The Magicians: Season Two Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

The Magicians: Season Two Blu-ray Movie Review

Fillory, here they come.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman July 15, 2017

The Magicians comes based on the novel series of the same name by Lev Grossman. The first season was an engrossing bit of magical fantasy, part Narnia and part Potter, doing well to forge its own identity but not exactly taking the TV world by storm. Season two pushes further in the realm of the former but still can't quite succeed in the latter. Season two meets the essential sophomore season criteria (and avoiding the dreaded slump) by effectively expanding its characters, exploring new avenues, and playing with a darker and more mature tone that yields a richer viewing experience. It's larger in scale, its visual effects more complex, its worlds better defined, its narrative flows more intense. Whether it's a better season in more intangible ways is up for debate; it's similar and familiar but definitely a new direction and more expansive and expressive as it no longer introduces the world but rather expands the universe.

Official synopsis: 'The Magicians' centers on Quentin Coldwater and his 20-something friends as they discover their magical abilities at Brakebills University, a secret grad school specializing in magic. While there, they come to the realization that the fantasies they read about as children are all too real, and unwittingly invite a malevolent entity from the other side into their lives. Heading into season two, this group of unlikely heroes has been thrust into even more dangerous and unfamiliar territory, and must draw upon their novice skills to defeat a threat that could destroy the magical world itself. Driven by power, revenge and survival, they learn that those who enter the hauntingly beautiful world of Fillory will never be the same as those who leave.

The Magicians lacks the spellbinding allure its title suggests, but it's a solid show in its own right, with season two upping the proverbial ante in every conceivable way, expanding the show's horizons, further exploring its characters in some detail, and it maintains, if not exceeds, the smart narrative developments that well exceed the details established in season one. Season two pushes effects and pushes boundaries as characters become ever more mature in their world and powers and in their relationships with one another. They're pushed, pulled, and asked to explore not only a growing world around them but an increasingly complex inner individual that, for the primaries, accelerates the season considerably. It's maybe more character driven this time and a little less exploratory than the first season; it could be argued that the greater intrigue lies with season one, but the greater spectacle lies with season two. They're both very complimentary, but season two is not "more of the same" but rather a fairly substantial push forward for the characters, their world, and the show as a whole.

If one thing is for sure, even as the seasons feel a bit tonally different in the aggregate, it's that it's essential to enter season two with a firm grasp of season one. While it does well enough to draw new viewers into the fray, it works much better with that foundation, and that foundation fresh in the mind, not laid off since binge watching when the last season first aired or released to Blu-ray a year ago. It definitely takes an episode to feel familiar with the world and characters again, to rekindle that enjoyment for the show and get a feel for what, where, and why it is, but season two pushes far enough beyond the foundation that it builds on itself, not merely the roots from season one. On a more base level, season two features scrumptious production design, certainly not on par with a fantasy feature film but whether the "real world" or Fillory, the show blossoms and thrives in its practical and digital essentials alike. Character development is strong, and for the most part, the performances are solid, if not a bit generic here and there. It's a good show by all measures, and it'll be interesting to see what direction season three takes from here.

The following episodes comprise season two. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging. Some spoilers follow.

Disc One:

• Knight of Crowns: The Breakbills students become the new monarchs of the fantasy world of Fillory. More magic=more problems.
• Hotel Spa Potions: To defeat the Beast, the gang needs help from a pixie and some cacodemons. Plus: Julia turns to an old enemy.
• Divine Elimination: The final showdown with the Beast is here, and not everyone survives.
• The Flying Forest: While Quentin and Penny plot to catch the mythical White Lady, a blast from the past returns to help Julia.
• Cheat Day: A royal murder plot threatens the kingdom of Fillory, while Quentin is left in one heck of a cliffhanger.

Disc Two:

• The Cock Barrens: Another kingdom threatens Fillory, while Julia's revenge plan hits pay dirt. Oh, and there's a stinkmonster.
• Plan B: What do a group of magicians do when they need to defeat a god and save a kingdom? Rob a bank, of course.
• Word As Bond: A 500-year-old niffin and a forest of intelligent trees cause trouble, while Julia's revenge turns deadly.
• Lesser Evils: Get ready for a marriage, a kidnapping, a battle, a reunion, a goodbye and an unthinkabe betrayal.

Disc Three:

• The Girl Who Told Time: An alternate reality holds the key to saving Julia, while Margot unloads her secret. Plus: the Poison Room.
• The Rattening: Julia and Quentin seek help from a new creature to reach the underworld, while Eliot faces his worst nightmare.
• Ramifications: Quentin seeks Mayakovsky's help, and Julia and Kady get unexpected support from Senator Gaines. Eliot seeks a new portal back to Fillory while Penny finds access to the Poison Room.
• We Have Brought You Little Cakes: Quentin, Eliot, and Julia concoct a plan to save Fillory. Penny's prognosis is dire and he tries to find answers to the Great Blank Spot with the time has has left. Alice struggles to reconnect with her humanity while Margot and Josh search for a way out of the Fairy Realm.

The Magicians: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

The Magicians: Season Two was digitally photographed, and the resultant 1080p image, while certainly not substantially sharp, delivers a picture that's more than serviceable. Textural qualities are not particularly amazing. Faces favor a smooth and pasty look rather than an intimate and finely detailed presentation. Environments, whether real or digital or some combination of the two, indoors or out, often lack the sort of razor-sharp, tangible characteristics one expects from the format. Colors are often all over the place, but by design. The show presents a number of unique filters, pushing dark blue and gray, amber and yellow, even black and white in places. Fillory is often more lively and diverse, but the palette is certainly never lacking for heavily filtered diversity depending on the mood and/or location of any given scene or episode. Black levels can be a touch murky and prone to some crush, but at least hold fairly dark. Skin tones are generally reflective of any scene's filtering. Mild noise and banding are occasional intruders but neither cause too much trouble along the way.

The Magicians: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The Magicians: Season Two's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack is a bit more straightforward and a bit more impressive than its video counterpart. While dialogue is occasionally mushy though never hard to hear or poorly prioritized, the remainder of the track's elements are generally quite impressive. Music is exceptionally strong, particularly some bass-heavy beats that dominate the stage, sending a punishing, pulsating low end into the theater while offering impressive front-side width and strong core clarity to all layers. Less dynamic and intensive music follows suit in terms of width and detail. Ambient effects are nicely filing, even if it's just simple little bits of barely imperceptible white noise or general atmospherics that give a scene a sense of realism. Some more discrete effects, positioned all around the stage, are audible and well defined, too. The track additionally features some solid intensity accompanying the high energy magic, the powerful spells that require a lot of effort from the casters and produce a nice level of aggressive power, stage width, and detail as a result. This is a very well-rounded track and one that's nicely complimentary to the show's diverse needs and locations.

The Magicians: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

The Magicians: Season Two contains a couple of extras on disc three. A UV digital copy code is included with purchase.

• Gag Reel (1080p, 5:51): Humorous moments from the shoot.
• Behind the Magic (1080p, 11:03): A look at season two story and structure, characters, building on season one, shooting locations, working in the magical world of Fillory, makeup and effects, and more.

The Magicians: Season Two Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Even with all the magic and unique worlds and character evolution, The Magicians is essentially a core human story. Those essential, relatable human characteristics remain paramount to the show regardless of the characters' place in life, abilities, or where they find themselves in the moment or in the greater scheme of the show. Season two really runs with that humanity, even as it pushes the fantastical beyond anything seen in season one. It's a solid show, certainly not at the top of the TV food chain but one that's easy to watch and quick to hook the viewer. The Magicians: Season Two features precious little in terms of supplemental content. Video is decent and audio is good. Recommended.