If The Magicians 4×10 “All That Hard, Glossy Armor” didn’t have you breaking out the karaoke, you need to watch it again. We knew, of course, that an ’80s-pop-anthem-fueled musical romp through the desert was going to be an episode to remember. We didn’t know, though we should have guessed, that we were in for an absolute tour de force from Summer Bishil.
When Margo Hanson sets out on her journey across the desert, she doesn’t have much; not her crown, or her friends, or even that much water honestly – but she does have some rockin’ jams in a fully-charged iPod courtesy of Josh Hoberman. Combine a killer soundtrack with some wit and an extraordinary reptilian-induced high and it might have been easy to keep this episode on the light side – but The Magicians did so much better by us. What we got was a chorus line of the voices in Margo’s head showcasing the secrets and hurts that she carries around with her. We also got some spot-on commentary about “tone policing” and benevolent sexism, but we’ll get to that later. First, we’re going to roll around in our many messy emotions about Margo.
“Consequences of Advanced Spellcasting” Episode 1×03 (SYFY / Carole Segal)
When we first met Margo, back in Season 1, we were presented with a party girl who was jealous of anyone who might take her best friend’s attention away from her, and generally concerned with having an uncomplicated good time. This didn’t last long because – Margo being Margo – she took us all by the metaphorical front of our shirts and made us look again. Margo has always been tenacious, practical, and protective. At first, this translated to her only really caring about keeping herself and her best friend/soulmate, Eliot Waugh, alive; but she soon started pouring that same devotion into their kingdom. Margo went to extraordinary lengths to protect Fillory, even betraying Eliot himself by bargaining away his child. Then she dove into trying to correct what she’d done with such resolution that she lost an eye over it. It’s obvious that one of Margo’s defining traits is determination, but it is a determination that runs on love and loyalty and complete devotion to the people she cares about.
“You hit first. And anyone dumb enough to hit back soon finds that there’s no hurting you, sheathed in all that hard, glossy armor.”
– Lizard!Eliot, 4×10
While she believed Eliot to be dead, she threw herself into her role as High King and although she was there for Fen when she needed a shoulder to cry on (for only “two short hours”), she didn’t allow herself to mourn him because she would be “useless forever.” She was hard and determined as always, but it was all in the service of not giving in to a grief so immense it would consume her.
For all the stoicism she showed in the face of Eliot’s alleged death, the desert and the ordeal of her quest finally revealed the cracks in her finely-crafted armor. Perhaps she could put on a blank mask of denial when she thought there was nothing to do about Eliot’s death, but maybe the idea of failing to save Eliot was more than that armor can take and the floodgates opened.
What followed was some of the most extraordinary acting we’ve seen from Bishil. The scene in which she exposed Margo’s pain, fear, insecurities, heartbreak, and the enormity of Eliot’s place in her life, was a thing of awe to watch unfolding onscreen. Margo conceptualizes their friendship as the only thing she has ever done right, and the possibility of failing in that is what leads to her cracking open.
“All That Hard, Glossy Armor” Episode 4×10 (SYFY)
More was revealed about Margo’s backstory when she tells Lizard!Eliot about her first and most profound heartbreak: the sense that when she became the strong, unstoppable woman he raised her to be, her father was unable to continue loving her. Perhaps it’s a matter of unreliable narrators when it comes to parents on The Magicians, as we always see them through the lens of their children’s complicated feelings about them, but the lasting effect that this has had on Margo is undeniable.
“I am a king. Not a goddamn princess. A king.”
– Margo Hanson, 4×10
Lizard!Eliot (actually Margo’s own subconscious) and Margo discuss the hurdles of being her whole self when the world judges so harshly any woman trying to be more than one thing, forcing women into the false choice between being smart OR pretty OR strong. We’ve seen this with Alice Quinn and with Julia Wicker all season – Alice torn between her caring nature and her innate intelligence, while Julia contends with the paths of continuing life as a human or a goddess.
This week was Margo’s turn to look within and it was, to borrow a former High King’s title, spectacular. So, what really is underneath all that anger, all that hard, glossy armor? According to Margo, a king – although in her interpretation, she is a king of fears and failures. But her actions showed a different king than what she declared herself to be. Margo showed up, axes in hand, righteous and courageous and not about to leave a tribe full of women in subjugation.
“All That Hard, Glossy Armor” Episode 4×10. (SYFY / Eike Schroter)
Lizard!Eliot, the jaw-droppingly gorgeous Jiminy Cricket of this episode, is the first to point out how convenient the entire “sand demons only attack emotional women” shenanigans are for the men of the desert tribe. The idea of men making up a gender-specific disorder with symptoms like “getting angry” or “becoming openly emotional about an upsetting event” isn’t a fictional one. In the not-too-distant past, women were diagnosed with hysteria – which basically meant they were having their human emotions out loud in public where anyone could see them, and were punished accordingly with all the smug assurance men (and medical professionals) could muster.
The Magicians 4×10 also makes physical the frustrating tone policing women are often subject to. The concept that however important or right a woman’s argument is it can be completely dismissed and invalidated by the tone of her voice. Like, sure, your husband slept with your sister, but we’re not going to listen to that because you’re, like, screaming about it. Don’t anger the sand demons.
“When I came back, I didn’t need a weapon, I was a weapon.”
– Lev Grossman, The Magician’s Land
As beautiful as it was to watch Margo literally dismantle a patriarchy with axes in hand, and the entire main cast of The Magicians on the screen at the same time for the first time ever in a musical number that rocked us to the core, we are also super excited for the change this ordeal has sparked in Margo. After going into this episode expecting a mere musical extravaganza, what we got out of it was a new vision of Margo; a woman that believes she could be anything, who loves her friend so much she gave up her kingdom for the chance to save him, and who came out of the desert as an unstoppable ’80s-rock-anthem-powered weapon.
The Magicians is currently in its fourth season and airs Wednesdays on SyFy. Seasons 1-3 are available for streaming on Netflix now.
