Summary
The Magiciansincludes multiple exciting characters who appear in one season, rather than having longer stints on the show. The SyFy series ran from December 2015 to April 2020, releasing one season each year. The story follows the adventures of the students Quentin, Penny, Kady, Eliot, Margo, and Alice at a magical graduate school called Brakebills University. This group and Quentin’s best friend Julia get entangled with the world of Fillory, outlined inthe in-universe children’s booksFillory and Further.
While the best characters in the series are undoubtedly the main ensemble,The Magiciansis known for having fleshed-out, interesting characters who don’t appear in all the seasons. Examples include Marina and Fen, both of whom are fan-favorites with complex personalities. Still, many of the most compelling and narratively important characters appear in just one season.
This list only allows for a maximum of one cameo episode outside a character’s designated season ofThe Magicians.
8Poppy Kline (Felicia Day)
The Magicians Season 3
Poppy Kline is one of the most chaotic and entertaining side characters inThe Magicians, only appearing in four episodes across the series but being incredibly memorable. Felicia Day does a great job of flipping between the innocent persona the character shows first and Poppy’s actual personality, which is mischievous and morally complex.
The writers developed her as an unreliable narrator with the ability to manipulate everyone around her, making Poppy more fun to watch. It’s nearly impossible to tell when she’s being honest and when she’s lying, which makes it easy to question everything she says.
Additionally,Poppy serves as a nice counterbalance to Quentinbecause he believes himself to be moral and righteous. This chemistry and their quick fling helps Quentin get over the grief of Alice and the rejection from Eliot. If it weren’t for Poppy’s betrayal and the depression monster, the two would have made for an interesting couple. Moreover, her knowledge of dragons helps build the lore of Fillory and the larger world ofThe Magicians. These additions to the story make her one of the best characters from a single season.
7The Fairy Queen (Candis Cayne)
The Magiciansdoes a good job of creating villains who are as captivating as they are terrible. The Fairy Queen is a perfect example of this type of character. Most of the time,The Fairy Queen acts in a barbaric way, but there is a certain honor in her behavior.She follows a strict set of rules, no matter how inhumane they may seem. Even when it doesn’t benefit her, she stays true to her word, rather than reneging.
Later in her character arc,The Magiciansmain characterslearn why exactly The Fairy Queen is so harsh and legalistic. The Fairy Queen carries the trauma and burden of her people in a way that’s unfathomable for most of the other characters, so they see her in a solely negative light. Humans, like Margo and Fen, hunted her species into near-extinction – which could explain some of the ire she holds for them. Moreover, the fairy deals are the only reason the fairies stayed alive in the past, explaining why The Fairy Queen upholds them so strictly.
All of these elements soften the image of The Fairy Queen. In the end, she’s also willing to lay down her life to save the estranged members of her community, making her one of the most respectable characters who only appears in one season ofThe Magicians.
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6Young Jane Chatwin (Rose Liston)
The Magicians Season 1
Like many of the other characters who only appear in just one season ofThe Magicians, Young Jane Chatwin is a character that’s easy to dislike when her personality is viewed at a surface level. Jane is forthright, impatient, brash, and blunt at times – qualities that are generally considered off-putting and rude. However, the character becomes much more endearing when viewed through a different lens. Whether she is neurodivergent or not, many of the traits that Young Jane Chatwin exhibits are relatable for neurodivergent individuals.
The teen girl also has an immense love of adventure, which harkens to the wonder of childhood that’s often lost with the responsibilities of adulthood. In the few moments where she’s unburdened, Young Jane Chatwin is joyful and bubbly. Additionally,she has a strong sense of justice and responsibility.She willingly takes on the weight of saving Fillory from her own brother, an especially brave act for a child who’s around 12 years old. This makes her an extremely powerful character, despite only appearing in season 1 (minus a cameo inThe Magiciansseason 3, episode 5, “A Life in the Day”).
5Young Martin Chatwin (Nicholas Croucher)
One of the best and most heartbreaking characters inThe Magiciansonly appears in a total of two episodes in season 1. When Quentin, Eliot, Alice, and Penny go to Christopher Plover’s home, they see flashbacks of Young Martin Chatwin, who goes through a massively horrific trauma at the hands of the man who is meant to care for him.
Unlike other characters with the label, Young Martin Chatwin isn’t the “best” because he’s easily likable or fun to watch. In fact, he seems extremely awkward and whiny, two traits common in children, which can irritate the show’s adult viewers. However, this character provides animportant depth and understanding as to how adult Martin Chatwin became The Beast,making him narratively crucial.
In these scenes, he is a scared and vulnerable little boy who just needs someone to protect him. This creates a feeling of righteous indignation in the main characters. When putting the pieces together, it’s easy to see how he becomes desperate for power. He is failed in every way, and he sees all-encompassing control as the only solution for one ofThe Magicians’ darkest moments. Due to his impact on the storyline and character development in such a short span, Young Martin Chatwin must be included among the best characters in just one season.
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4The Dark King (Sean Maguire)
The Magicians Season 5
The Dark King is one character inThe Magicianswho has both a major role in the narrative and is extremely enjoyable to watch. Because he is introduced as a kind and emotional stranger first,the reveal that he is The Dark King feels like a small betrayal.Moreover, the prior image of him as someone who is filled with grief makes the villain extremely nuanced. It is easy to still root for him after his secret comes to light.
Additionally, The Dark King’s relationship with Eliot feels important afterQuentin’s season 4 death inThe Magicians. Eliot may have put up walls, rather than accepting Quentin’s love, but he still has a very real love for his former life partner. Moreover, he clearly feels guilt about the fact that he was possessed by Nameless, the monster that led to Quentin’s death.
The Dark King’s presence allows Eliot to process and grieve his loss,albeit in a complicated way, due to the villain’s flexible morality. The moments of emotional intimacy that the characters share show Eliot a life after Quentin. All these factors add up to make The Magicians’ season 5 character one of the most interesting late additions to the series.
3Quentin 23 (Jason Ralph)
Though he only appears in a single episode of the show, Quentin 23 – aka Timeline 23’s The Beast – is one of the most fun characters who appears in a single season. The character has a central role inThe Magiciansseason 3, episode 11, “Twenty-Three,” showing an alternate version of the character. By season 3, Quentin’s tendency to catastrophize every inconvenience and prioritize his needs above others becomes annoying to watch.
The traits in and of themselves aren’t bad, but the show frequently presents Quentin as the heroic main character who cares more than everyone else. This doesn’t match up with his real personality. Quentin 23 twists the character, showing an alternative version of the same traits. Unlike the original version of the character,Quentin 23 is unapologetically selfish, and he intentionally uses cruelty to hide his insecurities.The fact that he doesn’t pretend to be noble makes him a refreshing twist on the original character.
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2Nameless (Hale Appleman)
The Magicians Season 4
The Magicians’villains each have complexity that makes them exciting to watch. The Castle Blackspire Monster, Nameless, has to beone of the best single-season characters due to the complex relationship he brings about between morality and culpability. The monster is widely considered one of the most feared and dangerousGods inThe Magicians, but he is mostly blameless in his horrific actions.
Nameless has the brain and mental capacity of a child, despite his immense powers. This means he acts out in destructive ways when he throws temper tantrums. His attention is fleeting, making him upset and bored easily. He hasn’t developed the full capacity to empathize with others, causing him to take out his anger without a full understanding of the consequences on others. The fact that he’s innocent while causing such immense chaos leads to divisive opinions in a way that’s easy to appreciate. He isn’t simple or one-dimensional.
Moreover, Hale Appleman’s acting also elevates the character’s appeal. Throughout the entirety ofThe Magiciansseason 4, Appleman bounces back and forth between playing Eliot and Nameless, two vastly different characters. Small choices likevocal tone and body posture help solidify Nameless’ naivetywhile differentiating him from Eliot.
1Plum Merritt Chatwin (Riann Steele)
The Magicians season 5 introduces an interesting new set of students atBrakebills University, and Plum Merritt Chatwin is by far the most exciting addition. Plum is a specific subset of Traveler who can move through time, adding a unique twist on the hybrid species shown throughout the series. Because they share their ability to teleport,Plum’s presence forces Penny to step up as a mentor, really embracing his role as a professor. This is one of the most interesting dynamics since Penny 23 entered the 40th timeline.
Even taking Penny out of the equation, though, Plum Merritt Chatwin is an extremely likable character due to her plucky spirit, her dry humor, and her no-nonsense attitude. She might be afraid of her legacy as a Chatwin, but she’s willing to face her issues head-on – a trait she picked up from her mother, Jane Chatwin. Ultimately,The Magicians’ exploration of the Chatwins’ next generation is fun to watch, thanks to the compelling new character.
