In the previous episode of Syfy’s The Magicians, Penny died while astral projecting out of his body, Eliot and his family used a key to escape the Muntjac, and Margo was still being tormented by the fairies. In this episode, we see how everyone reacts to Penny’s death and if they’re able to continue on their quest. ‘Be the Penny’ was written by David Reed and directed by Shannon Kohli.
Back To Darkness | Kady’s (Jade Tailor) had to deal with a lot of awful stuff, but having the love of her life die right in front of her has to be the worst. Penny’s (Arjun Gupta) death launches Kady back down a dark path of alcohol and drug abuse, leading to an overdose that Julia (Stella Maeve) saves her from. When someone from the Library tells Kady they need to send a Corpse Eater for Penny’s body so he can pass over to the Underworld and continue his service to the Library. Kady hates the idea of his body being eaten so he can spend the next billion years working for the Library, so she turns to her old pal Harriet (Marlee Matlin) for advice. Harriet tells her to just burn his body, that way he won’t be forced to work for the Library. Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) disagrees and thinks they should let the Corpse Eater devour him.
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Hyman | While stuck on the astral plane, Penny is still able to travel, so he spends the next week keeping tabs on his friends. He runs into another Brakebills Alum traveler stuck on the astral plane with me, Hyman Cooper (Dustin Ingram), a perverted student who died a century ago when his body was moved while he was astral projecting. Hyman knows all about Penny and his friends, he’s been watching them the whole time they’ve attended Brakebills, and he is quite annoying, but is slightly helpful as well. With his help, Penny astral projects himself inside first a penny, then the Margollem, before finally traveling inside a candle to set his body on fire in front of Kady so he wouldn’t have to go to the Underworld. Guess he won’t be returning in that body.
Rupert’s Pal | After a bit of research, Quentin (Jason Ralph) and Julia think they’ve figured out where the next key is, in a buried dormitory from the 1940’s. They go and find Rupert Chatwin (Arthur Mackinnon) and his pal trapped reliving his friends death over and over again, but they find out where the key is. With the help of Dean Fogg (Rick Worthy), they are able to nab the real key and get it back to Brakebills. Dean Fogg also informs them that the school is being closed because of the loss of magic.
The Neitherlands | Penny gets himself to The Neitherlands where we see Eliot (Hale Appleman), Fen (Brittany Curran), and Fray (Madeleine Arthur) encounter some unpleasant cannibals. Lucky for them, Eliot still has the key that can create illusions, so he conjured an image of his father and fed that to the cannibals. After that, according to Eliot, they found a door in the library and used the key to get to the cottage at Brakebills! This is Fen’s first time leaving Fillory, this must be very overwhelming for her! Q fills them in about the key and when Eliot holds it, he sees Penny. The key reveals the truth, allowing whoever holds it to see Penny.
What an INTENSE episode! What’s going to happen now that Penny doesn’t have a body? How’s Kady going to react to Penny still being alive, but body-less? And if Brakebills is closed, what does that mean for everyone living in the cottage?
Catch The Magicians Wednesdays at 9pm on Syfy!