#mag 187

[mitwodlemi]

MAG 187

[ashes-in-a-jar]

Honestly good for it

[job-ross-the-second]

HELEN NOOOOO

[that-agender-from-pluto]

This is just their relationship in one screenshot lol

Love that we got an episode all about helen love her rip ill find you in the afterlife

[a-mag-meme-a-day]

Meme for @a-mag-a-day Day 194

MAG 187 - Checking Out

[martinknorrisblackwood]

guys guys

[lickmycoffeecup]

MAG 187 sticks out, cause its the first time we hear Jon having an issue with being touched (I swear it happens again later too).

Was this an issue he always had?

Or was this a product of all his kidnappings?

It just stuck out to me. Not only because he sites the suffering happening within The Distortion as a reason for shattering it, though obviously not the main reason. And the woman that touches him is suffering. So why have an issue with that? Does physical contact make the fear too potent? Is it a product of him being less human, and not wanting a “victim” to touch him?

Jon is just such a curious character. Cause he cares, he does. But he is just really drunk on The Eye, and all that that brings with it.

[deadlykitten404]

MAG 187 - ooooh FASCINATING I think the Distortion is so interesting because of how little Helen lies, considering she's a being made of the fear of lies

also everyone loves Michael and Helen because they're designed to be likeable, but also out of all of the other chapters in the series there really are so few that are easy to sympathize with. like, all of the fan favorites really are the ones that are still kind/friendly (ig is the best way of putting it). Like, the statements where people just kill or torture without remorse are the ones that have the characters I like the least, but then you have characters like Helen and Agnes and Annabelle who really are more victims of the narrative that are just making the best of their situation

MAG 193 - oh I didn't realize that Elias was an actual stoner, idk why I fully thought it was like a fanon thing (like the lonelyeyes divorce subplot)

MAG 194 - Annabelle?? I still haven't figured out what the Web's motivation is here, frankly I'm surprised that it still has any notable power amongst everything the Eye has.

I'm so glad Melanie is still like, a normal (fairly) rational person, it's refreshing around all the supernatural explanations for stuff loll

YOOO HILLTOP IS BACK??? I thought getting rid of the apple like destroyed the place???

MAG 195 - BASIRAAA

MAG 196 - wait,,, were the tapes from the web?? or did Annabelle just take tapes??? either way writing a statement from the position of the house is fascinating

MAG 197 -oooooh so they are from the web!!

usually lore dumps are kinda tedious, but that was fascinating. it's so cool seeing everything come together.

MAG 200 - "I don't want to die" bold words from a man who condemned the whole world.

I loved the little lore dump about the fears, getting their backstory was so interesting ! also the web literally having a mind of its own is pretty cool.

oooh so now the cover art makes so much sense. I thought it was going to be like Jon's connection to the Web and the Eye, but NOPE ITS ALL THE WEB

also this was the only thing going through my head while Jon was giving his closing monologue, so enjoy both versions of the meme (im sure it's been done before, but I couldn't decide which one was funnier so I'm doing both)

[kat-and-their-cats]

Favourite Episode Masterlist

[bitter-goodbyes]

JONS WITH HELEN???????

[landscaping-your-mind]

i like my characters unfathomably powerful and uncharacteristically callous about human lives

[a-mag-a-day]

Helen gaslight gatekeep girlbossed too close to the sun

Too accurate

[styxiegoesinsane]

what really happens when you text 61016

[written-among-the-stars]

Status: MAG 187 - Checking Out

I think I haven't commented on season 5 at all until now, but don't worry, I'm progressing

these episodes are heavy. like I always need some time between listening to them just to digest

I loved the Distortion as a concept, it's so interesting, and the way Helen was exposed this episode - I felt called out, being unsure myself whenever she appeared about whether to like her or not, about her intentions.

[voidthescribe]

MAG #187: Checking Out

Are you telling me the Hotel California is a domain of the Distortion?

[oaxleaf]

mag 187 - checking out

instinctually, i want to say that helen is not a person. not just in the sense that she's humanoid but not quite human, but in the sense that she's about as much human as a computer program immitating humanity. an external expression of charm and friendliness and complex thought and motivation, but really just a cog in a larger machine

but here's the issue: she was genuinely scared of him. she must have been. not threatened by or wary of him, but rather feeling true fear, an actual emotion, for it to have been a lie

it's hard to figure out where the intersection between human and illusion starts and ends. if it's even there. i think that even us as a fandom has a hard time reconing with the fact that the things we like most about her were probably just fabrications to make us like her. she was so well written that us, the audience, were able to ignor her horrible actions too (which, tbh, is really rare with female characters. their negative actions tend to turn us far more against them than men's, and the fact that i've yet to come across anyone who deeply dislikes her for what she did is testament to how excellent her charm was written)

helen was also an opportunity for projection. she often acted as a voice for the audience, commenting on the same things we would and thus further endearing her to us, but she also functioned as something for jon to project his view of the original helen on. it's this strange intersection of both disliking her fortaking helen away and not being able to remove the fondness he had for her even if she's now another creature's face. it further allowed her to perform questionable actions without him never letting her back in, even if it was always very grudgingly. she uses his idea of what helen might've been to her advantage, and even though he knew what she was, jon's always struggled to seperate knowledge and understanding and acceptance. which is why i think this statement is really important - it shows helen from an outside perspective. no personal relationship, no complicated projections of wants and needs, but just her as the pure manifestation of horror she truly is

helen was an excellent character, and this episode blew my mind the first time i listened to it. i'm sad to see her go, but it was necessary, and goddamn was she great from start to finish. top five character, easy