S01.E10: Homecoming

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Penny travels to the world of The Neitherlands where he soon finds it's not as friendly as he thought. Quentin and Alice must work together, no matter how uncomfortable, to save him. Julia joins an eclectic group of Magicians known as the Free Traders, but a surprising member stands in her way.

Edited March 15, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Shriekingeel]

A definitely lighter-toned episode full of laugh-out-loud moments. Everyone shined, even the normally mopey Julia. The glimpse of Alice's family of origin was perfect; with those awful, horribly selfish brats as parents, no wonder she's a neurotic mess.

[Philbert]

 

The glimpse of Alice's family of origin was perfect; with those awful, horribly selfish brats as parents, no wonder she's a

 

Is it terrible that I kind of liked them? Well Alice's father anyway. Seriously the entire season was worth it it for the line "But you haven't even touched your penis yet!"

[grandemocha]

LMFAO...I was cracking up within the first five minutes of this episode. I am SO buying this DVD set when it comes out. Unless the writers massively fuck up the next three episodes, I can say that overall, I enjoyed the hell out of this first season. 

[kat165]

And think how much more enjoyable it will be when it's not interrupted every 3 minutes for commercials.

[WildPlum]

So last week we saw a young boy thrown against a wall and heard his head crack open as he died and then watched a young girl vomit blood as she died and the show didn't get a "disturbing images, viewer discretion advised" warning but this week we say the word "penis", almost see boob and show a short bit of neatly covered sex and we get the warning? There is something really wrong with this society.

 

On the other hand, great Penny episode and Quentin is less of an irritating drip with every episode.

Edited March 22, 2016 by WildPlum

[TiffanyNichelle]

The sex dream was kind of funny and it came full circle for Penny to return due to Alice and Quentin having sex.

At least now we know what happened to Kady.

[GaT]

This was definitely my favorite episode so far. Not only did it have some funny moments, but we learned about the library & the fountains & the sound wasn't muffled.

[AlliMo]

I thought I'd end up giving this one or two episodes when it started, but it's just progressively gotten better and better.

 

I've enjoyed watching Quentin slowly coming into his own, but Jason Ralph's appearance and mannerisms are so eerily similar to a now deceased ex of mine that I have VERY confused feelings when he's on screen.

 

Poor Alice. I had a friend with parents who were a lot like that and she would never invite friends over.

 

Loved the "Hamilton" reference. I mean, what's the use of even having magic if you can't score tickets to Broadway's hottest show, amiright?

Edited March 22, 2016 by AlliMo

[zxy556575]

I had a bad reaction to Alice's parents, but mostly because I still think of Tom Amandes as the kindly doctor dad from Everwood. So that was ooky.

 

You'd think Quentin would be better at sex just from being around Penny.

[wayne67]

This was hilarious.

 

And for a change even Julia wasn't irritating me this episode.

 

Yay progress I guess. 

 

The librarian was awesome. 

 

Summoning a God... That could be hazardous but I guess if you have someone who's dying and another person that's suicidal. It might sound like a good idea.

 

Interesting to hear that there's a magic glass ceiling, though I'm still lost as to how many levels there are before you hit it. Oh well. 

 

Definitely had some great quotes in it. Alice and Quentin having the awkward sex talk was amusing and endearing. Intimacy on its way. Ah Penny. Always interrupting the sexy times.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I was already cracking up at the Leia/Dany/Indy sex fantasy and then we got Penny telling Quentin what a dork he was.

 

I kind of loved the endless library and the endless card catalogs. I wasn't surprised that the librarian (Glynis from Joan of Arcadia!) wouldn't let Penny read his own book, but I thought he might try to flip through Quentin's to find something that might help him get out of the Neitherlands. Why did Eliot have two books in the library with his name on them? I'm surprised that Penny listened to the librarian and put his own book back on the shelf without reading it. When she said she couldn't loan him Martin's book without a library card, I thought there would be some magical trials required for him to get a library card, but nope, she just nicely made copies for him.

 

I know the librarian said that the people with hoods chasing Penny used to guard the library but they have since been banned, but why? And more importantly, why were they so hellbent on catching Penny? I couldn't tell, but did Eve manage to take away the Fillory button or did Penny still have it in his hand when he traveled his way away from her? Santa Claus and his flying zebras - ha. And Penny giving the Vulcan salute was hilarious.

 

Why would Alice knock on the door to her parents' house? I haven't lived at my parents' house for eons but I never knock on the door. Am I a rude kid?

 

While I understand why Alice is mortified by her parents, I did have some issues with her this week. Yes, Quentin would have freaked out a little if he had known ahead of time that they were going to see her parents, but it's shitty to spring a "meet the parents" event (especially one that is likely going to be connected to some kind of sex party on any given night) on someone. Basically ambushing Quentin with her parents was worse than when Elaine's boyfriend invited her to dinner and then his parents were there on Seinfeld.

 

On top of that, Quentin probably could have helped her out a little bit more in that situation (distract my dad while I go talk to my mom) if she had told him ahead of time. Thirdly, most people want to make a good impression on their boyfriend/girlfriend's parents and you never get a second chance to make a first impression so again, Alice sucks for not giving him the chance to mentally prepare or at least pick out a different shirt (not that there was anything wrong with his shirt, but you know what I mean).

 

I totally get that Alice has fundamental issues with her parents and I understand why, but her mother was correct when she said that Alice acts like Alice is the only one allowed to have feelings about anything. She acts like a teenager around her parents - pouting, rolling her eyes, etc. While it may be obnoxious, pretentious, and/or annoying that her dad wants to call the bathroom something else, he's right - it's his house and he can call it whatever he wants. That's the joy of being an adult and having your own house. If he wants to call it the shitter, the poop room, or Fred the Magnificent, that's his prerogative.

 

As for Alice's mother, I think there is some denial at play as well as some good old fashioned WASPy smashing down of feelings, but the bottom line is that everyone deals with grief differently and it's really not anyone's place to judge. Unless you are endangering yourself or others (as some might argue Eliot is doing with his self medication), then no one has any right to tell you that you're not grieving correctly.

 

One of my college friends refused to say "I love you" to his girlfriends. He said that he didn't want to lie and say it before he meant it. This meant that a lot of his girlfriends tried to force the issue by saying it to him first in the hopes that he would reciprocate. We ended up compiling a huge list of responses (some of which he used, including, "Thank you," and "I love me too"). That's what I was thinking about when Quentin told Alice that he loved her and her response was, "Me too. You."

 

When Professor Blue Fairy said that something was draining Margo's life force and she asked about participating in any unprotected rituals, I thought it was going to be because of something she did in Ibiza or possibly the djinn. I definitely didn't expect to find a BuffyBot.

 

So we learned that Penny's first name is William!

 

And Mackenzie Astin! I still remember him as the kid on The Facts of Life. Ha, I totally want to hear more about all of this sex magic. I have to admit that the required simultaneous orgams sounds like something out of a magic fanfic, but whatever. At least it got Alice and Quentin to communicate with each other about their sex life.

 

So Richard called his magical meeting and held it at Julia's place without even telling her what they were trying to accomplish? That seems sketchy. And what's with this "level up" business? Who decided which 20 spells they have to do before they're at the next level?

 

Loved that when Penny got back, his face went from "Yay, I'm back!" to rolilng his eyes once he saw that Alice and Quentin were having sex.

Edited March 22, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[grandemocha]

 

And more importantly, why were they so hellbent on catching Penny? I couldn't tell, but did Eve manage to take away the Fillory button or did Penny still have it in his hand when he traveled his way away from her?

I kind of assumed for some reason that they were so hellbent on catching Penny because they wanted his magic or something? I got the impression that they were stuck there, around the fountains, and they want the ability to be able to leave and travel to other worlds. 90% sure Penny still had the button by the end.

[Izeinwinter]

The button is an absolute passkey to Fillory. That is what was wished for. That means the cursed ex-library employees could use it to get out of the neitherlands. Only into Fillory, but still, it's free pass to leave fountain-land. Thus their willingness to kill to get it.  

 

This episode was gloriously funny. Good character beats. 

[TheHappinessHotel]

I guess it was just me who was left really confused about the Neitherlands.

Who was this librarian? Why is she stuck there? Why didn't she help more?

 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The button is an absolute passkey to Fillory. That is what was wished for. That means the cursed ex-library employees could use it to get out of the neitherlands. Only into Fillory, but still, it's free pass to leave fountain-land. Thus their willingness to kill to get it. 

But if the button is supposed to take the user to Fillory, why did it take Penny to the Neitherlands? Is the user supposed to just keep jumping in and out of fountains until they end up in Fillory? I thought the button was like a portkey that would take the user directly to Fillory, not to the train station.

 

And why are all the other people in the Neitherlands stuck there? Why can't they just jump into another fountain? And if they're stuck there, why the hell didn't the show mention this? This is another example of the show not explaining book stuff well.

 

One other thing I forgot to mention - Penny was missing for six weeks and no one was actively out looking for him? You'd think they would be scouring books to try to figure out where he went or if he got stuck or what.

 

I hope that this trip impressed upon Penny the importance of keeping up his training as a traveller. He wouldn't have needed to find the right fountain if his skills were better honed.

[grandemocha]

 

And why are all the other people in the Neitherlands stuck there? Why can't they just jump into another fountain? And if they're stuck there, why the hell didn't the show mention this? This is another example of the show not explaining book stuff well.

Are we sure the people stuck in the Neitherlands are definitely a book thing? I mean it has been mentioned once or twice that the show diverged from the book plot, right? I figure that the ex-custodians used to work in the library until perhaps they grew dissatisfied with their lives in the Neitherlands since there's not much there to do at all, tried to revolt, got banished to just living around the fountains, and now can no longer enter the library or do anything else. So they wait and wait and try to escape.

 

 

I just don't understand why they were there or what their motivation was. Does everyone who jumps into a fountain have to have a button? Does Joe have a button?

Perhaps that is their home world? No, I doubt everyone who jumps into a fountain has to have a button. I think it was an accident that Penny ended up there. I mean he touched the button at the end of the last episode, an episode where he and the rest of the group ended up harassed, assaulted, stressed and attacked by the crazy ass ghost lady and the haunted house with the dungeon in it. It seems that the traveling Penny does has to be well thought out, practiced, and precise otherwise he ends up way off course like he did in last night's episode.

 

Quentin did ask Penny why he couldn't just come back on his own, remember? Penny said something about the Neitherlands having two moons (I think?) so it was throwing off his internal compass?

Edited March 22, 2016 by grandemocha

[ElectricBoogaloo]

But why can Penny jump into any fountain and these other people in the Neitherlands can't? I just don't understand why they were there or what their motivation was. Does everyone who jumps into a fountain have to have a button? Does Joe have a button? They need to explain this stuff way better.

[qtpye]

So last week we saw a young boy thrown against a wall and heard his head crack open as he died and then watched a young girl vomit blood as she died and the show didn't get a "disturbing images, viewer discretion advised" warning but this week we say the word "penis", almost see boob and show a short bit of neatly covered sex and we get the warning? There is something really wrong with this society.

 

 

I agree last week's episode was way more disturbing.  I think the only reason we got the warning, was that there was a brief scene of cunnilingus.

 

 It's funny with the orgy, sex magic, and Julia/Alice make out...I should be rolling my eyes.  I mean what next...an episode where magic makes all the female members of the cast have a naked pillow fight?  I also sometimes laugh at Penny's strategically open shirts.

 

However, I really enjoyed this episode.  I guess it sort of explains "the sexy pilgrim" look Alice is always going for.

[TiffanyNichelle]

I completely forgot about the Margolem subplot. I have a feeling it will stick around long enough to get killed and have people think it was Margo instead.

 

Margo busting her ex as being disgusting was great. I was hoping the reason why Eliot was so off with Margo was because he was resentful of the fact that she was off in Ibiza during the BeastMike drama. But I guess by the end of the episode they were back to their usual.

[Izeinwinter]

The people Penny met first were specifically cursed to be unable to use the fountains - the librarian explained that, turning what is otherwise a cosmic metro nexus into a prison for that group of people. Which. Wow, that is harsh. They may, or may not, deserve that, but still, harsh. 

 

Anyone else who can get there are free to jump into any fountain. Actually doing so at random would be.. Suicidal levels of foolhardy.  Given that the fountains were lifted straight from CS Levis, I think it a safe bet that the fountains only lead to worlds which have people, (dead worlds lead to dead fountains) but.. that might still count the air-less rock colonized by intelligent von-neuman robots in the third worldline to the charm. It certainly counts worlds where strangers might be greeted with overwhelming firepower on sight. 

 

Margo is either keeping it around because she expects more trouble and she is planning to use it for a decoy, or she is graduating to an entirely new level of masturbation. Being Margo, I kind of suspect both. .  

Edited March 22, 2016 by Izeinwinter

[iMonrey]

 

But if the button is supposed to take the user to Fillory, why did it take Penny to the Neitherlands?

 

It seemed like a rather obvious allusion to/rip-off of The Magician's Nephew, the sixth Narnia book, where the magic rings bring people to the world between worlds. You need one color ring to get there and another color ring to get back. In the Narnia book there were pools, scattered throughout a forest, instead of fountains, but it seemed like basically the same concept. 

 

I'm amazed how much more I've been enjoying this show lately. Once they moved past the hokey first years learning magic/Harry Potter crap and moved into more of the Fillory myth it's become much more interesting - to me, anyway. 

 

What did Quentin say when  Alice's father said "You haven't even touched your penis?" Did he say "I sort of did yesterday?"

[snuffles]

The library scenes were awesome. It was "The Librarians" meet "The Matrix ". It appears the librarians are one of the most powerful groups, even more magical/powerful than the beast. Dean Fogg and Eliza made it sound like humans were completely defenseless and helpless against the beast. The librarian, on the other hand, spoke of the beast like he was a nuisance and not a mortal threat.

So many questions from Penny going to the neitherlands. Why does penny go by penny (a girl's name) and not William? How many times has penny been in the neitherlands and the library? How come he doesn't remember his prior visits? Does he really swear profusely every time? Who writes all the books? If the books are already written, then it implies predestination and not free will or thought. So penny should just read the books on Alice, Quentin, Margo and Elliot to figure out how to kill the beast.

At first I thought the time magic meant marina or the beast was coming for them. Luckily my close captioning said "light music" playing so was relieved there would be a hiatus on bloodshed and gore in this episode.

[Helena Dax]

 

 

I totally get that Alice has fundamental issues with her parents and I understand why, but her mother was correct when she said that Alice acts like Alice is the only one allowed to have feelings about anything. She acts like a teenager around her parents - pouting, rolling her eyes, etc. While it may be obnoxious, pretentious, and/or annoying that her dad wants to call the bathroom something else, he's right - it's his house and he can call it whatever he wants. That's the joy of being an adult and having your own house. If he wants to call it the shitter, the poop room, or Fred the Magnificent, that's his prerogative.

 

As for Alice's mother, I think there is some denial at play as well as some good old fashioned WASPy smashing down of feelings, but the bottom line is that everyone deals with grief differently and it's really not anyone's place to judge. Unless you are endangering yourself or others (as some might argue Eliot is doing with his self medication), then no one has any right to tell you that you're not grieving correctly.

 

 

 

I hated them. I mean, yes, if it's your house, call your toilet whatever you want. But to me, that was just a symptom of something worse. They were self-centered people and I can't picture them putting their children's needs before their own needs except in the most basic sense: food, clothes... I know people like them in RL and it's never ended well for their children. 

 

The episode was great, though. Quentin's dream had me rolling and I loved the Margolem. I'm glad things are going well between her and Eliot and I think the show did a good job with the Neitherlands. Also, I'd like to know more about the place where Joe comes from!

[wayne67]

The library scenes were awesome. It was "The Librarians" meet "The Matrix ". It appears the librarians are one of the most powerful groups, even more magical/powerful than the beast. Dean Fogg and Eliza made it sound like humans were completely defenseless and helpless against the beast. The librarian, on the other hand, spoke of the beast like he was a nuisance and not a mortal threat.

So many questions from Penny going to the neitherlands. Why does penny go by penny (a girl's name) and not William? How many times has penny been in the neitherlands and the library? How come he doesn't remember his prior visits? Does he really swear profusely every time? Who writes all the books? If the books are already written, then it implies predestination and not free will or thought. So penny should just read the books on Alice, Quentin, Margo and Elliot to figure out how to kill the beast.

At first I thought the time magic meant marina or the beast was coming for them. Luckily my close captioning said "light music" playing so was relieved there would be a hiatus on bloodshed and gore in this episode.

 

I'm thinking that the library has access to the Source of All Magic, which would be God or Gods which has a certain value of omniscience. So while Penny's book is prewritten with what would happen to him, if he read the book than it likely would change depending on how it's written. So if it's all vague metaphors about what will inevitably happen, he gets born, he lives, he dies. It'll all probably happen more or less the same if he reads it or not. If it has him going to specific places at specific times and he reads it, he can change the course of his life and change the book or render its predestination moot.

 

Forewarned is forearmed, by knowing something is coming you can prepare yourself and potentially change the outcome.

 

Just a theory. 

Edited March 22, 2016 by wayne67

[snuffles]

On another thought, what is the purpose of brakebills? Doesn't seem like Elliot and Margo doing any learning. Marina was powerful even though she didn't graduate. Richard graduated and is a self proclaimed "damned good magician ", but feels brakebills was confining and not innovative. Even the crazy Antarctic teacher said the school was soft.

Now we have free traders on top of self taught hedge witches. Julia's story seems to imply you can be a powerful magician without going to brakebills. So why all this "thinning the herd" and best of the best crap?

[grandemocha]

 

Now we have free traders on top of self taught hedge witches.

Marina had nearly 90% of a Brakebills education, she very nearly graduated, I think that played a big part in why she was so powerful + the stuff she learned after she was kicked out. Julia seems to be a special unique talent that won't need Brakebills and Marina saw something worth nurturing in until Julia crossed her and Marina got mad. Pete didn't seem all that talented and the rest of the hedge witch group seemed like they weren't capable of all that much.

 

 

Doesn't seem like Elliot and Margo doing any learning.

We're seeing Margo and Elliot in their third year of school, so presumably they have already done everything Quentin, Penny, and Alice have done and studied. Margo and Elliot have shown that they are fairly educated/talented what with Margo being competitive at that game (tournament thing) and Elliot's spell work getting rid of The Beast temporarily while he was possessing that guy's body. They also had that episode where they were laser focused on finding a good mentor for after their graduation and I don't think stupid or talent-less magicians would bother putting in that kind of effort in my opinion. Although they like to party, drink, and take drugs, I still think it has been conveyed that they are talented magicians.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I thought that rather than each person's book predetermining their destiny, the library is located in a place that doesn't exist in the same time dimension, meaning the book has recorded what happened to each person after it happens. The librarian mentioned that Penny's reaction to the library is always the same yet he has no memory of ever being there so my guess is that the library exists in a kind of time vacuum (at least relative to the time that Penny comes from) and that he goes there again in the future, which she already knows about (it's also possible that your memory of the library gets erased every time you leave, but Penny didn't seen particularly perplexed by the copies of Martin's book he was holding when the librarian pushed him back to the fountains).

When the librarian told him she couldn't lend him Martin's book, I expected him to tell her that he just needed to look at it and he wouldn't leave the library with it. Technically that's okay at most libraries. What exactly did she copy for him since he didn't appear to use it to get home?

While I agree that Alice's parents are selfish and obnoxious, that's realistic to me in the sense that having children does not automatically make you a kind, mature, selfless, giving person who puts your children's emotional needs first (exhibit A: Farrah Abrams of Teen Mom).

And like I said, people grieve differently. You can't expect everyone to grieve your way. Some people get drunk. Some people cry. Some people have threesomes and orgies! If I hadn't heard that other girl's story about how Charlie died, I would suspect that Stephanie was hiding something about his death, like that they made some sort of magical deal that sacrificed Charlie for something bigger. Hey, is the fountain at Brakebills a doorway to another world?

As for Alice's dad, his Roman name for the bathroom isn't any worse than referring to the basement as the rumpus room! I don't know why "rumpus room" rubs me the wrong way, but it does.

Who writes all the books?

Please tell me it isn't Henry/The Author and his magical pen from Once Upon a Time!

[wayne67]

When the librarian told him she couldn't lend him Martin's book, I expected him to tell her that he just needed to look at it and he wouldn't leave the library with it. Technically that's okay at most libraries. What exactly did she copy for him since he didn't appear to use it to get home?

 

I'm guessing it's a few pages from Martin's autobiography either detailing his eventual return to Fillory as the Beast or featuring some kind of clue as to what happened after they left the Author's house or maybe something about Portals or fountains. 

 

At this point it's hard to tell what it's supposed to be about. 

[snuffles]

 

Although they like to party, drink, and take drugs, I still think it has been conveyed that they are talented magicians.

That is precisely my point. They are gifted magicians. The show has never depicted them in an actual classroom or participating in any other learning activity. Why then are they still in school? What is the purpose of a Brakebills' education? It appears having a degree from Brakebills is the muggle equivalent of having a $250K Harvard degree and becoming a housekeeper or cafeteria worker.

Marina was a powerful Hedge witch before she regained her Brakebill memories. Now she has her memories of her education, but again she didn't actually graduate. Does the 3 months she missed make a difference? In the grand scheme of things, from what we have been shown, having a Brakebill degree doesn't seem to really matter. The other question I have is what is up with this arbitrary way they pick their students and "thin the herd"? Julia is obviously going to be a powerful magician, so why didn't they choose her?

[grandemocha]

 

It appears having a degree from Brakebills is the muggle equivalent of having a $250K Harvard degree and becoming a housekeeper or cafeteria worker.

Could you expand upon your thought process here? No one who leaves Brakebills with a degree seems to be poor? They seem to be very educated but bored as hell in some cases since they can do anything they want, but they're not financially destitute. I'm not even sure these Brakebills students pay for school? Has that been clarified?

I get where you're going with the rest of your post although I honestly think the boring answer for why we don't see Elliot and Margo in a classroom setting is because the producers/people behind the show don't want to spend the money on that scene when we need the scenes with Alice, Penny, Quentin, and previously Kady as the newbies (like we are in the audience) so it makes more sense to see them learning all the magic stuff for the first time. 

Edited March 23, 2016 by grandemocha

[snuffles]

 

Could you expand upon your thought process here? No one who leaves Brakebills with a degree seems to be poor?

I was using the example of a Harvard degree metaphorically. A Harvard education is traditionally viewed as the best education one can receive. Brakebills is portrayed as the best magic education one can receive, yet what are its graduates doing with this wealth of knowledge? Many of the graduates and 3rd year students seem to wander around with no real purpose. Having a grade A magic education did not make their lives better, richer, or fuller. I'm postulating Alice's parents are actually really good magicians since their children are pretty smart magicians. Richard said he's a good magician, but he turned to drugs and caused the death of his son. Elliot seems to be heading down a path of self destruction, but no one (at the school) seems to care. I would think most teachers would be alarmed and try to help Elliot, but at Brakebills the teachers are indifferent. I guess I'm still not clear why the school exists. Magical education can be self taught or you can be mentored one on one. At this point, I feel the only purpose for the school's existence is to be a central place for most of the characters to meet each other.

On the Alice note, I don't understand why she needs to stay at Brakebills from an education stand point. She appears to be as knowledgeable as the teachers and admits she is holding herself back. 

[Lemur]

So last week we saw a young boy thrown against a wall and heard his head crack open as he died and then watched a young girl vomit blood as she died and the show didn't get a "disturbing images, viewer discretion advised" warning but this week we say the word "penis", almost see boob and show a short bit of neatly covered sex and we get the warning? There is something really wrong with this society.

 

On the other hand, great Penny episode and Quentin is less of an irritating drip with every episode.

 

Gotta love the FCC.  Wanton violence is totally acceptable and encouraged, but sex and profanity?  NOPE. 

On another thought, what is the purpose of brakebills? Doesn't seem like Elliot and Margo doing any learning. Marina was powerful even though she didn't graduate. Richard graduated and is a self proclaimed "damned good magician ", but feels brakebills was confining and not innovative. Even the crazy Antarctic teacher said the school was soft.

Now we have free traders on top of self taught hedge witches. Julia's story seems to imply you can be a powerful magician without going to brakebills. So why all this "thinning the herd" and best of the best crap?

 

The purpose, and it's pretty poorly shown in my opinion, seems to be to teach proper form and technique as well as theory.  It seems that the Free Traders have kinda breezed over the form and technique and with Richard's help gone right to the theory end of things.  The same way you can have savants who don't need a lot of formal instruction (though the formal instruction helps for creating a rigorous mind), you can have a group of hedge witches and semi-hedge witches doing theoretical work but without the safeguards.  

I was using the example of a Harvard degree metaphorically. A Harvard education is traditionally viewed as the best education one can receive. Brakebills is portrayed as the best magic education one can receive, yet what are its graduates doing with this wealth of knowledge? Many of the graduates and 3rd year students seem to wander around with no real purpose. Having a grade A magic education did not make their lives better, richer, or fuller. I'm postulating Alice's parents are actually really good magicians since their children are pretty smart magicians. Richard said he's a good magician, but he turned to drugs and caused the death of his son. Elliot seems to be heading down a path of self destruction, but no one (at the school) seems to care. I would think most teachers would be alarmed and try to help Elliot, but at Brakebills the teachers are indifferent. I guess I'm still not clear why the school exists. Magical education can be self taught or you can be mentored one on one. At this point, I feel the only purpose for the school's existence is to be a central place for most of the characters to meet each other.

On the Alice note, I don't understand why she needs to stay at Brakebills from an education stand point. She appears to be as knowledgeable as the teachers and admits she is holding herself back. 

 

How many actual, real college graduates use their wealth of knowledge in their careers?  (Few.  Most learn what they need on the job.)  That said, this show hasn't done the best job of explaining the magical ecosystem and how magicians support themselves; I mean, it's not even like the Potterverse where seemingly everyone works for the Ministry of Magic or in retail.  

 

As for Eliot's drinking problem ... do you think any of my college professors cared when I showed up for class drunk or hung over?  No, as long as I wasn't disrupting the class.  They're adults, not minors.  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I see Brakebills as more like Juilliard than Harvard - the students are honing an innate talent which may lead to never actually working in that field, but that doesn't mean they are wasting their time improving said skill.

From what they said a few episodes ago (the one where Margo and Eliot were sucking up to Alice's aunt), a lot of Brakebills alumni get placed in high paying non-magical jobs thanks to networking and they stay part of the magical community.

Side note: I remember Alice's father writes books about Roman history but is it non-magical stuff? Heh or is his research on Roman orgies? Or magical orgies?

The show has never mentioned tuition so I have wondered if the students were incurring a huge amount of debt and how the teachers were being paid.

Edited March 23, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[qtpye]

Penny travels to the world of The Neitherlands where he soon finds it's not as friendly as he thought

 

 

Did anyone else think Penny was going to come across some really mean Dutch people?

[Izeinwinter]

Money is obviously completely meaningless to any competent magician. Firstly, the variants on insider trading and theft that it lets you get away with are limitless, but even if you refuse to abuse the ring of Gyges, it is obviously trivial to use magic to produce or recover mundane items of high monetary worth and then sell them. Lost treasures found with divination, diamonds from any random lump of coal, heck, wine and other beverages of absurd quality.

 

And before anyone protests we haven't seen those specific spells, we have seen plenty that can be monetarized with 20 seconds of thought.

Heck, the reverse entropy spell from this episode would obviously let you go into a junkyard, buy a dead car, turn it into a mint-quality classic, then sell it at the auto dealer next town over, none of which would even raise eyebrows from the IRS, if you have the good sense to wait a month between purchase and sale so that they can look at the paperwork and go "Restoration specialist, where is my rubber stamp".

 

 

 So, no, no student debts. Which does beg the question.. How are the teachers recompensed? Is teacher at brakebills just something people volunteer to do because they like teaching? The research value of teasing apart how 20 year olds with cosmic power kill themselves is worth more than any amount of money? 

Edited March 23, 2016 by Izeinwinter

[Lemur]

So, no, no student debts. Which does beg the question.. How are the teachers recompensed? Is teacher at brakebills just something people volunteer to do because they like teaching? The research value of teasing apart how 20 year olds with cosmic power kill themselves is worth more than any amount of money? 

 

Room, board and medical in exchange for services rendered?  Secure spot for research?

[Richness]

When I binge-watched the first handful of episodes of this show, I never thought I'd be enjoying it as much as I am. It was chore to get passed Q's Debby Downer personality, or Julia's magic addiction problem. Only the latter is still a drag to watch at times, but the rest is quite enjoyable.

 

I burst our laughing at Q's dream sequence, and the girls exclamation of passing the Bechdel test if he would just shut up already. Then the Vulcan salute. And touching his penis. Just so much good, funny stuff.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

[queenanne]

The people Penny met first were specifically cursed to be unable to use the fountains - the librarian explained that, turning what is otherwise a cosmic metro nexus into a prison for that group of people. Which. Wow, that is harsh. They may, or may not, deserve that, but still, harsh. 

 

Anyone else who can get there are free to jump into any fountain. Actually doing so at random would be.. Suicidal levels of foolhardy.  Given that the fountains were lifted straight from CS Levis, I think it a safe bet that the fountains only lead to worlds which have people, (dead worlds lead to dead fountains) but.. that might still count the air-less rock colonized by intelligent von-neuman robots in the third worldline to the charm. It certainly counts worlds where strangers might be greeted with overwhelming firepower on sight. 

 

What I think interesting is, didn't Penny materialize dry?  Maybe I'm imagining things but I thought he was dry.

 

And regardless of that, clearly something is meant to be happening in respect of the fountain Q and Alice tried their Charlie spell in.  Clearly it's "the Brakebills fountain" thus should've been on the other end of the one Penny jumped in; but I agree with the prevailing theory that hasn't been well respected, considering Penny emerges randomly in rooms and not from the fountain - technically he should've showed up on the front lawn.  I.e., if you have and know the fountain, why must you have the button portkey?  The button clearly doesn't make the fountain light up so I'm not sure what's the point of having it, additionally to the fountain.

 

The library scenes were awesome. It was "The Librarians" meet "The Matrix ". It appears the librarians are one of the most powerful groups, even more magical/powerful than the beast. Dean Fogg and Eliza made it sound like humans were completely defenseless and helpless against the beast. The librarian, on the other hand, spoke of the beast like he was a nuisance and not a mortal threat.

So many questions from Penny going to the neitherlands. Why does penny go by penny (a girl's name) and not William? How many times has penny been in the neitherlands and the library? How come he doesn't remember his prior visits? Does he really swear profusely every time? Who writes all the books? If the books are already written, then it implies predestination and not free will or thought. So penny should just read the books on Alice, Quentin, Margo and Elliot to figure out how to kill the beast.

At first I thought the time magic meant marina or the beast was coming for them. Luckily my close captioning said "light music" playing so was relieved there would be a hiatus on bloodshed and gore in this episode.

 

I thought the Librarian was just spacey and out of it, not necessarily powerful, but if we learn more my thoughts on that could change.

 

As for Penny's being there over and over again, I interpreted that, rightly or wrongly, as "Penny keeps going through this same drill in circles on this same visit during the six week time frame we found he was allegedly gone", like a film loop; not like "he's visited as a younger man/child" type of statement.  How he finally figured out how to get out of the fountain loop if he kept getting the same information from the librarian, that I'm unsure of.  Maybe the implication is simply that the roving homeless denizens previously succeeded in thwarting him from getting through the fountain.

 

That is precisely my point. They are gifted magicians. The show has never depicted them in an actual classroom or participating in any other learning activity. 

 

Alice animating the glass horse/scary visit of the Beast, wasn't in a classroom/functioning as a class?

 

What then was Brakebills South, the nail spell, etc., if not "a learning activity"?

 

Just because the transformation spell took place in private spaces, also doesn't mean it "wasn't classwork".  It was clearly a class assignment. 

 

My guess is, they don't have structured "class" in the same classroom as the glass animation because that's seen as "a device which brings story grinding to a halt", but they're clearly having lessons.  (Sorry if you meant it figuratively or as hyperbole; I'm a literalist and took it that way.)

Edited March 25, 2016 by queenanne

[stillshimpy]

Penny did realize he was dry upon emerging from the Fountain, which I think was a good way of indicating that the fountains are portals to other worlds.  I wanted him to jump into all those fountains and see the other worlds though.  

 

This show is ridiculous amounts of fun.  Kady is Asmodeus!! The show had her in plain sight the whole time which is absolutely awesome.  

 

Richard's plan truly scared the hell out of me.  He wants to go back in time eight years to undo his mistake?  Oh dude, there's no way that's going to end well for you.  I was simultaneously appalled and moved by that.  Does anyone remember The Lost Room miniseries?  That development definitely reminded me of the motivation of the object collector in The Lost Room.  He didn't care if he destroyed the world if it would save his son.  

 

Alice's home was so incredibly screwed up, but they managed to render it in a funny way, that didn't make it any less appalling.  No wonder Alice cared so much about her brother and her brother was such a natural caretaker.  Having those two oddballs for parents would mean finding your primary emotional relationships elsewhere.   

 

Quentin and Penny's frenemy relationship continues, but I do like that they seemingly truly don't like each other, but are decent enough human beings to try and save the others life.  

 

Free Traders!! Yay!! 

[snuffles]

 

snuffles, on 22 Mar 2016 - 9:08 PM, said:

    That is precisely my point. They are gifted magicians. The show has never depicted them in an actual classroom or participating in any other learning activity.

Alice animating the glass horse/scary visit of the Beast, wasn't in a classroom/functioning as a class?

What then was Brakebills South, the nail spell, etc., if not "a learning activity"?

I was referring to Elliot and Margo, not the first years. I guess as others have postulated, the reason for never seeing Margo and Elliot in a classroom or participating in any learning activity is there is no budget for it.

 

Is the actor who played Joe the guy from the "Scream" movie?

Edited March 30, 2016 by snuffles

[kat165]

Snuffles, I just rewatched this ep & the actor who played Joe really seemed

familiar to me so I checked this ep in IMDB and he wasn't given a credit.

I did find out the actor's name though in a round about way. He's

Jonathan Scarfe & that name isn't familiar to me at all. He is a Canadian

actor though so maybe I've seen him in some Canadian productions?

I don't know if he was in Scream.

 

The actress who played Eve, Katie Findlay, who also looked familiar

was in an ep of Fringe.

[snuffles]

 

Snuffles, I just rewatched this ep & the actor who played Joe really seemed

familiar to me so I checked this ep in IMDB and he wasn't given a credit.

I did find out the actor's name though in a round about way. He's

Jonathan Scarfe & that name isn't familiar to me at all. He is a Canadian

actor though so maybe I've seen him in some Canadian productions?

I don't know if he was in Scream.

Thank you for looking! I know it's type casting, but I kept thinking Joe would turn out to be evil because the actor playing him seems to play bad guys. Or actors who look like him.

[wayne67]

Does anyone else wonder what happened to Todd ? You'd think they'd want all hands on deck for a magical adventure against magical mercenaries. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Poor Todd is probably still recovering from being in Ibiza with Margo. I don't think his tolerance for alcohol, drugs, and debauchery is anywhere near hers!

[AudienceofOne]

I enjoyed this one a lot. And it was the first one I've seen the humour in. It was funny, it was dramatic and I liked everybody in it. 

[Camera One]

Glad to watch a lighter episode.  The Neitherland Library was a very interesting place.  That fantasy stuff is what drew me to the show in the first place.  Alice's parents' house was entertaining.  On paper, I don't think I would have wanted to see an episode about Quentin learning to be a better lover but it ended up being amusing.  Penny found out way more about Quentin's sex life than he'd ever wanted to know but at least it saved him.  I'm intrigued to find out the contents of the pages from Martin's book.