The Magicians Season 1, Episode 10
Nothing wrong with a little sex humor, but how much is too much? Penny enters Quentin’s sex dream; Alice’s parents are hosting a sex party; Margo’s ex is having sex with a Magolem; and the spell to rescue Penny requires well-orchestrated sex? For an episode of The Magicians that introduced both the Neitherlands and Free Trader Beowulf, two of the hallmarks of the Lev Grossman novels, “Homecoming” sure did have a lot of overshadowing sexual hijinks! Nevertheless, the progress towards Fillory was much appreciated. Of course, it’s clear that the god-summoning will only lead to trouble – that’s how The Magicians works. The show has been telling viewers all along that magic has consequences, which is why Eliot’s drug-addled discomfort after having killed his possessed boyfriend does not bode well. The Margolem plot was a little disjointed, though, and seemed geared only to foreshadow some need for a Margo doppleganger in the future. Margo’s ex sprang from nowhere, and the theft of the golem felt shoehorned in. The new conflicts introduced by placing Penny in a world separate from Earth known as the Neitherlands brought the fantasy flavor of the show more to the forefront. The servants of the Beast trying to keep people from using the fountains to get to Fillory poses an interesting danger to Penny and whomever he will surely bring with him next time. Hopefully, the pages the librarian photocopied for him will pay off, but in the meantime, a stray thought: Why did Eliot Waugh have two books on the shelf, especially in an episode when there were two Margos? Curious. Really – simultaneous orgasms just to shine a light through the Earth fountain for Penny to follow? Although “Joe” made it clear his magic was sexual in nature, it felt a little forced. At least it ended well with Alice turning up the kink; the “bite me” was deliciously naughty and made Quentin’s earlier lack of success more understandable. And Penny bringing his omnipresent eye-roll upon materializing during the couple’s post-coital glow was a perfect ending! As with many other episodes of The Magicians, the flaws that occasionally appear are often counter-balanced by plenty to admire, and such was the case this week. The MVP’s were definitely Julia and Penny, and several new aspects of the story have left an intriguing trail to follow. How Penny will use his newfound knowledge to get himself and the others to Fillory to confront the beast remains to be seen, and Eliot’s troubles and Julia’s increased power are begging to be addressed as well. As the season nears its end, it will be interesting to see what plotlines receive resolution and which will carry over to next year.
