The Crimes of Unnecessary Plot
Like many of you, I had the opportunity to see TCOG last night and have some thoughts and insight to share about the experience. Settle in for a ride, itâs a long one. Iâll start with some of the things I enjoyed the most.
Leta Lestrange. One of the most interesting characters in the whole franchise, so brilliantly portrayed by Zoe. Interesting backstory and so much potential, powerful enough to stand up to Grindelwald. WOW. The definition of deserved better.
Jude Law as Dumbledore đ His scenes were the highlight of the movie. It was awesome seeing him as professor and interacting with the students (while they changed the subject he taught, can anyone deny that him teaching DATDA is fitting?). Wish there was more of him in it, hope there will be in the future films.
The scenery was breathtaking but fleeting, wish we could see and experience more of it, especially Pere Lachaise (one of the most beautiful places in the world).
Newt was a cinnamon bun we all love and adore! Eddie does a terrific job on the character. Loved all of his scenes, BUT he barely had a storyline, especially considering heâs the main character đ
Newt licking the ground cause that was just fun and very in character.
Jacob was his usual lovely self.
Going back to Hogwarts. Seeing it again on the big screen was breathtaking and made me tear up.
The movie was packed with unnecessary subplot lines and characters to the point of absurdity.
Nagini. No new information, no plot, nothing. Took more screen time than a lot of other characters, yet we didnât learn anything about her.
Flammel. He was so interesting to see and know as a person, but we were robbed of the opportunity. The idea that this mastermind alchemist created something as powerful as the Philosopherâs Stone to be immortal just to sit there for centuries and do absolutely nothing is baffling. And the stone is just sitting there in his apartment for the taking? And whatâs with that book and the lady that told him to fight? Come on.
Leta x Theseus. Why make them a couple if youâre not going to act on it in any way or explain it? It would have made sense if he âtook the bulletâ for her, but he didnât (although he did try to save her, thank you guys for pointing in out), so why make them anything more than acquaintances/colleagues?
Lestrange family drama. Just meh. A lot of potential unexplored and wasted.
I love Tina, but she was barely there without any character development to notice. More wasted opportunities and screen time. Deserved better.
I hate to say it, but letâs be honest, the Beasts. With something titled Fantastic Beasts, one would expect them to be somewhat important to the plot (Niffler excluded). While it was fun to watch Newtâs home zoo and that spectacular seaweed dragon, it was another unnecessary subplot. I mean, you either fully embrace and explore the magical beasts and what they entail, or forgo it. Donât throw random animals at us without any meaning. Also, why isnât Zouwu in the Newtâs A-Z beast guide? Also, Bunty, another unnecessary character.
âNewt, theyâre watching you.â Okay? So what? Obviously, since heâs not allowed to leave the country. What was the point of that?
And also honorary mention for all the unnecessary characters whose names I couldnât even remember: Grindelwaldâs evil lady friend, Grindelwaldâs evil ministry friend, some ânecessary evilâ dude from Newtâs hearing who is also a spy for Grindelwald (what the fuck even), elf caretaker, Letaâs brother, and probably much more?
Queer-baiting. Thereâs a difference between being subtle and outright avoidant. We were all so excited to glimpse into the Dumbledore/Grindelwald relationship and we were completely robbed of the opportunity. None of us wanted a full on make out session or a sexual subplot, there are numerous ways to portray two people in love without being obvious. A hand on the cheek? A hand on the heart? âWe were closer, but not like brothersâ?
Timeline. McGonagall? Dumbledoreâs brother? đ€š
Another timeline issue - we barely witnessed a year of their lives in a span of two movies and weâre only on year 1927. From what we know, the GxD Duel will take place in 1945, a solid 18 years from now. Iâm sure they will drag it out any way they can. So dumb.
Credenceâs search for parentage seems like one of the few logical choices for his character, but executed very poorly. He believes heâs a Lestrange without any proof, then believes heâs a Dumblore without any. While it makes sense for Credence to believe whatever people tell him, it doesnât make sense to us as viewers (and weâre the ones they need to convince, essentially). Grindelwald is so obviously playing him here: Gellert says he needs Credence to kill Dumbledore, finds a way to lure him on his side, Queenie reads Credenceâs mind and tells Grindelwald that heâs still unsure of his choice, Grindelwald goes and tells him the only thing that will convince him to stay. Dumb.
The movie doesnât present much of the backstory, so WHY IS GRINDELWALD EVEN TRYING TO KILL DUMBLEDORE??? They made that blood pact not to fight each other, yet here we are.
That concludes some of my thoughts on the matter. Notes and additions welcome!
Edit: Thank you guys for your notes and messages pointing out some important stuff!
While the whole thing may come off as negative, it doesnât necessarily mean I hated the movie. It was overwhelming and confusing, and this was my way to make sense of what Iâve seen and what actually happened, to organize it in my head.
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