The Magicians Season 2 Episode 5: “Cheat Day” The “cheat day” referred to in the episode title had Quentin’s self-pity reaching new heights as he shunned magic but immediately couldn’t do without it. As Emily Greenstreet, his ex-magician companion and coincidentally the one responsible for Alice’s brother becoming a niffin, says, “No one gives up magic because everything is peachy.” This could have easily been a self-indulgent storyline for Quentin, especially given the fact that he could have used his White Lady wish to help Julia or something useful instead of wasting it on a trip to New York, wallowing in despair, but interestingly enough it was just the mournful interlude the character needed. Everything from the apology letter to Alice’s parents (although surely Brakebills has informed them, haven’t they?) to the horse-shaped smoke enchantment (created by Charlie, imitated by Alice) had exactly the right touch of melancholy. And as painful as it must have been for Q to see Alice’s likeness in the shower, what a sweet torture it must have been! Quentin, never one to have a way with words, expressed beautifully how it was just what he needed but that it made him feel worse than before. It’s likely the same for Emily, who still pines for Mayakovsky, the professor who inspired the infatuation that caused all of the tragedy in her life. The fact that Quentin and Penny are both drawn to magic to ease their suffering as Mayakovsky asserts makes it all the more ironic that magic cannot help Julia rid herself of her newly discovered pregnancy, nor can it speed up her search with Kady for the woman who banished Reynard. And by the way, where the hell did they get actual newspapers in this Internet age? The abortion prospects could have readily become a preachy political message that would derail Julia’s quest both narratively and practically, but the moral dilemma was handled quite expertly, especially with Kady’s tender understanding in the mix. Although the horror of the situation was only heightened by the casual manipulation (by the fetus?) of the clinic’s receptionist and the gruesome fate of the doctor performing the procedure, it puts forward the obvious question: is Julia’s child a demigod, protecting itself from harm with powerful forces even from within the womb? Or has Reynard placed a ward on his progeny, either indirectly or willfully? Either way, it spells more bad news for Julia, a character that has had more than her fair share of it. Whether with the opposing pregnancies of Fen and Julia, wanted and unwanted, or with the common thread of Mayakovsky’s influence on both Penny and Quentin, this week’s The Magicians felt tightly crafted even as it established a very different tone from what we’ve seen so far this season. With tension mounting in the quest to replenish Fillory’s magic as well as the pursuit of Reynard, there’s a clear path being set for all of the magicians whose lives will become wrapped up in these missions. As long as this strong storytelling continues, fans will willingly walk the same path, no matter how tragic or dangerous, with enthusiasm for the story ahead.
