Halloween Countdown: 9 unforgettable things about Fantastic Beasts and its sequels

Welcome to Day 2 of the Halloween Countdown. Today,, we're paying tribute to Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and the two sequels. Having arrived at the wizarding world as an adult, I loved seeing a more mature approach to how the witches and wizards worked and the only reason I was rooting against Queenie was because I wanted to marry Jacob Kowalski. Let's dive right in to the films that gave us some very interesting lore.

1. MACUSA

In the standard harry Potter series, we heard passing mentions of other countries' wizarding systems. We heard about a pen friend Charlie had from Castelobruxo in Brazil and there's a group of witches from the Salem Witches Institute in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. In these films,, we not only got to see equivalent of the FBI, but the legislative branch and its leader. I loved that it was in the Woolworth's building in New York City, since that made as much sense to me as departing for Hogwarts from one of London's busiest train stations.

2. Obscurials

J.K. Rowling has likened Dementors to depression and this is something a lot of her readers can identify with. Without going into too much detail, I was diagnosed with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder shortly before the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and I remember seeing my own experience in the form of the Obscurial. The first film is set after the "Great War" and Muggles were starting to see the effects of war on those who had served. Jacob even uses Queenie's legilimency in the screenplay to communicate what he has been through. But Dumbledore says that an Obscurial can be brought to a sense of belonging and reversing alienation. Newt's attempt to save Credence had me in tears.

3. Race crimes

It is no secret that America has a problematic history with miscegenation, integration, and civil rights and I admire that this was brought up in a distinctive way in the films. It has parallels in 20th Century European history, of course. but my favorite part of the first film was Queenie shielding Jacob for a moment to say a loving goodbye to the No-Maj she couldn't be with. The second movie and her even more problematic attempts to have a future with Jacob shows a powerful weakness that Grindelwald could exploit. I personally felt cheated that all the problems went away in the ending of the third movie.

4. Leta Lestrange

Speaking of tragedies, the gradual reveal of how much one Auror has overcome to stand against evil is one of the most compelling elements of Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. She is born into a family that literally prunes their family tree to erase female identity and carries immense guilt. The way in which she is viewed by her fellow students and pigeon-holed based on a dark past that isn't her fault reminds me of Severus Snape. I love her courage to use Grindelwald's hubris against him at the cemetery.

5. Grindelwald's vision of the future

The convocation at Pere Lachaise cemetery in the last act of the second fim is riveting. We heard in various books about his rise to power and his defeat by Dumbledore,, but in The Crimes of Grindelwald, we saw him before his cult of personality days. We get to see his few devoted followers throughout the film, but when he summons those who have not yet committed themselves to the cemetery, he lets the Ministry of Magic turn themselves into the bad guys. People aren't necessarily there to follow a maniac. They are there to find a leader. His speech about the the Can't-Spells and Les Non-Magiques being "not lesser, but of different value" appeals to the moderates and he welcomes the Aurors who might be his antagonists. And then he gives the crowd an insight into the brutality and mass slaughter to come. The French audience has real experience with a war to end all wars and even Jacob balks at what Grindelwalld foresees. The entire trap that he lays at the meeting paints himself as a visionary and a non-violent protestor and it is mesmerizing.

6. The Blood Pact

It was certain that from the moment Rita Skeeter claimed that Dumbledore stalled fighting Grindelwald for years that there was something we didn't know. J.K. Rowling put it somewhat into context when she revealed that Albus Dumbledore loved Gellert Grindelwald. But it isn't until the last moments of The Crimes of Grindelwald that we understand the oath the two young men swore to not fight each other and the truth and consequences of how that affects Dumbledore's involvement in the war. It is a fascinating explanation and sets up a great deal of tension for the remainder of the story to be told.

7. Aurelius Dumbledore

This was a major twist at the end of the second movie. I assessed that Grindelwald was either lying or assigning blame to the wrong Dumbledore. Indeed, we find out that Credence Barebone is the son of Aberforth Dumbledore. The journey to him being integrated into the family in some way deserves to be told over a greater span of the story, but the third movie was flawed in trying to wrap things up. Grindelwald was able to be thwarted for now. Queenie and Jacob lived happily ever after. And the conflicted foe named Credence was able to find acceptance in his long-lost family. Okay, but how and why? There are still two movies in the original plan and Warner Brothers is not currently planning the last two films, which means that we only know that sometime in the future, the Dumbledore brothers will lose another member of the family.

8. Grindelwald's acquittal

Further drawing parallels to events in Europe, a failed coup and criminal activities did not stop a tyrant's rise to power. Adolf Hitler was sentenced to five years in prison for his role in the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch and only served nine months of that sentence. It aided in his rise to power years later. Grindelwald is not sufficiently punished for what he did both in New York and in Paris and his way is cleared to attempt to seize power.

9. Dumbledore and the Qilin

In the climax of the third film, the creature that bows before a candidate chooses Dumbledore for the greatest position of power. And Dumbledore refuses. I'm reminded of Antony's speech after the death of his friend in Julius Caesar: "You all did see that on th Lupercal I thrice presented him a kingly crown, which he did thrice refuse; was this ambition?" Dumbledore speaks as an old man of how those best suited to power are those who do not want it. He is acclaimed as having been offered power but choosing to be a lowly headmaster. It's great to see how this played out at first.