“Keyed In” is a weird episode. Not a lot of it is explained or even seems to follow much of a plot. I more mean this for the anthology story, but even the other stuff is kind of odd for a Magnus Protocol episode.
“Interruptions” doesn’t interrupt in the way I had expected. Given that the episode, for a time, kept flitting to different moments around the office, I had assumed that the entire runtime would take place there. No statement. No anthology elements. A true interruption from the status quo.
“Driven” is such an interesting episode because of how much it’s a different subgenre than is typical of The Magnus Protocol. Yes, the events are horrific in concept. Yes, there are some obvious parallels to the very first episode of Archives. Yes, it has cosmic elements. But the nature of the narrative is more like reading a paranormal investigation story.
“Catching Up” is such an improvement from the last two episodes. It’s weird and horrific and takes its time to build to the horror. And the horror story both informs the overall story and works on its own. It’s an excellent entry.
I didn’t like “Gut Feelings” all that much. I can’t say since “Pet Project” has an episode been this much of a dud. The premise is strong, the ideas—in theory—scary, and the writing certainly got across the ideas the episode wanted to achieve…but I just didn’t like it.
“Raising Issues” has three parts, and none of them feel all that connected to each other. The main thing is that they, yes, involve characters “Raising Issues.” I’ve been amused by the pun titles of The Magnus Protocol throughout, but this might be the most creative use of it.
“A New You” is, ultimately, a familiar trope played mostly as expected. But it’s also somehow a lot bleaker in its implications and uses the multi-media format of The Magnus Protocol to add subtle storytelling. This may be my favorite use of the “social media post” format.
It’s been a few weeks since I reviewed another episode of The Magnus Protocol and I’m so glad that “Mixed Signals” is the one I returned to. This episode is fantastic, and it’s mainly due to such an interesting, novel, and evocative horror concept.
“Breaking Ground” is another exposition episode, mainly serving to establish a few more pieces of information about the “Protocol” that we’ve heard so much about. This doesn’t make it a bad episode—or even a mediocre one—just that it doesn’t have much in the way of a self-contained story. It doesn’t have the time to build to much tension.
“Social Stigma” is a great episode that not only entertains by itself but redeems the previous episode “Hard Reset.” I like to think of them as a two-parter now. We get a ton of buildup to that strange Isaac Newton stuff, and then a payoff with an extended conversation.
“Hard Reset” is a weird, kind-of-bad episode. It’s obvious that it has great plot importance, and the few snippets of context we do get for “The Protocol” are interesting—but for the majority of the listening experience, it’s more befuddling than enjoyable.
“Solo Work” is a fantastic episode. The horror is weird and cosmic. The character work is great, and we get a lot of it—and there’s a cameo that made the ending all the better.
