Brakebills Rocks? The Magicians goes musical!

Though there have been a few musical interludes in the world of Fillory, this week’s episode of The Magicians has gone full on Broadway.

From Xena to Grey’s Anatomy, the musical episode has gone from a novelty to practically a tv tradition; with hardcore fans relishing every note.

Whether it’s signaling a nervous breakdown like in Mad Men, a melodic brain tumor like in Scrubs or a magical “spoon full of sugar to help the medicine go down,” in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode “Once More With Feeling,” in the most effective scenes music seems to be a salve or a well needed break from a particularly dark season.

Or in the case of Buffy the Vampire Slayer — both, and a pair of kid gloves to soften a devastating blow.

The Magicians handles the one-episode musical extremely well. In this week’s episode, “All that Josh,” they let the true singers shine and support the weaker ones, minimizing the errant off key note. Instead of giving those who can’t carry a tune whole musical numbers (…ouch, Tara Maclay in BTVS — still love her though). Trevor Einhorn (Josh) opens up the show by surprising us all with a pretty impressive set of pipes.

However, Hale Appleman and Summer Bishil, who play Margo and Elliot, steal the show, belting out David Bowie’s song “Pressure,” along with Jade Tailor, who plays Kady.

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The writers used harmony to bring the magicians, who have been scattered across the lands looking for the seven keys, back together. Well, at least a little more united than previous episodes this season.

Like an addict going through harsh withdrawals, trust and lack of magic make strange bedfellows.