#mag4

[goodoldfashionedvillain]

I remember listening to MAG4 for the first time and hearing the name Gerard Keay I was really like

[ndsvkwac]

MAG 4: Page Turner

[thatpodcastkid]

Magnus Archives Relisten, MAG 4 Page Turner

Analysis of MAG 4, Page Turner. Spooky book time! Spoilers ahead.

Jurgen Leitner? Stupid idiot motherfucking Jurgen-

Sorry about that got possessed for a second. Anyway, first Leitner statement! Let's get into it while I try to control my rage.

Facts: Statement of Dominic Swain, regarding a book briefly in his possession in the winter of 2012.

Statement Notes: So much in this episode! First Gerry and Mary citing, first Leitner and Mike Crew mention. Crazy how relevant this episode was and we all had no way of knowing.

Starting simple, I would just like to say that as a theatre tech, Swain is so accurate and so real. "Doing a little bit of everything?" Real. Trying to see friends work but you also work at the same time? Real. Work place romance? Real. Not being able to relax when you see a play because you know all the tech stuff that can go wrong? Really real.

What I really loved about Dominic's statement though is the highlight of the ozone smell. He walks all around London with that book, shows it to Mary and Gerard, shows it to friends, and no one else mentions the smell. Yet, when he shows it to his ex Katherine Mendes, she said it "triggered her vertigo." This happens with a lot of the cursed items in the show: they don't have one general effect, but target the specific sources of fear and anxiety in the owner. Katherine apparently gets vertigo often, so The Vast would naturally trigger than height-based stressor. But Swain has a specific fear of lightning and the ozone smell because of what happened to Mike, so torturing him with that smell is the most effective way to cause fear in him.

There's also some really classic cursed object horror going on here that I love. Swain tries to sell the book the whole episode, but calls it "his book" fleeing Mary. Additionally, he says that he thought about giving it away, but felt that "wouldn't count." Very similar to Do Not Open here and a lot of cursed object horror in that there needs to be some kind of debt or reciprocity established rid one of the object.

I also just love the line "walking felt as natural as falling." It really conjures the idea that he can't control himself, that he's stumbling to Mary's shop uncontrollable just as he would fall through the sky: completely unable to stop.

Entity Alignment: Dominic translates "Ex Altiora" as "From Higher" or "Out of the Heights." That's just such insane Vast energy, the idea that whatever the book does to you will spawn from the open empty sky and you won't be able to stop it, just as you'd never be able to stop falling.

Obviously this episode is generally Vast aligned, but that painting of the Eye really freaked me out. "Grant us the sight that we may not know. Grant us the scent that we may not catch. Grant us the sound that we may not call.” This engraving very much encapsulates the point of the Eye and the Archive, and weirdly foreshadows what Jon goes through later. It is essentially saying, "Let me witness the fear and pain of others so that I don't have to experience it myself." Why would Gerry paint this? Especially given that a giant eye gives Elias direct view into his home. What is the goal?

Character Notes: Jurgen Leitner? Stupid idiot motherfucking Jurgen Leitner god damn fool book collecting dust eating-

Sorry what happened I blacked out.

Seriously though, my biggest takeaway about Leitner in this ep is that he doesn't spell his name with an umlaut like others. Why did Jonny include that detail. What does that do for me.

I do love that the only information Swain could find on him was that he lost a bidding war over a book to "GRbookworm1818" who is so obviously Gertrude it's hilarious.

I think it's so weird that Swain couldn't find anything online about him, though. Leitners are clearly around, so wouldn't there be some kind of chat room or reddit post about one? Builds my theory that the Entities or at least the Web has some influence over internet content in this universe that it doesn't have in The Magnus Protocol universe. In TMAGP, the OIAR sorts through things found in databases and the internet, but in TMA the Archive seems to be the only source of real supernatural info, proving that Elias or someone else was controlling the stream of information in a way that the entities aren't able to (yet) in TMAGP.

Let's turn away from the most hated character on the internet to talk about the most loved: Gerard Keay.

Our first intro to Gerry is death metal music blasting from his bedroom at two am which is just, so on brand.

(Also want to point out that Dominic Swain didn't realize it was 2 am until he heard the music. Missing time is another motif that keeps coming up in this show.)

I also forgot that Gerry painted in this universe, so it's nice to see they kept that connection in Protocol.

The thing that's truly key (no pun intended) about this episode though is the ritual Mary performs, blaming Gerry for her fake murder. I believe this is the episode she binds herself to the Skin Book, but I can't figure out when/how she would attach Gerry. Also, the case against him was thrown out because a "key piece of evidence was deemed inadmissible." Was this Gertrude pulling strings, Mary using magic influence, or some other powerful eldritch bureaucrat pulling for our boy? Who's to say.

Mike Crew is really only mentioned in this episode, but it did get me thinking about the relevance of scars in the show. His Lichtenberg scar influences who he is and what he becomes as an Avatar. Very similar to Daisy naming herself after her scar and pursuing law--which would lead to her becoming an Avatar--because of the event and injury. Also, Jon's "markings" are what allow him to start the Eyepocalypse. Physical manifestations and reminders of trauma shaping who we become really is a theme in this show.

And of course, Jon. He is such a terrible liar yet him believing in the supernatural was still somehow a plot twist. Proves how good a writer Jonny is, honestly. He doesn't believe in the supernatural, but is absolutely terrified of Leitners and is working on an "institute project" to eradicate them? I would love to know how this project worked. Was it just research? Was there a team dedicated to finding and collecting Leitners? He also mentions "the incident in 1994," is that when the library was destroyed? Or is just another terrible Leitner incident.

Crazy ep, one of my favorites. Let me know what you think!

[inklingofadream]

TMA Episode Art! Episodes 1-8 Next

[id: 8 pen and ink drawings, each enclosed with a white border with “The Magnus Archives” written at the top and the episode number and title at the bottom. 1: A cigarette, sitting on asphalt with a trail of smoke going up from the barely-singed end; 2: A dome-shaped chunk of ice with a key inside, melting onto the floor in front of something made of wood and wrapped in chains; 3: An interior, showing a bookcase full of identical volumes and a window, with its blinds askew and three sharp claws gripping the sill, casting long shadows; 4: A bin containing a book, burning; 5: A curb in front of a well-kept suburban yard, with a metal trash can and a loose bag sitting next to it, with a large ribbon tied in a bow about the opening; 6: A sidewalk with a woman in a dress lying facedown, with matted hair and holes visible in the skin of her arms and bare feet, something climbing out of the holes; 7: A hand loosely holding a fountain pen, dripping a pool of ink onto muddy ground as a booted foot walks on uncaring in the background; 8: A shriveled apple, a split in the skin releasing a stream of spiders, some of which are scattered singly across the background. /end id]

[im-the-knight-of-stardust]

So, what is up with that eye painting with the caption "Grant us the sight that we may not know, grant us the scent that we might not catch, grant us the sound that we may not call", that apparently Gerry drew? Completly forgot about that and didn't write it down since I only began my notebook a few episodes after. Is that supposed to be in defiance of the Fears? Against the Eye, the Hunt and idk about the last one, maybe the Lonely?

[farklelucas]

im.... strangely rooting for josh and margo??????

[sazandorable]

day 4 is late, but worth it, as I only realized this was what I actually wanted to do this morning and i am SO PUMPED about how it turned out. *W*

(creative liberties taken include: just the word “मृत्यु”, hopefully meaning “death”, over and over, on account of I don’t know sanskrit; and fountain pen instead of permanent marker, on account of it just looks cooler)

[inklingofadream]

notes from a TMA relisten

obviously it’s the anglerfish’s whole bit, but graham folger also smoked. smokers confirmed for the stranger’s favorite food lol

I forgot that gerry straight up takes the guy’s bin in MAG4. Like obviously I remembered him burning the book in it but he also picks it up and takes it with him with a corny lil quip about how he doesn’t care it’s hot bc he’s “had worse” what a weird dork i love him. also i guess he did give the guy 5000 pounds he can afford a new bin. but still. what did he do with it, where do you throw away a bin potentially tainted with spooky vast vibes?

lkahsdgafhssgkl;dh Jon getting mad at Ex Altiora and acting all sus bc the Institute only has record of Leitner having copies of existing occult lit so maybe the title’s wrong/fake, sir you have no room to talk even playing the skeptic, at least Altiora is spooky and in Latin. Mr. Spider was a children’s book. With doodly illustrations!

Gerry’s also apparently like powered by the sheer strength of anti-Entity Justice, like spooky willpower green lantern, when he kills Diego Molina. Like we don’t have a reason the Eye would be helping him power thru the painkillers etc from his own burns, I think he just Sensed that someone was gonna get Entitied and woke up to prevent it. Although the idea of him having a greater than usual resistance to painkillers et al and faking being out of it so he doesn’t have to talk the whole think through with Lesere Saraki after is also very funny

I’m obsessed with the Vibes of whatever cops and child psychiatrists had to debrief poor baby Julia Montauk on all her dad’s spooky stuff. “Oh yeah there used to be little spots of blood in the hallway all the time I’m really good at cleaning them up :)“ cool cool cool, you will never be normal