The Ebon Conclave

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, it’s a long one. I’ll start with some of the things I enjoyed the most.

The Good:

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 🙌 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 he’s the main character 🙃

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 Unnecessary:

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 didn’t 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 Philosopher’s 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 what’s with that book and the lady that told him to fight? Come on.

Leta x Theseus. Why make them a couple if you’re not going to act on it in any way or explain it? It would have made sense if he “took the bullet” for her, but he didn’t (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 let’s 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 Newt’s 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. Don’t throw random animals at us without any meaning. Also, why isn’t Zouwu in the Newt’s A-Z beast guide? Also, Bunty, another unnecessary character.

“Newt, they’re watching you.” Okay? So what? Obviously, since he’s not allowed to leave the country. What was the point of that?

And also honorary mention for all the unnecessary characters whose names I couldn’t even remember: Grindelwald’s evil lady friend, Grindelwald’s evil ministry friend, some “necessary evil” dude from Newt’s hearing who is also a spy for Grindelwald (what the fuck even), elf caretaker, Leta’s brother, and probably much more?

The Bad:

Queer-baiting. There’s 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? “We were closer, but not like brothers”?

Timeline. McGonagall? Dumbledore’s brother? 🤨

Another timeline issue - we barely witnessed a year of their lives in a span of two movies and we’re only on year 1927. From what we know, the GxD Duel will take place in 1945, a solid 18 years from now. I’m sure they will drag it out any way they can. So dumb.

Credence’s search for parentage seems like one of the few logical choices for his character, but executed very poorly. He believes he’s a Lestrange without any proof, then believes he’s a Dumblore without any. While it makes sense for Credence to believe whatever people tell him, it doesn’t make sense to us as viewers (and we’re 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 Credence’s mind and tells Grindelwald that he’s still unsure of his choice, Grindelwald goes and tells him the only thing that will convince him to stay. Dumb.

The movie doesn’t 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!

Hanfu photoset via Coser小梦, Part 9/?

Coser小梦 is dressed as Baigu Gongzi/白骨公子 (white bone prince), a character he created that may have been inspired by Baigujing/白骨精 (white bone spirit), a demoness from the famous Chinese novel Journey to the West.

Name:  Veldrin (Neither parent would make his surname public knowledge)Gender: MaleGeneral Appearance: He was born with his mother’s unillusioned hair colored and his father’s eyes. Many would mistake him for Quel’dorei at first glance. A rather sturdy child, he grew up with the beliefs of protecting one’s family so he took on more of a fighter’s build than that of a scholar. A rather serious boy, his smile only shows when around his mother or receiving praise from his Father.Personality: A serious boy, even as a child. He keeps his emotions close to his chest and can be rather intense.Special Talents: Considering his Father is a Lich and his mother an illusionist the boy excels at illusions and seeing the souls of the departed. He has yet to acquire his Father’s talent for consuming souls and his mother is very grateful for that.Who they like better: Veldrin doesn’t seem to have a favorite, loving both his parents the same. To him, they were two sides of a coin.Who they take after more: Personality-wise their father and many of his facial features.Personal Head canon: The boy was much in a sense his Father’s child with how he preferred to see his Mother’s true visage so many times her masks would go missing. A game the Lich often times had a hand in much to the Storykeeper’s chagrin. There would be offerings of many sweets to have the masks returned. Face Claim: