Tmagp Theory - Tumblr Posts
Spoilers for episode 10 of The Magnus Protocol
Current theory: The creature breathing at the end IS Jon “speaking” through the tapes. He had sent emails and statements to Sam to lure him to the institute to “set him free”. This is why the [error] voice actor was Beth Eyre, because she gave a statement in the Magnus Archives, it’s a tape that he can speak through. This is how Jonathan Sims can still win please please please
Hear me out
Jack (Celia’s baby) is Jon and Martin’s lovechild because the stabbing was a metaphor for penetration
OR he’s the baby of the Panopticon and Hilltop Road (Refer to the phallic and yoric imagery post)
Forgot to mention that if the insectoid chittering in ep13 isn’t Annabelle Cane I’ll eat my hat
Okay, I’m liking all of these theories about Celia… but what if she’s just sleepwalking?
Also, conspiracy theorist Georgie??? We need to know more!!!!!! why are you so scared of the government Georgie?!?!?!?!??! Tell us your secrets!!!
I DO NOT CARE WHAT Y’ALL THINK TEA THEORY IS REAL TO ME
TMAGP EP 19 NOTES
ep19
ALCHEMY REFERENCE ALCHEMY JUST LIKE THE ARG ALCHEMY
How does Sam know stuff about alchemy?!?
MAGNUS INSTITUTE WAS DEEP INTO ALL THIS STUFF? 🤨🤨🤨🤨🤨
Chesta
“That most regrettable protocol”
Note Robert Boyle, might be important later (Scientist in the late 1600s)
WHAT IS ISAAC NEWTON DOING 😭
WHAT PROTOCOL
“Purgation of all that most dangerous and unfit knowledge was both necessary and good”. Okay. So. What if there’s a big ol conspiracy, DARK related? THINK ABOUT IT. Alice could be involved? Just think about it think think think
“Dread emission”…
Theory: Because the Web’s plan won’t provide an end to itself or the other powers, and The End desires an end, perhaps it’s a form of The End trying to wipe out all of the other dread powers through “the protocol”, and that protocol continues on through OIAR, with externals being used to essentially pit the dread powers against one another? Maybe it’s some sort of web-end agglomeration, because that much planning and manipulation might require some web involvement? 🤨🤨🤨
Is Isaac Newton dealing with… Alchemy?
DUUUUUDDEEEE ISAAC NEWTON CREATED SOMETHING LIVING OUT OF METALS, IM TELLING YOU THIS IS GOING TO HAVE SOMETHING TO DO WITH FR3-D1
AND THE BIBLICAL REFERENCES?! THANK YOU LORD FOR THIS EPISODE
“Knowledge of good and evil” (the translated latin) THIS REFERS BACK TO MY DARK THEORY
Another statement about something taking root?
THE EYE THE EYE THE EYE THE EYE THE EYE THE EYE THE EYE THE EYE GUYS THE EYE
I did not have “Isaac Newton the Eye Avatar” on my Magnus Protocol bingo card
This “Protocol” is definitely Dark related, or at least reactionary to the Eye
“Are the computers listening to us?” YES SAM YES SAM THEY ARE DONT LISTEN TO ALICE
Lena is MADDDD at Gwen’s classism
Colin what is happenniiiiing
We can’t let “him” know how much we know WHO IS HIM
“Doing mummy and daddy Stasi proud” Stasi is slang that refers to the German secret police. WHO IS HIM COLIN WHO IS HIM?!!?!??!? WHO IS WATCHING YOU
“As long as it all balances” ROBERT SMIRKE GUYS ROBERT SMIRKE AND ALSO WHAT LENA SAID ABOUT BALANCING THINGS AAAA
ALCHEMY AAAAA
My brother (knows everything about Magnus Archives/Protocol only from me), said yesterday:
“Can you imagine, if that hummer destroyed one of them, and the other two are alive. And now, imagine, if that one destroyed is not Augustus…”
And now I really need emotional support😭
i was worrying that colin’s hammer episode had potentially killed chesternorrisaugustus which is obviously still a possibility but. thinking about the statement from 22 and what if it freed slash severed them in some way instead. and what does that mean if it did
Ok after seeing everything laid out like this a few things clicked into place for me.
In 1999 there was apparently an archival leak in the tma universe, and in the tmp universe all the files are apparently missing. Could they have traveled between universes?
I heard someone suggest this already, but the box may be the one from the web table. Not really fully sold on this idea just yet but it is an interesting piece to the puzzle.
What if, and hear me out. What if the institute ruins here are this universes equivalent to hilltop road. Why did the web chose the magnus institute rather than some other possible powerful place for the eye? Could it have been because that was where the rift was in her target universe, aswell as just the perfect candidate to fuck with. They did also both burn down at some point.
What if the leak was because the files fell directly through the rift?
Ruins of The Magnus Institute FACTS WE KNOW:
Someone (who runs an urban spelunking forum 👀👀👀) marked it as “cleared,” which has led to a lack of exploration
Pictures don’t upload to the internet and also just fucking. disappear.
People leave with a weird sense of paranoia
Scorch marks from fire 20 years ago 1999 (FIRE? 20 years ago??? Web bond gertrude/agnes hilltop road tree????????)
Third floor mostly gone
Feeling like doors were gonna close and TRAP YOU INSIDE
All! The! Fucking! Papers! In! The! Archive! Are! Gone! FUCK!!!
Old graffiti: symbols - also found on an empty wooden box???
Gross stains all over the floor (hello smooshed worms)
Only images posted (after graffiti images were promised) were of gross/gory Eyes
Spoilers for tmagp episode 9
I’m starting to think that Chester isn’t trying to warn Sam not to go to the institute, but rather Chester is actively trying to get Sam to do so. Sam was talking about how he was just going to call it quits, and then almost immediately Chester added to the mystery to get sam more intrigued and investigate more.
Chester wants Sam to investigate.
weird out-of-the-blue thought about tmagp and sort-of callback to tma, but
remember episode 10? with whatever the hell [ERROR] is exiting the Institute?
and also how we’re pretty sure it’s Jon/the Eye/etc. watching and recording everything through electronics?
well throughout season 5, i remember Jon saying that the Eye can’t “see into itself,” which is why he can’t see the Panopticon.
now maybe, JUUUUST maybe, [ERROR] is whoever/whatever became the Eye’s pupil/special-est boy in the tmagp universe. which is why we don’t know who or what they are
okay okay okay, i’m on my premium bullshit today. take a seat and grab a coffee because this is gonna be a long one
i have a theory for the Magnus Protocol, and I am so not normal about it that I need to rant. Spoilers ahead for literally any part of the show from ep. 1 to ep. 23
Okay so, with this latest case, i think the supernatural shenanigans of Protocol have less to do with the Fears and more to do with self-image and identity
A bunch of cases have been about this—I won’t go on about all of them, just a few that i think either really point towards this or that i think can be seen as decently convincing when looked at another way.
The most obvious ones, to me, are Episodes 2, 16, and 23.
In 2, ‘Making Adjustments,’ the artist is literally reshaping herself to fit with her image of her “ideal self.” She’s pushing the “her” she wants to be out into the real world. It doesn’t escape my notice that Ink5oul is involved—don’t worry, I have words about them later.
In 16, ‘Anti-Social,’ Madam E (another Ink5oul victim/canvas) becomes wrapped up in her online identity and image—comments physically affect them, and when those turn into a stream of hate… well, it breaks her heart.
In 23, ‘A New You,’ I barely feel like I need to explain. The whole case is Alesis pursuing and following through with a means to become her ideal self. She goes through the entire process willingly and with the express intent to become the person she wishes she could be.
As for the ones that will need some more explaining, I’m mainly thinking of 10 and 13.
‘Saturday Night’ reveals everyone’s favourite children’s mascot/government hitman, Mr. Bonzo, and gives some background on him. Mr. Bonzo was a gag character in Nigel’s late night show. Not only did someone in a Bonzo costume do some murdering, but… Bonzo himself took over Nigel’s show and ‘imprisonment’ in the comedy dungeon due to his popularity. Perhaps this sort of thing got to Nigel, and he saw his life—because the show did seem to be his life’s work—being taken over by the mascot, and then saw that same mascot with blood on his hands. Perhaps Nigel made a monster out of Bonzo in his head, and that monster was made manifest… somehow. Or maybe some kid who loved and idolised Bonzo saw the murders and felt like a monster themselves, spiralling until they became Bonzo a la Episode 23, then attached themselves to Nigel because, well… Nigel and Bonzo were always together.
‘Futures’ is a bit simpler, I think. Darrien wanted to be rich again. He saw himself as “one of the elite,” as evidenced by his attitude and the company he kept when his experience started. His desire and ideal of richness lead to him throwing himself into worse and worse situations for more and more money… until, i think, he realised he needed to stop. He realised that his life had just turned into destroying himself for money, and he was ready to stop that… so he stopped seeing himself as “someone doing whatever it takes to get rich” and instead saw himself as “someone destroying themselves.” And the money stopped, just like that.
Now, for Ink5oul and alchemy. Every Magnus Institute case (the ones from their records/research, anyways), has mentioned the terms “subject,” “agent,” and “catalyst.”
These terms are pretty generic, but we pretty much know the Institute was deep in alchemy, and alchemy is, in essence, the art/science of transformations.
Transformations based on self-image and identity, perhaps.
The subject is what changes (Madam E, Daria, Alesis). The catalyst is what starts/actualises/accelerates the change (Ink5oul’s tattoos, Alesis’s “piece”). The agent is what sets things in motion to change in the first place (Ink5oul is the current main example of this).
This is already really long and I’m basically just rambling at this point, so I’ll stop. This could be the most surface-level take or a complete swing and a miss, but I like thinking about things like this, so oh well
So I don't know much about Alchemy for The Magnus Protocol and I'm not sure how this pertains to things but I'm trying to learn and I stumbled across some interesting connections to the Seven Hermetic Principles so like, if people know more and want to share their thoughts? As I'm understanding, the Hermetic Principles are connected to or simply are also known as Hermeticism to which Alchemy was commonly regarded as "The Hermetic Art". Maybe people have already thought of this and analyzed it but I haven't been able to get to that part of the fandom for some reason so maybe this will bring me there.
Ripped from Wikipedia, take that as you will:
1. The principle of mentalism
"The All is Mind; the Universe is Mental."
This kinda fits with what Colin says that "too much mercury and the world ends" where mercury represents the spirit or mind. The universe is mental so too much of the mind, the mental, would overwhelm it and end everything.
2. The principle of correspondence
"As above, so below; as below, so above.” [...] This principle embodies the truth that there is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena of the various planes of being and life.
This really feels like how the O.I.A.R. operates right? There is always a correspondence between the laws and phenomena, Gwen is the correspondence between the order and law of the O.I.A.R. and the "external" phenomena.
3. The principle of vibration
"Nothing rests; everything moves; everything vibrates."
I'm still trying to find a good solid connection to this, but I also have a theory that the fact that Alice's brother Luke is in a band is going to come back in a big way. Like, a Grifter's Bones kind of way.
4. The principle of polarity
"Everything is dual; everything has poles; everything has its pair of opposites; like and unlike are the same; opposites are identical in nature, but different in degree; extremes meet; all truths are but half-truths; all paradoxes may be reconciled."
How many doppelganger stories have we had? How many stories about the missing part of you, the better version of you, the second half? Even with Celia, if everything has poles what if her poles exist across universes. That's why she's waking up random places, because the poles are attracting or repelling each other. If all paradoxes may be reconciled, what paradox is governing her life.
5. The principle of rhythm
"Everything flows, out and in; everything has its tides; all things rise and fall; the pendulum-swing manifests in everything; the measure of the swing to the right is the measure of the swing to the left; rhythm compensates."
Every story we hear about gambling has this principle in place. If someone is having too much luck with the dice, the dice compensate for it. If someone is having too much luck with betting on their own misfortune, the app compensates for it. It swings back and forth, good to bad to good to bad, perfectly balancing itself despite people's attempts to keep it swinging in their favor.
6. The principle of cause and effect
"Every cause has its effect; every effect has its cause; everything happens according to law; chance is but a name for law not recognized; there are many planes of causation, but nothing escapes the law."
I'm not completely sure how to connect this, but it does work sorta well with the gambling themes again? But also it fits with the things happening with Episode 7 and the random organization coming to kill the invasive species of volunteers. Not sure.
7. The principle of gender
"Gender is in everything; everything has its masculine and feminine principles; gender manifests on all planes."
Ok hear me out, this podcast is queer is fuck. Archives was queer but we have so much more representation of gender specific things like the nonbinary Ink5oul and our beloved trans girl Alice. The fact that there is legitimately a principle of gender in something connected to alchemy and we have even more gender representation is amazing. Still waiting for a genderfluid External, maybe one day. Or maybe we met them already and don't know.
Anyway that's what I've learned. If anyone has more information or ideas please share, I'm desperate for more information and ideas and theories.
mmmm feeling like
Jonah emailing Gwen because he just adores manipulating the Bouchards
Jon emailing Sam and messing with his cases because they both want to Know what’s going on there
And Martin… he’s scheming. Maybe dropping hints to Lena? Maybe the one who redirected the security notice to Alice? Maybe just doing his own thing. But he’s up to something, I can FEEL it
So the Response department no longer exists because the only guy both batshit enough and competent enough to do the job got elected? That’s what you’re telling me???
wait wait wait wait
get the red string—silly string? that’ll do—because i have some Thoughts and Ideas.
Lady Mowbray, Ms. Hunt herself (so far in Protocol) is… well, a Lady. Insert Gwen’s class-worship thing here.
Trevor Herbert, Mr. Hunt himself from Archives is a Minister. Literal murderhobo in the government.
The OIAR, a government agency, seems to be tasked with assigning targets to the Externals. You know, making them hunt.
Do you see where I’m going with this? Do you see that the British government in Protocol is run by the Hunt? DO YOU? no seriously i need someone to double-check my vision, everything is blurry
TMAGP THEORY (spoilers for tmagp 17)
okay so, TMAGP 17: Saved Copy was, obviously, weird.
this theory may be a biiit out there but i’m sticking with it.
first of all, this entire case reeks of some amalgamation of The Web and The Stranger. if The Web and The Stranger (as we know them) even exist anymore.
but this whole thing starts off with another tease at whatever The Magnus Institute is in this world, so that’s already damning enough.
but OG Darrien (the statement giver) says he lost consciousness in a “shopping centre” after exiting an odd, meditative state. specifically, a shopping centre near the “Magnus Institute Outreach Centre.” once again, that’s already damning. but when he said “shopping centre”, my first thought was the Hilltop Centre mentioned in TMAGP 7: Give and Take.
and i’m assuming this is a shopping centre near the infamous Hilltop House from TMA. Ya know, an epicenter for The Web. especially given that OG Darrien lost consciousness near a Magnus Institute Outreach Centre, and we know The OG Magnus Institute was heavily influenced/controlled by The Web. also, remember when Sam mentioned in TMAGP 10: Saturday Night that he had weird memories from The Magnus Institute, but no context… almost as if he couldn’t properly remember the context… as if his memories were, shall we say, manipulated??
and again in TMAGP 8: Running on Empty, Gerry says he can barely remember any of his time as a “gifted kid” with The Magnus Institute.
so obviously there’s still a lot of Web influence going on.
and then OG Darrien wakes up with withered arms and ends up at Hartcourt House (which immediately made me think of Hilltop House) and meets the Other Darrien.
he later goes on to finish his statement, mentioning that “your world and mine are pretty similar.” your world and mine. aka confirmation that he did enter another work and he was now aware of it.
and he did so right after passing out in Hilltop Centre.
i think the crack in reality or portal or whatever you want to call it from the basement of Hilltop House in TMA is still open.
we never really got to see how Georgie, Melanie, and Basira handled things after MAG 200 after all, just that brief few moments at the very end. we don’t know if they ever sealed up that crack or not. or if they even remember it, given the heavy Web influence in both shows.
listen, all i’m saying is that the crack/portal is definitely still active and that The Web is up to something again, and it involves The Magnus Institute again.
My headcanons for each of the main character's apperances in Tmagp
Sam
Is Middle Eastern, has a dark beard and almost shaved head, usually wears sweaters or other baggy clothes to hide his noodle arms. The more I think about it the more I'm thinking about that one gay Muslim from the American Gods TV show.
Alice
White and ginger hair with a buzz cut, has several piercings and has a very punk aesthetic to her clothing. Shorter then most of the cast
Gwen
White with straight blond hair, usually wears a pencil skirt and suit, is usually frowning.
Colin
Large white man in a button up and trousers with hairy arms, glasses and a salt and pepper neck beard. Hair is short and greying mostly from stress. Is also usually frowning
Lena
White woman with curly blond hair and is usually wearing a suit and lipstick. Is also usually frowning
Celia
Black with short, dark dreads and usually wears yellows or oranges.
Okay so building off of my last post, my next question is from the fluff episode: Is *everything* being recorded?
Actually first the what-if actually provides a really important bit of information that actually deconfirms one of my theories: It isn't FREDDIE listening to them. The system is gone, but they're still being listened to. So what's actually listening to them?
Okay, moving on. So, we get the little dial-up noises to let us know what is recording the scene in-universe. That makes sense. But again, it's in-universe. Every recording in TMA is done through the tape recorders, which are either turned on by a person, or by the Fears. The fluff from that was canonically a conversation caught because Martin didn't turn off the tape recorder. Even after the recorders start turning on themselves, everyone acknowledges that it's because there's something worth listening to.
So why did the fluff episode get picked up for TMAGP? Obviously, we can't actually know the answer because we don't know what's letting us listen in this time. If the answer was just "Actually everything is recorded and we just listen in to important stuff because it's a show" then yeah sure that makes sense. But if there's something actively listening, and I think there is, then why would it listen to a random night of drinking between co-workers? It's evidently some sort of Fear, or whatever it has become. I say that since I think it prioritizes the most fear-attuned thing it can to listen through (I.e it chooses the terminals and security systems in the OIAR over the phones of the employees, and as soon as the Archivist shows up under the Hilltop Center it switches over to the tape recorder) but we don't actually know what the listener's motivation is behind listening in like this if it picks and chooses.