THE MAGICIANS — “Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting” Episode 103 — Pictured: (l-r) Jason Ralph as Quentin, Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice — (Photo by: Carole Segal/Syfy)
Now that all that nasty exposition and character introduction has been done, The Magicians (Syfy, Mondays, 9/8C) moves forward with some major developments – most of which are, to say the least, troublesome.
Dean Fogg (Rick Worthy) is back – with glass eyes, and experimenting with styles of dark glasses (one pair calls to mind ‘the blues… and pinks’). After three months of study and practice, it’s time for the new students to learn their disciplines.
While Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley – and is it just me, or is a dead ringer for the young Alice Eve?) learns her specialty is a branch of physical magic that deals with bending light, and Penny (Arjun Gupta) learns he’s a psychic (the telepathy should have been a dead giveaway – but that’s not the only revelation), Quentin – following an amusing sequence with Professor Sunderland (Anne Dudek) – is told he’s ‘undetermined.’ It’s rare but not completely unheard of.
THE MAGICIANS — “Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting” Episode 103 — Pictured: (l-r) Kacey Rohl as Marina, Stella Maeve as Julia — (Photo by: Carole Segal/Syfy)
Meanwhile, Julia’s (Stella Maeve) devotion to magic is putting her relationship with James (Michael Cassidy) – not to mention her relationship with Quentin (Jason Ralph). And speaking of Quentin and Julia… When showrunner Sera Gamble said, ‘there’s confrontation coming between the two of them,’ they waste no time getting to it in this ep – and it’s hard to watch because both are right.
Then there’s Van Pelt’s Fountain, or the ‘Suicide Fountain’ – it has claimed fifteen students and a professor – the place where Alice tries once again to contact her late brother, Charlie (Ben Esler). To say that leads to more trouble might be considered an understatement.
And we haven’t even mentioned the book sex – which is kinda what leads to Julia and Quentin’s confrontation.
As the series begins to open up with the students’ progress in learning magic, we learn more about them as individuals – frequently in sardonic ways, as when Quentin tells Alice that Margo’s (Summer Bishil) ‘discipline is gossip.’ And Margo adds to our knowledge when she tells Alice that she ‘likes competition.’
THE MAGICIANS — “Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting” Episode 103 — Pictured: (l-r) Jade Tailor as Kady, Arjun Gupta as Penny — (Photo by: Carole Segal/Syfy)
It would seem, though, that Quentin is still the morose, lost boy we met in the premiere. Even three months of magic hasn’t changed him much in terms of mood – though he does seem to have matured a bit (he’s embarrassed at Penny overhearing him singing Taylor Swift in his mind…).
We get to see Alice in a new light when, after showing signs of hope and happiness, gets so focused on bringing her brother back that she can’t see the possibility that she could die. We knew, from the premiere, that the only reason she was at Brakebills was to find out what happened to him, but this goes way beyond that.
There’s also a party – but invitees have to figure out how to get in – which leads to a certain amount of mirth and is probably the only time we see even a ghost of a smile from Quentin. Alice definitely kicks butt there.
THE MAGICIANS — “Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting” Episode 103 — Pictured: (l-r) Hale Appleman as Eliot, Jason Ralph as Quentin — (Photo by: Carole Segal/Syfy)
There’s actually a goodly amount of wit and humor in the ep – entitled The Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting – and writer Henry Alonso Myers gives director Scott Smith more than a few moments to just play and have fun with (cue Anne Dudek for two especially fun bits).
With, a mentioned above, less pure exposition needed, this week’s ep doesn’t feel overcrowded – though it still moves at a more deliberate pace than most of Syfy’s shows. But when stuff happens, it happens right now!
The result is both lighter and darker than the premiere – in just the right balance. The Magicians is moving quickly towards excellence.
Final Grade: A-