Last season, SyFy introduced audiences to the mystical world of The Magicians, a group of young adults in the magical realm who must learn to battle against an all-powerful unknown entity named The Beast. Based on the books by Lev Grossman, The Magicians introduced us to a group of wizards, who like to be called magicians, studying in an adult version of Hogwarts, but in the upper rich part of New York. These characters are not the type of heroes you’d expect from your typical wizard show. They’re unforgiving, rude, sex-driven and crass adults and it’s pretty hilarious. Of course, they all face a challenge that causes them to have to grow up and enter another dimension to the Narnia-like fantasy world of Fillory to save the world.
We left last season with pansexual-hedonist-playboy Elliott becoming king of Fillory and married off to a woman, Alice consuming a God’s semen in order to have the power to defeat the beast, and Q, Penny, Julia and Margo prepping for battle. That was until The Beast got the best of them and nearly killed all of them and Julia teleporting with him to help her with her problem. A show with this many characters and interchanging storylines would usually end up being a hot mess, but fortunately, the show’s ensemble of actors are pretty damn good at developing likable characters. The characters are so likable that you become invested in them and their well-being.
The first season of the series was pretty whimsical. With the characters learning about magic to having weird sex – yes, there was a fox sex scene, it’s hard to imagine it getting serious. The series did have intense moments where many died and the most gruesome of deaths. It touched on characters losing themselves in magic, especially Q, Alice, and Julia. Even our most Seussian characters Elliott and Margo had their moments when shit got real. But nothing came as dark as the season finale, where we learned about Julia’s horrific rape by a trickster God, Reynard the Fox. It was an intense scene. One that made this show from fantasy drama to something much darker and probably more real.
Season two explores the darker side of magic with love, loss, death, and, of course, the consequences of rape. It’s not an easy season to watch at times, but the characters make it worth it. We watch them experience losing love, faith, and a teammate. Yup, our characters are not immune to death. Like in real life, death can appear in an instant and no magic could change that. Our characters will also face one of their biggest challenges – adulthood, especially for Elliott who now must make decisions for his kingdom.
We do see some changes happening to Julia and its expected from the trauma she experienced. Stella Maeve stands out this season as we watch her as Julia come to terms with it and how she uses it to empower herself rather than become a victim.
Season two also has a lot more messed up moments, where it’ll leave you really upset. I had to keep telling myself it’s not real in order to move onto the next episode. I can’t tell you what will happen, but just be prepared for some gut-wrenching scenes, including one with a cat. I can’t think about it too much, it still hurts.
Please note that the series isn’t completely all sadness and death, there are still moments of hilarity, especially from our dynamic duo King Elliott and Queen Margo. Summer Bishil remains a favorite as the badass bitch with a heart. She has so many wonderful lines, including commenting on a Centaur’s penis size. She’s fantastic. There are also unexpected funny moments from The Beast. Who knew a tyrannical magician would love show tunes so much?
The Magicians is a fun show to watch and will leave you spellbound by the storylines and the characters. Even moments of absurdity, you just want to keep watching. Because, let’s be honest, Penny is bae and Margo is queen.
The Magicians returns tonight and airs every Wednesday on SyFy.
from Nerd Reactor
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