On last week’s episode of “The Magicians” Julia met her first goddess and, like most gods are prone to do, this goddess sends Julia on a quest. Penny was saved and Quentin lost big time in the romance department. It makes one wonder if there are actually benefits to learning magic. This week, alliances are formed and everyone gets to travel. What could go wrong… right?
Looking for God
Julia and Kady bring two of the required three gifts to a hermit. Julia’s offer of faith wins over the hermit who gives her the incantation to summon the Goddess of the Underground. Very strange that this hermit would just hand over such a powerful tool, but maybe it’s because Julia is looking at magic much differently than her friends at Brakebills. She wants to use magic to help others, but how dependable is this goddess, especially if her help comes with a warning? “You can’t unring a bell, so be certain when you call.”
How do Julia and Richard celebrate the gift of the goddess? Everything on this show leads to sex. It’s a wonder that anything gets done. Richard and the others, including Kady are cured from their diseases and sorrow, but they are assigned a mission by the goddess. What is the mission? I’m hoping Richard and his merry group were told to nudge the writers into putting more effort into this show.
Paybacks
Back at Brakebills, Penny walks in to find his friends are all in a slump. Alice is upset with Quentin’s three-way escapade and, Quentin is angry with Eliot and Margo… because it’s always easier to blame others for your weaknesses. This show needs a grandmother to knock some common sense into their sorry brains.
Penny, the only character on this show with convictions, tries to understand why his friends are behaving like toddlers. Eliot hasn’t sought help for his alcohol abuse and, I notice that none of his friends give a damn. When Penny checks on Alice to make sure that she’s okay, they wind up in bed and Quentin overhears them. He’s upset and doesn’t understand that it was his earlier actions that drove his girlfriend into Penny’s arms.
Penny takes Team Quentin to the Neitherlands after they’ve put their emotions inside those little bottles, but Eve and her posse are waiting for them. Although Quentin falls back into the Earth fountain during the attack, his friends find their way to the library. While Penny seeks answers to mastering his travel abilities, Eliot pisses off the Librarian.
Chatwin Time Loop
If Dean Fogg knows that everyone is stuck in a time loop, why didn’t he bother to tell them? This is the head of a school, and yet, he sits calmly at his desk while Quentin complains.
Quentin has been complaining to Dean Fogg thirty-nine times so far. Let’s get this straight, Jane Chatwin set up a time loop to prevent the Beast from killing the students, but there’s one itty bitty problem. Jane is dead and this is the last time loop. Dean Fogg can’t help Quentin, but maybe Julia can.
Conclusion
None of these kids, except Julia and Penny, should have anything to do with magic. Every episode finds Quentin and his friends using powers they don’t understand. I always give a new series a chance and sometimes the series does improve by the second season… sometimes it doesn’t.
Penny and Julia are the most normal and caring of their group and that’s why they’re my favorite characters. Josh tells Penny that it was Victoria who found the way to Fillory and, it was Victoria who misplaced the entire third year class. Now, Victoria is trapped inside the dungeon and she’s being tortured by the Beast. Josh wants to help Penny find the Fillory fountain, but they need to get past Eve. Luckily Alice knows a spell for invisibility.
Doesn’t it seem a bit trite that Quentin has no time for Julia except for when he needs her magical expertise? Julia was surprised to learn about the time loop, but she doesn’t care anymore about Brakebills. Julia is learning about real magic. Unlike Team Quentin, she wants to help people. When Quentin is at a loss on how to reach Fillory, Julia remembers the map under the table, but they have to get to the year 1942.
Maybe magic should be left in the hands of the very young because Harry Potter and his friends were schooled properly in its use by wise teachers. I’m pretty sure that Harry and Hermoine would have noticed if Ron was going through some emotional backlash and I’m pretty sure that Hermoine and Harry would have done everything in their power to help their friend… with or without magic.
Unfortunately, all I’ve noticed on this series is the lack of empathy the characters have for each other. There is something wrong with Eliot. His drinking is out of control, and yet, no one gets him help. Eliot acts in self-destructive ways. His burning the life book of his dead lover, Mike, was a cry for help.
While Quentin and Julia use a magical time machine to arrive in the year 1942 in time to follow Jane Chatwin into a gateway to Fillory, Penny and the others dive into the Fillory Fountain. Will they be able to stop the Beast? Will Julia understand the consequences of summoning a god? There’s an old saying, “Be careful what you ask for.” There are repercussions with magic and, when a goddess does a favor, there is always a price to pay.
See you next week on the season finale!
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