Episode Recap: The Rattening

Continuing their quest to reunite Julia with her shade, Julie and Quentin think they’ve cracked a way to get into the Underworld. The search to find an Ancient One (more commonly known as a DRAGON!) leads them into the sewers of New York City. In exchange for passage to and from the Underworld, they find they must leave behind the Fillory button. Because he promised he’d do anything to help reunite his best friend with her shade, Quentin hands over the button and just like that - our friends are transported to The Underworld. They have 24 hours to find the shade or the Dragon will eat their carcasses. Because duh. Dragon.

Meanwhile in Fillory, Eliot is getting antsy about his impending throuple nuptials with King Idri of Loria and Fen (who can’t be found anywhere but that’s probably because of Margo’s deal with the Fairies). Soon King Idri arrives and he tells Eliot that he doesn’t need all the pomp and circumstance of a royal wedding. Things get a little heated and end abruptly when King Idri and many others in the castle are turned into rats. Yup. Rats.

While all this is going down, Penny is still serving his time at the Neitherlands Library in exchange for the librarians' help in re-teaching him how to cast spells. Because he spends so much time there, he only really gets to see Kady when she’s asleep and he travels into her mind. They’re still plotting to 1) Get into the Poison Room so they can find the book on how to kill a god, and 2) Track Senator Gaines.

Down in the Underworld, nobody is terribly helpful, but Julia decides to hook up with some of her old friends: The Freetraders! Her hedgewitch buddies who were killed by Reynard. The gang’s all there, even Richard, whose body is being inhabited by Reynard back on Earth. The team gives Julia and Quentin the lay of the Underworld land, but unfortunately don’t know where the shades are kept. However, Richard has a plan: he’ll distract the bellhops in the Underworld lobby and cause a scene, distracting the staff long enough for Quentin and Julia to discover that the disjointed shades are kept at the House of Hades and Persephone, the missing creators of The Underworld.

Julia and Quentin head to the other side of the Underworld and come upon the house filled with disconnected shades, who always take the shape of a person’s inner child. It’s actually kind of adorable: a house filled with kids who use their magic to perform miracles back on Earth. As they search around, Julia makes a pretty shocking discovery: Our Lady Underground is real! Julia get’s super angry now. Why didn’t Our Lady show up for them?!

Back at the Neitherlands Library, Penny has decided that the best way to get into the Poison Room is to look through the head librarian’s book. With the help of Sylvia, a fellow library worker who's kind of a smartass and is the daughter of a magical mob boss back on Earth, he get’s her name: Zelda! Unfortunately, Zelda’s book has been moved to…you guessed it! The Poison Room! But Sylvia is determined to get in there, too.

Back in Fillory, Eliot decides to “trufie” (truth-roofie) his closest advisors to see what they’ve been holding back about the magic weirdness that’s going on. Turns out the royal advisors have been up to shady business but nothing that would cause all this mayhem. Then Margo opens her mouth and drops it all. Fen, the Fairies, the deal, the kidnapping. In a rage, Eliot sends Margo to the dungeon. When Eliot decides he needs more help in the form of Dukes, he chooses to hold free elections. Thus ending his reign and sending him back to Brakebills. In the dungeon, Margo schemes to go to the Fairy realm and get Fen back. She takes a potion and just like that is whisked away. Fingers crossed she makes it back alive!

Now then, let’s talk about Senator Gaines, who’s not happy that his whole life has been a lie. He goes head to head with his father Reynard, who lets slip some VERY interesting info. He used to know Our Lady Underground. She left him behind and that’s why he shows up and kills people who try to invoke her. AND it’s actually possible that he once LOVED her. What? Twist!

After much searching, Julia and Quentin find Julia’s shade! And also – ALICE’s shade! Apparently, when Alice turned niffin, her shade was disconnected and sent to Elysium and now there she is, standing in front of Quentin. So heartbreaking, but they have to go. Even though it’s DEFINITELY against the rules, Quentin and Julia escape – but not before Julia steals Alice’s shade. Pretty sure there are going to be some serious repercussions for that. Living for it!