The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Dead End Job”

“Dead End Job” Does Not Give Us Many Answers

“Dead End Job” is kind of a bad episode. Surprisingly, it’s subpar. I had been all geared up for a big reveal, an answer for what is happening. A nice little exposition moment. And while we got one—and I didn’t guess it beforehand—it wasn’t even that big of a revelation. Also, it’s not a revelation I particularly like.

Like, yeah, we knew Celia was from another universe. We knew that doubles are a thing. I’d guessed that “balance” was a concept that mattered. If you look over her character motivations, it’s not precisely surprising that Celia would go this far to protect Jack. But it’s kind of reductive of a plotline. It doesn’t sit well. She seduces Sam, even sleeps with him, so that she can throw him into a Stranger Domain. I don’t care if she actually grew fond of him. It still feels like an ill-planned swerve for this narrative.

The other big plot shift in “Dead End Job” is great, though. Gwen is now in charge of a company that does something involving deadly monsters, but she doesn’t have anyone to explain to her how to do the job. There are tons of potential for horror, tension, interesting concepts, and even comedy. And, important to me, it’s a way to convey lots of exposition without it feeling forced. We’ll learn what’s going on as Gwen does. We might even have a fun scene where Gwen needs to deal with Ink5oul again.

One Storyline Is More Fascinating Than The Other

I also should note, though it was quick, that the tale of Hilltop is great. The little statement is both funny and horrific. The implication I get is that the building is just infested with godly influence, but they’re kind of halfhearted about it. Possibly because they’re stretched between locations. The custodian being able to scold a horror scenario into stopping because he’s not a possible victim is one of my favorite features of Magnus’ magic system.

But that’s most of my specific praise. And what does “Dead End Job” leave us with, once that amusement dissipates? Well, we have disappointment. We have several characters feeling sidelined—Alice is just running a lot, and Colin gets one phone call to imply he’s dying. And we have plenty, so freaking many, promises of something cool and interesting dangled in front of us, but then pulled back.

Yet, all told, it feels weird to be so negative on a Magnus episode that’s meant to feel very dramatic. It feels weird to be negative on a Magnus episode at all. Especially one that was clearly a lot of work for the creative team. There were a ton of voice actors in this episode all giving great performances. And interesting audio engineering sprinkled throughout. “Dead End Job” has an almost movie-esque soundscape. The gravel voice and attention to car sounds were especially fantastic. This episode clearly wasn’t holding back. And I appreciate that. I appreciate that this is a full-scale story with a lot of thought put into it. But I needed way more context to enjoy “Dead End Job,” and I am admittedly getting sick of waiting for it. Mysteries alone cannot sustain my engagement.

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