Episode 301 - The Tales of the Seven Keys

MARGO

That Fairuza Balk in "The Craft.

ELIOT

Yeah, more Cersei Lannister.

Margo

Hey, glad I made you read those.

ELIOT

Well, I read the Wiki.

CLARA

Free Traders, Fillorians, Magicians, Welcome to Season 3! We hope you're not just reading the wiki. We hope you're reading the books; we told you to enough times. But yeah, welcome! Season 3 DANI: Woooo! Season 3 CLARA:So the moment is finally here. Season 3 of The Magicians has finally arrived and I'm Clara.

DANI

And I'm Dani.

CLARA

And we are thrilled to welcome you back to Physical Kids Weekly. This week's episode is called "The Tales of the Seven Keys". Before we get into the episode, what do you think? Should we start with a quick recap?

DANI

Yeah, that sounds good.

CLARA

Okay so, in this episode, Penny still has super cancer and he's working for the library until his time runs out. They have this weird thing that can, like, keep time from passing in the Library. Not sure how that works without magic, but we'll just accept it for now. Quentin and Julia are at Brakebills testing the limits of Julia's power and looking for leads to help them bring magic back. So cue Josh, who leads them to Bacchus, who is kind of helpful? I guess? Back in Fillory, Fen's lost her marbles, Eliot and Margo are searching for a way to get rid of the faeries, and what do they find? A quest. So, DANI, what did you think?

DANI

I think it's a great starter episode. I mean it sets up basically the plot of the second book just in a very different way.

CLARA

Yeah we talked a lot about how we've sorta gotten to the second book through the third which is very confusing, but also has been really exciting in season 2

DANI

Yeah. I just wanna say that from the clip that we played, I have also mostly read the wiki for Game of Thrones. And I felt very called out.

CLARA

Ya know, I've only read the first like 150 pages of the first book. I just couldn't do it. But! I watched the show... No, it doesn't help, does it?

DANI

I watched the show and I got through like a few books. I just couldn't anymore because I thought the show honestly was better. Only because I think they are genuinely huge, huge books that you need a lot of time for.

CLARA

True, True. Yeah, that's true. That was the main thing that intimidated me was just how big they are. But! This is not a Game of Thrones podcast. This is a Magicians podcast. So yeah, getting back to it. I actually had pretty mixed feelings about this episode. I agree, I think it's a very good way to set up what's coming in the season. And you need that setup, especially for people who haven't read the books and are only really getting through it through the show. But that said, it's kind of slow because it does a lot of ping ponging back and forth because there really isn't any magic except for the strange, plot hole-y bits of magic that we find here and there.

DANI

That's true.

CLARA

Yeah and so, it definitely wasn't-- You remember when we saw the season 2 premiere and I was like "This is great! Let's go!"? I didn't have that feeling going into this.

DANI

Okay, yeah.

CLARA

But there were a lot of individual moments that I loved. And I imagine you felt that way too, so I don't know. DANI, what were your favorite moments?

DANI

Definitely Julia and Quentin and their friendship back full force. We finally get to see it. I just feel like from the get go, I can just feel like, this is Julia's season. This is Julia's season.

CLARA

I really liked the way that their friendship played out too. And especially because everything from what they're wearing to the way they act, their affection for each other is back. And you really get to see them kinda being these kids from New York and part of that is because they don't have magic so y'know-- well Quentin doesn't have magic and they don't have much so what else is there? But it also just feels like they have found their way back to who they were and who they've always been. Like all that loss of identity you saw with both of them in season 2, like all of that confusion and loss of purpose, it's gone.

And I think there's this line near the beginning where Quentin says, "You fired me up and made me realize there's something to fight for." I really liked that because I think one of the things I noticed most in this episode is how Quentin doesn't seem... as sad puppy as he has been in the past. He seems like he's found some important part of himself.

DANI

Yeah. I think, like, and you kinda get that a lot in the books, like, it kinda starts around book 2, were you're like, Quentin's starting to grow up. He definitely isn't fully grown up until book 3, but it starts to show in the same way with the quest in book 2. But not until he gets to earth, which is kinda where he is right now.

CLARA

What did you think about the scene in the stairwell?

DANI

I loved it. It was very dorky, but it was super cute. It was weird to see Julia that way after two seasons of not seeing her being a very happy person.

CLARA

What do you think? Should we play that clip for people?

DANI

Yeah, it's a really fun one. Here we go... Clip of Julia and Quentin singing drunkenly in the stairwell.

CLARA

I liked your little dance, DANI. Yeah, I mean, I think you're right. It's really nice to see Julia... I don't know if it's really happy, but more in her own skin. Definitely with her shade back.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

One of the things I really liked was Fen's entrance. I cracked up when that happened with her weird little noise and she's snuggling a log and treating it like its her baby. I thought that was a really fantastic homage to Twin Peaks. And well timed since we got a new Twin Peaks last year. So yeah, I really like Fen as the Log Lady. Her crazy is top notch.

DANI

It's pretty beautiful. She also later on in the episode has a moment with a bunny as well.

CLARA

Oh yeah.

DANI

Anything to replace her child.

CLARA

There's definitely something missing and it's not just her toes this episode. Let's see...what else? What about you? You give me another one.

DANI

There was a lot that I liked. I actually loved the part with Josh. Josh and Julia, when they're talking. Although it was kinda like sightly romantic and made me feel a little weird.

CLARA

Yeah, there cannot be a Josh/Julia romantic. That's not allowed.

DANI

Yeah, but like, mmmm, it's probably just the drugs.

CLARA

Yeah, they were on a lot of drugs there. I agree with you though. Like, I know that you really loved Josh in season 2 and I think he's great in this episode. I think Trevor is fantastic in this episode. And I think there's something really interesting about seeing him who is not the character you associate with as super caring about magic in all the ways. Like, he's not a super student. He's more of like a slacker and druggie and disappeared for a year or whatever with his entire class. But seeing how hard it hits him as just this regular Joe of the Magicians world. To lose magic really shows how... that's what really hits home for me that magic is gone.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

You talked about the bunnies earlier. What did you think of that scene with the bunnies and how they're using the bunnies as a universal communication system?

DANI

I wonder where that comes from. I feel like it has to come from somewhere. I thought it was cute. I love bunnies so I would be very happy to see a bunny appear out of nowhere and yell weird things at me. At least it doesn't have as much of a demonic voice as it did with the pregnancy bunny.

CLARA

Oh yeah. I think it's a good way to handle the fact they're in different worlds. In the books, there isn't really any communication between... well in the books, magic hasn't died. So, to the extent that there's communication, it's still kinda done through the kinds of magic we've seen before. Like through the fountains they do like a telegram system.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

And you can't do that-- Sorry.

DANI

In book 3, Eliot just like randomly shows up on Q's doorstep and I don't even know how he did that.

CLARA

Yeah, I have a feeling that we're gonna see-- that interview we did with Henry Myers-- I just remember asking him, how they were gonna get back and forth to Fillory. And he said "I think about that every day." So I think we're gonna see some weird things for sure. But yeah, I mean the bunnies are a clever way to get around that. The magical creatures still have their magic because it's not wellspring magic, but we do know the fountains themselves have closed so you wouldn't expect them to be a usable communication path. I thought that was really funny though.

DANI

I feel like that's kinda weird cuz the Neitherlands themselves I always just assumed were magic. I mean, especially within the books, a lot of the times they go there and the chaos and how they look, it just seems like a magical place.So I figured that maybe it's just set in a specific time or at least that's what they're saying to keep Penny alive.

CLARA

Well I think it makes sense to have the Neitherlands not be fully magic because they're this bridge between worlds that are magical and worlds that aren't. Right like, I imagine that wherever the leak is coming from, it probably has something to do with the Neitherlands, right?

DANI

Yeah. CLARA:I don't know what the-- I was thinking about the Library things. Like I mentioned earlier, it's kind of weird that the librarians, in a world without magic, are be able to set up this place where time stops. And I don't know if that's some reference to what all the Neitherlands is but I don't think it can be because of the way-- what is her name? The character who died last season... Sylvia.

CLARA

Sylvia, right. Because of the way Sylvia died. Time passed there. So it seems like the Librarians did something to set that up. And I wondered if maybe that has something to do with... maybe if they have some kind of contract with the gods. Like they are protecting and archiving and ensuring the safety of all of these magic resources that aren't just used by humans.

DANI

I love how they're still sitting there and blaming the head librarian for Penny being sick and I'm just like, it's still his own damn fault.

CLARA

Yeah, but he's angry. I definitely understand that.

DANI

I think having super cancer is justifiable for anger.

CLARA

Yeah, probably. And yeah, they did-- and yeah it is his fault-- but they did make that a consequence so I don't know. I suppose that's the easiest place to put his misplaced anger. Okay so what else... Oh so we didn't really talk about that pop culture reference scene that we played in the front. What'd you think about that? DANI:It was hilarious. I was a little... I was glad that whole subtitle thing popped up because I was a little lost and at first I was like... wait what's happening? And it took me a second to be like, oh okay, they're talking in code. I've never seen Battlestar, which is probably a travesty--

You should see it. You would like it.

DANI

Yeah, okay. So I had no idea what they were talking about so the subtitles helped.

CLARA

Honestly, it's funny because I think I have entry points into pretty much everything they said, but I still would have been lost without the subtitles. And I think one of the things it does is that it makes it clear to the audience what it is that they're actually saying. But second of all, I really felt like that was a really cute way and clear way of showing off the specialness of Eliot and Margo's relationship. Like, I don't think any other two characters could do that. I think it only works because they know each other so intimately and because so much of their friendship revolves around those kinds of references.

DANI

I'm assuming that at some point they had to have some kind of conversation like that before.

CLARA

If only to prevent Todd from getting invited to parties.

DANI

I love that it-- it's definitely very special to them. Their pop culture is pretty unrivaled and--

CLARA

They'd be great at trivia.

DANI

Yeah, they'd be pretty great at trivia. They'd probably have some way to magically cheat if magic wasn't gone, but I liked it and it keeps true to how meta The Magicians is.

CLARA

Yeah. I think you're right like The Magicians is-- I keep, every now and then, I will come across another review or some random thing someone has said on Reddit and it will be like "Oh my God its just a rip off of Narnia." It's like [exasperated noises] You're missing the point. It is not a rip off, it's a retelling. It's like all those... do they say that about Wicked?

DANI

Yeah, right. I had to explain it to a few people and I'm just like "no no no no, you don't get it, that's the point."

CLARA

Yeah.

DANI

Like, if Lev could be literally call it Narnia, he would have.

CLARA

Didn't he say something about how they changed the name to the Questing Beasts because they couldn't just call it the White Stag or whatever?

DANI

I think so.

CLARA

There was some copyright issue. I can't remember what it was, but yeah. I thought that was pretty funny. You would think--I don't know. I don't know enough about copyright laws. I was about to speculate, but that's totally pointless. Okay, lemme see. What's another cool thing in the episode... Well, what do you think about the Great Cock? That whole scene.

DANI

It was pretty funny. I mean, I think everyone likes a good dick joke so...

CLARA

Certainly we've seen that in this show.

DANI

It was just like, especially for Eliot to have found him and he's just like "I've played with a few" or "I've handled a few". That cracked me up! That was really good.

CLARA

I loved that whole scene. I love that it starts with the Great Cock calling Eliot out and being like "Dude, why you gotta start all hostile? Just give me a compliment."

DANI

Yeah and how he's just gives him a sample compliment. And Eliot's like... yeah.

CLARA

Yeah, I like the sample compliment. I like that whole thing when they sit down and talk and it's like Eliot-- it's like the Great Cock was kind of Eliot's spirit animal. They share the same aesthetic. They share the same way of going about things, way of going about life.

DANI

Yeah, they were pretty similar.

CLARA

Yeah, which I think is kinda nice. Like that' the person who hands him the quest is the magical creature that's most like him. Who do you think Margo's would be?

DANI

Out of like the Questing Creatures or just like in general?

CLARA

Yeah, well they made new ones. What kind of creature do you think it would be?

DANI

Hmmm, I feel like she'd be a big cat of some kind. Like a panther or something.

CLARA

Yeah, or maybe a leopard with spots. I like that a lot, I hope that we get to see Margo with a Questing Beast at some point.

DANI

Yeah. That would be cool. The only thing that bothered me just a little bit was the fact that Eliot is the one who gets the quest. Like the only reason they find the quest in the second book is because Q was so fucking bored in Fillory, that he's like "I need to find something to do".

CLARA

Yeah. I think, you know what's interesting about that too is there are somethings that are Quentin's in the book that happen to Eliot in the show. Eliot's the one who gets kicked out of Fillory in the show, not Quentin. Although who knows how that's gonna change.

DANI

I mean Quentin can still very well be permanently be kicked out of Fillory at some point.

CLARA

Perma-banned from Fillory. Awwwww.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

I hope that-- I don't know. Let's see. What else do I have on here? Oh yeah, sad Alice with the back alley vampire. Speaking of things that are kind of given to other people, that really reminded me of Julia's arc in the books where she's giving the back alley handjobs for magic.

DANI

Yeah. A little bit, a little bit. It was weird to me. I feel like they were like, "we need to find something to do with Alice" and they've definitely found a couple of things to do with Alice. The bacon was hilarious.

CLARA

Yeah

DANI

And it was a kinda weird and misplaced scene to me but we did need to check in with her during the episode, but it's like you said, it just started to get slow, like such a long episode. It wasn't any longer, but it felt like it was.

CLARA

Yeah and it's like I said, I think that really it mostly has to do with having to set this up and set it up from multiple angles. The quest for the keys is such a big thing. It's an entire book's worth of plot. And it's not like in season 2 where you could sort of continue from the sorta of climax battle scene. The thing that happened at the end of season 2, the loss of magic, it's not 100% clear where you'll end of going from there so they need to push it in a certain sort of direction. But it means that you have one of these big ensemble episodes where everyone is split up so you can't really devote any serious amount of time to any one group.

DANI

Mhm

CLARA

Oh! I have a question for you so the whole thing with keeping the fact that Julia has magic from Josh and Quentin being kind of weirdly controlling about that-- what did you think about that?

DANI

I thought it was weird. But it seems like something Quentin would do.

CLARA

Because he is, afterall, an unbelievable pussy.

DANI

Yeah. It seems like something he would do especially with his friendship with Julia even in the books like sometimes he comes at her really weird. Like "Why are you doing this? Why are you like this?" and she has to like kind of throw it at him like "This is who I am." And it kind of reminded me of that, a little less dark. But she's just like "Oh I just wanted to show Josh that there's something to..."

CLARA

Yeah, I think one of the ways you can see how Quentin matured is the fact that he listens to her own when she tells him "No you're out of line. This is ridiculous. What, are you gonna go summon the gods by yourself?" He hears her when she's like "You're being stupid, stop it," and he responds to that, which I really liked. You were talking too about that--in terms of the friendship between Josh and Julia. I really like he responded really well when she makes that glib comment about having been raped by a god and all the sort of trauma she's been through being a long story and he's like, "I have time". I think he does a really good job of being an ear and a friend for her. Something I really appreciated.

Reminded me a little of that scene at the end of season 2 where Eliot finds her in her apartment after she's got her shade back. If Julia can get people... if one of the things that comes out of Julia's trauma is that she teaches the people around her to be better friends, then that seems like it would be something. It would be nice to give that to her.

DANI

Yeah. I just feel like we're getting-- that Julia's getting what she finally deserves, in a way. Like she's the only one with magic and it's great.

CLARA

Yeah and I love that she's finding ways to show people [magic] that make them happy instead of hahahaha. Okay so I have one other question about this. So this is something I was just thinking about when I was putting together the notes for this episode, it's called the Tales of the Seven Keys. Like plural. Like multiple tales. Did you think about that? Did you realize that?

DANI

I didn't realize that. I'm thinking maybe its like several different stories. Like maybe every key has its own story maybe?

CLARA

Maybe. That's a good idea, a good way to think about it. Another thing I thought of was that the Great Cock lays out that quest a little bit for Eliot, though not in much detail, just that it's a quest. Then they find out some information about it from the Fillory books. I thought about that then I thought about the fact that when communicating this to Eliot, they send like a hundred bunnies and they have to get all the bunnies in order because they're all telling different parts of the story. I like your idea though. I really think that there's something beautiful about that.

DANI

Yeah well I really like that every character poster has a different key.

CLARA

Yeah. There's one associated with each of them.

DANI

So there's that.

CLARA

Somebody was talking about the keys all look different, like they have different designs and I think it was Logan and I think she was saying that each key is somehow representative of that particular person. Actually I didn't get-- let me take a look at the art for that. It's probably on the Twitter site, right? Let's see if I can see anything interesting about those. So Julia's is like this triangle in a hexagon thing. I think... I can't really see Quentin's that well. Eliot's is like a heart with a little diamond in the middle.

DANI

Is it really?

CLARA

Yeah. Margo's has a crown. It's like a crown in a crown. I want to see that better... yeah, we'll have to think about that more.

DANI

Well, Quentin's is probably a heart because he's literally the heart of this show.

CLARA

Well, I'm trying to see if I can get a closer look, but its super shiny. So, struggling.

DANI

Alice's looks like a skull.

CLARA

A skull.

DANI

Yeah, a skull. Penny's looks like a--

CLARA

What do you think that's about?

DANI

Penny's looks like a clock. Huh?

CLARA

Oh, well the clock for Penny might sense cuz his time is running out or whatever.

DANI

Yeah. Alice's is probably is because she's literally died and came back.

CLARA

Oh that's smart! Yeah. Any we missed? Margo's? No we said Margo's. What's Jade's?

DANI

I can't tell what Kady's is. It's like, it kinda looks like a hammer to me, Thor's hammer.

CLARA

Huh, that could be interesting. Well yeah, we'll have to keep thinking about that, keep an eye on that as it goes. Okay so what else? Is there anything else about this episode that stood out to you or even any raw feelings about it?

DANI

Well, I've started a countdown and I'm on Poppy watch and we still haven't gotten Poppy.

CLARA

Yeah, we don't have Poppy in episode 1, that's for sure. But yeah, I'm really looking forward to that. I think finding out the Felicia Day is gonna play Poppy is like one of the most exciting things for me about this whole season cuz Poppy is one of my absolute favorite characters in the books. She's so... she takes no bullshit but she's also happy. She's one of the only characters that seems genuinely happy most of the time.

DANI

She's not jaded.

CLARA

No, she's not jaded at all! She's like "Oooooo there Dragons and magic and it's awesome! Why don't you see how awesome this is?"

DANI

Yeah. Yeah, I wonder how they're gonna introduce her character and how different she's going to be. Because she's going to be different in some way.

CLARA

Yeah well they're all older, but I think that Felicia Day is a little older than most of the other actors playing people so I wonder if her character is also supposed to be older.

DANI

I think she's like a Brakebills Alumni cuz I know they changed that at least.

CLARA

Oh, weird. Well, but I guess that makes sense. Trying to get her to do an Austialian accent seems like it would be a pointless challenge considering everything else they changed.

DANI

Yeah, I don't know how they'll introduce her cuz she'll definitely, probably be a few years older than the rest of them.

CLARA

Yeah, that would be my guess.

DANI

But I'm sure it's like they need something and Dean Fogg's gonna be like "Oh well I know someone who knows something."

CLARA

Yeah! Here's a random alum that I pulled out of my hat of alums.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

He does seem to have a very large collection of them. DANI:: Yeah, he does. Oh, that was one thing we missed-- that conversation about closing Brakebills.

DANI

Oh yeah.

CLARA

I mean, it makes sense. I imagine that place can't be cheap to run and like, without magic, I sort of understand. Like, they can't practice anything that they're teaching and the practicials are a huge part of the curriculum. And I imagine a lot of people have just dropped out, gone to party.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

Okay, anything else we missed?

DANI

I think we covered it all.

CLARA

Okay, then I think it's time for fashion.

DANI

Fashion!

CLARA

So I think the first thing we have to acknowledge is that Penny as a librarian is wearing that grey suit. It was in all the promo photos. People were really commenting on it. I think the Magicians twitter site was really pointing it out too, like probably because most people don't notice the sartorial choices of some of the characters.

DANI

True.

CLARA

It seems like there is definitely a buttoned up uniform for the librarians, all the grey tones and pencil skirts and whatever. It's very 1940s/ 1950s work style. DANI:Yeah, that's true. Except for Sylvia. She was like in a hoodie and jeans. Yeaah, but she was also clearly a rebel.

DANI

True.

CLARA

I kind of wondered if she'd-- we never did find out who her father was, did we? I kind of wondered if her father was one of the librarians. That she was stuck there, working there because it's the family business.

DANI

Maybe. We should demand a story, like a backstory, because we deserve it..

CLARA

Yes. Backstory. Consider it demanded. But I think the other thing about that is that of course, it covers Penny's chest and it leaves him more literally buttoned up and reflective of how cut off he is from who he used to be and how he doesn't get his own identity anymore. He has to be in a uniform. He's really stuck; he doesn't have freedom or choices anymore.

DANI

Yeah. That's true.

CLARA

We should come back to talking about that suite in later episodes too because I have a theory but it might involve some spoilers.

DANI

Okay.

CLARA

The other one I noticed -- wait was there any that you noticed? DANI:Of fashion? Yeah

DANI

I mean, I loved the way that Julia was dressed.

CLARA

Of course you do.

DANI

She looks amazing. The only thing I really don't like is--I think she wears them in this episode, if not cut this out--the snake-skin like shoes. They're really ugly.

CLARA

Ohhh. I don't remember if they're in this episode or not, but I've definitely seen them before, but that's not really the kind of spoiler we need to worry about too much

DANI

Yeah, but still.

CLARA

One of the other ones I noticed was Bacchus. Because it's so ridiculous. Like he's wearing a white suit and a red shirt under that with a paisley pattern under that and a leafy hat and the John Lennon glasses.

DANI

Well I assume the leafy hat is because Bacchus, the actual god, is the god of wine and the vines and stuff.

CLARA

Yeah I figured it was probably something like that. I figured, but the whole thing is so ridiculous

DANI

Did you notice his fuzzy boots too?

CLARA

No!

DANI

He looked like the god of EDM or something.

CLARA

The god of EDM... well that works well given that he was basically running a rave in an apartment building.

DANI

Yeah, exactly.

CLARA

Yeah so, I thought that was perfect -- ridiculous. And the fact that it was so mismatched was notable to me because he just doesn't give a fuck. He's a god; he does what he wants. He's like "I like this, don't care. Just gonna wear whatever weird mishmash of clothes I can find."

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

And then I noticed Margo of course, because how can you not? She's always dressed to the nines. I liked the like cape that she had, the fire engine red cape. So beautiful. And was her eyepatch new? Or was that the same one had in season two?

DANI

I think it's new. I think she changes them a lot

CLARA

Yeah, I think so too and I really liked that. I like the idea that she's turning that into an accessory instead of just functional.

DANI

Yeah.

CLARA

It's a very Margo thing to do.

DANI

It is.

CLARA

And Alice. I noticed what she was wearing but I'm not sure its particularly notable except for the tones were more muted than usual. Like olive green and black shirt with another peter pan collar and that little white grey ribbon around it. The one thing that I noticed that might be meaningful is the cameo pin-- the pin with the white embossed, raised face in it, that you see a lot in Victorian stuff. And I kinda wondered if that's supposed to be her or something else. Or maybe its just a pin and she's, ya'know, that kinda person.

DANI

She might be.

CLARA

I'm always reading too much into fashion because they do put things in there.

DANI

Yeah, they do. They definitely do, but yeah, it's kinda hard not too. I just figured her style might have changed just a little bit because she's not the same anymore.