This week SYFY gave us a double dose of The Magicians with back to back new episodes! In the first of the two episodes the gang is on a mission to move the moon, but they have to go through a whole ordeal before that can happen. ‘Apocalypse? Now?!’ was written by Mike Moore and directed by Shannon Kohli.
Lunatics | The episode kicks off with Zelda (Mageina Tovah) explaining the Harmonic Convergence to the group. The convergence can only happen if everything is in alignment, so if they can move the moon the alignment will be off and the apocalypse will be stopped. Zelda suggests they consult the Lunatics [Lunar Fanatics] for information on how to move it.
Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Julia (Stella Maeve) go to a psychiatric hospital and speak with a Lunatic currently residing there named Reeva (Erica Piccininni). Reeva has a crescent moon tattoo on her eye and tells them what they need to know about the moon, including that the moon is a female who uses She/Her pronouns, and that they can’t actually move the moon but can ask her to moon. But in order to get her to listen, they must have Moon Brain. Then three of them can perform the ritual to see if the moon’s aura will turn from red to green, when it’s green they may ask her to move. But they have to be careful, because once her aura is green anyone can speak with her. They also learn that they will need a moon rock to perform the ritual, but the rock will get used up during the ritual so Reeva suggests they don’t use their favorite one.
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At Brakebills, Penny (Arjun Gupta) is learning all the dangers he could encounter if he tried to travel from Lipson (Keegan Connor Tracy), who reveals she is Acting Dean while Fogg is gone. Penny tries to quit, but Lipson doesn’t let him and also makes him the new coach of the welters team.
On Fillory, Margo (Summer Bishil) explains to Eliot (Hale Appleman) what she’s learned about the hunting of fairies. Eliot thinks someone else is behind it, not Seb. Margo is super on edge because she’s been avoiding Josh (Trevor Einhorn) and the talk he wants to have. Just then Josh appears with message bunnies from their pals on Earth, they need to get back and help stop the apocalypse. But before they go, Eliot leaves Fen (Brittany Curran) as a spy. He instructs her to find out all that she can about what’s happening with the fairies, and even tells her to speak with a fairy if she can. Fen is very excited to be the “maid on the outside.” Later she does eventually find a fairy who recognizes her and decides to go with her.
Now that the entire group is together, Julia and Alice explain the plan and explain what Moon Brain is. It’s the insanity you get from extreme sleep deprivation. Five nights with no sleep as a matter of fact, 132 hours. The Harmonic Convergence is in five nights, so they have to begin the process of attaining Moon Brain now.
The Countdown |
96 Hours Until Harmonic Convergence
Josh seems to be the peppiest of the group, going around and refilling everyone’s coffee cups while they try to find the location of a moon rock. Eliot begins to hear a voice calling out to him, it sounds familiar. Margo is asking Josh for cocaine, she needs something to help her stay awake. Alice finds some info on moon rocks and definitely thinks they can get one. Josh decides he’s going to make some special muffins for the group that will definitely help them all stay up, the group thinks he’s going to add meth to them. Kady decides her friends have got this, so she goes to Zelda for help finding the book depository.
Out of everyone to fall asleep, Josh was low on my list, but low and behold Josh is the first to fall asleep and cannot perform the ritual to speak with the moon. And to make matters worse he burned his muffins, now he’s going to have to make more. Margo and Eliot had been out searching for moon rocks but couldn’t find a single one. Margo suggests they wait out the Harmonic Convergence on Fillory, at least there’s no apocalypse happening there. Julia gives the group a pep-talk about how much this is going to suck, and how if they succeed they won’t get any credit, and everyone agrees to stay on Earth and keep trying.
12 Hours to Harmonic Convergence
Josh is in charge of keeping people awake with a water gun, but it’s clear everyone is STRUGGLING with the lack of sleep. But they may have found someone with a moon rock, a famous rich guy.
8 Hours to Harmonic Convergence
Julia has a fake crescent moon tattoo on her eye, and her and Eliot go to meet this rich Lunatic, Oren (Jeffrey Vincent Parise). Oren can tell the pair are well on their way to Moon Brain and tells them on the Harmonic Convergence party he’s throwing that night. Eliot begins to hear the voice calling to him again.
Oren leads the pair to the room where he has his moon rock on display, just beneath a window so it can be in direct moonlight at night. Julia asks if they can have to rock to stop the Harmonic Convergence, but Oren doesn’t want it stopped. He plans on profiting off of the apocalypse. Oren suddenly realizes this was their true intention, can tell Julia’s eye tattoo is fake, and kicks them out. But that’s alright because Julia is wearing her half of her Best Bitches necklace. Alice has the other half and has drawn out the layout of Oren’s home. Back at their house, Alice tells them just how difficult stealing the rock is going to be. It’s surrounded by wards and the rock itself has a bond created by Mayakovsky.
Kady and Zelda are looking for the depository, but Kady can’t cast right to find it. Zelda tell her that her internal circumstances must be off. Kady ends up unburdening herself on Zelda about the guilt she feels over leaving Fogg in the Etheric Realm. Zelda makes Kady feel a bit better, and suddenly Kady can cast again. She sees where the building is.
Alice and Julia go to Mayakovsky’s to get his help breaking the bond on the moon rock, but instead they find his daughter, Natasha (Kayla Wallace). It’s her bond on the rock, and she agrees to help break it in exchange for one of their shades.
Inside the depository, Kady and Zelda get the medical book Kady needed. Zelda agrees to get the book to Harriet with a message from Kady, if they can’t stop the Harmonic Convergence they may need the help of as many Hedges as possible. Unfortunately there is someone hiding in the building who hears everything Kady says and texts someone.
1 Hour to Harmonic Convergence
The group heads to Oren’s with a plan. Penny can’t remember why he’s there, but after 131 hours without sleep I think I’d be struggling to remember things too. They split into two groups with their own tasks to accomplish. Inside Penny, Margo, and Julia create a little distraction so they can sneak passed security, then they loop all of the security cameras. Natasha is with them and is spotted by security, who warns Oren. Oren hears an explosion in the distance and rushes to his moon rock, only it’s gone and the window above it has been broken. Oren orders his security team to get his rock back. The group flees outside to their getaway van, but only Natasha makes it to the van and is able to speed off, the other three get captured by security.
Natasha gets stopped and removes a necklace before security sees her, revealing she’s actually Kady. Kady tells the men she was just hitch hiking when the lady driving threw the keys at her and ran away. One man quickly searches Kady’s bag and lets her go when it’s determined she doesn’t have the rock.
That is when it’s revealed that the moon rock never actually left its room at Oren’s. Instead the trio just made it, and themselves, invisible long enough for them to be left alone with it to perform the ritual. And it’s time, because Julia’s definitely got Moon Brain. They begin casting and Julia watches as the moon’s aura changes colors, it almost becomes green then suddenly turns back to red. Julia realizes Eliot is gone. He’s heard the voice again and went to look for it. He looks at himself in a mirror and instead of his own reflection he sees himself as The Monster.
Alice and Julia get caught by security, but before they can escort them out of the room all security, including those guarding the rest of the group, fall asleep.
The guy who overheard Kady in the depository walks in, followed by Marina (Kacey Rohl). Things always get funky when Marina is around. She’s quite surprised her spell didn’t knock them out too and asks if they’re on meth [Josh’s muffins!]. Marina magically handcuffs Alice and Julia and explains that she really needs the Harmonic Convergence to happen for a mission she’s working on. She even admits to stealing the depository when an angry Kady walks in, now knowing who sent the memory assassins after her.
The Harmonic Convergence and power surge both begin just as Kady preps a spell to shoot off at Marina, but it would be too powerful if she used it now. Eliot sneaks into the room without Marina knowing, knowing he can perform the ritual on his own now, so he begins to cast it. The moons aura turns green and Eliot asks it to move, but Marina has caught on and is attempting to stop Eliot. Kady punches the eavesdropper guy [Hell yeah!] and tries to stop Marina, but it’s too late. The fight over the moon BREAKS IT. UH-OH.
Stay tuned for what happens next!
The Magicians airs Wednesdays at 10pm on Syfy.