The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Saturday Night”

“Saturday Night” Blends Four Different Plot Lines

“Saturday Night” is a victory. Simply awesome. It has, within such a tiny amount of time, everything a long-term fan could want. A truly terrifying monster. Lore drops. Big hints about multiple plot points. Interesting new uses of audio. I had a feeling episode ten would be special, but I had no idea it would be this incredible.  

Now, I do have a bias here. If an episode is scary, I tend to like it more. And perhaps for some, “Saturday Night” won’t frighten—and that might diminish things. There are a lot of implications when Gwen visits that house, but not a lot of confirmation. And the “twist,” if you can call it that, is exceedingly obvious. Did anyone expect anything else from Mr. Bonzo? But ever since I listened to the episode “Blood Puppets” for my review of Campfire Radio Theater, clown-themed mascots who are also serial killers are the few monster types that reliably scare me. The sounds and dialog during Mr. Bonzo’s scene were utterly disturbing. Between him and Needles, I like the new rogue’s gallery for Protocol.

But, regardless of the effectiveness of the scares on any individual person, the way this series continues to play with format should be lauded. A television interview is a fantastic way to introduce lore without it feeling like exposition. Though I’ve been disappointed with how some of the mixed media has been used in other episodes, when it works, it works. The slow build of background noises as Mr. Bonzo’s creator gets more stressed was fantastic.  

This Episode Sets A New Bar For The Series’ Audio

Really, “Saturday Night” is the episode that does the most with audio as a medium. I audibly reacted to hearing a certain click noise. The slow introduction of what I assume was spider steps instantly got my mind whirring with theories. I adore Archives, obviously, but Protocol is such a jump in quality. Once upon a time, it was the same sound effect every time something scary happened. Now, we have new tricks in basically every episode.

If you couldn’t tell, I’m dancing around spoilers way more than usual. I do like to include my theories in these articles. But, if you’re reading this before you listen to “Saturday Night,” I don’t want to ruin how everything is starting to piece together. I think one of the truly amazing things about Protocol and Archives is how effectively things make sense in hindsight while seeming completely disparate and random beforehand. It’s a true feat of skill how, even with hundreds of episodes revealing these tactics, it can still catch me off guard. I cannot wait for the mini-hiatus to end and for us to see what revelation(s) awaits us in episode eleven.

Possibly Related Posts:

• It Came From The Archives “All Systems Red: An Uneven First Book”
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Pet Project”
• Friday Fiction: I Saw a Librarian At Night
• The Far Reaches Reviews: “How It Unfolds” by James S. A. Corey
• The Magnus Protocol Reviews: “Futures”