Love is in the air.
Full spoilers for The Magicians continue below.
The Magicians dove deep into the love lives for each of its three central couples in “The Mayakovsky Circumstances,” paying off several long-stewing romantic developments that have been building all season. First and foremost, Alice and Quentin finally got it on… and on… and on… and it’s clear that their coming together as a pair is significant not only for their sex lives but for their magical skills.
Not as cheery but just as important, Kady was even more fully honest with Penny, but that wasn’t enough for a happy ending for this pair. Her mother’s death meant Brakebills found out about her deal with the Hedgewitches, and Professor Mayakovsky (guest star Brían F. O’Byrne) wisely advised Kady that the best thing for both her and Penny is for her to go her separate way. This was yet another unexplained betrayal for Penny, and though he might understand eventually, it was inevitable that Kady’s storyline come to this point.
Back at Brakebills Proper, Eliot and Margo hit the speed bump in their relationship that Hale Appleman and Summer Bishil recently teased. A yearly trip to Ibiza ended up putting their romance on hold as he fell for new dream boat Mike, who all but certainly is The Beast (or one of his minions) in disguise. Fortunately both Appleman and Bishil believe their characters are soulmates, so let’s hope these two won’t spend too long discovering themselves as individuals — and that Mike isn’t too much trouble as someone keeping them apart — so we can get back to the fun Eliot/Margo action soon.
We want to hear it.
O’Byrne was a great addition to The Magicians in this episode, and he’s the first teacher any of the students have had who actually feels like he’s made a difference. This show has intermittently explored the magic in its world; in some episodes its central, and in others it’s a means to an end (like in this one). At least Professor Mayakovsky gave a couple lessons to both Penny and to Alice and Quentin that feel like they have weight and will lead into whats happening in the coming weeks.
Tacked on to “The Mayakovsky Circumstances” is the fallout to Julia’s failed infiltration into Marina’s magic. She had a couple scenes that weren’t much more than set-up and an introduction to her sister, who probably will be important eventually but for now just felt like a distraction. This episode wasn’t especially focused overall, and the Julia arc underlined that The Magicians needs to learn that it’s OK to let a character like her sit out a week. It might have been more efficient to just pick up with her next week when whatever happens to her next has more weight.
This relationship-focused episode of The Magicians marked some big changes for the show’s central characters and offered a great guest star in Brían F. O’Byrne’s Professor Mayakovsky. Overall the episode was a little unfocused, with Julia’s storyline feeling the most tacked on. There were some big moments for various characters, and this midpoint of Season 1 did feel like it was a turning point.
