After 160 episodes of this horror podcast, I’m in deep now and there’s no escape. The Magnus Archives, distributed by Rusty Quill, is such a brilliant show. Its writer, Jonathan Sims, who also plays the main character, has clearly established a strong rapport with producer, director and fellow actor, Alexander J Newell. Together they have been endlessly inventive, maintaining the energy of the show with new mysteries even as certain things are revealed which they have been building up to during the previous three seasons.
Seasons 1-3 have certainly taken their toll on the main characters and Jonathan finds things have changed at The Magnus Institute in his absence, as has his relationship with the surviving members of its staff. In particular, Peter Lukas is nightmarish as the new Head of the Institute, in what feels like a parody of every corporate boss, who says the right thing whilst clearly intending to carry out something utterly nefarious.
After such a dramatic conclusion to Season Three I felt this one lacked energy at the start. There were lots of good individual stories but I couldn’t see where it was going. However, Episode 142: Scrutiny feels like a turning point and I particularly enjoyed Episode 153: Love Bombing, which, until the finale, was my favourite of Season Four.
We also get more from our favourite characters (well, those who are still alive, anyway, so I guess listing them is a bit of a spoiler at this point). As I’ve remarked in previous reviews, I think the show really benefits from having this expanded and much more diverse cast. It gives Sims many more storytelling opportunities and helps maintain interest, although when Sims takes the acting lead he always delivers an excellent performance.
Those final three episodes of this season are superb. I don’t want to spoil the central conceit, which Sims has clearly been building up to from the start. When the big reveal arrives the show doesn’t put a foot wrong, and I think this was the best season finale of the series so far.
Now there’s only one more season to go. I actually took a break from the show to delve into other stuff for a time, not because I was bored – far from it. It was actually the reverse. I really don’t want this show to end and I’m not sure what I’ll do with myself once I’ve listened to the closing credits of the 200th and final episode.
Now I’ve run out of excuses and it’s time to begin Season Five. I’m not ready, but that’s no excuse. Here we go…
