'Magicians' Season 4 Spoilers: One Beloved, Bloodthirsty Character Is Gone
"She's a very in demand actress."
by Corey PlanteFillorians might be disappointed to find that everyone’s favorite bloodthirsty talking animal, Her Flealessness Abigail the Sloth, won’t return to The Magicians Season 4.
“We have a lot of stuff this season with Tick Pitwick in Fillory,” actress Brittany Curran, who plays Fen, tells Inverse. “We’re always with Tick and Rafe — but not Abigail the Sloth.”
Curran explained the change during a set visit in November, noting that with High King Margo placed under a spell that erased her memories and identity, Fen is left as acting high king at the start of Season 4. Tick and Rafe assist in running the kingdom of Fillory, but Abigail isn’t around to see these shifts in power. However, the real explanation may be a little less magical.
“[She’s] a very in-demand actress,” Curran says. “She’s literally in Toronto on another show.”
The sloth who plays Abigail (real name is “Sassy”) scored a role working elsewhere for the time being, but that doesn’t rule out future appearances in a potential Season 5.
Abigail’s absence was casually predicted back in November by the unofficial Abigail the Sloth Twitter fan account.
But it’s not all cause for tears. As a result of Abigail’s absence, other Fillorian characters like Rafe have risen to the occasion to fill the void.
“Rafe’s had more of a voice this season,” Curran said. “He stands in for her a lot more and is actually speaking for himself more.”
Previously, Rafe mostly functioned as Abigail the Sloth’s page and translator, also serving as Tick’s second-in-command in some capacity. Season 4 leaves room for the character’s role to grow, but the plot also naturally introduces new, unique character pairings. Margo and Fen, for example, develop their relationship as political rivals in Fillory.
“I’m proud of us for that,” Trevor Einhorn, who plays Josh, said of these shifting dynamics. “We’ve become that show that you can sort of pick and choose what characters get their moments … and we even dive into all the other side characters.”
Einhorn’s Josh is yet another character who started out in a fairly minor part that grew into a primary role by Season 3’s musical episode, upgrading from guest star to series regular.
The Magicians Season 4 premieres on Syfy January 23, 2019 at 9 p.m. Eastern.
Watch this brief Season 3 recap to get ready for The Magicians Season 4.
Inverse was invited to attend a set visit event for The Magicians in November 2018. Expenses for the trip were paid for by NBCUniversal.