“Legacy Issues” Drops Us Back Into The Podcast

I’m glad to have The Magnus Protocol back with “Legacy Issues.” Lord knows that was a long hiatus. But I’m also unhappy with “Legacy Issues” because, after so long a wait, why is this the episode that we get?  Numerically, it was a clean spot for a break, and I’m certainly glad that the editors and voice actors got some time to recover from no-doubt heavy workdays, but maybe the episode order could’ve been shifted around?

There’s just so much confusion and disappointment that this episode can cause. It’s been long enough that even I, a person who’s been cataloging this series since day one, struggled to recall all the characters referenced. Be honest, did you remember who Teddy was?  I have a feeling the intention was to bring up all the subplots so that listeners could reorient—and it does sort of work for some of them—but that’s the kind of task best stretched over multiple episodes. We usually get, like, three beats per episode—this one dances all over the place.

“Legacy Issues” Crams Too Much Into Its Runtime

This decision especially makes the statement suffer. Going back really far on the timeline already opens up the issue of the prose being hard to understand—and this episode is rough on that front—but it’s also not scary and doesn’t tell us anything new. We already know the Protocol has something to do with controlling the various supernatural events of this world. We already know alchemy can turn a body into weird things. And we don’t even get to see the scary thing after so much buildup. Yes, withholding details is a classic of cosmic horror storytelling, and you can evoke dread by describing “around” the horror, but then there’s usually a payoff. Some payoff. A measly bit of payoff. All I picture is a melted person, like what The Corruption did to an entire town back in The Magnus Archives.

I’m not trying to say that I’m not interested in where these plotlines are going. I very much want to know what Gwen eventually finds, or why Teddy is carrying around that specific type of device, but “Legacy Issues” is an under-baked episode, no matter when you end up listening to it.