In my
initial Fantastic Beasts review, I
mentioned my appreciation for the presence of this character, a Muggle who gets
caught up in all the magical proceedings.
Jacob gives the new franchise an opportunity to explore an area that the
Harry Potter universe has left fairly
untapped so far, and he’s a fun, rootable supporting character to boot! (A few Jacob-related spoilers.)
Without a
doubt, the selling point of Jacob’s character is that he’s a Muggle. He’s just going about his day, trying to get
a bank loan so he can quit his soulless factory job and start a bakery, when he
has the misfortune/fortune(?) to run into Newt.
One misplaced occamy egg later, and Jacob is part of a whirlwind of
insane experiences that he has absolutely no context for. Within his first short stretch of meeting
Newt, he has magic used on him and sees it used on other people and objects,
witnesses multiple magical creatures, and apparates, an experience that can be
unpleasant enough for wizards who know what it is. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg. You can visibly see Jacob’s understanding of
the world expand every moment he’s onscreen, and his looks of wonder – at everything
from Queenie’s magic-aided cooking to Newt’s suitcase wildlife sanctuary – add
a lot to the proceedings.
Certainly,
part of his involvement is played for laughs, and in his performance, Dan
Fogler takes full advantage of every incredulous reaction shot. But Jacob’s ignorance, bewilderment, and
general out-of-placeness makes sense. He
doesn’t know anything about any of this stuff, all of it is unbelievable, and a
lot of it is pretty darn scary. It
stands to reason that he wouldn’t know the best way to contribute in a crisis,
that he badly fakes his way through “knowing” what a house elf is. He blunders into things, he gets himself in
trouble, and he’s very, very confused – this is all to be expected.
But I
like that, really, only the MACUSA folks (and sometimes Tina) treat him as
stupid or ridiculous for not knowing things.
Because in truth, Jacob is no more ignorant or incredulous than Arthur
Weasley is trying to use a Muggle tube station or wondering what a rubber duck
is for. Newt and Queenie both get that
he’s new to all this, and while they don’t exactly take him by the hand and
guide him through all the craziness, they also give him credit for doing as
well as he does.
Because
it’s not all fumbling and mistakes, not by a long shot. Jacob may be largely along for the ride, but
he goes pretty all-in fairly quickly. Even
if he doesn’t get much in the way of tangible victories, Jacob is there in the
thick of it, taking it all in and trying to help in whatever small ways he
can. And loving it. Yes, there are a
lot of freaky moments, but Jacob spends much of the films with his head
practically exploding in amazement. This
is nothing he’s ever known, and he wants to drink in every second of it, even
if that means a lusty erumpent might try to mate with him.
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