It’s here. The Magicians season 4, episode 10 is the musical episode many fans have been waiting for (I know I have) and I finally get to talk about it!
After the “stab me in the heart why don’t you” events of The Magicians season 4, episode 9, I knew I was going to be very mama bear protective about Margo, but Margo Hanson’s time in the desert and her vision quest were more powerful than I could have imagined.
So much so that I almost wish this episode hadn’t been a musical episode just so I could enjoy in the full body experience of Margo being emotionally stripped down, breaking through the facade she’s built, pulling off the hard, glossy armor she’s worn to protect herself, revealing her core and then recreating herself in her own image.
Why is this so important? Like we learned from Penny — We’re in deep trouble, fam.
Margo’s Birthright Lizard
I have a theory. This whole time, we’ve been under the impression that Margo’s birthright lizard was supposed to talk to her but was struck dumb. But maybe there’s a twist here. He’s called a “Talking Lizard of The Dunes”. When Margo runs out of water, suddenly there’s a drop of liquid on the previously dry lizard. She licks it and, boom, a msucial vision. What if that’s how the lizard speaks?
Speaking of the music
How could I not love the music? I mean, first, we get not one but seven Eliot’s singing The Pretenders.
Followed up by Whitesnake as Margo’s inner monologue when she’s working a guy which then becomes one hell of a group number.
Gnarls Barkley as a power anthem with Storm Coming was a nice surprise.
If any of you had a dry eye during Beautiful Dreamer in that last scene, I don’t know how you managed that. I’ll tell you right now.
Margo’s Quest
From the moment Margo met The Foremost (Devan Long) and Spectre (Stephanie Lavigne), my spidey-sense was tingling. But Margo being sent off on an impossible task is important in the larger scheme of things.
She gets the “official story” on the red sand. She gets the information she needs about the axes — while we get a look at how Margo feels about the things she feels she needs to do in order to get that information — and soon enough, Margo’s on the search for black sand and off to get her blades, baby.
Granted it turns out to be a group quest consisting of Margo, her Id (Eliot), Guilt (Josh), Lost Innocence (Fen), Inadequacy (Kady), and a little Wisdom in the form of Dean Fogg. If you’re going off to complete a quest in the desert, it’s certainly better to be in a party in case things get dangerous.
All That Hard, Glossy Armor
But it’s Margo’s emotional breakdown as she talks to Eliot and is ready to give up on this quest that feels so impossible that makes this episode so amazing. We’ve known things about Margo before this. We’ve seen hints and glimpses, we’ve seen emotion before. But this? We haven’t seen this before.
This is a truth on a much deeper level. This is vulnerability and anger and pain so raw that you can’t look away. This is the pain of so many women who were told they could be anything and then realized what they really meant was, “You can be anything up to a point and you can never make a man feel lesser than as you do it.”
“The second you’re you. The second. Out loud. Pissed off… “What a bitch. What a slut. Who the fuck does she think she is?”
“King of ‘I eventually fuck up everything.'” broke me completely.
But that time in the desert and that breakdown become not just the solution to the immediate quest, a reminder of who and what she is. That she’s so much more than she realizes.
Her time in the desert gives her everything she needs as she heads for the final Boss in this quest.
Monster Eliot’s building his freshly remembered sister and here’s Margo rebuilding herself in order to fight for the real Eliot whilst carrying demon possession fighting axes and accompanied by female spirits who fight for women and those they love.
Zelda’s finding out just how deep the rabbit hole goes
Meanwhile, back at the Library, Zelda’s starting to smell something seriously fishy. She tries to talk Everett into putting her on the team that’s tracking The Serpent and Everett’s all about keeping her off the case. Which only serves to increase her suspicion even as she tries to find an explanation.
Kady and Alice have tracked the magic flow and have discovered that there’s less ambient in the pipes than the Library reports. Again, Zelda wants to believe there’s an explanation because she doesn’t want to believe that Everett is lying. But she now sufficiently concerned enough to do what Kady and Alice are asking of her — investigate where the magic is going and what they’re using it for.
Celtic Gods, Asshole Leprechauns and Long Lost Sisters
The search for Enyalius becomes a search for a Celtic god named Angus in disguise. Quentin’s worried for Julia because Angus is a Trickster. Not to mention that the only way to get to him is through a magical creature. A Leprechaun. (Since when has that ever worked out well?)
It’s not like Leprechauns are going to make things easy for anyone and Berry (Elyse Maloway) is no exception. In this case, no one gets to see Angus (played by Gethin Anthony, who I barely recognized as the former Renly Baratheon because he had a smile on his face!) without finding a way into his office. Personally, I just think everyone on the show wanted to build a funhouse/safehouse escape/deathroom.
Angus, of course, thinks this is all very funny. He’s so nonchalant. It’s really too bad he can’t remember his password and now Monster Eliot has the last piece of his sister’s body. Yay?
Whatever’s going on with Julia, she’s an intrigue to pretty much everyone, except Monster Eliot, which I find interesting.
To be honest, I’m still processing this episode and may need to watch it several more times, but I don’t mind that. I’m sure you won’t either.
Quick comments/Questions:
- “Jesus, how long does one lick last?”
- “What are you doing here?” “4-octave range, bitch”
- “You’re in my thoughts. Who isn’t?”
- “Look who’s up. Trump and Aunt Lydia.”
- OMG Rick Worthy’s voice!
- Speaking of quests, Eliot’s singing sequence reminded me of a WoW escort quest in which you eventually get where you’re going, but you have to stop a lot along the way.
Want a hint about ‘The Magicians’ season 4, episode 11? Everett’s been realllllllllll busy when none of us were looking.
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