DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Magicians contains more spoilers than the number of times Margo has tried to evade the Fairy Queen. Fairies are surprisingly difficult to dispose of, especially if you own a bath tube. You’ve been warned. Prepare for your quest, and enter at your own peril. 

Welcome back, Fillorians! The Magicians injected our Wednesday night with some much needed magic this week. Wedding bells rang for High Queen Margo the Destroyer, much to our surprise as well as hers. Unfortunately, the nuptials gave the phrase “heads will roll” an entirely literal meaning when Margo’s soon-to-be husband lost his own head. Thus, she was saddled with marrying the less desirable and murderous younger brother. Murder, as it turns out, is not a turn on. Meanwhile, Queliot fans were tickled pink when Quentin and Eliot were thrown into an alternate timeline where they grew old together. The Magicians: expect the unexpected. 

Alright, ready to delve into “A Life in the Day?” Just be sure to please adhere to Margo’s rigorous wedding dress code. Don’t wear anything white unless you want High Queen Margo the Destroyer to live up to her name. 

We open with Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) bumping into Quentin (Jason Ralph) at the Physical Kids’ cottage as she’s attempting to exit. Awkward conversing ensues, since these two former lovebirds are literal walking blobs of discomfort. Alice informs him that she’s taking Penny somewhere, and therefore must keep that handy dandy key at her side. We see Penny (Arjun Gupta) sitting on the staircase, observing this interaction unfold. 

Later, Alice takes Penny to the hospital where Kady (Jade Tailor) is residing for the time being. Since she overdosed, she must be kept under medical supervision. Alice urges Kady to hold the golden key without explaining why. Kady is bewildered when Penny materializes before her. However, she drops the key in shock and he dissipates from view. Alice gives the lovebirds some alone time to hash things out. Kady is, well, angry. Very angry. Penny explains that he’s not really dead, just stuck in the astral plane, where he projected prior to biting the dust. Kady washes her hands of him, citing that he drove her to the brink of insanity. She storms out. Penny and Alice take their leave of the hospital, with the former being quite irritated with the latter. Apparently, Alice’s decision making rights have been revoked. 

Meanwhile, Quentin and Eliot (Hale Appleman) brainstorm on how to obtain the next key in their quest. According to the book, a mosaic must be solved. Q mentions that Jane Chatwin attempted to solve the same mosaic in Fillory but failed when she discovered someone else solved it first. Well, time to keep a-questin.’ Get to it, boys!

Pictured: (L to R): Rizwan Manji, Summer Bishil, Candis Cayne

Next, Margo (Summer Bishil) pulls aside Tick (Rizwan Manji) at Castle Whitespire. She demands to see the fairy repelling dust he procured. Unfortunately, he was only able to scrape off enough to fill half a jar. She urges him to fill said jar completely, so they have enough dust to effectively rid themselves of the fairies once and for all. Margo has a Fairy Queen heart to consume, y’all. 

Then, Margo and Tick are taken aback when the throne room is decked with lavish decorations. The Fairy Queen (Candis Cayne) silently arrives on cue to inform them of the wedding that’s about to take place. Well, Margo’s wedding. As it turns out, the kingdom that existed in the Floating Mountains is now occupying Fillory territory after it crashed to the ground thanks to magic disappearing. Thus, the Fairy Queen thought it prudent to forge an alliance between the Floating Mountain kingdom and Fillory. Especially since the Mountain people boast a rather large army. So, Margo will be marrying the prince of said kingdom in a few short hours. Of course, Margo is giving all the sass in the world in regards to this arrangement. My little sass factory. 

Next, Prince Ess (Arlen Escarpeta) makes his triumphant return to Fillory. He questions Margo’s impending nuptials and wonders why she wouldn’t marry him. Margo reminds him that the alliance between Loria and Fillory is stronger than ever thanks to King Idri and Eliot’s own marriage. Move along, Ess. Margo has bigger fish to fry, and those fish are actually fairies. 

Later, Eliot and Quentin stand before the clock that can transport them to Fillory. You know, the actual grandfather clock the Chatwins used. Suddenly, a bunny arrives courtesy of Margo, announcing her upcoming wedding and that their presence is demanded immediately. Eliot springs into action, sliding the first golden key into a key hole. The grandfather clock swings open as light spills into the cottage. Q and Eliot venture into the clock on their own. 

Next, they stumble into Fillory itself, but something is different. They notice the air is rife with magic, rippling like electricity through an invisible field. Eliot and Q also notice that Castle Whitespire looks very different. Uh oh. They managed to travel backward in time! Well, alternate time loops are par for the course when magic is involved, right? Thus, our duo decides to complete their mission and hopefully find their way back into their own time stream. 

Then, the pair finds the mosaic in a clearing, with a tiny cottage erected behind it. Time to get to work! Quentin muses that perhaps they arrived prior to Jane Chatwin’s arrival, and thus solve the mosaic before she’s able to. They begin attempting different combinations of colors, but quickly discover that it’s far more complicated than a simple puzzle. 

Meanwhile, Margo is introduced to her new mother-in-law, the Stone Queen (Dina Meyer). She believes that Margo should meet her future husband prior to the ceremony. She brings forth Micah (Markian Tarasiuk), Margo’s betrothed. Prince Micah is very handsome and genteel. Margo is considerably less angry now. I’d be less angry too.

Pictured: Arlen Escarpeta and Summer Bishil

Later, Margo is dressing for her wedding with Micah right next to her. They both marvel at each other’s beauty. Suddenly, a feather-tipped arrow bursts through the window and pierces the mirror behind Micah, only narrowly missing his shoulder. Margo and Micah embrace, utterly terrified. That is, until a light bulb goes off in Margo’s head. 

Then, Margo confronts Ess, recognizing the arrow as one of his. She accuses Ess of attempting to murder Micah out of jealousy. Ess vehemently denies this. Margo reminds him that he’s not as great as he thinks he is, and has him arrested. Put him in his place, my Queen! 

Meanwhile, Eliot and Quentin are still hard at work at the mosaic. They’ve been at it for two weeks. Every configuration, every possible circumstance has been tested and failed. Q wants to give up, but Eliot pushes him to continue. These two are the dream team. 

Next, Alice pays Julia (Stella Maeve) a visit. Julia informs Alice that she’s researching religious texts due to something Penny saw on the astral plane. Suddenly, Alice’s eyes go pearly white as she delivers a message to Julia. Said message involves Alice herself, and how she needs Julia’s help. Of course, this is the mysterious entity that occasionally drops by to see Julia. After Alice returns to normal, Julia offers to take her out for drinks. Magical questing can certainly bring about a magical thirst. 

Later, Margo’s wedding ceremony is underway! She stands with Micah, a rope entwined about their wrists symbolizing their union, as Tick officiates. Suddenly, a blade swings into view, loping off Micah’s head in one fell swoop. His body slumps forward. A cascade of blood sprays Margo. I didn’t know this was a Halloween themed wedding. Micah’s younger brother Prince Fomar (Nicholas Coombe) walks forward, ready to take Micah’s place as Margo’s husband. Tick reveals that, unfortunately, this is customary in situations like this. Margo realizes that Fomar murdered his own brother so he could marry her. Those murderous Mountain men (alliteration for the win)! 

Then, Eliot and Quentin are seen continuously attempting to solve the mosaic. A year passes, and they share wine to commemorate their one year anniversary of working the mosaic. They share a commemorative smooch, which leads to a commemorative horizontal tango. And all the Queliot fans just squealed with delight, me included. 

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Next, a montage takes place chronicling the several years that pass of Quentin and Eliot’s lives. Quentin meets a woman, falls in love and gets married. They have a son. Q’s wife tragically passes. Eliot steps in and helps father Quentin’s son. When the son grows older, he sets out into the world, leaving his two dads behind. Q and Eliot are now old men, hair as white as snow, still attempting to solve the riddle that is the mosaic. Hats off to The Magicians makeup team for making Ralph and Appleman look much older than they actually are. 

Suddenly, old Eliot passes away. As Q is burying his friend, he stumbles upon a missing mosaic tile. He sets said tile into the large mosaic square and a key magically (pun intended) appears. He snatches the key, mission now effectively accomplished. Here’s hoping he can get back to his own timeline! 

Pictured: Jason Ralph and Rose Liston

Then, a young Jane Chatwin (Rose Liston) appears. She notices Q already solved the mosaic and has the key in his possession. She urges him to lend it to her, as she’s hoping to use it to stop her brother Martin from turning evil. Of course, Q knows Martin will inevitably become The Beast. However, he hands the key to Jane anyway, hoping her efforts may prolong Martin’s evil turn somehow. 

Later, Margo is opening her wedding gifts when she stumbles upon a note from Quentin. It reveals that him and Eliot are long dead and failed in their quest to obtain the key. However, Jane has it, and Margo must track down the presumed dead Chatwin to retrieve it. Fomar watches her open more gifts, and urges his new bride to climb in bed with him so they can consummate their marriage. Margo is able to evade him, thankfully. 

Next, Margo finds an older Jane (Esme Bianco) residing in The Clock Barrens. Yes, physically she’s perished in the outside world, but time runs differently in The Clock Barrens. She can exist on an astral plane of sorts. Margo urges Jane to give her the key so she can save Eliot and Quentin. Jane acquiesces, but not before informing Margo of how powerful and magical a queen she will become. A true woman of power, indeed. Jane also reveals that the key is on her person at Brakebills, and Margo will have to dig up her body to retrieve it. 

Then, we see Eliot and Quentin standing before the grandfather clock, ready to venture into Fillory. Margo bursts into the cottage, brandishing the newly uncovered key. As it turns out, Q and Eliot lived out their lives in an alternate timeline, and thankfully Margo was able to prevent them from making that same mistake a second time. She saved the day!

Meanwhile, Alice and Julia are drinking away their woes in a bar. Alice wonders why Julia has magic and no one else does. Julia surmises that it’s left over magic from when Our Lady Underground retrieved her shade. Alice urges Julia to look into the matter by enlisting the help of the key, the secondary key used to see Penny. Julia holds said key up to a mirror, and notices her eyes flash the same red color as Reynard’s used to. Utterly taken aback, Julia buries her face with her hands.

Pictured: Garcelle Beauvais and Stella Maeve

When she removes her hands, she sees Our Lady Underground herself (Garcelle Beauvais) sitting at a table. She beckons Julia to her. Julia questions why her eyes looked like Reynard’s fox-esque eyes. OLU informs Julia that Reynard’s seed was planted inside her, a seed that granted her godlike powers. When Julia refused to kill Reynard for the multiple crimes he committed, OLU was convinced that she deserved that power. Julia is utterly disgusted that the “seed” of her rapist is now living inside her. Yeah, that doesn’t sound good. 

Then, after divulging to Alice what happened, Julia wonders what will happen next. Alice, in turn, ponders if Julia could potentially give her Reynard’s “seed.” Alice is desperate for magic, after all. 

Next, Kady is summoned into an office at the hospital. As it turns out, her doctor watched her interaction with Penny and is quite concerned for Kady. Especially since Penny is invisible without the key. He informs Kady that she’ll have to stay longer, under close medical supervision. She’s a danger to herself and others. Kady refuses to stay put, and attempts to retaliate when a pair of medical personnel restrain her. They stick a needle full of sedatives in her arm. 

Meanwhile, Q, Eliot and Margo return to Fillory, in the proper timeline. Eliot vows to stay by Margo’s side throughout her ordeal with her new husband. Quentin discovers a basket full of peaches. If you recall, his wife in the alternate timeline used to sell peaches. He begins reading a note that accompanied the fruit, and he remembers. He remembers his entire life in the alternate timeline. Eliot takes a bite out of a peach, and he too recalls it all. Another life stretched out before them. One that they lived happily in.

Pictured: Hale Appleman and Jason Ralph

The Magicians broached new territory with the alternate timeline scenes this week and they most certainly pulled it off, well, magically. The key to said alternate timeline was keeping it relatively simple, which allowed it to hold more power and weight. If it were convoluted, it would lose all meaning and poignancy. The montage of Quentin and Eliot’s life was beautifully written, with beautiful performances from Ralph and Appleman. Of course, Bishil is always an MVP in my book, giving Margo wonderfully rich layers and sass for days. 

Do you think Julia will morph into a god like Reynard and OLU? Will she find a way to give Alice her power? Where will the quest take our gang next? Can they find a way to make Penny corporeal again? Will Kady break free from the hospital and reconcile with Penny? Also, where is Fen and Fray? Join me next week as I continue to recap The Magicians, here on Geek Girl Authority. 

The Magicians airs Wednesdays at 9pm on your SyFy affiliate. 

 

 

Melody McCune
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