The Magicians Recap: Everything You Need to Know for Season 2

R-Rated magic comes to life for dreamer Quentin Coldwater at Brakebills University for Magical Pedagogy in The Magicians: Season 1.

Previously on The Magicians – Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph) is a brilliant but hapless young man with an obsessive love of the fantasy series Fillory and Further.  Seeing life as endlessly gray, Quentin and his best friend Julia (Stella Maeve) are ecstatic to be recruited for Brakebills University.  While he is ultimately accepted, Julia is deemed unfit for the school and left in the real world angry and alone.

While Quentin tries to adjust to his new life, he must deal with a challenging roommate, Penny (Arjun Gupta).  Quentin also becomes acquainted with Eliot (Hale Appleman) and his partner-in-crime Margo (Summer Bishil) when he joins their house.  Along the way, the talented but aloof Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) catches Quentin’s eye and he falls for her charms.  Penny falls for bad-girl-with-a-past Kady (Jade Tailor), who has issues of her own.

Life at Brakebills is no walk in the park, and Quentin struggles in training because of insecurity and depression.  He is prodded along by Dean Fogg (Rick Worthy) and Eliza (Esme Bianco), albeit indirectly.   Our new quintet faces off with the six-fingered villain, The Beast (Charles Mesure), in a near fatal encounter.  It is later discovered that he has taken over Fillory and is threatening Earth with a similar fate.  Meanwhile, Julia stumbles across the hedge witches, led by Marina (Kacey Rohl), who offers her their brand of magic for a price.

While Quentin and the others try to decipher the clues to The Beast’s identity, Julia suffers a major setback when her thirst for magic results in death.  Her ensuing visit to rehab and leads to an introduction to a new group of magicians, but they summon an entity they are not prepared for.  Eventually, Quentin recruits Julia and everyone goes in search of The Beast, with a final battle that could prove fatal.

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The Magic Wielders

• Quentin Coldwater: A listless young man who desperately wants to believe magic is real, he is chosen for admission to Brakebills University of Magical Pedagogy.  Insecure and easily intimidated, he must find a way to become the hero he is destined to be.
• Julia Wicker:  Quentin’s best friend.  She has sacrificed much in her pursuit of magic, and is now on seeking revenge on the god who wronged her.
• Alice Quinn: An extraordinary talent, she is haunted by her isolated upbringing and struggles to trust others.  She questions what happened to her brother Charlie, and will do anything to find him.
• Eliot Waugh: Hiding his loneliness behind excessive alcohol use, he secretly hopes for to find his place.  He switches between carelessness and deep morality.
• Margo Hanson: A senior magician in Quentin’s house, she maintains a flighty exterior but is quite sharp.  She has no qualms about seeking power and getting what she wants.
• William “Penny” Adiyodi: A “Traveler” tortured by the voices calling out to him, he is often brusque with those around him.  He has a particular dislike of Quentin, perhaps because he represents everything Penny is not.

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The Teachers and The Outcasts

• Henry Fogg: The Dean of Brakebills University, he handles both the magical education and protection of magic.  He defends the school against the Beast and loses his sight as a result.
• Eliza:  A mysterious woman who shares a past with Dean Fogg, she recruits Quentin.  She is later discovered to be time-traveling Jane Chatwin.
• Kady Orloff-Diaz: A Brakebills student and Penny’s love interest, she later leaves campus after it is revealed that she has been working for Marina.  She eventually joins with Julia.
• Marina Andrieski: A former Brakebills student, she was expelled only months from graduation for unknown reasons.  Since, she has led the hedge witches.
• Pete: A member of the hedge witches, he recruits Julia into the fold.
• Richard:  Initially serving as Julia’s counselor, he later reveals himself to be a magician.  He convinces her to join their group and teaches her another way to magic.
• The Beast: A six-fingered master magician who has taken over Fillory, he seeks to expand his reach and take control of everything.  He is later revealed to be Martin Chatwin, brother to Jane.

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The Newbies

• The White Lady:  A half-doe, half-human, she is rumored to grant her captor a single wish.  It will be interesting to see why Quentin goes in search of her.  Played by series newcomer Emma Dumont.
• Fen: Played by Brittany Curran, she married Eliot in Season 1.  We do not know yet what role she will play, but that dynamic!
• Reynard the Fox: The trickster god who violated Julia and killed her friends, he will be a target this season.
• Tick Pickwick: Little is known yet about the man (Rizwan Manji) outside of his role as royal advisor.  If season 1 is any indication, he will likely have a hidden agenda.
• John Gaines: Played by Covert Affairs alum Christopher Gorham, he is a senator who discovers he has some unusual abilities.
• Prince Ess: A “handsome, rugged, pelt-clad man, with a sort of frat bro air of entitlement and the ruler of Loria.”  Portrayed by Arlen Escarpeta (American Dreams).  Could he be an opposer to the new kings and queens in Fillory?

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What’s Up Next: A New Fillory, A New Quest

Syfy has released two trailers and several teasers for The Magicians Season 2, and it looks like quite the adventure.  If you want to see for yourself, check out the two trailers below!

Fillory…FILLORY IS REAL!

Let’s face it: since day one we have been rooting for Fillory to be real.  Not only does it prove poor Quentin right, but it’s a new land to explore!  The trailers show Season 2 (if not all, then most) will take place in Fillory, and we will meet all sorts of new people and creatures.  Of course, it wouldn’t be The Magicians if it were all unicorns (oh please, let there be unicorns!) and butterflies, right?

They shall be crowned (a la C.S. Lewis)

We already know that The Magicians often pokes at the fourth wall by referring to other fantasy series, and this season is no exception.  Following the footsteps of The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, our intrepid group discovers that there are two queens and two kings to rule over Fillory.  With Penny unable to perform the most basic tasks (much less tut), it leaves the only the other four.  With each still trying to sort through emotional damage and fear of failure, will the crowns be too heavy a burden?

The Beast as a victim

I know, sounds crazy, right?  However, Stella Maeve, who plays Julia, discussed her character’s growing understanding of her hostage in a recent interview with Popsugar:

“You start to realize that he’s not so different from Julia. It sheds some light on how we all have a choice. We could all be The Beast if we chose that.”

It sounds like we will definitely hear more of his side of the story, but can we really trust him?  After all, he is The Beast…

Start practicing your tuts, ladies and gentlemen, because The Magicians returns to Syfy on Wednesday, January 25th, 2017 at 9/8c.