The following review may contain spoilers for both The Magicians Season 4 and the Season 5 premiere. If you have not caught up yet, consider skipping this review for now.

2019 was a divisive year for people consuming any sort of fictional film or television. Game of Thrones disappointed fans with its ending. Veronica Mars outraged fans with what some called an unnecessary death, and Avengers: Endgame had a variety of reactions from fans. Another series that received backlash was The Magicians, whose season 4 finale outraged fans and non-fans alike. The fan base was divided over it, and a vocal group of fans made it clear that they were unsure if they would watch season 5.

I was among those people because the way that Quentin’s death was handled, in addition to the way many characters and plot threads were mangled or misused, felt like a betrayal. Season 3 is high on my list of “The greatest television I’ve ever watched” but after watching season 4 and enjoy it until the end, it felt like the show took a sharp turn in a bad direction. It also began to feel like the show I thought I knew, and the show that seemed to know the story it was telling, had now become something completely different.

Yet here we are, almost a year later from that incredibly divisive finale. I plan to watch the entire season and give my thoughts on it in the hope that other fans who were upset, have a resource to reference if they wish to dip their feet back into the series.

To recap a little bit of where we left off, the two main plots from last season involved the Library hoarding magic, and The Monster and his sister attempting to reach the gods and kill them. The Monster and his Sister were captured and thrown into the Seam by Quentin, who sacrificed himself in the process to prevent the head of the library from achieving godhood.

This sacrifice was questioned, even by Quentin, who stated “Did I do something Heroic to save my friends, or did I finally find a way to kill myself?” and that is where a large portion of criticism lies with the way season 4’s finale was treated. Other points of contention were in regards to characters like Alice, Julia, and Kady, who had strong season-long arcs, only to revert back to a characterization that would have made sense two seasons ago, but now feels hollow.

There is far more that people had issues with, however. If you want a refresher on the backlash and reason for it, I covered that in-depth in a previous article. With that long introduction out of the way, season 5’s first episode titled “Do Something Crazy” picks up about a month after the finale, with everyone attempting to grieve and pick up the pieces.

Along the way, the episode not only explains where each character is but also where their individual arc fits into the overall narrative. The increasingly volatile magic surges take a front-row seat, and an omen of an impending apocalypse sets the stage for a high stakes season.

Warning: Spoilers for the episode begin here, read at your own risk.

Julia finds herself struggling with finding purpose, as she previously lost her godhood in the finale, and regained her magic only after Quentin’s death. Personally, I feel there was a missed opportunity to broaden the scope of things a bit by allowing her to retain her godhood in some capacity, especially since they have been teasing an apocalyptic sort of plot for this season.

Despite that, however, I have to applaud Stella Maeve’s performance as Julia this episode. It entirely tracks with her desire not only to honor Quentin’s memory but to do something good with her magic. Since her journey started, all she’s wanted is to find her place in the world, and it only makes sense for her to gravitate toward the issue at the core of the season.

Since magic returned to the populace, no longer being hoarded by the Library, there are magic surges that are causing spells to go wildly out of control. A simple spell to create a beautiful meteor shower, causes devastation when some of the meteors crash to the earth. The surges are becoming more frequent, and it is clear that this particular problem will likely be at the core of every storyline this season in one form or another.

Alice’s journey echoes Julia’s in a way, so their cooperation in this episode makes a lot of sense. It is surprising that we’re revisiting Alice’s relationship with her mother so early in the season, but with the death of Alice’s dad back in season 3, to a degree it makes sense. They both lost someone dear to them, and now that Alice’s mother has had time to grieve, she is attempting to help Alice find her way again.

I think there’s a bit of irony in her mother telling her to do something crazy if she feels she needs to, considering the woman has only ever done impulsive and crazy things, but that’s part of life. Sometimes you find advice in unlikely places.

I’ll admit that the subplot for Penny 23 this season wasn’t one I expected. Having Penny become a teacher for Traveler students makes sense, but it was unexpected in a way that I’m actually pleasantly surprised for. It is also a great opportunity for Penny to have a storyline that is active, rather than reactive which his plots have been in recent years.

The mysterious tone his student keeps hearing, that made Penny lose control of his powers temporarily is no doubt connected somehow to either this apocalypse issue, or the magic surges, or both. Whatever it means, it can’t be good, and considering the fact that most travelers have died on this show, I’m not optimistic about the students’ survival odds.

Directing our attention to Fillory, I was a little annoyed initially that they didn’t give Eliot much space to grieve Quentin in this episode. However, after finishing the entire episode I’ve come to a point where I think it makes sense. Considering the fact that Margo and Eliot are stuck in Fillory 300 years in the future, with no discernible way out, it just makes sense to hold off until their segment of the storyline intersects properly with the overarching tale.

My current prevailing theory is that something Margo and Eliot do, in order to unravel the whole “we’re stuck 300 years in the future and a dark king has taken over our kingdom” plot, will lead them to be a catalyst or contributing part of this apocalypse. We know Fen and Josh will appear more this season, so their deaths can’t be permanent.

The weakest part of the episode was Julia’s encounter with the literal Chauvinist Pig, who decided that because she was a woman, he couldn’t give her the quest to save everything from destruction. Normally I am all for The Magicians’ particular brand of pointed jabbing at social issues. From the Fillorian practices of interspecies marriage, to Margo challenging gender stereotypes in Fillory, they’ve always taken a tongue-in-cheek route of discussing issues.

That particular scene however, felt not only on the nose but also just a bit too out of place. If the world is ending, what does it matter who saves it? Was the scene meant to be funny? Or was it just another way of saying “well we killed off one protagonist who usually focuses on quests, guess Julia will have to step up and do it herself.”

It also feels fairly disrespectful, considering that Julia not only helped save Fillory from Ember and Umber, but she also became a goddess renowned in Fillory for a time. Now an obvious throw-away character gets to jab at her for being a woman? No thanks.

Either way, it was the weakest part of the episode, with some of the strongest parts being Stella and Oliva’s acting. Seeing Alice talking with her mother was a powerful scene to me, considering Alice has never had a solid relationship with her mother, yet she reinforces a powerful message to Alice and to the viewer. No one gets to tell you how to grieve.

The scene with the Fillorian re-enactment of the Dark King’s rise to power was also somewhat weak in terms of impact. Are we really meant to believe that Fen and Josh ignored the plight of their people? I think not.

Quentin’s death is a prominent part of the episode, and is a driving force for major characters this season. Things still seem weird without him and the acting of Jason Ralph, but whether you are still angry about his death or not, this episode reminds everyone why his character was so loved. The absence of him is clearly felt, and as one of television’s only male bisexual, mentally ill leads, that is a good thing. His character mattered to a lot of people, in the show and out of it. That shouldn’t go away overnight.

All in all, this was a decent start to the season. Whether we see these entire plot threads come to some sort of convergence remains to be seen. While I’m not quite sure where Kady’s storyline, Penny’s storyline, and that of the Library itself are going to meet up with this apocalypse storyline, the pieces are in place for an interesting season. I love a great mystery, and there are plenty of pieces to this puzzle for fans to chew on as the season unfolds.

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The Magicians

8

Score

8.0/10

Pros

• Great Acting by Stella and Olivia
• Interesting Plot Development
• Penny 23 Finally Gets His Own Storyline
• Decent Start To The Season

Cons

• The Pig Scene Was a Bit Tone Deaf
• The Fillory Play Scene Was Weird