S05.E13: Fillory and Further

[ElectricBoogaloo]

SERIES FINALE!

Quote

Christmas comes early.

Promo:

Original air date: 4/1/20

Edited March 28, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Ms.Lulu]

So sad. But I am glad it is set up for the off chance Amazon picks The Magicians up.

Edited April 2, 2020 by PDXlulu

[Indigo Luna]

Really. A Sopranos style ending?! 5 years and thats what we get? I was loving the set up until they just left it in the air about whether the World Seed Crew™ ever reunited or got into contact with our Earthlings. I don't need everything spelled out for me at all but come on it didn't even fill up the whole hour! When the credits rolled I was just sitting there with my mouth hanging open and not in a good way. I checked the clock and there were still 5 minutes left until 11. Yes I'm bitter, ending a 5 year series on a cliffhanger just felt like a fuck you to the fans AND the cast. If anyone needs me I will be drinking tequila in the corner. 

 

[Poltargyst]

I hate the last episodes of series I've loved.  I mean when I know it's the last episode while I'm watching it.  I always feel sad like someone's died.  It shows that I really came to care for these characters, and I'm moved by knowing I won't see them again.

Oh, crap, the Beast showed up.  He brought a certain level of...uh...terror to the episode.  Poor Zelda.

Nice save of Margo, Penny.

Wait, that's how big and pointy the seed is?  How did it fit...?  You know what?  Never mind.

Ha!  The new world has a field of bacon!  I like it already.

I loved the Magicians.  For a few years, it was my favorite show on tv.  I mean I would rearrange my schedule to make sure I watched it as it first aired.  No watching it the next day for me.  The humor including the sex and drug & alcohol humor, the absolute horror of the Beast and Reynard, the quirky, wackiness, the messenger bunnies. 

Most of all I think were the character relationships.  How great was Eliot and Margo's friendship? 

Quentin wasn't my favorite character when he was on, but I have to say I missed him this season.  He was necessary.  He was the heart of the group, linking other members of the group.  The show was poorer without him.

I hope the show gets picked up by someone. 

Thanks for the memories, Magicians.  It's been fun.

Edited April 2, 2020 by Poltargyst

[Poltargyst]

17 minutes ago, Indigo Luna said:

Really. A Sopranos style ending?! 5 years and thats what we get? I was loving the set up until they just left it in the air about whether the World Seed Crew™ ever reunited or got into contact with our Earthlings. I don't need everything spelled out for me at all but come on it didn't even fill up the whole hour! When the credits rolled I was just sitting there with my mouth hanging open and not in a good way. I checked the clock and there were still 5 minutes left until 11. Yes I'm bitter, ending a 5 year series on a cliffhanger just felt like a fuck you to the fans AND the cast. If anyone needs me I will be drinking tequila in the corner. 

 

I think they left it open hoping it will get picked up for a sixth season.

[ProudMary]

I HATE the ending they gave Eliot. He lives the rest of his life never knowing what happened to his friends?!?! Margo, Josh, Alice and Fen get to build a new world; Penny, Julia and HQ (🤮) go off to form their own little family, I must have blinked twice because I don't remember seeing Kady-Is she with the hedges? But Eliot's all alone at Brakebills except for Charlton? F/U show.

[The Companion]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

I HATE the ending they gave Eliot. He lives the rest of his life never knowing what happened to his friends?!?! Margo, Josh, Alice and Fen get to build a new world; Penny, Julia and HQ (🤮) go off to form their own little family, I must have blinked twice because I don't remember seeing Kady-Is she with the hedges? But Eliot's all alone at Brakebills except for Charlton? F/U show.

Hands down, the richest and best relationship on this show was Margo and Eliot. Their friendship was incredible to watch. Two broken people who understand each other and are there, judgment free, always. So, naturally, we get jackshit when it comes to closure/an ending with them. 

The truth is that Eliot was wasted. Are we supposed to be happy he ends maybe with some dude who lived in his head. They have this beautiful slow buildup to Eliot and Quentin, kill off Quentin, and throw him together with someone he has had 0 romantic involvement with at the last second? Disappointing for sure. Hell, at least he had chemistry with the Dark King. 

And then there is Julia. I don't even like Julia that much, but what a shit finale for her. Stuck in a bed liked a fucking prop for WorstPenny's man pain. She didn't even get a good push in. Just: okay, she pushed out the baby. That's it. I mean, she feels the connection severed and DOESN'T EVEN GET TO TALK ABOUT IT. Seriously, she holds her baby for the first time, a baby she has a magical connection with, and all she can say is that she pooped? 

ok, rant over. It was a good tie up to a story but it had no heart and precious little magic or suspense. But, I did love Margo sitting in a world as it ends eating Josh's sandwich. I am happy they ended up together. I liked that Fen got to fix some of the problems inherent in Filory. I loved that we got high king Margo. Margo the destroyer and the creator. 

In the end, the finale didn't make me feel much at all, which is shocking for a show that has made me feel so much over the years. It was safe and a bit disappointing. But I will miss this ridiculous, silly, poignant show. 

Peaches and plums, motherfuckers. Thanks for joining me on this journey. 

Now off to write my headcanon where Eliot dies someday and ends up in the afterlife to find himself walking through brakebills, only to hear a voice tell him: "you're late." 😭😭😭

[Poltargyst]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

I HATE the ending they gave Eliot. He lives the rest of his life never knowing what happened to his friends?!?! Margo, Josh, Alice and Fen get to build a new world; Penny, Julia and HQ (🤮) go off to form their own little family, I must have blinked twice because I don't remember seeing Kady-Is she with the hedges? But Eliot's all alone at Brakebills except for Charlton? F/U show.

No one said Eliot would never see his friends again.

[AnimeMania]

I thought when they brought the bunnies back they would be able to tell everybody where they are or at least that they were alright.

[Absurda]

I thought when Penny joined Julia at the end and she was looking at a paper he asked "is that the latest from Elliot?".  So, my take is that Julia and Penny are traveling trying to find their friends and Elliot is helping by identifying possible locations.  So they are all still connected and working together. 

I think the relationship between Charleton and Elliot came out of left field, but it could actually be the beginning of a healthy, stable relationship for him.  That's a first.

I did love that the bacon was Alice's contribution, a call back to when Quentin helped her become human again. 

Also loved Margo the destroyer and creator.

[iMonrey]

That was a lot to process. I thought the twist with Martin Chatwin was a pretty good one, but overall I feel like the Dark King was an under-developed character by the end of the season. And there were other characters I would have liked to see again, like Poppy and Todd.

I thought the time-loop twist with Plum was hard to follow, and that Plum was another under-developed character. So it turns out she's Jane Chatwin's granddaughter? Did we know Jane ever had a child? When? 

As a series finale I think there was a measure of closure, but I'm going to have to go back and watch it again for a final assessment. It left a lot on the table, understandably.

[Darian]

I have no interest in a finale that doesn't end with Margo and Elliot together, and no assurance that they ever will be again. Their relationship is mostly why I came back this season at all. 

 I've so enjoyed the discussions here, which gave me almost as much enjoyment as the show without the frustration the show sometimes did. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

I thought when they brought the bunnies back they would be able to tell everybody where they are or at least that they were alright.

They said there were no bunnies in sight at New Fillory, so at the moment they are completely cut off with no way to contact Earth and their friends.

[futurechemist]

My husband watched the finale with me last night. He hasn't really seen any episodes.  At several points he said "batshit crazy".

They wrapped most stuff up in a fairly satisfying way in their unique style.  I enjoyed it.  I was disappointed when the episode ended 5 minutes early to show the starts describe the episode we just watched, but the heartfelt crew goodbyes were a nice touch.  My assumption is that this crew stuff and the 2nd Fogg cat scene added in order to remove the more cliff-hangery elements and give better closure.

[Jynnan tonnix]

52 minutes ago, futurechemist said:

My husband watched the finale with me last night. He hasn't really seen any episodes.  At several points he said "batshit crazy".

They wrapped most stuff up in a fairly satisfying way in their unique style.  I enjoyed it.  I was disappointed when the episode ended 5 minutes early to show the starts describe the episode we just watched, but the heartfelt crew goodbyes were a nice touch.  My assumption is that this crew stuff and the 2nd Fogg cat scene added in order to remove the more cliff-hangery elements and give better closure.

I was starting to think that I was the only one who felt that the ending was pretty satisfying all around - as satisfying as it could be, really. No, it wasn't perfect. I would have liked a better ending for Eliot. But it's really all open enough that they can all really go anywhere if it gets picked up by Amazon or something, and if not, then it's open enough for a universe of fanfic and fantasy. I'm really more OK with the ending than I imagined I would be.

[festivus]

I'm so bummed that my favorite show is over. 😥

Julia: I have to wonder what her story would have been if Stella hadn't been pregnant but I'm okay with her ending. Not sure what else the writers were supposed to do. She seemed happy.

Love that Fen was so important. I really adore that character.

I'm actually good with Eliot's end. I'm sure Margo and the others will be found and I like the Charlton thing. Did not give two shits about Seb and I never saw the chemistry. Charlton told Eliot once that he deserved a good person and I think that's what he got. And how good was the actor playing Hyman at playing Hyman playing Charlton? I was impressed. 

All in all I like the end, even for Zelda. I'm sure the underworld library needs her. One thing I don't like is the candy witch with Q's blood never amounted to anything. I've always been waiting for that to come back around.

[Tperodactyl]

Still waiting for Amazon Prime to upload this so I can watch it 😡

[GaT]

Well, I spent the series finale thinking the same thing I thought through much of the series. WTF is going on?????

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Opening scenes:

 

[Jynnan tonnix]

9 hours ago, festivus said:

I'm so bummed that my favorite show is over. 😥

Julia: I have to wonder what her story would have been if Stella hadn't been pregnant but I'm okay with her ending. Not sure what else the writers were supposed to do. She seemed happy.

Love that Fen was so important. I really adore that character.

I'm actually good with Eliot's end. I'm sure Margo and the others will be found and I like the Charlton thing. Did not give two shits about Seb and I never saw the chemistry. Charlton told Eliot once that he deserved a good person and I think that's what he got. And how good was the actor playing Hyman at playing Hyman playing Charlton? I was impressed. 

All in all I like the end, even for Zelda. I'm sure the underworld library needs her. One thing I don't like is the candy witch with Q's blood never amounted to anything. I've always been waiting for that to come back around.

All of this. Though I have to say I did see the chemistry with Eliot and Seb. Then again, I saw it with Eliot and Charlton as well, even way back. At least, Charlton always kind of looked as though he adored Eliot even though there was never any hint of it in the script. Then again, I could just be projecting ☺️ Plus, Hale pretty much seems to have chemistry of one sort or another with practically everyone. 

And, yes, I was really impressed with the actor playing Hyman as well...And totally cracked up at the end when for a second he thought twice about spying on Eliot and Charlton, then spun right around again and headed upstairs. Squicky as all get-out, but hilarious. 

Edited April 3, 2020 by Jynnan tonnix

[festivus]

22 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

And, yes, I was really impressed with the actor playing Hyman as well...And totally cracked up at the end when for a second he thought twice about spying on Eliot and Charlton, then spun right around again and headed upstairs. Squicky as all get-out, but hilarious. 

That was so wrong but also hilarious, I agree. I also lost it at Margo's landing in the clock tree or whatever it's called.

25 minutes ago, Jynnan tonnix said:

I saw it with Eliot and Charlton as well, even way back. At least, Charlton always kind of looked as though he adored Eliot even though there was never any hint of it in the script.

Yes! The more I think about Eliot and Charlton, the more I like it. Charl's been in El's head so he knows every bad thing and still wants to be with him because no matter what he knows El is a good person at heart. I find it really sweet. Josh and Margo came out of nowhere too and that one ended up working for me over time. 

This one took a day to set in I guess because of so much going on but I'm really bothered by Dean Fogg only getting to be sane when he's holding that poor cat. I'm going to have to believe that Lipson can fix him.

[Terrafamilia]

I suspected they'd get a body for Charlton but I had been leaning towards it being Seb/Ruperts's (though didn't know how they'd arrange it).

Given that Plum exists we can assume that somewhen down the line Jane is able to leave her time bubble, get back to Earth (in the past?), start up a relationship and have a child. Otherwise, the only male available will be Rupert (eww - that might be a step too far for even this show).

[Prower]

So did I miss something? What was Hades doing? Didn't he decide to get off his ass and help? He is a god, he probably could have stoped this with a snap...

Btw. I did like that apperently in this show you can move on from the underworld. In the books it was damn depressing having to be bored as hell for eternity (until Quentin put everybody to sleep).

On 4/2/2020 at 5:13 AM, Indigo Luna said:

Really. A Sopranos style ending?! 5 years and thats what we get? I was loving the set up until they just left it in the air about whether the World Seed Crew™ ever reunited or got into contact with our Earthlings.

For once I'm not the pessimist. I for one am sure that Penny and Julia will find them or that the new world crew will get a messsage out with coordinates. They have been in way worse situations and always found a way out. At the moment there isn't even somebody after them who wants to kill them. That is a big step up from the usual.

On 4/2/2020 at 5:23 AM, Poltargyst said:

Most of all I think were the character relationships.  How great was Eliot and Margo's friendship? 

The best! I always loved them together.

On 4/2/2020 at 5:23 AM, Poltargyst said:

Quentin wasn't my favorite character when he was on, but I have to say I missed him this season.  He was necessary.  He was the heart of the group, linking other members of the group.  The show was poorer without him.

Yeah Quentin was never the greatest character on his own, but all his relationships were great. The show is missing something without him. I have to say I saw this coming and don't understand how the writers couldn't. My only explaination is that the actor wanted too much money.

[Jynnan tonnix]

3 hours ago, Prower said:

So did I miss something? What was Hades doing? Didn't he decide to get off his ass and help? He is a god, he probably could have stoped this with a snap..

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

Btw. I did like that apperently in this show you can move on from the underworld. In the books it was damn depressing having to be bored as hell for eternity (until Quentin put everybody to sleep).

**************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************************

For once I'm not the pessimist. I for one am sure that Penny and Julia will find them or that the new world crew will get a messsage out with coordinates. They have been in way worse situations and always found a way out. At the moment there isn't even somebody after them who wants to kill them. That is a big step up from the usual.

************************************************************************************************************************************************

The best! I always loved them together.

***************************************************************************************************************************

Yeah Quentin was never the greatest character on his own, but all his relationships were great. The show is missing something without him. I have to say I saw this coming and don't understand how the writers couldn't. My only explanation is that the actor wanted too much money.

Guess I need to go back and rewatch some things because now I can't even remember, offhand, what Hades' part was in anything

*****************************************************

Never read the books (except for the first one, which I didn't really love, but a lot of that was sheer whiplash from the difference between almost everything between that and the show.

*****************************************************

I am 100% sure that had the series gone to another season, the characters would all have been brought back together, or at least in communication with each other. But I do also like the non-cliffhanger feeling of the finale. I may be in the minority, but if I am invested in the characters on any particular show, I'd really rather have the sort of structure where the individual shows are more "stand-alone" in nature with maybe a bit of a character-growth arc to tie them together. I really rather dislike stress in any incarnation, and don't like it any more in stories than I do in life. Not that I didn't adore this show with all its crazy twists, but had it not been for the way the premise, the cast, and the writers came together to create something, most literally, magical, the stress throughout the story arcs each season would not have really been my thing.

*****************************************************************

Yes!! This was the biggest loose end/unsatisfactory ending for a "pair" of characters. Eliot and Margo were truly an incredible friendship/soulmate pair. But my personal take on them ending up in totally different realms is that they have each grown so much over the past couple of seasons, and had to deal with being instrumental in their own storylines that maybe they need more time to become their own people with their own situations to deal with before they come back together and hopefully find a bond just as strong, but also allowing for their own personal lives and relationships outside it. And maybe that might be the sort of challenge which might just be too difficult for a writer to craft in a way which would please everyone. So, as it stands, we can all come up with our own, individual perfect conclusion. Or find a fanfic story/series which follows the sort of future we would most like to see for them. This show is most definitely not going to lack in fanfic speculation on what happens next.

************************************************************************

Yeah, it really is difficult to put a finger on what made Quentin such a special part of the ensemble...As you say, his character in and of itself was not the most special, but he still managed to be pivotal in so many storylines just based on his relationship with other characters. I'm still sad that they killed him off; but not bitter about it overall, and I really did end up enjoying this whole season a lot more than the last;

[AudienceofOne]

Boy this whole plotline would have had a great deal of emotional resonance for Quentin. It's like it was almost designed with him in mind. It's such a shame he left the show entirely of his own accord when he was clearly needed for this final season (that was sarcasm if you didn't get it).

This show has been slowly bleeding to death from its self-inflicted injuries for 13 episodes and I'm actually just glad it's been put out of its misery. RIP Magicians. 

[AudienceofOne]

On 4/2/2020 at 3:01 PM, ProudMary said:

I HATE the ending they gave Eliot. He lives the rest of his life never knowing what happened to his friends?!?! Margo, Josh, Alice and Fen get to build a new world; Penny, Julia and HQ (🤮) go off to form their own little family.

He has booze and someone to bonk, that's all he needs. It's not like he's had five seasons of character development and his main relationships are with a whole heap of people he'll never see again or anything. 

I'm too tired and bored of this shitty little show to care how it ends at this point. But the Elliot resolution came the closest to making me legitimately angry. Alice is in the New Fillory but Elliot isn't? WTF?!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I loved Margo and Eliot's friendship which is why I was so disappointed that she ran off before Eliot could give her a hug or say goodbye or ANYTHING. I love that she has grown so much as a character that she was willing to sacrifice herself and that it took precedence over everything including Eliot, but I just wanted them to have one last moment. I guess we're supposed to interpret what happened as Margo's way of refusing to say good bye to Eliot because it would hurt both of them too much but I wanted their characters to have that moment together.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Making Magic:

 

Edited April 6, 2020 by ElectricBoogaloo

[iMonrey]

Quote

Yeah Quentin was never the greatest character on his own, but all his relationships were great. The show is missing something without him. I have to say I saw this coming and don't understand how the writers couldn't. My only explaination is that the actor wanted too much money.

I doubt salary was an issue since the actor was under contract. The given explanation was that they felt the character's story was coming to an end, which is utter bullshit considering the amount of story Quentin had left in the books, which had to be given to other characters in the TV show.

I think for one thing they simply did not like writing for Quentin. It's a lot harder to write for complex characters, and Quentin could be a real downer so that probably wasn't a lot of fun to write compared to, say, Margo and Eliot.

I think the other thing is they wanted to really shake things up, a common gamble shows take when they think the ratings are falling or buzz is dying down. Two birds, one stone: kill off the main character they don't like anyway and "get people talking" about the show again.

I don't think we're ever going to get a mea culpa from Sera Gamble or John McNamara but the numbers don't lie. Ratings might have been declining slightly after Season 2 and 3 but they utterly tanked in Season 5. They lost a third of their audience after they killed off Quentin. People were mad, they said they weren't coming back, and they meant it.

[Jynnan tonnix]

On 4/5/2020 at 8:49 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I loved Margo and Eliot's friendship which is why I was so disappointed that she ran off before Eliot could give her a hug or say goodbye or ANYTHING. I love that she has grown so much as a character that she was willing to sacrifice herself and that it took precedence over everything including Eliot, but I just wanted them to have one last moment. I guess we're supposed to interpret what happened as Margo's way of refusing to say good bye to Eliot because it would hurt both of them too much but I wanted their characters to have that moment together.

I look at it as they are both safe, and had the show continued, there would doubtless have been a quest to reunite all the characters...Sot it's just that it's up to each of us, at this point, to imagine the way that might happen. I don't really mind it being that way.

[JTMacc99]

On 4/6/2020 at 9:21 PM, Jynnan tonnix said:

I look at it as they are both safe, and had the show continued, there would doubtless have been a quest to reunite all the characters...Sot it's just that it's up to each of us, at this point, to imagine the way that might happen. I don't really mind it being that way.

Of course. Should there have been a season 6, Penny would have found them by the second episode. 

I did really like the way they left off with the new world being tied to the imagination of those characters. Knife trees, naturally occurring pizza ovens, loved it.

[JonasArm]

Julia being unconscious through the final is becomig a habit.

The effect may have vanished but with the surprise time rewinding, shouldn't Elliot remember everything via Permance (like he did when the moon was crashing), and shouldn't a master magician like Zelda remember as well?

Once the people are off the ark, the rabbits will be there and reaching the Eath will be a sinch.

 

[AudienceofOne]

16 hours ago, JonasArm said:

Julia being unconscious through the final is becomig a habit.

For a show that prides itself on whatever "new narrative" it thought it was telling, half the female characters gave birth to something and the other one disappeared (what did happen to Kady?).

[generate789]

I've been sitting with my thoughts on this finale for a bit. I didn't want to post right after I watched it because I thought I'd be more measured if I took some time to think it over, but then I realized that I actually just stopped thinking about it because I didn't care anymore. That about sums it up, I guess. I loved this show. I told pretty much anyone who would listen that they had to watch it. There were episodes in S1-3 that made me laugh, cry, feel creeped out, and at the edge of my seat all within one goddamn episode. Season 4 was kind of a mess, but I thought they would pull it together by the end. They kind of did ... I mean, the S4 finale was gripping and tied a lot of threads together and I was an emotional wreck, but ... clearly it came at the cost of the rest of the show. Killing Quentin was stupid and wrong, for all of the reasons everyone here has already articulated. But even accounting for the fact that the show was missing Quentin (and Jason Ralph, who was phenomenal and subtle and just a joy to watch), S5 was a giant mess. Plots moved too fast, complicated things were barely explained, MacGuffins abounded, threads were dropped, characters were poorly developed, the musical episode fell flat, the dialogue felt stilted, points of emotional tension felt rushed ... at the end, I just didn't care about any of it anymore. I agree wholeheartedly with what Imonrey said:

On 4/6/2020 at 4:08 PM, iMonrey said:

The given explanation was that they felt the character's story was coming to an end, which is utter bullshit considering the amount of story Quentin had left in the books, which had to be given to other characters in the TV show.

I think for one thing they simply did not like writing for Quentin. It's a lot harder to write for complex characters, and Quentin could be a real downer so that probably wasn't a lot of fun to write compared to, say, Margo and Eliot.

Quentin was a complicated, compelling, nuanced character and he brought that out in every other character that he interacted with. This season felt so flat, superficial, and dull compared to anything that came before it, and I can't help but think that it was because the writers shot themselves in the foot by killing Q. 

 

[mammaM]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:38 AM, generate789 said:

I've been sitting with my thoughts on this finale for a bit. I didn't want to post right after I watched it because I thought I'd be more measured if I took some time to think it over, but then I realized that I actually just stopped thinking about it because I didn't care anymore. That about sums it up, I guess. I loved this show. I told pretty much anyone who would listen that they had to watch it. There were episodes in S1-3 that made me laugh, cry, feel creeped out, and at the edge of my seat all within one goddamn episode. Season 4 was kind of a mess, but I thought they would pull it together by the end. They kind of did ... I mean, the S4 finale was gripping and tied a lot of threads together and I was an emotional wreck, but ... clearly it came at the cost of the rest of the show. Killing Quentin was stupid and wrong, for all of the reasons everyone here has already articulated. But even accounting for the fact that the show was missing Quentin (and Jason Ralph, who was phenomenal and subtle and just a joy to watch), S5 was a giant mess. Plots moved too fast, complicated things were barely explained, MacGuffins abounded, threads were dropped, characters were poorly developed, the musical episode fell flat, the dialogue felt stilted, points of emotional tension felt rushed ... at the end, I just didn't care about any of it anymore. I agree wholeheartedly with what Imonrey said:

Quentin was a complicated, compelling, nuanced character and he brought that out in every other character that he interacted with. This season felt so flat, superficial, and dull compared to anything that came before it, and I can't help but think that it was because the writers shot themselves in the foot by killing Q. 

 

THIS! THIS! THIS!

Thank you. Agree with everything you said. I just don't care anymore.

Full disclosure, I barely saw any of this season. I said I was out after the season 4 fiasco - I mean finale. Saw a commercial for the show, got lured back in, didn't even watch the entire episode. Heard that season 5 would be the end (big surprise), tried watching musical episode, didn't finish that one either. Saw this episode, fast forwarded thru a lot of it, then tried watching it again.

It's so sad seeing a once great show limp toward an ending. Oh well, we'll always have "A Life in a Day". 

[AudienceofOne]

9 hours ago, mammaM said:

It's so sad seeing a once great show limp toward an ending.

My imminent blog post will be entitled 'Not With a Bang But With a Whimper'

[Jynnan tonnix]

I've said it before, but even though I didn't really enjoy season 4 that much in its entirety, and was totally thrown for a loop by the ending, I had enough good will left toward the show in general that I simply had to go back with excitement for the 5th season despite some lingering doubts. But overall, outside of a slightly slow start, and a less-than-stellar musical episode, I really enjoyed a whole lot about the last season, and was, in the end, quite satisfied with the finale, with the way it put everyone where they could at least breathe and gather themselves with no real doubt that they would someday be able to get back together and ultimately have endings that were right for them (which, to be honest, is less than what a whole lot of real-life people ever manage anyway). 

I do really enjoy reading the opinions here, but right now I think I may have to just back off before I start reading enough disappointment that it ends up rubbing off on me. No offense to those who feel betrayed by the show - everyone is entitled to their own reactions - but I would really prefer to leave with positive feelings. I suppose there probably won't be that many more posts coming along anyway.

It was fun while it lasted, though!!

 

[qtpye]

On 4/11/2020 at 9:38 AM, generate789 said:

I've been sitting with my thoughts on this finale for a bit. I didn't want to post right after I watched it because I thought I'd be more measured if I took some time to think it over, but then I realized that I actually just stopped thinking about it because I didn't care anymore. That about sums it up, I guess. I loved this show. I told pretty much anyone who would listen that they had to watch it. There were episodes in S1-3 that made me laugh, cry, feel creeped out, and at the edge of my seat all within one goddamn episode. Season 4 was kind of a mess, but I thought they would pull it together by the end. They kind of did ... I mean, the S4 finale was gripping and tied a lot of threads together and I was an emotional wreck, but ... clearly it came at the cost of the rest of the show. Killing Quentin was stupid and wrong, for all of the reasons everyone here has already articulated. But even accounting for the fact that the show was missing Quentin (and Jason Ralph, who was phenomenal and subtle and just a joy to watch), S5 was a giant mess. Plots moved too fast, complicated things were barely explained, MacGuffins abounded, threads were dropped, characters were poorly developed, the musical episode fell flat, the dialogue felt stilted, points of emotional tension felt rushed ... at the end, I just didn't care about any of it anymore. I agree wholeheartedly with what Imonrey said:

Quentin was a complicated, compelling, nuanced character and he brought that out in every other character that he interacted with. This season felt so flat, superficial, and dull compared to anything that came before it, and I can't help but think that it was because the writers shot themselves in the foot by killing Q. 

 

 

On 4/13/2020 at 9:30 AM, mammaM said:

THIS! THIS! THIS!

Thank you. Agree with everything you said. I just don't care anymore.

Full disclosure, I barely saw any of this season. I said I was out after the season 4 fiasco - I mean finale. Saw a commercial for the show, got lured back in, didn't even watch the entire episode. Heard that season 5 would be the end (big surprise), tried watching musical episode, didn't finish that one either. Saw this episode, fast forwarded thru a lot of it, then tried watching it again.

It's so sad seeing a once great show limp toward an ending. Oh well, we'll always have "A Life in a Day". 

 

On 4/13/2020 at 6:31 PM, AudienceofOne said:

My imminent blog post will be entitled 'Not With a Bang But With a Whimper'

The show should have ended with Quentin's death. I loved Elliot and Margo but it was hard to believe that the others would give a shit about each other without him as the glue to hold the group together. I also think ending with Q's death would have been much more poignant than this, "Gee, wouldn't it be great if Amazon renews us" ending.

[bloodstar]

Late to the party. Just watched the last episodes. I might be in the minority, but I *liked* the ending. I liked that it wrapped things up enough to let the series end. I liked that the ending left things open enough for people to write their own stories, or for the series to be picked up by another group. 

The one thing I was hoping for was for them at the very end, to cut to a scene in the new world, of a forest (knife trees?), holding for a moment, and then a rustling. A voice from off screen, "What just happened?" and the the camera pans over to show Q standing naked in the grass (not directly below the knife tree though). Then fade to black.

That's a part of my head!canon. 

[chrisvee]

The show cut its own heart out when it killed Quentin and lost Jason Ralph.

There was a lot of really great acting from this ensemble cast (esp for a genre show). But Jason Ralph playing Quentin had the magical effect of making every other character better. He had chemistry with every other actor.

Was that bc Quentin was ultimately the least talented magician? The Everyman who made this world accessible to the audience? Or bc he was the one who cared the most viscerally and bound together this family? Or bc Jason could imbue every subtle look or gesture with a world of feeling?

In particular, Jason Ralph + Hale Appleman was incandescent and I’m glad I got to see it.

After making such a big deal about not needing Quentin to tell this story, the writers then seemed to phone in this season, content to rely on the talents of the actors without giving them much to use.

A sad end to a series that was once really great.

[The Companion]

On 6/8/2020 at 1:55 PM, bloodstar said:

Late to the party. Just watched the last episodes. I might be in the minority, but I *liked* the ending. I liked that it wrapped things up enough to let the series end. I liked that the ending left things open enough for people to write their own stories, or for the series to be picked up by another group. 

The one thing I was hoping for was for them at the very end, to cut to a scene in the new world, of a forest (knife trees?), holding for a moment, and then a rustling. A voice from off screen, "What just happened?" and the the camera pans over to show Q standing naked in the grass (not directly below the knife tree though). Then fade to black.

That's a part of my head!canon. 

I like the headcanon. I have to say the fanfic for this show is really phenomenal and I think part of that arises from the unsatisfying way TBTP kept insisting that Quentin had to stay dead in the face of so many instances where death was not, in fact, final. 

I don't think I can unwind my feelings about this ending from my disappointment that they wrote this incredible love story that got trashed to shock the audience and they then dug in rather than admit it was a poor choice. While the open ended finale leaves some roon for more stories, it lacks the one thing that might bring back the audience. That would make it a really tough sale, IMO. 

15 hours ago, chrisvee said:

The show cut its own heart out when it killed Quentin and lost Jason Ralph.

There was a lot of really great acting from this ensemble cast (esp for a genre show). But Jason Ralph playing Quentin had the magical effect of making every other character better. He had chemistry with every other actor.

Was that bc Quentin was ultimately the least talented magician? The Everyman who made this world accessible to the audience? Or bc he was the one who cared the most viscerally and bound together this family? Or bc Jason could imbue every subtle look or gesture with a world of feeling?

In particular, Jason Ralph + Hale Appleman was incandescent and I’m glad I got to see it.

After making such a big deal about not needing Quentin to tell this story, the writers then seemed to phone in this season, content to rely on the talents of the actors without giving them much to use.

A sad end to a series that was once really great.

I swear Hale Appleman would have chemistry with a log, but he and Jason Ralph really worked together and I would kill for another show with them (or even a zoom call show between Quentin and Eliot please please please). 

I do think Quentin binding the group was intrinsic in his character. He was a character who bonded very deeply with a few people (which ties in very nicely with being a introvert and bisexual). Jason Ralph seemed to get that. Quentin was so present and his reactions so subtle. 

I don't want to sound like a crazy conspiracy theorist but I just don't get why they so forcefully ousted him and it is weird to me that nobody has talked about it. I haven't seen any cast reaction. It is just so odd to me that this is the hill they die on. 

[chaifan]

On 4/2/2020 at 2:17 AM, AnimeMania said:

I thought when they brought the bunnies back they would be able to tell everybody where they are or at least that they were alright.

 

On 4/2/2020 at 2:57 PM, iMonrey said:

They said there were no bunnies in sight at New Fillory, so at the moment they are completely cut off with no way to contact Earth and their friends.

I would assume the bunnies were put in the seahorse globe/ark.  So as soon as Margo hit the button, all the people and creatures of Fillory would appear.  I think a slightly better ending would have been for Margo to push the button, a bunny lands in her lap and says "found her" or something like that, and then the screen goes to black.  That would have let everyone know that yes, the gang all gets back together in the end. 

So I know I'm late to the game here, but here are my thoughts on the season...

First, I'll just say it - I like the show better without Quentin.  Especially Alice.  After the first few episodes of her moping, Alice became a much more interesting character without Quentin.  I loved her quest with Eliott. 

I think Season 5 was a bit all over the place.  I think they could have simplified the season arc, which would have made things easier to follow.  They could have cut out the whole moving the moon plot and The Couple and heist, and still arrived at the same place with The Seed and starting a whole new Fillory.  But I feel like they wanted a reason to bring back so many characters - Marina, Ember, Umber, Martin, etc.  Like others, I thought Ep 12, the musical, was weak and shoehorned in. 

I did like how they developed Fen this last season.  She became a much stronger character.  And, I think she grabbed Margo's stylist for the last few episodes - the hair, the make up, all were much more Margo and less Fillory.  (Her outfits are still a little Ren Fair lite.)  I laughed out loud at her Christmas present from Santa - the knife sharpener! 

I like how they wrapped up all the characters.  I felt they tied in Julia's pregnancy well, and I thought that connecting the baby to reviving Penny's powers was a nice touch.  I liked Charlton and Eliott ending up together.  Fogg and the cat were a nice touch.  And I thought it was fitting that Margo the Destroyer became Margo the Creator. 

If Netflix (or someone else) does pick it up, that would be great and I'd be on board for another couple of seasons.  But I think we'd  know that by now, so I'm assuming this is done.  And I'm ok with that, too.  Looking forward to seeing these actors in other things. 

 

[Jynnan tonnix]

I'm really beginning to miss the show now that it feels as though there should be something new in the works...Part of me wants to rewatch the last couple of seasons, but after having rewatched other stretches here and there, for some reason it seems to lose a little in repetition. Certain individual episodes, I can watch over and over, but the seasons as individual entities just seem a little too scattered to maintain my interest once I know how everything is going to work out. I still think that, overall, it was one of the most inventive and addictive shows to ever air, but for whatever reason, it just doesn't seem to stand up to repeat binge-watching. Maybe I can figure out a way to do it while spreading it all out a bit.