S02.E07: Plan B

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Julia and Kady enlist Quentin, Margo, Eliot, and Penny for a magical heist.

Promo:

 

Clip:

[Jynnan tonnix]

Nobody else saying anything yet?

I will say that this is by far the worst episode I've seen. Maybe the fact that I really don't enjoy the "bank heist" scenario movies in general didn't help, but it all felt as though the entire point of the episode was to bring the characters back into the same story arc, and it was so clumsily handled! And what of the poor haxenpaxen, or whatever its nae was..? Was there no point to it being in the story altogether? Maybe I missed a side bit at the beginning since I tuned in two or three minutes late, but was there anything at all in there which even made it useful in shielding even a minor bit of magic? And if so, was it a big enough plot hole that it needed an entirely new creature to fill? Plot holes in fantasy are just going to happen. It's the nature of the genre to an extent, but, again, bringing in something the size of hxpx almost serves more to accent it than otherwise.

I did find Q &A's (ha...didn't realize how that looked until I typed it!) agreement somewhat intriguing, and would be interested  in those repercussions. A bit disappointed that the end of Reynard Jr seems to be a done deal, especially given that Dana's baby grew up to be a "good man" and someone in a position of authority (yes, I am pro choice, but there's still a sense of justice to be found in stories of those strong enough to mold a tragedy into a triumph). 

Worried for Eliot, though with no doubt that he will be back to his old self sooner than later (because as a straight 58 year old woman I still find myself completely crushing on the boy). He's the joy of many episodes for me! LOL

And as for Penny and Kady, I don't care all that much for their relationship as such because it has always seemed to drag the storyline down to a point, but they are just both so very pretty that my eyes don't entirely object to that amount of candy.

Al in all, I guess it's good that they have all the major characters back into roughly the same environment (except, but also probably including Fillory),, but really did not enjoy the way it was brought together. The whole feeling of the show seemed "off".

[Poltargyst]

I basically like the episode.  That ending though:  is the baby really gone?  I thought Julia would be dealing with that the rest of the season.  It feels too easy for her to have solved that.  And did we really need the cliffhanger?  Oh, there's a complication they won't tell us until next week.  I was thinking she's not going to be able to have children now, but maybe it is a more magical complication.

Yeah, this whole haxenpaxen hufflepuffle whatever thing is kind of strange.  They take the guy for him to only live into the next episode?  I've been wondering all along why Reynard can't just find Julia and Kady the way he found Dana once the haxpax was gone.  I thought maybe he wouldn't hurt Julia while she was carrying his child, but I don't know why he wouldn't finish off Kady.  I thought he or the baby itself might prevent the abortion.  Or did the Chinese ladies' magic prevent that?  Now that the baby is gone, will Reynard find and come for Julia?

I should probably be angry that they stole all that money, but eh, I don't really care.  It's fun to have the guilty pleasure of rooting for your characters to do something bad sometimes.

[wayne67]

I find bank heist scenarios overly convoluted and unnecessary most of the time.

Why didn't Penny just lift himself onto the gold bars and then he could steal to his heart's content, then travel out there surrounded by the gold he's touching... The whole failed levitation was just so contrived. You'd think a telepathic teleporter would be smarter. 

I also found it frustrating how quickly Julia leaving them for dead the first time, sabotaging Penny and getting in the way of the Beast was just glossed over. 

I would have preferred a quest to find magic beetles in Fillory over this nonsense. *sigh*

I honestly don't care any more if any of them live or die. This season seems rudderless. 

[Hanahope]

I wondered if the bank heist was supposed to replace a heist from the books, but the scenario was so different, maybe not.  Agreed that it wasn't well executed, and I generally like heist plots.  It was interesting to hear about the bank being run by magicians, of course, and warded/protected as such.  Must get boring for the magician guard to just sit in a room day after day waiting for some excitement.

i had forgotten that Penny hasn't seen Kady since she left South, I guess he didn't hold that much of a grudge.

pretty poor ending to the haxenpaxen, I thought we'd get a lot more there.

i wonder if having your clone die while you're asleep is like the rumor about dying In your sleep.  I hope Elliot recovers.  Maybe they can bring the healer from Brakebills to Fillory.  

so what was the complication for Julia?  Barren? No shade? Something else?

Was this baby so much different from Dana's, or was she just saying her son was good because all mothers do that?  I know we will have to be introduced to him at some point.  I totally expect Reynard to search him out now that he knows Dana was still alive and that could make things more difficult for our scoobie gang.

[TiffanyNichelle]

I think the complications is that Julia is barren because the hits just keep coming with Julia and at this point I just don't care.

They really did fly right over everyone's anger at Julia or if they were they were made to look petty because she has suffered so much so what if she would have caused all their deaths if it wasn't for Alice being powered up at that moment. Something that you can't say Julia remembered in that moment and knew that Alice would wake back up and save their lives. RME.

I did like Margo's thickened accent and glee at planning the bank heist.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Inside the episode:

[Blakeston]

1 hour ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I did like Margo's thickened accent and glee at planning the bank heist.

Was the accent a reference to something? I felt like something was going on there that I didn't understand.

1 hour ago, TiffanyNichelle said:

I did like Margo's thickened accent and glee at planning the bank heist.

Was the accent a reference to something? I felt like something was going on there that I didn't understand.

[iMonrey]

Quote

This season seems rudderless.

It certainly seems scattered. I found this one a step in the right direction if only because it reunited the entire cast - Julia's disconnected plot line has been annoying all season long. But the bank heist seemed like a strange diversion and the story seems to be jumping all over the place. The way the haxenpaxen (?) was so suddenly discarded definitely felt like somebody changed their minds about where they wanted the story to go. Even the characters themselves seem to jump from one place to another - one minute Margo and Elliot are in Fillory and the next minute they're at Brakebill's. It's jarring, you sort of have to stop and think about what's going on because it always feels like you missed something. It's like whoever writes this show has serious ADHD.

I really want this whole Reynard thing to be over with. The rest of the show I'm OK with if they can just keep a cohesive narrative going.

[GaT]

At this point I can honestly say I have no idea what Julia's plot is, I'm completely lost.

[waving feather]

I love this episode. It's great to see everyone back together again. And nice to see Julia look relax and sort of happy for once. Yeah, she has done very stupid things but I still don't want her to suffer.

I also like that Kady is back with the group. They really needed an ass-kicking battle magician back on their team.

Niffin!Alice is so entertaining I don't even want to get the real Alice back.

Maybe it's just me but I'm loving this season.

[grandemocha]

I was a little irritated at seeing Julia in Alice's room for some reason. I don't know, it just seems like Julia still doesn't give a fuck about what she did to the others (especially Alice) with her single minded determination to destroy Reynard. I understand Julia has been hurt badly and traumatized but Alice sacrificed everything for her friends and Quentin while Julia sometimes comes off as petulant and selfish. Its like she doesn't understand why Quentin or Margo/Eliot/Penny might be angry at her, she just knows they're mad.

I hope Kady keeps that kick ass electric whip, it'd come in handy in battle. Niffin Alice is so awesome, the uninhibited comments she makes are pretty funny.

[Philbert]

Yeah I think I agree that this episode was the weakest of the season so far but that doesn't make it awful. It was just rather "meh" and yes, the 'Heist" plot has been to death in films and tv shows and this one wasn't inventive enough to raise the episode beyond being just average. Again, I'm not on the "Hate Julia" bandwagon and I don't intend to be. I think she was sufficiently 'guilty' about Quentin's pain over Alice's death but YMMV. At this point her life is such a gaping sewer that hating her just seems to be dogpiling.

Love Niffin Alice. She's everything that real Alice was trying to cover up-a mean streak a mile wide and a bottomless well of anger and resentment at her parents and everything and everybody around her. The amount of damage she can do to Quentin and his friends is probably limitless.

As for the fight itself. I like Kady taking on the bank manager with her battle magic and Margo's streetwise persona coming to the foreground but that was about it. Too little Fillory and not enough Brakebills.

 

5/10

[MorganSte]

So did anyone else think the battle magician was overpowered too easily?  I know it took them 4 tries, but Katy just hit her at the end?

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Making Magic:

[qtpye]

Why did Kady not just take the lady's supply of wooden spoons?  Did Q snap off the finger with his butt?  Why did Margo have that bizarre accent when she was explaining the heist?  Was that supposed to be her regressing to her small town self, because it sounded very fake and she is usually a good actress.

Sorry about all the questions.

[FiveByFive]

On 3/8/2017 at 11:20 PM, Poltargyst said:

I basically like the episode.  That ending though:  is the baby really gone?  I thought Julia would be dealing with that the rest of the season.  It feels too easy for her to have solved that.

Kady said there was a complication so I'm assuming that Julia's suffering isn't completely over. Also, didn't the other witch who banished Reynard say that her baby was given up for adoption? Plus Reynard is still out there and probably will be pissed.

On 3/9/2017 at 3:43 AM, wayne67 said:

Why didn't Penny just lift himself onto the gold bars and then he could steal to his heart's content, then travel out there surrounded by the gold he's touching... The whole failed levitation was just so contrived.

I was wondering why he didn't just get off the ground (jump) and teleport, or put a gold bar back to get out of there. As for taking all the gold he was touching out, I'm assuming there's a limit to how much weight he can carry with him but that's a fanwank from reading comics.

On 3/9/2017 at 11:51 AM, TiffanyNichelle said:

They really did fly right over everyone's anger at Julia or if they were they were made to look petty because she has suffered so much so what if she would have caused all their deaths if it wasn't for Alice being powered up at that moment.

I appreciated the fact that they acknowledged that they can feel more than one way about a person at once which is obviously what they feel about Julia. She did nearly get them all killed but she was also dealing with being raped and impregnated by a trickster God that massacred her friends and was continuing to kill people. So yes, they can be pissed at her but they can also understand she was/is dealing with a lot. 

[Hanahope]

So as to Penny, they didn't specifically say, but I'm presuming that he couldn't 'sit' on the gold because it was sitting on the table which touched the floor.  He could pick the gold off the table, but not keep in contact with something touching the floor.  Once he touched the floor, the sigil,   he was stuck.  He could not 'untouch' it. 

[zxy556575]

Perhaps my clone traveled to another timeline to watch because I loved this episode. Thought it was zippy and fun.

I was sad for the haxenpaxen's brief period of freedom. I still don't like Julia, but she and Kady could have used the protection (probably why he had to die).

On 3/9/2017 at 6:48 PM, waving feather said:

Maybe it's just me but I'm loving this season.

The wretched child abuse stuff was so searing and dark last season that I'm enjoying the "regular" dire magic now.

[tennisgurl]

It wasn't the best episode of the season or anything, but I still enjoyed it. I think I was just excited to see the whole gang back again. I'm also enjoying Niffin Alice, as much as I miss Real Alice. Will she come back somehow?

"Tell them I'm alright, and I'm almost put of air" "Sort of a mixed message".

I don't think Julia's demon baby is gone yet. Poor Julia isn't that lucky. I don't exactly like her, but I would like to see her get a win. Her life sucks so much, being mad at her just seems...mean. I get why everyone was willing to work with her. They can still be pissed at her for what she did, but still see how shit her situation is. Plus, I think a loss for Renard is a win for everyone else.

I liked seeing Kady with everyone again, and Margo was on point all episode. I like how Kadys Plan B just seems to be punch them in the face!

[KaleyFirefly]

On 3/8/2017 at 10:53 PM, Jynnan tonnix said:

Worried for Eliot, though with no doubt that he will be back to his old self sooner than later (because as a straight 58 year old woman I still find myself completely crushing on the boy). He's the joy of many episodes for me! LOL

Me too! I love me some Eliot.

[marina707]

On 3/9/2017 at 1:20 PM, Blakeston said:

Was the accent a reference to something? I felt like something was going on there that I didn't understand.

 

On 3/10/2017 at 2:29 PM, qtpye said:

Why did Margo have that bizarre accent when she was explaining the heist? 

It confused me, too, but I THINK she was trying to do an old timey gangster voice, like a bank robber from an old movie or something. Maybe. Otherwise I have no clue...it was definitely weird.

Anyway, I liked the episode well enough. Like other people have mentioned, my first thought on the "complications" (or however it was worded) with Julia was that she wouldn't be able to get pregnant again in the future, but I'm not sure whether or not that's too mundane for this show. I guess we'll see!

[qtpye]

It would be cool if the complication is that Julia will no longer be able to do magic, since it has cause her nothing but pain and misery.

[TheIrish]

So you guys I have read so many forums and you guys seem to be forgetting something I have not seen on any forum. 

Why are you guys not worried about who reynards kid is???!? 

Obviously HE is still around 

Do you guys just assume he will not be part of the show. He is said to be a powerful influential man. There could be so many characters this falls to.

What if his child is a main character sure may even not any good leads but based on the fact it happened 40yrs ago it could literally be anyone that we don't expect.

And there was a time loop so more so it could still be anyone in the show or maybe it's someone in fillory we did not consider.

Please someone help me figure this out lol this has been really bothering me because I feel like reynard wouldn't play a role like he does if he didn't intend to find his child that he obviously interrogated Dana about before killing her.

We will see his son and I feel like it will be less surprising than we anticipate.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Most of the discussion about who Reynard and Dana's son could be was in the discussion for the previous episode, but someone else brought it up earlier in this very thread.

On 3/11/2017 at 1:52 PM, Lord Donia said:

Perhaps my clone traveled to another timeline to watch because I loved this episode. Thought it was zippy and fun.

I was sad for the haxenpaxen's brief period of freedom. I still don't like Julia, but she and Kady could have used the protection (probably why he had to die).

The wretched child abuse stuff was so searing and dark last season that I'm enjoying the "regular" dire magic now.

I thought it was a fun episode too because we rarely get to see all six of the main characters together, let alone working together for a common cause. As Margo and Eliot said, they can still be mad at Julia for the shit she's pulled (that's shit PLURAL) and still want to help her get rid of this demon baby, which I appreciate. It's fine to be petty and pissy with someone but still have the maturity to put that aside when that person really needs your help.

I was hoping that the haxenpaxen would stick around for a little while. I thought that he and Julia would develop a Chunk/Sloth friendship and then he would die protecting her from Reynard. I guess we skipped that middle part and went right to dying.

Heh, I had to laugh because it's true that this season, even with demon exorcism/abortion, is much lighter than last season's Martin being molested/the Beast killing people storylines.

[Jynnan tonnix]

18 hours ago, TheIrish said:

So you guys I have read so many forums and you guys seem to be forgetting something I have not seen on any forum. 

Why are you guys not worried about who reynards kid is???!? 

Obviously HE is still around 

Do you guys just assume he will not be part of the show. He is said to be a powerful influential man. There could be so many characters this falls to.

What if his child is a main character sure may even not any good leads but based on the fact it happened 40yrs ago it could literally be anyone that we don't expect.

And there was a time loop so more so it could still be anyone in the show or maybe it's someone in fillory we did not consider.

Please someone help me figure this out lol this has been really bothering me because I feel like reynard wouldn't play a role like he does if he didn't intend to find his child that he obviously interrogated Dana about before killing her.

We will see his son and I feel like it will be less surprising than we anticipate.

Yup, as Electric Boogaloo just said, there was some speculation about that in last weeks thread. I think someone had brought up the possibility of it being the Dean. It is interesting to think about, though...as the offspring of a god and a magician, one would imagine that the child would probably have some pretty advanced magical potential, even if adopted by a non-magical family, and might therefore have come to the attention of Brakebills or some similar school. Not sure where it might have been explained how they find recruits, but I'm sure they have their methods. 

I don't think we actually know whether Reynard himself has any particular interest in his offspring...The failed abortion attempts may have been some sort of embroynic self-preservation more than Reynard's meddling. It seems as though he'd have the power to locate any of his own potential offspring if he really wanted to, and at the rate he goes through vulnerable women, Dana ad Julia can't have been the only ones left in that predicament...and his children may very well not have any more inherent predisposition to evil than any other child resulting from a rape; just a little more able to protect themselves. And embryonic self-preservation isn't necessarily any more evil than any other purely instinctive act...

Just thinking aloud here...I am really interested in how they bring it all together.

Edited March 15, 2017 by Jynnan tonnix

[kat165]

I want to know what device Julia was tinkering with while she was watching the heist in her mirror. If there was an explaination I completely missed it. Thank you.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

It was the rewind thing she used later.

[AudienceofOne]

On 09/03/2017 at 6:43 PM, wayne67 said:

This season seems rudderless. 

I'm inclined to agree. When the haxenpaxen died, he got added to the pile of things in this season that don't seem to have a point. The thing that blew me away about last season was that, when I got to the end, everything seemed to come together to a cohesive narrative point. I'm hoping this one does too but I don't see the same breadcrumbs like I did last season. It seems to be littered with things like this.

I personally thought 'Let's all rob a bank' was such a bizarre narrative non-sequitur that I wasn't entire sure what I was watching.

On 11/03/2017 at 1:49 PM, FiveByFive said:

I appreciated the fact that they acknowledged that they can feel more than one way about a person at once which is obviously what they feel about Julia. She did nearly get them all killed but she was also dealing with being raped and impregnated by a trickster God that massacred her friends and was continuing to kill people.

This mostly reflected badly again on Julia though. Even after everything, they still didn't blink to work with her. Which just highlighted the fact she should have done that from the beginning instead of fucking them all over. My favourite line of the night was her saying she thought it was wrong that the people who 'blamed her for Alice's death' were in danger to help her and she wasn't. Everybody seems to have forgotten she already literally got Alice killed and this is the second time.

[Camera One]

Can't believe I'm more than halfway through this season already.  This one I found to be a mixed bag.  I did like everyone working together and in the same storyline.  But the bank heist subplot felt like it was slotted in unnaturally.  The rewind machine was interesting, though they really didn't have much of a plan.  They lucked out that fake Eliot was the one killed and that allowed Kady to punch the security magician lady.  

I like seeing the actress who play Alice more, but I hate secrets and Quentin keeping this a secret from everyone.  

The show has become unfocused since The Beast was defeated.  Stuff like the war with that other kingdom is a waste of time and made Margo seem foolish.  The befouling of the spring is already a big enough problem in Filory without adding random obstacles.

[CigarDoug]

On 3/10/2017 at 2:29 PM, qtpye said:

Why did Kady not just take the lady's supply of wooden spoons?  Did Q snap off the finger with his butt?  Why did Margo have that bizarre accent when she was explaining the heist?  Was that supposed to be her regressing to her small town self, because it sounded very fake and she is usually a good actress.

Sorry about all the questions.

I had the same thought, just take all the spoons!

To cast the spell, you grab the person's finger, dip it in their drink (alcohol), and stick it in your mouth. The spell then turns YOUR finger into THEIR finger, complete with fingerprint. It doesn't affect the person you cast it on, they don't lose their finger, or have any idea you cast the spell. They are just left confused. (Q... didn't use his mouth)

I don't get the accent either, but it sounded more big city than small town. More gangster?

On 3/10/2017 at 10:49 PM, FiveByFive said:

I was wondering why he didn't just get off the ground (jump) and teleport, or put a gold bar back to get out of there. As for taking all the gold he was touching out, I'm assuming there's a limit to how much weight he can carry with him but that's a fanwank from reading comics.

The levitation belt had to be adjusted with each gold bar to keep from touching the floor. But the sigil was cast on the entire floor, as soon as he touched it, he was prevented from teleporting out. So until it wears off or is removed, he can't teleport. But I agree with the earlier poster, he should have levitated to the TOP of the pile of gold, then crouched on it, filled his bag, and teleported out. The pallet was touching the ground, I don't think the sigil would transmit through the pallet, through the gold, to his feet. But maybe it would. But they also had to have things go wrong for the rest of the story to play out, and Elliot ending up getting his Golem killed.