- "I think you know your answer now. The story, for them, it's just starting; but it won't be the same story because of you. You didn't just save their lives, you changed their lives, as much as they changed yours. You didn't wanna just leave all of that, did you?"
- ―Penny Adiyodi to Quentin Coldwater
No Better to Be Safe Than Sorry is the thirteenth and final episode of the fourth season of The Magicians, and the fifty-second episode overall.
Synopsis[]
Quentin and Josh get cake. Quentin reflects on his actions.
Plot[]
Alice and Quentin confront Sister in a hallway of the Library. Sister says she may keep them as pets. Alice blasts her with magic and throws her against a wall. Sister comments that she likes her pets strong, and they are weak. Penny appears behind her and stabs her in the back with one of the ice axes. Sister falls to the ground and her golden essence flies out the wound in Julia's body and into a container that Alice holds and they cast the incorporate bond spell on it. Meanwhile, Everett approaches the Reservoir, which is unguarded. Dean Fogg exits his cell and says they should return to Brakebills because he is not sure how long the incorporate bond will hold. Quentin insists they return to the Reservoir while Penny wants to take Julia to a doctor. Julia agrees they should return to the Reservoir and Penny transports them there, only to find it completely dry.
At Brakebills, Fogg tells Quentin and Alice about a trap door underneath his desk and gives them the password to it. Inside the temperature is absolute zero and that should slow down the degradation of the incorporate bond. In the infirmary, Professor Lipson examines Julia, who is writhing in pain. She says that Julia's body keeps trying to close the wound but the wound keeps tearing itself open again. Fogg gives Lipson his last dewey to help Julia and Lipson uses it to keep her comfortable but does not know how to stop it. Penny calls on the Binder to help.
The Binder arrives and says that Julia must transition into either a human or a god or else she will remain in a cycle of agony for millenia. Penny insists that it be Julia's choice, but the Binder notes that Julia is not in a talking mood. He says that someone must make the decision for her.
Quentin visits her later and she explains Sister's plan to him. Sister intended to destroy the Old Gods and then let humanity die in the nuclear winter that would result from such a conflict. She says Nameless is still looking for his sister and intends to complete her plan. She gives Quentin the scroll. Lipson checks in on Julia later, who is attempting to cast but is unable to. Penny arrives and Julia berates him for making the decision without her: he chose to make her a normal human. She is unable to do magic, will grow old, and die. He tries apologize but says that he would do it again so that he would not have to lose her again. He turns to leave but she asks him to stay and let her be pissed at him, which agrees to do.
Pete meets with Kady in her Penthouse and tells her that six hedge witches have been abducted by the Library in the past 48 hours and woke up later with Reed's Marks. Pete has also received one. He says they need Kady. She says that all she wanted was to be the original Penny's girlfriend. Kady then visits Zelda to receive the cure for her exposure to the Poison Room. She accuses Zelda of being sociopathic and power hungry, then relents and says she is simply the definition of obedience. Zelda says that she used to be.
Margo oversees Josh's return to his human form, naked and wet. He thanks Margo and says she has been uncharacteristically kind to him. She says that she will do anything for someone if she loves them. They share a tender moment before Penny appears. Josh nervously declares that he is craving fish sticks and goes to make some. Margo demands to know where Eliot is and concludes that Penny screwed up the plan in order to save Julia instead. Josh accidentally ignites a pan of frozen fish sticks and says that he must have special fish magicks, but Penny simply says that he touched the Reservoir and got powered up.
At the Cottage, Josh suggests to Quentin and Margo that they let Everett rip Nameless out of Eliot, but Margo angrily says that would likely kill Eliot and storms off. Quentin agrees that any plan that could kill Eliot is off the table. Nameless then appears behind them and demands to know where Sister and the scroll are. The scroll is sitting on the couch right beside them and Josh grabs it, accidentally opening it. A portal of shimmering light appears and Quentin and Josh jump into it. Nameless tries to grab them but the portal closes and Fogg appears behind him. Nameless asks if he likes Fogg, and Fogg assures him he will hate him. He then casts a spell and teleports Nameless away and makes him very confused.
Quentin and Josh fly through light screaming, then drop into a modern office. A banner unfolds saying "Congratulations!," balloons fall on them, and big band music plays. A man walks in dressed in golf attire holding a putter and compliments them, referencing linear base binary. When he realizes they don't speak it, he asks how they completed Task 764, or any of the other 1,293 tasks. Quentin and Josh say that they are not on a quest, which prompts him to ask how they have the Resonant Singularity Scroll. They explain that they got it by accident and used it when Josh's "fish magic" went off. Golf is incredulous and says that he is not explaining fish magicks to his bosses, the Old Gods. They ask to speak to one of the Old Gods and Golf explains to them what they just did is like a chihuahua demanding a blowjob from an archangel. He leaves for his tee time but they beg for five minutes of his time.
He tells them that the monsters can't be killed, but can be stopped. He says their best bet is to drop them in the Seam between the universe and the antiverse. When they don't know what he is talking about, he calls them imbeciles. The Seam is not completely sealed and leaked enough to create a pocket world where everything is backwards and lifeless. Quentin recognizes it as the Mirror World. He tells them to go there, find the Seam, and toss the monsters in because what gets dropped in there will never come out again. Then he gives them cake and leaves.
Back at the Cottage, Josh compliments the cake while the others process this news. Alice says she knows where the Seam is. When she was a niffin, she found a door that she knew she should not go through. However, now that the Reservoir is dry and Josh used all of his fish magic, none of them have enough power to cast another incorporate bond. Kady suggests that all of the Hedge Witches coordinate with cooperative magic all around the world and even in Fillory. They would all do the same spell at the same time to amplify the ambient magic.
Alice approaches Quentin and he suggests that he be the one to go to the Seam, while she says that they have tried saving each other many times with mixed results. She says they work better as a team, and that's how she wants to handle the plan. He agrees. Penny tells Julia to stop torturing herself because she can't help. He says there are scarier things than dying. He says goodbye and leaves with the rest of the team.
Nameless is sitting against a tree musing about the beauty of the world. The team approaches from behind Margo rolls her fairy eye over to spy on him. Quentin and Penny yell at him while Quentin rushes him with an ice axe. Nameless rises to attack them but Penny teleports them away. Margo then jumps him from behind and stabs him in the gut with the other axe. Nameless's essence flies out of Eliot and into the container they have prepared. Margo tries to rouse Eliot while Quentin and Penny begin casting the incorporate bond. Kady is with Pete and group of Hedge Witches at the Penthouse when she receives a text that says to start casting, and a rabbit drops in Fillory that says "now!" All over the world, groups of Magicians and Hedge Withes begin casting the same spell, including groups at Brakebills, the Penthouse, India, Fillory, and Asia.
Eliot is bleeding heavily form his gut wound. Margo demands that he wake up and Eliot eventually stirs. They take him to the Brakebills Infirmary and Lipson is treating him. She can't use magic to heal him because all of the ambient magic must be directed toward containing the monsters. Margo protests but Lipson says that before she was a magician, she was a trauma surgeon and is perfectly capable of saving him the old fashioned way.
Penny prepares a mirror to enter the Mirror World. Alice and Quentin approach with the bottles containing the monsters. Alice warns them not to travel or use magic inside as it will go bad quickly. They go through the mirror and find a doorway leading to a replica of Mayakovsky's lab. Inside is a large mirror covered by a sheet. They remove it to reveal a swirling black and white mass: the Seam. Quentin tosses one of the bottles in. He takes the second bottle from Alice and prepares to throw it in, but Everett appears behind them and says that bottle belongs to him. He is buzzing with power, but Alice warns him not to cast. He says he knows that using magic in that place would be mutually assured destruction then throws an object at the side of the mirror, breaking it and cutting off access to the Seam.
Everett says that the incorporate bond won't hold and the monster inside will escape. He asks Quentin to let him handle it. Quentin replies that Everett will become a god if he does. Everett says that he will be better than the other gods, that he has studied gods so that he could avoid their mistakes. Quentin seems to agree but is staring at Penny, who seems to know what Quentin is thinking. He tells Penny to take Alice now and casts a Minor Mending on the mirror. Penny grabs Alice and pulls her out of the room. As the Minor Mending is completed, the Seam reappears and Quentin tosses the last bottle into it just in time. Everett jumps after it. The magic from the Minor Mending explodes out of the side of the mirror and destroys Everett. As Penny drags Alice out, Quentin is engulfed in the explosion of sparks and light.
The groups of casters feel the spell end and celebrate. Penny brings Alice back through the mirror at Brakebills and she weeps on the floor while the mirror leaks water. In the Underworld, an elevator door opens to reveal the original Penny, who says that it has been awhile - the same scene that was shown in ___. It is Quentin in the elevator.
Penny gives Quentin hot chocolate in his office. Quentin cries and asks what he has done. He recalls that this is the part where can't lie. Penny explains that this is where his life is revealed, but it only matters if Quentin reveals it to himself. Quentin says that his whole life, he was in and out of hospitals, had suicide attempts, was on meds and in therapy. But then he found Brakebills and found purpose. However, he wonders whether he did something brave to save his friends or whether he finally found a way to kill himself.
Penny considers that for a moment and says that they are going to have to give Quentin the "deluxe package." He takes them to Alice, Kady, Julia, Fogg and Penny 23, who are sitting a found a fire and commiserating. Alice says that there aren't words, but Kady casts the musical spell. Together they sing an acoustic cover of A-ha's Take on Me and each tosses an object into the fire. Alice puts in the mug that Quentin mended in the 4-1-1, Kady puts in the signed edition of The Secret Sea, Penny tosses in an egg they used to recover in Home Improvement. Eliot then approaches, using a cane and supported by Margo. Margo sets the crown she gave Quentin in the fire, Fogg drops in Quentin's signed acceptance letter to Brakebills, and Eliot drops in a peach.
Quentin is overwhelmed by their grief. Penny notes that Quentin laughed when he died. Quentin apologizes but Penny is understanding and kind. Penny explains that he didn't just save their lives, he changed them. He tells Quentin it's time to go. Quentin takes one last look as they finish the song. Now ready to go, Quentin turns away. Penny puts his arm around him and they walk into the night.
Back in Penny's office, Quentin asks if his friends are going to be ok. Penny notes that once they get to the Underworld they will be just fine. Quentin clarifies that he meant up there. He tells Quentin about Margo and Eliot's future, and a little about Julia's. Penny notes that Julia came to the end of an incredible journey and was simply at peace, while magic comes from pain. Now alone by the fire, Julia weeps and tosses a deck of cards into it. The cards freeze in mid-air and begin floating in time with Julia's hand movements. She realizes she can perform magic again.
Professor Lipson is demonstrating a spell to a class when objects begin flying everywhere. Fogg uses his globe and it begins to light up everywhere. In the Library, Zelda is overseeing repairs from the monsters' attack when Sheila approaches and hugs her. Sheila says she is glad that Zelda is there to lead them, but Zelda refuses. She says they need Alice and asks Sheila to go find her and convince her to help them.
Margo and Eliot are walking through the woods in Fillory and Margo is ready to get her throne back and have sex with Josh. When they come upon Castle Whitespire, It is much larger and has many more towers. Eliot asks a nearby farmer if Acting High King Fen is still the ruler, and the farmer is suspicious and asks if it is some kind of loyalty test. He then says that Acting High King Fen and Josh the Fresh Prince were overthrown 300 years ago and that the Dark King now rules.
Penny walks Quentin through a large room and Quentin asks what's next. Penny tells him to learn to love the mysteries. Quentin notes that Penny is nicer and Penny explains that all of the things that they used to protect themselves and hide themselves in life fall away in the Underworld. He tells Quentin that this is far as he goes and hands him an Underworld Metro Card. A white door frame appears. Quentin gives Penny a heartfelt hug, walks through the door, and disappears.
Cast[]
Main Cast:
- Jason Ralph as Quentin Coldwater
- Stella Maeve as Julia Wicker / Nameless' Sister
- Olivia Taylor Dudley as Alice Quinn
- Hale Appleman as Eliot Waugh / Nameless
- Arjun Gupta as Penny 23 / Penny 40
- Summer Bishil as Margo Hanson
- Rick Worthy as Henry Fogg
- Jade Tailor as Kady Orloff-Diaz
- Brittany Curran as Fen
- Trevor Einhorn as Josh Hoberman
Guest Stars:
- David Call as Pete
- Keegan Connor Tracy as Eleanor Lipson
- Mageina Tovah as Zelda Schiff
- Matt Frewer as Binder
- Brian Markinson as Everett Rowe
- Adam Bartley as Golf
- Sam Daly as Harcourt Caan
- Camryn Manheim as Sheila Cozener
- Lee Shan Gibson as Fillorian Farmer
Appearances[]
Locations[]
- Neitherlands
- Earth
- Fillory
- Multiverse
- Realm of the Old Gods
- Mirror Realm
- The Seam
- Underworld
Events[]
- Attack on the Library of the Neitherlands
- Sacrifice of Quentin Coldwater
Items[]
- Ice Axes
- Resonant Singularity Scroll
- Spells
- Underworld Metro Card
Organizations[]
Sentient Species[]
Mentioned[]
Trivia[]
- This is the second episode from Season 4 to conclude with the National Suicide Prevention hotline. The first was "A Flock of Lost Birds".
- Jason Ralph makes his final appearance as a series regular. Following the airing, the showrunners confirmed that he will not return for Season 5.
- "The Seam" was the episode's original title.
Videos[]
References[]
External Links[]
| Season Four | |
|---|---|
| A Flock of Lost Birds • Lost, Found, Fucked • The Bad News Bear • |