I’m so excited to talk about this season! It's been... A while since I posted for Season 1, but there was a lot to do and uni to be had. Nonetheless, I did find some time in between and was able to finish this over the Christmas holidays, and it was so fun to write about these episodes!
While I've not gotten to write that much, I have been listening... So I am quite far ahead unfortunately, though I'm trying to hold myself back from rushing so I still have the time to gather my thoughts. xD So I hope I'm able to write more in the new year because this show literally only gets better. What a joy, hehee!
In other news, I also entered the 2025 Rusty Fears competition - and it was such a joy to do so. It basically motivated me not only to get to writing again (this blog included), but also to try and read more, so maybe that's going to stick? I didn't win anything, but it was lovely to write for it!
But putting that aside, this is about TMA's second season, so I'll stop reminiscing. I'm updating some stuff on my Notion page, and the notebook will be updated when I finish the posts for the 2nd season, as I've taken notes further than episode 60. :>
Let’s jump right in! :D
41 - Too Deep
We get a statement straight from the source as the season begins: Head Archivist Jonathan Sims himself talks about a paranormal encounter in the tunnels that were uncovered during last season‘s finale. A strong start! We get some insight into the aftermath of Jane‘s attack: Jon and Tim both got time off work due to injury, and Jon... Well, Jon doesn't trust anyone anymore.
While I believe some of his colleagues don‘t deserve this scrutiny (poor Martin and Tim), mistrusting Not!Sasha and Elias is fair. Jon mentions that he found the trapdoor again because Not!Sasha marked it with tape, which could be an indicator of her purposely luring him down there. Jon also mentions stealing Elias‘ keys, so I wonder if that‘ll come up again?
Concerning the tunnels, we learn that they are a structure beneath what used to be Milbank prison - built by none other than Robert Smirke. Once again, I‘m not sure if his structures summon something, or if he intended them as a worshipping place of some sort. Crooked corridors, warped doors, and the prison‘s location being a prime spot for violence and disease certainly doesn‘t deter from either of those possibilities. I wonder if Jeremy Bentham is completely unrelated or if Smirke was drawn to the project because of the man‘s original plans - a prison laid out in a flower pattern sounds unsettlingly beautiful.
Then, there‘s the worm portal: I‘m uncertain if anything actually managed to pass through it, but something morphed the stone - so was the process interrupted in time? There‘s also the mystery of the other tunnel-visitor. My best guess is Not!Sasha, as she‘s probably less likely to get scared or hurt by another entity. Maybe the two even know each other! :)
Speaking of another entity: Either something lives in the tunnels - Jon refers to it as a „wall-moving specter“ - or the tunnels themselves are alive. Recurring descriptions of the walls seeming organic, as well the fact that they move support the second assumption. Despite hearing footsteps and a voice speaking to him, Jon never actually spotted a creature or or person there as well. So at this point, I‘m leaning towards the tunnels themselves being alive.
The last bit of the tape concerns the supplements Jon will be leaving after statements. I‘m unnerved that he says the full tapes are hidden (where?) and will likely only be heard by his replacement - so, Jon has either died or disappeared in some way, as there would be no possibility of us hearing the tapes otherwise, right? T-T My worry grows with every episode...
This is of course assuming that the listener is intended to assume the role of his replacement. I‘m curious how far Jon will go as he tries to figure out what happened to Gertrude.
42 - Grifter's Bone
I like that we hear about someone looking for an urban legend and actually finding it! It makes me wonder if Alfred Grifter wanted Jennifer specifically to come to the show so she would die, or just so she would see what happened to the ones that did. The band doesn't really seem to gain anything from the audience going berserk on each other, but who knows what they're actually feeding on. Nothing very nutritious, from what it sounds like.
My biggest question this episode is why Grifter's Bone seemed to have such different effects on the people that witnessed them perform live. Lee Kipple got away with bleeding ears but perfectly normal hearing and (albeit pretty severe) knife cuts, but the majority of witnesses were brutally killed. And then there's Jennifer: She heard their music from further away, but since she wasn't in the actual room, it didn't affect her. Until she watched the recording, of course. :,) So I wonder what makes the difference in these encounters.
Also, I'm wondering how the murder timeline works here. Do the people actually go to this place and die? Or are there some people there that were already killed, and they're appiritions or smth.? It's weird. -v-
This episode makes me think of the Piper, because the soldiers were described as hearing a beautiful piping sound as well. Perhaps also reminiscent of the Calliope, but that felt different, somehow. The bloodiness and violence emerging here might also be connected to the Slaughter that's been mentioned, as they're literally slaughtering each other.
Oliver also appeared again! This time, in a much more obvious fashion that I did catch myself. This clarifies that the reason of death in Jennifer's case was hearing the music, not bashing her head in. At least it probably was the moment her fate was sealed - how much she was still aware of her actions after this is unclear.
We're barely past episode 2 and Jon is already suspecting the least malicious person. Being (overly) attentive and caring is appearantly more suspicious than however Not!Sasha's behaving? T-T Not only does this man insult Martin's poetry, he looked through his personal belongings to grasp at anything that could confirm his suspicions. Martin's being the nicest he could possibly be, and it's breaking my heart a little that Jon is this level of paranoid. Please, like... talk to someone. ;w;
43 - Section 31
Man the first few episodes this season are already so packed with information, it's hard to keep up with all of it! But that's all the more fun, so I'm not complaining. >:)
Basira is a lovely witness, and the insight into the police system we get here is very interesting. Paranormal phenomena are well-known to them, and they have a whole form to keep them on the dl. The Daisy that Basira mentions has appearantly also come into contact with vampires! Trevor Herbert's statement was mentioned to have been copied a lot, so perhaps the police really does keep an eye on them specifically, for some reason.
Diego Molina is the name of our mysterious fire-guy from episode 12! It seems that he was able to also curse a specific person, once again mentioning Asaag. Again, I'm unsure if that means the demon actually exists, or if it's just a thematically related word that's used in some sort of incantation? In any case, Diego might have gotten the book at his museum job, since he could likely come into contact with old artifacts like a magical tome. Perhaps it also was in Leitner's hands at some point?
Kinda disappointed that the police wasn't able to get him locked up. Though how much that could've saved, I'm not sure either. Wondering if Diego was this violent on purpose, or if he got possessed by the book.
As for the other guy that Basira mentions - I theorise that he is perhaps afflicted by the same immortality curse as Nathaniel. Not dying despite his wounds and trying to kill himself, the dominoes in his flat as a nod to the games... It seems very likely. Poor guy. :( I wonder what happened with him after the paramedics took him.
Another step forward is made in the overarching plot of it all, as Basira will be trying to get Jon some of Gertrude's tapes! She rocks. Jon's not quite as excited as I am about this, but I've also been sleeping well recently and am not in mortal danger (as far as I'm aware of). So, I'm staying hopeful that the tapes will be informational!
44 - Tightrope
Gertrude Robinson is here! :D Or at least she was, in 1997. The first tape Jon got from Basira is already thematically connected to a previous statement, that being episode 24. Gertrude is clearly pro, as she knows all about the Circus of the Other, or Another Circus, as it's referred to in this episode. Jon looks like an absolute noob compared to her (which he is).
The circus members we're introduced to all seem quite puppet-y. From the woman in the leotard at the entrance, to ringleader Gregor Osinov, they're all described as suspiciously mechanical. The tiger Yuri comes across most of all - it can be assumed that it hasn't finished whatever process these beings go through. Of course, this makes me wonder who the puppeteer was. Gregor Osinov himself being one of these puppets would mean that he wasn't the main guy behind what was going on in the Circus. Perhaps it's related to the steam organ that seems to control the masses of visitors as well?
It's important to know that while this steam organ probably isn't Nikolai Denikin's red calliope since he wasn't at the Circus as this time, it still seems to carry similar powers. It makes whatever's in the bag Yuri sees move and seemingly started the circus act (?), so I'm thinking that it's the main paranormal force at play here.
No clue if the steam organ's powers are also related to the "freak show" people, who are appearantly alive despite some of them having no heads. As Gertrude explains, the circus was known for its violence, especially with Denikin around. Did their victims become part of the freak show, or did something else happen to them? How many people were killed by them while they were active? Perhaps Gertrude believes Ivan to have been special because he survived this encounter, and prevented the rest of the town from being killed.
I'm incredibly excited to hear Gertrude again. Her casually referencing and talking about things that Jon has absolutely no knowledge of is so fun! Of course she's not explaining everything that happens, but knowing that there's something going on behind it that we can still find out about (and I am quite certain we will) makes this super engaging. :)
Also, Jon found the tape recorder covered in webs. Coincidence? I don't know. Do coincidences exist in this world? Everytime the word "web" is muttered, my eyebrows raise. o-O
45 - Blood Bag
No... Please... Not mosquitoes. T-T I'm very glad that Jon is joining me on the mozzie hate train. As an allergic that gets quite uncomfortable seeming them and knowing there's something coming for me, I will gladly destroy any mosquitoes I come across. This episode has only strengthened my discomfort with them!
We learn of another magical artefact that fell into the hands of Mikaele Salesa. At this point, I'm certain that he knows exactly what he's dealing with. Once is an occurence, twice is a coincidence, and thrice is a pattern! Seeing how he paid an absolutely incredible amount of money to get this syringe, it must be quite powerful. I wonder why he's disappeared - did someone (or -thing) get to him? For revenge perhaps, or access to his wares? Maybe Rosie can find out something more about this.
It seems like the syringe perhaps protected Neil Thopmson during his experiments? After he sold it, the mosquitoes began planning their murder of him (?) and creating blood ripe with disease - however they did that is still a big fat questionmark as well, of course. How and if this is related to the other instances of disease isn't super clear yet, but they did also mention flies being present in episode 36, for example. So there might well be a connection there!
Poor Thomas was seemingly also targeted years later, as he died sick with something too. No clue why it took so long for him to catch it and pass away, though. Maybe he was paranoid and took too many antibiotics, and that killed him instead?
Also, why is King's College connected to so many supernatural occurrences. Did Robert Smirke build it or something?
Poor Tim man. Being stalked by your boss is such a massive leap over the line and sucks, especially when he's so hilariously bad at it. What do you mean he went to Tim's house, took pictures of him, printed them out and brought them to work to record his paranoid accusations there?? How bad of a detective can you be. ;w; No surprise that Martin caught him. What did bro expect?
Makes me also wonder why Tim initially started working at the institute though, we really don't know much about him. I really hope we will get to know more about Tim soon! I really enjoy his presence and his character journey so far has been depressing but very interesting. :)
46 - Literary Heights
Michael Crew features once again - and this time it's not just a simple off-hand mention. It's curious how he was connected to what he names "the Vast" here, as a presence related to it seemingly followed him even before he obtained Ex Altiora. I wonder if the lightning strike he suffered as a child was the incident that caused this? Was the lightning monster hunting him down prior to this too? If yes, why? Perhaps he was researching how to make contact with it. It seemed to click and get worse the moment he spotted the book.
I'm also wondering if the lightning monster was going to attack other people around him. This would explain why he ran out of the shop every time the rainy smell started. What exactly happened to Michael when he read out the incantation and jumped out of the window - did he become part of the book, or get sealed into it somehow? The addition of the lightning-woodcut as a page definitely suggests that! Maybe that's why the book found its way to his childhood friend Dominic in episode 4.
The book's contents are also explored further! The giant creature mentioned in it scared all the villagers so bad that they jumped to their deaths in despair... Perhaps Michael Crew did the same here? His chant also makes me think that this being can be referred to as the Vast.
Ex Altiora also had pretty bad effects on both Herbert Knox and the woman he got Ex Altiora from, as she died when she had a pretty bad tumble down the stairs. I really like the vertigo being such an essential part, as it's such a visceral feeling! I do not understand why Jon, after hearing all of this, says that he wishes he could read this book?? Has he not been paying attention? What the fuck. T-T
There's also a quick mention of the tunnels, as Jon has appearantly ventured in again. The worm carcasses are being eaten by spiders, and there's a ton of webs down there - they're everywhere. ;-; Also, again, someone else has been in the tunnels. I'm still betting that it was Not!Sasha, but we'll see if something else gets revealed to be chilling down there.
47 - The New Door
And the other, even freakier, Michael enters the ring! Poor Helen man. She sounded so fucking scared, and I wouldn't wish her experience in the corridors on my worst enemy. Or maybe I would. In any case, I'm surprised that she was able to get out - did Michael let her, or was it an oversight on its part? The painting functioning as a doorway out of the corridor is pretty cool actually. Very Super Mario 64. The corridors themselves also seem laid out in a fractal pattern perhaps, as they bend only slightly? They also change and morph, so I wonder if they have an end or literally just continue on forever.
The short period of time that Helen was able to escape from Michael also seemed very curated by it. As soon as she gave the statement, it immediately took her away into its domain again. So it might have just let her go to the Institute so Jon would get that info and see how something like this can happen directly in front of him - how nice of Michael to even pay him a visit! :D
Hearing Michael for the first time was so intense! Fantastically done on all aspects, super creepy! :) It seems like Michael's just messing with Jon. It still seems to be neutral in whatever's happening in the big conflict that we don't know much about yet. Michael insinuates that some sort of war is going on, but the details as to what this actually entails are left out, of course. Wouldn't wanna give too much away too soon!
What does seem likely is that some of the supernatural forces oppose each other. The spiders eating the worms seemed like an intentional tidbit, and thinking back to Edwin Burroughs, it seemed like there was some discord between him and whatever was going on at Hilltop Road, too.
Another little info about Michael that we get is that the tunnels are an extension of it, or the other way around. There is no seperating them, they are one and the same! It's kind of endearing how it took a name and is kinda running with it, despite not really having something that we would call an identity.
Also, Jon got stabbed. He's really been experiencing some supremely bad luck and injuries, but I also don't know what he was planning to do when he tried to attack Michael here, lol. :,)
48 - Lost in the Crowd
This episode felt much less intense than the previous ones, but those were also a lot. Andrea's relationship to being by herself is so special, which makes the whole occurerence just... make sense. It feels similar what Naomi experienced in episode 13, but one big difference is how Andrea actually really revels in this feeling of being alone and independent. It's when she feels most like herself, which is quite beautiful!
Even without the Lukas family playing a role in this, she almost met the same fate as Ethan presumably did - swallowed by a crowd not made up of individuals. Gerrard's tip definitely saved her here. It's not spelled out why, but my theory is that remembering she isn't alone and thinking of a face while in that mess of identity-less bodies dissipated her fear / this thing's manipulative power so much that she kinda snapped out of it?
The concept of a crowd with no people in it is so chilling! Absolute nightmare. ;w; I wonder if Ethan lost himself and is now part of the crowd, waiting for more lonely travellers to join. Or if he just... well, died.
I'm also curious about Gerrard: Firstly, was he actually on vacation? I do hope he gets some time off from book-hunting, but I don't know if that's the kind of job that lets you do that, really. And secondly, how could he tell that she was marked? Do these beings leave a trace on their victims, even before they really get affected, and did Andrea get marked because she was so close to Ethan? He didn't know what exactly was behind it though, so there's definitely limits to his knowledge concerning this.
The supplement was also juicy, it's good to hear that Jon is beginning to doubt Not!Sasha too. Since we know about her bodyswap, it's so frustrating to hear Jon being oblivious - but to be fair, he doesn't know what we do and is also dealing with a paranormal entity that's fucking with his head, so I'll give him a bit of leeway. For now. -v-
Who's not giving him any more leeway is Elias - and Tim, and Martin. Because of Jon's stalker tendencies. But that doesn't seem to dissuade him from his plans of keeping an eye on them, he'll appearantly just try to do it more secretively. He's certainly not been very good at that so far...
49 - The Butcher's Window
Bone-bending shenanigans take center stage once again as Jared Hopworth reappears, having become something of a bone-turner himself. What he does to poor Hector here seems like the story in the Bone Turner's Tale, so it's likely that he somehow gained powers similar to it after owning it for so long. At least Jon seems to think so, and I agree!
I vehemently despise the meat pit. It seems different to the meat pile from episode 18 that was seemingly just chilling in that guy's apartment, as Jared keeps it around to dispose of the things he doesn't want himself. It also feels like it could be connected to the body of the butcher shop's actual owner that was found beneath the floor - but I don't know how he would've been transformed into something like that.
Jared's interaction with this hole in the floor brings up more questions. Does he just collect certain body parts he likes? What purpose do they fulfil for him other than making him look weird? Is he at all human anymore, or has he become something else entirely? Also, how does the Ukranian mafia know about and cooperate with him? It seems quite random, since he didn't really speak in this encounter, so I wonder if he made these connections even being unable to talk. Seems like the mafia just uses him to get rid of people without leaving a trace - good for them, I guess. RIP Hector Laredo. Would love to know where the Bone Turner's Tale has gone.
Not!Sasha's having problems with her electronics (I wonder why), Tim is involved with not just one, but two people from the police records office (what an icon), and Elias... was a pothead in college? o-o
As soon as he joined the institute though, he changed - I wonder if that happened because he found something special while working in Artefact Storage...? Quite likely, as I don't know how else he could've climbed up the ranks so fast. Every episode, I somehow feel different about Elias, it's so hard to pin down an opinion on him. There's definitely a lot to still learn about him. >:)
50 - Foundations
What is up with the architects in TMA? All the spaces constructed by these people seem to have certain paranormal implications - and it all somehow comes back to Robert Smirke. This enigmatic man has been popping up regularly, and this retelling of a meeting with him didn't really let us know much more about him. We learn more about his pupils than what Smirke's own motives and habits were.
The main focus in this episode is George Gilbert Scott, his unusual work habits / ethics and the consequences they seem to have. I'm especially curious about two things:
First, who the hell was he talking to in his study? Himself? The Governor guy that attacked (?) Sampson Kempthorne at the end? Maybe it was something completely different, but whatever it was, it appearantly got quite heated between them (and not in the fun way). It makes me wonder what exactly the purpose behind his designs was - the more people crammed in there, the better?
This leads me to the second thing: In what way did he disappoint Robert Smirke? Smirke seemed quite angry at the guy when he was mentioned, speaking this "balance" that we previously heard about in episode 35. Smirke was of the impression that Scott didn't quite follow his teachings the way he intended. Perhaps Smirke tries to keep his architecture balanced for the different entities in a way, and Scott let his works tip more toward a specific one?
In any case, Smirke seems kinda creepy - but then, this is a Horror podcast, so it's good when things are kinda creepy. :) I'm certain that some of these names will appear again - after all, these people were very influential architects, and there's a lot of buildings that have not been thematised yet. So let's see!
Also, little fun moment sprinkled in at the end, nice to know that Basira was trying to get another tape to Jon! I love the ensuing awkwardness :D
51 - High Pressure
Simon Fairchild reappears! This time, instead of jumping out of a plane, he came along on a diving tour, and somehow I doubt that he was doing these things just for fun... I wonder what he said to Antonia here, as his presence was most certainly the cause for her encounter with what seems to have been the Vast. I think this because the gigantic hand described here sounded similar to the thing that was depicted in Ex Altiora. The skydiving encounter also fits in the scheme, so Simon Fairchild must somehow know and be related to this force.
Jon's story about one of his first cases only adds to the theory: If this Simon Fairchild is the same one that stole jewellery in 1930 (the ages could match up since he was apparently a decrepit old man in 2006), then him disappearing during a fall sounds suspiciously similar to what we've heard Michael Crew do. Sus. The Fairchilds also invest in shipping (like the Lukas family?) and aerospace travels - so I'm expecting them to reappear again.
I wonder what Simon Fairchild's plan was here. Did he get anything out of it? Did the others get any artefacts from there? Antonia certainly didn't get anything except almost crushed to death. As for the shipwreck itself, I wonder what was inside the ship that created that gigantic hole...
In the supplement, we get muuultiple juicy bits of information. First of all, new artefacts in storage - the wardrobe and scalpel seem simple enough, but what I believe to be interesting (in contrary to Jon, apparently) is the carved rock eye. Its ability of distorting cameras seems similar to what Gerrard Keay (I think it was him) did in the hospital episode. So I wonder if this is what he was using, or if he just has similar abilities!
Secondly, a conversation with Not!Sasha! About the hypnotic table! She basically confirms that the table "belongs" to the web and comments on being unable to pull away from it. Furthermore, the table and the bodysnatcher seem to be two different things - so, how are they connected then? Whatever is inside of Sasha, it doesn't like to be bound, and it appears to be bound to the table. How and why did that happen? And who tf ordered that table here? Also... No clue what she's doing at the wax museum. But I'm very curious. :)
52 - Exceptional Risk
Why are there so many antagonistic old men in this show? TvT Maxwell Rayner's guest appearance here confirms that him and Robert Montauk were definitely not on the same team. It seems that somehow, Robert actually killed the shadow creature when he protected his daughter - but only temporarily. I wonder if it can be killed forever, or if it always regenerates itself. Maybe the sacrifice of cult members plays into its strength and survival?
In any case, Maxwell Rayner shows up here despite having "disappeared" in 1994, so he's probably still around. Is he actually blind or is there a different reason for his milky eyes? Robert was really fucking scared of the guy too, so he probably knew what was coming for him.
There's some more details on the shadow, as we hear about the brackish water that predates its arrival again, and the slow ripping apart of Robert's body. It's interesting to note that his death was previously described as being caused by multiple stab wounds, so I wonder if that was a cover-up and the injuries were different when they found him. The creature also targeted Robert specifically, and didn't hurt the prison guards at the scene - so that adds to the theory of it being summoned and / or directly controlled by someone (probably Maxwel Rayner). Love to see that Jon's also going crazy with all the questions he has about this lol
Basira busting in was a nice surprise, and the awkwardness in this conversation is through the roof again, oh my god. :D Love that the two just decide to not clear up the situation, which is quite smart as it's indeed less sus to just let people assume what they want to assume.
Not!Sasha's boyfriend-story isn't convincing me at this point, but we'll see if there's gonna be any more details. First though, it seems like we're getting another Gertrude tape! Hehee >:)
53 - Crusader
The lore! The lore! This episode is full of it. Shaking it up with a trip to Egypt, we get a statement about the exploration of actually ancient tunnels where creepy shit happens. And they weren't even built by Smirke this time! :O
Seeing as Gertrude calls this an "ancient iteration of the Archive", I'm curious as to what is actually required so that a collection of scrolls and books can become "the Archive". Is there only one at a time? Is the location important? Does someone (/ thing) go and confirm that a certain place is the Archive or is it just the place with the biggest collection?
The... thing that Walter describes to have seen is also worrying me - if that's supposedly a former Archivist, how did that happen? What is it protecting, the scrolls that are still stored in the tunnels? Walter describes having a similar feeling in the Institute as in Alexandria, so I wonder if it's just the Archive-ness, the presence of the Archivist or if there's a similar creature haunting the tunnels. I sure hope this isn't dramatic foreshadowing and that Jon will be fine!! Haha! :,) I'm thinking this creature also got something to do with the body that scratched its own eyes out. The only question is: Did this person scratch out their own eyes or did the creature do it trying to protect the information down there?
Another curious detail is the group of people that was rumoured to have imprisoned scholars inside these underground tunnels: "Those who sing the night" reminds me of a certain cult... So I wonder if they are connected to the PCoDH and their deity has been worshipped for such a long time.
At the end of this episode, it's also kinda implied that Gertrude had something to do with the 1998 explosion in Alexandria - she is becoming more intriguing with every single statement we hear! Hope we'll get many, many more details on her past antics. :)
54 - Still Life
Ah, to be as dedicated to my job as Alexander Scaplehorn... After experiencing what he did, I wouldn't have considered to go back to that store for a single second. I probably would have moved countries.
Another connection to the Anglerfish has been established! Daniel Rawlings, mentioned in the very first episode (!) appears "in person", along with an Anglerfish - the question I have is if this is the exact same creature that we heard about in the first episode, or simply another of its kind. I'm leaning towards it maybe being the same. Daniel's body was described as sandbag, and the description of his appearance makes me think that his skin is just pulled over... well, whatever's in there. So, Anglerfishes can create taxidermy-skinwalkers in all shapes and sizes! Despite being freaked out by uncanny things, I quite like it. :)
Also! Breekon and Hope being connected to this shop that (seemingly) has the tiger from the Circus in it creates a triple connection between the Anglerfishes, the Circus and these two guys. On the other hand, Breekon and Hope basically pop up everywhere, so maybe them being here isn't actually that meaningful.
Since this whole episode and the Anglerfish's nature are centered around skins, the ancient gorilla skin from Carthage and the weird yellow hare seem like they could become important. Driving "madness" for the craft of taxidermy sounds quite sinister, so I wonder if we'll hear about that event in the future.
Getting into the Supplemental of things, Not!Sasha going to see Daniel was hella useless. No idea what they did there, but it sure won't help the investigation.
And then, Jon... Oh boy, this man is getting reckless as hell. T-T I will say that the new information on Gertrude is quite nice. Getting rid of used books and cutting the eyes out of them must have been to prevent something from seeing her... Knowing that Jon feels like he's being watched by something, it's valid to think that Gertrude experienced something similar - with the advantage that she also knew how to deal with them.
So yeah, good episode, and I'm glad that Jon didn't get arrested. Well, this time! Who knows what the future holds... ;w;
55 - Pest Control
Jordan Kennedy sure has gotten around. o-o Perhaps a bit of a given, considering his profession!
The nature of John Amherst, the guy that took over the Ivy Meadows elder home in episode 36, is explored further, and we learn that Jordan killed him in 2011! Good riddance, imho. The description of his ant-infested house was vile, I wonder what he was cooking up in that fridge of his. Can't imagine it was anything appetising. :<
This further solidifies that he is some kind of catalyst and / or distributor of disease and rot - from the infection that shook the elder home to the rust on his car, bacteria all over the place. I can't quite figure out how he and Jane are related though, they seem to simply die the same way. Perhaps they're something like cousins or close neighbours, but they definitely feel like they represent two different things. Could bacteria be described as a hive...? He makes me think of Toby Carlisle, the rotten meat-man, a little, when I think about it...
But I don't wanna do that, so let's touch on Jane's wasp nest instead! It's definitely become clear how much it really was not a wasp nest. It also sounds disgusting, pulsing and writhing up in the attic there, so it's a good thing that it's destroyed.
Additionally, the hazmat suit Jordan was wearing for both encounters definitely saved his life. Perhaps these things infect people via direct touch. Since they are quickly overpowered with insecticide and / or fire, evading their powers like that makes it seem quite easy to defeat them.
Jane's landlord has also become more interesting, as he's apparently connected to all this. The flame-tattoo was described in too much detail to not be relevant on the future, so I'm sure it will come up again! I'm just curious as to what exactly the relationship between the Hive and the Fire (?) is - was he just keeping an eye on it, or trying to get rid of the hive differently before resorting to self-combustion? What was his plan here? ._.
Well, at least there's definite confirmation that Jane is very dead. I also like the detail mentioned about Halloween week in the Archive. It really puts an emphasis oh how taxing the real statements are compared to the fake ones - Jon having to slog through the bullshit for a while being a positive to him now is a great indicator of how things have changed from the beginning!
56 - Children of the Night
What up Trevor Herbert! I knew we'd be hearing from you again. While a part of his statement is still missing, we get some more information about his vampire-hunting experiences.
RIP Alard Dupont, idk what he was doing but he definitely wasn't a vampire, huh. Wonder what his connection to the police was though, maybe he was an undercover cop himself?
Trevor's encounter with the spider woman makes me relatively confident that the webs and spiders are part of the same being, or always come in a pair at least. After all, webs only exist so the spiders can easily feed on their prey - they depend on each other.
As a vessel, the woman seems easily defeated, a simple slash enough to rid her hollow body of spiders - not saving her in the process, of course. Despite that, Trevor was probably only able to stay so aware of himself because he's so attached to the Hunt. All the years pursuing vampires have made him identify as a hunter himself, and it has become his life's purpose. What an interesting character, I sincerely hope we get to hear more from him. Since... he's not actually dead. Probably? :)
Oh Martin... T-T Jon gets wayyyy too aggressive in their conversation here. Confronting Martin about his mistake with Trevor is one thing, but yelling and slapping tables... Leave that for Ace Attorney characters arguing in court instead of invoking the fear of bodily harm in your innocent subordinate. Of course, this behaviour still makes a lot of sense for Jon's current state of mind. As he's already paranoid and exhausted, feeling like Martin of all people could be doing something behind his back probably makes him even more afraid than he already is, so his emotions lash out.
57 - Personal Space
What a fantastic episode. This might be my new favorite episode overall! The feeling of isolation and hopelessness was portrayed so incredibly well, and it really struck a chord with me. There's little more horrifying than being all alone in the whole wide universe. Beautiful stuff! <3
Apart from just that, there's so much more interesting stuff going on in this episode. This experiment was led by Conrad Lukas, a new named member of the family, but there's even more familiar names working alongside him as well. Both the Fairchilds and the Church of the Divine Host have their hands (and investments) in the Stratosphere Group. This leads me to believe that each of the three astronauts mentioned in this statement can be linked to a respective member and theme.
Carter was of course managed by the Lukas family and thus he experienced complete isolation. So Jan and Manuela must have had experiments concerning darkness and vastness. Which one experienced which is unclear at this point. These three forces really seem to go hand in hand, space being the perfect place to combine them all. Epic YouTube collab! I'm curious if these three groups work together in other projects as well.
I also wonder about the exact reason behind these experiments. When Carter mentions his dreams, he speaks of graveyards and the open sea - both of which we have already heard statements about in previous episodes. So maybe Carter was something of a battery for the Lukas family, which is why they made him feel the most isolated they could? Perhaps there's a connection to the fog, and they were somehow able to farm his feelings and transform them into evil magic with the boatswain's call?? Only thing that's making me doubt this is that the episodes that Carter's dreams would be referring to happened a few years after the Daedalus experiments. Maybe they can store the energy somehow and keep it fresh?
Also, I don't know how they knew Carter was dying. Maybe they weren't able to farm him anymore so they knew something was off? And what about the water and food supply, was time even running or was he in some kind of time loop glitch / different plane of reality?
Sooo much amazing information we got in this episode, and I love it to death. Ah!
I have to mention the little tidbit at the end. Yeah, there's no way Not!Sasha's boyfriend is real. At least he's not human. I'm losing hope for Jon because he's not seeing these red flags. Also, how does Not!Sasha just instantly know that the recorder is running...? Creepy stuff. :<
58 - Trail Rations
Cannibalism... again! This poor witness. She seems very competent and smart, so it's a bummer that she ended up in this shitty situation. I dislike Benjamin, it really seems like he just dragged her down with him when he recklessly presented Eustace Wick their lives on a platter. The witness having to deal even with his dead body's freaky demands because of his naivety is so sad. ;-;
I wonder what happened to her in the end. Did she die in that cave and the letter was found with their bodies? Did she give in and eat Benjamin's body, becoming part of this greater cause they were speaking of? If so, then how did the letter end up in Jonah Magnus' collection? While I don't know about the last bit, I have a feeling that the witness somehow survived or did eat her husband. Because the meat guy in episode 18, Toby Carlisle, shares their last name. This might be a coincidence, of course, but perhaps it hints at a connection between these two meat-themed statements.
Also, I wonder how Eustace Wick became whatever he was in this statement. Was he really that priest Jon mentioned? Perhaps the argument about sacraments was a sign of a much more dangerous obsession with human meat...
I'm definitely standing with Tim by the way. While yes, we know how bad Jon is doing and that sucks, he is being a shitty boss and friend (not anymore, really) to the people around him. I sincerely hope that he'll get better (although I do doubt it seeing as this is a Horror show). Martin is much too nice about all this, and I feel sorry for Tim because no one really seems to stand with him here. :(
59 - Recluse
Hoooh, another episode that's absolutely packed with information and connections between things we had no idea were related beforehand. Awesome! :D
Alright, first of all, the halfway house and Raymond Fielding were much more sinister than I thought after the first time we heard of them. And in tandem with that, Agnes was apparently a more positive force than I thought she was!
Ronald Sinclair gives an unsettling account of the halfway house being a place that hypnotised and raised these poor children in order for them to eventually become breeding grounds for spiders. The hypnotic table seems to be a key element here as well, and it probably was the thing that made the kids behave a certain way, just doing what their bodies told them to. Why else would they not remember what happened while eating at this table? I wonder how Raymond controlled this table, too - The thing really comes out of nowhere here, and I wonder if it originated in this house or if it was in yet another place before that... As of now, I think it's the earliest account we've had of it.
It seems like the apple inside the box inside the table also plays a role, as Ronald was spared from a grim fate because he didn't bite into it. After this, somehow, the apple ended up underneath the big old tree... How did it get there? Did the spiders that were inside of Raymond get trapped inside the apple by after this, and then freed years later by Ivo Lensik when he felled the tree?
Agnes and Raymond didn't seem to get along very well. I don't know why she was in the house, but Raymond did not want her to be there. Why was he so scared? Or was he just mad because she was working against him? Agnes is definitely not just a regular person. Her abilities and the fact that she should have been much older than she was at the time of her (presumed) death are more than enough proof. So there must be some sort of beef between these two forces, and Agnes did her best to destroy Raymond's work.
Also, not Jon thinking that people are avoiding him because they're planning an attack. My guy, you're just being weird and they're fed up with it. T-T
60 - Observer Effect
This statement feels more connected to the Archive than usual. Feeling watched (again, even more so in the Archive), the witness planning an attack and her brother being in contact with the Institute... A lot of linking elements here!
First off, Christopher Myer really intrigues me. We don't know who was head of the Institute when he was in contact with them, or if Gertrude was already working in the Archive at that point. I'm thinking that he definitely shared his research with them - ancient cults and religions sound like familiar territory. Perhaps there are more groups than the ones that we've heard of (like the PCoDH) that are dedicated to these different forces? The mirror was definitely connected to whatever is in the Institute, perhaps also related to the thing ( / a former Archivist??) that was in Alexandria. That does beg the question as to why his books were of seemingly no interest to Jon, but perhaps that can be attributed to his writing just... being that boring. :D
Concerning the mirror that Rosa picked up: I wonder if the note that came with it is actually part of it and a reason why it became enchanted, or if it was just the mirror's glass. After all, after the glass shattered, nothing made that creature appear behind her anymore. So either it was that, or the creature clings onto one person after they see it for the first time.
Rosa said that the Archive intensified this feeling of being watched, which was likely also the reason she wanted to burn it down. If she believed the Archive to be the source of this feeling (which could be true), that makes total sense. There's something sinister about the Archive, very obviously at this point, but I can't yet place what exactly it is! We're so close to it and yet know nothing.
It's intervention time! :D And I'm not sure how much it helps... Not!Sasha is being creepy and weird because she's trying too hard to sound nice, Martin is simply too nice, Elias is... well, doing his job for once I guess, and Tim is just correct. I will always be on your side, Tim! Because yes, Jon is definitely doing too much and being too rude. But there is some hope for improvement on his part:
After obtaining the CCTV footage, he does seem actually remorseful and convinced that his colleagues were not the ones to kill Gertrude. So he's basically at zero again, which is... well, unfortunate. I wonder what Gertrude was doing that whole day. Considering that she was aware she would die after Oliver's statement in ep. 11, I wonder how she prepared for it, and if the gang has unknowingly had information come their way thanks to Gertrude's actions during that time. This murder mystery is keeping me on my toes!
What a nice way to round out the season's first half, with a statement that's thematically connected to the Archive and more clues to the big mystery. This was a fantastic batch of episodes! :))
Episode Ranking
Of course, at the end here I'll do a little episode ranking for the episodes of this season's first half! I'll not add them in with the ranking from season 1 because I feel like that's too cluttered, so it's a separate list. :)
- Personal Space
- Recluse
- The New Door
- Crusader
- Literary Heights
- Too Deep
- Section 31
- Tightrope
- Still Life
- Pest Control
- Observer Effect
- Children of the Night
- High Pressure
- Exceptional Risk
- Foundations
- The Butcher's Window
- Trail Rations
- Blood Bag
- Grifter's Bone
- Lost in the Crowd
And that's that for the first halt of season 2! These episodes have been fantastic, all the little supplemental bits at the end of the statements feel like little treats. More and more connections are starting to appear, answering little but adding so much more to think about! Excited to see where all the mysteries will take us... Leave a comment if you have anything to add - and even if you don't:
See you next time! :>
Resources
Rusty Quill’s Website with official Episode Transcripts
Spoiler-free S2 Reddit Guide by SpeedlionKF
Some Lovely YT Videos Covering Season 2:
Check out this video by Endicott - A first-time listener covering episodes 41-62
Check out Diacinthus’ Video - Ranking and recapping all of season 2
Check out Jules Cullinane’s Video - Recapping and explaining all of season 2
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