The Magicians Review: The Side Effect (Season 4 Episode 7)
Kady makes her path with the hedge witches, Zelda must help Harriet in the mirror realm, Fen discovers she’s more powerful than she thought, and Penny undergoes a stealth job evaluation on The Magicians Season 4 Episode 7, “The Side Effect.”
I’ve missed Kady so much, and I’m glad that this episode features her quite a bit. It’s refreshing to get to see the “side characters” enjoy more screen time than the significant season storyline.
I didn’t think that Kady would go back to the hedge witches after everything that’s happened, but I understand why. So far she hasn’t been involved much in what’s been happening with the monster, and now that she has magic she knows that she can do some good in the world.
It’s kind of Julia to check in with Kady personally to make sure that she’s okay and not on drugs again. I know they aren’t much of friends now, but Julia is still a caring person, so it makes sense for her to check on her no matter where they are right now.
The hedge witches and the library are about to go to war with each other, and it’s not going to be an easy fix if Zelda doesn’t get the library to back down. All of the deweys that the hedge witches have have been cursed with a locator spell from the library, which means that hedge witches are about to have to rely on themselves alone.
Kady going back to her old life as Sam to solve missing children’s cases shows how much heart she has. The days of doing things she doesn’t find important in her life are over. I can see Kady becoming a leader in the hedge witch community because she’s bringing them all together to try and get some unity between them.
If the hedge witches don’t begin trying to work together things are going to get ugly fast, especially if Zelda can’t stop the library from putting more spells on the deweys.
I am a little shook that Harriet is alive in the mirror realm rather than dead like I had imagined. It looks like Harriet is trapped inside a replica of the library, but with horrifying clones of herself. I hope that Zelda can figure out a way to find Harriet in the mirror realm because Harriet never deserved her entrapment.
Fen’s newfound psychic ability to tell the future is pretty amazing, but I wonder if it is a curse put on her or if it’s something that she’s actually acquiring. Her speech is quirky, but sweet because she’s never the one leading everyone and giving the big team speeches.
Fen’s powers save Margot’s talking lizard, so I hope that they take her seriously and help her figure out what’s going on. Shout out to Josh for being helpful and helping Fen realize how to take control of her dreams.
As for Penny, I MISS HIM SO MUCH. It’s so good to see him doing well in the underworld, especially when his job is taking entitled white boys and teaching them the error of their ways. Penny hasn’t always been super passionate about things happening in the group, but once he applies himself to something he masters it quick.
His job promotion is a clear indicator that when he was told he had a good destiny in the underworld, he wasn’t being lied to. Although I miss him being with everyone it’s nice to see that he’s enjoying his *life*.
Favorite Quotes:
- “Embers ass, this is getting annoying.” – Fen
- “You have a classic case of White Male Protagonism, and a librarian simply can’t have that.” – Penny
What did you think of this episode of The Magicians? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Magicians airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on Syfy.
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Cade Taylor
Cade Taylor is a television and film critic living in St. Louis, Missouri. He is a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV. His love for television developed at a young age, with a concentration on queer stories, sitcoms, teen dramas, and science fiction thrillers. In addition, he works full-time as a news producer, telling the stories of Missourians and helming "Produced in the Bi-State," a segment spotlighting actors, musicians, and entertainers from the St. Louis area. He can be reached by email at cade@telltaletv.com.