Building off the previous comment, the first time I saw the movie, right up until the "Graves just wants the obscurial" moment and the Grindelwald!Graves reveal, I was convinced that Credence was Graves' illegitimate son and Graves, in his awkward I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing way, was trying to bring Credence into the magical world.
So let's have that.
Credence is Graves' illegitimate child (youthful foolishness?), Graves was trying to connect with him, Grindelwald happened and twisted everything, and now we've got rescued but traumatized Graves trying to connect with and fix things for alive but traumatized Credence.
+ the Goldsteins stepping in as Credence's mother/sister/female role model figures ++ Newt may not be great at most human interaction but he (and his creatures) turns out to be excellent at bridging the gap between father and son +++ Newt/Graves relationship along the way (my fav., but totally optional)
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So let's have that.
Credence is Graves' illegitimate child (youthful foolishness?), Graves was trying to connect with him, Grindelwald happened and twisted everything, and now we've got rescued but traumatized Graves trying to connect with and fix things for alive but traumatized Credence.
+ the Goldsteins stepping in as Credence's mother/sister/female role model figures
++ Newt may not be great at most human interaction but he (and his creatures) turns out to be excellent at bridging the gap between father and son
+++ Newt/Graves relationship along the way (my fav., but totally optional)