22 Reasons Every Fantasy Nerd Should Be Watching "The Magicians"

    Some spoilers, so please just watch this show already so we can talk about it.

    Keely Flaherty
    by Keely Flaherty

    BuzzFeed News Reporter

    1. The Magicians is like Harry Potter for twentysomethings, but darker and filled with sexy peril.

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    Yes, this Syfy show is about a magical school in a picturesque location that's filled with beautiful and scary supernatural beings, but it also draws heavily from The Chronicles of Narnia and feels like a morbid early-'00s CW program.

    2. The show somehow manages to stay true to — and expand upon — the books' source material.

    Syfy / Carole Segal/Syfy

    The show, based on Lev Grossman's Magicians Trilogy, gives us all the big moments and characters from the books, as well as new plots and characters. They've made room for fascinating cast additions like Marina, Top Bitch in New York, who will hopefully give the show a shelf-life well beyond the source material.

    3. The show's not shying away from the darkness of the books. If anything, it's even scarier.

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    The Dean's fate after his run-in with The Beast? Alice's poor brother? These things were scary on paper, but the show's visuals are straight-up horrifying.

    4. The central villain, The Beast, has been executed perfectly. His head is LITERALLY INSECTS.

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    INSECTS, MAN.

    5. Honestly, all the creatures are terrifying.

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    Syfy

    Niffins and fox gods and inescapable death, oh my.

    6. The show tactfully tackles issues of mental health and medication.

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    From the very first episode, mental health and medication are integral parts of the story, making the show feel more refreshingly honest. Magicians author Lev Grossman has written about his own journey with both in the past.

    7. The show also (briefly) addresses sexual violence — and will continue to do so in Season 2.

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    "What Lev does, and what we kind of inherited and what we get to do in this show, is to get real with these stories and to talk about what the human truth of these stories is," showrunner Sera Gamble told The Hollywood Reporter after the finale aired.

    8. Actor Jason Ralph's character is all of us.

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    His portrayal of Quentin Coldwater is appropriately sardonic, insecure, and occasionally frustrating. Every fantasy nerd who's ever had trouble growing up and coming to terms with the real world will relate to him on a spiritual level.

    9. Olivia Taylor Dudley nails the whole quiet, withdrawn brilliance thing.

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    Nothing about her character Alice's shy awkwardness is forced, and it's easy to believe she's the most brilliant Magician at Brakebills.

    10. And both are really nailing the whole friendship-turned-romance thing.

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    The chemistryyy.

    11. Stella Maeve is giving us the perfect amount of steel and vulnerability.

    Syfy / Carole Segal / Syfy

    She's the perfect Fortinbras to Quentin's Hamlet, except, thankfully, she gets way more stage time.

    12. Hale Appleman (Eliot) and Summer Bishil (Margo) are so wickedly delightful together, they deserve their own reality TV show spin-off.

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    Someone put them in a tropical setting with nothing but their combined wits, some alcohol, and a few greased up shirtless men. Would click, would share.

    13. The Magicians has the cutest bromance ever.

    Syfy / Carole Segal/Syfy

    Sure, it gets kinda weird later on, but Eliot and Quentin are the perfect odd couple for most of the first season.

    14. Arjun Gupta (Penny) is just...really hot.

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    He's also doing a great job with the series' very different take on Penny, but let's also just acknowledge that fact that he's super babely.

    15. Like, really super hot.

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    Helloooo.

    16. Almost as hot as Kady (Jade Tailor).

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    Kady is a fantastic non-book addition to the series, and she's a delight to watch.

    17. And the two of them together, good lord.

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    18. There's a scene in which two characters transform into foxes and have sex for the first time.

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    Seriously.

    19. The Brakebills sets are gorgeous, especially the Physical Kids' cottage.

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    It's like Town and Country meets Hogwarts.

    20. The finger tutting is actually remarkably cool.

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    In place of wands, Brakebills students conjure magic with complex hand and finger movements. It's neat and you will 100% try to copy them.

    21. Julia and Quentin have a complex friendship that isn't based solely on romance.

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    The longtime best friends definitely have some sexual tension early on, but they deal with some deep shit pretty fast: jealousy, betrayal, dishonesty, and, ultimately, using magic to try and destroy one another.

    22. Season 2 takes place in a magical land and it looks frackin' amazing. So please binge-watch the first season ASAP and come back so we can talk about it.

    Syfy