The Magicians Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Lesser Evils
Mandy Treccia
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Oh, Margo. What did you do?
The High Queen of Fillory made her toughest royal call yet on The Magicians Season 2 Episode 9 "Lesser Evils."
As usual, she got the job done. But is there any chance Eliot will see things her way when he finds out she bargained away his baby?
The outlook for their friendship staying strong after this falls somewhere in the slim to none category.
Even though he's freaked out by the notion of being a father, Eliot's a stand up guy. He wants to be better than his parents were. He might not trust Fen any longer, but he's made it clear that he will be there for his baby.
In Margo's defense, she knew she was agreeing to a terrible thing. Too bad she didn't pay more attention to the warnings about negotiating with the fairies.
We may be the least trusted monarchs in the history of Fillory. Thank God they don't have polls here.
Margo
But I'm not blaming her. She was focused on saving magic to make sure Eliot survived his duel. Her intentions were good.
Now comes the question of how long she'll keep the secret. How does one tell her best friend/soulmate that she traded away his unborn child for his life?
I'm not looking forward to that moment anymore than Margo is. I love their friendship. We've seen it fractured in the past, and this time will be so much worse.
Of course Eliot made a splash of his own with his decision to marry the King of Loria, and split the wellspring with them.
Does anyone else think this was all a setup? Why else would a king, who's already won 14 duels, run away into the woods rather than face a newbie king with sporadic magical abilities?
I think the king wanted to get Eliot alone. He wanted to lay the groundwork for a marriage between kings.
Eliot walked right into the trap.
Not that I blame him for wanting a solution that doesn't involve him murdering another king. Eliot's always been the peacemaker.
But now he's going to marry a second person who likely can't be trusted. And he's headed toward a friendship fallout with the person who does put him first.
At least we got a fun musical number out of it.
Speaking of friendships heading south, Kady was forced to make a difficult choice after Julia sank to a new low.
Their friendship has been one of the strongest parts of the season so far. Both women had nothing to lose and everything to gain by teaming up.
But without her shade, Julia is dangerous. I'm glad Kady sees that now. Even if it did take risking Quentin and Penny's lives to get her to that point.
We are not killing a U.S. Senator [pauses]. But we will commit a felony almost as stupid.
Penny
The senator story was rushed.
I assume we'll see more of him now that he's with Reynard. But after the buildup of finding him, the dominoes fell into place too fast. Although, I did enjoy the humor to people finding out they kidnapped a senator.
Everyone basically rolled with it. Magic is real, gods are attacking, trees can talk, so why wouldn't a kidnapped senator be brought to Brakebills?
Also, do we have to worry Kady might fall for the demigod?
Maybe it was a throwaway line that she found him attractive even though he's not her usual type. But then she was the one who did her best to get through to him.
It could be a coincidence or a way to add more tension to Kady and Penny's relationship.
But it's worth noting to see if anything further comes of it.
Penny: Why are you here anyway?
Julia: I killed trees.
Penny: Seriously?
Julia: That could talk.
Kady: They have talking trees here?
Julia: Not anymore.
I'm disappointed we didn't get to see more of Julia and Alice together. I also wish we could have seen Olivia Taylor Dudley in the scene rather than have Alice speak through Quentin.
Julia and Alice are suffering similar fates at the moment. Both have been separated from the parts that make them human. It would be fun to watch them cause trouble together.
Maybe that's something we'll see in the future now that Alice is free.
Alice, Quentin says go free.
Quentin
I think Quentin made the right call. Not just to set her free, but to set her free without the option of shoving her in the Niffin box.
It might come back to haunt him. But I don't think so. I think Alice meant it when she said she wants to experience the magic of the universe.
Sure, she might change her mind, and come back to murder everyone. But I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt.
The real question is where do we go from here?
Alice's Niffin took off as soon as she could, but I think she'll be back. She's probably going to play a central role in stopping Reynard once and for all.
And maybe that's when I'll get the Alice/Julia alliance I've been craving.
Now, it's your turn to share your thoughts on "Lesser Evils."
Who made the right call? Who made the wrong call? Which decision is going to hurt the most in the long run?
Need to catch up? You can watch The Magicians online anytime!
Mandy Treccia was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She retired in September 2017. Follow her on Twitter.
