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The Magicians premiered on Syfy this week, and, boy, do I think they have a hit on their hands. The show has a lot going for it: slick special effects, magic, mystery, and, of course, a great cast. Having read the book eons ago, I only vaguely remembered the plot (and, to be honest, remember feeling a little meh about it when I finished reading) so I was eager to see the show.

Down-and-dirty/bare bones recap to get you hooked: We first encounter our main character, Quentin (otherwise known as Q…who, side note, sometimes looks like he could be related to Josh Hartnett), as he’s checking himself out of a short self-committed stint at a psych ward (record scratch…whaaaa? Really don’t remember that from the books). He’s always felt like a misfit which makes him sad and lonely. He does, though, have one best friend, Julia (my first thought: “Hang on. He’s totally in love with her, and she knows it.”). They’re graduating from college and looking to get into grad school. Back in the day, Julia and Q were into this book series called Fillory and Further (that, of course, has a cult following and seems to be kind of like the Narnia books). Julia grew up (and out of geeky magic), but Q is still obsessed. He even wrote an entrance paper to grad school on it which snagged him an interview (Julia takes him to. Why? She’s acting like his babysitter/mom/overbearing girlfriend). The interview guy (surprise) is stone-cold-dead, but left papers for Q about….you guessed it….Fillory! Julia gives Q a talking to (“Grow up! There is no magic!” which always means OF COURSE there is magic/she’ll be eating those words soon), and they part ways. They both end up (magically) at a Brakebills (a magical school) entrance exam. Q passes, but Julia doesn’t (karma! She should have never said there was no magic.). She is sent home with her memory erased (although, she slices her arm so she can remember everything later. Damn girl. Cutting into yourself is a bit much, don’t you think? Plus, how could the mind-erasing professor not notice blood dripping down her arm?). While Q has finally found where he belongs (and some serious magic powers that the Dean helped get out of him), Julia is now totally lost and depressed (her scar did indeed remind her of everything that happened). She eventually gets recruited by a clearly sinister magician (I’m not even going to talk about that really twisted scene in the bathroom…I mean, he says this: “How does it feel to know I can do whatever I want to you?” *shiver*). I have a feeling her thirst for magic is clouding her judgment because she should have run away from him–fast. Meanwhile, Q is having these weird visions about Fillory which may, in fact, be real (and led to a very interesting seance scene Alice–Q’s rival or friend?–led and which reminded me of the fad of trying to conjure Bloody Mary in a dark room with a mirror). Finally, there’s THE BEAST (whoever the Beast is, he’s creepy, evil, and Q is obviously destined to either defeat him…or die).

Highlights 

• Best line: “Everything you think is so boring. I replace it with dubstep.” -Q’s mind-reading roommate, Pacey (who, by the way, had a crazy levitating sex scene. Welcome to magic school.)
• Best laugh out loud line: “And, you know, I don’t want to be the guy who dies in the first ten minutes of the movie because they bring out an ouiji board, and he’s like ‘Oh, what could possibly go wrong?'” -Q to Alice (who, I hope, becomes his new best friend because Julia be crazy. Also, Alice’s family mystery is totally intriguing.)
• Eeeek moment: Bloody Mary mirror seance scene. What. The. Eff. That smiley face drawn after everyone decides their seance didn’t work and left the room (duh, something always happens when people leave) was downright goosebump-inducing.
• Creepiest scene (slash best ending to a pilot episode): Obviously this one goes to THE BEAST arriving in the classroom. The yanked out eyeballs (grossss). The bloody smiley face (Might have to sleep with the light on). The insects obscuring his face (Uh-oh. Did Julia team up with The Beast?). WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN?!

Photo Credit: Syfy