Amazingly, The Magicians this week was able to reframe a compelling side story, the rescue of the fairy slaves, as the main plot while still addressing the more important quest for the sixth key with an enticingly incomplete narrative.

When a person recognizes that living in these times is akin to existing in a state of mass violation - of democratic norms, rule of law, of the concept of decency itself - then The Magician takes on a much bigger meaning.

The show's "quest of the week" storytelling style means it can essentially do whatever it wants, throw as many tones as possible into the blender and have whatever emerges come out deliciously.

The Magicians has quietly become one of the most consistently entertaining shows on TV.

It understands the complexities of genre and that a story that's engaging and interesting and constantly keeping its viewers on their toes needs to be more than just one thing and, it needs a deep well of understanding of characters.

It's fun to see the entire premise of this series -- people unbelieving in magic suddenly stumbling into it -- turned on its head.

How do you keep a show fresh as it heads into its third season? If you're The Magicians, you do it by pulling the rug out from under all of your characters.

Darkly hilarious, emotionally complex, wildly fantastical, and a little funky-there's nothing else like it, and that's precisely what makes it such a joy to watch.