Entry 9 (No, you didn't miss any. I can't find my notes for some of them)

Episode 101:

How is Johnny so good at emoting?? This is ridiculous

I think the Cockney Boys were a little hurt by Nicola asking them to move the Coffin

Why do they need it by them? Are they mitigating it? Have they not yet delivered it where it needs to go?

God, I love Nikola. She's so polite. It's ridiculous. 

Also, this is not the first time that someone has called Jon 'rude'. That, weirdly, seems to be a big thing for the Avatars. It's like, they fight each other but they don't use their powers on each other? Not unless it's a whole big thing. It's not something to throw into casual meetings. Is it because it's a matter of the power needed, or respect, or just common courtesy, like a cold war? Because if one feels comfortable enough to do so, they all can and that would get destructive fast. Like, Mike didn't do anything to Jon until Jon tried to compel him. Neither did Jude. 

There has to be a reason for this. Maybe it's how the powers internally keep the Balance? Like, yes, they vie to become the ultimate power, but there are Rules and boundaries, and conventions that must be followed. 

This exchange is gold and I adore it:

ORSINOV

He is rude. And he just will not stop asking questions. Ooh, but now, I can ask the questions! How are you feeling?

ARCHIVIST

[MUFFLED FEELINGS]

4:48 - This is the 3rd time that she's asked if she can call him 'Elias' - what the fuck?? That's important. Johnny doesn't drop hints like that without reason. 

They can hide themselves from each other. Can Jon hide himself from Elias at all?

5:24 - So, Johnny has watched Silence of the Lambs

5:53 - Is it just me or does Michael sound more human?? Less completely batshit, more grounded in reality?? 'he''s been edging that way ever since 'he' rescued Jon. 

Also, 2 Avatars in one day. Who's metaphorical cereal did Jon piss in?

6:05 - "I'm going to kill you". Jon is just so fucking resigned to everyone threatening him

6:56 - Jon is asking the wrong questions. Michael wants to tell 'his' story. 'He' wants to be Known. Jon is kind of obtuse, isn't he?

if the Circus is the Stranger's, and the Archives are the Eye's, what is the Spiral's? A Maze? A hallway?

8:38 - Michael Lies. So much, 'he' lied to himself. The Eye can cut through the Lies

Michael is the Metallica Lyrics "You lie so much you believe yourself. Judge not, lest you be judged yourself"

"Statement Begins" Is an Invocation. Michael knows it. 'He' can probably hear/feel the power int he words. 

The way Jon says it this time. He's saying it so simply, like this is a thing. Like he's accepted that he will die and that this will end. Like there's nothing he can do.

Nik and Jon have more in common than I realized. This is a man who can't fight, can't run. At heart, at bottom, in the end, all he has is his words. 

9:25 - "A dungeon full of idiot Watchers". I mean, he's not wrong

10:23 - Is Michael's increased 'humanity' a sign that someone else is gearing up to take his place? That someone is growing? The transfer of power does not seem that smooth for any of the Avatars. Would Michael even survive that? Would he become human again? Would he be able to cope?

Michael is bitter. Is it interaction with the Eye or is this a thing Avatars can do to each other? Bring each other back from that edge?

10:49 - I wonder what Jon looks like, sitting there and listening? Why hasn't Orsinov come back? Is she letting his happen as a favor? To who? I would figure that powers that Hide and Lie and are Different would complement each other? Does the Spiral distort time? Stupid question, sort of. The Spiral definitely distorts one's sense of time, but what about the actual absolute passage of time? Even in another Entity's place of power? 

11:26 - okay, why does the Lonely work so closely with  the Eye? Or is being Known, when you already know you are Alone not that bad? Because in the end, to be Known is to be made Alone? 

The Beholding impose rationality and coherence where there is none. Is Jon more powerful than Michael, in this twisted sliver of time? 

13:16 - a smile can hide so many lies

15:07 - Gertrude Robinson is Mary Poppins or Susan Sto Hellit when they grow old

16:06 - It seems frankly terrifying that something so big could be stopped by walking through a door. Also, that such a simple, innocuous phrase could sound so terrifying

16:17 - This is going to teach Jon to not let his Assistants trust him. Because them trusting the Archivist gets them killed. 

17:19 - Gertrude took the Lies and made the Lies Known. I wonder if the thwarting of rituals is what made some of the Entities overlap the way they do?

18:06 - Wow, Gertrude is kind of a bitch. Did she not teach Martin properly so that she couldn't use him in her work? Because I can understand why Jon would show up to a job where the 2 assistants have been there for at least 5 years and be frustrated that one of them can't seem to do his job. 

Ep 102:

Jon is this quote and it pisses him off:

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

― Tennessee Williams

He probably also does not take kindly to being called a child. 

2:55 – Elias doesn’t care about Jon. Jon is a means to an end for him. I think he purposefully stopped caring about Jon, on some level the same way that Dumbeldore stopped caring for Harry. 

3:17 – I think this is the exact moment Jon truly realized and accepted that his life is a cosmic joke; when Elias admitted that he was sending the statements without knowing why. Jon’d known it in the back of his head, it’s why he was willing to walk into the door with Michael. But ouch. 

4:38 – “She got very good at hiding things from me.” Was this because of her own developing powers as one of the Eye, or because she was willing to work with another power to hide herself? Was it Lietner?

4:56 – The moment Jon Knew about Gerard, there was a subtle hum in the background, and it keeps growing. Elias is way too pleased about that. Is it because it’s a clear indication that Jon is stepping into his powers?

5:34 – “Oh Melanie is on her way up here with a knife. Could you talk to her for me?” – Holy Shit Elias. Srsly. Holy Shit. Like, that’s not okay. 

Is there anything happening in the Archives, related to his people that Elias doesn’t know about? Because they haven’t learned to shield from him. Jon might want to make that his first priority. He won’t. 

6:00 - Elias is Dumbeldore

Jon is just like “I was gone for a month you guys, and the workplace drama now involves murder?? I’m a researcher! I-I I mean I Was.”

7:45 – How is it Jon’s fault that Melanie is here? That genuinely doesn’t seem right, as she came in and bull-rushed her way into a job while Jon was missing. It’s signing the contract that made it happen, not the fact that he asked for her help while he was gone. 

14:24 – The Corruption

18:05 – Okay, that is genuinely gross

18:37 – Okay, what the fuck. Does this mean that Elias knew about Gertrude and Gerard working together? Also, why does Gerard know French so well? 

20:26 – “This is written in French.” So, questions: Why are some words in French and most aren’t? Why does Jon only now notice it? Is it because he goes into a bit of a trance when he reads them?

21:10 – Okay, when did we learn that Gerard Keay died of a brain tumor. I had to look this up, which led me to episode 12, when they ended up in the hospital for burns. Interesting note: Gerry has a lighter with an eye design. Is this just a thing? Do all of them have lighters with their designs on it? 

9:56 (ep 12) – The moment Jon starts reading "Asag, veepalach, the lightless flame."; there is the same static in the background as well Jon is compelling someone

18:25 (Ep 12) – “Yes, for you, better Beholding than the Lightless Flame”. That same static noise is in the background. I need to relisten to the ep where Gerry find the traveler girl who liked to travel alone. The one he told how to get around the Stranger. I wonder if his words then would also have that static. 

21:44 (ep 12) – “Asag”; again with the static. 

24:04 (Ep 12) – The people all walking out. Is it Because of Gerard? Side note: the sheer difference between the way Jon talks in the supplementals in Season 1 vs Season 3 is .. startling. 

22:35 – So Jon can only understand a language he doesn’t speak when it involves a Statement??

24:10 – That tiny little laugh, like he realizes there’s nothing funny about the situation but he’s going to laugh anyways. Jon is what Snape could have been if he was cracked wide open and allowed to feel. 

Also, his little stutter as he talks to Martin! Precious babies! And that soundless laugh! I bet it lights up Jon’s face. 

24:57 – Jon: Oh, look. I’ll talk about my trauma! Oh wait, this is making Martin upset. Let me stop that now. 

27:02 – 

Jon: Elias said you’ve been reading statements?

Martin: (clearly not sure if he’s about to get yelled at) Oh, um yeah?

Oh baby boy! Oh Martin, my heart! But Jon finding out that Martin has been reading statements and being worried about him!! And Expressing it!!!

(I lost many notes?!?!)

106

25:57 - about Melanie being certain that Elias is Up to Some Shit, and that killing him is worth it in the long run: god, it would suck if it turns out to be true

27:38 - oh no, I don’t like where this is going. Ivy meadows was that really and place with the Corruption. Oh no

28:14 - Elias using his powers doesn’t sound like static; it’s sound like a downpitched car brake in the distance, or a tea kettle whistling very softly, or wind through the trees.

28:30 - why can’t Elias take the knowledge back? Or is he lying because he feels that Melanie has stepped out of bounds and he’s punishing her in the most effective way he knows how to?

Would the Stranger be able to take away memories? What Entity would?

29:20 - Elias is a garbage man and should be thrown into the garbage fire of 2020

107:

1:41 - Jon! No! Why would you touch down in O'Hare? Love yourself. Don’t do that! (I say as someone who has traveled through O'Hare many times)

2:11 - 2 things; MIGHT be jumpy? Jon, you’ve spent all of last season paranoid. Now that you know they are after you, might not be the time to stop being paranoid. “Eyes peeled” is an absolutely horrible turn of phrase, especially given your patron.

4:01 - Jon, how do you know what a Chicago beat cop looks like?

Also, why do you think Gerard isn’t dead?

4:31 - Does Gertrude take joy in it because she is doing something Mary Kaey never took the time to do properly?

Gerry had basically end stage cancer?? Could that have been caused by an Entity or messing with one? The Corruption?

6:55 - Elias implied that cops are part of an Entity. Given everything we know, Hunt? So there’s someone hunting Jon. I can’t tell if it’s because he’s been using his powers so frequently, or because he and Elias share a power pool and Elias has been drawing on it, or because Jon has been running himself ragged; but I’m surprised Jon is willing to admit that he’s exhausted. He also continues to sound more and more wrecked with each new click of the recorder.

19:30 - of course Elias won’t tell you information that you need Jon. Why would he do that when he can control you with the flow of info (especially since you’re both Eye) and therefore make you dependent on him?

Tim and the same issue when he ran away, didn’t he? He started to feel sick.

Great, so Elias/the Eye literally is an allegory for institutionalized addiction; kind of makes me think of the opium being introduced into China. Elias is an allegory for imperialism, holy shit.

20:08 - Jon is so Tired (tm) of being kidnapped. First one; shock, panic, horror. Tenth one: can we get some fucking new content please?

22:09 - huh, so that whole thing when she was a kid really got to her. So she’s def Hunt. Who’s panicked breathing is that?

24:15 - ok, didn’t see that coming. Also, poor Jon. He’s really like people to stop killing others around him. He has a delicate constitution

Was that the first time someone killed another being when he was there and aware of it?

108:

5:52 - the Lonely or the stranger

8:24 - the Lonely, def

16:02 - aww Martin. Jon doesn’t deserve you but he’s getting there. He even plans to return home as soon as he can. We’ll see what the world has in store.

16:46 - 1) did the statement summon Peter??? 2) Elias using his powers and Peter using his powers sound the same. 3) I love that Martin’s threat is that he has a knife! He says it exactly the way that that one kid says it in that one vine

17:51 - Peter and Martin is a very interesting dynamic. I can’t get the image out of my head that Peter is just grinning this entire time. That rictus public facing HR grin

18:31 - huh. So Peter always knows when Elias is watching him. Also, “That’s not like him. [...] Elias Bouchard, getting his hands dirty. It must be a sign of the end times.”

Do the Avatars get involved with each other in order to act as checks and balances?

Why is Peter asking about what Elias is like as an employer? Are they planning to replace him?

18:51 - why did Peter say “Be seeing you! As it were.” That last sentence is really weird

109 -113:

Gerry deserves the world and a partner who will treat him right. Also, the fact that he tries so hard to explain the world as it is to Jon is the kindest thing anyone has ever done for Jon.

Julia and Trevor are Hunt through and through. I actually really like the Hun as an Entity. Buried and Vast are orange and blue. Slaughter, flesh, and hunt are def friends.

114:

9:59 - hard to tell if the force that’s drawing her is the Eye or the web. Could be either or both. I’m leaning toward Web, but that’s because of the Entities invoked in Hill Top Road. Which is a place that just sucks and should be burned to the ground and the ground salted. Possibly more.

13:15 - when have you ever listened to the instincts that tell you not to go look, not to know?

13:51 - that was Jon being very kind. He made a purposefully choice not force Tim to tell him anything he doesn’t want to share. He caught himself doing it.

15:38 - “Buy one spooky manager, get a second one free!” - Tim, you sweet boy. I am getting annoyed at the idea that everyone is blaming Jon for their problems. Like, he’s basically in the same boat as the rest. Just because he is nominally in charge does not mean he isn’t in the same boat as them. And Jon keeps apologizing for stuff he doesn’t really have control over. That’s been an entire chunk of this season. Doesn’t he get tired apologizing? Or does he offer apologies because it’s all he’s got?

Like, I understand they are angry, but it’s not like Jon has control.

Yes, he hired Tim, but it’s not like he intentionally picked Tim to screw his life over. He picked Tim because he thought he’d be a good addition

Melanie is blaming Jon for her getting hired, despite him having nothing to do with that. He wasn’t even in the Institute. Like, srsly??

Basira and Martin are the only ones who aren’t and I respect them for it.

19:32 - okay, that’s kind of shitty. Tim cuts out everyone, but Jon can’t? On the flip side, he’s going to let Tim blow up the Circus. I think it would genuinely be cathartic.

20:12 - Jon makes a point to check in with any assistant he talks to, he cares so much.

That was the most excited that I’ve ever heard Daisy. She likes explosives

115:

8:12 - oh hi Flesh.

9:27 - I wonder if Cook is using himself. It kind of sounds like it? Would adding fresh blood to frozen meat make it taste fresher?

15:37 - that actually is surprising. I prolly would have become a vegetarian by this point

Jon has become very inured to the horrors that he reads about. He’s even gotten used to being kidnapped. The only thing he can’t seem to accept and deal with is his assistants not being okay and blaming him.

17:06 - Jon misses running. Weird. He misses being chased?

19:16 - The Spiral wouldn’t dare lie to the Eye. Is it because of Michael’s influence? Also, Jon. Please don’t push Helen away. Both of you, but especially Helen deserves better than that.

116:

2:46 - Elias, you’re trying to help?? I don’t trust or believe you.

26:25 - so, Jon made sure that Martin knows the plan and he’s valuable, but in diff ways. Yay!!

117:

1:46 - does Jon making a statement feed himself and his patron???

5:20 - Jon is choosing to trust them despite being given a reason to do so? Is this (meme ref) Faith? Is that the antithesis to the Eye? Can Jon defy the Eye, given his evolution?

It helps that he’s had copious proof that paranoia in those around you doesn’t work. It doesn’t help.

“I trust them” - oh baby boy! You good boy! He recognizes he can’t trust without proof because of who he is and who is becoming and he’s choosing not to let that part of him win!! Oh good boy.

But also don’t trust Elias. He’s a smarmy, sketchy piece of shit.

He fights against his own instincts. Good boy. Very good boy.

16:43 - Melanie is a Slaughter girl and the fact that she needs to hurt everyone around her is a worry

Martin, listen to your instincts. You’re he only one with functional ones for the overarching reality your caught in. Please be safe, soft boy

17:54 - it’s just an expression, chill out! Is Martin prophetic?

18:37 - you have 1 (one) job, Jon. Let’s see how you do.

21:29 - Tim, why do you want Jon to become ruthless? I mean, I get what you said, but that sounds like the path to destruction.

23:32 - did that hurt Jon because he is destroying knowledge, destroying a book of an Entity, or because Gerry was part of the Eye, and Jon is destroying someone of the Eye?

118:

4:31 - Oh look, recorders manifesting. Cool.

Basira: when you were kidnapped..

Me: which time?

5:04 - When Elias’ attention is stretched thin, he can’t see into someone’s head?

6:43 - interesting. Why does everyone think Martin is harmless?

12:05 - so, interesting. Elias must have something prepared for all of them. What does he have prepared for Jon? Tim = what Danny felt

Basira???

15:49 - Despite everything, Jon will not sacrifice those he considers his own.

119:

They fucking changed the music. Fuck that shit!!

1:22 - Jon, seriously?? You’re response is to call for help?? How are you still alive, you dipshit?

6:25 - can the Archivist fight?

7:57 - called it. Imposter Syndrome is part of the Stranger. Of course it would take shape as the voice of Gertrude

10:30 - So one of the Cockney boys shoved Daisy into the Coffin. Oh, that’s not going to go well.

11:35 - Basira got the brain cell this episode, didn’t she? She usually gets the brain cell.

Jon literally doesn’t know how to solve problems. I hope he learns how to do so in the future.

19:25 - you can clearly hear the smile in Peter’s voice, and wow I don’t like it

21:19 - why the FUCK is Peter so reasonable??!?!???

What was the little hitch around Daisy’s name?

The tapes are not neutral, so they have some sentience and can control/influence what they record

Entry 6

TMA 

Ep 82

7:28 - Daisy is so confused about the statements thing

8:04 - Elias is very certain that Jon is going to come back. He’s giving off the “I killed him vines” to Daisy, but she’s ignoring it. He’s too comfortable in his own domain. Too smiley about the whole thing 

Is statement a trigger word to make the tapes keep running?

11:28 - is Elias an Avatar? Or has he just tapped into the CCTV in London?

14:34- huh

17:07 - why does Elias want Jon killed?

18:36 - Martin started crying, didn’t he

Ep 83:

2:42 - Georgie must have pulled the MOST skeptical face in existence. It means Jon was really straight laced in Uni

2:16 - I swear I think Elias is still paying him

3:33 - Gimme those statements straight into my veins!!! Elias is the Eye and Jon is the Ear

3:49 -No you won’t!!

Is Elias posting Jon’s current location somehow???

Is he tweeting it??

7:05 - The Stranger. The Circus of the Other. 

8:01 - Medatitive. There it is again

19:38 - The Stranger literally wears someone’s skin when it takes over them

22:28 - Elias sent the statement. What is his end game??

Ep 84:

4:45 - the pestilence Entity 

16:20 - Does Melanie have a key??????

20:10 - Elais: did someone say they needed a job???(peers out from around corner)

20:02 - we don’t actually have required qualifications. It’s just whoever I feel like hitting on/unnerving at the time. Plus, they have the Eye floating above their heads. In Jon’s case, I think it’s an Eye floating Bout their ears. 

I wonder if Martin recognizes and acknowledges Jon’s bad parts, or if, in his eyes, they aren’t detriments. Because having a partner who will back off and admit he’s wrong the moment you call him on it; that’s not a bad trait in a partner

84:

So, people trade being avatars. This is probably the one before the one before Michael, and Michael has to be relatively new (??) because he’s still rather humanoid. As we understand it. 

It’s clearly the Spiral

Eric was the name Mary Kaey brought up to Gertrude. 

15:10 - Michael, standing next to his door: hey! I saved your life! Rude

It’s dangerous to go forwards and it’s dangerous to go back. Go sideways, but what is sideways in this scenario?

I bet Elias is going to get off on this later. 

Is there going to be a statement about each of the Entities?

If you’re going to confront them. Do so indirectly. Ideally, make someone else do your dirty work. 

17:10- local ace remembers courtesy rules when someone goes out on dates and ask if premises need to be vacated. 

18:30 - *cackling* I love Georgie’s calm: welp, she better be alive. I’m not getting stood up for drinks on Thursday. 

Why hasn’t Georgie pulled away from Melanie, haven’t that Melanie is exploring all the areas that everyone instinctually knows are dangerous??

86

22:05 - okay, that’s evil!! Blankets are all we have, and to take that away is genuinely cruel. Fuck the Dark, man

24:24 - this is all prolly fake. Still not touching it!! Good job, Melanie. 

25:01 - tiny hum of “well...”

25:46 - Jon has to have a specific look he Eye about statements because everyone can tells when his mind goes there. 

Entry 5

Episode 74:

The spiral or Destruction?

Okay, the way she talks about just feels like the last four months.

Oh look hi Michael!

7:59 – Is this based on the Russian Sleep experiment creepy pasta? Because this sounds like it’s based on the Russian Sleep experiment creepypasta. Which, god damn, I respect because that is a  good creepy pasta but

11:54 – Unsurprisingly, because the Spiral likes Non-Euclidian, it’s likes circles and spirals and swirls. Because the original application/definition of Non-Euclidian is a sphere.

14:00 – She awfully optimistic about the fact that she going to, you know, LIVE. I respect it but goddamn. 

15:51 – she’s going to die very soon, isn’t she?

I really respect the number of times a title has had double meanings for the story being told.  

16:16 – Jonny is such a good voice actor because of his ability to convey how unnerved and yet believing he is of this is. The Spiral relies on madness, on the mind twisting and turning in on itself, destroying itself. I’m surprised the Spiral has lasted this long given that all it’s people seem to die, probably very young. 

I am surprised that Jon doesn’t drink coffee. Given everything else we know about him, you’d think he’d mainline it. 

After supplemental – I’m impressed with Jon, for respecting the fact that Basira is having her own issues to deal with and not drawing her into his shitshow. On some level, I’m kind of surprised that Jon isn’t on some level, one of the Spiral’s because fucking Madness is very close to paranoia. I mean, paranoia has to be at least one of the Entities’ wheelhouses, like the Hunt. 

Given the last 6 months of Jon’s life, he’s very in the paranoia hole. 

18:01 – That’s surprising, unless the flip side of the Eye is to conceal that which should, that wants to remain hidden. Or the nature of the architecture prevents effective monitoring. Or or it’s the same reason why certain cases cannot be recorded on anything but a tape recorded.

Going back to Binary (65), everything other than binary is considered analogue, and binary is basically magnets and 1s and 0s. CCTV is of course binary because it’s of how it’s recorded. Given the nature of analogue vs digital, and this might lead to a discussion/ research project of what other media (mediums) qualify as analogue. Sound obviously, writing but not typing? Unless on typewriter? 

Not!Sasha doesn’t give a shit about you, Jon. As in, she doesn’t give a shit about your survival, except as useful as you are as a talisman rather than a human being to her. 

19:22 – The idea that someone is moving solid wood out of the way is concerning, glad we’re on the same page. Is it anywhere near the cache where Gertrude hid her stuff? Is he looking for references to the Lietner books?

Episode 75: 

Okay, based solely on the title, Jon’s going to be an idiot and go into the tunnels alone. 

Old school cameras aren’t binary. Would he have better luck recording onto a VHS rather than something else, as VHS is magnetic. Pretty sure that new school CCTV does not use VHS.

3:16 – Stranger of Vast, because you know, heights; because, weirdly, Heights are the purview of the Vast AND the Stranger? I mean the Vast makes sense. 

5:06 – It almost sounds like he’s speaking from experience. Or, you know, he knows someone who is like that. 

6:03 – Oh look, man with lightening scar. Let’s talk about Michael Crew. Which in turn means it’s the Vast. 

10:02 – Oh look, an Avatar of the Vast watching a man trying to overcome his fear. Did Michael cause the accident to make Grant climb the ladder? Is he trying to make Grant confront his fear or is this an offering to the Vast?

11:03 – Loneliness isn’t a sign of the Vast, is it? Cause the Lonely, based on the one lady who married into the Lukas family, which the Lukas Family really likes the Lonely. The interesting hallmark of the Lonely is that you’re alone in a crowded space, the graveyard, the church, the ship with containers. 

A big wide open space is more the Vast’s speed. Even the ship, despite being on the sea, is still crowded. Standing alone in the middle of the Sahara desert if more the Vast.

14:50 – This is kind of ridiculous on the dude’s part. Your brother has a phobia of climbing up 2 flights of stairs on a ladder, like sobbing. And you think it’s funny to take him to a place that will probably almost make him go catatonic? That’s a dick move. 

17:35 – Probably one of the first times that a working phone was taking into the domain on an Entity, that we know of. I mean, the phone is going to lose charge in a heartbeat, so Grant is fucked, but that anything go through is kind of shocking. 

18:50 – Okay, let’s take a hot sec. Lichtenburg are fractals, as it turns out. Which means that each domain has overlapping indications. Spiral and Vast share fractals of all things. 

20:18 – Okay, so Basira went “ah fuck this shit, I’m out.” Basira is a rare thing in that she’s a cop with morals that she’s usually not willing to compromise on. I think she’s realized that nobody cares aout this, they just want it gone. 

I still love that Daisy is like “ah sure whatever, take them.”

Episode 76: 

1:56 – Based on the name alone, the Flesh.

3:11 – Jon is a creampuff. I love that his response is, oh you’re going to yell at me? No fuck this shit I’m out. Oh you’re hurt; are you okay? 

Jon is all “I’m trying to be bad/callous human being, and I’m failing.” 

I don’t think I’m protective of Jon, but I recognize that I see a lot of myself in him, in the things I am capable of and prone to. I just need to find a Martin. We all need some more Martin in our lives. 

I also love that the moment you pique Jon’s curiosity, he will throw everything but the researcher in him out the window. 

I’m really glad that Jon is able to show concern so readily. Because given what we’ve seen of Avatars of the Entities, they lose a fundamental part of being human in the process. Since I’ve been looking at fanart, which is always a smart idea, Always. I know Jon is going to become something of an Avatar to the Eye. That’s literally the speedrun of the Archivist. I’m really worried about how much of his humanity Jon is going to lose. 

 

6:08 – Yeah, we just all go to America because they have more cryptids and it’s bigger. We’re British, we have lovely accents, Americans are going to watch us. She’s not wrong. 

Playing pass the potato with ghost stories.

7:57 – 1) Melanie is going to be associated with the Eye, isn’t she? Because “Oh look, a thing. I have found it. I can’t unsee it. Welp, time to dive in!”

2) is the connection between the people whose last names are horror writers that the Eye goes through them to get to Jon? 

3) The idea that everyone instinctively understand “Oh, don’t go there, you might die!” I wonder if that’s going to make Jon seek out those places when Jon finally gets of his arse and goes exploring the world? Because, unlike Elias, Jon strikes me as the kind of person to seek shit out. 

Which Entity smells like old blood? Blood is not the purview of one Entity

12:27 – All the descriptions make me want to go to a train yard. Trains aren’t scary

16:48 – Okay, Jon has to look older than he really is. Everyone looks at him and thinks he knows nothing of technology. Jon is not that dumb. He knows what memes are. That’s the view of anyone over 40. 

19:42 – This is one of those cases where Jon’s voice is working against him because he sounds sarcastic or caustic even when he’s not. As a result, people think he’s being an asshole when he’s simply trying to convey concern. 

20:52 – Melanie has a very good memory for faces. On some level, I can understand why she thinks Jon is gaslighting her. Being who he is makes people skeptical of his intentions. Jon is finally cottoning on that Sasha may not be who she thinks she is. I mean, come on. We’ve been saying this for ages. 

Episode 77:

1:42 – Mary Key? Nope

7:17 – Hi, the Stranger. He chose this, so he’s finally doing research. 

What I find interesting is that it’s people who haven’t seen the person in a while, because they have a very specific image of who and what that person looked like. When a Stranger takes over, you’d think they be better about it. Unless the point is to unnerve those that know by being “wrong”. 

16:09 – After Gertrude’s statement. I think that’s interesting that she’s afraid to bring the desk. Something within the Institute allowed it to overcome the inherent defenses that exist within the Institute? I don’t know. 

16:25 – Jon sounds like he’s on the verge of sobbing

16:57 – The issue I have here, is that Jon is utterly terrible at being assertive. He doesn’t know what to do most of the time. The sad part is that I bet if Jon explained all this to Martin, Martin would be all “Oh yeah, that makes sense.” And just go with it. Martin has a very good head on his shoulder sand is very good at taking control of a situation and getting shit done. Jon needs someone like that in his life. 

17:30 – Awfully optimistic of you, Jon

Episode 78:

Oh look, Jon did something stupid

1:52 – It seems like Jonny Sims is very intent on giving us the gift of sounding Wrecked in the last 2-3 episodes of every season and I am here for it. 

5:00 – I think the Stranger gets off on, as much as an Entity can, derives pleasure and satisfaction from the unease people are that realize that something is wrong, and they Thrive on it. 

I also think that they enjoy how much Anger it inspires, that someone had taken and twisted this person they had known. 

13:37 – It’s the table with the spider web

16:30 – On some level, the Web and the Stranger are opposing forces. The spider can trap the Stranger. 

17:00 – Magnus Institute or Cockney boys

18:18 – Jon is very good at torturing himself. 

The supplement: Jon is all “I’m sorry I fucked up. I made life hard for you. Please leave the Institute so that I can go fuck shit up, and then go down into the basement like an idiot.” At least he recognizes he has been helpful and is telling them to take a couple days off. 

Martin: I care about you, please take care of yourself.

On the one hand, Jon’s been kind of a dick to Martin, but also, I see where Martin is coming from. Someone needs to take care of Jon, he’s a helpless idiot, and I’m really good at taking care of people. And Jon’s all “Well, yes please but I won’t actually ask”.

I also love that Jon, unlike most men in media, says “I fucked up, I’m sorry.”

Martin is all: Oh no, you’re going to do something stupid and suicidal. We need to stop/take care of you. 

Tim is all: You’re going to do something stupid and suicidal. Hell yeah, plausible deniability! Washing my hands clean of this bullshit. 

(cackling) okay, I love this statement “It is remarkably easy to get an axe in central London.” That sounds like Jonny tried it. I wonder if Jonny Sims now owns an axe that he has no idea what to do with. 

I like that when Jon is actually in danger, Michael stopped sounding so amused with the Universe and actually started sounding serious. I don’ understand how Jon came to the conclusion of “Oh hey, this is a thing that keeps the Stranger controlled. I should destroy it”

What protections does Jon have on him? If we assume that the protections are both real and metaphysical, what could Jon be wearing that act as protections? 

- The axe (steel? Stainless steel?)

- The Archivist of the Eye

- The tape recorder??

- Is Michael providing protections?

- Is Elias providing protection simply to avoid finding a new Archivist?

- Metaphysical protections?

Oh look, a crisis. Jon falls apart like a shitty car. 

Would a stainless steel axe through the chest kill a Not!Them?

Episode 79:

1:15 – why the fuck is Martin reading a statement? (I completely missed that it’s his own poetry)

Do we ever find out what the K in Martin K. Blackwood stands for?

1:24 – I guess, Tim was less “Oh joy, plausible deniability” and more “okay, let’s let him have a head start and go rescue his idiot ass. God damn it.” Tim is much better at lying than Jon is. 

How many times has Jon snuck off to smoke a cigarette? Because it sounds like Tim has caught him at it a number of times. 

1:55 – I find that awfully optimistic that Tim thinks there’s going to be police involvement in anything that goes on in the Institute. The tribunal might just be Elias and a handgun, if we’re lucky. If we’re not, it’s Elias and a crowbar. 

(Is Time more likely to get together with Sectioned Police Officers?)

I wonder if anyone can shoot? Given that Tim is played by Chris Hemsworth, I wouldn’t be surprised if he could cave someone’s chest in with an axe. It might take him a couple of swings, but he sure as hell going to try it. 

2:43 – “Had one too many at the office party and started ranting about the Greeks”. Is that a specific instance, or is it the British equivalent of ‘started ranting about the immigrants moving into the neighborhood and destroying property values (even though that’s complete bullshit)’?

Given that the fandom sees Jon as British-Indian, that seems weird. 

Tim, you fucking liar. Martin is the recordings as well, reading the statements, unless it was his bad poetry?

3:25 – Can we just take a moment to appreciate that fucking effective sound design? Because that felt like your mind fucked with a straight razor

I appreciate the gods of irony and comedic timing being all 

Martin: What you think the Institute is haunted?

Tim: No, worse

Not!Sasha (doing her best Kool-aid man impression)

I will admit that my first thought was that it was Michael opening the door and shoving Jon out with streaks of white hair. Cause that would be hilarious. 

3:56 – I love that Tim is all “Nope, nope, nope. I am not going near the tunnels. I already went down there once and I got scarred and that shit sucks.”

And Martin is all “I can’t leave him~”

I think this is where .. No, you could argue that the start of the crush happened back in Season 1. So what the fuck is this? Unless Martin is like me, and once he gives his loyalty, you have basically murder a kitten in front of him to lose it. Or violate his trust multiple times. Jon has done that a couple times, what with the stalking. And the sketchiness. 

I have no real doubts that once Martin admitted to faking his resume (which I bet Gertrude knew and just did not give a shit about), that Jon stopped stalking him. 

I wonder if there are things off-screen, little drops of kindness like honey on the tongue that keep Martin’s crush going?

4:06 – Tim, don’t lie. You like Martin way too much to let Martin go down into the evil, scary tunnels of Doom by himself. You care way too much

4:33 – I can’t tell if Michael shoved Jon out into the tunnels because it’s the only place he could or because he’s a little shit. Michael for me, on some level is knife cat via the Cheshire Cat. Michael is basically the Cheshire Cat for me nw. Actually the Cheshire Cat is the domain of the Spiral. 

Or because the tunnels, on some level fall under Michael’s domain. 

5:07 – Jon is a damsel in distress. “oh no, something I can’t overcome. Oh no. I guess I’ll just wait.”

5:17 – Can Not!Sasha track Jon? Is there some kind of metaphysical residue on him for having destroyed the web table?

6:11 – Jon, if you know how to pray, now might be a good time to start.

7:05 – Can we take a moment to appreciate that Martin’s idea of a light at the end of the tunnel is to save Jon? Let’s be clear, he says explicitly “save Jon”. Martin is the dude in shining armor. E is Aziraphale. 

7:33 – Tim: There’s nobody here

Michael: (peering around the corner) I’m right here, guys.

I also think that this is the point where Michael stops playing the smiling man because he’s invested. I wonder if Michael watches Jon and Martin dance around each other and he just like “This is the best soap opera. Oh wait, Jon’s being an idiot about something. Oh Fine. I can’t have them die. I want to see them get together. Fine”

Martin: Stay Back

Michael: No

7:53 – is Martin associated with the Spiral? I understand he’s all “I need to know, I need to know”. Or is Tim the Spiral? Martin seems like the kind of guy who, if duel affiliations where possible, he would. Because he’s going to warp reality until it meets what he’s looking for. Is it rose-tinted glasses or is it something else?

Does Michael ever refer to Jon as anything other than the Archivist? If he hasn’t , that’s an indication that Avatars can tell who has the potential to become an avatar, and assign them that role, assign them that Name. Even if he hasn’t, that can still mean that, because Jon could have grown into the role of the Archivist. Can one Avatar work against the creation (self-realization??) of an Avatar of another Entity? 

8:43 – Did Michael shove them in? Did he threaten them in with his creepy knife hands? Is Michael basically Edward Scissorhands? Michael is inspired by Edward Scissorhands. 

9:49 – I can’t tell if, How likely would it be for Martin to be the one who knows that Jon is no longer Jon? Because given what the Stranger seems to seek out of its victims, it’s fear and anger. Martin would be a good candidate given how much he cares.

10:37 – This is the point where the Not!Sasha sounds the most like Sasha.

It would be so much easier to believe you and trust you if your voice didn’t echo 50K times and sound like Legion

11:54 – Can we take a moment to appreciate that as long as he’s the one being threatened, Jon is almost blasé about it, and at the thought of being destroyed, he is more angry than scared about it. But the moment one of his assistants is mentioned as being in pain, he gets angry?

This has been consistent. I will admit that Not!Sasha’s threat of wearing his is a little uncomfortable, not gonna lie. 

12:19 – “You and your little acolytes”

They can tell when someone is close.

It feels like the worst kind of pyramid scheme, actually. Acolytes, something else, Avatar. Religious leader connotations. That’s what it feels like everyone considers Jon to be right now, with the potential to be an Avatar.

Who are the acolytes? Martin, obvs. Tim? Reluctantly. Melanie?? Basira??? Not Daisy. She couldn’t give any less of a shit. 

13:01 – Of course the Eye is the enemy of the Stranger. It’s about being known, being seen, being recognized. 

14:06 – The Stranger is looking for secrets. How to fuck up other Entities, maybe?

The Stranger is imposter syndrome

14:39 – How does the Archivist get chosen? 

Episode 80:

Paul Sims is ridiculous

2:43 – The tape recorder is probably a protection!

I love Lietner: Please Mr. Sims, I’m an old man. Am I really a danger to you? YES.

I love how the moment Jon is no longer in danger, he becomes arch. 

3:24 – “Whatever it does, they don’t come back.” Has anyone ever checked?

Does Leitner feel safer in the tunnels because he’s not observed there?

Not!Sasha called Jon the “pupil of the Eye”. The Pupil focuses the Eye. Does that mean the Eye can see where Jon is in the tunnels, despite not being able to see into the tunnels in general? 

Jonny Sims’ voice is going to age Well.

4:06 – I wonder if Jon finds recording statements meditative? The same way that certain statements were talking about diving into the trench or putting that stun gun to the cow’s head. A place of calm, a place where you’re not thinking, just existing. There’s something very clearly ritualistic for Jon about how he starts each statement with “Statement begins” and his voice shifts and then when he says “Statement ends” his voice shifts again. From a meta perspective, I realize that it’s just because he is getting ready to read clearly so that anyone could understand him, but from an internal narrative, it is interesting because it shows a shift in thought, in the state of mind of the person, bracketed by ritualistic words that are consistent statement to statement. Jon clearly derives a lot of comfort from the routine of saying “Statement begins”. It’s almost like a preacher reading a prayer. If Entities seek to experience fear from their victims, then Jon reading the statements is basically the closest that the Eye gets to that .. source of power??

5:15 – He’s basically saying that the books are remote controls! What the shit? It’s like you need to construct a manual for each book to be all “read this at this time, read this to achieve this effect here”. Which in turn leads to, does this work with other books? Can you affect the fabric of reality or is it only Smirke’s Architecture? Because within his architecture, intentionally reading for a book is purposefully fucking with the balance of the structure, thus allowing you to build and create new walls. 

5:04 – The way he says that implies he’d been down there a damn long time, because that kind of experimentation does not happen in a weekend. 

5:57 – He literally put bumpers so that Jon had an area to bounce around in. That’s adorable

6:04 – Why should it have struck Jon odd that he could map the tunnels in some weeks? Like any sensible tunnel system should be able to be mapped in a number of weeks. 

Is Lietner Striving for Balance?

8:30 – 1) I love the way Lietner says “angry goth”.

2) The fact that Jon says “Our Gerard”. That is a very interesting slip. Who does the “our” refer to?

3) Mary Kaey should have taught Gerard better than to think that everything is due to Lietner. Why he did beat Lietner to death for his mom? 

9:58 – “I branded them with my seal.” That’s very specific phrasing. “Seal” can mean a lot of things, but especially to contain a thing in a seal. To seal something away. A way to track something on a metaphysical level. Was Lietner almost trying to make something like the Archives crossed with Smirke?

Are the tunnels out of Balance, and is there any way to fix that? Or do you just expose the tunnels to the other Entities and hope for the best?

12:00 – Is Lietner the Hunt? Because finding things? That seems to be an overlap between the Eye and the Hunt.

13:22 – Lietner would do so well in the Magnus Institute

15:35 – 976. More than 1 per Entity, makes sense. He’d gotten almost 7 per Entity. 

16:17 – How the hell is the Institute still standing?? All the artifacts??

17:22 – Do the fates of the assistants reflect the books they had been reading? Their deaths. Why would the Entities work together???

Certain Entities clearly hate/cannot work with each other. The Web and the Stranger. The Spider and the Destruction/Fire thing. 

Is the relationship between Agnes and her father a reflection of the relationship between their respective Entities or vice versa?

18:55 – I feel like Lietner is Balance. He wants to guard something. 

20:43 – The Eye does not make connections. It just catalogues, observes, records. It cannot draw conclusions. It’s like a really tired lab tech. It’s everything Elias said. 

Jon is doing a speedrun of becoming the Archivist. He’s been at this job for 2 years.

21:32 – Half a step to the side of our reality. One foot in, one foot out. 

21:54 – They’re not gods, they’re not even beings, they are forces of nature that had functional been made manifest by the fears of humanity. It’s collected power. 

25:41 – Jon’s like “Oh my god, this is so much to take in.”

Lietner: Well hurry up, we’ve got arson to commit.

26:12 – Given how important the Archives are to the Eye, Elias, acting as an Avatar (???) of the Eye must have murdered Gertrude to prevent the destruction of the Archives. 

26:55 – We don’t have time for you to have a breakdown. You can have a panic attack later. 

Entry 4

TMA speculations 

Episode 69 (nice):

I swear to God, Martin is the only psychologically stable person in the entire Institute, which is honestly sad.

2:57 - Jon gives Martin's words more consideration and weight than anyone else on his group. Also, he’s very good at avoidance. 

Martin, have you met Not!Sasha’s Tom? 

Oh Joy, Spiders. I hope this girl and Agnes never met. That would have been a shit show 

“I should leave it alone.” Yes Jon, you should. Are you going to? No, of course not. 

“I can’t not know” - a Tenet of the Eye 

Episode 70: 

I think this book is for the End 

17:08 - authentication errors, huh? So that’s another aspect of the Stranger (?). 

Not being real. I wonder if they are also prone to making forgeries 

Episode 71: 

Ben has a very nice voice 

Her name is Slavic 

5:46 - the Buried 

14:24 - I respect this woman immensely. She was confronted with a fear and just said “welp, guess that’s that.” 

Is acceptance the way to get around the Buried? 

This also sort of answers the question of what happens if you encounter a fear that’s not your own. And if you have a particular strength of will; I guess you survive just fine. 

Cool. Jon is so confused, lol. 

Dust and dirt is another sign of the Buried. 

Someone is living in the tunnels. Can’t be Not!Sasha 

Will you really wait for Basira, Jon? I don’t believe you. 

Episode 72: 

5:34 - “Meat is Meat” Oh hi, the Flesh. 

6:15 - Gerard?

17:09 - old bibles: I’m still going to call them Lietner books, even if they’re not technically Lietner books because it is a great catch all term for books that connect you to an Entity. So, this guy has a Lietner book. 

Aww, he’s worried about Basira. 

After supplemental: I bet the thin guy is Tom Han (need to check dates against disappearance) 

Episode 73:

I wonder how much Daisy has sheltered Basira to make it easier for her to leave if Basira decided to do so? I get the feeling it’s a lot. 

I also think that Basira is in Tim’s boat, and isn’t going to be able to leave even if she wanted to. 

I wonder how many times Daisy has wanted to or tried to leave? 

I love that Basira listened to Jon about the torches. 

Blindness is a sign of the Darkness. 

Wild speculation: Not!Sasha tipped them off about where the Church is. Whoever is in the tunnels? 

Entry 3

Overall, I am torn between binging the entire thing and taking my time and enjoying the process of discovering the mystery and figuring things out for myself. It's why I've avoided both the reddit and the discord associated with this podcast, despite my deep desire to interact with others about this. I'm also this close )( to going and downloading all the transcripts in order to be able to reference them. I just wish I knew a place to do so that didn't require me to go through the list of all the Entities in a given episode. 

I'm likely going to take the approach of plowing through a season, and then taking some time to stew on the implications raised. 

Episode 61: Hard Shoulder

I love Daisy. She’s amazing at throwing Jon off his stride. I wonder if she’s doing it intentionally to get more info out of him regarding either the tapes or Gertrude. 

1. I love that Daisy threatened him
2. I love that Jon is just like “yeah okay whatever
3. I wonder how she’d break his eardrums
4. I wonder why her nickname is Daisy and she doesn’t answer to much else? Is it an Entity thing?
5. Jon sounds wrung out

5:09 - is it going to be the Cockney Boys? The rust is interesting. Is it one of the destructive Entities? I’m not sure their names. One seems to corrupt and destroy. I wonder if that happened to Jane Prentiss. I wonder what the usual life cycle of being owned by an Entity is. 

5:28 - fucking called it. So, the Stranger

9:26 - This is them delivering the coffin for episode 2. 

Looking back, it sounds like they were trying to “starve” an Entity or a representative if an Entity. The Spiral. It sounds most like the Spiral. That impossible geometry. 

If you break the rules, you must pay the price. 

Metal chain and a wooden coffin. It sounds like they hastily assembled this thing to hold something, given the description of the nails. Or maybe it was made by people who don’t know how to put a coffin together. Which seems like an oversight. You’d think that representatives of Entities would know how to put together a coffin. 

But, given what we’ve seen with the Eye. I wonder what those things are made of. The nails, the wood, the chain. Based on episode 2: some kind of pale yellow wood and an iron padlock. I wonder if the padlock is the important thing. It and the wood. 

The key was iron as well. 

Is the pale yellow wood sacred to an Entity?

Zack opened the coffin, so he was the one punished. Cold iron? The wood of the coffin had been warm. 

Jon, you 're shockingly bad with people sometimes. 

Aww, look Jon. You have emotions. And can admit that you aren’t stable. Admitting it is the first step. Are you going to take the second and do something about it? Counterpoint; what exactly can he do at this point in time but follow his curiosity? I mean, be less sketchy and stop stalking his coworkers. That is a good step. But what beyond that?

I will say, listening to this episode while it is raining adds a fun little layer to the whole thing.

Is Jon afraid of thunderstorms? Because that is my new headcanon, and that is adorable. Just the idea that Jon is like a skittish cat in a thunderstorm, all wet and bedraggled and in need of a warm blanket and cuddles. Honestly, my headcanon for Jon is that if he had a daemon, his would be a cat. He comes across like a cat. 

 

Episode 62:

Based solely on the title: a Leitner book. 

Jonny Sims sounds wrecked. 

3:43 - Oh hi Mary Kaey!! You, I did not expect. I wonder if being a representative or an avatar of the Eye (or any Entity) provides you with some Foresight. Michael has it. Mary Kaey seems to have it based solely on the little bit she’s said. I wonder if the posterity that Mary is leaving this for isn’t Gerard but Jon. 

I wonder if Gerard was acquitted because Mary Kaey left it in her will that he could use her skin?

“Expect you don’t use it much anymore, do you?” - is this indicating that Gertrude has accepted the Eye and just knows/remembers things, including where she put literally anything, so she doesn’t have to have this? Does being part of the Eye give you something like an Eidetic memory?

“We have all the time in the world.” - when was this statement? Is that a dig? Do Avatars know when they’ll die? July 8th 2008. Mary Kaey died shortly after. I really need to make that timeline

6:32 - Mary is planning to betray her “Patron”. Given what she implied, yes; families can be aligned with an Entity. You can try to switch Entities. Given her fate, it likely didn’t go well. Mary thinks Gertrude is associated with the Eye. Is Elias associated with the Eye??

Gertrude isn’t full sold on an Entity yet. When was the older soldier relative to this tape? Need to check. 

15:44 - the procedure. That’s what happened to Mary. Whoever it was wrote in Sanskrit. What language did the doctor write in?

Is the syringe in storage from this doctor?

20:47 - so we have our first explicitly named Entity: the End. 

Elias and the Magnus Institute are the Eye. I suspected that before but this is explicitly stated. Going back to the very beginning: Elias says that the Institute is meant to observe, record, and document; not interfere. That seems to be a tenant of the Eye; you may not interfere. Or maybe even; you will not interfere so the implication is that the Eye is a relatively passive Entity. 

Who the fuck is Eric???

Jon and Gertrude sound the same when they’re surprised and that hilarious

21:09 “I do rather hate the scent of burning skin” there is a Story there~

Curiosity killed the cat, Gertrude. 

So, we have confirmation that Elias is Eye affiliated. Gertrude is on the verge of it. Does this mean Elias knows everything that Jon is up to?? CanAvatars or affiliated protect themselves from the spying of the others?? 

22:28- that’s what you got out of the tape?? Really Jon??

Also, Jon likes knowing things. In other news, light pollution is typically orange

Jon misses the name of an Entity but can tell that Gertrude hid something in the floorboards just by the creak. What the bus, Jon?

So I wasn’t wrong in that it was technically a Lietner book. Also, another book, this one for the End. I wonder about the book of poetry though. 

Also, this conveys that certain Entities have a primary language they operate in. 

Side note; how much can someone record about them, given the nature of the Entities?

 

Episode 63;

Ben is a perfectly wonderful man. Elias is a shitscape

4:41 - okay, who on the crew has done this? This has way too much detail to be just a thing they thought of. Especially which churches lock the doors tightly

Okay, the Dark eats people. Interesting. Could the original breathing have been from the followers?

Jon has had shouting matches with King? Huh, interesting. I wonder if it’s about journalistic integrity. 

Also, new girl??? 

Jon, despite being an ass, keeps tabs on Melanie King. And can actually sympathize with her position, even if he is hurt by her words. 

Wait. Wait wait wait. I thought no church took Robert Smirke up on His offer to design t??

 

Episode 64:

Limestone 

Barry and Paul: cockney boys?

Copper bands

Did someone play a dice game in here~?

So Jon hates mummies. Also, he’s descended into paranoia, found a shovel, and is very intent on digging deeper

 

Episode 65:

6:37 - oh poor Jon! “God, it’s like talking to my grandpa”. He must be so offended

This episode really got to me. 

Of all the episodes, this is one that I’m having difficulty pinning down the Entity(ies) involves. The Spiral makes sense because maddening, non-Euclidean geometry. But that doesn’t feel quite right?

I wonder if she actually believed him, unless he meant on her superiority with a computer angle, I bet she was humoring him. 

I wonder if Jon has a different posture when he’s recording supplemental, and that’s why everyone automatically knows that he’s being a sketchy fuck

Why do you feel attacked, Tim? What’s preying on your guilty conscience?

I wonder if the Eye likes inducing paranoia in those it watches?

Tim is the best. Tim is the best. I love Tim. I kinda ship him and Jon now. Just because Tim will call Jon on his shit. Someone needs to. 

“A little sympathy would be nice!” Go Tim! Asking for some sympathy from your boss in these trying times is just basic human decency. 

Wow, this whole world malarkey (and I have to reduce it down to this just to not go mad myself) has really taken a toll on my spelling and vocabulary

25:01 - as much as I love Jon, I agree with Tim. Elias should have fired him. Why didn’t he? Unless Jon is useful for something. Maybe Elias gets off on his employees being paranoid?

From Jon’s POV, this has got to hurt and I bet he’s going to fold like a flan in a cupboard. 

Can Elias fire Jon? Can Elias fire anyone?

Could he have killed Gertrude because he wanted to fire her or she wanted to quit but the only way out is a body bag?

Are the Archives going to make sure that Tim only leaves in a body bag?

 

Episode 66:

2:26 - the Buried?

Does the Buried represent oppression?

4:42 - do Entities affect your body temp? Or your perception of the world, so you don’t feel cold when you are?

15:03- Lukas. So the Lonely. Salesa is affiliated with the Buried. (Does the Buried also cover the fear of things being hidden from you/the fear of hiding something?)

Also, lol. They’d made a bet on if he’d live and come out sane. 

17:54 - really Jon? You haven’t had enough? Or have you decided to stop going over CCTV tapes and focus on something more private?

18:57 - worms, vampires, and those people that just go up in flames

20:10 - Elias would have had to approve the budgets. Which means he knew what she was doing, where she was going, and why. I thought Elias said they had to watch, record; not interfere? Doesn’t this go against his modus oporendi?

Also, Jon, is there anyone you *do* trust? It doesn’t sound you even trust yourself. 

 

Episode 67:

2:59 - the Spider(Web)

9:46- aw, puppy. You got so excited about the date, you forgot to make plans. That’s adorable

10:42 - Creepy that Agnes found him. The spiderweb is the Spider(Web) trying to stake a claim. 

She burned it to warn the Spider off. 

Agnes is the Agnes from Hill Top Road. It didn’t hit till just now. 

He’s covered in burn scars

12:51 - I actually feel sorry for Agnes. She can’t really have a normal relationship, because she chose/got chosen so young; and she’s given herself wholeheartedly to her Entity 

13:53 - this is the priest and the other dude getting rid of the tree. 

19:02- 

They’re dead, so they won’t cause any more trouble. 

That’s shockingly optimistic of you, Jon. 

“no, you told me you wandered around for hours following an incredibly traumatizing experience”. Aw, look at you go Elias. You’re actually worried about him. Aww!

19:31 - 

“we really don’t have the budget for that.” Is that his excuse for everything? Does Elias know what’s down there and is he trying to protect Jon from it? Also Jon, stop speedrunning being an Archivist

“please, Elias. I need to know.” Is this appealing to his inherent personality as a servant of the Eye, or does he like listening to Jon beg?

“Oh don’t be so dramatic Jon. You know how hard it would be to replace you.” Jon devolves into stuttering and admitting he has no idea of his value. Awwww!

Has Jon been using up the propane budget to mainline caffeine into his veins?

 

Episode 68:

Oh look. Disease again. Joy

I’m not sure I like the implication that the deaths of so many Native Americans can be attributed to an Entity rather than the deliberate cruelness of a white man

Jon, Jon. You wimpy dumb fuck. He’s very prone to panicking at the first opportunity. That’s not going to bode well for him.

Oh look, Not!Sasha is here again. Of course she’s the one who finds him

“Hard to focus” - now isn’t that an interesting statement. How does the foundation of the Institute affect Entities? Is it because this is the Eye’s domain? Can’t be because then she could never work in the main levels at all. Also, what’s with the fact that she’s constantly having computer troubles??

“When my heart rate calms down. In a year” - Jon stop lying. You know you’ll be down there in like a week. Your curiosity will get you killed. Or worse. Given Sasha is Not!Sasha, could she have drawn that arrow?

Entry 2

The Magnus Archives Speculations

Since items can be associated with Entities, and I feel like Gertrude was associated with the Eye, could the tape recorders that Martin and Jon use be connected to the Eye? Are people with predispositions to specific Entities drawn to their items?

The 14 spoke room under Leitner’s office is the biggest, shiniest red flag

Side note: false walls have come up twice now.  Are there more false walls that we need to be on the lookout for?

Does Gerard keep a journal, or his own set of tapes, or can he record things on his phone?

How often does the Lukas family boat sacrifice someone to the Lonely? Is it every trip? Every season? Any astrological connections?

Who is Elias affiliated with? Who was Sasha affiliated with? I'm leaning towards Tim being associated with Balance, if anything. Are their affiliated Entities aligned?

Jonah Magnus-what was his affiliation? Did he know Smirke? (Should be able to look that up). Why did he build the institute?

note: based on future eps, yes; he knew Smirke and they did not get along. 

Episode 49:

Loreda (connected to the Lukas Family shipping?)

Episode 50:

The Balance is it’s own problem 

Tim is adorable and a dork and I wonder if he’s actually a cat burglar 

I’m also glad that Jon is getting physical therapy

I really appreciate that we get these little snippets of Jon actually trying to take care of himself. Or at least someone is bullying him into it and I appreciate that person

You know who I’ve face claimed for Tim? Chris Hemsworth in that one movie where he’s the pretty one and everyone else is a competent woman. You know the one?

GHOSTBUSTERS!! That one

I feel like I need to start writing down landmarks and keeping track which architect built what. I'm also this close )( to making an excel spreadsheet that tracks dates and Entities. This is ridiculous. But also feels slightly saner than just a mssive board with red string. Jon, stop doing Archivist speedruns. 

Episode 51:

Simon Fairchilde comes up again. I’m beginning to trust him as much as I trust the Lukas family

I wonder who covers the Sea: The Vast and The Buried prolly

Entering a state of meditation or something like it is also a common thread through all theses events - fear or deep calm

The thing Simon yelled after: was it “Enjoy Deep Blue”? Because it’s a riff on what he said to Robert Kelly (ep 21) but it makes more sense for the Sea

We’re seeing a lot more of the entities as they really are

The Buried is a squat man with keys

The Flesh is a Maw

The Vast is .. Vast (exactly how Ex Altiora described it)

Was this entire trip an actual thing that Simon was interested in or was it simply an offering to his Entity? It seems like the latter. Do they pick people who match the temperament of their Entity? That seems likely based on a few of the stories

Jon is an idiot:

Oh look, there’s the scalpel likely from 45- Bloodbag

Oh look, an eye like the one that showed up when Gerard was doing his shit with the fire

The oak wardrobe is interesting: the Vast? The Buried? Is there a Darkness Entity? I’ve tried to stop spoiling myself if the Entities so I only know a few 

Is Disease an Entity?

Now why would Sasha suddenly have a lot of insight into the table, Jon? Don’t you think that’s important, Jon? No?

You DipShit (I say in the most exasperated, loving way)

Anyways, oh look: the table is related to the Spider, not the Eye. Good to know. 

Episode 52:

Jon, you awkward piece of shit. Also, Bassira trying to let him down gently is adorbs. 

A little cruel: “you know, with scars like yours but he can pull it off” - that must have hurt

I wonder how Martin feels about the fact that Jon is “straight” at least based on gossip from Tim. Or does he listen to the gossip from Tim?

Episode 53:

Wow, there is a lot to unpack there. 

Implication: at that time, September 1997, Gertrude Robinson was not affiliated with the the Eye. She died in March 2015. That’s 18 years to change her mind. She was 52 at time of recording. 

Bronze or Brass keep the Eye at bay? Were there other signs or symbols there that Walter didn’t notice that could have been doing it??

The Archive is property of the Eye. I get the feeling that the Archivist is a chosen of the Eye whether they like it or not

Side note: why the hell did Jon stab himself with a bread knife???? Was it a reaction to the feeling of worms or was it due to Michael? It sounds like a cover story for the thing with Michael. In that case, why a bread knife?? Those aren't effective. Even saying a plastic knife broke in your hand and ricocheted makes more sense. 

Overall, this feels like an episode that needs to be relistened to

Not!Sasha is “dating” someone. Can the Nots date or do they go through the motions to blend in? Is she dating another Not or is she actually dating someone to keep cover? Also, why does Tom sound so much like Tim?

Episode 54:

Daniel Rawlings and Sarah Baldwin - the smoking to hide a strange smell - the Flesh??

Something else?

Is the tiger in the window the Tiger from the Strange Circus? Weird long shot, but here we are

Oh look: the cockney boys are back. So, the Stranger, not the Flesh

Does this mean Sarah Baldwin is associated with the Stranger?

Oh hi Angler Fish

I love Jon for being all “I don’t trust my assistants but I don’t knowingly send them to their deaths or worse”

Of fucking course Not!Sasha volunteers to go check out the Not hideaway. And of course she finds nothing. 

Daniel Rawlings - episode 1 angler fish - fucking called it

Also; really Jon? You broke into her place?? Smart, real smart. I wonder if Tim or Martin could have given him tips. 

Other note: how and why did Gertrude Robinson pay for her flat for about 2.5 years past the point of her death??? That’s both really weird and expensive. That’s 2.5 years of rent. Most people don’t have that kind of disposable income lying around. 

Oh look, the Eye is showing up connected to Gertrude again. Quel surprise. 

Of more interest to me would have been what histories was she interested in. 

Episode 55: 

“I even got a good night’s sleep. I miss those days.” Oh Jon, baby. I'd recommend therapy if I thought it would do any good. Maybe a nice benadryl nap?

Beyond that: sickly sweet smell of rot and insects. Sounds like the Worm?? But more than that. 

Srsly: there has to be a Disease of some description. 

Can Entities corrupt each other? Or corrupt scions of Entities???

Episode 56:

Incredibly ominous title

The Hunt. It can’t be anything but the Hunt. 

Jon’s little “what” when Martin confesses is the most hilarious thing I’ve heard in a while. Martin, if you don’t suspect Jon is up to something, I have no more respect for you. 

Episode 57:

Oh look, the Lukas family. So, the Lonely is showing up. 

Also, I expected Simon Fairchilde to show up, since Space = The Vast

Oh look, there he is. Fairchilde, Lukas, Lietner. I’m so surprised /s. 

I wonder if the Lukas Family owning the Institute a very long con to gain control of the Eye? 

I suspect Elias. Of what, not sure. I suspect him. 

Also, Not!Sasha not liking being recorded: why? Side note: Jon, Michael straight up (the most straightforward thing in this entire series up to now) told you not to trust Sasha. Maybe consider it?

Episode 58;

How the shit did the Magnus Institute get this?

The implication seems to be that there is only one (1) Institute. It has many incarnations and they move around, but there is Always One. 

“Come meat, be my guest and let thy gifts to me be blessed”. I wonder if others say that?

Jon; while I respect your paranoia, you need to get help. Why the heck does Martin still like you?!

Episode 59:

Intro: spider or hermit?

Raymond Fielding - name from episode 8. I wonder if Annie will mentioned? She seems to show up in quite a few of these. 

7:55- No, the shit?? An Entity that cares?? That is very weird

Placid- like Robert Montauk? It feels familiar

10:41 - The Spiral?? 

The Spider (its both)

Given all the other things that have happened in that house, with the little girl; it feels like several Entities fighting over a patch of land that’s important to them. 

Living there lulled them into a sense of complacency like a spider lulls it’s prey. 

Each Sunday, those were worship sessions to the Spider, weren’t they. 

Also, apples seem to be a big thing across several of the Entities. The apple tree that got uprooted in ep8, with its roots full of spiders. 

It’s weird that Raymond was a devout churchgoer. 

14:49 - that kiss, was a benediction? A protection against Raymond? Had Anges chosen Ronald Sinclair for something?

Does the Spider do those monotonous repetitious tasks because they take up time? Because they make the meal/sacrifice sweeter?

18:38 - not a Spider but a Web!!!

Also, called it. Agnes did something with that kiss. She chose Ronald for something. Spared him for some reason. It might have been just a random stroke of luck. 

Fire/intense Heat relates to an Entity but not the Web. 

After supplemental: Jon, they’re avoiding you because you’re scaring them, not because they’re planning something

Episode 60:

Oh look, the Eye (I’ve now made a game of guessing who the Entity (ies) involves are just based on the opening statement 

This is the first time he hasn’t given a date of statement. The hell? Nope, my memory is just shit. There’ve been a number of times. 

Before supplement: Huh. This statement kinda wreck my supposition that the Institute is a hallmark for the Eye. Unless it really is, and she was planning to destroy it. Then, this supports my theory. 

Christ, I feel like I need to make a timeline and put dates/affiliation for each event together. There are clearly “holy” days associated with each Entity. 

I wonder if Christopher died of a stroke caused by something else?

Oh look; the intervention. Saw that one coming. I’m at the beginning and I wonder if Jon will get violent. It feels fitting that this happened in an episode that involves being watched, observed, and Known.