Save this article to read it later.
Find this story in your accountsSaved for Latersection.
The Magicianshas never been interested in simplistic storytelling.
Love and sex and romance and friendship get in each others lanes all the fucking time.
Thank goodness, then, forThe Magicians, a show that seems bored by the very concept of heterosexuality.
In one stirring montage, Quentin and Eliot live an entire lifetime together.
They work, bicker, raise a child, and grow old side-by-side.
They also have sex.
Though not the first time the characters hook up, it is notably the first without a woman present.
Though a variety of ships and desires abound, Queliot could be considered the communitys crown jewel.
(They grew old and raised a child together!
a fan who goes by not-a-princess-but-a-queenwroteon Tumblr after A Life In the Day aired.
I never expected this.)
(Again, this show is arollercoaster.)
Escape From the Happy Place follows the real Eliot, trapped deep in the recesses of his own mind.
Right as [Reed] said that, it was like wed all just done vodka Redbull shots.
Eliot spends the episode cavorting through shameful moments from his backstory.
Traumatic school memories, bad haircuts, peoples boyfriends hed screwed you get the picture.
Only the scene doesnt end where it did the first time.
Think about it, we work, Quentin says.
We know it because we lived it.
Who gets proof of concept like that?
Quentin takes it in stride, visibly sad but accepting.
Someone good and true loves you, he says to his memory of himself.
And he went out on a limb.
Much as slash fandom has argued for years, the two are perfect foils for each other.
Its the tiny, beating heart of optimism inside this frequently angsty, depressed guy, Gamble explains.
When Im afraid I run away, Eliot says.
Assuming Quentin saves Eliot from the big bad monster, will Eliot greet him with a big climactic kiss?
For theMagicianswriters, that love doesnt boil down into something thats purely romantic or platonic.
I mean, Quentin is actually super boring in that both [Alice and Eliot] are human.
There isnt a single 500-year-old pixie in the mix.
For our show, hes not very sexually adventurous, I gotta say.
And for fans, theres also a larger context at work.
Shows likeShadowhunters,The 100,andBuffy the Vampire SlayerprecededThe Magiciansin featuring major queer characters in their fantastical stories.
I saw how moving that is for viewers.
ThatsThe Magicians sweet spot.
It also happens to be a slash fandom dream come true.
Luckily, that dovetails nicely with whatThe Magicianswriters want to do.
In real life, relationships are so much weirder and less predictable than they usually are on TV.
And the braver you are, the more unexpected your paths.
And in this area, Quentin is genuinely brave.
