The Magicians: The World in the Walls Show Only
February 10, 2016 5:18 AM - Season 1, Episode 4 - Subscribe
Quentin panics when he wakes up in a mental hospital.
"And the Taylor Swift scene alone was a thing of beauty. So wobbly and out of tune."
That was really great. I think that was a risk they took and it paid off. The spell is of course a sandbox where they can take such obvious risks, but it seems to me that the mindset that allows the risk-taking is one that would benefit the show more generally, just not so ostentatiously.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:07 AM on February 10, 2016
That was really great. I think that was a risk they took and it paid off. The spell is of course a sandbox where they can take such obvious risks, but it seems to me that the mindset that allows the risk-taking is one that would benefit the show more generally, just not so ostentatiously.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 6:07 AM on February 10, 2016
Loved that Quentin decided that when people start to sing, everyone else breaks into an impromptu dance. Perhaps he watched reruns of Fame as a boy.
posted by Mogur at 6:58 AM on February 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Mogur at 6:58 AM on February 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Well, that song is just so irresistible, what do you expect?
I loved this episode. I loved that it was resolved with a reasonable (albeit magical) explanation and there was no lingering "is all this a dream?" question at the end. I also really really love the dude who plays Penny. They should put him in all the shows.
I'm interested to see what the fallout is between Julia and Marina going forward. Marina is one of the more awful characters I've seen on TV in a long time, and it says a lot about Julia's desperation to be part of a magical community that she's put up with her bullshit for this long.
posted by something something at 7:16 AM on February 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I loved this episode. I loved that it was resolved with a reasonable (albeit magical) explanation and there was no lingering "is all this a dream?" question at the end. I also really really love the dude who plays Penny. They should put him in all the shows.
I'm interested to see what the fallout is between Julia and Marina going forward. Marina is one of the more awful characters I've seen on TV in a long time, and it says a lot about Julia's desperation to be part of a magical community that she's put up with her bullshit for this long.
posted by something something at 7:16 AM on February 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
I have to admit I rolled my eyes hard when I saw the description--waking up unexpectedly in a mental hospital and everything until now was a delusion is such a trope, and so rarely done well. It didn't help that not 5 minutes in I knew that it was a revenge spell. But! I was pleasantly surprised by how well it was done and how much it moved the story forward.
And oh yes please put Penny in all the things.
posted by rhiannonstone at 9:52 AM on February 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
And oh yes please put Penny in all the things.
posted by rhiannonstone at 9:52 AM on February 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
The Marina/Julia dynamic is exactly where many of us been at one point or another in our 20s: friends with someone we thought was cool, or edgy, or at least someone we could make school or work connections with to help further our own goals... until we realize why Marina was a cool loner-turned-leader who got kicked out of school in the first place: she's a horrific user, and probably a sociopath.
I haven't seen one played this effortlessly and cannily since Nancy in The Craft.
When you're suddenly aware you have magical powers and are granted access to a genuinely dangerous version of Hogwarts, there's bound to be students who see the potential for Great Evil and use their developing skill set towards that end. I wouldn't be one, but holy shit, the potential for abuse is definitely there.
Marina's box of burned-out memories almost certainly contains something horrific: murders, plots, etc. against good students and faculty, I'm thinking. In every group of geniuses, there's the possibility for megalomania to arise.
Really weird and discombobulating to see Penny go from his usual personality to the janitor in a mental institution -- the cast is getting to show their range, and I'm excited to see what's next!
Poor Julia... disenfranchised on all accounts, and she brought it on herself.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:34 AM on February 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
I haven't seen one played this effortlessly and cannily since Nancy in The Craft.
When you're suddenly aware you have magical powers and are granted access to a genuinely dangerous version of Hogwarts, there's bound to be students who see the potential for Great Evil and use their developing skill set towards that end. I wouldn't be one, but holy shit, the potential for abuse is definitely there.
Marina's box of burned-out memories almost certainly contains something horrific: murders, plots, etc. against good students and faculty, I'm thinking. In every group of geniuses, there's the possibility for megalomania to arise.
Really weird and discombobulating to see Penny go from his usual personality to the janitor in a mental institution -- the cast is getting to show their range, and I'm excited to see what's next!
Poor Julia... disenfranchised on all accounts, and she brought it on herself.
posted by Unicorn on the cob at 10:34 AM on February 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Maybe her missing memories have something to do with why that one year of students is almost all missing . . .
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:05 AM on February 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by fimbulvetr at 11:05 AM on February 10, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yeah, I'm not ready to fully write Marina off yet, mainly because the entire system at Brakebills is also super toxic and abusive.
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:47 PM on February 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 4:47 PM on February 10, 2016 [2 favorites]
What I want to know is what hold Marina has over Kady.
posted by miss-lapin at 10:05 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
posted by miss-lapin at 10:05 AM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
What I want to know is what hold Marina has over Kady.
My speculation was that she'd coached and/or provided some kind of trick to ensure Kady got into Brakebills in exchange for passing information and spells back, but their dynamic does seem a little more blackmail-ish than that.
posted by tautological at 1:55 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
My speculation was that she'd coached and/or provided some kind of trick to ensure Kady got into Brakebills in exchange for passing information and spells back, but their dynamic does seem a little more blackmail-ish than that.
posted by tautological at 1:55 PM on February 11, 2016 [1 favorite]
Maybe her missing memories have something to do with why that one year of students is almost all missing
I never thought of that! That's a really great idea. Does anyone remember if they said it happened all at once, or through "accidents"?
Also, is Marina cutting off Julia's ability to do magic, or just throwing her out of the Star Witch Collective?
posted by corb at 10:01 AM on February 12, 2016
I never thought of that! That's a really great idea. Does anyone remember if they said it happened all at once, or through "accidents"?
Also, is Marina cutting off Julia's ability to do magic, or just throwing her out of the Star Witch Collective?
posted by corb at 10:01 AM on February 12, 2016
"Also, is Marina cutting off Julia's ability to do magic"
I don't think anyone has the ability to cut off someone else's ability to do magic. I think they can wipe the memories of how to perform the spells (as Brakebills staff did for Marina) but that doesn't change the existence of the ability to make them happen.
posted by komara at 11:00 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
I don't think anyone has the ability to cut off someone else's ability to do magic. I think they can wipe the memories of how to perform the spells (as Brakebills staff did for Marina) but that doesn't change the existence of the ability to make them happen.
posted by komara at 11:00 AM on February 12, 2016 [1 favorite]
I would dearly love to discuss this further but this is the Show-Only thread, so if you do want to talk about it further we can meet in the Books-Included discussion for this episode.
posted by komara at 11:09 AM on February 12, 2016
posted by komara at 11:09 AM on February 12, 2016
"I don't think anyone has the ability to cut off someone else's ability to do magic."
You'd sort of expect that if they were able to do so, they'd do that to the people who flunked the admissions test to Brakebills, along with erasing their memory.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:57 AM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
You'd sort of expect that if they were able to do so, they'd do that to the people who flunked the admissions test to Brakebills, along with erasing their memory.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 11:57 AM on February 12, 2016 [2 favorites]
oh yeah!: So wobbly and out of tune.
That bit was great - as noted in prior FanFare threads, everyone is so pretty so I was half expecting dream Q to sing well, and make it a full-on musical montage. But by making it more real made me really happy, because it felt more real.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:26 AM on March 3, 2016
That bit was great - as noted in prior FanFare threads, everyone is so pretty so I was half expecting dream Q to sing well, and make it a full-on musical montage. But by making it more real made me really happy, because it felt more real.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:26 AM on March 3, 2016
something something: I also really really love the dude who plays Penny. They should put him in all the shows.
Yes, the dual Pennys made me love him more - "You racist m*therf*cker."
posted by filthy light thief at 8:28 AM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
Yes, the dual Pennys made me love him more - "You racist m*therf*cker."
posted by filthy light thief at 8:28 AM on March 3, 2016 [3 favorites]
Some thoughts! omg.
First of all, since the hospital business was a spell, then why would they show Quentin from someone else's perspective? When Quentin is being attacked by moths, they show the pov of the doctor watching him writhe on the floor (sans moths).
Next, so they have to drop ALL the freaking wards and don't like, put anyone on guard or watch? They don't have people who hang around that room with the stuff she took?
Also, I do get a terrible vibe from Marina, but it's true we don't know if Brakebills are really "good" folk, AND Marina had the opportunity to take many things but only took her own memory box. Maybe because she thought other stuff would be noticed quicker. Not sure. Yes, I totally thought she had some involvement with that class that is mostly dead or gone!
Dangit! I am glad this show is on this forum but sad I missed the live commentary by nine months or so. : /
posted by Glinn at 3:11 PM on January 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
First of all, since the hospital business was a spell, then why would they show Quentin from someone else's perspective? When Quentin is being attacked by moths, they show the pov of the doctor watching him writhe on the floor (sans moths).
Next, so they have to drop ALL the freaking wards and don't like, put anyone on guard or watch? They don't have people who hang around that room with the stuff she took?
Also, I do get a terrible vibe from Marina, but it's true we don't know if Brakebills are really "good" folk, AND Marina had the opportunity to take many things but only took her own memory box. Maybe because she thought other stuff would be noticed quicker. Not sure. Yes, I totally thought she had some involvement with that class that is mostly dead or gone!
Dangit! I am glad this show is on this forum but sad I missed the live commentary by nine months or so. : /
posted by Glinn at 3:11 PM on January 18, 2017 [1 favorite]
Since the first episode started out with Q in a psych facility, I figured it was only a matter of time before there was a "YOU'RE STILL THERE" episode.
posted by rmd1023 at 7:49 AM on March 27, 2017
posted by rmd1023 at 7:49 AM on March 27, 2017
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Oh, and the closed captioning is doing a funny thing with the swearing to match with the censoring - when Penny called Quentin a racist mother-fucker, the captioning writes it as 'mother-fááer'
posted by oh yeah! at 5:49 AM on February 10, 2016 [2 favorites]