There aren’t enough shows out there doing musical episodes, so we sure are glad that The Magicians is picking up the slack. This season’s musical episode centers on a freshly dethroned Margo Hanson as she begins her banishment from Fillory with a search for magical artifacts that could potentially free her best friend Eliot Waugh from the Monster that inhabits his body. Oh, and did we mention Margo is trippin’ on psychedelic lizard? In the instantly iconic words of her kind-of-maybe-boyfriend-lover, Josh Hoberman, “When the going gets tough, the tough listens to pop anthems from the ’80s.” Check out our breakdown of the musical choices in episode 4×10 “All That Hard, Glossy Armor.”
You can also listen to this What to Listen to While Trippin’ on Lizard playlist over on our Spotify.
(Basic Stuff Magazine / SYFY)
“We Belong” by Pat Benatar
Always I’m surprised how well you cut my feelings to the bone
Don’t want to leave you really
I’ve invested too much time to give you up that easy
To the doubts that complicate your mind
We belong to the light, we belong to the thunder
We belong to the sound of the words we’ve both fallen under
Whatever we deny or embrace for worse or for better
We belong, we belong, we belong together
The Scene: Our sneak peek to the actual episode was tucked into the tail end of 4×09 when Josh – in a romantic gesture plucked out of a John Hughes movie – presents Margo with some road snacks and a killer playlist to keep her going during her banishment. Way to set up Season’s 4 musical extravaganza!
“Let’s Go” by Wang Chung
I wish you’d drop what you’re doing
And get on the case
We could blow this existence
Right out into space
And share a sweet isolation
The Scene: Margo starts her marathon-not-a-sprint one-woman quest. In search of a hope of saving Eliot, she’s definitely going to reach that step count goal!
“Don’t Get Me Wrong” by The Pretenders
Once in a while, two people meet
Seemingly for no reason
They just pass on the street
Suddenly, thunder showers everywhere
Who can explain the thunder and rain?
But there’s something in the air
Don’t get me wrong
If I come and go like fashion
I might be great tomorrow
But hopeless yesterday
The Scene: Don’t get us wrong; we’re so happy to see sort-of-Eliot (let’s call him Lizard!Eliot), but it seems he’s going to be quite the cryptic guide through Margo’s odyssey.
“Here I Go Again” by Whitesnake
Here I go again on my own
Goin’ down the only road I’ve ever known
Like a drifter I was born to walk alone
An’ I’ve made up my mind, I ain’t wasting no more time
Just another heart in need of rescue
Waiting on love’s sweet charity
An’ I’m gonna hold on for the rest of my days
‘Cause I know what it means to walk along the lonely street of dreams
The Scene: So. Margo has a hand-job song; why the heck not? If we want to get a little more in depth with it, Margo has had a rough time trusting in her life – basically limiting the list to herself and Eliot – but as the number of her backup singers increases we can see that Margo has really come to trust her friends and isn’t all that alone, after all.
“Beautiful Dreamer” by Bing Crosby, Al Johnson
Sounds of the rude world
Heard in the day
Led by the moonlight
Have all passed away
Beautiful dreamer,
Queen of my song
List’ while I woo thee
With soft melody
The Scene: Short and sweet and heartbreaking, this moment gives us such insight into Margo – where she came from, who she is, and where she’s going. Sure, this lullaby came from her father and that didn’t turn out so well, but coming from Lizard!Eliot (and therefore herself), it’s really a testament to caring for the little girl inside her heart and the High King she became.
“Storm Coming” by Gnarls Barkley
I can do a dance that’ll make the sky cry blood
Skills provoking
Seals to be broken open
All that’s left to do is try my love
—
Listen to our lives
The wind will whisper the way it is
I’m going to happen what a lovely day it is
Don’t ask why
Just live
And
Die
The Scene: SHE’S THE STORM, GUYS, THAT’S ALL THERE IS TO IT. No, really, we can interpret this in no other way – Margo is an unstoppable storm freeing the desert women from the lies that oppressed them and equally unstoppable in her determination to free Eliot from the Monster.
What did you guys think of 4×10? Did it live up to all your musical hopes and dreams? Click here to listen to Margo’s playlist for yourself, and then hit us up on Twitter with your own playlists inspired by The Magicians!
The Magicians is currently in its fourth season and airs Wednesdays on SyFy. Seasons 1-3 are available for streaming on Netflix now.
