Nearly two decades since Harry Potter was first adapted for film, the series is alive and thriving through Fantastic Beasts, a sub-series following the adventures of Newt Scamander as he finds all the world’s fantastic beasts. At least, that was the premise until The Crimes of Grindelwald. It’s not unusual for a story to change gears after a certain point, but this series has more or less abandoned its initial concept two films in. There’s such a massive shift going from the first film to the second that it’s genuinely hard to believe this is the same series.

In a way, though, this is precisely The Crimes of Grindelwald’s allure. It is so far removed from its predecessor that it can afford to do anything it wants. Which it does! This is a film so bloated that it’s honestly hard to catch everything that goes down. One viewing honestly isn’t enough, but its lack of quality ensures one viewing will be all it gets. For those curious enough to look into what they missed, look no further. Compiled for you are the many details you may have missed while watching Grindelwald commit his many crimes. Naturally, prepare for massive spoilers.

25 McGonagall Shouldn’t Be Born Yet

via: whutnot.deviantart.com

Who doesn’t love a good reminder that Harry Potter as a series exists? Although Fantastic Beasts uses major players from the main books while also explicitly showing us Hogwarts in this second film, the series thrives on the minutia. The bit players who made the world feel alive. Seeing McGonagall again is a genuine treat.

She'd be negative eight actually. 

Until you realize that McGonagall should not be born. In the excitement of her return, many fans overlooked her age and backstory. In the books, she mentions how she started teaching at Hogwarts thirty years prior to Harry’s arrival. Yet she’s already teaching there. While an old woman. Eight years before her canonical birth.

24 No One Wears Robes

wallpaper cave

It’s easy to forget thanks to the films, but the characters of the main books wore robes all the way up to the very end. They are a legitimate piece of the wizarding aesthetic, completely ingrained in their culture. James even does the wizard version of pantsing to Snape. Robes are a huge part of the series.

Yet no one wears a robe in The Crimes of Grindelwald, at least not in the wizarding way. Dumbledore especially is an odd case as his entire wardrobe in the later series is defined by his use of robes. Here, though, he’s wearing a basic muggle outfit. The costuming is great, so it’s easy to miss, but the robes are truly gone.

23 The First Wizarding World Confirmation That WWII Happened

via: hollywoodreporter.com

Logic dictates that the very premise behind Harry Potter as a series cements it into our reality. Conceptually, we don’t live in a world without magic- we live in a world where we cannot perceive magic. This is effectively the crux of the franchise. At the same time, there are no references to real-world events.

One of those reminders you could have gone without. 

Until now that is, and they sure picked a big one to reference. The Crimes of Grindelwald marks the first time in the entire franchise where WWII is acknowledged as an event that happened. It's a bit strartling, to say the least.

22 Newt Barely Interacts With Any Fantastic Beasts

sine.deviantart.com

It’s worth noting that despite the fact this series of films is titled Fantastic Beasts, the second movie absolutely stresses the subtitle: The Crimes of Grindelwald. This is not a story about Newt finding and interacting with fantastic beasts, but the story of one of the series’ most elusive figures.

Why bring this up, exactly? Well, it’s worth noting how a series can change. This would be the equivalent of Harry Potter suddenly focusing on Draco more than Harry in Chamber of Secrets. It just doesn’t work narratively. The structure of the plot ends up disjointed. The movie is at odds with its series.

21 Newt’s Barely In the Movie

https://www.geek.com/movies/fantastic-beasts-newt-scamander-is-the-most-interesting-male-fantasy-hero-in-a-while-1701337/

On the subject of titles, Fantastic Beasts quite honestly could have been named “Newt Scamander and Insert Relevant Title Here” considering he plays the exact same role Harry played in the books. There is one issue, though: the second film staunchly refuses to shine too much light on Newt.

Poor Newt lost his movie. 

For whatever reason, JK Rowling has reconfigured the sub-series into an ensemble. At the same time, Newt maintains his definitive protagonist status which makes it hard to see just how out of focus he is. He has an arc, of course, but it’s very much in the background of the rest of the cast.

20 Grindelwald Doesn’t Match What We Know Of Him

via: geekcrusade.com

It’s worth noting that JK Rowling never dove too deep into who Grindelwald was as a character in the original series. At best, we got glimpses of Dumbledore alongside Gellert, but it never went much past their relationship. Naturally, in-text evidence essentially suggests the depiction of Grindelwald we see is the true Grindelwald.

Although this is further emphasized by Grindelwald refusing to give up the Elder Wand’s location to Voldemort at the end of his life, The Crimes of Grindelwald completely does away with this complex characterization. Rather, he is a legitimate villain this time around. Depp plays the role well, but he’s nowhere near the man he once was.

19 Nagini Has Never Been Just A Normal Snake

via: polygon.com

The Nagini retcon is legitimately dumb. The fact that Dumbledore’s pet snake, who Neville beheads with a magical sword, who Wormtail straight up milks in one of her first appearances, was a woman all along is… hard to digest. It’s uncomfortable, and not the good kind of uncomfortability that adds to a narrative.

There are layers to Nagini. 

At the same time, it’s also obvious that there was always something “different” about Nagini. She is depicted quite uniquely when compared to the basilisk and her description- physical or otherwise- does not match up with any kind of normal snake. In a way, it makes sense that she was human, but we all ignored that detail because it’s dumb.

18 This Isn’t The First Time The Series Has Disregarded Canon

via: harrypotter.wikia.com

The Crimes of Grindelwald has been given quite a bit of deserved hate for its mistreatment of canon. Core concepts, characters, and themes are basically thrown out the window in favor of whatever benefits the current story with no regard for continuity. When it comes down to it, though, this isn’t new.

Tragedy struck with The Cursed Child. 

The Cursed Child mangled the series’ canon long before The Crimes of Grindelwald was ever an idea in JK Rowling’s head. Completely destroying Harry’s characterization while also retconning several key details about Voldemort, that cursed play set the precedent for canon mangling.

17 The Whomping Willow Shouldn’t Exist Yet

via Harry Potter Wiki - Fandom

The return to Hogwarts is easily one of the strongest sections of the film, if not the strongest. A pure nostalgia ride back to the earlier eight films, seeing Hogwarts again is a treat for any fan of the series. Familiar faces, familiar locations, and familiar structures all make return appearances.

Unfortunately, not all these reunions make sense. Most notably, the Whomping Willow makes an appearance. Why wouldn’t it? It’s a big tree, it must have been around for a while. Do remember though, Remus mentioned that the Whomping Willow was planted one year before he started school at Hogwarts. Oops!

16 Our First Real Glimpse At Kelpies

via The Harry Potter Lexicon

Harry Potter as a franchise has always had a good number of creatures to pick and choose from. Although the most memorable stem from JK Rowling’s imagination, a good few are lifted straight from mythology and folklore. Only mentioned in the books, Kelpies are water demons which never got a chance to appear.

Until now that is. For the first time, audiences are given a good glimpse at Kelpies. In all honestly, they live up to whatever unintended build up they had. Appropriately creepy with a considerable amount of grace, Kelpies almost make up for the lack of fantastic beasts in the Fantastic Beasts movie.

15 The Triumphant Return Of Nicholas Flamel

screenrant

Although “triumphant” may perhaps be overselling it, the fact that Nicholas Flamel exists in The Crimes of Grindelwald as a tangible being is kind of a big deal. Not only does this humanize a man who was previously mythologized in the series, it actually sets up the foundation for Fantastic Beasts to link into the first Harry Potter book: Philosopher’s Stone. Unlike other instances, this is more than just a cameo. It’s set up with a legitimate purpose. Don’t confuse Flamel’s existence with McGonagall’s or the Whomping Willow’s appearances. This has actual weight.

14 Thestrals Are Finally Back

via:irenhorrors.deviantart.com

Introduced in Goblet of Fire, Thestrals are mythical horse-like creatures who cannot be perceived by the innocent. Specifically, Thestrals only reveal themselves to those who have experienced the loss of life. They are a reminder of mortality, fragility, and the inevitable end for us all.

A harrowing reminder that all life ends. 

The beasts make a return appearance in The Crimes of Grindelwald and just about everyone can see them. While most will see this as Rowling yet again ruining a unique part of her work, it actually fits the tone of the film. This is a dark story told in a dark setting with dark characters. Thestrals are natural to them despite how unnatural they were for Harry.

13 As Are Boggarts

via: howstuffworks.com

A remnant of a much simpler time, Boggarts were those magical creatures who could turn into any given person’s greatest fear. While they were introduced with much fanfare, Rowling more or less stopped using them after their initial book appearance, recognizing their role was more or less done.

That said, this hasn’t stopped the Boggarts from returning. For the first time in a long time, Boggarts make a return appearance. Unlike the Thestrals, they aren’t as thematically relevant, but the reminder that Boggarts do indeed exist tie Fantastic Beasts back into the main series nice enough.

12 The Timeline Is Officially Meaningless

via screenrant

Watching The Crimes of Grindelwald, one thing is clear: the Wizarding World timeline straight up does not matter anymore. Characters are old before they’re even born; events that blatantly did not happen due to a lack of reference end up happening; and the shared history of the series is changed on a whim to match whatever Rowling needs for her current story.

They may as well have shoved Voldemort into the film considering how little the timeline matters now. 

What was once a tight world is unraveling at the same and everyone is none the wiser because they’re all too happy to watch a new Harry Potter movie. Don’t be fooled. Everything you love will be retconned until there is no Harry Potter left to love.

11 Dumbledore Wasn’t The Defense Against The Dark Arts Professor Originally

via: vanityfair.com

In The Crimes of Grindelwald, we see Dumbledore serve as the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor. This does make sense to some extent. He was Hogwarts’ headmaster for years and the DAtDA position is arguably the best one in all of Hogwarts. One problem though: we already know what Dumbledore taught.

Young Albus was not originally a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor at all. Rather, he taught Transfiguration. Quite honestly, said position matches a man of his stature all the more. It’s certainly possible he taught both, but the fact the books never mention Albus in more than one teaching position is a glaring hole.

10 Said Retcon Does Explain Why Dumbledore Is So Good At Duelling

independent.co.uk

On the other hand, such a major retcon actually does make quite a bit of sense when examining Dumbledore’s skills as a wizard. Specifically, as a duelist. While there is nothing that counteracts the notion of a Transfiguration professor being excellent at dueling, this position does help further explain his competence.

At the same time, is it really that great of an explanation? In a way, it was incredible that Dumbledore was so good at dueling despite being a relatively passive wizard (supposedly.) Making him a Defense Against the Dark Arts professor makes sense, but what makes sense in-universe doesn’t always translate narratively.

9 The Erised Recontextualization

via: polygon.com

The Mirror of Erised will reveal any person’s deepest desire. In the first book, Dumbledore claims to see socks. At the time, this may very well have been true. Our perception of Albus hadn’t been colored by later books yet. Even then, it’s still possible he was telling the truth by the last book.

It certainly says something profound that Albus' deepest desire is Grindelwald. 

Come The Crimes of Grindelwald, however, and it the Mirror of Erised has been totally recontextualized for Dumbledore. It’s obvious that he so blatantly sees his former friend after all those years. In hindsight, of course, Dumbledore saw Grindelwald out of universe. This film pushes the idea quite heavily.

8 Grindelwald And Dumbledore Have A Much Different Dynamic

Via Atom Tickets

Given what little we know about Grindelwald from the books, there’s only so much we can glean from his character. At the same time, the books give us exactly what we need to know. Grindelwald and Dumbledore were best friends- perhaps even romantically- before being torn apart. Despite this, affection was still there.

Come The Crimes of Grindelwald and the films seem intent on pushing the narrative that Dumbledore and Grindelwald were more vitriolic than we were originally lead to believe. It’s hard to believe these two were actually friends. Perhaps that’s just the way their relationship should be, but it doesn’t quite capture the nuance of the books.

7 We Got A Bunch Of New Spells But Few Spell Names

via: hollywoodreporter.com

The greatest gift any piece of media in the Wizarding World can give its audience is the gift of magic. Not conceptual magic, either. Literal, tangible magic. For every new spell we get, the series grows in scope. The Crimes of Grindelwald gives us quite a few new spells, but with a catch: no names.

Established lore just doesn't matter anymore. 

Specifically, no names in the sense that the film’s many wizards can cast without saying the spell’s name, a feat that the main series insisted was incredibly difficult to pull off. Yet here we are, decades earlier, with just about every single named character casting magic without uttering a word.

6 Credence’s “Twist” Isn’t Actually Foreshadowed

via: syfy.com

It’s always a shame when good actors get stuck playing bad characters. Ezra Miller is a more than competent actor, but Credence is not a particularly compelling character. He was never outright bad in the first film, but certainly underwritten. In response to these criticisms, Credence gets quite a face lift in the second movie.

Literally. He’s a different man now. The film’s ending twist is that Credence was actually Albus’ long lost brother all along. It also isn’t foreshadowed in the slightest. The end of the film nudges the audience with a wink, basically goading them into accepting the brilliance of the twist, but it’s honestly nonsensical.