The Magicians: Garden Variety Homicide
February 28, 2020 7:13 AM - Season 5, Episode 8 - Subscribe
The gang hatches a plan to save Fillory, again, involving some Freaky Friday shit, while a bunny gives troubling advice to Julia, then Fen offers some advice. Meanwhile, there's a fungus among us at Brakebills, and the other gang find out the importance of Quentin's unfinished plant drawing. Dean Fog talks about his lobster plans.
The Magicians Season 5 Episode 8 Review: Garden Variety Homicide -- The nature of the Dark King’s reign becomes less certain in an entertaining body-swapping and body-snatching episode of The Magicians. (Michael Ahr for Den of Geek)
The Magicians Season 5 Episode 8 Review: Garden Variety Homicide -- The nature of the Dark King’s reign becomes less certain in an entertaining body-swapping and body-snatching episode of The Magicians. (Michael Ahr for Den of Geek)
Is everyone ready to roll back that smug conviction we had last week about the Dark King’s duplicity? We should know by now that The Magicians likes to play with our expectations, and the Fillory storyline not only gave us a great Freaky Friday sequence between Margo and Eliot; it also had us questioning whether assassinating Sebastian, impermanent though it was, was the right move. Plus plans are being laid for Alice and Quentin’s world-building seed, a glorious reference from the final entry in Lev Grossman’s book trilogy, The Magician’s Land, which builds enticingly on the nod to a character from that book in the form of Hamish Bax, who is quickly growing on us.Don't fret, non-book-readers, this is still very much in the "official fanfiction" realm and pretty far afield from the trilogy, so any discussion of what is in the books will only be speculation on what might happen in the series.
This was fun! I love a TV show when they pull a freaky friday and then literally call themselves out doing it.
This show is delightfully meta, like the different movie tropes in Apocalypse? Now?! (S05E05)
Eliot: Everyone knows the "secret, sexy maid on the outside" trope.
Fen: Yeah?
Eliot: Josh has a film club. You should check it out.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:00 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
This show is delightfully meta, like the different movie tropes in Apocalypse? Now?! (S05E05)
Eliot: Everyone knows the "secret, sexy maid on the outside" trope.
Fen: Yeah?
Eliot: Josh has a film club. You should check it out.
posted by filthy light thief at 9:00 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
I am calling it now that the "Evil force who invades from a distant realm" is going to turn our to be 'our' magicians from Earth who do something to cause the fillory based Apocalypse.
Don't fret, non-book-readers, this is still very much in the "official fanfiction" realm and pretty far afield from the trilogy, so any discussion of what is in the books will only be speculation on what might happen in the series.
I sort of love how they throw in random bits of the book back in to the plot. As a book reader its fun to see them but also frustrating because on the one hand you know what they mean but on the other they are so out of order/context that it may as well be meaningless information.
Other random questions like how fussy was the body swapping spell and who/what decides what "if we tell anyone we switched bodies" is? Like does it have to be directly stated or could they of given a hint to the rest of them along the lines of "its a real freaky Friday eh? wink wink" or would the spell see that as cheating?
posted by Captain_Science at 12:03 PM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Don't fret, non-book-readers, this is still very much in the "official fanfiction" realm and pretty far afield from the trilogy, so any discussion of what is in the books will only be speculation on what might happen in the series.
I sort of love how they throw in random bits of the book back in to the plot. As a book reader its fun to see them but also frustrating because on the one hand you know what they mean but on the other they are so out of order/context that it may as well be meaningless information.
Other random questions like how fussy was the body swapping spell and who/what decides what "if we tell anyone we switched bodies" is? Like does it have to be directly stated or could they of given a hint to the rest of them along the lines of "its a real freaky Friday eh? wink wink" or would the spell see that as cheating?
posted by Captain_Science at 12:03 PM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
"I am calling it now that the "Evil force who invades from a distant realm" is going to turn our to be 'our' magicians from Earth who do something to cause the fillory based Apocalypse."
Definitely thinking the same. Right now I can't tell if "The Couple" is going to be a new Big Bad or some kind of time-fuckery related to one of our protags. I also can't tell if the show wants us to suspect our protags are the ones in the prophecy or if it supposed to be leading up to The Couple. I oly wonder because I suspect whichever we're "supposed" to think is not going to be it.
Loved Freaky Friday too and had the same questions. Given that it's fillory though, I would err on the side of caution. Say something rudely and there are dire consequences, best not play around.
posted by GoblinHoney at 1:22 PM on February 28, 2020
Definitely thinking the same. Right now I can't tell if "The Couple" is going to be a new Big Bad or some kind of time-fuckery related to one of our protags. I also can't tell if the show wants us to suspect our protags are the ones in the prophecy or if it supposed to be leading up to The Couple. I oly wonder because I suspect whichever we're "supposed" to think is not going to be it.
Loved Freaky Friday too and had the same questions. Given that it's fillory though, I would err on the side of caution. Say something rudely and there are dire consequences, best not play around.
posted by GoblinHoney at 1:22 PM on February 28, 2020
I wouldn't be surprised if "The Couple" turns out to be a pair of our magicians from another timeline. Like a Penny & Margo. They seem like they could be very dangerous if they turned evil.
posted by numaner at 8:12 AM on March 3, 2020
posted by numaner at 8:12 AM on March 3, 2020
Tragic news: It was announced that this is the last season of The Magicians. At least it sounds like they knew to make it end, but still, I am sad. This has been a great ride of what might they come up with next?
posted by past unusual at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2020
posted by past unusual at 10:35 AM on March 3, 2020
I swear to the flying spaghetti monster that if the writers do a reset and pull timeline stuff* for the end of the series, I will RAGE.
*like, resetting it all to the first episode
posted by cooker girl at 4:09 PM on March 5, 2020
*like, resetting it all to the first episode
posted by cooker girl at 4:09 PM on March 5, 2020
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There's definitely Something Up with Sebastian and I still have no clue what the twist will be so well done on that.
Also the regular amount of crazyness, as expected. I do hope that Margo and Josh get back together in the Season finale or something though.
posted by KTamas at 7:24 AM on February 28, 2020 [1 favorite]