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[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 9, MAG 9 A Father's Love, Spoiler-Free Version

Julia Montork.

That's it end of post.

Jk jk this is my MAG 9 analysis. Spoiler-free version.

Facts: Statement of Julia Montauk (not Montork) regarding the actions of her father, serial killer Robert Montauk (not Montork). Statement given December 3rd, 2002.

Statement Notes: This episode utilizes two horror tropes that are rather common, but not often seen together. This is a Serial Killer horror story, but also a "Discovering A Family Member" story. Serial Killer stories are self-explanatory, following the vicious actions of a single killer, drawing fear from the nature of their deeds and the fear that anyone could be next. "Discovering A Family Member" is the name I use for horror stories in which someone discovers that someone in their family is a monster, literally or figuratively. Think Mom and Dad or We Need To Talk About Kevin. The combination of these two tropes makes it so the audience witnesses a serial killer story from the inside out. We aren't afraid of who the killer is going to get next because we don't need the other characters. Rather, the fear we feel isn't that of attacked townspeople, but of a child. We are not afraid because we might be attacked, but because the person who's always protected us might be the thing we need protection from.

Something that really stood out to me in this episode is how much Julia expects of her childhood self, repeatedly pointing out things that should have bothered her or made her realize what was happening. Of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty and it's easy to see all the clues after the mystery's been solved, but there was no way for her to know back then. Especially because she was a literal child. This is a very real feeling though. It's common for people to hate or blame their childhood selves for doing things wrong or not knowing enough, even though there's no way for a child be as intelligent or mature as an adult. Julia expresses a very genuine feeling, if not an entirely rational one.

The heartbeat audio at the end of the statement was so incredible. Such a gradual and effective sound. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the first time an outside noise was used to create effect in the series.

The line that really stuck with me in this episode was "The Darkness was inside." The idea that the darkness isn't an absence of light, but a presence of something else. In a weird, poetic way, Julia asserts that the lights going out isn't something that just happens, but a being entering a room.

I also love the use of the Julia's childhood in developing the mood. Fear is a very primal, instinctual thing engrained in our psyches from the moment we are born. This is why this story is so relatable. When Julia says she "did as I was told" and went straight to bed, only wandering out to get a drink of water, when the fear crept in, that's something every kid has gone through. The fear you feel as a listener is the same fear you felt as a little kid.

Character Notes: I love Julia. I love her. I think about her all the time. That's it end of post.

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 9, MAG 9, A Father's Love

Julia Montork.

That's it end of post.

Jk jk this is my MAG 9 analysis. Spoilers ahead!

Facts: Statement of Julia Montauk (not Montork) regarding the actions of her father, serial killer Robert Montauk (not Montork). Statement given December 3rd, 2002.

Statement Notes: This episode utilizes two horror tropes that are rather common, but not often seen together. This is a Serial Killer horror story, but also a "Discovering A Family Member" story. Serial Killer stories are self-explanatory, following the vicious actions of a single killer, drawing fear from the nature of their deeds and the fear that anyone could be next. "Discovering A Family Member" is the name I use for horror stories in which someone discovers that someone in their family is a monster, literally or figuratively. Think Mom and Dad or We Need To Talk About Kevin. The combination of these two tropes makes it so the audience witnesses a serial killer story from the inside out. We aren't afraid of who the killer is going to get next because we don't need the other characters. Rather, the fear we feel isn't that of attacked townspeople, but of a child. We are not afraid because we might be attacked, but because the person who's always protected us might be the thing we need protection from.

Something that really stood out to me in this episode is how much Julia expects of her childhood self, repeatedly pointing out things that should have bothered her or made her realize what was happening. Of course, hindsight is twenty-twenty and it's easy to see all the clues after the mystery's been solved, but there was no way for her to know back then. Especially because she was a literal child. This is a very real feeling though. It's common for people to hate or blame their childhood selves for doing things wrong or not knowing enough, even though there's no way for a child be as intelligent or mature as an adult. Julia expresses a very genuine feeling, if not an entirely rational one.

The heartbeat audio at the end of the statement was so incredible. Such a gradual and effective sound. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe this is the first time an outside noise was used to create effect in the series.

Entity Alignment: This is the first Peoples' Church of the Divine Host Mention, and a pretty solid Dark episode, but there's some stuff that doesn't make sense to me.

(Unrelated, but one of these things is the Church's name. We have "The Cult of The LIGHTLESS Flame" and the " Peoples' Church of the DIVINE HOST." One of these groups worships darkness and one of them has a person acting as a spiritual host for all their desires and it's not the ones you think.)

The shed glows when Robert Montauk performs his ritual. For a Dark ceremony, this doesn't really make a lot of sense. The only explanation I can really think of is that this glowing area is somehow "stealing" the light from others. But I don't fully understand how the murders and heart collection truly fuels the Dark. There's probably another aspect that occurs during the tortures Julia sees in the photographs, but I guess we'll never really know.

It's never confirmed that Montauk is a member of the Church, but it is confirmed that at least some of his victims are. Additionally, the light goes out in his cell when he is murdered. I theorize that even if Montauk was a member of the Church, he wasn't killing for the Dark, but rather targeting its members to get revenge for his wife and to protect his daughter. The ritual may offer protective forces against the Dark, which is why the shed glows.

The line that really stuck with me in this episode was "The Darkness was inside." The idea that the darkness isn't an absence of light, but a presence of something else. In a weird, poetic way, Julia foreshadows that the lights going out isn't something that just happens, but fear entering a room.

I also love the use of the Dark as a childhood fear throughout the series. Even in episodes where it attacks adults, many of them still cite feeling like a child again. This is because fear of the Dark is a very primal, instinctual thing engrained in our psyches from the moment we are born. It also makes the stories so relatable. When Julia says she "did as I was told" and went straight to bed, only wandering out to get a drink of water, when the fear crept in, that's something every kid has gone through. It keeps with the recurring fear of the mundane in the Magnus Archives. It's not during the big moments that the fear will get you, but the during the little, everyday ones.

Character Notes: I love Julia. I love her. I think about her all the time. That's it end of post.

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 8, MAG 8 Burned Out, Spoiler-Free Version

Mag 8 analysis! I have listened to this episode twice and am okay mentally.

Haha Burned Out. Get it like- Burned Out like- get it it's like- get it- because. Burned out

Facts: Statement of Ivo Lensik regarding his experiences during construction at 105 Hilltop Road. Statement given March 13, 2007.

Statement Notes: This is a classic haunted house. Not a superstructure or cursed land or living space, but a house possessed by what once lived within it. Raymond Fielding lived in this house, and then he died in it, and he is going to make this everybody else's problem. He has unfinished business, he has a message he is trying to send. But like any spirit, you won't understand until it's too late.

Character Notes: I found Ivo to be a really compelling character. He had a positive demeanor, an interesting backstory, and a very strong approach to dealing with the supernatural. Overall a cool guy and awesome character I would have liked to hear more from.

Agnes' death is such a visceral image. It's a brief paragraph at the end of the statement. It's one of Jon's "And yet..." moments, intended to leave you with just a little bit of fear when you unplug the headphones. But that connection to the tree, to her childhood home. It's a simple section of text, but so vivid and full of imagery and meaning. Especially because we had only been exposed to her as a young child, and she left us as an improbably young but grown woman who we will never fully know or understand.

When the statement ended, the only thought going through my head was, "Mean Jon! Mean mean Jon!" He was foul with this one. First he goes on a tangent about schizophrenia and head trauma being second only to drug use as a means of seeing ghosts, then he immediately roasts Gertrude's filing system again.

He loves to go off about Martin and Tim being incompetent compared to Sasha, but who found a history of the house's ownership? Who interviewed Anna Kasuma? Who found Agnes' death report? Ya bois.

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 8, MAG 8 Burned Out

Mag 8 analysis! I have listened to this episode twice and am okay mentally.

Haha Burned Out. Get it like- Burned Out like- get it it's like- get it- because. Burned out

Facts: Statement of Ivo Lensik regarding his experiences during construction at 105 Hilltop Road. Statement given March 13, 2007.

Statement Notes: HILLTOP ROAD MENTION HILLTOP ROAD MENTION

I am mentally okay.

If you're not thinking about the meta or the entities in this episode, this is a haunted house. Not a superstructure or cursed land or living space, but a house possessed by what once lived within it. Raymond Fielding lived in this house, and then he died in it, and he is going to make this everybody else's problem. He has unfinished business, he has a message he is trying to send. The issue is, it's another 102 episodes before you hear it.

Entity Alignment: This episode has some obvious Desolation and Web elements, but I have what might be a hot take:

This episode features every entity.

This episode introduces us to the Web's ritual.

Hilltop Road was both Agnes' and Annabelle's childhood home, so it is inherently associated with the Desolation and the Web. Lensik fears that he is developing schizophrenia like his father, who studied fractals and describes a man with "all the bones are in his hands." This man is likely Michael, and this associates the episode with the Spiral. The incessant pursuit of an explanation for the fractals which ultimately leads to his death incorporates the Hunt. The tree bleeds as Lensik becomes blinded by his need to destroy it, depicting the Flesh and Slaughter respectively. The apple he discovers is full of spiders, but also rots on contact, bringing in the Corruption. The box he finds the apple in is Buried beneath the tree. Lensik says he avoids working at night or by himself because that is when the visions would occur, incorporating the Dark and the Lonely. When he first meets Raymond Fielding, he says he was "keeping one eye on this stranger," bringing in fear of the unknown and the Stranger. The house is haunted by the dead Raymond Fielding, incorporating the End. Throughout the piece, he describes a feeling of unease that he is being watched. This brings in the Eye.

The inherent flaw in my theory is, of course, I can't find a solid element of the Vast in this episode. A part of me felt that the use of Father Edwin Burroughs might count as God, which could be a seismic eldritch horror, but that's kind of a stretch. Still, this statement takes place 13 years before Cane finishes her ritual, so who knows what could have been brought in during that time.

Character Notes: Another little part of me wants Annie to be Annabelle Cane in disguise. Annie is described as a very old woman, and there's no evidence that Annabelle Cane can shapeshift or use mirages or anything like that, so there's no reason for me to think so and this is probably just another "Jonny Sims knows four names and one is his own" moment. But still, wouldn't that just be wild?

I found Ivo to be a really compelling character. He had a positive demeanor, an interesting backstory, and a very strong approach to dealing with the supernatural. Overall a cool guy and awesome character I would have liked to hear more from.

An exploration of young Agnes would be incredible too. When she was at Hilltop Road, did she already know she was "the messiah?" This stint in the halfway house raises questions about her timeline and the progression of The Lightless Flame's plans. Additionally, the neighbors report that the children began going missing after Agnes was brought in. I (want to) assume Agnes isn't killing them, so is it Raymond? Are Lightless Flame members taking them? Where do they go?

Agnes' death is such a visceral image. It's a brief paragraph at the end of the statement. It's one of Jon's "And yet..." moments, intended to leave you with just a little bit of fear when you unplug the headphones. But that connection to the tree, to her childhood home. It's a simple section of text, but so vivid and full of imagery and meaning.

When the statement ended, the only thought going through my head was, "Mean Jon! Mean mean Jon!" He was foul with this one. First he goes on a tangent about schizophrenia and head trauma being second only to drug use as a means of seeing ghosts, then he immediately roasts Gertrude's filing system again.

He loves to go off about Martin and Tim being incompetent compared to Sasha, but who found a history of the house's ownership? Who interviewed Anna Kasuma? Who found Agnes' death report? Ya bois.

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 7, MAG 7 The Piper, Spoiler-Free Version

This is a spoiler-free analysis of Magnus Archives MAG 7, The Piper. One of the best-written episodes in the series. Pure poetry.

Facts: Statement of Seargent Clarence Berry regarding his time serving with Wilfred Owen during World War One. Statement given November 6, 1922.

Statement Notes: "Hey you know Wilfred Owen? The famous poet Wilfred Owen? The guy whose poems you had to read in class Wilfred Owen? Yeah, what if he was possessed? Wouldn't that be fucked?" -Jonny Sims at the Rusty Quill pitch meeting.

In all seriousness, this episode is incredible. The description of the three faces of war is so detailed, yet so brief. I want to take a little time to explore each face and set of arms.

The First Face: "One to play its pipes on scrimshaw bone." This line is apparently where the title "The Piper" comes from. As the story goes on, both Berry and Owen describe hearing strange music. This seems to be the "song of war" that the Piper plays, signaling a truly gruesome battle. This song doesn't necessarily warn off or compel the soldiers, but seems to do a bit of both. A war song doesn't just encourage a soldier to fight, but also warns an enemy. Wilfred Owen believes this being is The War itself, therefore its song should encourage violence from all sides, but also instill a deep fear in every soldier.

To me, this face fits with the hand raised "in a crisp salute." This hand and face prevent a false majesty and honor to war. This face tells the soldiers fighting is good, they will be rewarded, they will be valued. But of course, underneath its muddied green coat, all that the War has is a scarred and bloody body. "Nothing remained but the wounds themselves."

The Second Face: I've chosen to associate the face that "screamed its dying battle cry" with "the arms gripping blades and guns and spears." This face seems to represent the adrenaline violence and war brings, even as it kills you. I've always thought adrenaline not as good or bad, but creating more tangible and real emotions than other things can.

The Third Face: "One that would not open its mouth, for when it did blood and sodden soil flowed out like a waterfall." I associate this face with the hands begging for mercy. Clarence Berry is under 22 when this statement takes place, and (the real) Wilfred Owen would be between 22-24. These are practically children. They are going to die. They are going to die before their time, before it is fair. They are going to beg for mercy. This is the nature of war, and so is the nature of The War.

There is an implication that The War kept Owen alive so he could create poetry that glorifies The War. I wonder if this is out of ego--it wanted to be seen as glorious and beautiful--or simply to drag the battle on longer. If it seems inspirational, it will continue.

Overall I think this episode demonstrates the tentative balance World War One held between being "the writer's war" and "the technological front." The war represented a shift in humanity's ability to be brutal, but also spawned art and innovation. This doesn't justify the violence that occurred, but rather the acts of destruction and creation during the war existed in tandem, like two sides of a coin.

Character Notes: I know that Jon was speaking through the statement when he was making fun of Owen's poetry, but the idea of Jon being a cannon poetry hater is too funny for me to ignore

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten 7, MAG 7 The Piper

Thank you for your patience while I worked on these! This is an analysis of Magnus Archives MAG 7, The Piper. One of the best-written episodes in the series. Pure poetry.

Facts: Statement of Seargent Clarence Berry regarding his time serving with Wilfred Owen during World War One. Statement given November 6, 1922.

Statement Notes: "Hey you know Wilfred Owen? The famous poet Wilfred Owen? The guy whose poems you had to read in class Wilfred Owen? Yeah, what if he was possessed? Wouldn't that be fucked?" -Jonny Sims at the Rusty Quill pitch meeting.

In all seriousness, this episode is incredible. The description of the three faces of war is so detailed, yet so brief. I want to take a little time to explore each face and set of arms.

The First Face: "One to play its pipes on scrimshaw bone." This line is apparently where the title "The Piper" comes from. As the story goes on, both Berry and Owen describe hearing strange music. This seems to be the "song of war" that the Piper plays, signaling a truly gruesome battle. This song doesn't necessarily warn off or compel the soldiers, but seems to do a bit of both. A war song doesn't just encourage a soldier to fight, but also warns an enemy. Wilfred Owen believes this being is The War itself, therefore its song should encourage violence from all sides, but also instill a deep fear in every soldier.

To me, this face fits with the hand raised "in a crisp salute." Reminding me of MAG 163, this hand and face prevent a false majesty and honor to war. This face tells the soldiers fighting is good, they will be rewarded, they will be valued. But of course, underneath its muddied green coat, all that the War has is a scarred and bloody body. "Nothing remained but the wounds themselves."

The Second Face: I've chosen to associate the face that "screamed its dying battle cry" with "the arms gripping blades and guns and spears." This face seems to represent the adrenaline violence and war brings, even as it kills you. I've always thought adrenaline not as good or bad, but creating more tangible and real emotions than other things can.

The Third Face: "One that would not open its mouth, for when it did blood and sodden soil flowed out like a waterfall." I associate this face with the hands begging for mercy. Clarence Berry is under 22 when this statement takes place, and (the real) Wilfred Owen would be between 22-24. These are practically children. They are going to die. They are going to die before their time, before it is fair. They are going to beg for mercy. This is the nature of war, and so is the nature of The War.

There is an implication that The War kept Owen alive so he could create poetry that glorifies The War. I wonder if this is out of ego--it wanted to be seen as glorious and beautiful--or simply to drag the battle on longer. If it seems inspirational, it will continue.

Overall I think this episode demonstrates the tentative balance World War One held between being "the writer's war" and "the technological front." The war represented a shift in humanity's ability to be brutal, but also spawned art and innovation. This doesn't justify the violence that occurred, but rather the acts of destruction and creation during the war existed in tandem, like two sides of a coin.

Entity Alignment: This is such a good Slaughter episode. As much as the Slaughter is associated with war, you don't see many battle episodes in the series, so this is a cool intro.

I wonder if "The War" is an avatar of war or if it is specifically the embodiment of World War One. The latter has the horrifying implication that mass events can not only be caused by entities, but feed entities. Even more frightening is that, in spite of the sheer volume of terror and violence, the war wasn't big enough to be the Slaughter's ritual.

Character Notes: Wtf is up with Joseph Rayner. Is he a Maxwell Rayner incarnation? Is he related to Maxwell Rayner? Why is he fighting in the British army? Why is literally never mentioned again?

I know that Jon was speaking through the statement when he was making fun of Owen's poetry, but the idea of Jon being a cannon poetry hater from season 1 is too funny for me to ignore.

[thatpodcastkid]

more Gwen art!

[thatpodcastkid]

I am unwell

[thatpodcastkid]

this will probably be disproven across episodes but I have the Gwen brainrot so indulge me.

I know a lot of people hope that Elias is out walking around happy and high, but see the Magnus institute burned down in 1999. Jonah took Elias in 1996.

So don't imagine Gwendolyn coming 'home' after a few years studying on daddy's money, daddy's name and daddy's contempt that his youngest daughter seems perfectly fine with ignoring what is expected from a Bouchard.

Don't imagine Gwen running into her brother one night after he himself hasn't been in their family house for weeks. And realising the thing in front of her isn't Elias.

The stone cold sober, easy smiling man with impeccable posture is not the man who taught her how to play their parents to secure a peaceful life and a place in the will at the same time.

The eyes looking back at her never winked at her from across the dinner table, never shed tears of rage at the golden chains around both of them, never looked at her at her lowest and told her everything would be okay one day. Because those eyes do not belong to Elias.

'A promotion' it tells her, with the same pride Elias used to talk about a student strike that would absolutely wreck their name if it were printed on papers, but this thing wouldn't do that because this thing is. Not. Her. Brother. But she's almost as good at acting as it is, so she plays along. 'Head of the Magnus Institute'.

And Gwen knows very little of the Magnus institute. But she knows enough about Elias Bouchard. She knows about Allan and the eyeless thing that got to him, tale whispered in a panic on the night she first saw her brother as a child instead of a role model. She knows about the letter that arrived unprompted. She knows the stories of what goes on inside the too old building.

And she knows how easy it is to get her hands on gasoline for the bits of it that aren't already flammable.

When she's called in as his emergency contact, she feigns shock at the fire, throws the bone that 'the idiot couldn't even keep his fucking lighter straight' between tears.

She throws the ashes off a foggy cliff onto the sea and attends the empty casket funeral with the same expression she learns to carry from that day on. And after years of clipped conversation, she does what she promised Elias to never do.

'Get me in.' She tells her father. And his smile of relief at 'still having a worthy heir' on the day of his son's funeral sickens her. But she keeps the same expression.

Because she may have killed the thing that took Elias. But the OIAR is the place that can tell her what she killed exactly.

And she won't make her brother's mistakes.

[thatpodcastkid]

[thatpodcastkid]

Hey, sorry the relistens aren’t up, I have kind of a heavy academic situation going on right now, but I’ll post the missing eps next week and then will get back on schedule! Thank you! Stay spooky

[thatpodcastkid]

The Creation of the Archivist.

[Click for better quality pls]

[thatpodcastkid]

The myth of Sergey Ushanka isn't true at all. There was no tragic computer scientist with a degenerative brain disease who tried to upload his consciousness to a hard-drive. The Sergey Ushanka video is really just Colin Becher getting so fed up with FR3-d1 that he fucking ate his computer.

[thatpodcastkid]

happy first reoccurring character to INK5OUL!! May their crimes be numerous <3

[thatpodcastkid]

[thatpodcastkid]

the thing that kills me about Martin putting tapes on the buried coffin is that he accepts Jon’s non-humanity more than Jon himself does. Jon’s still trying to believe that he’s human so much that he tries to bring himself back with his physical body, even though he’s been freely using it as collateral for years by this point. But Martin sees Jon, knows that his tie to the Eye is stronger than his tie to his body and loves him enough to bring him back anyways. S4 is WILD dude

[thatpodcastkid]

Obsessed with the fact that Jacobi explicitly states that he does not think what he does is good and that he does not view himself as a useful member of society, except in that his skill set clears the way for people with “better” skills to do their work. In his mind he functionally only exists so that Alana can do great things. He calls them both monsters but ultimately sees her work as contributing to the betterment of the world and his to the detriment. He dedicated his life to supporting her.

Yet he survived and she didn’t.