the wizards was a television show that ran for five seasons on SYFY. Based on Lev Grossman’s books of the same name, it tells the story of a group of students at a magical university. Some have called it Harry Potter for adults, because there is magic; but also drugs, sex, alcohol, depression and alienation. But it’s much more, because there’s also a magical world with Narnia influences, and the show is much funnier, weirder and more unique than you might think from that description. The show ran for five seasons and gave us many adventures for Quentin (Jason Ralph), Julia (Stella Maeve), Eliot (Hale Appleman), Margo (Summer Bishil), Penny (Arjun Gupta), Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley), and Kady ( Jade Taylor). It’s a shame the show has been a bit forgotten, so to celebrate, here are the best episodes of the wizardsarranged.
7/7 Twenty Three – S3 E11
As with any genre show with magic or other paranormal powers, there has to be an alternate timeline episode. This is the one for the wizards; an episode where we get to revisit everything that happened in the three seasons, and see where things could have gone differently (and worse), imagining the many what-ifs. Julia and Josh (Trevor Einhorn) visit timeline 23 to find out who the Beast is there and try to defeat him to get the key he’s been hiding. They also return to our timeline with both Penny and Marina (Kacey Rohl), beloved characters who had already died in our timeline. Is there anything better for an actor than to work on a magic show where you can always be brought back?
6/7 Be the Penny – S3 E4
Fan-favorite character Penny’s strength was that he could teleport. In season three, he dies tragically during astral projection. This creature the wizards, this does not mean that he is really dead, because his soul was not in his body. This episode is all Penny as he tries to understand what is happening to him, how to communicate with his friends and come back; and Arjun Gupta nails his showcase episode, showing his frustration, pessimism and cynicism, as well as his comedic chops and determination, as he decides to leave his body behind and start a new phase of his life.
5/7 Plan B – S2 E7
It’s a bank robbery episode with magic! What if the team in Ocean’s Eleven had magical powers? How would they rob a bank? There have been many movies about magicians, but not many that celebrate what they can do and give us a sense of pleasure that would come from having those powers. This episode does all this and more. This episode has all the answers, as they rob a bank so Julia can pay for an evil demigod abortion (it makes sense if you watch the show, we promise). “Plan B” also makes intelligent use of each team member’s strength; and the intra-personal dynamics between them (at a time when there’s a lot of drama), while also showing why Margo is the best.
4/7 Did you bring me little cakes – S1 E13
In both the books and the show, Quentin Coldwater is our gateway to this world; the main character and his hero. He is always expected to be the hero who will save the day. Except he isn’t. Quentin knows Alice is a better magician, so when a weapon needs to be wielded, he passes the order to her (something that would never happen with a Harry Potter character). Quentin puts it best: “I’ve been waiting for a powerful being to come down and say, ‘Quentin Coldwater, you’re The One’…every book, every movie, it’s about one special man. I want that one being, I do, it’s just the mature part of me, the part of me that understands how magic works, keeps screaming it’s you.” That line of reasoning was a game-changer for the episode, the show, and the entire genre. Jason Ralph told Comics Beat: “So much of the book series takes place in Quentin’s head, and we experience his fear firsthand. I’m trying to translate that – those circles of thoughts and self-doubt to film [and] until its physical manifestation in my body – became that kind of speech pattern [Quentin does].”
3/7 All That Josh – S3 E9
Josh has been around since the first season, but he always felt like an outsider because the whole group forgets about him too often. A demon that feeds on happiness notices Josh’s feelings that he is always left behind, creating a perfect party world for him. The only way to save him is if the gang admits they didn’t treat Josh right and reunites. And the way to do it is by singing David Bowie and Queen’s “Under Pressure”. It’s not the first show to do a musical episode, but this episode manages to add some heart and emotions to give it meaning. It’s also hugely choreographed and sung, five minutes that make us smile every time we see it. Co-creator Sarah Gamble told Assignment X: You can even look forward to musical numbers [laughs]. John McNamara (the other co-creator) is kind of a musical freak, and he’s naturally inclined to experiment with form, and I think when people feel strong feelings, he thinks about singing people.
2/7 Divine Elimination – S2 E3
the wizards loved playing and subverting the rules of the genre as well as episodic television as this third episode would have been a season finale in all the other shows. The Beast, the main villain from season one, is eventually killed and one of our protagonists sacrifices himself to do it. We should have seen it coming, because there’s a beautiful scene, before the action, between Quentin and Alice that made us think these two lovebirds could make it work. The episode surprised everyone because the third episode of a season is always a seating arrangement, and this one had us scrambling for some air as it was a game changer for the entire show.
1/7 A Life in the Day – S3 E5
As you can see from the number of episodes listed here, the third season is the best of this show, and this episode is its best. Although there are three stories, this is Quentin and Elliot’s show. The two go on a side mission to the past in search of a key. To get it, they must solve The Mosaic, a puzzle that reflects the beauty of life. As they try to solve the mosaic, days, months and years pass. And with them, the relationship between Quentin and Eliot evolves: they fall in love, and out of love Quentin has a child with a woman, and when she falls ill and dies, Quentin and Elliot raise the boy and grow older together. When Eliot dies of old age, Quentin finds the missing piece of the puzzle while burying him, and they both come back to our timeline. They still remembered the life they lived and what happened that made them different people from those who left because what reflected the beauty of life was the life of it. It was a beautiful episode, one that delved completely into the chemistry between Eliot and Quentin, and both actors showed the love between them and the maturity that comes from a lifetime together. This episode gives us chills every time we watch it again because it’s the kind of episode that made the wizards one of the best original series of SYFY channels.