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**Major spoilers for the season four finale ofThe Magicianslie ahead.
**
The finale ofThe Magiciansfourth season iseventful.
He watches them hold a makeshift funeral service for him.
How long have you been planning to kill Quentin?
And it didnt get any deeper than this for us.
The funeral scene feels like an answer to that question, but did you mean it to be?
Or did you mean for there to still be ambiguity?
I think it is ambiguous.
But this is not a black-and-white show, and hes never been a black-and-white character.
John McNamara:I definitely dont want to write pro-suicide television.
Its irresponsible, and its too simplistic, frankly.
Stay alive and debate that issue.
Because obviously this could be triggering, and thats not our intent.
Whats the thought process around that relationship and killing Quentin without letting that relationship ever really exist?
Henry Alonso Myers:Of course, yes, we talk about that all the time.
So what did those discussions look like?
His character was saved because Quentins motivation for the whole season has been to save Eliot.
You know, were really committed to exploring true, messy human relationships.
We just really wanted to go there.
Were excited to continue to explore what all of that means for Eliot.
We sympathize with everybody.
You sympathize with everybody, but you do still kill the character.
I feel like we take that very seriously.
This is a tough one!
John McNamara:And there is an interesting clue to that in the structure of season four.
If the Monster had not taken over Eliot, Margo would not be open to Josh.
Theyre a really good couple, and theyre good to each other.
Theres a long way to go in terms of their relationship.
So the trade-off is that Eliot still has emotional growth coming, but Quentins story is done.
How did that conversation go?
John McNamara:Shockingly well.
But hed say I love this, do more of this.
Sometimes, in ways, that surprise you.
In some ways it mirrors Lev Grossmans books.
The first book is very much from Quentins point of view.
The second introduces Julias point of view, which totally flips how you see Quentins point of view.
That was the feeling wed been getting about the show.
Sera Gamble:Thats always been part of the DNA of the show.
Its always been a show thats very knowing; the characters are fantasy fans.
Why is the man saving the princess from the dragon?
What would happen if we told stories that lined up more closely with our own life experiences?
The show has only gotten more committed to that as weve gone along.
As the relationship has deepened and complicated between these characters, the show opens up in a new way.
Its not like a certain kind of love is valuable and another kind is not.
It was really important for us to have this moment where Quentin asks how his friends are doing.
I would never question Margos complete devotion to Eliot.
I dont think one negates the other.
Thats where the storytelling led us when we opened things up beyond that classic template.
Is that something well see in season five with Quentin?
It was a mutual decision.
He will confirm that.
He is no longer part of the cast.
So we wont be seeing another timeline version of Quentin?
John McNamara:There is no other timeline version of him planned, no.
Henry Alonso Myers:We killed Alice, and she came back changed.
Its very important to us to explore the genuine emotions that come out of death.
They still have to deal with who they are and where they come from.
Itll be interesting to watch people make a run at adjust to that decision.
Sera Gamble:Yeah, it feels incredibly unfair!
As it does in life.
We bring as much learned truth and personal experience as we can to that when were in the room.
The finality of his death was too big for my psyche to hold for a long time.
It took a long time to process that.
If we live long enough, we experience loss so profound our souls cant even hold it.
They have to grow to be able to hold it.
Because we have niffins and dragons.
We get to do fantastical worlds, and the metaphors are really entertaining.
Sometimes they bring a lot of levity to stuff that feels too dense and foreboding to approach.
To us, its very, very exciting.
Because we get to do that on this show.
How did you pick Take On Me as a song for a funeral?
John McNamara:My son is 12; hes very musical and plays piano.
Sera Gamble:I would argue that it is positive.
Theres something deeply positive about realizing that you are alive and you have choices.
Those are shocking moments.
They can be the most crucial moments of our lifetimes.
Thats the gift that people give us when they die.
