The Magicians – The Rattening

By: Sharon Kurack

Counting down to the season finale in a few weeks, the 11th episode focuses on a few large plot developments. It seems that with the past choices made by the magicians, more must be decided. The problem; however, is that most of the magicians now have clouded vision in the aftermath and are making decisions rashly. Or…are they following (blindly) a deeper intuition?

We open with Julia (Stella Maeve) and Quentin (Jason Ralph) walking down a dark alley, seemingly searching for an ancient one, a dragon, to help them not only get to the Underworld but also to return alive. (Yes, Team Jules and Q are back together on another whirlwind adventure!) They stumble upon a manhole with a Greek inscription on it that basically requests payment for entrance in baby teeth. (That’s “The Magicians” version of the tooth fairy for you.) Luckily, Q has one left that had never come in, which Jules easily extracts with magic. They’re in. Faster than you can say “Dracarys,” Jules and Q meet the Queen of the Great Wyrms, who is not impressed with the tiny mortals. She agrees to send them to the Underworld and bring them back alive (in twenty-four hours or else literal “Dracarys”) in exchange for Q’s button from Fillory. (Magic has a price.) Begrudgingly Q hands over the button (Fn Millenials and their things) and the duo is transported to what some would consider Hell: a waiting area.

Looking like an homage to Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice, the waiting area is complete with bellhops (don’t trust them, Shadeless!), reception and a video. Jules and Q “check in” and end up having to wait a bit longer due to dying thirty-nine times from the time loop, which is perhaps a better fate that the people who are “Shadeless.” To pass the time, Jules seeks out her “Karmic Circle,” the friends that were attacked and killed by Reynard (Mackenzie Astin). They all happen to be bowling.  The Underworld. As the reunion happens, we pan to the actual hole in Julia from being without her shade – the reason she and Q are down there to begin with. If that hole closes up completely, there would be no way to reunite Julia and her shade.

Back to her former friends, we also witness a rather uncomfortable reunion between the real Richard and Julia. Here’s where I begin (again) to question Julia’s lack of emotion. She hesitates when she sees Richard. Is it fear? Apprehension? Regardless, Richard gives Q and Jules some insight on the Underworld, which is ruled by Hades and Persephone (like from the Greek myths) who are both MIA. Also, it seems that the reception area would be the place to find out where the shades are, although the employees would more than likely not be helpful. With time not on their side and the hole closing up quickly in Jules, the group decides on a plan that involves Richard being a comedic distraction as Q and Jules find out the location of the shades, which is Elysium.

Elysium is a place filled with the laughter of children and has the appearance of an orphanage. Jules and Q ask around for Julia’s shade, and also find out that the shades in Elysium perform little miracles to give hope to people. They also find out that “Our Lady Underground” not only exists, but is Miss Persephone – wife of Hades. Here is yet another place we see “Shadeless Jules” show emotion without her shade; she shows anger at the fact that this goddess existed and did nothing for her followers. But what if Persephone, being MIA, do anything? She and Hades had left the Underworld and haven’t been seen in a long time. (Why and how?)

After a bit of researching, Jules doesn’t find her own shade, but Alice’s while Q finds Julia’s shade. In a tender moment, Jules reunites with her shade while we get to watch Q’s heart break yet again for Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) after he has tried so hard to heal. (Seriously, give the boy a break!) After several moments of speaking, Q and Alice’s shade realize that was what had been missing when Q tried to bring Alice back. (Shade Alice ended up in the Underworld when Alice “niffined out.”) Time is definitely not on anyone’s side here, so they all start making their way to the portal. Unfortunately, only one shade is able to go with them. (Sorry, Alice.) Q goes first, holding the elevator in reception while Jules follows closely behind with Alice’s shade, not her own. Can she do that? Are her intentions entirely good? Is she able to feel without her shade like we have seen? (No shade throwing here.) Or will it be ok, as Shade Alice says?

In Fillory, King Eliot (Hale Appleman) and King Idri of Loria (Leonard Roberts) are extremely adorbs and decide to have “alone” time to get better acquainted. Unfortunately, before any fun can happen Idri turns into a rat, along with half of Fillory. Margo (Summer Bishil) then meets with the ambassador to the Faeries and confronts him, thinking it was fairy magic to blame. As the truth unravels, it turns out that it was not the work of the faeries who are on to Margo’s cleverness, but the work of a “higher, other power.” (True danger, or truth danger?)

The “non-rats” of the council meet to discuss what also sounds like the “Plagues of Fillory.” (Well played right before Passover and Easter, by the way.) El serves a bit of truth serum in the wine, “troofying” everyone, including Margo, who sings like a bird. Seriously, though, El? Throwing her in the dungeon after she had saved magic and ultimately, your arse? Not cool, bro.

Of course, after the truth reveal, things start returning to normal in Fillory, with the help of Eliot’s magic. Spent of energy, he gripes to Josh (Trevor Einhorn), who suggests that maybe El is taking on too much. Maybe delegates or governors could help? Boom, democracy is Fillory! Except, Fillory wants none of that and kicks Eliot out.  Which leaves our girl Margo to “clean up the mess,” again. She starts this by taking a potion that would bring her to the realm of the Faeries to confront them or to make another deal. Rude.

Knowledge is power, which would perhaps make the Library of the Neitherlands the center of a huge amount of power. We find Penny (Arjun Gupta) doing a little “bottom” research on how to heal his hands. He’s interrupted by our head librarian (Mageina Tovah), who introduces him to his teen-like supervisor, Sylvia (Roan Curtis). Talk about a power-shift.

Speaking on shifting, we can now call Kady (Jade Tailor) and Penny “Team Inceptesex” as they seemed to have perfected the art of mind sex. In Penny’s first days of work at the library, he still hasn’t found more information on the Poison Room so Kady (in post-coital bliss) suggests looking for the Librarian’s book to see what she knows of the forbidden room. The conversation then turns to how Kady had seen Reynard in a photo with his son, Senator Gaines (Christopher Gorham). Could they be working together?

Attempt two of getting information from the Librarian doesn’t go so well, despite Penny’s charming advances. She, only known as “The Librarian” (like The Doctor), hints at the paper-bag lunches with names on them as a clue. So, Penny searches, but is caught by his sassy-pants supervisor who snags one of the bags. Penny then inquires about her, trying to get information on this “Meadow”-like Soprano character, who turns out is being protected because… “businessman father = dangerous life.” From Sylvia, he gets the Librarian’s name, which is Zelda Schiff, and searches for her book. Surprise! It’s in the Poison Room, too. So, how are he and Kady supposed to get into this Poison Room? Coming out from hiding after sneaking into Penny’s mind, Sylvia offers to help he and Kady break in. (Side note: Not trusting her. Too easily and readily available.) Kady is then woken up from the “dream,” leaving the conversation to join another pivotal one.

The final huge plot development revolves around Senator John Gaines, Reynard’s son. (Didn’t think we were done with them, did you?) Kady was indeed perceptive to see Reynard in the back of a photo with Senator Gaines. As it turns out, Reynard has been controlling all of John’s staff and wants to teach John how to consciously control his own power and do the same to get to the Presidency. Although John admits that it would feel like cheating (because it is!), he tries the power of persuasion on the one senator who normally opposes his recent bill. To John’s surprise, his power works and that senator complies to support the bill. However, the senator then passes out from being overwhelmed by John’s power.

If that isn’t enough for our senator to decide against using his skill, the new conversation he has afterward does. Because he is a loving, trusting husband John talks with his wife about everything that has happened thus far. She concludes that he is working too hard and tries to convince him to relax. In a semi-panic, John accidentally uses his power of persuasion to “have her support,” causing her total demeanor to change right before his eyes. This results in his questioning their very relationship. Was it even real? According to Reynard, no. Everything was John using his powers to control a human.

John wants no part of it and then questions his father about what Kady had told him. Reynard admits to everything: the murder, rape, manipulations, as though humans were toys. This disgusts John even more and the conversation then turns to “Our Lady Underground” and Persephone. Clearly Reynard had some tension with her (similar to someone we know), which resulted in his illusions as her cursing her name. John sees his father as a jilted lover from this display; the plot thickens. Reynard then leaves, which brings us back to where John ends up and why Kady is awoken after Sylvia decides to help her and Penny. Disgusted and enraged by his father, John wants in on their crusade against Reynard. Looks like our magicians just gained the help of a Demi-god.

So, as we get closer to the season finale, a few loose ends may be tied while others may be created. There’s still more to Jules than we know; her trust has always been in question since Season One. What does she want with Alice’s shade if it isn’t to bring Alice back? What’s in it for her? (She’s said that she’s on her side and that’s it.) Why is Zelda’s (a/k/a The Librarian) book in the Poison Room and should we even trust Sylvia? What awaits Margo in the Realm of the Faeries? (Certainly not Thumbalina.) And does Senator Gaines really know what he’s signing up for?