Episode Recap: Poached Eggs

So. Julia transferred her powers to Alice and it's not going great, Margo and Eliot are trying to defeat the Queen by stealing fairy eggs, while Quentin and Poppy are roped into that same plan. Got it? And while we’re at it, let’s remember that everyone is on a quest for the seven keys that will return magic to the world(s). There’s a quick side-track when Alice’s body rejects the magic swap (it WAS meant for Julia, after all), so Julia and Fogg concoct a plan to swap it back.

Poppy, Quentin and Penny all come up with a plan to get the key that Benedict took to the underworld when he died. See, there's a dragon called the Bookworm that transfers books between the library where Penny worked and the underworld library. The plan is, Penny will become a book, travel to the underworld, and send the key back up. In order to do that, they'll need the help of another traveler - and that means Victoria (remember her? - she was who the gang saved from Martin Chatwin in Fillory). Victoria says SHE won't help them unless they ALSO enlist the help of Harriet. (Remember her? Marlee Matlin? Sometimes hangs around with Kady?) In order to convince Harriet, the gang is going to need to break Kady out of the insane asylum. So, Quentin and Poppy pretend to be doctors to consult on Kady's case. Instead, Quentin and Poppy totally mess things up and blow their own cover.

Meanwhile, in order to save Alice, Julia devises a plan to steal back her magic powers. And in order to do that, she needs help from Irene McAllister, who bought Brakebills and whose family has limited magic in the form of magic cocaine that’s made from a magical creature. She agrees to help but Julia will owe her a favor in the future. Of Irene’s own choosing. And as anyone who’s watched genre television will tell you – you should never take that deal – but how else would plots move forward? So... Julia does.

Meanwhile, Eliot and Margo hide all the fairy eggs they’d stolen back at the cottage and tell Todd to keep an eye on them (what could go wrong?). Then, they tell the Fairy Queen she has 24 hours to hand over her bathtub so all of the Fillorians can see her, thereby mostly ending her reign of terror over them. Fray, outsmarting Todd (not hard!) and angry that her father has stolen fairy eggs, tells her mother that she's furious about it. Fen talks Fray into trusting that Eliot did this for a good reason. It seems to work, but..totally doesn’t because Fray tells the Fairy Queen about Eliot and Margo's betrayal.

Now that she knows where the eggs are, The Fairy Queen wants them back unharmed, so she poses a deal: they don't hurt the eggs and she won't hurt Fray. In a heroic act, Fray confesses: she's not Eliot and Fen’s daughter. Turns out, their daughter died in childbirth. Fray is just a human working with the Fairies. Without leverage, the Queen is forced to accept their deal. But Fen is devastated.

Back on earth, a lot is going down. Quentin and Poppy create a distraction in the mental institution, Penny and Kady have a heart-to-heart about how much they love each other, and he helps her break out. Kady convinces Harriet to help them with their insane plan to steal a key from the underworld library. Now, thing is, Harriet's a freedom fighter who wants ALL magical books and information free to everyone. So, she also has a stake in this. All THAT happens while Alice learns that if she becomes a vampire, she can hang onto magic powers altogether. Julia saves her from that plan, and that leads to a MAGIC FEUD that ends with Julia unconscious. Somehow, that ends up bonding them, and Alice gives Julia back her powers.

Poppy and Quentin have sex. Because that's how she's decided to short circuit his panic attacks. Also, the Queen double-crosses Margo and Eliot and they find themselves in the midst of an uprising. See, the people of Fillory are TIRED of humans being rulers. It only has ever led to problems. And they want justice. Violent, frightening justice.