#but she only really accepts soupy wet food

[lovdyke]

😕

[soveryanon]

Reviewing time for MAG164!

- Okay, the “vignette” format of statements in the new circumstances seems to be more or less fixed: Jon narrating what is happening to a place, the ritual beginning with “There is a–”

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: … Wha…? [STATIC REACHING A PEAK] … “There is a place, deep in the heart of Fear, where you trap yourself and claim that it is safety. [STATIC DECREASES] It was once a cabin, and professes still to be such, but as with all in this new world that promises respite… it is a trap.”

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: … Alright, then. [INHALE] [SIGH] [STATIC RISES] “There is a wound in the earth. [STATIC DECREASES] A bayonet gouge, scored through the soft and sodden mud for uncounted miles. A trench that marks the front line of a war that has no name. It has always been raging, deep in the hearts of the powerful and those that thirst to see bodies piled high in their name.”

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: “There is a sickness in this village. Perhaps you would not see it from a distance and the faint sting of rot on the breeze is easy enough to dismiss; but as you get closer, that infectious feeling of wrongness is harder and harder to shake. The grass is not the green of nature, the buildings are warped by more than age, and the voices that come from behind the inhabitants’ masks… are hoarse, and wet. They move with exaggerated casualness, a parody of idyllic village life.”

(Which Martin seems to be aware of, calling what Jon’s doing a “guidebook”.)

For the first time, season 5 is giving us stories in third-person (even when Jon had extracted Breekon’s in MAG128, it had been in first-person), with a few general second-person occurrences peppered here and there – but although MAG162 was directly referring to Jon, it seems that it’s just a general, uncharacterised “you” in subsequent statements, which could be anybody discovering or living these places?

(MAG162) ARCHIVIST: “The land outside is warped and twisted by the touch of those things that feed on your suffering, and behind those rough wooden planks, [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] it seems they cannot reach you. The screams may linger on the distant breeze, and your eye may wander beyond the curtains from time to time, but you and the one you love are, it seems… safe. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] If you had need to eat, no doubt there would be food; if you had need to sleep, no doubt the beds would be welcoming. [WOODEN CREAKING SOUND] But you have need of neither; and so you sit in your meagre comfort and belief of security with nothing to do, nothing to distract your mind from the agonies that lie just beyond your window.”

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: “You may find this trench reaching all across the world, and it will never stop, never be satisfied, never think of peace. […] On one side of the trench the hungry guns of the vile Enemy wait; and on the other, the just guns of heroes will cut you down no slower, save perhaps a breath to call you coward. […] He’s heard the enemy will eat your body if they find it in the mud; they won’t even check if you’re dead first. Alexei shudders at the thought.”

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: “Perhaps you would not see it from a distance and the faint sting of rot on the breeze is easy enough to dismiss; but as you get closer, that infectious feeling of wrongness is harder and harder to shake. […] Take a deep breath. The air feels thick and soupy in your lungs, swarming with a thousand contagions digging into you, begging for you to join the village. It itches, and burns, and you can feel it growing and spreading inside you, looking for the core of you. At least until it worms its way into your bones. […] There was never a time before the disease, no matter what the old bastards tell you.”

No markers to introduce the start of it, but it highlights that there is one when Jon ends it:

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: [LONG SIGH] I, hum… [SIGH] End recording…! [CLEARS THROAT] [SHUFFLING] MARTIN: Mm? All done? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] Yes. [EXHALE] MARTIN: Good. [CLICK.]

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: [LONG EXHALE] … Okay… [INHALE] End recording. [CLICK.]

No “Statement ends” anymore, but still “End recording” (previously usually said after the follow-up/Jon’s personal feelings of the day). Jon admitted that what he was doing was pouring out into the tape, but it really shows that he’s not exactly feeding The Eye a statement anymore, but doing something else, tied to the tape recorders and them only, uh…

- No cookie for guessing it was a Corruption-dominated statement, the title gave it away – with the double-meaning being that the “sickness” was also the villagers’ state of mind, their obsession with finding culprits who could only be “others” (other fungi, visitors or people identified as newcomers, thus the xenophobia), and punishing them for it… while the problem seemed to be in the land itself:

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: “The grass is not the green of nature, the buildings are warped by more than age, and the voices that come from behind the inhabitants’ masks… are hoarse, and wet. […] There was never a time before the disease, no matter what the old bastards tell you. It has always been in the village, always festered in the dark corners where nobody could stomach to check, where good neighbours wouldn’t dream to speculate. […] The villagers stand on the green to watch, ignoring the bending of the grass as it tries to worm its way through their boots. […] In a moment she is swollen, bloated, bursting into a cloud of violet spores that envelop the green and those who dwell there, embracing them in a rot, that long since seeped into the soil of this blighted land.”

(I hadn’t caught on first listen that amongst the individualism, there was still a sense of community prevailing over that of “belonging (or not)” to the village. It was the type of fungus: “A few are spared brutality, and treated with such cordial politeness you must have thought their inquisitors old friends. Though there seems on the surface no rhyme to such decisions, were you to look beneath the coats, you might see the patterns of their mould were matched.” It reminds me of Wolves supporting each other during daylight in a game of Werewolf/Mafia!)

Strong Beholding vibes for me in that one, too, with the paranoia, the fear of being seen and your secrets being uncovered, the obsession with watching the sacrifices/designated victims, and the maypole ~watching~ over them (“They cannot allow such secret terrors to break their unity. And the maypole watches over all.”). Makes sense given that The Eye is supposed to drink it all in, but people seem unaware of it since they’ve been trapped in these nightmares pockets – I wonder if this is actually how Beholding is making itself felt, through other means integrated to the nature of the nightmares? The drones in the war, the scrutiny and the maypole in the sick/xenophobic village…

(- ;; I’m a bit worried that I won’t really manage to be into this season… because it’s been twice in a row that the multi-POV statements haven’t given me much emotion, and instead the impression that the characters inside are more playing a pantomime that being actual real characters with feelings…? It worked a bit better in this one since there was obviously pity spurting for Mrs Kim, and the whole idea that even though everyone is more or less in the same situation, the most vulnerable will be targeted… but also, the Actual Horror was not the fungus or An Eldritch Entity Going After You For No Reason, but people themselves. People doing terrible things to each other. And I’m a bit worried that we’re heading towards the idea that Humans Are Bad And The Problem/Virus, while I loved the series for precisely how it managed to still make positive human traits shine, how we were still witnessing sacrifices and acts of love from random on-off characters of the day in the middle of the storm…? That disconnected me enough that I wasn’t really able to truly feel the second-part of the episode either, since so far, the updates we’re getting for people who are out-of-the-box are all main characters, and it just strengthens my vague sense of unease that in this new universe, Only They Matter And Are Not Casual Assholes… I miss regular (positive) humanity a bit ;;)

- Not surprised at all that Martin would be extremely tense about this place in particular:

(MAG164) [CLICK–] [VILLAGE SOUNDS IN THE DISTANCE, A FLY STILL HUMMING] ARCHIVIST: We’re fine. MARTIN: A–are we? I mean, that place is– … I don’t, I don’t feel fine, okay, and you were there a long time doing your… y–you–your guidebook, which, you know, I get it, but that place is… I–it’s–it’s infectious, and, I don’t– ARCHIVIST: We’re not infected, Martin, that place, it– … It isn’t for us.

… since Jane Prentiss happened (and he had been shown having an awful time reading MAG084’s statement). … Technically, whoever sent Adelard’s last letter to Jon in MAG157 did Martin a favour, he didn’t have to read about gross Corruption stuff!

- Good practical use of Jon’s powers!

(MAG164) MARTIN: A–alright, but… but how do you know that– ARCHIVIST: I just do. I just know it. [SILENCE] [SHUFFLING] MARTIN: You’ve been knowing a lot lately. ARCHIVIST: … Yes. MARTIN: A lot more than you used to. ARCHIVIST: Y… [SIGH] Yeah. And it, it feels more… deliberate. L–like I have more control now. MARTIN: Okay. So… how much can you see? What else do you know? ARCHIVIST: Uh… Maybe everything…! MARTIN: What’d you mean, “everything”? ARCHIVIST: I don’t… Ask me a question.

I’m thinking again about the “reading” of TMA as a five-stages-of-grief-story, and the fact that we went from Jon enduring his powers last seasons (him “knowing” things he didn’t want to) to showing a form of control of it in what would be the “acceptance” chapter… is quite interesting. Is it because this world is above all ruled by The Eye? Is it because he has emerged from the chrysalis? When Jon had tried to “know” about Peter’s plans in MAG139, it had backfired badly, but now it’s manageable. (I also like how we’re getting a few limitations: it’s making him “self-conscious”, which could be enough to explain that they won’t use it for inconsequential questions unless Jon is feeling like it, what is happening inside the Panopticon is out of his reach, and the matter of the Fears is a hard subject, a bit overwhelming, so they’ve already got hints and pieces to explore but don’t have an idea to work on yet.)

- I’M SO DELIGHTED THAT SERIAL LIAR!MARTIN IS BACK………… OVER THE STUPIDEST THINGS…

* Finally an answer about “Martin K. Blackwood”, and the answer is that it’s whatever-Martin-felt-like because he was trying to be cool, and that it didn’t sound like a real name.

* Martin “I’ve been lying to my three bosses – what? Like it’s hard?” Blackwood:

(MAG120) ELIAS: I must admit I’m impressed, Martin. I knew you were all planning something, of course, but I didn’t believe you specifically would have the… er, capacity for boldness that you displayed. It took me quite by surprise. MARTIN: You didn’t just see it in me? ELIAS: Honestly, I didn’t look. For all my power, I will admit I am not immune to making the occasional lazy assumption. I presumed that I knew you thoroughly, but by the time you demonstrated otherwise… well. There was simply too much to keep watching over. I only have two eyes, after all.

(MAG158) PETER: But you said– MARTIN: Honestly… I mostly just said what I thought you wanted to hear. […] Elias– … Jonah had nothing to do with it. PETER: No! That’s not– You can’t– ELIAS: You’ve lost, Peter. Admit it. [CHUCKLE] He played you like a… like a cheap whistle. PETER: No! Shut up!

(MAG056) MARTIN: W… yes. You– you seem to be taking this kind… of person– ARCHIVIST: Because you keep lying to me, Martin! MARTIN: About what?! ARCHIVIST: I don’t know! But you are! […] Your handwriting, “If the others find out I’ve been lying”. Lying about what, Martin?! MARTIN: L– look, just forget about it, okay? Please. […] I… I lied on my CV. ARCHIVIST: … What? MARTIN: I don’t have a Master’s in parapsychology, I don’t even have a degree. […] So I… I just kinda started to lie on my applications, sending them out to just about anywhere. For some reason, my lie about parapsychology got me an interview with Elias and, and then a job here. M–most of my employment details are made up, I’m only 29!

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: I don’t… Ask me a question. O–one I can’t… possibly know already. MARTIN: O–kay. … What’s my middle name? [STATIC RISES] ARCHIVIST: Hm! Y–… You don’t have one. [STATIC FADES] MARTIN: Whoa…. ARCHIVIST: You… I actually believed you! MARTIN: Oh, so–sorry, sorry, I just, I just wanted to try it out– ARCHIVIST: “That’s ridiculous,” I thought, “that’s not a real name, but he wouldn’t lie to me…!”

* I want to know when Martin lied to Jon about it, but all options are excellent. Pre or during season 1, before Jon learned about the fact that Martin had lied on his CV and should have understood that it wasn’t all of it? During season 2 or season 3, with the awkward flirting, when Jon should have known better? Cuddling in front of the fire during the three weeks honeymoon, and Martin casually blurting out another lie?

* Jon being offended that Martin would lie to him is hilarious considering HEY, IT’S MARTIN, but also mmmmmmmmmmm about the fact that Jon also told The Distortion that it couldn’t lie to him regarding the nature of being or not being Helen (The Spiral dealing in deceits) and that Jon&Martin discussed about The Web trying to contact Martin, and being unable to find Annabelle (The Web dealing in dissimulation and manipulation)… Is it because Jon needs to consciously search for a lie in order to pinpoint whether something is one? Or is the fact that Martin was somehow able to hide a truth from him going to be relevant in some way…?

- I do appreciate that Jon&Martin have been able to set up boundaries / are comfortable with expressing them, or navigating around them, or checking on the other! Last time, Martin tapped out; this time, Martin checked on him and Jon was able to say that it was beginning to get too much:

(MAG164) MARTIN: Is this… A–are you okay? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] MARTIN: How are you feeling? ARCHIVIST: I, hum, I am okay. [STATIC DECREASES] It is a little… strange? But i–it doesn’t hurt. Keep going, you have… questions, let’s hear them. […] [INHALE] Anything else? I’ll, I’ll be honest, I’m starting to feel a bit… self-conscious, being a post-apocalyptic Google? MARTIN: Okay, okay, just one more, but… it’s a big one. ARCHIVIST: [SMALL] Okay. […] MARTIN: J–J–Jon, what’s wrong? ARCHIVIST: Uh, it’s, uh… I’m sorry, trying to know things about them directly, i–i–it’s like… [STATIC DECREASES] [EXHALE] God, it’s like looking into the Sun…! MARTIN: Okay, okay – okay, alright, that’s alright. ARCHIVIST: [EXHALE] MARTIN: We can leave it. ARCHIVIST: … Good. [STATIC FADES] Ow… MARTIN: Hey. [REASSURING CHUCKLE] Hey, it’s okay, it’s okay. We’ll go slow for a while. ARCHIVIST: [LOW] Alright… MARTIN: [LOW] Yeah… Yeah, there’s no rush. ARCHIVIST: [SIGH]

(… Last sentences not to be taken out of context.)

- ALRIGHT, I’m glad (and sad! But glad) to get an update on Basira and Daisy:

(MAG164) MARTIN: Is Basira alive? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] MARTIN: Is she… in… o–one of these places? [STATIC RISES] ARCHIVIST: She’s alive. Out there, not… trapped in a–a hellscape, but… moving. [STATIC DECREASES] Hunting. She’s… she’s looking for Daisy. She’s a few steps behind. MARTIN: And Daisy? [STATIC INCREASES] ARCHIVIST: Bestial. Brutal. [STATIC DECREASES] [INHALE] Carving her way through the domains of other Powers, following the scent of blood. … Oh, Daisy, I’m sorry… MARTIN: What’s Basira going to do? [STATIC INCREASES] ARCHIVIST: She… thinks she’s going to kill Daisy. Like she promised. [STATIC DECREASES] But she’s conflicted. MARTIN: And will she? ARCHIVIST: I–I don’t know, th–the future, th–that’s… that’s not something I can see.

* Very glad to hear Jon expressing sadness/pity over Daisy’s current state, since she had stayed in the Archives to allow Jon to reach Martin, leading to her giving to The Hunt again…

(MAG158) DAISY: They’ll follow us. BASIRA: … Goddamnit. Jon, go; we’ll keep them busy. ARCHIVIST: What…? No! I– BASIRA: Don’t argue, just go. NOT!SASHA: [IN THE DISTANCE] Jooo–oooon~? ARCHIVIST: … Fine. Just don’t die. DAISY: Go.

… and the few words about Daisy in MAG160 weren’t suuuuuper great, a bit callous even, for someone who had pushed Jon upwards for more than half a season, who had held up to her wish of being “better” once outside the coffin, who had been firm about the fact that feeding a patron to survive wasn’t worth it if it meant hurting innocents, and who ultimately surrendered to it right after doing Jon a favour. So. Really really glad that we’re getting a bit of emotions from Jon in that regard >w< + It’s the “I’m sorry” relationship of the series, uh.

(MAG132) ARCHIVIST: And if we get out… DAISY: But we can’t “get out”. ARCHIVIST: [CRIES OF PAIN] DAISY: [CRIES OF PAIN] I’m, I’m sorry… I’m sorry Jon… I’m sorry…

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: Carving her way through the domains of other Powers, following the scent of blood. … Oh, Daisy, I’m sorry…

* … Aouch for the fact that Basira is indeed respecting her promise…

(MAG158) DAISY: [PANTING] Basira… promise me something. BASIRA: What? … No, Daisy, no. DAISY: [PANTING] Mm, Basira… When this is over, you need to find me… and kill me. Promise me. BASIRA: No. No, Daisy, we’ll figure something out! NOT!SASHA: [IN THE DISTANCE] You can’t hide forever, Jon. DAISY: [PANTING] These last months, I… it was always borrowed time. Can’t outrun it forever. BASIRA: Daisy… DAISY: [PANTING] Promise me. BASIRA: … I promise. DAISY: Thanks. [BREATHLESS] Now, run…! BASIRA: Daisy…! DAISY: [GROWLING] Run!

… but that it means that Basira is now “hunting”, which… incidentally might be something Daisy would feel even worse about, if she gets lucid enough to comprehend it. It’s not absolutely certain that Jon’s use of the word “hunting” was in the sense of The Hunt, but the pursuit of a task has been Basira’s whole thing during season 4: searching for leads and being sent here and there by Elias, then focusing her attention on Annabelle Cane and trying to track her down, and now looking for Daisy. It sounds all very pointed, though, and there would be something absolutely tragic and Hunt-y in the idea that Daisy, who had been resisting The Hunt, would involuntarily pull her partner down the same path due to the promise made to kill her…

What prevented Basira from being caught by one of the nightmares, though? Is it her connection to the Institute – we don’t know as of now if the binding is still relevant? Is it because of Basira’s personal predispositions for keeping a single-track mind, as she had displayed during The Unknowing (allowing her to leave the building in time)? Is it because she’s being taken by The Hunt herself, pursuing another Hunter? (I’m surprised that Jon said she hadn’t been “trapped by a hellscape”… because being doomed to pursue Daisy in order to kill her, without knowing for sure that she’ll manage to do it, sounds like something that would be Basira’s personal hell.)

- Regarding Georgie & Melanie:

(MAG164) MARTIN: Uh, oh, okay. Hum… How are the others? ARCHIVIST: I, uh… [STATIC INCREASES] Hm! I’m… I’m not… sure, I–I can’t really see Melanie o–or–or Georgie. MARTIN: They’re dead…? ARCHIVIST: No… No, I–I don’t think so; if they were dead, I– I think I would know that, I just… I–I don’t know… where they are, w–what they’re doing. [STATIC DECREASES] MARTIN: Hm! ARCHIVIST: L–London, maybe?

Are they somewhere in particular (the tunnels, if they still exist?), or is it that their current states simply prevent Jon from knowing too much about them? Georgie had already had her fears cauterised, and it might have been the case with Melanie too:

(MAG157) ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] … No, you’re right, I’m sorry. A–are you alright? MELANIE: Yes! I’m, hum… actually doing okay…! ARCHIVIST: That’s good. MELANIE: [SOFT CHUCKLES] My therapist isn’t happy about it, you know? Uh, unsurprisingly. Tried to have me put away, but they, uh… they let me come here. It’s, it’s been good for me, though! I… I feel alright. I’m, hum… I’m not scared anymore.

Plus, Melanie cut her connection to The Eye and I doubt that wouldn’t give her an advantage in some way when the apocalypse happened right after that.

… But Jon, what about the first love of your life, what about THE ADMIRAL, is HE doing okay. (And would it be possible to know about the others through him? Elias may have done that trick, so.)

- Jon didn’t mention that Georgie&Melanie couldn’t die, so mmm, I’m not sure about the possibility of death with the new rules? Especially since, while it seemed to be par for the course in last week’s statement, respawning wasn’t mentioned during this one: are you still able to truly die with the new world rules? Or is it only possible if you’re “outside” of a nightmare?

- reidfjkred so much for Jon spitting that Martin should call Elias “Jonah” in MAG161, it was absolutely Jon being a brat and complaining for the sake of complaining, uh? Since he’s been sticking to “Elias” since then, and it’s not an issue anymore.

(MAG164) MARTIN: What about Elias? [STATIC INCREASES] ARCHIVIST: He’s inside the Panopticon; the tower, far above the world. MARTIN: That one? ARCHIVIST: Yes. [PAUSE] MARTIN: How is he? ARCHIVIST: Hard to say. The, the way this works, this… “new sight”, the knowledge is, is… [SIGH] It’s somehow wrapped up in the Panopticon? An eye can’t… see inside itself. MARTIN: Mm. ARCHIVIST: But I can feel him in there. MARTIN: Hm. That sounds… gross. ARCHIVIST: It is! [CHUCKLES]

(mARTIN ASKED ABOUT ELIAS! So much for trying not to think about him, uh.)

… Yeah, everything about Elias would be “gross” anyway. I’m still suspecting that Elias and/or Jonah’s body has merged with the Panopticon and is the Panopticon by now… Would make sense that “all-seeing as long as his body remained there” made him turn into being the all-seeing building at this point, with the new dream-logic rules?

- With the new statement form (“There is a…”), the concept of the journey through different nightmares, there is the reoccurring descriptions of the Fears as spaces:

(MAG163) ARCHIVIST: Geography doesn’t work anymore. Space… doesn’t work. MARTIN: … Alright. So what does that mean? ARCHIVIST: It means the journey will be the journey, regardless of how we choose to make it. […] The Panopticon and the Institute. Merged into something entirely new. MARTIN: Wha–, what? No, th–there’s, there’s no way we could see it from here. We, we must still be a hundred miles from the border, never mind London! ARCHIVIST: You could see that tower from anywhere on Earth. And it can see you. And if you walk towards it, eventually you’ll get there. But you have to go through everything in-between. […] MARTIN: What do you mean, “everything”? What’s out here? ARCHIVIST: [INHALE] [FAINT CREAKING] ARCHIVIST: [HUFF] [BAGPIPES IN THE DISTANCE] ARCHIVIST: Nightmares. [BANG IN THE DISTANCE] Come on – that trench is our first.

(MAG164) MARTIN: A–are we? I mean, that place is– … I don’t, I don’t feel fine, okay, and you were there a long time doing your… y–you–your guidebook, which, you know, I get it, but that place is… I–it’s–it’s infectious, and, I don’t– ARCHIVIST: We’re not infected, Martin, that place, it– … It isn’t for us. […] MARTIN: O–kay. Good to know. How much further do we still need to go? [STATIC INCREASES] ARCHIVIST: A long way. Through many dark and awful places… […] MARTIN: Are we safe, traveling like this? ARCHIVIST: Yes… Yes, sort of, we’re… I don’t know how to phrase it, we’re… something between a pilgrim and a moth. We can walk through these little worlds of terror, watching them; separate, and untouched. MARTIN: [NERVOUS CHUCKLING] That’s not as comforting as you might think. ARCHIVIST: I like it better than the alternative…!

Once again, it does give out some credits to Smirke for identifying the Fears as “places” – or at least, explains why he was perceiving them that way?

Really curious about whether Jon and Martin have a place “for” them. The concept reminds me a bit of the Coffin, and how it was described in Jon’s dreams (MAG120, Elias: “He knows the writing on the coffin has changed, though is still carved deep into the splintered wood: [STATIC INTENSIFIES:] “I am for you.” He knows it is not addressed to him, but he reaches down and pulls the chains off all the same.”). Strong symbolic places we’ll need to explore again are, of course, the Institute/Panopticon (Jon’s?) and Hill Top Road… and it’s interesting to keep in mind that Martin still has never set foot in the latter – he wasn’t with the group when they went to search for Annabelle Cane in MAG147. Could Hill Top Road be the place for Martin…?

(Or, it will be a Lonely one, and that one will not be pretty anyway. Could they visit what used to be Moorland House? It’s South from London, but then, geography doesn’t work anymore…)

- I wasn’t expecting an answer so fast about The Phone!!!

(MAG164) MARTIN: Okay, okay, uh, what else, what else, hum… Oh! Hum, uh, who was, uh–uh, phone – hum, wh–who was calling me? [STATIC INCREASES] ARCHIVIST: … I think it was Annabelle Cane. MARTIN: Hm. ARCHIVIST: That’s… weird, I, I know The Web was wrapped around that phone, but, but I can’t… see her. A–at all. At least with Georgie and Melanie, I have a vague sense they’re still alive, i–in London, and, or– Well, what was London. [STATIC DECREASES] But Annabelle…? Nothing. [STATIC FADES] Hm. MARTIN: W–well, I’ll… I’ll ask her, next time she calls. ARCHIVIST: Well, I know that’s a bad idea…! MARTIN: What, do you? ARCHIVIST: … Okay, no, that one was a… very reasonable guess. MARTIN: Ha!

* somethingsomething tape recorders as Web (since Martin was asking the tape recorder about what it was, and the phone began ringing right after)

* somethingsomething Web!Martin / Alright: there is still a big question as to why, then, The Web tried to contact Martin… and not Jon. Was it trying to trap Martin, is he required specifically for something or as a way to pressure Jon? Was it a strategic choice, because Jon would have been immediately triggered while Martin might be able to hear/understand something Jon would have refused on the behalf of it being Web? Or is something preventing The Web from directly contacting Jon? (I’ve been toying with the idea since the beginning of the season that it might not be The Web making Jon forget about The Web’s lighter, but The Eye in the same way that it was preventing him from listening to Eric’s tape, and I’m not confident about it at all… but it’s still a possibility that Beholding is protecting his agent from The Web in some way.)

* EXTREMELY interesting that Jon had been able to tell that it was Web… but is not so confident about it being “Annabelle”, although he assumes it was. The Web/Annabelle confusion has popped up a few times already:

(MAG146) ARCHIVIST: … Were you controlled? HELEN: What a delightful thought! … I don’t believe so, no. But the Spider’s strings are subtle, so I suppose it’s not impossible. Why? ARCHIVIST: I–I want to know; can The Web control another avatar, one that serves a different power? HELEN: [HELEN LAUGHS AND LAUGHS, ECHOING] ARCHIVIST: Make them do things they don’t want to, make them… [BREATHING FASTER] find victims, feed? […] BASIRA: … So you say you’re being controlled. ARCHIVIST: I–I don’t know. Maybe? Th–The Web, it– BASIRA: What, what was the name you said before? Annabelle Cane? ARCHIVIST: … Yes, uh, she’s… she’s been watching us, I–I’m pretty sure of it… DAISY: Jon… I’m not sure there’s actually the– BASIRA: No. No, if he is being controlled, we need to know. And we need to know now. Do you know where she is? ARCHIVIST: H… Not… not properly, I, I think she has some connection to Hill Top Road.

(MAG148) BASIRA: Or that we were being stalked by some freaky spider woman. Don’t tell me you didn’t know about that! ELIAS: Ah, uh, y–yes… W–well… To be honest, I’d… advise you to leave that one – well alone. BASIRA: Oh yeah? ELIAS: Uh! Look, look, look. I’ve… been doing this a long time now and, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about The Web, it’s that it plays its own game. All you can really do is… hope it doesn’t get in the way of whatever your plan is. Because the Spider usually wins…! […] ARCHIVIST: Did he say anything about Annabelle? BASIRA: Not really. Sounds like he’s not too worried, though. Says to just ignore it. ARCHIVIST: [SNORTING] Yeah, good luck with that! BASIRA: Any luck finding her? ARCHIVIST: I haven’t really been trying. Doing that sort of thing consciously, it… makes me hungry.

We’ve never met Annabelle, the last time someone reported that a friend had seen her in a statement was chronologically before the series began, The Web had been involved with Gertrude (and Jon-as-a-child) long before her transformation as an avatar, Hill Top Road was Fielding’s domain and not hers, all-seeing Elias has never referred to her directly, Basira never managed to find her, Jon can’t find her… so was it truly Annabelle who tried to call Martin? Is it that “Annabelle” is actually more spiders than person at this point, thus mentioning her as “The Web” rather than “Annabelle”? Or has Annabelle been dealt with and MAG147’s statement was just a hoax? Have we been overlooking another potential Web agent?

* If Annabelle is still alive and kicking, how come Jon can’t find her? Is she in the Panopticon? In the tunnels underneath (if they still exist), since Jon had a hard time seeing? In the basement at Hill Top Road, that Daisy hadn’t been able to find when they went there? On the other side of the crack in reality at Hill Top Road, not existing in “this” world? On the back of Jon’s head?

- … I’m worried because it seems possible to deal with the Fears – and that’s optimistic, so where is the trick.

(MAG164) MARTIN: Okay, okay, just one more, but… it’s a big one. ARCHIVIST: [SMALL] Okay. [SILENCE] MARTIN: Can we turn the world back? [STATIC RISES, STRONG] ARCHIVIST: Wow! Hum… I–if the Fears are removed, yes; but they–they can’t be destroyed while there are still… people to fear them; th–then they can’t be banished back to the space where they came from, it’s not… there anymore, I… Oh! Uh… MARTIN: J–J–Jon, what’s wrong? ARCHIVIST: Uh, it’s, uh… I’m sorry, trying to know things about them directly, i–i–it’s like… [STATIC DECREASES] [EXHALE] God, it’s like looking into the Sun…!

(LOL JON, you’ve already looked into the (Dark) Sun once! … Though okay, he thought he was going to die (and had already died once at this point.), when he did.)

We already have a few limitations/problems with the solution: Fears are rooted in people fearing them, and the space close to reality where they used to dwell isn’t a thing anymore. Which means they would need for people to stop fearing them, OR to wipe out people (which… could tie in with an Extinction emergence and Simon’s description of the Vast Universe in MAG151, with cataclysms and apocalypses happening all the time, and humans being a grain of salt in the whole universe), but that’s not exactly ideal nor acceptable as a conscious decision (even if mercy-killing, that’s still genocide). Same thing, if they need to banish the Fears to another place… there is the crack at Hill Top Road, and the possible “other” reality, but that only puts me to mind that… this might be how the Fears have operated since the beginning of time? Being let into a world and festering, then sneaking into another like they had been doing in the TMA-verse in the first four seasons, before being allowed in by another Jonah, until they contaminate another one, etc.?

(… It says something that my most “optimistic” guess regarding casting the Fears somewhere would be into Jon, since he’s a “record of fears” and an “archive” himself…)

 - ! Tiny thing, but regarding Helen:

(MAG158) MARTIN: Oh, actually! What about Helen, where’s she these days? [STATIC RISES] ARCHIVIST: Uh, she’s… [SNORT] Right. Naturally. [STATIC FADES] MARTIN: What? What’s she doing? ARCHIVIST: Martin, turn around. [SHUFFLING] MARTIN: Oh, you’re kidding! ARCHIVIST: Wish I was…! MARTIN: [SIGH] Shall we, hum… ARCHIVIST: Do you want to do the honours? MARTIN: Not really. [KNOCK–KNOCK–KNOCK] Maybe no one’s home…? [THE DOOR CREAKS OPEN] [DISTORTION SOUNDS, BRINGING CONSTANT STATIC] HELEN: Hello, Jon! […] ARCHIVIST: Oh. Yes, sorry, uh… The Distortion can always find anyone who has… crossed its threshold. HELEN: And that includes you, Martin! Remember?

If there is something I love in TMA, it’s the tendency to introduce OR remind people of a small thing to give it more significance later. Regarding the fact that Martin had crossed Helen’s corridors (MAG079/MAG080), it had been mentioned in MAG082, MAG118, and reminded in MAG158 with Peter Lukas:

(MAG158) PETER: Is everything alright, Martin? MARTIN: Nah, it’s fine. … Don’t particularly like it down here. PETER: Ah, yes. Of course. Hard to trust the doors, I imagine. MARTIN: [BREATHLESS CHUCKLE] Yeah, well, everyone else seems to these days, so…! PETER: But she’s still the same corridors, I suppose. [INHALE] I’m sure– … what was his name? … Tim! Tim would– MARTIN: I’d really– … rather not talk about it, Peter.

So! I love that the tiny reminder also served to introduce/explain the idea that Helen can track people that way, which indeed explains how Michael and Helen had been able to find Jon in MAG101 and MAG143. Since Basira took the corridors in MAG143 too, it means that might come in handy at some point to find her and to get her back?

- First time Martin and “Helen” were interacting… and also, sad because Martin had seen Helen Richardson and had felt guilty that Tim&he hadn’t tried to save her:

(MAG080) TIM: Because this is us now. Worms. Monsters. Corridors. They’ll keep happening until one of them kills us and we’ve just got to deal with it. [SIGH] … Any sign of the woman…? MARTIN: I don’t think so. [PAUSE] We should have helped her. TIM: No. MARTIN: But we could have tried! TIM: How? MARTIN: … TIM: Look. There’s no point talking about it. It happened. I hope it doesn’t happen again. Statement fucking ends.

- Alright, we’ve already got an answer as to whether or not “monsters” do enjoy the new world:

(MAG164) HELEN: What would I have to gloat about? Much as I am delighted by this brave new world in which we find ourselves, I can take no credit for it. This was all… you! […] Look at this place, look at this… [DEEP INHALE] wonderland! This is the world now, and we are strong and free! There’s really no reason for us not to hang out. […] This is nice! I am really glad we get to spend some proper, quality time together now. MARTIN: … Yyyeah. HELEN: Anyway. Sorry to love you and leave you, but I must dash. It’s a very busy time for me, lots of things to do, people to… well. You know!

… The answer is “yup, very much, thank you”. Though The Distortion’s case is a bit specific, as Martin discussed with Simon:

(MAG151) MARTIN: … What about the monsters? SIMON: What monsters? MARTIN: Things like Mi– Hum, th– er, the Distortion. I thought they were part of the Entities themselves, ext– extensions. Surely, they know what’s going on? SIMON: Honestly, I think they have it a lot worse than we do. Imagine being a hand that can conceive of itself, having impulses shot through you, being moved and clenched by some unseen mind – but never knowing the reasoning behind your own actions, or even if you’re just some thoughtless reflex. Eww! Sounds horrid.

=> The Not!Them might be delighted too, but I’m not sure about avatars themselves?

- Distortion/Helen debate still raging, Jon stuck to “it’s mostly The Distortion”, not sure we’re meant to believe it when it seems to be mostly messing with Jon about that:

(MAG164) HELEN: And please: my name is “Helen”. ARCHIVIST: Like you said, I can know everything now. Including how much of a lie that really is. HELEN: Don’t mistake “complication” for “falsehood”, dear Archivist. ARCHIVIST: [AGGRAVATED EXHALE] HELEN: And remember, that knowledge is not the same thing as understanding.

(Helen reminded me of I.M.O.G.E.N., obviously, given the absolute unrestrained delight! Absolutely leaning into the Distortion mantle as an entity of delusion/deceit/fucking with your head, mm?)

- … Surprised that Helen knew about Georgie&Melanie’s refusal to help at the end of MAG157:

(MAG164) ARCHIVIST: You could’ve–! … You knew what was happening. HELEN: I suspected. But all I really did was refuse to help! And that is hardly a unique quality. ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] HELEN: If that makes it my fault, then surely, this is Georgie’s fault as well, and Melanie’s! ARCHIVIST: Leave them out of this, they didn’t know…! HELEN: There it is again! Knowledge! It’s so very important to you, isn’t it? These fossilised nuggets of pretend comprehension, weighing you down, stopping you thinking or feeling! What about… hypotheticals? If they had known, what would they have done? Is that something you can see?

How is it able to know about this? Was the door there, without Jon noticing (since he then went to knock on it in another scene, presumably in the tunnels)? Is it able to know just because it’s a sore spot and The Distortion can use whatever is on your mind as long as it can mess you up with it? (It’s also easy arguments to deflate: Helen kept quiet because she was having fun seeing Jon run in circles, and because Jonah winning meant winning too, and fucking everyone else over. She/It could clearly benefit from the chaos. Georgie&Melanie refused to intervene for self-protection, and because Melanie had already expressed doubts over the fact that the Archives team was “helping” in any way when doing anything; they had nothing to personally gain out of Jonah winning.)

(- Still a bit immune to the “Jon is feeling guiiiiiltyyyy” card because. Yep, not his fault!

… but on the other hand, the One Thing He Should Feel Terribly Guilty About (hiding that he was attacking people in season 4 and not trying to prevent more victims) was swept under the rug due to the new circumstances, and is likely to not be relevant again since it proportionally doesn’t matter much while they’re facing the apocalypse. So. Am not really managing to feel sad over him being unfairly accused for the apocalypse, since I’m still hung up on my unresolved grievances about things he absolutely is guilty of and did shit to try to repair or apologise for :w)

- Big “MARTIN!” but at the same time, Jon kept doing it for me:

(MAG164) HELEN: I always knew you crazy kids would make it work! MARTIN: … Thanks. ARCHIVIST: Martin. Look, I’ve no interest in your… gloating. HELEN: What would I have to gloat about? […] Goodness, he is in a mood. Has he been like this the whole time? MARTIN: Not the whole time. HELEN: Thank goodness! ARCHIVIST: Martin… MARTIN: In fairness, he’s had a lot on. HELEN: Oh, I’m sure, hm. ARCHIVIST: Martin, please. MARTIN: Sorry, it’s just… maybe she can help. ARCHIVIST: With what? MARTIN: With our… with our, with our quest! ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] MARTIN: We’ve been walking a while, and well, her… door’s– Maybe we could, you know… Shortcut. ARCHIVIST: No. … No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. […] MARTIN: Maybe she’s right…! ARCHIVIST: I am not, nor have I ever been “adorable”. MARTIN: [CHUCKLE] Okay, not true. But I actually meant the whole… being friends thing? I mean, I don’t see why– ARCHIVIST: Martin, she’s… a cruel… vicious monster! MARTIN: Yes. Yes, she is. But who else is there? ARCHIVIST: [SIGH]

… Given how Martin’s “I believe you” to Peter was also feeding him whatever he wanted to hear and planning to backstab him at the last moment, I think that it might still be the M.O. of good ol’Martin K. Blackwood, Liar Amongst Liars? Compromising himself, working closely with someone he has to take down, using whatever they can give him, and planning for them to underestimate him. It worked with Elias, it worked with Peter, so…

He’s kind of right that they’re in lack of allies, too, and indeed, Jon wouldn’t be ready to compromise (even less with Helen, since discussing with her in season 4 about their conditions still resulted in Helen following its own agenda at the end of it, and specifically refusing to help him when he was dead worried about Martin). Martin… is more callous and has been shown to be more strategic and calculative (MAG129: “You’re working for someone… really bad!” “Yes, I’m not an idiot, Jon, but it’s no… worse than working for something really bad, so…”), so it makes sense they would have vastly different stances about it…

“Who else is there?” is inviting for someone else to intervene soon – The Web calling them again? Georgie&Melanie are still in “London” at the moment, so they’re not on their way to meet up with Jon&Martin. Amongst the reoccurring characters who might not have wanted the apocalypse, we’re only unsure of Salesa’s status (officially dead, but no body seen), I indeed don’t see who might offer their help at the moment…

- …Uhoh, that’s some death flag over The Distortion:

(MAG164) HELEN: I would happily take him. But I don’t think he’d want to leave you. MARTIN: Okay, o–one, don’t talk about me like I’m not here, it’s… rude. Two, I know you can take two people at once. Me and Tim were both inside the corridors when it… ARCHIVIST: Martin, it’s not that s–… simple. HELEN: I’m afraid the Archivist is too powerful now. ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] HELEN: If he tried to travel through my corridors, it would not go well, for any of us. ARCHIVIST: But mainly for you. HELEN: Ouuh! [CHUCKLE] Is that a threat? ARCHIVIST: No. HELEN: Mm! Pity.

It makes sense that Jon, Beholding avatar, at his most powerful, would cause problems inside of The Distortion (knowing the lies and illusions). So I’m guessing that it will happen at some point, leading to its annihilation?

… Now I’m wondering if this is, too, why Annabelle kicked out Jon&co from Hill Top Road: because Jon coming close to the crack in the basement, if he were to find it… could lead to something terrible, too.

- … That’s a lot of alarm flags also about Martin&Jon being together, the idea that Jon is protecting him, there is the fact that they got shortly separated last episode, and now Helen insisted pretty heavily on the notion of them-as-a-united-couple and we had a direct reference to the possibility that each could go their separate ways (although they refused that option):

(MAG160, Jonah Magnus) “How is Martin, by the way? He looks well. You will keep an eye on him when all this is over, won’t you? [RUMBLE OF THUNDER] He’s earned that.”

(MAG161) MARTIN: … Are we still safe? ARCHIVIST: Y–yes, it… it doesn’t want to harm me. MARTIN: And me? ARCHIVIST: I won’t let it. [CREAKING SOUND] MARTIN: Hum… thanks.

(MAG163) [LOUD BAGPIPES] [EXPLOSIONS] [LOUD GUNSHOT RAFFLES] MARTIN: [SHOUTING] SHIT, SHIT– ARCHIVIST: Martin! MARTIN: SHIT-SHIT-SHIT-SHIT– ARCHIVIST: Stay with me, don’t let go! MARTIN: Oh! [LOUD BANG] ARCHIVIST: Come on! MARTIN: Shit, shit, shit…! ARCHIVIST: It’s okay! […] [DISTANT] Try to keep up! MARTIN: Yeah, yeah… […] ARCHIVIST: Martin, you need to keep up. It’s not safe. … Martin? You okay?

(MAG164) HELEN: To say hello! And check up on the happy couple~ [LAUGHS AND LAUGHS, ECHOING] ARCHIVIST: [SIGH] HELEN: I always knew you crazy kids would make it work! […] MARTIN: We’ve been walking a while, and well, her… door’s– Maybe we could, you know… Shortcut. ARCHIVIST: No. … No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. HELEN: I would happily take him. But I don’t think he’d want to leave you. […] I’m afraid the Archivist is too powerful now. If he tried to travel through my corridors, it would not go well, for any of us. […] MARTIN: So, no shortcuts, then. [SIGH] Understood. I’m not leaving you on your own. […] What? HELEN: Just… taking a moment to look. You two are just such an adorable couple!

… They’re definitely getting separated accidentally at some point, uh? (And/or Martin taking the corridor by himself, and having to leave Jon behind, and/or Jon pushing him into it and choosing to stay behind.)

- terhsfinjr what does it say about Jon that Martin finds him “adorable” when we know what else he finds “cute”:

(MAG164) MARTIN: Maybe she’s right…! ARCHIVIST: I am not, nor have I ever been “adorable”. MARTIN: [CHUCKLE] Okay, not true.

(MAG022) MARTIN: I like spiders. Big ones, at least. Y’know, y’know the ones you can see some fur on; I actually think they’re sort of cute– ARCHIVIST: Please stick to the statement, Martin.

Jon “retro aesthetic” Sims being as adorable as a big grumpy spider, uh.

  Title for MAG165 is less clear-cut than last times – there is ground for it to be Spiral, Hunt, orrrr Dark or Vast with astronomy in mind? (Vast could be interesting with the more “historical” meaning too, given Simon’s perception of his patron in MAG151.) I’m not expecting a Web phone to call Martin again, but then, I wasn’t expecting to learn more about it right after it happened, things are going fast, so it could happen…