#Jonathan Black

[disappearinginq]

Scars + Deception?

“You have a lot of scars,” Kay noted absently as Cameron pulled his shirt back over his head, the doctor finished with the stitches down his back.

“I guess,” Cameron shrugged, wincing when it pulled on his wound. “Magic is a dangerous gig. Lots of fire, wires, explosives...rehearsal was always a little tense.”

“I guess it’s one way to tell you and Jonathan apart.” She meant it as a joke, until she saw Cameron stiffen, gaze shifting away from hers.

“Not when Dad was still around, it wasn’t.”

The full horror of the quiet statement sunk in, she felt sick.

[incorrectdeceptionquotes]

I hate to do this to you but...

If Deception had aired in 2023 or 2024, "You Can't Catch Me Now" by Olivia Rodrigo would've been the song in the finale.

Tell me I'm wrong!

[enfernalinferno]

Think I'm coming into the fandom a little late

Click for better quality | my ask box is open for requests

[oldcountrybear1955]

Men Magazine February 1998 - Bobby Johnston - Photographed by Jonathan Black

[abcdeception]

One take I’ve seen which sort of annoys me is this idea that if Jonathan really wanted to leave the show after Sebastian died, he could’ve just told Cam so & then he would’ve been free to live his life as he saw fit. Beyond the fact that we know he did tell Cameron he wanted to stop performing, or at least that he voiced some kind of protest about performing certain shows (from the final episode, Transposition), there’s the point that it’s really fucking difficult to say no to the people you care about.

(^ from Transposition, ~38:54)

From this scene alone we know that Cam had to talk Johnny into continuing to perform after their father passed; it’s obvious that Johnny values his freedom, though, so why did he ever agree to it? Primarily, because his brother asked him to, and he loves Cameron more than he wants to be free (this is true, at least, at the beginning of the show). It’s not as simple as just saying “No”. If that’s the line of logic we’re following, then Jonathan can’t carry any blame for asking Dina to retrieve the files that the FBI were hiding — she simply could’ve refused, right? Cameron, at the very least (and I do mean very least, because their father treated him like shit), got to go out and connect with people as himself. Johnny only ever had Cameron, so to deny his brother anything must’ve seemed impossible. I don’t want to start speculating about how that conversation must’ve gone because it’s counterintuitive to the point I’m trying to make, but I just think this idea (that all Jonathan had to do is tell Cameron he didn’t want to perform) is reductive, and also does a massive disservice to the really complex character dynamics at play in the show

[perthshirecottage]

Been doing another rewatch of this amazing show. I have said before that I don't understand the way the FBI treats Jonathan.

While yes, Jonathan has been convicted of a crime, it was for INVOUNTARY manslaughter. It was something that happened, and that something was very serious and needs to be punished. But the average sentence for involuntary manslaughter is 10-16 MONTHS! This is because the jury understands that it was not premeditated. That it wasn’t even a crime of passion where someone could get so upset that they lose complete control of themselves and can become a danger to those around them. It was making a dumb choice, like drinking alcohol in this case, where another person loses their life. Honestly, by the time the show started, Jonathan should have already been out or close to it at this point. And yet Jonathan was convicted for 10 YEARS! This is not justice, this is retribution. The sentence doesn’t fit the crime. The most likely reason is because he ran, but still, that is an insane amount of time just for panicked running from the scene. I’m sure the prosecutor made Jonathan out to be a horrible person because he hid from the world for 30 years. That he was hiding because it gave him time to torture animals or something equally ridiculous. But Jonathan was not the only one hiding. Cameron, Dina, Gunter, and Jordan were all complicit in that. They just hadn’t broken any laws and therefore no one could punish them. No one wonders if they’re trustworthy because of the lying that they did. Cameron was a part of the secret for as long as Jonathan was.

Once Cameron started working with the FBI, so did Jonathan. Cam often went and asked for Jonathan’s help on making deceptions work. He helps to put away bad guys who are actual criminals who are purposefully going out and murdering multiple people and selling drugs and just doing truly awful things. The FBI even gave Jonathan special privileges to work in one of the visitor’s rooms to solve Bishop’s codes. And when Cameron went missing, the FBI gave a special allowance for Jonathan to get out and help. All of this clued the other prisoners into the fact that Jonathan worked for the Feds. It’s why they hung a rat in his cell and someone tried to shank him. And the guards don't even care. They're against him because he's a criminal. The criminals are against him because he's helping the Feds. He literally has no one on his side in a very dangerous situation. I have heard that there are special areas in prisons where they put high target prisoners, like ex-cops or criminal informants who are more likely to be targets because they fall a bit on both sides of the law. Yet Jonathan isn't given any kind of extra security. Gunter isn't wrong when he talks about how the entire team, including Jonathan, have done so much to help the FBI and yet they haven't gotten anything in return. During the short time he was out after Cam was kidnapped, they act like he is some master level criminal on par with MW. Like he is just waiting for any opportunity to escape so he can go on some kind of crime spree.

Even if Jonathan was guilty of the crime he was convicted, then it’s still not the worst kind of murder out there. I’m sure there could have been a plea for compassion and safety granted to allow Jonathan to be put on house arrest where no one would actively be trying to kill him for his help. And that for every actual criminal that he helps put away that he gets something like a month off his sentence. But no one ever offers him anything. He just keeps putting his life on the line and gets absolutely nothing in return. I’m sure this is why he snaps at the end of the season. Maybe there’s some underlying resentment against Cameron, but I have a feeling most of it came from the FBI doing nothing and Cameron being the face that always had to convince Jonathan to keep hanging in there. To not escape and go find the evidence for his innocence. Now the FBI has left Jonathan out to dry despite everything he has done and all the horrible things that have been done while in prison. Jonathan just took it out on the only person who represented the people who screwed him over, even though it wasn’t Cameron’s fault.

And something to add is that at the end of the season after MW gets arrested she reveals information regarding Danic, the foreign diplomat. The team comes up with a deception and manages to save Danic and his wife. MW just reveals that Danic was in trouble and then yes she does meet with the bad guy (can’t remember his name) while surrounded by armed FBI agents. She didn’t contribute THAT much. Jonathan did a bunch to help with this particular deception and was treated with a lot of trust, especially after how he was treated last time. (I’m sure because there’s someone even more untrustworthy there and that person is MW!) And yet she managed to make herself useful enough to get into Witness Protection and not even get charged with anything because she proved her usefulness exactly 1 time! While the team still doesn’t have the proof of Johnny’s innocence, Cameron is a witness to multiple counts of illegal activities that far outweigh Jonathan’s INVOLUNTARY manslaughter conviction. Cameron has been held at gunpoint by this woman multiple times. She attempted to steal a $7 million diamond. Cameron was abducted by her. He watched her purposefully kill a man. Any single one of these is far far worse than Jonathan’s entire conviction because she did them all on purpose. And yet she just gets to walk. They still don’t even know her name or what else she actually knows beyond this one tip and yet they just decided to drop all her charges and give her a cushy life for free.

While the team was doing the deception, MW was obviously setting things up for herself. And because she was a prisoner, she had to have an agent reach out to the DA. It could have even been Deakins who did it. Deakins was the one who had to explain to the team why MW was just leaving with absolutely no consequences. Because MW could help put people who were much worse away. Which is what Jonathan has been doing but no one ever offered him a get out of jail free card. Or offered him anything at ALL!

I understand that the Doylist answer is because it kept Cameron and Jonathan sperate so that they weren’t having to constantly have Jack do a split screen. And so that at the end of the season they could have Jonathan off with MW. Also, if Jonathan had been released or was about to be release, then there wouldn’t be this drive for Cameron and the FBI to put everything into finding MW. Of course they would want to clear Jonathan’s name, but if he was free or on house arrest then it wouldn’t be something that was so urgent. When Cameron was kidnapped, yes he would want to get the evidence to free Jonathan, but he wouldn’t feel so desperate to break the law if Jonathan was on house arrest and at least had a modicum of freedom and had already taken a year off his sentence by working with the FBI. But Jonathan still got the short end of the stick.

It would be interesting to think about how the show would differ if someone were to decide that Jonathan deserved something for al of his help.

[lonionjon]

The Archivist

[jonathanblack]

Jonathan black portrait

Portrait of Jonathan Black in Scotland, 2020.

[peculiardiction]

Some tiny robins and a little superboy to boot!

[see-arcane]

Dracula and Jonathan's dynamic in silhouette

[actually-mentally-ill]

sorry, did you say,

“toxic, dangerous, sexy af and could probably kill me at any given moment if they wanted”?

…

[disappearinginq]

Burn + Deception?

“That’s a pretty bad burn, Cam – how’d you manage it?”

“Would you believe a kitchen accident?” Cameron hissed as Johnny turned on the faucet and shoved his forearm into the cold water.

“I would believe you being in the kitchen was the accident – especially since it would take a particular skill set to burn yourself in a kitchenette with only a microwave.” Johnny’s scowl dared Cameron to try to lie again.

“I was testing out some pyrotechnics, and I may have been a little distracted.”

“These are second degree, Cam. And visible. You’re going to the doctor.”

“You mean we’re?”

[incorrectdeceptionquotes]

Cameron: So when are you gonna go out with me?

Kay: I don’t know, when are you gonna ask me out?

Cameron: ...

Cameron: Uh...

[Later]

Jonathan: So you just ran away?

Cameron: I didn’t think she was gonna flirt back!

[warandpeas]

Choices

[dirtlvr]

older brother core

𖤐ﾟ.*･｡

[abcdeception]

THE SYMBOLICAL IMPLICATIONS IN GIVING JONATHAN THE COIN TO FIDDLE WITH WHILE CAMERON GETS THE CARDS… GOD. I do in some ways believe the show hinges on Jonathan despite the fact it mainly follows Cameron and the crew. To my mind, the entirety of the first season is first and foremost influenced not only by MW’s scheme(s), but also by Jonathan’s decision to stay in prison at his brother’s behest. It’s a power struggle between his faith in his twin and his desperate desire to be free for the first time in his life. Think about it for a second: he’s had to pretend to be Cameron his whole childhood, and then when their father dies and he finally thinks he’s free, Cam asks him to stay. And he does! (I mentioned in a previous post: It’s so hard saying no to the people you love…) I think that’s what the coin alludes to. It’s all about decisions, the 50-50 chance where every promise and revelation pushes him more to one side than the other. He’s playing with his choices: stay for his brother, or achieve the sense of freedom he’s been deprived of since he was born. Keep in mind that his initial introduction to the world as himself, Jonathan Black, was when he was framed for a crime he didn’t commit. Even though people now know he exists, they don’t know him. He’s still an unknown entity, and he is still trapped literally and metaphorically in a life that isn’t truly his. Beyond the way it ties into the plot, I think the coin is a phenomenal prop for representing that internal turmoil.

(as a side note: Cam with the playing card also of course makes sense with his upbringing and current profession, but I think it’s interesting how this is another double-sided motif. It’s not about decisions, though - it isn’t about one-or-the-other, it’s about one side of the card hiding the thing that’s on the other side, which I think is very representative of Cameron. He seems to surprise people a lot and tends to hide his competence beneath an overwhelming display of showmanship. This works to his advantage when he wants to blindside people… also, a card is just inherently a more playful (and perhaps childlike) symbol, which, of course, suits him very well)