Lally Hicks and Theseus Scamander through the prism of visual storytelling: an interesting dynamic in sight…
Okay, just a random thought but— the fact that Eulalie and Theseus’ style of clothing are nearly similar just gets me. We all know for a fact that costume design in cinema tends to reflect a lot of (hidden) things about a character’s emotions and personality… but in this trailer— oh boy, there’s a lot to unpack. Studying visual storytelling can help us grasp/speculate on Eulalie and Theseus’ evident connection throughout this third installment of FB. I don’t know whether the nature of their relationship will be romantic or platonic, still, this refreshing duo appears to be as interesting as it is promising and I’m here for it. (aka in which im delivering a mini speculating meta nobody asked for).
Firstly, I think it’s necessary to understand why I’m specifically focusing on these two. On one hand, we have the official introduction of the queen herself, Ilvermorny’s Charm professor, the one and only Eulalie “Lally” Hicks. Her role in TCOG was very decisive. Let’s not forget that she was the one who ignited courage in Nicolas Flamel’s heart before Grindelwald’s rally at the cemetery of Père Lachaise. Without her words of encouragement to the old alchemist, Paris would have definitely been destroyed. Thus, her voice and knowledge constitute a powerful asset for Dumbledore’ squad. On the other hand, our war hero/auror Theseus Scamander is getting more and more amount of screen time as well (hell yeah!). Exploring his grief, his progressive trust in Dumbledore and the reasons explaining his complex relationship with Newt is going to be particularly interesting. Getting to know the conflicted man the war hero actually is sounds so good! In other words, those two characters are getting a proper introduction in the Potterverse (as it should be!). Not only they’re fully becoming protagonists, they’re also paired up together in 90% of the trailer.
Now that I’ve set the context, let’s dive into the visual storytelling. In order to do this analysis, it’s important to draw on the elements composing the image. I’m gonna focus on the shot where Lally and Theseus are back to back, ready to fight Grindelwald’s followers in (what seems to be) Tibet/China (not very sure?). There’s just so much to breakdown. This beautiful shot appears right after this title card :
“War of worlds” holds a lot of meanings. At first glance, we can think of the war between Dumbledore and Grindelwald, the good side/peace/unity vs the bad side/chaos/division, ignorance vs knowledge, lies vs truth… Yet, if we link the title card with this following shot, another shade of meaning colors our understanding of this expression. You need to keep in mind that each second, each frame in a teaser/trailer leave nothing to chance. Thus, “War of worlds” could eventually imply the clash between the two professional worlds in which Lally and Theseus belong to : the professorial corps vs the executive branch led by Hector Fawley, the British Ministry of Magic’s minister.
The rule of thirds highlights even more this opposition, though it also showcases a certain union. Studiobinder.com defines the rule of thirds as “one of the most common camera framing techniques used in film or photography. It’s about positioning a character to show their relation to other elements in the scene”. In this perspective, after decomposing the shot in three distinct parts, a visible asymmetry is particularly telling of what we could expect from their relationship. Lally and Theseus’s different background and profession oppose them, hence their back to back stance. But their skills make them as powerful as they are equal (not them being the same height and i oop!). As such, their differences are strengths that build their union. Placed in the center of the middle column, their figure flirt with its frontiers as well as four intersection points mostly known as power lines. They’re usual points where the human eye tends to mainly focus on. The real essence of shot is going to be captured within those elements. Here, it’s the perfect asymmetrical closeness of our professor and auror’s bodies, emphasized by the look they’re giving to each other, a sign of understanding. They’re ready to join forces and fight Grindelwald’s minions.
Overall, I love how this shot conveys both conflict and complicity at the same time.
In the other scenes Lally and Theseus share in the trailer, they’re always seen together : face to face in the nameless fancy train, walking side by side toward the German (?) ministry of magic, standing next to each other in Hogwart’s great hall as well as the room of requirement. We feel like they’re forced to work together, therefore, I can already picture some banter and disregard at first. After all, you can already sense Theseus’ wariness merely by the way he introduced Eulalie : “a school teacher”. Uhm, sweetie, she’s more than that, and trust me, you’ll quickly find out. A partnership might slowly blossom after a series of tensions, potentially transforming itself into something more : pure friendship or a slow burn romance.
Secondly, I’m digging how both of them are sharp dresser. Lally and Theseus sport a very elegant style : a long overcoat, a button up shirt, a tie, a waistcoat, and pocket watch. The finesse radiating from their garments invite us to notice a certain ressemblance. They are meticulous and sedulous, paralleling, mirroring each other. That being said, I tend to remember Coleen Atwood’s comment (FB’s costume designer) about Theseus’ costume design in The Making of Fantastic Beasts TCOG (2018). He’s “more by-the-book feel of someone trying to do everything the right way”… just like Lally right ?
Furthermore, two colors are mainly present on our characters’ outfits. Let’s start with Eulalie : Burgundy. According to Colorpsycologymeaning.com, burgundy generally symbolizes “high status, prestigious, elegant, luxurious, determined, ambitious, sophisticated and confidence. Dark reds like these are often used for the decor and branding for prestigious schools, universities and other institutions”. An interesting description indeed. This description perfectly fits our Ilvermorny teacher, doesn’t it? She’s almost wearing a formal teaching uniform (a bit like Professor McGonagall and Dumbledore) with her tie and her blouse tucked in her long skirt. Yet, that’s not it. Indeed, Lally’s also a woman of style. Her elegance is assertive, combining both femininity and masculinity. Delicacy and authority originating from her clothings could foreshadow her personality. In my head, she’s radiating a bad bitch energy— my oh my, what a badass!
After zooming on Lally’s shirt, I noticed how much the motif was practically the same as the handle of Theseus’ wand. The mix of tortoise shell/amber color dotting the black brings an exquisite touch highlighting a “more classic sense of the period” (C. Atwood about Theseus’ style of clothing). I don’t know if this point is relevant to the plot lmao…Coincidence? I think not!
As for Theseus, it’s blue. We can note a change of color of his attire between TCOG and TSOD. It radically changes form his grey suit he worn in the beginning of TCOG. It represented his inner conflict, his own confusion (and the viewer’s) regarding which side he’s taken in this war : Dumbledore’s? Newt’s? The ministry’s? The fact that Theseus followed Torquil Travers’ orders (the Head of Magical Law Enforcement), yet still listened to Dumbledore’s advices blurred the lines, translating itself into his attire. This conflict is similar to Newt’s, evidenced by his blueish grey overcoat. The magizoologist didn’t “do sides” in FB2 but still executed Dumbledore’s missions. In fact, blue (for Colorpsycologymeaning.com) represents “reservation, confidence, conservation, persistency, trust”. It also illustrates “independence, it is more of a leader rather than a follower and likes organization and is professionally minded”. These are definitions that perfectly captures Theseus and Newt’s personalities. But most importantly, blue is the color of unity, a symbol that the Scamander’s brothers are on the same side : resistance. The dark tone of their garments presage the dark turn their story arcs are going to take.
Anywho, what’s your take on this interesting duo? I might be wrong all the way but it feels so good to speculate on crumbs to fill the void. I seriously can’t wait to feast upon The Secrets of Dumbledore!
Seventeen minutes, Steve’s pretending his cell has any bars.
A half-hour and Steve stops checking his watch every minute.
What feels like a year in, Billy pulls out an already open and peeled protein bar and doesn’t offer Steve any.
On their twenty-year anniversary of being stuck in a seven by seven hellscape in the art building, Steve begins to fantasize about Billy choking on that protein bar with a little elevator-neighbor help.
They’ve tried prying the doors apart. Had the chat with maintenance through the phone—just a couple more minutes, guys. Stuck between the fifth and sixth floor in a dark box, Billy sits on his haunches, chewing loud with his aviators on and not giving Steve a second of his time.
That’s what he gets, Steve thinks, for hiking it all the way to the other side of campus to talk.
A guy asks you to model for him and whoosh, Steve’s ditching his midterm to get stuck in an elevator and die.
Warnings: lady whumpee with male whumper, selective mutism, stalking, creepy/intimate whumper, choking, broken ribs, burns
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It’s been a week since Devin’s birthday party. Six days since she received the texted photo from Oliver. She hasn’t gotten anything else from him, but she’s barely been able to touch her phone all week for fear that she would.
It took her a couple of days before she could speak at all, and even now the ability comes and goes seemingly at random. Today, the very first day that she’s ventured out of the house since the party, she managed to force out enough words to order her favorite mocha at the coffee shop where she does a large portion of her illustrating. Now she stands close to the pick-up counter, carefully angled where she can see the door without looking like she’s staring at everyone who walks in.
Penelope telling Colin off in the middle of a dance floor about what he said about her. I can definitely see this happen. This is definitely their style
