The third installment of the Harry Potter prequel series certainly had a lot of questions to answer. Its predecessor, 2018’s Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, ended with the shocking revelation that Obscurus Credence Barebone (Ezra Miller) was a member of Dumbledore’s family. Credence is recruited into black magic by the evil wizard Grindelwald; The role was originally played by Johnny Depp, but he was replaced by Mads Mikkelsen in Fantastic Beasts: The Dumbledore Secrets. The role recast was only part of the reason Dumbledore’s Mysteries was so problematic. Rowling’s transphobic comments cast a shadow over the project, and many felt that The Crimes of Grindelwald obscured the romantic relationship between Grindelwald and Albus Dumbledore (Jude Law).
The Dumbledore Mysteries film was considered a box office disappointment. With the franchise’s lowest opening weekend, the film grossed just under $400 million worldwide. This is significantly less than its predecessors: The Crimes of Grindelwald grossed more than $650 million and the first Fantastic Beasts grossed more than $800 million. Reviews were also mixed: although critics thought the sequel was an improvement over The Crimes of Grindelwald, it was found to be “rotten”, receiving 47% of all reviews on the RT Tomatoes scale. The future of the series is unclear. Dumbledore’s Secrets was scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-Ray in June 2022, but was made available for digital download on May 30, 2022. Warner Media decided to release the film on HBO Max on the same day. If you’re still watching The Dumbledore Mysteries (or still don’t know what’s going on), here’s everything you need to know about the end of The Dumbledore Mysteries; For those who have not yet seen the film, it contains full spoilers.
What is the Dumbledore family secret?
The big “secret” about the Dumbledore family that the film’s title promises is actually an explanation for the final film’s cliffhanger. At the very beginning of the film, Albus confirms to Credence that he is in fact Dumbledore, refuting all the rumors that Grindelwald lied to the boy in order to influence him in his move. The film explains that Credence is the illegitimate son of Albus’ younger brother Aberforth (Richard Coyle). His real name is Aurelius Dumbledore.
Aberforth’s wife was killed and Aurelius was left orphaned as Credence. Albus advises his brother to establish contact with his son and Credence sends messages to his father via the Mirror of Erised. Aberforth does not want to trust his brother, since he has always blamed Albus for the death of their sister Ariana. Ariana was killed in a three-way duel between Grindelwald, Albus and Aberforth after Aberforth suspected his brother of being involved in dark magic.
However, Albus and Aberforth become closer and Aberforth finally has the opportunity to reunite with Credence. Credence betrays Grindelwald before a meeting of the wizarding world’s leaders in Bhutan, revealing his plot to rig the election of a new leader in his favor. Grindelwald used his power and influence to avoid imprisonment and gathered even more followers who supported his campaign. Grindelwald was close to power, but Credence discovers that he used necromancy to rig the March of Qilin ceremony, which determined a new leader.
What happens at the end of Fantastic Beasts: Dumbledore’s Secrets?
Albus and Aberforth, along with Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne), Tina Goldstein (Katherine Waterston), Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) and their allies rescue Credence and fight Grindelwald’s forces in Bhutan. Although Credence is seriously injured at the end of the battle, Aberforth accepts him and they leave together. Albus and Aberforth have a mutual respect for each other, paving the way for Aberforth’s role in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2. Adult Aberforth (Ciarán Hinds) works as a bartender at Hog’s Head and helps Harry and his friends get in at Hogwarts.
Credence is not the only one to have betrayed Grindelwald. One of the most controversial storylines in The Crimes of Grindelwald was Queenie Goldstein’s (Alison Sudol) involvement in Grindelwald’s fascist movement. Queenie secretly spies on Grindelwald and gives him false information. The film ends with Queenie finally reunited with her lover Jacob. In the last scene, they get married; this also gives Newt a chance to reunite with Queenie’s sister, Tina. Jacob’s story was one of the few bright spots in the series.
What happens between Queenie and Jacob in Dumbledore’s Mysteries?
Queenie and Jacobs’ wedding is a moment of joy for the heroes after their victory, but Albus is forced to watch from afar. He’s going through his own grief. During the Battle of Bhutan, Albus was freed from his blood pact with Grindelwald. When the two wizards were young, they made a romantic promise to each other that kept them from harming each other. This placed a barrier between them that prevented Albus from directly opposing Grindelwald.
However, Grindelwald attempts to kill Albus, which breaks the mutual spell and allows Albus to defend himself. A short duel takes place between them, but Grindelwald realizes that his strength is overwhelmed. He flees Bhutan, swearing that his fascist movement is far from over. Dumbledore minds his own business, even refusing the leadership role briefly offered to him during the Qilin March ceremony. Although he became close to Jacob during his adventures, Albus does not leave his Muggle friend’s bakery during the wedding. He’s walking down a cool street, which looks like the opening moments of the first movie, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.
