Secrets of Dumbledore Wasted Its Chance To Fix Queenie's Story
Warning: Contains spoilers for Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore neglects to fix problems in Queenie’s character that first emerged in the second film in the series, The Crimes of Grindelwald. Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) is originally portrayed in the first Harry Potter spinoff film, Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them, as a remarkably kind witch, accepting of both muggles and wizards alike. Her subsequent choice to join Grindelwald’s forces left fans reeling, and the character's portrayal in The Secrets of Dumbledore does little to justify her actions.
Queenie Goldstein is introduced as a powerful mind reader and the sister of Tina Goldstein, an Auror who collides with central characters Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) and Jacob Kowalski (Dan Fogler) on their original mission to recapture all of Newt’s escaped magical beasts. Queenie becomes the love interest of Jacob because she is endeared by his overt attraction and respect for her, the reciprocated affection for him implying that she has either little or zero issues with muggles and wizards being together romantically. She is heartbroken when Jacob’s memory legally needs to be wiped of all knowledge of wizardry by the resolution of the first film. However, in The Crimes of Grindelwald Queenie’s character development takes a dramatic turn when she puts Jacob under a spell that briefly takes away his will. Mind control, whether it be potions or spells such as the Unforgivable Curses, are normally illegal in Harry Potter's universe, not to mention immoral, retracting from the guileless persona audiences had come to know up until that point.
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