ok y’all i’ve just started listening to the magnus archives and you know what i love? how jon changes his voice when he reads the statements.
i mean from a doyalist perspective it makes perfect sense--it’s a podcast, and differentiating between when it’s the archivist speaking and when it’s a statement makes sense, especially given as hiring another voice actor or whatever doesn’t work for the story and stuff (except for when it does, i.e. the statements in current time, but a lot of these are like,,,, however long ago and he’s just recording them, and i’m talking about those).
but like, from a watsonian perspective? this shit is hilarious and kind of cute. like maybe this is me reading too much into it, or maybe this is actually going to be addressed later on (because i haven’t even finished season one yet! speaking of which: if anyone gives me spoilers i will throat punch them) but like...... jonathan sims, grumpy british archivist who’s vaguely skeptical of everything and seems to dismiss a lot of statements even when there’s definitely something off (”ghost spiders? ridiculous! that could never happen! so what if the man died under mysterious circumstances after giving us his statement and his body was COMPLETELY COVERED IN SPIDER WEBS. that’s perfectly natural. that can definitely happen in... [checks notes] one week.”)... and he.. changes his voice. he changes it to match the story, the tone. it’s still clear and calm enough that it’s not quite acting or like, really throwing himself into the “role”, but that’s more for clarity’s sake in the records then anything, i’d think. but like, when the person giving the statement should sound scared, he adds that kinda scared lilt to his voice. often his voice seems a little higher-pitched or at least there’s a different lilt to it when it’s a woman giving the statement. hell, in jane prentiss’s statement, it almost sounded like a different person! not quite, but i mean, that soft weird quality to his voice really, really fit the statement and it was creepy as hell.
but for some reason this just greatly amuses me. he’s reading it like a storyteller! he’s taking it really seriously! even as a moment later he’s like “lmao this dude was lying his ass off” during the statement he takes it one hundred percent seriously, doesn’t interrupt to comment or show any derision in his voice as he reads it (though that could be professionalism, i guess?) or like. anything. he just tells a damn good story.
there’s even this sort of ... sympathy, i guess? like normally he’s all “lol this dude was high as balls and ghosts aren’t real, that’s the drugs talking” and sort of dismissive (not always, mind you, but generally... so far, anyway) but when he’s reading it... how do i word this? he’s like. he understands they’re scared, or hurt, or whatever, and he shows that. no judgement (during the statement at least dfgfh) just... understanding?
like it’s easy to forget that this is the archivist telling the story, reading out loud someone else’s words. the voice acting is well done (both like, the character’s and the real life actor’s) and it’s different enough that it feels almost like someone else is speaking. when the statement ends and jon begins talking as normal, it’s almost jarring. it often goes from the soft, scared or apprehensive tones of yet another person who encountered the paranormal to the sort of tired, deadpan, growly voice of the archivist giving the follow-up. it’s sudden, the difference is very noticeable. almost like he’s snapping out of it. i think it’s very interesting.
i don’t think i’m putting this to words very well and who knows maybe my opinion will change completely by the time i’ve listened to the next season or the next or whatever. but like. for now. i really like it
