Warning: This review contains spoilers for Episode 9 of The Magicians Season 5. If you aren’t caught up, come back after watching it.

Okay, folks. I’m going to level with you before we start this review. This week’s episode, and the rest of the episodes this season, are hitting me in a different place than they usually do. Syfy announced the cancellation of The Magicians this week and this season will be the last. Perhaps at some point, I’ll write an article about why this is a somewhat difficult pill to swallow but in truth, I am conflicted.

I have made it no secret that I have had issues with certain parts of this season, not to mention the choices made last season. However, this show has some of the best acting and cast on television. On top of that, it is a fantastic universe that despite doing some questionable things, has pulled me through rough times. So, while there are some who are happy it is ending, I’m having complicated emotions about it.

Anyhow to recap the last episode, an elaborate plan to kill The Dark King seemingly worked, until he resurrected at the end. On top of that, Alice discovered that the page Quentin left behind was for something called the World Seed, which two powerful people are after.

Episode spoilers begin here!

The episode begins with a big problem. Julia and Eliot are captured by the centurions and a newly resurrected Seb. Margo and Fen got out, but Margo lent Josh her fairy eye to keep an eye on him. We then switch to the point of view of Penny, who finds that Plum Chatwin has appeared in his office out of nowhere, with no idea that she had been gone 3 weeks.

All Plum remembers is being in a room alone, with no doors, no windows, and no one else there. Lipson says she’s perfectly healthy, so where she was and what she was doing is a mystery. We then see a segment of Penny teaching Plum how to travel, in the hopes of getting back to that room. However, upon their first lesson Plum travels them across the lab like Penny asked, but back to 1998 rather than in the current time.

We then transition to Alice, who brings Kady back into the fold after her absence for a few episodes. Alice is looking to figure out how to stop the couple that is after the world seed page before they can send someone after her again. They go to see a friend of Kady’s that owes her a favor, to discover that Zelda is rebuilding the library.

Zelda has been helping Kady and Harriet remove the marks from the hedges, and now Zelda has employed the Hedges to rebuild the library, building a new alliance relationship between them. Personally, I love that they brought the Library and the hedges together this way. I originally thought that this was how Alice’s plot would go, rebuilding the library with Kady.

Kady’s contact needs a day to find who Alice needs to speak to, so Zelda enlists her to assist them with a problem. Zelda intends to look through books in the poison room to find a way to fix the magic issue caused by the Moon. So, she asks Alice and Kady to look through the books.

We then circle back to Margo and Fen, who stumble through the clock back to Earth. Somehow, they know about Julia and Eliot, which makes no sense but for the sake of this review I’ll carry on. They happen to find Christopher Plover, the pedophile who abused Martin Chatwin, starting his transformation into the Beast. I’m still annoyed that they killed off Quentin but left this disgusting trash alive.

Plover has a message for them about Fillory and the Dark King, but his brain is scrambled for some reason (likely the Dark King’s doing). Margo’s reaction is perfect and sums up my feelings. Before they can solve the great mystery of why the pedophile is talking gibberish, we’re back to Penny and Plum.

They find young Fogg, who is not yet Dean but gives Plum a temporal compass that allows her to travel back home with Penny to…well, not 2020 sadly. Seeing a “young” Rick Worthy as young Fogg was hilariously interesting.

The next scene involves Julia and Eliot in a cell, where Julia reveals that she is very pregnant. There is a very cute scene between Eliot and Julia before it is subsequently ruined by captain buzzkill, also known as The Dark King. The Dark King seemingly requires Eliot and Julia’s help. Before we can process that, we’re back to Alice and Kady.

Kady and Alice talk about the problem of the moon and begin to consider the possibility of replacing the current moon with a new one, preferably one that is less angry and vindictive. The next scene was greatly satisfying to me. After an examination, Margo’s friend Gordy tells her that Plover is possessed by a bunch of bugs that are screwing up his speech.

Because of this, Margo gets to use her axes (which de-possessed Eliot last season) to remove them. Seeing her shove her axe in Plover’s back was very satisfying and, quite frankly, I hope it was painful. Back with Penny and Plum, they find that they are back in 1920, and because people of color weren’t treated well then, they find themselves unable to access the library.

Thankfully, the pervert ghost that Penny 40 encountered when he was forcefully left with only an astral body, still exists in Brakebills. Hyman isn’t yet a ghost, so he is instead a casually racist student. They tell him that they are traveling mystics and when that doesn’t work, they blackmail him into helping them out.

Julia and Eliot discover that The Dark King wants their help with a spell, seemingly a communication spell. At first, it seems innocuous, but Julia discovers that what The Dark King wants is to do a séance. Somehow I feel like this won’t go well. Julia herself says that séances are dark magic and can go very wrong if done improperly.

Plum and Penny discover, with Hyman’s help, that the reason Plum’s traveling isn’t working is that she is anchoring to times based on the objects she holds as she travels. The compass was made in 1920 so it took her there, the book she was holding was written in 1998 before that, so it took her there. Before they can figure out how to get home with that information, we’re back at the Library.

Here is where things begin to come full circle. Alice and Kady discover that in order to make a new moon, they need a world seed. Kady and Alice start to wonder if they are being conned, finding the answer to their problem and the reason the couple is after Alice, all in one place. It seems too good to be true and I am inclined to agree.

Plum and Penny run into a surprising problem. Hyman is expelled. This is an issue because if he is expelled before being trapped on the astral plane, he can’t help Penny 40, which is how they restored magic in the first place.

They fix this by trapping Hyman in the astral plane. However, instead of disposing of his body, they hide it, so they can save him when they return home. Also, thanks to the loophole that Penny broke an object in 2020 and still had a piece with him, they are able to return to 2020 safely.

Back with Margo, Plover, and Fen, Plover can talk again and is stable. Plover reveals that The Dark King is Rupert Chatwin, and the reason the chopping of one tree didn’t kill the spell is that all the roots of all the Fillorian trees are intertwined, thus becoming a single tree. Martin originally tried to bind himself to Fillory this way but was thwarted by his brother Rupert, who was bound instead.

At this same time, The Dark King, Julia, and Eliot perform the séance. Only it isn’t a séance…Eliot is now possessed by The Dark King’s dead lover. This seems to be a temporary fix, as Seb tells him while he is in Eliot’s body that soon they will be together, and to wait by the door. Presumably, this is the door to the underworld.

Back with Alice, we discover that she isn’t in the Library at all. This is a ruse, trying to get her to lead the couple to the page. It is a psychic loop, that Alice has been in 18 times. They were hoping to trick her into giving them the page with an illusion. Rather than put her under for the 19th round, she is threatened with Kady’s death if she doesn’t comply. By resisting, Alice loses a finger, and then a few more.

She tells the man she’ll give him the page if he doesn’t kill Kady but before we can see what happens, we’re back to Julia. She gives the Dark King stern words but he isn’t deterred. Then we see Plover tell Margo that as long as Fillory exists, so too will the Dark King. To stop him, they must destroy Fillory.

Margo asks Plover where he will go and after he tells her that he wishes to write and tell more stories, she infects him with the bugs again, saying that his tales “aren’t kid-friendly.” Moments like this are why I absolutely love Margo. She gave Plover justice in the best way possible.

Plum and Penny arrive back at Brakebills, but before they can celebrate, they teleport to the room. The room that the Signal brought Plum to initially but now…they can’t leave. This episode of The Magicians frustrated me in a few places, but on the whole, it was a fairly simple push toward whatever the endgame is.

I really hope that they don’t permanently maim Alice. She’s had nothing but torture for most of this series. Heck, she already died once in this show. Then again, they haven’t really given Eliot a break either, so how should I expect them to give Alice one?

I am a bit worried about Julia too. If she doesn’t get out of there, she and her child may not survive The Dark King. Overall though, I actually enjoyed the episode. It brought the stakes back up a bit higher and, yet again, I say who knows what is coming next?

Phenixx Gaming is everywhere you are. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram.

The Magicians

7.5

Score

7.5/10

Pros

• Plover Finally Got Karmic Justice
• Julia and Eliot Scenes are Fun
• Young Fogg in the 90's was Hilarious
• High Stakes Plot Development

Cons

• Alice Needs a Break and a Drink
• Could People Stop Possessing Eliot?