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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In The Secrets of Dumbledore, Queenie works for Grindelwald reading the minds of recruits such as Yusuf Kama (William Nadylam) to gauge their loyalty. What is frustrating about her position among Grindelwald’s troops is that her reason for joining him is left relatively unexplained. As Gellert Grindelwald’s evil motivations to burn down the muggle world become more clear, it becomes less clear whether or not Queenie is on his side of her volition or because she feels threatened or controlled. Her character losing almost all of her charm and autonomy in The Crimes of Grindelwald felt deserving of elaboration in the next sequel, but The Secrets of Dumbledore doesn’t offer introspection into Queenie’s personal thoughts, aside from a rushed scene with Jacob where she implies its too late for her to change. The film then dismisses her condemning involvement with Grindelwald as if it never happened, proceeding with her marriage to Jacob.

queenie sees Jacob again

At the very least, her character deserved a scene addressing the full excuse as to why Queenie allied with Grindelwald in the first place, be it his manipulations and false promises or something else entirely. Instead, Queenie’s brief foray into the dark side proves to be nothing more than an afterthought to both the characters and Fantastic Beast's narrative.

Throughout Secrets of Dumbledore, Queenie is shown to help Jacob through dangerous predicaments, foreshadowing her change of sides later down the line. It is feasible to assume she joined Grindelwald under false pretenses and in the third film feels trapped with nothing to do except obey him. However, there is no escaping the fact Queenie mind controls Jacob in Crimes of Grindelwald, effectively damaging her character’s ethics and their relationship which had been non-toxic up until then. Though Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore finds her rearing towards the side of good again, the fact that there is no acknowledgment of her character’s mistakes lacks the justice she deserves.

Queenie’s perplexing development that began in The Crimes of Grindelwald is left unexplained in Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore, which consequently doesn’t fix the issue of Queenie's damaged reputation. Though the third installment of the franchise doesn’t do her justice, it still gives her a satisfying romantic conclusion. If there is a fourth installment, perhaps there will be room to delve deeper into Queenie’s character arcs which, for now, remain frustratingly unexplored.

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