TMA #162: A Cosy Cabin

[schneefink]

The new episode was delayed by a few hours yesterday, so for the rest of the afternoon I checked every few minutes if it was out already. Then I spent the rest of the evening listening to it again and on Discord, and today I listened to it again and watched other people's reactions to the new episode, and I'm still so excited about it.

Gertrude and Gerry!! I was so happy to hear Gerry again :D Gertrude with her disappointed mom voice (how much of that were things Mary used to say…), and Gerry calling Gertrude a flatterer when she calls him useful, and Gerry saying that there might be tunnels under the institute but Gertrude denying it. And Gerry asking Gertrude about what if a ritual succeeds (taxes!), and if the fears can reach them after death, and Gertrude says probably not, but Gertrude is the one who later binds him to the book, äasödlfjäasd

Jon rewinding the tape to Gertrude saying she doesn't think a successful ritual could be reversed ;_;

Tim and Sasha! Being good friends and joking around! Tim being indignant that Sasha didn't become head archivist even though she's more qualified than Jon and joking about killing "big boss Sims" making Princess Bride references, aww. Jimmy Magma! Jack Magnet!
They did hook up once but now they're just friends, close enough that Tim told her about his brother. Both of them know about Martin's CV – Martin told Tim, even, which I love, it means that they were close.
All the foreshadowing, oh nooo. Sasha saying that she's unforgettable! How dare! After Tim said he and Martin would burn the Archives to the ground in revenge for her, while Jon would wonder if she ever existed. I also love that Sasha realized that Gertrude was more than she pretended to be.

Knowing how good friends they were makes Sasha being taken by the not!Them even more painful. We don't know what exactly not!Sasha did with Tim's memories of real Sasha, if he still remembers them being good friends and was then surprised that she became so much more distant, but more likely Tim never remembers their close friendship at all. Tim asking Melanie what Sasha was like hurts even more now :( He probably looked for tapes with her voice on it, but not!Sasha took the ones Jon made, and whoever sent Jon these tapes probably took these ones.

Jon's cabin statement was also great, and very timely with its isolation theme. "The one you love is always here, so close that refuge sometimes feels a prison," and "here you can be safe, as you putrefy, body and soul." Ow. Then talking about emerging from chrysalis…

Jon finally mentions leaving and Martin immediately talks about how he's been ready for a while, has bags packed etc., and Jon audibly smiling, aww. "We can't fight the world, Martin." "Says you." Martin is not ready to give up! He's ready to burn things down!
Even Alex said in chat that "On the bright side I can confirm: I believe Martin officially no longer needs a good shake" ^^

Comments

[writerkit]

I love that Martin is just so quietly efficient, too. He's kind of the Ianto of the Magnus Archives; he really is.

[schneefink]

I don't know Torchwood, but my flatmate laughed and said that fits perfectly. I've also seen Martin compared to Sam Gamgee a few times now. It's important to have rope, you never know what you might need it for.

[shadaras]

Tim and Sasha gave me so many feelings ;_;

Also Martin eagerly listing out all his prep was adorable, and I'm really interested in seeing what happens next.

[schneefink]

Yes! And it's clear why Gertrude thinks Sasha would make a good successor: she's curious to the point of snooping in other people's personnel files ^^

Jon: it will be a hard and dangerous journey...
Martin: finally, I've been ready for weeks! (or days, or however long it's been, now that time is weird.)

I'm so curious what will happen next! I especially hope that we'll hear from or at least about Basira soon (but not that hopeful, since it might take them a while to get to London and transportation is surely difficult right now.)

[shadaras]

Plus, she already knew something of the Archives work, which likely would've made it easier for Gertrude to pass clues to her somehow.

I would love to know about Basira! Or, really, any of the other surviving characters; Jon's a Very Weird Person now, and Martin is under his protection, and I want to know what things are like for slightly-more-normal people.

[schneefink]

Sasha worked in Artefact Storage, so it's likely that she was already familiar with Leitners and other items, more so than Jon, who in Research probably only got to see selected cases. And maybe she'd have started looking into Gertrude sooner, which would also have made it likelier that she'd discover clues.

Yes! I want to know what "everyday life" is like in the nightmare kingdom. (And what the taxes look like.)