The Magicians Season 2 Episode 2
The Magicians
Season 2

Ep 2. Hotel Spa Potions

  • February 1, 2017
  • 7.8  (736)

While the first season of The Magicians, loosely based on Lev Grossman's novel series of the same name, set up the world of Brakebills University and its student sorcerers, as well as its neighboring realm of Fillory, season 2 dives into more complex issues and characters. Episode 2, titled "Hotel Spa Potions," amps up the stakes as the characters face new enemies and consequences of their actions.

The episode starts with Quentin (Jason Ralph), Eliot (Hale Appleman), and Margo (Summer Bishil) indulging in the luxurious surroundings of the Hotel Spa Potions, a secret spa hidden in a New York hotel catering to wealthy magic users. However, the truce between Brakebills and the masters of the city's magical underground quickly falls apart when Margo is brutally attacked by a group of thugs waiting for the trio outside of the spa. The perpetrators turn out to be henchmen of The Beast (Charles Mesure), the vengeful god-like entity that threatened the students throughout the last season.

While Margo is left with a disfigured face and a desperate need for magical healing, Julia (Stella Maeve) discovers that the mysterious tattoos on her body are not just any symbols, but rather keys to unlock a hidden magic. With the help of a former Brakebills teacher, Mayakovsky (Brían F. O'Byrne), Julia embarks on a dangerous quest to harness her newfound powers. Meanwhile, Penny (Arjun Gupta) is punished for his unauthorized travels between dimensions with severe sickness, putting his life in danger.

As the episode unfolds, the characters find themselves pushed to their limits in various ways. Eliot struggles with his duties as High King of Fillory and his attraction to his advisor, Fen (Brittany Curran), while Quentin tries to convince Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) to open up to him about what happened to her in the previous season's finale. The Brakebills professors, led by the stern and enigmatic Dean Fogg (Rick Worthy), are also dealing with the aftermath of the truce's failure and how to protect their students from The Beast's wrath.

"Hotel Spa Potions" is a fast-paced episode that packs in a lot of plotlines, character development, and magical action. The show's creators, Sera Gamble and John McNamara, have managed to create a distinct atmosphere that blends the darkness of adult fantasy with the nostalgia and humor of coming-of-age stories. The world-building is solid, and the attention to detail in both the visual effects and the script makes the show stand out among other genre offerings. The performances are uniformly strong, with some standout moments from Hale Appleman as Eliot, who manages to convey both regal confidence and aching vulnerability, and Stelle Maeve as Julia, who brings a raw intensity to her scenes.

Overall, "Hotel Spa Potions" is a promising start to The Magicians' second season, combining the show's signature blend of fantasy and psychology with a sharper sense of urgency and danger. With its compelling characters, intriguing mythology, and unpredictable twists, the show continues to be one of the most exciting and ambitious projects in the world of speculative fiction.

Description
Watch The Magicians - Hotel Spa Potions (s2 e2) Online - Watch online anytime: Buy, Rent
The Magicians, Season 2 Episode 2, is available to watch and stream on Syfy. You can also buy, rent The Magicians on demand at Netflix, Vudu, Google Play online.
  • First Aired
    February 1, 2017
  • Language
    English
  • IMDB Rating
    7.8  (736)