When I found out Practical Magic 2 was happening, I was over the moon. When I found out Maisie Williams, aka my all-time Game of Thrones fave Arya Stark, was going to be in it, my excitement soared. It marks the actress’s first big role in years, and her role as the daughter of Sally Owens is genius casting. Then I saw Practical Magic 2, and just like many of the fans, I liked it way more than critics did. I just wish Williams' character got more to do. Then, I picked up the book, and I was even more frustrated.
Maisie Williams Didn’t Have Much To Do In Practical Magic 2
First off, I need to rant for a second about Antonia Owens. In a movie that does an incredible job of giving its original sisters, Joey King’s Kylie, and even the aunts a lot to do, it sure does shortchange Antonia. It felt like she was only a doctor so she could be in the scenes with Kylie’s boyfriend Gideon, as she stays back and babysits him while Kylie, Gilly and Sally go on a witchy adventure in England.
Even though Antonia is dealing with the realization that she’s a witch, and that her mom lied to her and Kylie their whole lives, she never gets to have any room to explore any of it. Since I knew this was one of this year’s book-to-screen adaptations, I figured there was a lot more for her in Alice Hoffman’s novel, and I was right.
Antonia’s Storyline In The Book Of Magic
In Hoffman’s fourth Practical Magic novel, Book of Magic, Antonia is actually pregnant, but not with the father of her baby, with her gay best friends Scott and Joel. Following the death of Jet, she has a bit of a meet-cute when she meets Ariel, the granddaughter of their family lawyer. She’s instantly taken aback by Ariel, and the pair go on a date and even share a kiss.
In the context of The Book of Magic, why Antonia stays back and doesn’t go with her sister to break the curse just makes a lot more sense. Deciding not to travel when you’re expecting just offers a more plausible reason than the movie gives us. I also like that she starts to fall in love just as Kylie is trying to break the curse.
There’s another aspect to the novel I haven’t mentioned yet. Antonia is also pivotal in figuring out one missing piece that’s needed to break the Owens family curse. I much prefer the source material when it comes to Antonia’s plotline, but I assume the filmmakers felt juggling the four main characters was too much.
Even though Antonia Owens didn’t get enough to do, I am very happy Practical Magic 2 exists, and that it became the first movie to dethrone Spider-Man: Brand New Day at the box office when it hit theaters. Here’s hoping Maisie Williams’ next role is front and center because I want to see her in more big films!
