The Magicians Review: ‘All That Josh’ S03E09

This time around, we see the focus of The Magicians shift to one of their recurring characters in episode 9: All That Josh, with the return of Josh Hoberman (Trevor Einhorn)!  With the title of ‘All That Josh’ sounding remarkably like a reference to ‘All That Jazz’ and with a history of slipping in a musical number, it is not too surprising to discover that this one is going to be a more substantially musical episode.

Unlike last season’s episodes with a musical element ‘Music Hath Charms’, ‘Hotel Spa Potions’, or season one’s ‘The World in the Walls’, where there was only one musical number, this time we have a few, and they’re much more full on.

The reason for this musical explosion is Josh, and how the group has abandoned him, which leads Josh into being trapped in a version of the ‘Lotus Eater’ trope.  He is therefore tricked into being in a place where magic ‘exists’, drugs are plentiful, and it’s a 24hr party; if anyone stops partying though, things go sour.

Having obtained the new key last episode, Kady (Jade Tailor), Alice (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and Q (Jason Ralph) get transported to Josh’s pleasurable prison after solving a puzzle, and Josh first appears in a big dance number to ‘Wham Bam’ (a track by an LA production team using the name ‘Clooney’).  This is the first indication that this episode is going to go a little more sideways than expected, and the writers clearly know what our reaction is going to be, by letting that be expressed by Q, with his “I think we found hell!”.

It’s in this world that all of the musical numbers are rooted, and next up, as a distraction, so that Alice and Q can interrogate Josh, we get Kady doing a full on glamour performance.  Luckily, in this cast there are a number of actors who also have experience in musical theatre, and Jade Tailor is a prime example; she clearly knows her stuff, and she delivers a version of ‘All I Need Is The Girl’ by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim from the music Gypsy, with great aplomb, which also allows her to get out of the tattered jeans/hoodie combination for a while…

All of this music is in service to the plot though, and we’re treated to a number of music related references and jokes, as we head towards a conclusion where Q figures out they all need to work together to get out.  Along the way we get to experience a rendition of Rose Royce’s ‘Car Wash’, before the big finale involving the whole group.

If someone had said to me ahead of time, that a main scene would involve an eight person singing ensemble, to the tune of ‘Under Pressure’ by Queen & David Bowie, I would have been sceptical at the very least.  Much to their credit though, the writers and cast of The Magicians pull this off, without any major issues!  Obviously the cast members that have musical experience, such as Jade Tailor and Hale Appleman shine, and there are weaker singing voices, but it has been well handled, arranged and produced.

Aside from all this music though, this episode does have two other important plots, which although obviously a B plot and a C plot, have significant ramifications for the future.  In Fillory, Margo (Summer Bishil) and Eliot (Hale Appleman) have been found guilty by a Wombat court (something I didn’t even question, until there’s the quick gag about it), and are sentenced to death; in the course of that plot, there are some interesting points raised about how Fillory existed before they arrived, and in its conclusion, more questions come to mind concerning the muntjac.  There is definitely much more to learn about Fillory’s politics and its people/creatures, and it’s good they addressed some of that here.

We also have a lot happening with Julia (Stella Maeve), who, along with Fen (Brittany Curran) is investigating the fairies held by Irene (Jaime Ray Newman).  This pairing of Julia and Fen seems to work well, and it’s good to see these characters getting some interesting stuff to do, especially Fen, who has been woefully underutilised in the past.

There’s a lot in this episode, and although it isn’t perfect, there is a high success rate.  Much of this is down to the cast, and how the show handles some of the more comedic or cheesy elements.  On another show this could easily have become a very cringe worthy episode that would be best forgotten, but here you warm to the show and take it in the spirit it is intended; it’s not out of place here, and fits in with the overall style of the series.

I like the fact that The Magicians is once more playing with the tropes and gimmicks, knowingly nodding to various clichés, AND doing it in conjunction with the audience, not at the audience’s expense or in a sneering way.  This week, we also got news that the show has been picked up for a fourth season, so long may it continue!