A Meeting of Misfits is the first episode of season 23, Misfits and Magic Season 2.
Intro[]
It's been three years, and it hasn't just been three years for all of us. In the world, our world, it has been three years since the events that we last left off with. The Lulling, our holiday moment halfway through your seventh and final year at the Gowpenny Academy, and a lot has changed. Your epilogues spoke to community, spoke to sharing the truth of the nature of magic with the wide world of NAMPs. Still feels bad to say. And in the intervening time, a couple things have happened. At first, no one believed you. No one believed the leaks, the PDFs that were spread, this strange truth that feels like a fad on TikTok, that anyone was capable of magic if they just tried, if they read a little book, if they made a little wand. No one was pulling it off, and then eventually, a couple people figured something out. People started to believe it, and more and more people figured out how to do small bits, cantrips, party tricks, but it was true. Magic was real, and anyone could do it, and there was a segment of the population, hidden, that always knew that. And then something incredible happened a year and a half in, and magic broke. Now, for the regular people in the world, the NAMPs, non-active magical persons, this is an unremarked moment. Nothing changed. Magic was always hard to pull off. It was chaotic, it wasn't understood. But for the wizards of this world, for the people that were raised inside of this, nothing was reliable. All of their lives sheltered away were for naught, because magic could no longer support their admittedly overly whimsical society. So things started to fall apart, and our pilot program, the proof of concept at Gowpenny, moved back. You graduated, or left and never returned, and lived your lives.
Synopsis[]
Whitney Jammer[]
Three years after our last encounter with The Misfits, Whitney Jammer is in Chicago, Illinois, playing basketball at Roosevelt University. He left Gowpenny after The Lulling, and did not return to graduate, as the refusal to let him go home for the holidays left a bad taste in his mouth. He is generally doing well, and has a successful career in his athletics. While Jammer has talked about going to magical school, and his general affiliation with magic, most of his friends make fun of him when he does, or don’t seem that interested, so he doesn’t mention his time at Gowpenny too much. On this day, his team has just completed some charity work for an after-school center on the south side of Chicago, called LEEP, Let’s Explore Every Possibility, for inner city youth. It is a program where children are given a place to study, access tutors, arts, extracurriculars, and due to the events of the last three years, study a bit of magic, which Jammer was able to help with.
While it is the university’s purview to attend the program once a month or so, Jammer spends a significant amount of time here. Jewel Moran, an older woman that works at LEEP, comes up to him, praises him for his attendance, and how much the kids love him, and offers him a summer job. Jammer says he is interested, and a little kid, Greg, also known as Boog, comes up and Jammer pulls out Spalding to entertain him, which he tells people is an AI basketball from Temu. A friend and teammate of Jammer’s, Aaron Brooks-Park approaches him, who asks him how it’s possible for Spalding to work as he does, and Jammer plays it off. Aaron doesn’t quite believe him, and mentions that his sister, Hester, has been asking him to ask Jammer about magic. There is a tense moment where both men acknowledge Jammer’s attraction to Hester, and that she reciprocates, and Jammer denies he would do anything during the season, and Aaron requests that he wait until he graduates. Aaron continues on, asking Jammer if he does magic “for real.” Jammer asks him what that means, and confirms that he has done magic in the past. Aaron asks Jammer to perform some magic for him, and agrees to do so, as long as he doesn’t record him.
Unfortunately, since magic is more chaotic than usual, Jammer’s attempts to move a few toys with his wand fails, and he plays it off. As he and Aaron argue about magic, Aaron notices a paper bird flying around the room: a message for Jammer. Due to breaking his toe earlier in the year, and his general worry over getting an injury, he is unable to grab the message before Aaron does, who declares he wants magic, attempting to turn the paper into a wand. Struggling not to swear in front of children, they leave the room to continue their discussion outside. Aaron gives Jammer the paper, and he feels the connection to the magic, and the paper unfolds itself. Dr. Norman Boodle has written him a letter asking for help, inviting him to the Faroe Islands, informing him that “everyone” will be there, with a code for business class plane tickets. Aaron looks up the location, and tells Jammer that it’s next to Iceland, and asks if he’s allowed to come with him. Since there is only one ticket, Jammer will be going alone, and assents, since his spring break is coming up. Aaron agrees that the paper bird was magic, and confesses that he’s tried to do magic several times, but it never worked for him. Jammer comforts him, and Aaron bids him goodbye, and leaves Jammer to sit with his mixed feelings on returning to the magical world.
K Tanaka[]
Outside of Zagreb, Croatia, K Tanaka, who ended up graduating from Gowpenny, lives in an Airstream trailer alone, save for her familiar, Theodore. Online, they are known as Itsy Bitsy Spider, the patron saint of digital hedge mazes, helping people access magic. Constantly on the run, they move their trailer every now and then, living a nomadic lifestyle. K is so prolific online, never leaving their screens, there is a belief that they are actually a network of people working tirelessly. Teddy breaks them out of their trance, clearly worse for wear, asking to make them a cup of tea, begging to take a break, noting there are already four untouched mugs of tea around. K complains that the wifi signal isn’t great outside of the trailer, but Teddy insists, going slightly insane from being inside all of the time, and the isolation. They head outside, and Teddy expresses concern for them, and he scratches them, unable to cope. Stepping outside, K notes that they have been inside, uninterrupted online, for four days. Unfamiliar with the town they’re in, K notes how no one seems to recognize them. Teddy heads inside to make tea, and K feels uncomfortable being out in the open, and pulls out some knitting needles to make a tiny sweater. Their watch begins to buzz, and while nothing new, anxiety begins to build as they are inundated as messages are sent that governments are beginning to figure out ways to deal with magic, with entire cults and groups of people trying to build systems to gain or restrict magic.
Looking forward, K sees something on the horizon, suspicious of it being a drone, but as they wait, knitting a full pantsuit, realizes that it is a piece of paper, landing on their outstretched hand. Also feeling the connection to magic, the note unfolds, and it’s another letter from Dr. Boodle, asking them to come to the Faroe Islands to help as well, noting that it had been difficult to find them. K turns around, noticing that Teddy cannot get back into the trailer by himself, since he is too short to reach the handle. They inform him that they’ll be going to the Faroe Islands, and Teddy connects with the letter as well, noting he also misses magic. Teddy expresses excitement that they’ll be going outside, and meeting with their friends again, but then implies that they might see Evan again, wondering if that will be okay. K, whose relationship with Evan has since dissolved, thinks that it should be alright.
Sam Britain[]
In Shepherd’s Bush, a suburb of London, in the BBC studios, Sam Britain prepares for a filming of her TV show on BBC Four, “Britain’s Got Magic.” Life has gone well for her since graduating from Gowpenny, and while her show is not particularly well-known, it has a massive online following. Jamie Thorp, her producer, who had been planning to retire before the surprise smash hit of the show, is mostly tasked with managing Sam. In her makeup chair, he approaches her, trying to steer her away from last-minute changing the episode into a musical, especially not without clearing it with the guests, or himself. Sam manages to charm her way out of the oncoming scolding, and he agrees to allow her to sing, with her guests Tony Danza, and Jameela Jamil. Sam then adds that there will be twenty songs, and Jamie informs the rest of the cast, who are unhappy with this change of events, but he tanks the anger for her, and says that it is his job to help her succeed, as most of her ideas seem to work. Sam mentions that T2 is helping with wardrobe, which confuses Jamie, but he lets it pass. He expresses some more confusion at her success, and steps away, sending in her assistant, Dawn. Dawn, a would-be content creator, comes up and runs some ideas by her, asking to work with T2 on a video. Sam argues that T2 doesn’t like being told what to do, but she says she’ll ask T2 to hold on doing her taxes for now, and that they can put Dawn on the next episode. Dawn apologizes for forgetting her coffee and dry cleaning, but as Sam keeps piling on things for Dawn to do, potentially in today’s episode, she gets stage fright, and declines to do it today, handing off her mail and running away.
Sam, discouraged by Dawn’s inability to connect with her despite her attempts, notices that one of the papers in her mail twitches on its own. The paper bird slips out from her bills, injured, and hops into Sam’s hand. Sam attempts to talk to it, but it unfolds into a letter from Dr. Boodle. The offer is the same: come to the Faroe Islands, her friends from Gowpenny will be there, and please come help, with a plane ticket. Sam is somewhat disappointed by the prospect of business class, but realizes that she’ll have to skip most of her show that evening. She starts her show off with a song, and when Tony Danza joins her, she heads out.
Evan Kelmp[]
In Glasgow, Evan Kelmp comes into a little apartment, everything covered in tape and labels, denoting where his furniture sits. He takes a little better care of himself now, able to get regular haircuts, and dressing plainly, as he was tired of experimenting with his appearance. He works at a petrol station, his uniform being his only clothing that isn’t black. He checks his security cameras, and he uses his shadow to unpack his Bag of Holding, which repopulates the room with his belongings. He fills up his air mattress, putting up his Chimeron pennant. For some time last week, he has been running errands for Dr. Boodle and David Stitchnit, moving things around the Faroe Islands and Iceland, and communicating with what is left of Tunavik. Keeping busy, he boots up Fortnite, and scrolls on Tiktok until he cannot fight the urge to sleep. Sensing an intruder, Evan is suspicious, notices a paper petrel, reminding him of how Gowpenny broke while he had been working there as a custodian, earthquakes shaking it apart. Quickly, the wizarding community fell apart, with the owls losing their enchantments, and therefore unable to deliver mail. The previous message spell they had learned didn’t work for longer distance messages, and with Boodle, developed the paper bird spell. The bird, knowing how Evan attacks anything that comes into his space, approaches warily. Evan apologizes, and invites it in, and the note is very brief, as Boodle and him have stayed in contact.
Suðuroy[]
Evan packs up, loads up on his broom, gearing up for a long journey, including a raincoat, and takes off. As he leaves, the paper bird hitches a ride on his broom, and partway through the journey, it begins to rain, although the bird manages to stay dry. Evan arrives at the southernmost of the Faroe Islands, in a town called Sumba, on the southern tip of Suðuroy, where Boodle has been living with Stitchnit. Evan and he greet each other warmly, with Boodle noting that he’d sent Evan a plane ticket, but Evan says that he can’t really get on a plane, as he doesn’t have a valid passport, and his identification is all forged. Boodle chastises him for always carrying weapons, although it seems to be a point of contention between them. Boodle offers him a meal, explaining that Stitchnit is off with his daughter Maddie, looking at colleges in the United States. Boodle expresses his frustrations with parenthood, unfamiliar with the task, and asks Evan to explain his distaste for college. Evan explains that a college diploma is a predictor for success, but that there are other economic factors to do with it, explaining the real reasons to go. Boodle asks him if a valid reason would be that their society has crumpled, and that she should learn Namp things. Evan agrees, and Boodle says he can’t really provide a good life for her since there is no more wizard society.
Boodle makes Evan a sandwich, and they wait for the other Misfits to arrive. He and Evan chat, and he notes that negotiations aren’t going well with Boudicca Philtrum, and implies the task ahead of them is to have a conversation with her. They go to the airport to pick up the others, and Boodle thanks him for being loyal and helping through this time, but there needs to be more done to fix this. During the drive, Evan notices Boodle’s desperation, and grows more nervous, trying to distract himself. They arrive at the airport, and the other three arrive on a small plane, having had to take several small flights to get there. Together again after four years, Jammer laments that there wasn’t any champagne on the flight, then sees Evan, giving him a hug, and Evan expresses sorrow for the lack of champagne. K unplugs from their headset, and tells Jammer they’ve been keeping up with his basketball stats. K and Sam greet each other, and Sam greets Jammer, asking if he gets to play with Angel Reese. Jammer says no, but says he loves Sam’s show, and that the latest clip of Tony Danza singing by himself was hilarious. Sam asks Evan if he’s been settling in well, and Evan and K have an awkward reunion. Despite K’s anti-surveillance makeup, it is clear to Sam that their air of casualness is an act. Boodle loads all of their luggage into the trunk, and rushes them into the car, making it clear that they’re in a hurry. They drive for a while, and Boodle tells them that despite the rain, they’ll get on a boat.
The Storm[]
Jammer tells K that they stink, in case they are unaware, and K thanks him for that honesty. Boodle avoids the conversation, taking them to the boat, and while motorized, there is no cover, so they are quickly inundated with the rain. They head to a bunch of sea stacks, and Boodle points out a special one, that is wider than the others, with an archway. It’s called “Serpent’s Watch,” and Boodle pulls out his wand, attempting to cast a spell, but it doesn’t work. He tries again, and again, and finally it works, and he maneuvers their boat to look properly into the arch, creating a telescope effect, zooming in to show them that Gowpenny exists in the middle of the storm. The storm, hundreds of miles across, also contains other islands, with people that were living there when it happened, and some others went there, drawn there by the magic. Additionally, it seems only magical items can pass through the storm, such as the magical birds, but the boat they are on, which is not magical, cannot pass through. Boodle explains that he’s been sending messages in, trying to convince the people there, including Philtrum, to stop focusing on reclaiming the magic that was, but to attempt to figure out how to use whatever is left. He asks the four to go in there on his behalf, and try to convince Philtrum to change her mind, or at least to convince the other people living there to try something else.
Sam asks if, since her clothes are not magical, if she heads in there, if her clothes will disappear, and K asks about electronics. Boodle insists that those things will survive the journey, and Evan thanks Sam for asking the question, because he was thinking the same thing. Jammer asks if it will be dangerous, and Boodle says he isn’t sure, but it’s possible. Boodle apologizes, revealing to them that they were brought to Gowpenny because everyone thought they were the worst candidates for the job, which hurts them to know that even Boodle, their greatest ally, felt the same way. Evan chastises him, saying that he has no right to judge Jammer for his basketball shorts, since wizard societies didn’t have toilets. Boodle, wanting to avoid the conversation, heads with them back to the mainland for the next step, despite not all of them agreeing to his plan. Evan sends his job at the petrol station a forged hospital note so that he won’t lose his job in the meantime. Jammer expresses discomfort with the mission, having thought he was coming for a nice vacation, and Boodle cuts in, saying this should only take a few days. Sam calls Jamie, and poorly explains the situation, and tells him to have Tony Danza take over the show for a few days. K takes over the phone call, and tells Jamie to run a clip show, which Jamie mentions they actually have one, in case Sam dies. Sam, surprised to hear this, attempts to ask about it, but Jamie hangs up before he has to answer. K, still in the boat, takes a moment to push some updates live, so followers online will have something to do while they’re gone. Teddy apologizes for K’s behavior, and that they’ll be occupied doing this for a while.
Jammer is amused by Teddy, telling Teddy how adorable he finds him, and Teddy explains other cute things he does. Back at the dock, Boodle apologizes for not believing in them the first time, but he believes in them now, and reveals to them a strange vehicle with four seats, with pedals, reminding some of them of a pedal pub. Boodle explains that the things that were made before magic broke, are still functional, although most of the things that have been leftover, have been taken and recycled in an attempt to make something new. This vehicle is magical, and hasn’t been destroyed, so they can use it to traverse the storm. In the center of it, there seems to be an orrery, which Boodle explains seems to be a map. He can’t operate it alone, since it takes four, and he says the mission isn’t a failure if they don’t manage to convince Philtrum. Boodle also reveals Tabby, two pieces of stone that he managed to grab as he was leaving Gowpenny, sitting in the orrery, and he wants them to deliver this to Philtrum. He suggests that if Philtrum can’t be convinced, she can possibly be bribed. He also says Tabby is stubborn, and is difficult to turn on, but that it is a resource. Tabby turns on, and Jammer says he’s uncomfortable with it having the ability to talk, although Evan points out that they just talked to a chipmunk. Tabby says, “I understand,” and turns back off.
Boodle says that the rock certainly understands, and has a lot of information, having been from part of the castle that was very old, that turned up when everything was breaking. He reiterates the mission to attempt to convince people to figure out the new magic, and that Tabby can possibly help them as a resource of information. Jammer asks for a team meeting, and says that it’s a weird situation, although the others are interested in Tabby. They briefly talk about Sam’s show with Tony Danza, and Evan reiterates the mission to Boodle, although he is skeptical about the plan, asking what the actual plan is, rather than just a piece of it. Boodle says that if they cannot convince Philtrum, Tabby has told him that there is something at Gowpenny that might help them understand the new magic, which they could then share with the world. As they try to convince Jammer to do the mission, they all feel their connection to magic lessen, and Evan says that something important in the world is dying. While it doesn’t sound like a good idea, he thinks it is their best idea. They touch the handles on the vehicle, which took their magic to run itself, and it begins to move, and they peddle to make it work.
Jammer asks if anyone can see where they’re going, but all of them are facing each other. They try to talk to Tabby, and note that one of the two stones hasn’t done anything. They try to communicate with it in different ways, but nothing seems to work. Eventually, they land somewhere where the storm isn’t touching, finding themselves on an island covered in lava, rumbling with seismic activity.
Locations[]
- Chicago, Illinois
- Roosevelt University
- LEEP
- Zagreb, Croatia
- London, UK
- Sumba, Faroe Islands
Characters[]
The Magical Misfits[]
New[]
- Jewel Moran
- Boog Moran
- Aaron Brooks-Park
- Jamie Thorp
- Dawn
- Tony Danza
- Tabby
Returning[]
Mentioned[]
- Hester Brooks-Park
- Boudicca Philtrum