Warning: Spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore’s ending are in play. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, feel free to head to our spoiler-free coverage on CinemaBlend.
J.K. Rowling’s Wizarding World continues to unveil the past in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore. The third in a proposed five-movie cycle, this latest prequel furthers the connections started in Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, with critics somewhat mixed in their reaction. At the same time, events mentioned in the Harry Potter series are brought back into the light, as Professor Albus Dumbledore’s secrets come to light.
As such, we’re about to dig deep into those titular "secrets" and where they might find Newt Scamander, Queenie Goldstein, and of course Mads Mikklesen’s Grindelwald in Fantastic Beasts 4. If you’re not ready to learn the truths we’re about to dissect, you should head to another part of the vast CinemaBlend library. We do have our official review available if you want to learn more, minus the plot sensitive details. From this point on, it’s spoiler city, as we jump into Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Fantastic Beasts 3's Ending: Gellert Grindelwald’s Evil Plan For Wizarding Domination
After being cleared of all charges resulting from his actions in Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, the titular villain decides to run for public office. Of course, Gellert Grindelwald (Mads Mikkelsen) isn’t going to run a clean campaign, as his ambitions to fight for wizarding supremacy know no bounds. As such, his plans to become the next Supreme Mugwump of the International Confederation of Wizards (ICW) are quite shady, and make up the main conflict in The Secrets of Dumbledore.
Gellert tries to rig the election in his favor, which we see in the first act of this latest Fantastic Beasts film. Aurelius Dumbledore, formerly known as Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller), is sent to abduct a newborn Qilin, a beast that’s known to see deep into the heart and soul of a person and deem them truly worthy. Used in the ritual known as The Walk of the Qilin, the ICW enlists the creature's abilities to determine which candidate for Supreme Mugwump should be victorious.
By abducting one of the baby Qilins, Grindlewald not only can see the future through using the beast’s blood, but by resurrecting it he’s able to convince it he’s worthy of becoming Supreme Mugwump. It all goes according to plan, and for a moment it looks like Gellert Grindelwald will have his way. Grindelwald celebrates by torturing Jacob Kowalski with the Cruciatus Curse, before eventually being stopped in his tracks.
Albus Dumbledore and his team of heroes actually managed to expose these misdeeds towards the end of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, with the thanks of a pure Qilin. The uninfluenced twin bows in front of Albus Dumbledore, who naturally abdicates the post. Which means that candidate Victoria Santos (Maria Fernanda Cândido) is named the next Supreme Mugwump, and Grindelwald flees.
The Blood Pact: How The Dumbledores Broke Grindelwald’s Oath And What's Next
In the middle of all of this activity, we see the blood pact that prevented Albus Dumbledore and Gellert Grindelwald from fighting each other broken. After being exposed, Grindelwald attempts to kill the already dying Aurelius Dumbledore, but is stopped by his father Aberforth (Richard Coyle) and uncle Albus. Both brothers cast spells to protect their own, and for the moment the young man is spared. When explaining how this magic worked the way it did, Albus states the following:
He sought to kill. I sought to protect. Our spells met.
This is not only a repeat of the three-way duel these men had in their youth, it also feels like a callback/setup for how Harry survives Voldemort’s attempt to murder him. The protective spells of both Dumbledore brothers cancel out Grindelwald’s lethal strike, as well as breaks the blood pact between the former couple. While Albus couldn't act against Gellert, he could act to protect Aurelius, which nullified the blood pact.
Of course, now the path is set for Gellert Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore to engage in what some would eventually call the greatest wizarding duel ever. The events in Fantastic Beasts 3 open doors for the duel, which we know will ultimately happen in 1945 and comes before Dumbledore becomes the Hogwarts Headmaster we know and love from Harry Potter as well as the person who earned the right to the Elder Wand.
How Jacob Kowalski And Queenie Goldstein Set A Path For Wizards And Muggles After The Crimes Of Grindelwald
For most of Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the seemingly starcrossed Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) are still separated. As the Goldstein sister defected to Gellert Grindelwald’s side in The Crimes of Grindelwald, she starts the movie in the company of the infamous wizard and his nefarious deeds. That seems to take its toll on her, even when Queenie briefly sees Jacob in Berlin, allegedly trying to assassinate Grindelwald.
By the time these still-opposing forces meet in Bhutan for The Walk of the Qilin, a huge election in the magical world, Jacob tries and succeeds in talking Queenie out of sticking with the bad guys. From that point, Queenie rejects Grindelwald’s cruelty, and helps the rest of the heroes in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore save the day from the heinous scheme at the heart of the villain's plan.
It seems that Queenie Goldstein has escaped Gellert Grindelwald, and if Fantastic Beasts 4 happens, she and Jacob Kowalski will hopefully be able to team up to continue advocating for Muggle/Wizard relationships. With the nastier climate of Gellert Grindelwald's eventual rise to power looming in the distance, Queenie and Jacob could be targets of Grindelwald's more fanatical pureblood followers at some point in the future. Hopefully, their love will get them through. (More on that later).
Newt, Tina And The Future Event That Still Needs To Come Into Play In Fantastic Beasts 4 And 5
Perhaps the most anticipated event, and the one that prompted fans to ask “Where’s Tina?” in the marketing blitz for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, is the eventual marriage between the mostly absent Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston) and Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne). An educated guess would suggest that this moment would be the huge capstone to the entire five-film cycle, but again, we’re not sure that’s even going to happen at this moment.
There's also the question of Newt's trusty assistant/admirer Bunty Broadacre (Victoria Yeates), who's seemingly in love with her boss. With Tina gone for most of this movie and Bunty stepping up to save the day, there's potential for a love triangle to gum up the works for this supposedly smooth romance. I'm particularly thinking of the moment Bunty looks a bit uncomfortable during Newt and Tina's reunion at the end of this movie, and if she gets more screen time in 4 there's potential she could speak about her feelings. If this happens, it'll only complicate matters further, as we still have Gellert Grindelwald's reign of terror to look forward to in Fantastic Beasts 4 and/or 5.
How The Secrets Of Dumbledore Ends On A Happy Note, But Hints At More Darkness To Come
The latest attempts by Gellert Grindelwald to instigate open war between wizards and muggles failed thanks to some ingenious moves by the team, and one in particular from Bunty. With Grindelwald fleeing from capture -- but swearing he was never an enemy to the magical world -- a temporary peace returns. It’s the perfect time for self-reflection, reunions, and a wedding! We get all of those things at the end of Fantastic Beasts 3, as Jacob Kowalski and Queenie Goldstein are wed in Jacob’s New York based bakery.
Returning for the nuptials is Tina Goldstein, who we finally see reuniting with her future husband and previous partner in crime Newt Scamander. Right before everything gets underway, Newt is visited by Professor Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law), with whom he had teamed up in order to thwart Grindelwald’s latest plans. After a brief reunion, Dumbledore bittersweetly observes the wedding in progress, and walks off into the snowy streets of New York.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore opens a lot of doors for the future of the Wizarding World’s past. Danger and dark times loom ahead, but the current mood of romance and happiness is a beautiful thing to cling to. Should the latest installment in J.K. Rowling’s cinematic universe perform well enough, we might see how it all pans out yet.
If you’ve read through this entire rundown and haven’t seen Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore, the film is now currently showing in theaters. If you need a refresher course before heading out, the first two movies are available for streaming on HBO Max at the time of this writing. For a look at what’s heading to a cinema near you in the year to come, the full rundown of 2022 movie releases is available for your perusal. Just mind the stray Nifflers you may find along the way.
