The Magicians 2X02 “Hotel Spa Potions” Review

It’s a trip down memory lane (and a scavenger hunt!) at Brakebills in The Magicians 2X02 “Hotel Spa Potion”

Syfy‘s The Magicians took our favorite magic wielders back to the beginning in 2X02 “Hotel Spa Potions.” Margo, Penny, Alice, and Quentin returned to Brakebills in search of battle magic, solving a riddle to find pixie Professor Bigsby (Amanda Brooks). A rather interesting exchange with Dean Fogg (Rick Worthy) later, she informs Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) that she must be the one to perform the spell on The Beast.

Speaking of The Beast, he decided to entertain (or is it drive insane?) Julia with his musical stylings this week. Figuring out that hedge witches are Reynard’s target, he kidnaps Marina (Kacey Rohl). Marina has plans of her own, but after finding a potential ally dead, she eventually agrees to help Julia.

Poor Eliot has remained in Fillory to fulfill his kingly duties, and he surprisingly has the solution to Fillory’s farming problem. Reaching back into his farm boy days, the High King rescues the crops and earns a nickname he would much rather forget. With the four Fillory monarchs (and a newly fixed Penny) together again, it is only a matter of time before the battle begins.

There were so many great moments happening between our favorite magicians this week. Let’s take a look, shall we?

There’s quite a few people flirting with danger

Our lovable quartet returns to Brakebill and Dean Fogg in search of the missing texts from Fillory. He explains that everything was hidden away years ago by the pixie who taught battle magic at the school, Professor Bigsby. Leaving only riddles as clues to her whereabouts, Professor Sunderland (Anne Dudek) joins them to solve the mystery. When finally found, she eventually gives up the battle spell and informs Alice she must be the only one to use it.

While the flirtation between Professor Sunderland and Penny (Arjun Gupta) was a believable fantasy fulfillment, the romance between Fogg and Bigsby didn’t quite feel right. It’s hard to believe that the dean would speak so poorly of her only to turn around and act as if he cares deeply for her. Perhaps it was all a ruse to get what they needed from the pixie. If so, Dean Fogg is more savage than we ever expected! As for Alice and Quentin, their tortured pseudo-romance continues with the knowledge that she must once again try to kill The Beast. Could this be the impetus for Quentin to finally step up to the plate?

The head witch returns with a vengeance

This week, The Magicians surprised us with the return of Marina, head hedge witch of the New York coven. After being kidnapped by The Beast to be used as bait for Reynard, she cuts an already beaten Julia down before stomping off. Still, what she heard scares her, so she asks for an alliance with the head witch of the West Coast. Unfortunately, Reynard gets to her first, leaving Marina terrified enough to make an unsuccessful attempt to seek sanctuary with Brakebills. Finally, with nowhere else to turn, she meets up with Julia under the pretense of altruism.

The writers did a great job of hiding Marina’s reappearance from us. It was always hinted that it would be Kady who would be the one helping Julia, so it was quite the surprise. Granted, Kady is not quite hedge witch anymore, but it still would have made sense. Amanda Brooks did a great job showing us a new side of Marina, mixing desperation and fear with resentment during the scene with Dean Fogg. We see that the condescending demeanor is merely a mask to hide her vulnerability behind. This really drives home just how terrifying Reynard is and the damage he is capable of inflicting. It makes us wonder what might happen if the others kill The Beast before he and Julia find the god.

The Beast has a hidden talent, but he’s still bad

It’s pretty clear that we were all tickled pink when The Beast (Charles Mesure) burst into song during the opening minutes of this week’s episode. Outside of highlighting Mesure’s immense talent (he sang tenor in an a capella group called Cinco, who knew?!), it was a brilliantly shed light on just how differently he and Julia are dealing with the task at hand. He never stops singing even as he kidnaps Marina and critiques Julia’s incantation for Reynard.

With their discussions are dark and his words deadly, the singsong delivery gives his moments a decidedly creepy vibe. A cursory glance would make it seem as though he’s merely uncaring and dismissive of the situation. If we look closer, though, there is the hint of psychopathy peeking through how overly cheerful he seems. Julia, meanwhile, is barely hanging on emotionally, and the addition of the singing only highlights how far gone she is. Stella Maeve’s performance makes us feel as though she is shriveling away before our eyes. It makes Julia’s insistence on keeping her Shade all the more poignant. We are left unsettled, irritated, and entertained - all at once!

Final Verdict: The Magicians “Hotel Spa Potions” isn’t nearly as fun as it sounds, but we are still entertained

The Magicians episode this week, much like Professor Bigsby, teased us in ways that weren’t entirely enjoyable. Charles Mesure’s singing, the riddle solving, and Marina were definitely the highlights. Meanwhile, the relationship between Fogg and Bigsby and Eliot’s whole storyline took away some of the spark that we love so much about the show. It was unclear if the former was due to actor chemistry or inconsistent writing. The latter, however, just seemed like it was done to fill space and did not add to Eliot’s growth or journey. Even the jokes fell flat when it came to the fertilizer and awkward attempt to spice up their sex life, which is unusual for writers.

Despite some small missteps that are easily forgiven, The Magicians continues to intrigue us and keep us guessing. From next week’s teaser we know that Alice and the others will finally confront The Beast once more. We all know that means a hedge witch versus Brakebills showdown, and that is sure to be exciting!

There’s SO many questions!

• Did Reynard go after the West Coast head witch purposefully, or was it a coincidence?
• What exactly happened between Foggs and Bigsby? Was it serious? Did it end badly?
• Can Alice muster up the courage to do what she must this time?
• When will Kady come back?
• What is The Beast really up to?
• Will they ever find out what curse is on Castle Whitemire?
• Will Penny ever get with Professor Sunderland?
• Will Eliot get his groove back?
• Could we get an all musical episode?

Syfy’s The Magicians returns next Wednesday February 8, 2017 at 9/8c.