Why The Magicians' series finale felt so different

[TMC]

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"We have a philosophy in the room every season that if there's a story we're burning to do, we're not going to save it for later, we're going to do it now," co-creator Sera Gamble says of the Season 5 finale that became a series finale. "There was an overwhelming feeling that we should do this very moving piece from The Magician's Land; the World Seed story is that story." Fellow co-creator John McNamara adds: "It's hard enough to say, 'Here's our season ender' or 'Here's our series finale,' but to walk that tight rope was really difficult, and they made it look really easy. I love the fact that it ends on this — for us —unusually optimistic note. I think that should be the first clue that this is the end of the series. If we're being optimistic in the last episode, we're shutting the lights off, locking the door, and going out to a bar. (Laughs)" ALSO: Knowing they were on the bubble, The Magicians writers aimed for a season finale that could work as a series finale.

The Magicians' series finale felt like it was trying to make the best of a bad situation

"This was not supposed to be the end and you can tell," says Beth Elderkin of this week's Season 5 finale. "Syfy’s announcement that they wouldn’t renew The Magicians after five seasons seems to have left the showrunners scrambling to complete season-long and series-long arcs in one 45-minute episode. The result is a series trying to make the best of a bad situation, with a rushed final episode that still leaves us on the promise of something more. 'Fillory and Further' should have been a TV movie. It’s the only way they would’ve been able to get through the three or more episodes worth of storylines needed to close out The Magicians the way this awesome show deserved. This whole episode moves by at breakneck speed, powering through major reveals and landmark moments with barely a moment to react before moving onto the next. It’s hard to say how much of this was as a result of needing to finish the convoluted story arc built up over the course of season five and how much was added to make it a series finale, but I’d guess it’s about 50/50." ALSO: The Magicians' finale was just about perfect.