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Witchcraft and Wizardry for Adults

Casting spells to create a more diverse world of magic

By EE WilliamsPublished 3 years ago 3 min read
4
Witchcraft and Wizardry for Adults
Photo by Garidy Sanders on Unsplash

(contains mild spoilers)

Do you love Harry Potter but aren't so keen on JK Rowling's not-so-subtle transphobia? Wish Hogwarts offered more diversity than an Asian character named Cho Chang (really?) and a Black character with two lines?

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone came out when I was a late teen, and I happily bought every book in hardcover and read them every year of my twenties. When the movies came out, my friends and I waited in line at the theater on opening night, dressed in hand-knit scarves with our House colors, eager to see Rowling's world come to life on the screen. As a nerdy, know-it-all intellectual, I identified with Hermione, and loved the world of Hogwarts, Platform 9 3/4, and Diagon Alley.

By Nemes Brigitta on Unsplash

But as we grow older, and more aware of the world around us, our tastes can and should change. We may be less interested in stories about white, cis-het heroes, and find ourselves instead drawn to stories that center the lives of queer people, people of color, and a wider variety of characters we can learn from and identify with.

Enter The Magicians. Based on Lev Grossman's excellent book by the same name, The Magicians centers on a group of magicians, who, like Harry, are unaware of their growing powers until they are mysteriously recruited to take an Entrance Exam to attend Brakebills University. Rather than being sorted into houses, they test into disciplines, such as Physical Magic (flying, repairing objects, telekinesis), Psychic Magic (telepathy, precognition, astral projection), and Battle Magic (offense, defense, and tactics).

Another key difference? Rather than being children, the students of Brakebills are in their late teens and early twenties. So along with learning new wizard sports, they also participate in the kind of debauchery anyone who attended undergrad at a state school knows all too well. Drugs? Yes. Alcohol? Of course. Sex? Lots of it, with friends, strangers, while levitating, and while occupying the bodies of arctic foxes (in a particularly memorable episode).

The Magicians explores gender and sexuality in a way that is understated and feels real. While some characters may read as gay, and some as straight or bisexual, they are given room to explore their feelings, both of love and lust. One of my favorite episodes is Season 3, Episode 5, "A Life in the Day," which is a beautiful study of life, love, and what might have been.

Okay, let's talk characters. It's hard to narrow it down, because there are so many amazing characters on this show. BUT, my two favorites are (High King) Margo Hanson, played by the incredible, beautiful Summer Bishil, and Penny Adiyodi, played by the talented and gorgeous Arjun Gupta.

Margo is a take-no-prisoners type of witch, and her one-liners are unparalleled. She is an unapologetic feminist, with admonitions to friends and enemies alike to "ovary up", and such turns of phrase as "are you going to cock out on me?" and "is this what the patriarchy smells like?" She has a hard exterior, but a heart that is loyal to the death for her true friends, especially her bestie and fellow High King Eliot Waugh.

Penny Adiyodi is in a class by himself, literally, as he a Traveler: an incredibly rare type of magician who can read minds, astral project, teleport, and manipulate dreams. His character arc from Seasons 1 to 5 is truly satisfying, as he grows from a bitter, lonely misanthrope to a deeply empathetic and courageous person who anyone would be lucky to call friend.

Start at the beginning, and stay for the character development. The Magicians will break your heart, scare you to death, and make you grateful we live in a non-magic world -- while simultaneously tempting you to try and spell-cast with your fingers.

For wizards who have grown up: put aside your childish things, and transport yourself to the world of Brakebills and Fillory on The Magicians, available on Netflix and SyFy.

Please click the heart below if you enjoyed this review!

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About the Creator

EE Williams

Teacher, mother, science lover, wife, voracious reader, amateur chef. she/her/hers

Clifton Strengths:

Input | Empathy | Connectedness | Strategic | Ideation

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