, or Abertforth’s but it doesn’t matter now.. because one moment she was there, the other she wasn’t.
He also tells Newt that Ariana was an Obscuriale (theory I’d always supported), and that she was going to die, he knew because the Phoenix of his family stayed close to her, and was going into ashes.
Newt is really touched by the story of Albus, and tells him that at least his sister had stopped suffering, but nothing seems to comfort Dumbledore. But Newt believes in him, and trusts that it doesn’t matter the mistakes, but the things we do to mend it.
Credence Barebone
Apparently the Dumbledore that was keeping a secret, wasn’t Albus but Aberforth. The previous film, Fantastic Beasts and the Crimes of Grindelwald, ends with an explosive scene: Grindelwald revealing to Credence his true identity, Aurelius Dumbledore. Eventho at first you might have not believed him, everything is supported by a Phoenix, that as the Legend of the Dumbledore’s family tells, stays with Credence. Yet, there was something stinky to me, as we told here in our article. It was just too obvious in my opinion that Grindelwald was in fact lying to Credence, and that he was telling him he was Albus’s brother, only because he couldn’t make a move towards him, due to the blood pact.
Our intuition has been finally confirmed by the latest film: Credence has been charged by Grindelwald to kill Dumbledore, obviously because of the blood pact between the two. Credence devoted as he is to Grindelwald accept the charge with honour, and immediately try to fight Dumbledore in the middle of Berlin. Dumbledore, as the greatest Wizard he is, conjure an alternative reality in which he and Credence are alone, and can fight without hurting any muggle around. During this ferocious battle Credence lets out all his pain, sorrow, and anger towards Albus, who sympathize for Credence. Albus eventually told him Grindelwald lied to him, and that he was not his brother, he was a Dumbledore tho.
Credence, or better Aurelius, is in fact the son of Aberforth, born in the relationship between himself and a girl from Godric’s Hollow. Aurelius has been abandoned from his father, and we still had to understand the reason of this cruel act, nevertheless the Tico Dodonu’s prophecies were correct: “A son cruelly banished“. Albus tells Newt that he didn’t know about this son, that his brother kept him as a secret, and that maybe if he had been a better brother and friend to Aberforth, he would have known.
Severus Snape
A new beast has been introduced inside the Fantastic Beasts saga: the Qilin. It’s a Chinese Unicorn, part of the Chinese Mithology, his particularity? He can see in people soul, finding the pure at heart. You can only imagine Grindelwald’s interest in this little baby. In fact at the beginning of the film we see Newt, helping a Qilin mother to give birth, and immediately after Grindelwald’s henchmen coming and killing the mother, snatching the baby. What they didn’t know is that the mother had given birth to twins, and this will be essential for the history.
Qilin in fact, can see through people soul and therefore can see the pure at hearts. Grindelwald after killing the Qilin he snatched, take him back to “life” and he enchanted it to choose him at the “Qilin Ceremony”.
The Qilin Ceremony, is a choice made by the Qilin of the Head of the State, as he can see the purest of them all. Obviously the enchanted Qilin kneel before Grindelwald, but since he didn’t know he had a twin, Newt and his squad fiercely protected, we’ll see the true Qilin kneeling first before Dumbledore, and after him refusing the job, he’ll kneel before Madam Santos.
Now, Grindelwald to enchant the Qilin had first to give him a resemblance of life, and he did so through the counter-curse “Innerva-Sanantur”. Sounds any bell? Exactly the same counter-curse used by Snape to save Draco in the bathroom after he was hit by Sectumsempra. But.. if Snape invented.. as he claims Sectumsempra? Shouldn’t haven’t he invented the counter-curse too? So why was Grindelwald already using it? Maybe Snape only invented the curse, after being dragged into the Dark Arts far before Voldemort.
Gellert Grindelwald VS Albus Dumbledore
I think that the film was very well done, and above all the general expectations. Mads Mikelsen in the robes of Gellert Grindelwald did a great job, of course as you may know, I support Johnny Depp in his cause #justiceforJohnny and I’m firmly convinced of his innocence. But still Mads, kept up the flag for him. Of course Johnny would had given to Grindelwald a completely different interpratation, “madder” if you want, Mads was far more composed as a good politician should be anyway.
Dumbledore has at least confessed his love for Gellert, when he was asked the reason for stipulating the blood pact with Gellert that’s how he defends himself, even if Grindelwald remembers him that when he was younger he too believed in the Greater Good. What do you think of a younger Dumbledore agreeing with Grindelwald? The mind of a young boy, devoted to some kind of love can be easily twisted and manipulated, and easily lead to this.
There’s a moment when Grindelwald decide to kill Credence as he probably isn’t of his further need, since he discovered who he really is, and therefor his loyalty changed. As soon as Grindelwald cast the spell, both Aberforth and Albus cast counter curses together to protect Aurelius, the moment the three spells meet, the blood pact is broken. Dumbledore will lately explain that in his opinion was the meeting of two opposite forces the reason why it broke: one to kill, one to protect.
Once again J. K. Rowling has been attacked for her choice of the characters sexuality, and because of the “numbers” of the LBGTQ+ community characters inside the films, I think unfairly. But I will further discuss this matter in another article very soon so stay tuned. In the mean time if you want you can keep up with the Rowling’s matter, and what really happened in this article here.
Jacob Kovalski and Queenie Goldestein
Jacob in this film express all his love for Queenie, for as he first sees her back again, he immediately try to catch her attention and win her back. He’s been given a wand by Dumbledore, but with no nucleus, in fact he won’t be able to cast any magic with it. And he’ll even end in menacing Grindelwald with this same wand, always for Queenie’s love. Do you reckon Jacob wasn’t able to cast any magic only because of the nucleus missing, or because he’s a muggle? I personally believes that magic is within all of us, and that wands are only “canals“, so I think that with a working nucleus he probably would have been able to do something.
Queenie in the Secrets of Dumbledore is seen side by side with Grindelwald, but besides this she looks tired, sad. This because as soon as she joined the “dark side” she understood what the real intentions of Grindelwald were, but now is too late to come back. She not dare to look at Jacob when she passes him by, for fear for him, to protect him. In the last minutes right before the big battle, she managed to reach out to Jacob and the two got back together. Gellert won’t like this even a bit, in fact he’ll inflict Jacob a cruciatus curse.
But with Grindelwald gone, at least for now, the two manage to escape together and even end up in getting married! They celebrate it at Kovalski’s bakery, which leave us supposing that since Madam Santos government, muggle-wizard marriages became legal everywhere.
Altogether I firmly believe this is a very good done film, maybe won’t be the best of the entire saga, we don’t know yet, but it’s definitely worth it. It’s an explosive story tying together both the Harry Potter’s book, and the other two Fantastic Beast’s movie.
I sincerely hope that this film gets what it actually deserves, above all the criticism that has been made, and I hope that the saga will progress with the Fourth and the Fifth, which I remember you should be recorded in Italy and Rio de Janeiro.
I hope you enjoyed this article, and as always if you have theories, or things you’d like to discuss about, just drop a comment or send an email.
Muggle Worthy Case 