Warning! Spoilers ahead for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore
Grindelwald’s initial victory at Bhutan in Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore reveals how many supporters the Dark Wizard has in the Wizarding World, seeing as many celebrated his ascension and declaration of war on the Muggles by raising his insignia. However, these followers are merely a faceless mass, and the sun sigil of Vicência Santos is cast into the air just as quickly when the Qilin Newt Scamander produces bows to her instead. Whereas Grindelwald is shown to have far-reaching support from Germany to Great Britain, and even the US where Katherine Waterston’s Tina Goldstein has a brief scene as the new Head of the Auror Office at MACUSA, his reach and power lack the same edge that Voldemort’s possessed due to the fear and recognition of the Death Eaters.
Harry Potter‘s Lord Voldemort takes on an anti-Muggle stance even more extreme than Grindelwald’s, putting Purebloods on a level above other witches and wizards despite being a half-blood himself. Throughout the entirety of the Harry Potter series, Voldemort’s inner circle of Dark Wizards, his Death Eaters, were prominent antagonists for Harry and his fellow Hogwarts students. They were responsible for the deaths of many of Harry’s friends and family and a few even infiltrated Hogwarts before the Dark Lord’s defeat.
Grindelwald’s historical failure makes Voldemort’s Harry Potter defeat even worse. Grindelwald’s bid for Head of the International Confederation of Wizards at the end of Fantastic Beasts 3 revealed his extensive support across Europe, but as for more trusted lieutenants, he has fairly few. Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald introduced Rosier and Abernathy while Credence and Queenie also joined Grindelwald for reasons of their own. While the Obscurus and the Legilimens are undoubtedly powerful, Grindelwald’s defeat makes Voldemort’s failure even worse considering the power of his supporters.
Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore focused heavily on Mads Mikkelsen’s Gellert Grindelwald and left most of his acolytes by the wayside. Vinda Rosier (Poppy Corby-Tuech) has had mundane characterization and little to no display of magical ability. Abernathy, the wizard who assisted Grindelwald’s escape from MACUSA custody, wasn’t even in the third Fantastic Beasts film. To make matters worse, Queenie Goldstein (Alison Sudol) and Credence Barebone/Aurelius Dumbledore (Ezra Miller) both abandon Grindelwald at the end of The Secrets of Dumbledore, reducing the strength of his army even further.
Voldemort’s Death Eaters are on another level compared to Grindelwald’s company throughout the Fantastic Beasts films. Barty Crouch Junior kidnapped and impersonated esteemed Auror Alastor “Mad-Eye” Moody and manipulated the Triwizard Tournament in order to orchestrate Lord Voldemort’s return to power. Bellatrix Lestrange tortured Hermione Granger at Malfoy Manor and killed Nymphadora Tonks, her cousin Sirius Black, and many others. Fantastic Beasts’ portrayal of Grindelwald as the only major threat emphasizes Voldemort’s failures especially since he had the support and power of his Death Eaters at his disposal.
While Mads Mikkelsen’s reinvention of Grindelwald has been praised, the film itself has not garnered the same amount of acclaim. Hopefully, The Secrets of Dumbledore‘s bad box office won’t kill Fantastic Beasts 4 and 5. The series can still use the two final films to truly establish Vinda Rosier and other Grindelwald fanatics as legitimate threats against Newt, his friends, and the magical creatures of the Wizarding World.
