Sci-Fi Bloggers

Let me be clear. I hated three big things about “Pipelines.”

Maybe this is just because I’ve listened to a lot of Magnus, and am going off patterns, but the series does have a habit of outright stating something after it was possible to mostly have figured it out. And that’s what “Temporary Positions” feels like. It’s a clarifying episode for anyone who’s not been following this storyline as closely as someone like me.

“Repetitive Strain” is mostly only brought down from excellence by the statement not having enough time. I love that the episode keeps matters mostly focused on one plotline, while also progressing it, but I was intrigued and increasingly horrified—and then the story stopped.

“Slipping” takes the format of Protocol and pushes it to the absolute extreme. There’s implying a horror story through the medium of whatever technology or multimedia thing we’re exploring that episode, and then there’s burying it so deep in that framework that it feels like a twist when the shift happens.

“Transferal” picks back up a plotline that I had—admittedly—forgotten about. It hadn’t really been referenced since season one, and, thinking on it now, had seemed mostly handled. It’s possible there was a throwaway line where Celia was still dealing with being pulled back to the Archives universe—but I can’t recall it. Certainly, the narrative didn’t make a big enough deal to reinforce it.