The Magicians-Episode 5

In the penultimate episode of The Magicians, we had another impressive array of tricks, including a unique taste test, a disappearing donkey, and a portal to America. But who won and who ended up having to do another dangerous forfeit?

Pete Firman + Arlene Phillips (Choreographer/ Former Strictly Come Dancing Judge)

LIVE GRAND: Arlene got into a box with a compressible inside, which Pete put two brooms into and compressed, revealing the box to be empty. Arlene then appeared in the audience. A simple but solid trick with good presentation, though not great.

LIVE CLOSE: Pete vanished a signed card and made it appear beneath a volunteer. Said volunteer was posing as the magician, and the cards Pete used were too large to palm easily. A very hard trick to figure out.

STREET GRAND: On Weymouth beach, Pete and Arlene made a donkey vanish in a tent and reappear on the pier. Another clever trick, which was amusing and quirky.

STREET CLOSE: In an arcade, Pete and Arlene vanished a volunteer's ring and made it appear in a randomly chosen rubber duck. I like it, but the English seaside theme had already been used in Pete's donkey trick, making it a bit boring.

Barry and Stuart + John Torrode and Greg Wallace (Masterchef judges)

LIVE GRAND: A large scale version of the find-the-pea hustle game, where Barry and Stuart had a volunteer try and pick which of three giant cups had Greg's head under it. However, after a few games of it, Greg's head had vanished, and it was revealed that Greg had vanished completely from the cabinet the cups were on top of, to be replaced by John. Greg was in a nearby crate. It is a trick that is far better to watch then describe, and very hard to figure out.

LIVE CLOSE: A meh interactive trick, where they did the "Take x steps in this direction to a (Not actually) random choice" effect, and predicted the foodstuff chosen using this method with a fake barcode.

STREET GRAND: At the Tate Modern, Barry, Stuart and Greg vanished a volunteer's iPhone. It appeared in a bag held by John, who was suspended in a harness above the building. Very hard to figure out.

STREET CLOSE: At London's Medieval banquet, Greg mentally conferred the taste of food he was eating into the mouth of a blindfolded volunteer with only a stick of plain chewing gum in her mouth. A very original and effective trick.

Jason Latimer + Phill Tufnell (Cricketer and TV Personality)

LIVE GRAND: Latimer and Phill Did a walking-through-a-mirror trick, then produced a volunteer's distant cousin (Who lived in America). Another talking point trick. Whilst it was clear the volunteer was not chosen at random, the trick was still impressive, with the sides and base of the mirror being seemingly too narrow to accommodate a person.

LIVE CLOSE: A chosen card vanished from a deck and appeared in Latimers pocket. Latimer was in a glass booth for the whole trick. Not hard to figure out, but well presented.

STREET GRAND: Latimer and Phill  had a volunteer choose part of a specially painted mural, then revealed a correct prediction in a variety of ways: In a sealed canvas,on a cup, on a shirt... The one problem was the volunteer claiming to be unimpressed at the end (She felt she should have chosen a more distinct part of the mural). However, we can still tell she was amazed by it!

STREET CLOSE: Latimer linked rings worn by three volunteers in a wineglass. He unlinked them, then passed one onto the stem of a wineglass. Wow!

Who were the guests?

Les Chapeux Blancs, a French magic combining mime, black lights and imagination to perform a string of unique levitations, appearances, and vanishes. Best guest appearance so far!

What were the results?

Latimer got his second win, but Pete and Arlene were less lucky, having to do the forfeit, which this time, was pretty spectacular. An archer shot an arrow off Arlene's head, William Tell Style. If that wasn't enough, he did it on a revolving platform, as well as catching Arlene's ring, which he put in the apple, on the arrow. Cool.

NEXT WEEK: In the final episode of the series, streetdancer George Sampson, Comedian Ed Byrne, and TV personality Joe Swash join The Magicians. But will Barry and Stuart or Latimer get the most wins this series? And who will do the forfeit?