Will You Play With Me?

First Aired

April 4, 2018

SYFY's The Magicians
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Will You Play With Me? is the thirteenth and final episode in the third season of The Magicians, and thirty-ninth episode overall.

Synopsis[]

The group finds what they're looking for and attempt once and for all to get magic back.

Plot[]

Quentin reads from the Tale of the Seven Keys to the rest of the questers. As they discuss the Library's plan to siphon magic, Iris contacts Julia and introduces herself as a messenger goddess and wants to chat. Julia hears people praying to her as "Our Lady of the Tree" and Iris explains that she is now a full goddess. Iris explains that Julia has work to do and no longer needs to involve herself in the Quest. Julia says goodbye to Quentin and explains that she has to leave the Quest. Quentin is happy for her ascension and they share a happy goodbye. Julia touches Quentin's chest and gives him a turbocharge for one big spell in case he needs it, then disappears.

Josh is researching the pictures in the Tale of the Seven Keys, and he notices a one of a woman sitting at a table with a small castle on it. He believes she is an architect, and they deduce that she is Calypso that lives on Ogygia. No one can properly pronounce the word except Alice, who is quietly annoyed at their mispronunciations. However, Ogygia is not a real place, so instead they search the internet and find a company with that name that develops video games and is run by a woman named Callie. They leave for the company's office.

Once there, Calypso immediately tells them who she is and that she will tell them about the castle because Prometheus wanted her to. She goes on to say that she hates humans and the Quest because they are the reason Prometheus is dead. She tells the story of how she was commissioned to build a prison by the Old Gods. It was the greatest commission she had ever received. When she explained that she would need the most steadfast jailers, Prometheus designed a quest for potential jailers to prove their worth. The Knight's father offered himself as bait for his daughter to come rescue. Once she succeeded in the Quest, it was her job to guard the Castle. However, she could leave at any time if she wished. Prometheus channeled every atom of his power into the Seven Keys. Then his enemies came and killed him while he was weak. She shows them a picture that is really a map of the location of the prison. Quentin notes that it looks like Fillory, only upside down. She explains that was how it looked before Ember and Umber arrived and that it was just a "wild little world." Quentin recalls that the dwarves who built Castle Whitespire based it on the greatest design they had ever seen: Castle Blackspire. Margo says that she thought Ember destroyed Castle Blackspire, but Calypso says that they simply flipped the world upside down and started over. She says that what is inside the Castle must not be let out and dismisses them.

In Fillory, Tick requests permission from acting High King Fen to implement a new schedule. She approves, and politely asks to review additional documents. The Fairy Queen appears and chastises her meekness, then tells her that she needs Fen's help. Six fairies have disappeared, and she found a part of a device that can enhance human eyesight. Someone is hunting her people. Fen walks then walks through the woods at night disguised in fairy clothes when she is grabbed by Gavin Winterbottom, who is accompanied by Irene McAllister. Fen reveals herself to be not only human but the current ruler of Fillory and orders them to stop hunting and killing faeries because they are full citizens of Fillory. She orders her guards to take them to the Castle and Gavin says they will simply Travel away, but Fen says she has something they need in the Castle.

Fen explains the Library's plan to the Fairy Queen, who says she does not care. She says that she put her people at risk by breaking the original fairy deal with the McAllister family. She then offers a new deal to Irene: she will give herself up to Irene to be turned into fairy dust in exchange for the McAllistairs and the Library never hunting another fairy again, forever. As a royal fairy, she has the power of fifty fairies in her bones. The Fairy Queen says that her offer expires in one minute and Irene accepts and orders equipment to begin the process of chopping up the Fairy Queen. Fen asks the Queen for another way, but the Queen says the deal is struck. Fen sheds tears for the Queen. Later, the Queen is strapped to a table while Irene examines her tools. The Queen tells Irene that she has made a deal that she will regret. Irene replies that the Queen won't be around to know either way. The Queen replies that at least she will die a queen while Irene will never be anything more than a power hungry little girl. Irene stabs the Queen and kills her.

Iris and Julia are in Iris's "lab", a glowing forest sanctuary that she uses to think and create worlds. She explains to Julia that she must divide her time between working on worlds and answering the prayers of her choice, but warns that if she spends too much time answering prayers she will not be able to focus on the larger, more important work. Julia says that she can still feel her connection to her friends and Iris says those connections will fade with time.

At the Cottage, the questers discuss how to get into Castle Blackspire. Penny 23 offers to travel in, but Margo rejects that plan, stating that they have enough blood on their hands from the last Penny. Quentin uses the power he got from Julia to enter the Knight's dream to see if she will help them. She explains that she can't help them because all the other guardians have been killed by the Monster, and she can't risk the security of her charge. She agrees to open the way to the Castle and keep the Monster distracted. Quentin explains this to the questers, and he says that he is going to take her place. The others disagree and suggest using the god-killing bullet to kill the Monster instead, but Quentin refuses, saying it's too much of a risk, and they don't know if the bullet will work.

Alice visits Dean Fogg, and he asks where the Castle wound up being. She tells him it is Castle Blackspire. She then offers the fairy dust that she has in exchange for an experimental potion that will erase her memories and give her a new personality. Dean Fogg hesitates, saying that she is one of the most brilliant magicians he's ever seen. She says that she is on a bad path by using magic and is deciding to step off. Fogg gives her the potion, which will take about a full day to get her "rebooted."

Fogg then visits Zelda Schiff and says they need to talk about their "arrangement." Alice visits Quentin and tells her that she has taken the potion. She says that, though she may not act like it, Quentin is the one she loves and that the only thing she regrets is that she won't remember that. Quentin says he will remember for the both of them.

The questers take the (now flying) Muntjac to the underside of Fillory, which is a volcanic and stormy wasteland. They approach Castle Blackspire and use the keys to open a door. Ora awaits them and leads them to the Fountain, the backdoor to the Wellspring, which is dry. Ora takes Quentin to meet the Monster and explains that she only lives because she serves its need to be served, coddled, and loved like a child. She says the only reason she was able to open the way for them was because it believes they are playing a game of hide and seek, but that it is getting bored. She explains that the gods made a mistake by creating something that simply wants, and that if it is unleashed, even gods can't stop it. By the Fountain, Eliot gives Margo his key "in case he gets held up," then follows Ora and Quentin.

A young man in fine clothing walks out of the shadows and asks Ora and Quentin "will you play with me?" Quentin shows the Monster a card trick and the Monster is intrigued. Eliot then steps from behind them and shoots the young man with the god-killing bullet as Quentin screams "no!" The young man falls to the ground and gold mist escapes from his chest. Quentin yells at Eliot that this was not what they had agreed to and Eliot replies that he didn't actually agree to anything, and he was not going to let one of his best friends rot in a prison for eternity. Ora runs over to the body and the gold mist trails over to her, then she disappears.

Eliot and Quentin return to the Fountain and each takes a key. Alice then uses magic to take their keys and put up a barrier around herself. She starts destroying the keys by super heating them. The others try to stop her but cannot get through. Quentin asks why, and she says that magic only makes people worse and that she won't remember this. Penny 23 tries to Travel through the barrier, but she knocks him away. The keys melt and fall to the ground as ash. She knocks the questers to the ground and runs away. Margo pulls out a knife and says she is "going to cut the fairy coke magic out of that bitch and fix this."

Back at Iris' lab, Iris asks Julia where she would like to start. Julia is still connected to the questers and can feel what they are going through. Iris says that she needs to let them go and remember the future they are creating.

Alice runs through the Castle and is met by Ora, who asks if she will play with her as her eyes flash red. She runs away and right into Margo and Eliot, who drag her back to the Fountain. They demand that Alice fix what she did, but she says that she can't, and Quentin agrees, saying that magic is gone. Julia arrives, saying that their pain is not quiet. She tells Alice that she knows that Alice thought she was doing good, but she wasn't. Then tells her she needs to stay out of the way and whisks her to the floor with a gesture. Julia tells Quentin that it was his bravery that made her see what she needed to do. Then she kneels down and says she is going to do what Prometheus did, and begins making new keys.

The process drains her power, but she is able to fashion seven new keys, each causing her more pain. When she is done, she says that she is not connected to anything anymore. They put the keys into the locks on the Fountain and glowing blue water erupts from it. The questers begin to celebrate when Dean Fogg, Gavin, and Irene appear. Irene subdues them with a spell and tells Penny 23 that if he Travels she will kill them all. Gavin attaches the Siphon to the Fountain, and it redirects the "water" into it. Dean Fogg then approaches the questers and removes a bottle with the same potion that Alice took.

Back at Brakebills, Professor Lipson attempts to teach a class on magic, but the magic keeps failing. She visits Fogg and says that they don't have enough magic for her to even assign homework. He replies that he will speak with the Library and try to renegotiate their "supply." He visits Zelda and explains that he has spoken with another district, and they have offered some of their magical supply to Brakebills. She tells him he will need to make a written request in triplicate, which he promptly pulls out of his briefcase. She says he will have a decision by the 31st and dismisses him, though he has one more request. Zelda immediately refuses, stating that "she" belongs to the Library. He says that he simply wants to see "her."

Alice paces furiously in a cell. Fogg enters and asks how she is. She exclaims that the other questers are in danger because they can't protect themselves anymore. She says that the Monster has the ability to shift bodies and that that the others don't know who they are anymore. She is afraid that the Monster will come for them since it has seen their faces and knows that magic is back.

Meanwhile, each of the questers are living new lives in the normal world with new identities. Josh is now "Isaac" who picks up "Janet" who is really Margo. Julia gives a presentation in a boardroom. Penny 23 is a DJ. Kady is selling drugs on the street and Quentin is now "Brian," who wanders through a bookstore and out onto the street.

Eliot grabs Quentin on the street and says that he finally found him. He asks "Brian" to show him a card trick. "Brian" does not recognize him and walks away. Eliot follows him and appears in front of him, saying that he cannot wait to get started because there are so many people that deserve his wrath. He says that it's always more fun to do something with a friend, and his eyes glow red just as Ora's did.