Major Spoilers Ahead
Tear in My Beer
Julia gets another visit from her cloudy-eyed friends, speaking through Alice, to warn her that Alice is in need of help this time. Nothing gets a girl gabbing about her problems like a couple of beers. Over drinks, Alice reveals she is having trouble finding her identity in a world without magic.
Julia has magic but why and what is she supposed to do with it? It ends up being Alice who helps Julia, suggesting she use a mirror to focus the magic of the key that reveals hidden things. Julia is terrified when she sees Reynard’s yellow, fox eyes staring back at her. Her magical patron, Our Lady AKA Persephone, pulls her into a timeout for a little chat. Our Lady took the seed of Reynard’s power and put it in Julia as a gift. Having been raped by Reynard, Julia is not pleased to once again be violated by anything that came from him being inside of her without her permission. She wants nothing from him, even if it is the only magic left in the world.
Back in the bar, Julia shares her predicament with Alice. Does it matter where magic comes from as long as you have it? Not to Alice and she has a plan to solve both of their problems.
The Reluctant Bride
What is this Fairy Queen’s motive already? She was moved when Margo wouldn’t force The Muntjac to submit to the pirate ship, but now she is forcing Margo to get married against her will for political gain? Margo’s betrothed is Prince Micah from The Tribe of The Floating Mountain (that is no longer floating). The floating mountain crashed on the coast of Fillory when magic died, along with their 4,000 spear army. Is the pasty queen planning a war? Margo is pleasantly surprised to discover that Prince Micah is HOTTTT and The Tribe of The (Formerly) Floating Mountain is a matriarchy. Girl power ya’ll! Margo quickly changes her tune on arranged marriage, until Prince Micah is murdered at the alter (in a very Ryan Murphy Sceam Queens fashion) by his MUCH younger brother. Despite his methods and age, the Fairy Queen stands her ground and makes Margo go through with the ceremony. Is this all punishment for crushing her own eye so the Fairy Queen couldn’t spy on her anymore? Was the Fairy Queen expecting Margo to stand up for herself despite Prince Micah’s appearance and she failed the test? Either way, Margo needs to figure a way out before she has to consummate the marriage.
Beauty of ALL Life
Quentin and Eliot continue the search for the next key, landing them in past Fillory. To get the key they have to solve the mosaic puzzle, making it reflect the “beauty of all life.” How can they give up when their very next attempt could be the one? They settle in, building a home as they work on their task, day in and day out. Quentin even meets a girl and has a son. Their whole lives pass as they work on the mosaic until Eliot, grey and weathered, dies while watching Quentin bent over their life’s work. It turns out the key was in the very literal riddle itself. They spent full and beautiful lives working on their quest, revealing a final tile as Quentin digs Eliot’s grave. Quinten can use the key to return to his timeline, but not so fast! Jane Chatwin frolics up, and Quentin hands it over, knowing this key plays an important role in everything that will happen to his future self. Since he knows when Margo’s wedding will happen in the future thank to bunny mail, he sends a message as a wedding gift, letting her know to retrieve the key and stop him and Eliot from going back in time again. Don’t get a headache thinking about it all too much. Timey-wimey stuff guys!
Queliot shippers will be very pleased with this episode! I wasn’t really clear on if it was just a kiss or if it is implied that things went further? Did they or didn’t they?
