S03.E12: The Fillorian Candidate

[Miles]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

Interesting that Renard's father was Hades.  I wonder if that will affect how Hades deals with Underworld Penny.

I mean we could assume for quite a while now. Hades and his mother are married or at least somethign along those lines.

Edited April 3, 2018 by Miles

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, Hanahope said:

Interesting that Renard's father was Hades.  I wonder if that will affect how Hades deals with Underworld Penny.

Minor correction: Renard said that Hades was his stepfather. 

I know Renard said that Hades gave him the gun and bullet out of kindness but maybe Hades never liked his stepson and was taking advantage of the situation to get rid of hin permanently! 

Regardless, I look forward to seeing Penny and Hades together. Penny40’s default is “be a dick” which might not work so well when he’s dealing with a god. 

[Hanahope]

2 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Minor correction: Renard said that Hades was his stepfather. 

Oh, I missed that part.  Thanks!  So who is Renard's actual father then?  

[KaleyFirefly]

9 hours ago, The Companion said:

I think it's something interesting they have explored in a few different ways. Are Eliot and Q the same men they were at the end of their lifetime if they remember it but don't feel they lived it? Is Penny the same person if his experience diverged drastically from the current timeline? Is post-miffen Alice the same person? These Pennys should theoretically be similar because they diverge in the recent past, but our experiences definitely shape us. I do think it would actually be harder for Kady to think of him as the same Penny, because then he is the same man except that he doesn't love her. What I do find interesting is that both of them are struggling with the same thing. Penny lost Julia and getting a different version of Julia has not resolved the issue. The same is true for Kady.

Agreed on Penny 40. I don't buy that the last thing we see is him eating an ominous cupcake of doom.

Good point. And yes, I think that was the ominous cupcake of doom! Isn't it that if you eat the food in the Underworld, that means you can't leave?

[Poltargyst]

Wasn't it a pomegranate cupcake?  As in Greek mythology when Persephone eats seeds of a pomegranate in the Underworld and isn't allowed to leave?

Edited April 4, 2018 by Poltargyst
Hgfc

[ElectricBoogaloo]

13 hours ago, Hanahope said:

Oh, I missed that part.  Thanks!  So who is Renard's actual father then?  

I don't remember if Renard or Our Lady said in a previous season who his father was. Heh, maybe they're saving that for another big surprise!

54 minutes ago, Poltargyst said:

Wasn't it a pomegranate cupcake?  As in Greek mythology when Persephone eats seeds of a pomegranate in the Underworld and isn't allowed to leave?

Howard told Penny40 that Kathy always brought amazing cupcakes to his book club meetings. When he finally went to the book club, they showed the cupcakes but no one specified what flavor they were.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Wasn't it a pomegranate cupcake?  As in Greek mythology when Persephone eats seeds of a pomegranate in the Underworld and isn't allowed to leave?

I know it's generally accepted that Persephone is Our Lady Underground but have they ever explicitly said that on the show? I don't recall ever actually hearing the name Persephone in the dialogue.

[JonasArm]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I know it's generally accepted that Persephone is Our Lady Underground but have they ever explicitly said that on the show? I don't recall ever actually hearing the name Persephone in the dialogue.

They did when Julia showed Katy a book to tell her of her discovery in S02e12. Katy: "Persephone is Our Lady Underground".

And before that s01e11, Richard to Julia: "Hades created the underworld, runs it with his wife Persephone".

Most importantly. When Julia and Quentin are in the Elysium, Julia sees a painting of OLU so she asks a shade, Eugene, who it is. Eugene: "That's Ms Persephone..."

 

I hope it helped.

[paramitch]

There's so much good stuff in this episode, and the play of tension ramping up to the finale is just wonderful. I can't get over how great this season is (and I love the show no matter what). But damn!

On 3/29/2018 at 12:01 AM, wayne67 said:

Well it was nice that Elliot saluted the new high king, he's understandably disappointed that he didn't win a popularity contest but still was willing to accept his loss graciously. It was good of Margo to get a reward for all the sacrifices she's made on behalf of Fillory even if it wasn't appreciated at the time or in some cases ill advised.  

One of the things I felt so bad about last season (although I enjoyed the season as a whole) was what a thankless storyline poor Margo had to navigate. So I'm delighted that this season has really given her such an incredible arc and enriched her character so much. She isn't the spoiled brat from season 1 (although, to be fair, she was always more than that underneath). She's now a true ruler who is willing to sacrifice and die for her people and her country, and it's amazing to watch. I love her new "fairy eye" and I also loved that the Fairy Queen's regard for her was so rarely and so openly affectionate -- you could tell she really appreciates Margo (like all the best people do!).

And when Eliot gracefully knelt to show his allegiance here, I almost cried. It was such a typically generous Elliot gesture -- he loves Fillory, and he loves Margo, and he knows what she's been through. And he knows she loves it as much as he does.

On 3/29/2018 at 2:20 AM, AudienceofOne said:

While the writers this season are finally writing Julia well, I still can't get over the feeling that all of this is unearned. I feel like she's been awarded for victimhood while Alice was punished for sacrifice. And something in that equation just seems wrong to me.

I disagree that Julia has anything at all still to "earn." Every single one of the magicians has made mistakes and suffered incredible torments. It's also worth pointing out that almost every time Julia was a victim was because she literally made the decision to sacrifice herself in some way for someone else. Every mistake she's made, she's paid for (often brutally, and in spades). I'm delighted this season to see Julia take a little of her own power and happiness back.

On 3/29/2018 at 3:32 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

That moment when Eliot swallowed his disappointment to congratulate Margo is why I love their friendship. And who knew about Abigail? "You really love that sloth." Ha!

I cracked up so hard at that reveal! Just priceless! And when you go back and rewatch the earlier parts of the season, he's often petting the sloth or HOLDING ITS HAND.

On 3/29/2018 at 9:38 AM, Philbert said:

I'm not sure I buy the argument that they were ever writing Julia "badly." They were certainly showing her in a somewhat unsympathetic light at times but I'm not convinced that was a mistake. I know Stella Maeve got a lot of shit (that I think was frankly, very unfair) for the way she played Julia through season one and half of season two but I think that's exactly what they were going for. Julia (the Hermione Granger of Brakebills in just about every other timeline) was seriously messed up for a while and I suspect it was due to the decision to leave her out of Brakebills this time around-thus leading to her current character development.

Oh, thank you. Also, it absolutely was deliberate -- Dean Fogg and Jane admitted as much -- that leaving Julia out of Brakebills was one of the only timelines that offered them a chance against the Beast, even if it meant poor Julia would have to suffer incredible torments right from day one. I loved Julia in the books, and although her journey's been more schizophrenic in the show, I love her here as well. 

On 3/29/2018 at 9:43 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Don't get me wrong - I understand why Kady is so salty with Penny. She's looking at someone who looks like the person she loves but isn't actually the same person who she fell in love with and has a history with. I just wish she would remember that the same is true for Penny 23, not just with Julia but with everyone else he knew in his timeline.

That's a great point. I'm actually really amused and impressed at how different Arjun Gupta is as Penny23, too -- he's believably Penny and yet markedly different. And (sorry) he has fantastic chemistry with Julia. I've never liked him with Kady, so I'm all in for shipping Pulia or Jenny. ;) 

On 3/29/2018 at 10:18 AM, iMonrey said:

Yeah - when he got to the part he was making up we saw "footage not available." LOL. That whole sequence was magical. 

Last week's episode was a hard act to follow IMO so this one didn't quite have the same impact but man, they sure got a lot done! And I'm so glad Margo got her eye (or, an eye) back. Yeah, the eye patch was stylish but I couldn't help feel sympathy for Summer Bishil having to do all her scenes with one eye. That would bug the hell out of me.  

I loved the "footage not available" part too! Also, I know poor Margo (and poor Summer Bishil!) had to go a whole season without an eye, but I absolutely loved her badass neverending supply of exquisitely matching eyepatches for each of her outfits. The costume designer must have had an absolute blast!

On 3/29/2018 at 11:09 AM, festivus said:

Totally agree. I read the books so I knew her story. Frankly, I never posted here in the first season because of all the hate. 

I have been thinking about where her development can go from here. They can't really keep her at god-like status because it would make it too easy for her to just fix everything. There will have to be some limits on what gods can do or we won't have any story. I just hope it's not Alice managing to steal her powers for the library.

Another book-Julia fan here (and I think Stella Maeve has done great on the show, against almost impossible odds). I'm so glad Julia has been giving a little bit of a break this season -- we've even seen her smile a few times! I've always felt sorry for her at the tremendous amount of fan backlash Julia has always received.

On 3/29/2018 at 4:13 PM, tennisgurl said:

All Hail Queen Margo! Coming in on a Bestiality Platform for the win! That was awesome, and its great to see a win for poor Margo. She has grown so much as a character and has had a real fuck of a time lately, so its awesome to see her being acknowledged as the awesome badass bitch that she is. And it was all because she refuses to judge people sleeping with magical talking animals. #tolerance. Also loved when Elliot immediately supported her. Their friendship is so lovely, they really are platonic (mostly) soulmates. 

Josh doing a recap of everything thats happened in the whole show while smoking magic pot (including footage not being found of him having a harpie three way!) was amazing, while 23 Penny is making snarky comments and looking confused. 

Whats my favorite line? The bunny sounding like a chain smoker saying "eat my ass" over and over, or Elliot approving of his not daughters inter-species love with "I will tell you what I wish my father had told me. I am so happy you found love with a bear." Snerk. 

I think my favorite aside was finding out Bacchus had been kicked off Instagram for violating their terms and conditions due to excess boobs, so now no one can find him when they need a god to help out. Thats the Urban Fantasy details that I freaking come here for. 

I love the 'bestiality' aspect because in a "if Fillory was real" way, there wouldn't be an eyebrow lifted if all these sentient creatures dated and intermixed -- if humans dated fauns or demigods or fairies (even if Fairy Queen would eyeroll) or whatever. And Eliot saying that he was so happy his daughter found love with a bear was the sweetest thing ever. Hale Appleman is a national treasure.

On 3/29/2018 at 5:15 PM, AudienceofOne said:

Regardless of my feelings about the Library beforehand, the giant briefcase of magic fairy dust was unforgivable for me. I wouldn't trust them with the future of magic.

It grossed me out! Now that we know what that is, it's incredibly sad and grotesque.

On 3/29/2018 at 7:35 PM, The Companion said:

The library seems to be so focused on what they believe to be the greater good, that they don't care about the impact on individuals. It is fine to kill people or have them sign contracts under duress. They don't share "dangerous" knowledge, regardless of the stakes. There is a better to 0 chance they decide magic is too dangerous for anyone other than librarians and lock it up like the books they have locked up.

That's what I dislike about the Library too. They're making decisions affecting multiple worlds and are utterly ruthless about who pays.

On 3/31/2018 at 6:49 PM, Miles said:

It's nice that Q mentioned his other life to his father. I hope next season we get some more scenes between him and Elliot. Those two have quite a few things to work through together and I'd love to see it.

I loved the scene between Quentin and his father -- I especially loved that Quentin has grown so much as a person in strength and character that he wasn't going back to tell his father he would save him... but that he was NOT going to be able to save him, and he wanted to tell his father to his face. I also loved the little moment when his Dad said he had never known magic consciously for most of his life, but he felt the emptiness in his heart when it was gone.

[Jynnan tonnix]

On 10/31/2018 at 2:08 AM, paramitch said:

 

That's a great point. I'm actually really amused and impressed at how different Arjun Gupta is as Penny23, too -- he's believably Penny and yet markedly different. And (sorry) he has fantastic chemistry with Julia. I've never liked him with Kady, so I'm all in for shipping Pulia or Jenny. ;) 

 

He does seem to have really good chemistry with Julia, though I do like Penny/Kady just for the aesthetics LOL...Even though my heart belongs to Eliot/Hale as favorite actor/character, both Arjun and Jade are so classically beautiful that I enjoy them as a couple even though they are not really among my very favorite characters (though Penny seems to be getting a much more nuanced story, especially now that there are two separate lines to it).  m 

Edited November 5, 2018 by Jynnan tonnix
because a missing "not" completely changes the meaning of a sentence

[Beatrice]

I'm finally caught up. Just in time for the new season. I'm here for Julia. I haven't read the books but I noticed in the show that they often have Julia on her own. I'm wondering if that is because it follows the book or because the actress is so good, imo, that she can carry her own solo story line.