The Magicians

I am surprised by how much I enjoy this series. The wit and intelligence in the writing, the character development, the acting... all of it is terrific. Season 1 is so-so, and at the very end of that season it feels like the writers were told to kick it into high gear because the final episodes build story line after story line to set up the next seasons. In Season 3 there is an episode that is so heartfelt that I weeped both times I watched it and just thinking about the story that was told in that episode (episode 5!) gives me chills. I was very surprised to find this fun/witty show could evoke so much emotion out of me in one episode. That episode stayed with me for a few days after watching it, which to me that is my mark of brilliant storytelling - I just couldn't stop thinking about it. I'm hooked. If you watch and get bored in season 1, stick with it! You will be very glad you did.

I can't believe they're cancelling this show right as I found it and binged it on Netflix. There will never be enough of Eliot and Margo. Somebody ovary up and pick this show up. Please.

I just finished season 5 and I'm so sad there is not another season or at least a spinoff. A new network like Netflix or Hulu or YouTube need to pick it up! I need more magician's to get through quarantine!

If you've read Lev Grossman's wonderful Magicians trilogy you may find watching this series rather disorienting. The characters are all there and quite recognizable, and it's still about magic students and mysterious otherworlds, but it often feels like the series' writers cut the books into pieces, stirred those pieces in a bowl, then pulled them out and stitched the pieces together in random order, making up new stuff to fill in gaps.

That's not bad, and the world they have created works quite well, but it increasingly diverges from the books' mythology. This approach means I often find the show full of weird left turns where it shows me something familiar and then wanders off somewhere else with it, but the show is very entertaining, and it's prickly characters (awkward guy geek, ridiculously hot, short-skirted girl geek, snarky macho guy, snarky gay guy, angsty magic reject) are, if not quite likable, still fairly relatable.

The first changes from the book were relatively small. We follow Julia's story throughout the series, whereas her later reappearance in the book represented a plot twist. And while the books' Quentin did not have a Harry Potter-ish Destiny - he was just a smart guy so desperate for grand adventure that he would pursue all sorts of crazy things - comments made by supporting characters suggest that in the series, Quentin is in some way inherently Important. I feel that's a bit too obvious - the lack of destiny was one of those nice contrasts with Harry Potter - but it's fine.

Some story elements in the series are from the books, but they can come from any book in any order and are often mixed with things that aren't from the books at all. But while I'm often discombobulated by these changes, I'm rarely displeased.

Addendum: Just saw the last episode, so came back to say that this series held up throughout. Sometimes overly confusing, but overall very solid with an excellent finale.

Constant surprises! This show is a fresh take on all the topics you could ever imagine being linked to the umbrella topic that is "magic".

Yes all the characters are annoyingly teen-like despite being in their 20's, with the usual designated roles; the nerd, the bitch, the shy girl etc.

Yet this show is so (!) inventive with how magic is portrayed. I feel like the writers are very much aware of how annoying the characters are (haven't read the books btw) and portrays them this way in order to create this very fast, quirky and weird plot. There's simply not enough time to dwell on the characters while at the same time having this crazy and quite complicated plot unfolding.

The characters in a way becomes secondary to the topics being discussed, the underlying topic being the role, function and meaningfulness/or not of magic.

(Edit: having re-watched the entire show and going on season 4 I have come to actually like the characters. They have grown more complex and I no longer find them shallow which is a big plus.)

It is very 'in your face' and informal, with a lot of swearing and sets/costumes that sometimes look like a high-school play setup.

This show has made me: scared: it has one of the most terrifying characters I have ever come across in a show; it has made me think (on the definition of magic, on the experience of time, of death, of evil..) ; and made me laugh: It has a lot of humor, not in a 'one joke after the other' kind of way, but in the absurdity and craziness that is the show.

There are some VERY dark themes being explored in it, but it manages to do so in a way that doesn't leave you feeling down after watching it. For me partly because I didn't care too much about the characters, but I did care a lot about the plot so I kept watching, and kept being amazed at the inventiveness and strangely light and playful way it is written and delivered.

Just watched the latest episode of season 3 and Im still loving it!