Though they’ve had their differences with the Brakebills kids, Julia and Kady need their help. The ladies turn to Quentin, Margo, Eliot, and Penny for assistance with a magical heist in “Plan B.” Because this is “The Magicians,” nothing goes exactly the way they plan though.
Niffin-Alice is pretty annoying
Trapped as she is in Quentin’s tattoo, the Niffin version of Alice is going a little stir crazy. If she’s not yelling at him, she’s reminding him of his shortcomings, interrupting his conversations, and telling him how much she wants her freedom back.
The trouble is that Q knows just how crazy a Niffin can go, and he isn’t going to subject anyone else to that.
On the one hand, I love the idea of Q being the one tormented by Alice in this way. Everyone blames Julia for what happened, but really, Q deserves some of the blame as well. He’s the one who got Alice into that particular position. He’s also the one who initially alienated Julia, leading her to not be the biggest team player with his new friends. On the other hand, I find the interruptions of Niffin-Alice really annoying. It’s enough for me to know that she’s in Q’s head and that no one else knows she’s there. I don’t need to see her constantly torturing him as a reminder.
I’m sure the role itself is a lot of fun for Olivia Taylor Dudley to play because she is so different than the living, breathing Alice.
I do look forward to seeing just how she uses her 30 minutes of freedom a day too after helping Q out with some difficult magic in this episode.
Julia and Kady need gold
The reason for the magical heist becomes clear within the first 10 minutes of “Plan B.” Julia’s abortion didn’t go so well, and she wants to take any magical means necessary to get the spawn of Reynard out of her.
Unfortunately for her, the women she go to need one million dollars worth of gold from them to perform the exorcism that will get rid of the not quite human baby growing inside her.
Though Kady takes Julia to Brakebills to keep her safe, that safety can only last for so long. Julia still needs to stop herself from giving birth to a demigod when the god who raped her is after her.
Hence, magical bank robbing. Of course, she and Kady aren’t the only ones who could use some funds. The kingdom of Fillory, who needs to clean up its Wellspring and fund a war that Margo declared, could use some capital as well. It seems like a win-win once Julia approaches Q about bank robbing.
Margo is plenty experienced
Margo, of all people, has actually robbed a bank before - and she did it in high school. I feel like the audience should be more surprised by this, but instead, it seemed like an “of course” moment. There is nothing Margo can’t do, and this episode is a reminder of that. Margo is the one who comes up with the plan, and it seems just about foolproof. If only Eliot’s math for Penny’s antigravity had been correct and if only Q thought before he walked into things.
Luckily, Julia’s got a little time travel magic to save the day, and Kady can take charge enough to get things done when the boys get stuck.
I continue to not be surprised when Margo, Julia, or Kady are the ones to take action. The women of “The Magicians” definitely get things done while the guys continue to make mistakes. Yes, the women make mistakes too, but they immediately go into action to find a way to overcome them.
There’s a complication
The last we see in “Plan B” is that the exorcism was performed on Julia after Kady saved her from being attacked in the alley. She warns Jula that there was a complication, and we’re left wondering just what it is - just like we’re left wondering if the death of Eliot’s golem will kill him too.
The verdict and what’s next
Heists and magic are like the perfect combination. This is my favorite “The Magicians” by far.
4.5 out of 5 stars
