How much do I love The Magicians? Oh, let me count the ways!! When the first season finale ended with one hell of a cliffhanger, I couldn’t wait until the second season began. As a fan, and a TV blogger/reviewer, I am used to waiting for my favorite shows to return, but it can feel like torture at times. Well, the long wait and torture has ended the hit SYFY show returned with a few magical, epic episodes entitled Knight of Crowns and Hotel Spa Potions.
The season two premiere kicked off right where the season one finale ended, I am positive that fans will recall that ‘WTF’ cliffhanger we were all left with. I have always had a love/hate relationship with those type of cliffhangers I like to call the “Will they or won’t they be alive?” They do make for great television, and it gives fans plenty to talk about during the long hiatus. Well, of course our favorite Magicians are alive and well, we should have never feared! We are only two episodes in, and the magical action just keeps getting amped up, like to the 10th degree!
QUENTIN THE LOVABLE GEEK
The opening scene of Quentin running through the less than magical Fillory was priceless. The poor magician just wanted to seek some help for his friends, who were brutally attacked by the Beast, aka Martin Chatwin, and left to die. He stumbles upon a house than is made more of wood than candy, and for a vial of his ‘dum dum’ blood, she will help save his friends. It’s a good thing that Alice was still full of God-like power, for she was able to revive Eliot and Margo, and keep Penny from bleeding to death from the loss of his hands. Margo, God love her, was right when she said “Swallowing really does have its privileges”. It is lines like this that really make the show great! Quentin continues to grow on me, and as his character grows into the great Magician he will become, he can only get better.
IN FOR A PENNY, IN FOR A POUND (OF TROUBLE THAT IS) AND HOT FOR TEACHER
I adore Penny, but sometimes he is a very stubborn magician. I wish he would talk less, and listen more. It really would take him a long way in getting what he wants.It is also his not so trusting nature than makes him a lovable character, and gets him into some of the jams he gets himself into. If he had just been patient, and kind to the very helpful man at the healing spring, then he would not have any problems with his magical hand. It would not be Penny though, if he were not stubborn, and opinionated. I would have been begging that man to give me back the proper use of my magical hands.
Penny is still having trouble with those hands in the second episode, and despite Margo’s temporary fix (a drink don’t you know?) needs a bit more help from his professor. I don’t know about anyone else, but I would be very scared to be around him right now. Penny really does seem to be hot for his teacher, and who knows he might just get his shot with her, once he graduates, that is! I do wonder if he is truly over Kady though, and at some point, she has to come back into the picture right? Do you think Penny’s hand trouble is behind him, or is this just the beginning? We will have to wait and see!
That's one way to make a straight-A student. #TheMagicians @ArjunGuptaBK pic.twitter.com/G15gPwSvRv
— The Magicians (@MagiciansSYFY) February 2, 2017
NOBODY PUTS ELIOT IN A CORNER
I am a huge fan of all things magical, so I have read everything from The Chronicles of Narnia, to Harry Potter and everything in between, so it is not hard to think of those books that came before The Magicians when watching the show. When watching Eliot, Quentin, Alice, and Margo being crowned, one could not help but think of Peter, Susan, Edmund. and Lucy. The thought is brief though, because our Kings and Queens are very much different, and in more ways than one. The test done before they could receive their crowns was nothing short of brilliant!
THE MAGICIANS — “Night of Crowns” Episode 201 — Pictured: (l-r) Hale Appleman as Eliot, Arjun Gupta as Penny, Jason Ralph as Quentin, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice, Summer Bishil as Margo — (Photo by: Carole Segal/Syfy)
I don’t think it is any secret that Eliot is one of my favorite characters; he never disappoints, and never fails to entertain me immensely! I am a major fan of Patrick Swayze, and Hale Appleman, aka Eliot (or vice versa) channeled his inner Swayze quite nicely. I daresay that you made him very proud with the way you delivered one of his most famous movie lines. I could (and have) watch the scene a million times over, and never get tired of doing so. I can only hope that Eliot will once again be channeling his inner Swayze in a future episode! The scene was absolutely EPIC, and Hale Appleman slayed it!! I suggest the movie Ghost, and I will leave it to my fellow fans to guess which line I would love to hear! The scene was absolutely EPIC, and Hale Appleman slayed it!!
He continued to slay in the second episode, when he kept his people from starving with some pretty magical shit (literally), pardon my French. We all know Eliot is not fond of his days spent growing up on a farm, because he reinvents himself at every turn. Eliot is high King of Fillory, and I think he is doing a splendid job, but I’m thinking our King is not very happy in his current situation. I am really looking forward to seeing what Eliot will be up to next. I am starting to love the relationship between Eliot, and his wife Fen, and I am starting to ship those two a bit. I know that Eliot is not exactly happy right now, but I have to give him major props for putting his wife’s needs before that of his own. I love that she was willing to try to please Eliot, but I had a feeling she would not be able to go through with it.
https://twitter.com/MagiciansSyfy/status/826985192741015552
ALICE AND QUENTIN
How adorable are these two characters? I am really rooting for those two crazy magicians to get back together. I love how Quentin encourages Alice with her mad, magical skills, and it’s because he believes in her so much. I just love their scenes together, especially the moments when they are alone together.
MARGO MARGO MARGO
Margo is hilarious, and her sense of humor knows no bounds. Eliot and Margo play off of each other very well, but it is nice to see that each character, despite being close, can hold their own while on their own. When they returned to Brakebills, sans Eliot, Margo basically kicking open the cottage door and stating “That’s right, we’re alive, deal” was her asserting the fact that she is quite bad ass. I loved her scenes while they were being officially crowned as Kings and Queens of Fillory.
NO CRAZY PAINFUL DEMONS FOR ME
I think getting a tattoo is painful enough, let alone adding a crazy, fiery cacodemon into my body! I can’t see that turning out very well in the future, and in my best Forrest Gump voice “That’s all I have to say about that”!
The Magicians are finally equipped with their cacodemons.
Cast the right spell & you'll have one at your disposal. https://t.co/j8KaFCjMKF
— The Magicians (@MagiciansSYFY) February 4, 2017
SIDE NOTES
While it is nice to know that Dean Fogg is more than just the Head of Brakebills, but his relationship with the 500 hundred year old Bixby was a little disappointing. I think that is because we really were not told anything about it, not given any history of it at all. Who knows, maybe it was not important really, but I was not feeling any sparks.
Hotel Spa Potions may just be an anagram for something else entirely (Last Hope Options how cool was that?), but it was also a very solid episode. Have you ever done one of those Cryptograms or Cryptoquotes that are found in your local paper? Why not give it a go one day? They are super fun, and might help you the next time you need to figure out an anagram, but I digress!
JULIA AND THE BEAST
Hotel Spa Potions pretty much picks up where Knight of Crowns ends, with everyone but Eliot returning to Brakebills. Julia, despite having the upper hand, has her hands full with the Beast (aka Martin Chatwin) who really missed his calling. He really should be on a Broadway stage somewhere, with a set of pipes like that! Of course, one has to wonder if that magical singing voice is courtesy of the magic he has been draining in Fillory. Well, that scenario would only apply if the actor who portrays the Beast did not have such an excellent singing voice, and powers that be showcased that voice very well.
https://twitter.com/MagiciansSyfy/status/827223858923130881
Marina is not my favorite person in the world, but I found myself feeling sorry for her. I was a little disappointed in Dean Fogg for not letting her seek asylum from a crazy God that wants to kill her. In the end, she did the only thing she could do, because Reynard would have found her anyway. I wonder if poor Richard is beyond all help now!
I don’t think this show is capable of making an episode that is not absolutely marvelous. The writing, acting, and story-lines are stellar, and the viewer is never confused as to what is going on. With that being said, the show is very fast paced, and one does have to pay attention. As a huge fan of Gilmore Girls (until the revival but we won’t speak of that), I have no problem with those who talk fast, and have witty as hell comebacks. Watch this space for my thoughts on the next episode of The Magicians!
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