Episode Recap: A Flock of Lost Birds

OK, where were we? In last Season’s finale, magic was once again flowing thanks to the heroics of the team. Dean Fogg got to reopen Brakebills, though now on a magic ration from the Head Librarian. And that Librarian has trapped Alice for breaking their deal. The rest of the group is back on Earth with no memory of their past magical
selves. Alice keeps warning Fogg that the monster from the castle will escape by
jumping bodies – and even the gods are afraid of that. And, in fact, the power has
overtaken Eliot.

First up is a woman named Kimber D’Antoni, who chases a congratulations note and
arrives at Brakebill’s for an admission test. And when Dean Fogg looks through his
spyglass, it’s Julia underneath Kimber’s appearance.

The Head Librarian, aka Zelda, delivers bacon to Alice in jail and Kafka’s "Metamorphosis". She then leaves and meets up with Fogg, who goes through
the new student list. Zelda approves of his list, including the new student. And he is
updated on Alice.

Kady is a cop named Sam, a narcotics officer who tenaciously follows a perp, sees a
memorable tattoo, investigates it -- and soon her efficient googling shorts out her
computer. Then even writing down the info causes things around her to fail – lights
burning out, spilled coffee. When the suspect starts to follow her, things get weird. Why
is he talking about charms and spells? Before she can ask him much of anything, he
runs off and gets hit by a truck.

Margo is a hella-rude fashion editor named Janet. And in a dream at her desk, she sees Ember, God of Fillory. He is there to warn her that evil is afoot and she needs to fix things. She wakes up, puts on an amazing eye patch, and is soon confronted by Julia. Kady/Sam found a comic all about her life, and it intersects with Margo/Janet’s. She knows it’s crazy, but their lives are in the comic and she wants them to work together to find the other characters in there.

Someone is talking to Alice, cell-to-cell. She wants him to go away, but he can’t
because ...jail. The Librarians have imprisoned him because he was into helping children and using elves to do it. His story makes him out to be Santa Claus, and he lets Alice know that she’s on the nice list and that everything is going to be OK because at her core, she is not a bad person.

Saint Nick's encouragement doesn't sooth Alice. She attempts suicide and is taken to the infirmary. It looks like a stunt to find a way out. A roach crawls across the floor, so she scrambles for it and puts it in her mouth. Yep, her mouth. Zelda tells her how being there is an opportunity – that Alice might go further than anyone she has known and has the ability to work for the Order. Then Alice heads back to her cell, and sneaks the roach into a bowl from her food tray.

Kim/Julia talks to Fogg about her progress. Everyone else got their Discipline, and she
didn’t. Fogg explains that there was a student he once rejected that was just like her,
and he didn’t protect her, and he doesn’t want to make that mistake again.

Kady/Sam and Margo/Janet have met up with Penny/DJ Hansel and Josh/Isaac. He is
struggling with their belief that magic is real, but Penny/DJ Hansel has embraced it with his super-chill DJ personality. Margo/Janet suggests that they try to find the author of the book, James Tiberius R. Martin. Then Marina (Marina! ‘Member her! Season 1 and a little of Season 2!) shows up. She can remember everyone's identities but they don't remember her.

Meanwhile, Eliot/Evil Power is super evil, killing ice cream men when he thinks they
forgot the sprinkles. And he’s got Quentin/Brian at his side, accompanying him under
seeming duress. He lets him know that he plans to kill “Brian-Not-Brian”'s friends, even
though Quentin/Brian does not know what he is talking about.

Back with Marina and the gang, Marina casts a spell on them and ou heroes true identities are almost revealed, but instead they pass out.

Unconscious, Margo/Janet sees Ember again in a dream. He complains that she still
hasn’t fixed what’s wrong in Fillory, and she shouts that she isn’t even there, she’s in
NYC! So he sends her straight to Fillory. Now she’s alone in a forest in Fillory, and kind
of panicking. 

What’s next?!