The Magicians Ending Explained: What Happens To Every Character

The show The Magicians’, based on the popular adult fantasy book series by Lev Grossman, is a much different show than when it started out. Over the course of the shows’ five seasons, the series itself has grown and changed, and so have the characters.

The crew has been through a lot together, and the show’s final episode brings about an end to their story while creating a new beginning at the same time. The finale has them end up in very different places than when they initially started, so here is what happens to every character in the season finale of The Magicians.

10 Elliot

Unlike most of his friends, Elliot ends up where his story started, at Brakebills. However, Elliot has become one of the newest members of the school’s faculty. While it is unknown what he’ll be teaching at the school, it would be fair to assume that he would be one of the most unconventional members of the staff.

Despite him being separated from his friends, specifically Margo, the show made it clear that he is not completely alone, ending with him open to exploring a possible new romantic relationship with Charlton, who recently took over Hyman’s body.

9 Josh

Despite being the last of the main characters to be introduced, first appearing in the twelfth and thirteenth episodes of the show’s first season as a guest star, Josh Hoberman quickly became a favorite character for many.

In the show’s final episode, Josh was one of the three characters responsible for casting on the World Seed in order to help it grow into the planet dubbed New Fillory. The series ends with him along with Alice, Fen, and his girlfriend, Margo, who he had since gotten back together with after going through a rough patch earlier in the season, on the new planet.

8 Fen

Ever since Fen was introduced in the episode “Have You Brought Me Little Cakes?”, she has always felt like an outsider compared to the rest of the main characters. In the finale, Fen was not only instrumental in keeping the World Seed safe but also in the creation of New Fillory with her memories and experiences being used as the source of inspiration for the environment of the new world.

She also was one of the four characters transported to the planet along with Alice, Margo, and Josh. Fen being given such an important task shows how far she’s come as a character and brings about to her arc with the knife-infatuated Fillorian finally feeling like she’s earned a spot on the team.

7 Julia

Julia has been through a lot. Over the show’s run, she has gone human to Goddess to human again, all while dealing with her abuse from Reynard and her rocky relationship with magic. The final season had put a lot of focus on her relationship with Penny-23, eventually revealing that she was pregnant with his child following the two breaking up due to Penny not wanting her to travel to Fillory and for them to maintain a normal life.

Thanks to an accelerated pregnancy on account of it being Red Monkey month, a time on Fillory when everything grows faster, the show’s finale had her give birth to a daughter whom she names “Hope Quentin” after her friend. The last scene we see of her has her, Penny, and their daughter venturing off in order to find their friends.

6 Penny

Penny had to deal with a lot of things this season including acting as Dean of Brakebills in Fogg’s absence, losing the ability to travel safely, breaking up with Julia after expressing a desire to settle down and live a normal life.

Due to a procedure, which was rushed thanks to Fogg, he regains his abilities to travel as well as hear others’ thoughts, but only when he is holding his daughter. His part of the story ends with him ready to start the new chapter of his life with his family and traveling off to find the location of New Fillory and their friends. Penny accepts it as his new normal despite it being different than what he envisioned.

5 Alice

Still feeling magically handicapped since she only has one good hand to cast with due to her fingers being removed and then reattached by the couple a few episodes prior, Alice struggles with feeling unable to bring value to the others.

In the end, by focusing on the words that she received from Zelda before her death about controlling your “internal circumstances,” she is able to help Josh and Margo cast on the world seed and gets transported to New Fillory. Her arc ends with her and the others, acknowledging that their lives were going to change again.

4 Kady

Kady wasn’t given as much to do as the others in the show’s finale. She spent a large part of the episode chasing Fogg around following his escape from the infirmary she brought him to after he got spat out of the Etheric realm. Unlike most of the other characters, Katy has never actually been to Fillory. This is a large part of the reason she isn’t part of the crew casting on the World Seed and remained on Earth while the others got transported to the new planet.

We see her assume her role as the leader of the hedge witches, with Pete still seemingly acting as her right-hand man. Thanks to Fogg’s narration, we learn that every hedge witch safe house has been assigned a Moonbrain so that they know when it’s safe to cast.

3 Dean Fogg

After escaping from the Etheric Realm by being replaced by an alternate version of himself from timeline 17, Dean Fogg goes on an insane rampage, which included stealing the world seed and severing the tether between Julia and her newborn baby. We later learn that the rampage was due to him remembering time loops.

He was trying to help despite unable to communicate with the others due to the damage the Etheric Realm had done on his mind. The finale ends with him having resumed his position as Dean of Brakebills and forced to hold a cat that absorbs all of the insanity, allowing him to behave as he normally would.

2 Zelda

Out of all the characters, Zelda met the most tragic end. Her, Fen, and Alice travel to the Netherlands to keep the World Seed safe; however they have it taken by the crazed, recently freed Fogg and find themselves cornered by a recently resurrected Martin Chatwin and his army of the dead.

Temporarily blocking Chatwin from reaching them, Zelda urges Alice and Fen to return to Earth while she stays behind, telling them, “For Librarians, death isn’t the end. It’s merely a transfer to another branch.” After they leave, she enacts Permafrost, closing off all the fountains and keeping Martin contained. Unfortunately, after doing so, she is immediately killed by the Beast.

1 Margo

Margo almost sacrifices herself in order to destroy Fillory before being saved by Penny at the very last second. She then had a major hand in crafting the new world and was transported there along with Alice, Fen, and Josh.

She is then deemed the new planet’s leader by Fen, changing her official title from High King Margo the Destroyer to High King Margo the Creator. The final shot sees her smiling, a rarity, preparing to press the button that unleashes all the Fillorians that were being housed in the ark and beginning the new chapter.

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