7 Things on the Magicians That Are Keeping Us Awake at Night

The Season 4 premiere of The Magicians had its intended effect on the series’ fans. Left reeling without closure from the Season 3 finale, diehard fans spiraled with questions about how the characters would possibly get themselves out of their new situations. Scattered to the winds with alternate memories and personalities, our characters are unknowingly hunted by an enigmatic Monster — and entirely without magic!

While the premiere answered several questions we’ve had pending for months, it replaced them with brand-new ones. Here are seven things keeping us awake at night about Season 4’s opening episode.

Warning: Spoilers for the premiere (and the show in general) below.

 

1. What Does Getting Into Brakebills Mean for Kim?

Season 4 started rather curiously, with a blonde woman named Kimber D’Antoni following a paper misplaced by the wind into an alley — and onto the Brakebills campus. Sound familiar?

Thing is, Kim isn’t just a new student about to take the entrance exam. She’s Julia Wicker, former hedge witch and Brakebills reject.

Julia’s path from outcast to literal Goddess was one of the most prominent storylines of the third season and a galvanizing character development. All of that was sacrificed in the finale to save magic. Seemingly human again, “Kim” seems to carry herself through life in a shy and bookish manner. Despite failing the entrance exam and not accomplishing a lick of magic, she is the only one of the group that Brakebills’ magic-tracking system detected. And we can’t help but wonder: Why? Why not all of our favorite Magicians? Is it possible that Julia’s Goddess magic still exists as the inert seed it was in 3×01? Is she even capable of regrowing it with this witness-protection spell preventing her from accessing anything related to her old life?

Julia becoming a Goddess again would completely turn the tide against both the Library’s rising dominance and the foreboding approach of the Monster, and we are dying to know if Julia (er, Kim) will venture down that path once more.

 

2. Will Alice Ever Be Able to Accept Herself?

When we first met Alice Quinn at the start of the series, her self-image was more or less intact. A magical prodigy bereaved by the loss of her brother, her motivations were clean cut and well-informed. Her story arc throughout the series led her through increasingly muddled and morally grey territory, and this hasn’t done much for her ability to practice self-compassion.  

As Head Librarian Zelda Shaw said, Alice has the makings of a master magician. But after everything she’s been through, she’s terrified of her own reliance on magic.

It’s clear in how Alice cares for herself (i.e. not caring for herself at all) that she still blames herself for her time as a Niffin. She is the most conscientious of the group about what magic has done to them and has come to believe that the only way out is for magic to be gone entirely. Obviously, in a reality that desperately needs magic, this isn’t going to work. Will Alice ever be able to reconcile who she was with who she is now? And if she does, what hell will she manage to bring down on the Library?

 

3. What the Hell is A Flock of Lost Birds?

The Magicians has many components working together, but at its core is the magic of books, both literal and nonliteral. Whether it’s the land of Fillory and Further turning out to be real or a book slowly revealing its chapters as each Golden Key is found, books have been the secret conductor of almost everything that has happened in the series.

The Season 4 premiere delivered a new conductor by way of a comic book. Cleverly titled A Flock of Lost Birds, it details the entire lives of all of our Magicians’ new personas. The question is, how does it exist at all? Did Dean Fogg craft their identities based on this comic or did he create it all on his own — as a wake-up call for one of them (like Sam) to find? What secrets is the book hiding?

It hasn’t been revealed what story the comic actually tells, only that it involves the characters’ false identities. Does the “Detective Sam Cunningham Mystery” lead to a way to break Dean Fogg’s spell? Is it a cautionary tale informing them that it can’t be broken? Not enough has been revealed to be sure, but the seeds have been planted.

Dean Fogg seems adamant about his former students’ protection, so why would a book bluntly stating the falsehood of their lives be out in the open? We need answers.

 

4. What Bullshit is the Library Really Pulling?

The Library of the Neitherlands is…complicated. Self-proclaimed keepers of all knowledge in the universe, their introduction in the first season seemed more or less benevolent. As the series progressed, however, their manipulative underbelly has shown itself more and more. Now, they own all magic, rationing it out to organizations, communities, and even worlds as they see fit. Head Librarian Zelda is kind and compassionate, as was obvious by her conversations with Alice in the premiere, and yet, she is also manipulative and cold — going as far as to sacrifice her own daughter to further the Library’s mission.

All of that can’t simply be out of a need for control. What real benefit do they get from controlling magic, besides manipulating groups in desperate need of it? Is there some unseen knowledge they need an entire magical nexus to uncover? What are they plotting? Why did they use all of our favorite characters as pawns only to try and kill them?

The Library proved multiple times throughout the third season that they would stop at nothing to achieve control of the Wellspring. What is it that drives such sinister actions?

 

5. How Is the Monster Affecting Eliot?

While we still do not know the true nature of the Monster’s possession of Eliot Waugh, a particular line said by the Monster in the premiere suggests Eliot is still in there somewhere. Quentin Coldwater’s new persona, Brian, plays unwitting prisoner to the Monster as it explores its newfound freedom from Castle Blackspire. Over the hiatus, fans have pondered. Is Eliot dead? Is he trapped in his own body, unable to effect any change with the Monster controlling him? Have they merged together somehow, becoming one and the same?

The Monster told Quentin (whoops, Brian) to remind it to bring a coat on their next adventure, stating, “Am I remembering that you kill these little bodies if you get them too cold?” This reveals that not only might Eliot still be in there, but his life now depends on the Monster caring for it. He won’t be sustained by the Monster’s magic, so if the Monster stops caring for the body, Eliot is done for.

We don’t know about you, but this idea terrifies us. None of us want Quentin to lose his soulmate, but we’re equally afraid of the fallout Eliot’s return might create after the carnage the Monster has caused and intends to continue causing.

No matter how it turns out, grief and angst seem inevitable. We’re fastening our seat belts just in case.

 

6. What Has Happened in Fillory?

We only saw Fillory for a few moments in the premiere, and it was hardly enough to satisfy us. In Margo’s absence, Fen has been supervising the kingdom as “Acting High King.” To what extent the rationing of magic affects Fillory both as a community and a landmass remains to be seen, but we’re worried either way. Time moves differently in Fillory with only days on Earth equating more than a month in Fillorian time. How long has it been for Fen and company? Six months? A year? Fen’s strong political views have been hinted at in the past, once a member of a human faction by the name of Fillorians United. How she manages the kingdom is likely very different from Margo, but in what ways? Could the Fillorian community have come to prefer their Acting High King over their real one? How will Margo’s “Janet” persona throw a wrench in things, magical witness protection and all? Too much is up in the air for us to sleep well at night. Here’s hoping things resolve themselves smoothly.

 

7. Are They Ever Going to Talk About How Magic Has Seriously Messed Them Up, Or…?

Over the course of three seasons, magic has elevated, rewarded, punished, and tormented our core characters. All of them have lost loved ones, family and friends, to magic. Quentin’s left shoulder and arm are made of enchanted wood. Fen has wooden toes. Margo’s right eye is a Fairy eye. Julia became a Goddess after unfathomable amounts of trauma and pain. Penny 23 comes from a timeline in which everyone he cares about is dead. Dean Fogg spent three seasons as a blind man. Josh is on track to becoming a werewolf. Alice is a former Niffin who once knew all the secrets of the universe. Eliot, at first an abused and lonely Magician and then a king, is now possessed by the Monster, among other things.

These experiences have all created their own individual ripples, affecting one or all of the characters in various ways. But how has this changed the story? The characters are already miles away from who they were at the commencement of the story but have yet to acknowledge how much they’ve all truly changed, as a group and as individuals. Season 3 brought an unprecedented unity amongst the characters, but it was entirely plot-focused with not much time for characters to discuss their feelings beyond brief two-person exchanges. Will they finally get a chance to sit down together if and when their memories are returned? We need it for their sake and ours. The heroes and anti-heroes of The Magicians aren’t exactly what one would call a family, but they always end up together, for better or worse. An emotional Season 4 reunion between the characters would be tumultuous at best and agonizing at worst, especially in cases like Eliot, Quentin, and Alice. Regardless, closure is necessary for all of them in order to really progress.

 

No matter what happens this season, Basic Stuff Magazine is in for the long haul, and we hope you join us for the ride. Here’s to Season 4!

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The Magicians returned with Season 4 January 23rd on SyFy. All three seasons are available for streaming on Netflix now.