So, here we are. Existing in this post-Quentin Coldwater existence. How are you handling it?
I am dealing as well as one can be. A Quentin stan to the core, there is a huge hole in the show that is intriguing to experience. The Magicians getting a Season 5 was no surprise to me. In fact, I welcomed it. I love the show. The writing is phenomenal, the characters are complex, the worldbuilding is fantastic, and the acting is stellar.
Hats off to Lev Grossman of course for penning the novels the show is based off, but the television adaptation really really works.
In case you’re wondering, I have not read the entire book series. I read the first book and balked at continuing because I found myself really gelling with his thought process. The way he thinks about magic and magical theory is exactly how I do, so I am avoiding his work until I have my own out in the world. Sue me.
Anyway, I was intrigued to see the ripple effect Quentin’s death would have on the show’s newest season, story wise and from a more meta storytelling perspective.
Some would say it isn’t fair to hang the show’s continuing success on the lack of Jason Ralph’s stellar depiction of Curly Q.
But guess what?
There’s a lot to love about Quentin and the role he played in the show’s narrative.
The Volunteer Tomato that always showed up to save the day, despite the fact that he wasn’t the smartest, the strongest, the fiercest, the bravest. He wasn’t even the most fucked up character in a world that emphasized the fact that power comes from fucked up shit happening to you.
What he represented was a breath of fresh air for those of us sick of the Chosen One trope, a staple of the fantasy genre. Instead, we had an anxious character with depth and mental illness and a unrepentant love of magic and Fillory that got knocked around over and over but kept showing up because he could.
Because he chose to.
Julia was God-Touched. Alice the Marie Curie of Magic, Kady, the Warrior, Margo the Destroyer. Elliott the Queer Icon. Penny the Traveler.
But Quentin was the catalyst. Fighting, failing, and fumbling his way through but there nonetheless, moving forward and making things happen because it needed to get done and no one else was stepping up.
Now, down to brass tacks.
The new season has managed to hold my interest so far. The writers inserted a new mystery, a new threat in Fillory, end of the world stakes, and more magical hijinks, both hilarious and eerie. I am a sucker for great magical development, so there’s that.
In fact, I was just playing around with a werewolf novel idea, called Lunatic, when the Moon episode aired and the Lunatics were discussed. (See, mine and Lev’s minds are melded). The fact that the moon has moods and we delve so deeply into circumstances this season is wonderful. The outcome of cracking the moon and the time loop scenario that resulted made me smile, while also scared for Elliot and his sanity.
The saga of the Dark King is fascinating and that whole “will they, won’t they?” with Elliot is great. I am always here for a queer speculative storyline.
My major issue with what is going on is the lack of threadweaving I see going on. I don’t need storylines to be wrapped up neatly in a bow, but I do like to feel that the revelations being made in this season have their roots in earlier ones, and I am just not getting that. The mystery page of Quentin’s, the Dark King, the Whales, the Marauders…
New season equals new challenges of course, but let’s make sure we’re not throwing things to the wall and seeing what sticks.
Long story short, I am not sure how long this show will last without him. They had a good run, but we shall see if they go for a Sixth season.
I am betting not.
Until Next Time!
