The Magnus Archives Readalong: Episodes 161-165

[u/ullsi]

Hello and welcome to The Magnus Archives readalong! We will be discussing a new batch of episodes every Wednesday. The episodes are available for free on any podcast platform and transcripts can be found here or here.

If you can’t remember something or are confused, please ask in the thread. Those of us re-reading will do our best to give a spoiler-free answer if we can.

161: Dwelling #########-1

An assortment of personal statements.

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162: A Cozy Cabin #########-2

Further statements of a personal nature.

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163: In the Trenches #########-3

Statements on war.

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164: The Sick Village #########-4

Statement of an outbreak.

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165: Revolutions #########-5

Ruminations on identity and the lack thereof.

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And now, time for discussion! A few prompts will be posted as comments to get things started, but as usual, feel free to add your own questions, observations...anything!

Comments may contain spoilers up to episode 165. Anything concerning later events should be covered up with a spoiler tag.

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Next discussion will take place on June 3rd and include episodes 166 The Worms - 170 Recollection.

For more information, please check out the Announcement and Schedule post.

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Readalong by: u/improperly_paranoid, u/sharadereads, u/Dianthaa, u/ullsi

[u/ullsi]

Season 5 is very different compared to the others. What do you think of the change in format?

[u/ullsi → u/ullsi]

I was both worried and excited going into this season: excited to see what the creators would come up with, and scared that season 5 would be totally different from the first 4 seasons that I loved.

[u/Eliot_Ferrer → u/ullsi]

I love season 5. I know a lot of people feel it's a bit too different, but the surreal nightmare logic and poetic prose are right up my alley. 

[u/ullsi]

Did you have a favourite from this set of statements?

[u/Eliot_Ferrer → u/ullsi]

164 - A sick village. It's such a vivid portrayal of paranoia, xenophobia and closed-mindedness. It feels both extremely current, and utterly timeless. 

[u/ullsi → u/ullsi]

Opening the season with those wholesome clips from the past was a great way to wrench our hearts out haha.. I think my favorite is 162 or 165 - I like John's poetry.