Warning! Spoilers ahead for all seasons of The Magicians!The Magiciansmight center certain characters more than others in different episodes, but it’s a clear ensemble, with some individuals more fun to watch than others. While the group dynamic ofThe Magicianswouldn’t exist without all the main characters together, this doesn’t change the fact that fan favorites rise to the top.The Magiciansis afantasy TV show that’s almost perfect. Though it has its ups and downs, it remains exciting and innovative until the finale. While the magic system, otherworldly realities, and thrilling stakes are part of this,it’s the characters that keep us watching.
The Magicians' highest-rated episodefocuses on the characters, demonstrating how well the series understands its strengths as a show. Even when they’re at their worst, it’s hard not to root for the characters inThe Magicians, as they’re grappling with impossible circumstances in an incredible reality that transports the viewer to new worlds. Getting lost in a fantasy series likeThe Magiciansis one of the most fun parts of watching TV, andThe Magiciansdelivers with all of its layered character development and relationships.
7Alice
Played By Olivia Taylor Dudley
Alice is one of the hardest characters to relate toand empathize with throughoutThe Magicians. Though her strained relationship with her parents and her brother’s death give some dimension to her role, Alice’s desperate desire for power and knowledge, coupled with her refusal to admit when she’s wrong, makes her a frustratingly stubborn character. While all of the characters have their walls up, Alice makes a point of driving people away, and watching these patterns repeat can be hard to watch throughoutThe Magicians.
Dudley does her best to make Alice as well-rounded as possible, but the fact that she isn’t willing to have fun the way the other characters are makes her a bit of a buzzkill. She’s powerful and proves herself to be a vital part of the team when they face down the Beast, butthis bravery is undone when she selfishly tries to destroy all magic foreverat the end of season 3. Though Alice does blame herself in seasons 4 and 5 for the fallout of this moment, this doesn’t change the fact that the audience blames her, too.
6Kady
Played By Jade Tailor
Though it isn’t her fault,Kady often falls by the wayside inThe Magicians,as she’s on the outside of a lot of the Brakebills schemes and purposefully separates herself from the group. This allows her and Julia to form a strong bond throughout the seasons, but Kady doesn’t get the emotionally resonant character arc that Julia receives. Additionally, her relationship with Penny is a constant source of pain and difficulty for Kady, as in the wake of her mother’s death, she turns to Penny as her emotional support, but he can’t live up to being all she needs.
As the series progresses, her purpose grows more uncertain, even if she is important when the fights go down.
Of all the main characters, Kady is the most forgettable, as her role throughout their adventures is more secondary, with her popping in to lend a hand and disappearing again. Part of this is likely because Kady wasn’t a character in the original book series, so the show created her to fill the niche of a hedge witch inside Brakebills and further the connection between Julia, the hedges, and Brakebills early on. However, as the series progresses, her purpose grows more uncertain, even if she is important when the fights go down.
5Quentin
Played by Jason Ralph
As the de facto protagonist ofThe Magicians,Quentin is a polarizing character.Without him, there would be no show, and he does have his moments of extreme bravery. However, he also has some selfish tendencies and is inclined to wallow in self-pity instead of helping his friends. Many of the biggest messes Quentin gets into are of his own making, though he expects the other characters to forgive him immediately. However, there are parts of Quentin that make these shortcomings understandable and redeemable.
His unwavering belief in the purity and wonder of magic and his love for Fillory are what make the characters' adventures possible. Quentin’s death is one of the saddest moments of the entire show, and his absence is felt heavily throughout the final season.The Magiciansshow surpasses the books in the relationship between Quentin and Eliot, and it’s disappointing that this dynamic never got to reach its peak because of Quentin’s death and Eliot’s possession by the Monster at the End of the World. Additionally,The Magiciansdoesn’t shy away from poking fun at Quentin’s flaws.
4Penny
Played By Arjun Gupta
There are a few different Pennys who make an appearance inThe Magicians, with the original timeline’s Penny eventually replaced by Penny from timeline 23. While it can be difficult to keep track of the many overlapping worlds and time streams inThe Magicians, if the result is Penny-23, then it’s well worth parsing through the complications.The original Penny reaches an interesting level of self-actualizationafter going to work for the library, becoming a point of contact between the group and the vast knowledge of the library.
Conversely, Penny-23 gets a new chance at life and a redo of his relationship with Julia that unfolded in the 23rd timeline.
Conversely, Penny-23 gets a new chance at life and a redo of his relationship with Julia that unfolded in the 23rd timeline. While he plays a much larger role than simply being a romantic interest, Penny still maintains his sharp-witted personality but demonstrates a softer side through his love for Julia. Though this is painful for Kady, as she can’t be with either Penny, the original Penny delivers some of the most poignant lines of the show, and Penny-23 gets a happily-ever-after for both of them.
3Margo
Played By Summer Bishil
Margo is a great character who shouldn’t be overlookedinThe Magicians. Though her character arc might not be as flashy as some of the others, and we don’t get to know as much about her backstory, this doesn’t make her characterization and evolution any less real. Her role is slightly altered from the books, as her name was Janet in the novels, but this allowed Bishil to fully make the character her own and run with the new take on Margo that could be as empowered as possible.
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Margo’s fear of being hurt sees her keep almost everyone but Eliot at arm’s length throughout the show, but this ultimately changes as the show progresses. In fact, it’s her ability to shed the somewhat codependent aspects of her relationship with Eliot and be willing to stand on her own,eventually becoming Fillory’s High Queen,that comes to define her. As she learns to trust herself and her instincts, nothing can stop Margo and her take-no-prisoners attitude. Her story arc with the fairies also reveals another, more sensitive side of Margo.
2Julia
Played By Stella Maeve
Grief, loss, and trauma are key parts of every season ofThe Magicians,but Julia goes through more than most throughout the series' run. The series does a great job of elevating Julia’s character and imbuing her with additional depth, sparking empathy and understanding for her during her most desperate moments. It’s heartbreaking to watch what Julia goes through inThe Magicians, but this paves the way for arguably the best character arc on the show. She comes into herself and becomes one of the most powerful beings in the story.
However,it isn’t just power that makes Julia a great character,but the fact that she’s so willing to give it up for the greater good. Her dedication and loyalty to her friends speak volumes about who she is and make it easy to root for her as she navigates some of the hardest moments to watch. Quentin’s death is a turning point for Julia, as she gets to step further into the role of protagonist in his absence and is able to handle her grief better than ever before, cementing her development.
1Eliot
Played By Hale Appleman
Eliot is one of the first magicians that Quentin comes into contact withwhen he arrives at Brakebills, and it’s easy to see why Quentin was so swept away by his magnetic personality. Appleman is endlessly charming as Eliot, the hard-partying but secretly sensitive magician who slowly opens up to his friends and takes on more responsibility to save the world. While his relationships with Margo and Quentin are two of the show’s most arresting dynamics, it’s Eliot himself who draws us in, as even his flaws are worth understanding.
The fact that Eliot is aTV character who never got a happy endingis one of the saddest parts ofThe Magicians. No one deserved love and acceptance more than Eliot, even when he was at his most selfish. After being possessed by the Monster at the End of the World throughout season 4, Eliot never gets to say a proper goodbye to Quentin, which haunts him throughout season 5. Since he’s both a fan-favorite character and a compelling person with a touching emotional arc, watching Eliot is one of the best parts ofThe Magicians.
