'The Magicians' Season 5: Here's where our heroes stand after Quentin Coldwater's death in Season 4
Season 5 of the 'The Magicians' is set to release January 15, and with less than a week to go, it's worth taking a look back at where the characters stand before going into the new season. Some characters have accepted new responsibilities, some are facing new threats, and all are, in their own ways, dealing with the loss of Quentin Coldwater.
Alice Quinn
After seeking to undo the betrayal that brought the Library into power, escaping from their custody and trying to undermine their authority, Alice Quinn (Olivia Dudley) may just be the next in line to take charge. Season 4 ended with Zelda (Mageina Tovah) stepping down as Head of the Library and declaring that Alice must be the one to be in charge. Alice, to the best of our knowledge, has not yet accepted this role - and she may need some convincing.
In the meanwhile, she is the person hit hardest by the death of Quentin Coldwater (Jason Ralph), having just gotten back together with him before his fatal sacrifice.
Julia Wicker
Julia Wicker (Stella Maeve) went through a lot in Season 4, almost attaining godhood before her body was taken over by a malevolent all-powerful being. Her body was since restored to her, but to recover from a wound that would not heal, Penny-23 (Arjun Gupta) made the choice to restore her humanity to her, taking away any chance she had at godhood. Her magic was briefly taken from her, but the grief of Quentin's death proved enough to restore her magic. What she does next, however, is in question, although the trailers suggest that she may find herself on a new quest.
Penny-23
Penny-23 has found love again with Julia-40, after having lost the Julia of his timeline to the Beast. He remains in the current timeline, taking Penny-40's place, and he has a crucial part to play that has not yet been revealed. In the meanwhile, surges in magic have made his Travelling abilities unpredictable, and he's randomly appeared in Fillory at least once, unable to go back.
Kady Orloff-Diaz
After dealing with the loss of Penny-40, Kady reluctantly stepped up as the leader of the hedge witches in the Season 4 finale, tapping into their collective power with a global cooperative effort. While she took up the role in an emergency situation, it remains to be seen if it's a role that she's going to keep. Leadership has never been something Kady's shown any interest in before, but she does care about the hedges, and the way that they've been treated in magic society.
Eliot Waugh
Eliot (Hale Appleman) may have had it rougher than anyone else in Season 4. Spending most of it being possessed by an all-powerful sadistic monster, he agonizingly is restored to his own body just in time to find out that his close friend, and possibly the love of his life, sacrificed his life to save the world. Worse, on his return to Fillory, he finds that 300 years have passed, his wife Fen (Brittany Curan) has been dethroned, and a Dark King rules over all.
Margot Hanson
Margot Hanson (Summer Bishil) is largely in the same boat as Elliot at the end of Season 4. Having recently fallen in love with Josh Hoberman (Trevor Einhorn), she returns to her Kingdom to find that he, along with Fen, was dethroned centuries ago by the mysterious Dark King. It's unknown if Josh is even alive at this point through some magical means, but if she is, Margot will overturn all of Fillory to save him, and get her kingdom back, Dark Lord be damned.
'The Magicians' Season 5 releases January 15, on SYFY.