Fans were so wowed by the first film in the Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them series that they pretty much expected the second film to fail to live up to the first. It’s difficult for sequels to measure up, and while The Crimes of Grindelwald definitely had its magical moments (and some of the movie provided us with the answers we so desperately sought), it still lacked in other areas.
One of these areas was closure, regarding not just open questions left from the first film but the history of the Harry Potter franchise itself. Hopefully the next film will shed more light on these questions.
Closure: Dumbledore Sent Newt On The Mission
We wondered how Newt Scamander might factor into a movie like The Crimes of Grindelwald. It didn’t make much sense to tack that story onto one about fantastic beasts, but now that we know Dumbledore had originally sent Newt on his mission, we have some closure.
Does it make sense that Dumbledore would send Newt over to fight Grindelwald blindly, without any extra information to assist him? Not in reality, between two people who care about one another. With Dumbledore, though, who is famous for leading younger wizards into danger without telling them beforehand? Yes, we can definitely believe this.
Question: Dumbledore’s Blood Pact
What is a Blood Pact? Why would you use it instead of an Unbreakable Vow, and why are we just now learning about it? J.K. Rowling is free to introduce new magical concepts at any time, of course, but we can’t help but wonder why she couldn’t have just stuck with the same vow Severus Snape made. It would connect the movies better and make more sense.
This vow also might help explain why Dumbledore hadn’t yet acted against Grindelwald, but it raises questions about the past and the future. When could he have possibly made this vow (since the last time he saw Grindelwald he’d actually fought against him and his sister had suffered the consequences)? And since he’d already been through all of this dark wizard nonsense before, why didn’t he act against Voldemort much sooner, when the Horcrux-happy villain was younger and easier to defeat?
Closure: Credence Survived
Witnessing the violence in Credence Barebone’s life (or Aurelius Dumbledore’s life, if you believe Grindelwald’s revelation) left us reeling in the first film. Beaten, abandoned, tricked and nearly taken out, it certainly appeared as if Credence were destroyed by the end of the movie. Even though he used his own powers for terrible violence, he almost couldn’t help it without the proper training.
Discovering that Credence had not only survived, but that he had even found love with Nagini (the Maledictus who eventually becomes a Horcrux for Voldemort), gave us both hope and dread: it was nice to see him happy with someone, but we all know the fate of his lover.
Questions: Credence Is A Dumbledore
This was one of the most explosive moments in the film, and we are still wondering if Grindelwald was simply lying to Credence in order to gain his trust. He would have to deliver a whopper after being so abusive toward the Obscurial, so it might truly be a lie… but what about Fawkes, the phoenix?
This revelation has left us with many more questions than answers. Does Dumbledore truly not know that Credence is related to him, or is that why he sent Newt to America in the first place? This is one of the biggest answers we need from the next movie.
Closure: Leta Lestrange Is Newt’s Sister-In-Law-To-Be
Even with Queenie prying in the first Fantastic Beasts film, we still wonder who Leta Lestrange really is to Newt. According to Queenie, who said Leta was a taker when Newt needed a giver (only to prove herself to be a taker in the sequel), it sounded as if she might have been an old flame. We discover, however, that not only were the two friends at Hogwarts (as fellow misfits) but that she is engaged to marry Newt’s brother, Theseus Scamander.
It’s clear that there’s already tension between Newt the critter-loving lawbreaker and his Head Auror brother, but they obviously have even more with Leta between them.
Question: Leta Was Taken Out
What was the point of introducing Leta Lestrange to us if she was only going to be destroyed by Grindelwald in the same movie? Just to serve as a parallel witch feeling guilty about her sibling’s demise to mirror Dumbledore? She raised more questions than she answered.
We still don’t know which brother she was professing her love to as she was taken out, and as a Lestrange it was rather anticlimactic. Why did she choose Theseus over Newt? Not only were we not yet attached to her (and therefore unable to be as impacted as we might be while losing someone we’d previously met in the first film), but we even question her status as a Lestrange given the scrappy family history.
Closure: Jacob Remembers
At the end of the first film, after Jacob’s memories have been wiped, we are saddened to see him leave the magical world behind. It’s simply not fair. When he makes pastries in the shapes of fantastic beasts, however, we wonder whether or not he remembers. Does he dream about them? He tells customers that they just come to him, but in the second film we’re given the closure we need. He remembers all of his happy memories.
This doesn’t make a lot of sense in several ways, but we will take it for the sake of expediency. Still, we have to wonder if Queenie had a hand in restoring some memories, especially since she’s so out of character in this movie.
Question: Queenie Goldstein Was Easily Swayed
As a Legilimens, Queenie Goldstein can read what most people are thinking, even when she doesn’t mean to. The thoughts around her in Europe are so loud that she can’t even stand it. So, why does she fall for Grindelwald’s smooth talking and join him? Even if we argue that Grindelwald is gifted with Occlumency, his followers can’t all be, and she should have seen his terrible plans in any number of their minds.
We also still don’t understand why Queenie would subject someone she claims to adore to a love potion, coercing him into marriage. This is so sickeningly toxic it makes us not want them to be together anymore.
Closure: Dumbledore Was In Love With Grindelwald
It’s not fair to say that the film really gave us closure regarding Dumbledore’s feelings for his old friend. While seeing Grindelwald in the Mirror of Erised is enough for many fans to agree that he longs for him as a partner and not a friend, it still wasn’t as clear as it should have been made.
Luckily, it was J.K. Rowling who finally gave fans closure in a Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald Blu-ray feature, in which she admitted that the two shared a passionate romantic relationship. Many fans found her words to be a bit of a cop-out: “I’m less interested in the sexual side — though I believe there is a sexual dimension to this relationship — than I am in the sense of the emotions they felt for each other, which ultimately is the most fascinating thing about all human relationships,” she said.
Question: Why Is Tina Not The Master Of The Elder Wand?
Speculation about the true master of the Elder Wand is running rampant after the wand did not fall into the hands of Tina Goldstein, who previously disarmed its supposed master in the first Fantastic Beasts movie. According to J.K. Rowling’s established rules, this act should have made Tina its true owner. This didn’t come up at all in the sequel, however, prompting fans to wonder just what happened.
Was the wand in Grindelwald’s hand at that moment not the Elder Wand? Or was he not the wand’s master at the time? If so, we need clarification on the timeline or the rules of the Elder Wand here.
