Right so I'm finally listening to the Magnus Archives and Im going to give my opinion on it as I listen to it. Not that anybody really cares but yeah lol.
(Btw major spoilers for TMA episodes 1 through 6 belows!!)
So far Im a really big fan of the short story format, and I really like the setup of this being an organization that looks into supernatural occurances. It reminds me a lot of SCP and Ive never mentioned it on the blog but I fuckin love SCP. Also the personal recount element of the entries along with the general tone and idea of the series reminds me of Subjectively's Apoctober and uh Mermay story stuff, which I also love so just by virtue of that its awesome.
John (is it John or Jon?), whoever his VA is, amazing at his job, he really knows how to give each segment the perfect amount of weight while keeping it adjacent to 'reading a book' tone, if that makes any sense. I must admit though the character lowk annoys me in the best way possible, because to come out of every deeply unsettling story to hear him in his deadpan being so skeptical of the recordings despite the fact his entire job is to investigate crazy supernatural shit is making me tweak. That said I think thats the perfect way to set up him eventually falling victim to some sort of entity himself because there is nothing like a deeply skeptical person getting ultra humbled in a manner similar to the stories they treat with such detached nonchalance. I'm also thoroughly enjoying him complaining about his predecessor's imcompetence.
Also slight tangent I appreciate how they set up additional worldbuilding like the guy with the weird freaky library (I forgot his name uhmmm oops) and Jane Prentiss (?) because it feels like a very natural way to add sidenotes because it treats the viewer like an actual institute employee who'd be expected to already know the context. Obviously its also a great way to set up intrigue, Im especially curious about Prentiss but Ill go into that more in my thoughts on each individual entry.
#1 Anglerfish: Good introductory episode, really creative concept that toes the line between obviously terrifying and just unsettling which sets a good baseline for the coming entries. Also I really love the twist genuinely the idea of an angelfish entity using a corpse as a decoy is genuinely sick as hell.
#2 Do Not Open: Good too, Im not as intrigued by the very concept of it, the entity itself is rather predictable and Im too stupid to deduce anything significant from it but I did like the characterisation of the narrator in this and how he dealt with the sleepwalking thing. Pragmatic horror story protags are great, and I appreciated the element of the horror of him just getting used to and living with this insane bullshit for like almost 2 years. I'll also admit I did get pretty freaked out at the scratching thing.
#3 Across the Street: Now I am not involved in the TMA fandom BUT Ive seen stuff from it and I know about the Not Sasha thing, so I was reasonably unsurprised with the twist this episode. But I think they did well building up suspense here and I liked how personable the narrator was. I hope that her moving away actually did save her and she's not be replaced or smth. I also found Graham vaguely amusing, Im not smart enough to figure out what the him eating the pages was about but I assume we'll learn more about this entity. Also the description of the arm and leg clump was creepy as fuck.
#4 Page Turner: Again I have seen stuff from the fandom, Imma just say the moment I heard the title of the book I knew it had something to do with the Vast. Someone in the comments said the book was made of human skin which did give me some retroactive ick. Im still not smart enough to deduce what the friend with the scar thing had to do with the book itself, I think one comment implied the book was made out of that guy? Im not sure if thats correct or not but I must say the timing of the narrators anecdote about his friend was a well timed 'climax' of sorts but I this entry does obviously read as a setup episode imo. That said the atmosphere and suspense in the text here was very well done and Im excited to find out more about the guy who burned the book (I forgot his name too sorry)
#5 Thrown Away: Not my favorite in the horro department, but I think this episode really showcases the writers' strength in characterisation. Probably my favorite narrator after the coffin guy. Also they managed to get me to give a shit about Alan within less than 30 minutes which is impressive. I like that theres ostensibly no supernatural involvement in Alan's thing aside from how he disappears, and really his own obsession that drove him to ruin. I really dont get the entity's deal in this entry's I've gotta read the comments later. The teeth thing was nasty though.
#6 Squirm: No notes (lie) my favorite entry so far. Narrator was pretty chill tho I am reasonably surprised at how nice he was. Icl though I clocked it being something to do with reproduction or pregnancy the moment they mentioned sex and introduced Harriet. As someone with a weird thing about infections and creepy crawlies and parasites I found the twist deeply upsetting and it was amazing. Im assuming Prentiss injected larva or something into Harriet and that they can be transmitted sexually in some regard. Is this well tread territory? Absolutely, but horrifying nonetheless. I was especially surprised when she fucking exploded worms that was genuinely foul and I hated that and I absolutely concur with the narrator he was totally justified in setting that shit on fire.
