I know I’m a tiny bit late to the party, but I still wanted to write a little something about the second Fantastic Beasts 2 trailer that was released at Comic-Con.
I feel like there are two major things that stand out in this trailer: 1) Dumbledore was teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts instead of Transfiguration and 2) Dumbledore saw Grindelwald standing beside him in the Mirror of Erised.
The fact that Dumbledore was teaching DADA was already hinted at in the first trailer when we saw him in the DADA classroom. Him teaching students how to deal with a boggart confirms that theory.
It was stated in the Harry Potter books that Dumbledore was a Transfiguration teacher though, so this scene naturally leaves most fans (including myself) a bit confused.
However, this seems a very obvious plot hole and I can’t imagine that J.K. Rowling just randomly forgot that she previously revealed Dumbledore to be a Transfiguration professor. Or, even if J.K. did forget, that no one else involved in the making of Fantastic Beasts 2 remembered either and asked her about this.
So, I’m just going to sit her and assume J.K. knows what she’s doing and there’s a reason behind it.
Maybe Dumbledore taught Defence before he taught Transfiguration. Maybe he taught both subjects. Maybe he was substituting for another teacher. Who knows? Not me… But I have no doubt that J.K. Rowling does.
Now. About Dumbledore seeing Grindelwald in the Mirror of Erised-
I am beyond excited about this, even though I understand why a lot of people are left feeling a tad discombobulated by it, because (much like the reveal that Dumbledore taught a different subject than we thought) it seems like a bit of a retcon.
Because Dumbledore seeing Grindelwald in the Mirror of Erised in Fantastic Beasts 2 contradicts what we learnt at the end of Deathly Hallows: that he sees his family when he looks in the Mirror.
But I think there is a very simple explanation for it: Dumbledore is younger in Fantastic Beasts 2 than he was in Philosopher’s Stone.
In FB2 it hasn’t been that long since Dumbledore and Grindelwald were (more than) friends. He hasn’t moved on yet.
When he’s looking in the Mirror and seeing Grindelwald beside him, he says: “I can’t move against Grindelwald.” It strongly implies that he can’t move against Grindelwald because he isn’t ready yet (emotionally).
Maybe he “woke up” and was able to shake his feelings when he eventually did duel Grindelwald and won the Elder Wand from him. I think that was the moment Dumbledore officially moved on and started seeing his family in the Mirror instead of Grindelwald.
I imagine him turning to Grindelwald at the end of that legendary duel, saying, like Rachel from Friends: “And that, my friend, is what they call closure.” 😉
To me, Dumbledore looking in the Mirror was the best part of the trailer.
I love multifaceted and damaged characters and I love a good love story (even if it’s painful and tragic). So naturally Dumbledore is one of my favourite characters and his entire backstory with his family and Grindelwald is one of my favourite storylines.
I could just feel the hurt through the screen when Dumbledore was standing in front of that Mirror. The pain. The longing. The heartbreak. The tragedy. It’s going to be the death of me, but it’s so going to be worth it.
I’m happy to see that there’s still room for some comedic relief in the midst of all this darkness, tension, and complicated storylines. I’m looking forward to the scene with Newt’s boggart and to the scene with Flamel and Jacob.
Speaking of Jacob, the poor guy must sometimes feel like he’s going mental. Imagine being a Muggle thrown into the magical world and suddenly having to deal with the threat of a dark wizard, all those weird magical creatures (what on earth are those big, black, cat-like things with those creepy eyes, by the way?), and a fragile, immortal alchemist.
I’m still unsure about Johnny Depp’s Grindelwald, but that’s mostly because I’m forever mourning the loss of Colin Farrell’s Graves/Grindelwald and I simply don’t believe that Depp will be able to do Farrell’s performance justice.
But at the same time Depp didn’t disappoint me in this trailer, so we’ll see how that turns out.
In any case, I’m curious to find out more about Grindelwald and especially about his vision. I also wonder if we’re going to see how Grindelwald finds the Elder Wand, because we do get to see that it’s in his possession at the end of the film when he meets Newt.
Anyway, this trailer got me all kinds of excited and I can’t wait to return to Hogwarts in November.
Favourite quotes:
Leta Lestrange to Newt: “You’ve never met a monster you couldn’t love.”
Jacob to Flamel: “You don’t look a day over 375.”
Written by Larissa 