‘The Magicians’ Season 2 Looks to Be Better Than the First

By: Kyndal Wilson

When we last saw The Magicians, things ended on a dark and solemn note. After having the opportunity to screen the first five episodes of The Magicians Season 2, it looks as if the show is continuing on with this trajectory full speed ahead.

The Season 2 premiere picks up right where the Season 1 finale left off and immediately answers all of the questions we all asked ourselves when it ended; the proverbial question being “What the &$%!?”

One of the best parts about the new season (at least judging by the first five episodes) is that we spend more time learning and experiencing the magical land of Fillory. Don’t worry, though. Brakebills still plays an integral part of the plot, but the focus on the people and creatures of Fillory adds to the — dare I say — magic of the show. The change in setting also creates more tension because we as an audience are constantly learning more about how it really goes down in Fillory. And trust me, it goes down.

Eliot is crowned as High King of Fillory, which parallels to his role as the “prince of Brakebills,” but as we learned last season, the only caveat to this honor is that he cannot return to Earth.

Eliot knows he is unprepared to be king, however, it turns out his background growing up on a farm may be just the thing the kingdom needs. Oh, and he’s still the best bartender around. His interactions with his subjects give us a deeper understanding of the makeup of Fillory, and there is a very interesting plot twist regarding his wife.

Margo continues to give us the best fashion choices paired with the best one-liners in Season 2 (“swallowing has its privileges” being one of many), but she also shows significant growth. While Penny begins this season hell bent on stopping The Beast with the rest of the group, certain events force him to take a step back and focus on correcting his problem. Alice, on the other hand, still has her god-like powers and is not afraid to use them — no matter what the risks are.

And Quentin is being… well, he’s being Quentin.

Last Season 1’s format consisted of two separate plot lines that converged towards the end. This season, there are still two separate plot lines with Julia’s story focused in New York and Quentin’s story (et al.) centered around Fillory/Brakebills, only this time, the actions of one have a direct effect on the other throughout each episode. We see more divergence between Julia and Quentin’s “friendship” as they have the same goal but polar opposite means (and reasons) for achieving it.

The last time we saw Julia, she made her deal with The Beast to exact revenge on the trickster god after the horrible events of last season. We get to see how that deal plays out, and by the end of Episode 5, her storyline had me on the edge of my seat more than the rest. Seriously, what on Earth (literally) is happening?

When it comes to the second season of The Magicians, there is no truer statement than “more magic, more problems.” If you’re already a fan of the show, you won’t want to miss this.

Be sure to watch The Magicians Season 2 premiere Wednesday, January 25 at 9 pm/ET on Syfy. You can also catch up on all of season 1 on Netflix.

Kyndal is a free spirit who finds it very hard to describe herself. Tea Snob. Daydreamer. History, Fantasy, & Book Blerd. Cursed with Wanderlust. Jams to show tunes. Obsessed with Hamilton (the musical). Always on the advent of her next adventure. Twitter: @ladykyndal IG: @ladykyndal