Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them introduced us to Jacob Kowalski, a No-Maj who stole our hearts. We have some major concerns about his future!
Fantastic Beasts threw a ton of magical creatures and Wizarding World shakeups at its audience. MACUSA governs quite differently than the Ministry of Magic. There are bans on magical creatures in New York City and the laws separating non-wizards and wizards make for some of the films most devastating moments.
Fantastic Beasts spoilers ahead!
The worst of which is when they force Jacob to lose his memory through something similar to the obliviate spell. But does he truly lose his memory? Evidence at the end of the film seems to suggest otherwise. With some silver Occamy eggs delivered by Newt, Jacob funds his bakery and makes a living off of creating crazy creatures in the form of doughy delights. But how does one No-Maj feel a connection to a phantom bite mark or recall specific details of magical creatures in spite of undergoing a memory wipe?
We have some ideas.
A scene in a workshop
When Newt takes Jacob down into his workshop quite a few interesting beasts emerge. But most importantly, these three details are revealed:
- Newt says that Muggles and wizards have different physiology and Jacob is particularly susceptible to the Murtlap’s bite
- The Swooping Evil’s venom, when properly diluted, can erase bad memories
- The Thunderbird in Newt’s case is the real reason he came to America
Taking these three items into consideration we can begin to break down how the ending of Fantastic Beasts leaves room for Jacob to recover. And how it expects us to buy into the massive clearing of memories across New York City.
Thunderbird, ho!
Frank, the beloved companion of Newt’s (don’t tell Pickett), serves as the agent of Fantastic Beasts‘ deus ex machina ending. The Thunderbird flies high above New York City to create a super rain storm that will coat the entirely of the crowd gathered outside the City Hall subway station.
The goal here is not to create a massive memory wipe for the entire city. Memory charms work to erase specific chunks of time. The venom, which targets bad memories, will go after the fear, aggression, and memories of destruction residing in the No-Maj’s minds.
Shaw Sr. will still recall that his son is dead, but he will no longer draw the connection to the Obscurus he saw tearing the city apart.
What does all of this mean for Jacob?
As we said, the Swooping Evil’s venom, when sufficiently diluted works has an extraordinary ability to erase bad memories. Bad is the key word here.
None of Jacob’s memories were bad. They were filled with wonder, adventure, and friendship. In the same way that Lily Potter’s love acted as a shield over Harry, I speculate that the power of Jacob’s love for the wizarding world acts as a protective barrier. The memories may not be in focus, but they are still there.
This leaves room for Jacob’s memory to be restored. Since the venom did not entirely erase the images of the Niffler and friends, Newt and the gang may be able to reintroduce Jacob to the wizarding world quite easily.
A spell would be all too simple and frankly, we want some cool visuals here. A pensive on the other hand, allows room for Jacob to watch his journey play out before his eyes. If Newt supplies to memories of their time in New York, then we still have a simple, yet visually appealing way, to get Jacob up to speed.
Newt may also have an animal that releases some anti-Swooping Evil venom that help to coax Jacob’s repressed memories back into the light.
What does this mean for others around town?
For a majority of the citizens who were at the active site of the battle, their memory of that specific moment and all ties to the Obscurus’ destruction will disappear. They’ll probably go back to remembering that time in 1926 when a ton of gas leaks wreaked havoc across the city.
There is, however, one other No-Maj who peaked my interest. Langdon Shaw, the youngest of the Shaw lineage, has an odd fascination in the New Salemers. Could he, like Jacob, not recall everything as a bad memory? His brain was wiped, but I do not believe it was cleared entirely.
And what about the MACUSA witches and wizards fixing New York? Well, that brings us back to Newt’s original observation in his workshop — wizards and witches physiology is slightly different than a No-Maj or Muggle’s body. Newt has been studying the sweeping evil for quite some time. Perhaps he noticed that the affect on wizards is not as severe as it is on non-wizards.
What are your thoughts on the ‘Fantastic Beasts’ ending?
Catch Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in theaters now!