Syfy’s The Magicians Return to San Diego Comic Con

If you were as obsessed with Syfy’s The Magicians as we were, you’ll know how excited we were to be able to chat with the cast at San Diego Comic Con about the show. Although we didn’t really get any juicy spoilers about season 2 (despite our best efforts!), we still enjoyed delving back into the world of Breakbills and Fillory.

The Cast & The Characters

Like any good story, the focus of The Magicians is on the characters. The characters are the heart (and, I’d argue, the story is the soul). Season 1 was all about learning who each character was, how they related to one another, and glimpsing who they might become. Arjun Gupta (Penny) explains that the differences between characters is simple. He says, “”As humans, we have all colors within us. And what defines our personality is what colors are happening at that moment.” He also explains why the characters are so appealing to fans–because “we all have that moment of despair.” Whether or not their personalities are super well-liked, fans can relate to each of them in some way because everyone knows what sadnes, heartbreak, despair, etc feels like.

Enjoy a few more highlights from the cast on how they see their characters:

Rick Worthy (Dean): “I’ve been playing the Dean in a very tough love sort of way…but underneath all of that is a lot of love.”

Summer Bishil (Margo): “[Margo] satisfies her needs and desires immediately. She doesn’t apologize for herself, and that is strong.”

Hale Appleman (Eliot): “Eliot has created a new insiderness with his own feeling of being an outsider. I admire that…[but becoming King has given] renewed sense of purpose, intention, and dignity ”

Olivia Taylor Dudley (Alice): “She’s awkward. I get that part of her…she’s so determined in life.”

Stella Maeve (Julia) on Julia and Katie living as outsiders: “It’s hard to live in the darkness. It’s intense.”

Jade Tailor (Katie): “It’s really fun to have characters that continuously have things at stake. It heightens the situation”

The Cast & The Story 

Since the show is based on the bestselling book trilogy by Lev Grossman, the creators and cast have detailed source material to work with and reference. Jade Tailor pointed out that, “If you look at Lev’s writing, it has this dark, drab quality to it that is needed. Without the dark, you can’t see the light.”. The Magicians has certainly kept the dark tone of the book in creating the television series. As with any adaptation, though, there will be changes (ones that, hopefully, do not change the essence of the story). As Arjun Gupta explained, “We are the show. We have taken liberties.” Olivia Taylor Dudley agrees, saying, “We read the books on set, and we’re very big fans of what Lev did, but we do our own interpretations.” Jason Ralph chimed in, agreeing with Dudley’s comment explaining, “I want to be the best Quentin…I love who he is in the books, and I want to represent that as clearly and responsibly as possible [but] with the knowledge that we all have our own filters in which we take in information…so I am doing my very best version of him.” Indeed, Ralph is doing a fantastic job at bringing Quentin to life on screen while slightly making him more likeable (in my opinion).

What Season 2 Might Hold

Rick Worthy put it well when he said, “Everything has seemed to have gone to hell.” It’s so true. Season 1 ended with a bang so we’re super eager to see the fallout. After speaking with the cast, I got the sense that next season will focus more on the group as a whole—at least at first. Arjun Gupta explained that “from a story stand point, there are immense consequences that have to be dealt with…all of us have to go on such crazy journeys because of what happened at the end of the first season.” See if you can read between the lines and get any sneak tidbits out of the cast about the upcoming season:

Stella Maeve (Julia): “I think that with anyone who has been thru a severe trauma like that…of course it will have repercussions.”

Summer Bishil (Margo): “[Fleshing out our relationship is something that] I can’t wait to explore with [Eliot]…and to see Margo come into her own in the absence of Eliot.”

Rick Worthy (Dean): “We get to know more about Dean and Dean’s romantic life!”

Jason Ralph (Quentin): “It’s a broken relationship [between Q and Alice]. There are two people who are very angry at each other for what they did–and who are both trying to find active ways to get themselves through it and also repair it”

Olivia Taylor Dudley (Alice): “I think what [the producers] have done with it is fascinating and awesome and fun to explore and something fans aren’t expecting.”

Arjun Gupta (Penny): “What you can expect is more crazy, more fun, more humor, more relationships…more excellence.”

We hope you enjoyed hearing about The Magicians as much as we did. Let the countdown to season 2 begin!