The Magicians' series finale felt like it was trying to make the best of a bad situation

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"This was not supposed to be the end and you can tell," says Beth Elderkin of this week's Season 5 finale. "Syfy’s announcement that they wouldn’t renew The Magicians after five seasons seems to have left the showrunners scrambling to complete season-long and series-long arcs in one 45-minute episode. The result is a series trying to make the best of a bad situation, with a rushed final episode that still leaves us on the promise of something more. 'Fillory and Further' should have been a TV movie. It’s the only way they would’ve been able to get through the three or more episodes worth of storylines needed to close out The Magicians the way this awesome show deserved. This whole episode moves by at breakneck speed, powering through major reveals and landmark moments with barely a moment to react before moving onto the next. It’s hard to say how much of this was as a result of needing to finish the convoluted story arc built up over the course of season five and how much was added to make it a series finale, but I’d guess it’s about 50/50." ALSO: The Magicians' finale was just about perfect.