Series (sigh)
I'm tempted to say the biggest obstacle to my enjoyment of this first season was the fact that I enjoyed the books, but that may be unnecessarily mean.
In truth, I actually enjoyed the pilot episode: yes, the angst came on a little strong, some of the more elaborate flourishes from the book were dulled down, and I get the distinct impression that it was being dramatically sexed up. I mean, don't get me wrong, the novels had plenty of angst and sex, but it wasn't brought up this early.
Other than that, it was actually a pretty good start: the introduction to Brakebills, the world of Fillory, the magic in action, the arrival of the Beast, and Eliot's snarky charm - all did a magnificent job of hooking me in.
Then I started watching the other episodes, and things started going wrong.
For one thing, the Beast was dealt with a little too easily. For another, the blue filter on scenes taking place in the "real" world really started to grate after a while. The show seemed to add in so many complications where there were none in the book, just for the sake of amping up the drama. Some of the more impressive moments from the book were erased, making the characters seem like underachievers. The angst seemed a little ridiculous at times - for along with all the deaths, cancer and heartbreak that were crammed in, there's one instance I cannot help but draw attention to:
in the books, the "magic comes from pain" lecture was Dean Fogg's theory on the subject; here, "magic comes from pain" is treated as a statement of fact and in one case even used as a reason for certain spells working at all. This is Torchwood-level angst right here, and it's a little hard to take seriously.
But I could have lived with it - after all, the performances were still good, the magical atmosphere was well-maintained, Eliot, the Beast and Mayakovsky were portrayed perfectly, and I even warmed up to Penny and Margot. I could have lived with it...
...if the characters hadn't turned into such colossal assholes. Again, don't get me wrong: they were plenty immature in the books, but they never went this far so readily. They didn't cross the line into villainy.
Suffice it to say that the final straw was when Julia betrayed the group and nearly got everyone killed during what should have been the final battle with the Beast. This was clearly meant to be the moment the show diverged from the books and went its own way, but after this, I didn't have any reason to care.
I'm told that the show really takes off in season 2 and 3, when it stops following the books. But if that's the case, then why did the show need to jump through so many hoops to get to what it was good at?
Series [Seasons 1-3, Spoiler-Free] A great concept that takes time to find its footing.
I started watching this show because it seemed I was exactly the demographic to do so — a grad-school-aged young adult who grew up on fantasy fiction. And maybe it's because of that that I can forgive the characters many things, despite how unlikable they initially start out as and how many frustrating/questionable decisions they make. Because it's true — I wasn't initially attached to the angsty characters with all their hang-ups, and even now I have mixed feelings towards some of them. But the premise of deconstructing fantasy series was very compelling and the settings are good all throughout — the trips to the darkly whimsical Fillory are always fun, and the show does urban fantasy very well, mixing mythical creatures with modern-day settings really well ala Percy Jackson, from higher concepts (eg. hedge witches are compared to magical drug dealers) to little details that help the worldbuilding (eg. the Roman god Bacchus is an Instagram influencer, that sort of thing). It helps that the show is immensely self-aware about its fantasy roots and the characters often engage in Conversational Troping. If you've grown somewhat cynical about things like Harry Potter or Narnia, this is worth checking out.
So the show made for decent entertainment even with the relative bumpiness of seasons 1 and 2, even if the plotting was sometimes disjointed and the acting was a mixed bag. For example, Julia's storyline is the best of season 1, but I wasn't a fan of it in season 2, while the Fillory scenes get more entertaining the more invested Eliot and Margo become in ruling it.
However, Season 3 was when the show really stepped up. Putting the Brakebills kids more or less on the same page about The Quest helped wrangle them all and improved the plotting so that it didn't feel as messy, resulting in a story that was exciting and well-paced, with well-balanced character development. There are still some story elements that I personally don't like (such as the Library, which I find rather nebulous and Diabolus ex Machina-y, although I'm sure others would disagree), but overall, it's been solid. I'm looking forward to watching Season 4.
Series [season 1] Glossy and sleek, but burdened by a need to adhere to tropes
The production value is fine-quality and the aesthetics are appealing. The writing is fun and sharp. I enjoy its unique atmosphere; it's not every day you find a good-budget television show that truly commits to depicting young, modern adults alongside high fantasy. The horror elements are fantastic as well.
One of my biggest problems is that the characters can be slotted into neat, easy archetypes. From what I can see, they'll probably become more complex, but I'm only on Season 1 and it drags down an otherwise solid program. I wish more people who wrote fiction in an academic setting didn't feel the need to adhere to every single school/college trope.