The Magicians Series Finale Review and how a fandom ended their favorite show

The Magicians was one of the best and intricate shows I have ever seen. Shame not everyone thought so.

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#themagicians
#seragamble
#quentincoldwater

[nobodyofconsequence]

Q's death was one of the best sendoffs for a character i have ever seen. The first time i saw him talk to Penny about the heroic death vs suicide dilemma, i had to pause it because that line hit me in a very deep place.
The representation for people with real psychological issues was fantastic throughout the whole show.
And "queer" (i kinda hate using that word) representation as well. It never got preachy or pushy with an agenda. It never took a gay character and went "LOOK! LOOK! SEE HOW GAY THEY ARE!? WE DID GOOD, RIGHT!?"
Instead they had characters. Real, believable, flawed as hell characters that happened to not be hetero.(Though i disagree with you about Quentin. I firmly believe he was heterosexual. But also biromantic. [I have a long explanation based on lines and subtext from the "50 years is real proof of concept" scene]) But yeah....
Also racial representation without the need to constantly vilify white people.
This show is basically a perfect example of how to do all-around diversity properly.
Ember's Balls, i LOVE this show.
Anyway...the people that got mad are ultimately too immature to truly appreciate a show of this depth and magnitude.
Im disappointed we wont get more, but feel the finale we got was very well done for what it had to do.
Way-too-long comment over. Thnx for reading.

[MlleLyla]

I fell in love with that show, rewatching it now. Love the wacky humor and absurd self-aware craziness, of course.
But when I first watched it, what caught me the most by surprise was how much I grew up to love the characters at the end, and how much each of them evolved. Quentin wasn't my favorite character, far from it. Yet I sobbed like a baby when his character died, it just felt so sincere (and the song <3).
In season 5, even if it was sometimes heartbreaking (like Eliot and Alice mourning Quentin together), it was interesting to see how Quentin's death brought them closer.
Lot of beautiful surprises in that show.

[Dinosgurl]

I had a similar reaction to his death and would preferred see a happy ending between Q and Elliot but given the very dangerous lives the characters lived eventually someone was going to die. I miss the show. Margo, the Original Penny and Elliot were my favorite characters.

[manuels]

I think this was an absolutely amazing show! For me Quentin's death felt right in the sense that it was meant to be heartbreaking. Quentin was supposed to realize that in the end he died a hero, and he did so doing what he did best, fixing small things. And I also think his death was important in triggering the growth of other characters and bring them a new set of challenges. (As you said, the writers have to keep the show fresh, otherwise there is not growth or progression!) I feel like if anyone didn't watch season 5 because of Quentin's death should go back and watch it. I think the writers did an amazing job in showing the characters grieving throughout the season, and, in a way, it's like we got to grieve along side them. We the audience and the characters were meant to feel this loss and learn to live and work through it, just like in real life. Ultimately I think The Magicians was an incredibly "human" show, in that, at the end of the day, they focused on the human experience of these characters who simply happened to have accessed to magic. And Quentin's death is unfortunately just one of those human experiences we all must go through in life.

Thank you for reading!

[jesseandersen]

I agree with your assessment however, the quality of season 5 was a noticeable step down from the first 3, I even had some minor issues with season 4 but overall thought it was good. In some ways Quentin’s death wasn’t so bad, aside from the bury the gays AND the suicidal trope. My issue with season 5 though is that a, they needed to find a better way to unite these characters. It really was Quentin that held them all together and without him they felt like a group of mismatched people who’d rather be with someone else (was that just me?). But my biggest issue with season five was that there was too much going on, and too many world ending events that made it almost feel like a race to the end. The dark king, the moon, the after effects of the moon, the destruction of fillory AND the creation of a whole new world. It was just too much and felt like it should have been two seasons but they forced it all into one. That being said I’d have loved a season 6. I loved this show more than almost any other fantasy tv series. ❤

[JCResDoc]

*it was a masterpiece.* a shame. tho 5 seasons i think is a good run. even a 3y tight season. but i mis this show & did not want it to be over. but a lot was going on. a lot is always going on. 5y is too long. for one job. _JC

[reallauradee]

Quentin's death was poignant and it mattered, it had meaning. When art imitates life, always having happy endings doesn't reflect reality. People die all the time, loved ones unexpectedly pass away IRL and it sucks. The Magicians was never about character's life's coming full circle, it was about those bumps on the road, those barriers stopping them from going further and figuring out how to break thru it only to find there's also a giant hole in the ground. And best of all, it showed us that even though we fall in those metaphorical holes, we can have friends who love us and who will throw us a rope while calling us an idiot.

The show ended with potential. But I doubt a company like Netflix would pick it up.

[afxmnstr]

IMO Q wasn’t the best part of the show. His parting still made me tear up. This show needed him on the show though. Without how much he loved fillory it was a little misguided.

[Dinosgurl]

I never heard of a ‘kill suicidal character’ trope. Gonna look into that.

I found his arc to be done well. Very different than the books.

[donaldschultz]

I can see how somethings are open ended and they are left for us to use our imagination on if and how everyone is reunited. However I feel things have been closed. At the end, magic seems to be stabilized with the hedges working with the lunatics to cast only when circumstances are optimal and brakebills considering doing the same. As stated before, reuniting everyone is left to our imagination and I believe that they will find a way. Also they didn't seem to have any form of enemy to face at the end. Sure there could be more adventure to be had with Julia Penny and the baby traveling and figuring out how to reunite and create a way to come and go from the new Fillory. Maybe SyFy or someone will create a 2 episode movie to completely close it out. Also i would've like to see where Q went to when he walked through the doorway and "moved on"

[iameligrey]

The issue was the writing got bad or lazy and the gimmicks like the musical numbers became the norm instead of a special or funny aspect of the show like the Taylor Swift cover in season 1. Look at the writers from season to season, I bet they had changes. 12 Monkeys is the only show I can think of that was perfect from start to finish. Q didn’t get the show cancelled, the writing did.

[smoothie]

There is one part I really do not get... sorry If I poke a hole in this.
The last episode, Fillory is destroyed when Margo turned back the clock, which means at that exact moment, magic was turned off, since it holds the wellspring of magic.
... So how did they have magic to make the world seed grow, when the wellspring was currently blown to pieces?!

[OMGitsShrimp]

EDIT: just realized I said season 5 throughout the whole thing when I meant season 4. Sorry!

Lol I’m like the only comment on here.
I see your point tbh. Boycotting a show is a big reaction to the death of Q. No one gave the new storyline a shot, including me, which you can argue is a bit unfair, but also within our right to do.
Personally, I was never really involved with the Magicians fandom. I watched the show on Netflix and enjoyed it but never really looked into the fandom. When I saw that Q had died I immediately knew the show wasn’t going to make it. But for me it wasn’t just because of Q but also the whole of season 5. In my opinion s5 as a whole wasn’t the best writing. It felt like they were exploring all the wrong things in the wrong ways.
I don’t think Q and Alice should’ve gotten back together. It was time for that to end. Their revisiting their relationship felt regressive to their individual character development and the overall plot.
Josh was around too much and was starting to annoy me.(he just seemed like ur typical mediocre white guy who gets too much screen time than he’s worth.)
The writers seemed to struggle with some of the characters.
I have my own ideas/opinions of what I would’ve liked. Josh would not be as prominent, Fenn would be more prominent (would’ve loved to see her expand herself like go to school, develop a new discipline of magic (maybe with Alice) that native Fillorans could use. That would’ve been dope and significantly change the geopolitical landscape of Fillory in major ways while giving the whole realm a reboot. It would further solidify her standing in Fillory as well and make her a legendary queen. (And would give Alice more to do outside the group so she could grow a new identity). Fenn had a lot more potential and wouldve been a more valuable addition to the main group than Josh imo). I think they should’ve stayed exploring Quentin and Elliot’s relationship. I would’ve made Penny, Julia and Katey appear together more because there new dynamic would be interesting to watch. I would’ve made Alice have some much need development that didn’t have anything to do with Q. That’s all I can think of.
Idk. After s5 finale I was definitely mad and as a casual viewer I was perfectly fine just not watching it anymore. (Didn’t know so many others decided not to watch as well). But regardless I did not think the writers’ choices and writing could carry the show into the future. I thought this all through s5 but Q’s death sealed the deal for me.
I personally don’t blame the fans that much because this is the nature of fandoms for better or for worse. The writers didn’t make good choices and their writing slipped. So the viewers slipped away too. It was truly a dumb decision from a writing perspective. I couldn’t believe they had the balls to do something so bad. I don’t think it would’ve been impossible to have Q’s death received well. I just don’t think they executed it well and also it was not the right time. Q’s story didn’t feel like it came to a natural end, it felt like it was cut short but that’s just my two cents.
I think the writing survived for this long because it had a rich source material. It’s based off a book(s), and at some point the writers were going to have to think on their feet and be more original with the plot and characters (while still being true to the book) and I don’t think they made the best choices all the time. (Granted, I’ve never read the books so 🤷🏾‍♀️).
Sorry I wrote so much. I’ve actually never talked about the Magicians to anyone (cause no one I know watches it) so I guess I had a lot to say despite only being a casual viewer of the show. lol Nice video by the way! 👍🏾

EDIT: just realized I said season 5 throughout the whole thing when I meant season 4. Sorry!

[mjpete]

I do wish someone had found the GUTS to carry on with the show! People die I real life, people must learn how to deal with the disappointment, anger, frustration and loss. I have no idea what makes some shows thrive from online content, but it kills others? I was so sad a show called “Wonderfalls” was cancelled after one season, in fact I did not see the whole season until after I purchased the DVD set! I believe that some writers are criminal in their treatment of source material, look at Game of Thrones completely hijacked, and some characters completely written out others warped beyond recognition! Thanks for this video you open several avenues of introspection. I hope you have a good day and have a chance to see more of your contact.

[teasipper]

I was pretty upset about Q dying i dropped it.
I think it takes a lot of confidence assume the fanbase wouldn't be upset about a main protagonist dying when there was so.much left on the table, At the same i understand other side of things

[eddiea]

I felt like the actor playing Quentin wanted to leave, because otherwise his death felt like a huge missed opportunity.
It felt like the writers doing the best with what they had on short notice, rather than sitting down and planning, in the long term, how they wanted Quentin die.
And I know this because the quest to bring back magic literally happened the season before his death. There would be no better way for Quentin to die than to die bringing back magic - it would have been an almost perfect thematic end to his character arc, and would have echoed the conversation with his father he had early that season.

Quentin dying to stop Library dude wasn't bad, but it wasn't great. It was him dying to stop one of the most milk toast villains ever to appear on the Magicians - The Beast, Reynard, even The Monster; all of them were far more compelling villains than Library Dude. It worked on the level of Quentin's character, but the threat he died to bring down didn't feel dangerous enough to make it seem worth it - especially after the group had already demonstrated the ability to kill gods. They made it work to the best of their ability, but I can understand why fans were upset.

But mostly I feel like Quentin's death was rushed because the character didn't feel finished. We never got to see what Quentin would have done with his life once he finally finished saving the world, which was something every other character got. Margo and Elliot were the most involved in Fillory - that was what they would be doing if they didn't have to save the world. Julia had her entire Lady of The Trees arc. Kady is the main group link to the Hedge Witches. Alice was just a straight up genius, and Josh was Josh.

But we never really got to see what Quentin would have been uninterrupted, and while that made his death somewhat sadder it also made his character feel so unfinished. From the moment we meet him to his death, his life was defined by Quests.

Which is the main reason he should have died completing the most important Quest in the series, but I don't think they knew Quentin was going to die at that point, and by the time they made that decision they'd already missed the opportunity.

[WanderMage]

Except that the shows take on quentin did take away a lot from him. And yeah I agree the show wasn't suppose to end but think about if they made a harry potter show and they just decided to kill off harry and focus on harmione. The books are about quentin and his struggle to find his place in the world. Quentin grows so much as a person and sacrifices so much in the books that his death in the show and the writers making it seem like "Oh he could of still been suicidal again" felt like a character assassination. Quentin is that person whom life just keeps beating and beating and beating but grows and finds a way to say fuck you back to life and finds a way to make shit work. thats the whole point of the deans speech when they are putting the demons in their backs. (idiot writers didn't put in that epic speech). Quentin and the rest of the characters are magicians not cause they are special but because they feel pain. They learned to break the world that tried to break them. Killing off quentin is just quentin losing and his worse fears being right.

[Ladytazm]

The show died when Quinn died. He made the show and so did the rest of the cast.

[loslobos]

I stopped watching after season Three however I was thinking about picking it back up again my only concern about this issue is did it happen that way in the books? I Know it's based on a book series so if Quinton dies in the Books well ok it's meant to be but if he doesn't and this was just a writers decision to be edgy or something that's BS. Can someone tell me?

[foxygoodreads]

That is bullshit.. because the Quentin is the one who creates the new fillory in the book series and the only reason I loved the series and watched the show was because of it. Yes he had some issues in book 1 (like depression) but he becomes so much good and it inspired my brother who had suicidal tendencies got so much better.