Sorry this took a while to respond to. I wanted to be able to sit down and answer properly. First off so glad you enjoyed my posts!

For me one of the major reasons that S5 ultimately didn’t work is that in my opinion they grievously mishandled Martin’s character in arcs 2 and 3 of S5 to the point where he became a totally different person. Let me just say that “original Martin” (aka Martin as he was written in s1-4 and in the first arc of 5) was one of my all-time favorite characters not just in TMA but in any work ever. He is tremendously complex. And yes. He’s flawed. He can be petty. He can be jealous. He can be sharp. 

BUT. He is also deeply loyal, kind, empathetic, brave, and selfless. Not to mention smart. Remember when he tricked Peter for all of S4 and when he acted nonchalant around Simon even thought he roller coaster threat frightened him? And he uses those skills to help others. In s4 he was willing to sacrifice himself, not just to help Jon but also to stop the Extinction and protect the world. In the end of s3 he intentionally antagonized Elias to act as a distraction, even though he knew the price. Despite his jealousy when he couldn’t be there for Jon is s4 he hoped Georgie would be and was sad when she turned her back on Jon.

He also always saw Jon’s humanity even when others didn’t and was quick to defend him. I remind you of all these things because this is not the Martin we see for most of S5 and I think when people re-listen they will start to notice the stark contrasts. Starting with arc 2 of S5 Martin went from being fierce, to being mean, from being capable of righteous wrath to being a bully. Martin went from someone who will stand up in defense of people or things he believes in and sharply call out behavior he thinks is wrong - whether Jon’s denial or people dehumanizing Jon - to someone who bullies and browbeats others into submission, who takes out his frustrations by undermining, humiliating, and snapping at his partner. These are not the same things. And this is not the same character. 

“That’s a pretty sweeping claim” you say. “Do you have evidence?” Why yes I do! Keep reading.

Let’s look at a few scenes that remind us who Martin used to be. You’ll notice a much more thoughtful, deep, intelligent, compassionate, complex, and kind person than you may have gotten used to in the recent episodes.

First let’s look at the contrast between how Martin used to be the first to defend Jon vs how in arc 2 and 3 of s5 he totally stopped doing that and instead would gang up on Jon with others. 

Remember? THIS is who Martin used to be. Fierce, brave, loyal, always willing to defend the people he cares about and perfectly willing to stare down horrible dangers to protect someone he loves. 

It all started going wrong in arc 2 of s5. In arc 1 he was written in character imho, and we’ll look at some quotes from there in a little bit. But starting in mag 177 something seemed a little off though not too bad yet. Basira expresses disbelief that Martin could trust Jon and he says he trusts him but then just moves on.

He doesn’t really call her out for victim blaming Jon or for anything else. Still. His “Yes. I do.” is spoken quite firmly and at the time I wasn’t bothered too much by it. But it’s the start of a pattern. And from there on Martin’s character rapidly deteriorates. Until we get to Upton House and S5!Martin (aka the new character that replaced Martin for most of s5) makes his first fully fledged appearance. 

Now at the TIME this whole exchange being off didn’t bother me because I assumed that they were being influenced by the Web and that we were later going to get a big reveal about how they got mind controlled or spidered or webbed or something at Upton. But nope! (I now have no idea what the whole point of the Upton interlude was, or why if they weren’t being mind controlled they went into the house that was obviously a trap).

Given this, Martin’s behavior is extremely odd and ooc. Jon is powerless and they are at the mercy of Salesa and Annabelle, both of whom they have reasons to distrust. Martin should not be relaxed. He should be concerned! Even more so than Jon since he has a clear head. And yet he dismisses Jon’s worries.

More than that, when Jon tries to use his powers to get Salesa to tell them honestly what is going on, and fails, Martin JOINS SALESA IN LAUGHING AT HIM. It is a horrifyingly chilling moment. Jon is completely powerless. There is an Avatar of the Web, his absolute worst fear, nearby and his only means of defending himself is useless. This is a time of tremendous vulnerability for him, and Martin laughs along with his captor?!

This must be a very frightening and upsetting moment for Jon. And not only is Martin not supporting or comforting him. He’s laughing at him. And Jon hates to be laughed at. Og!Martin would NEVER do that! He’d be trying to think of how to keep them safe in the situation. He’d be comforting Jon. He’d be snapping at whoever mocked him. But Martin never gets called on this nor do we get a reveal of how Upton was dangerous (or plot relevant!). The narrative seems to want us to accept Martin’s behavior as both acceptable and in character. When in reality it is neither. 

And it continues! Martin is incredibly demeaning and unsupportive of Jon. He acts totally dismissive of Jon’s completely reasonable feelings of fear and mistrust. 

“He’ll behave?!” WTF. What a demeaning thing to say! It’s especially concerning because this is who S5!Martin becomes as soon as Jon is vulnerable. Jon becoming physically/mentally/emotionally compromised is an excuse for Martin to be tremendously controlling, to dismiss his feelings and wants, and to dehumanize him and talk about him as though he is a pet or an unruly child. It’s very disturbing. Which would work great as horror. If we were meant to take it that way. I kept waiting for the reveal that this was all mind control but it never came.

This becomes increasingly pronounced throughout the remaining episodes. Look at them all deciding the fate of the world and Jon without any input from him in the end of the show. And look at Martin going right along with it. 

Also remember how fearless og!Martin was when in danger, how brave? How even when he was very afraid of Simon and Peter he didn’t show it because he is good at repressing and concealing his emotions? Yeah. Not S5!Martin. Instead we get this exchange.

BASIRA

I will do as soon as you… Shut. Up.

[MORE AIMING. MARTIN GASPS, A WOODEN POLE FALLS OVER][DAISY PAUSES, SNIFFS THE AIR, THEN RESUMES CONSUMPTION]

[Hushed, angry] The hell was that!?

MARTIN

Sorry! Sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!

ARCHIVIST

What happened?

MARTIN

I-I thought you were about to fire.

BASIRA

So you gasped, just in case?

MARTIN

Look, it’s a tense situation, alright? I don’t know what I’m doing here. I’m not a sniper –

Also, let’s remember that Martin was never as much of a pushover as people seem to think. He and Jon only bonded AFTER Martin stood up to him and called him out and Jon admitted that he was afraid and they started to see each other as real people. This happened when Martin called Jon out rather fiercely for his skepticism.

That was in episode 39. Very early in their relationship. So Martin constantly yelling at Jon in s5 and never listening to him and belittling him isn’t him “learning to stand up for himself.” He already learned that. og!Martin was defined by his repressed thoughts and anger that he learned to express. He always had these thoughts. At first he was just too shy to voice them though. Also they were tempered by compassion. When Jon explains that he does believe, he’s just scared Martin’s anger fizzles out. Because og!Martin is kind. Also remember that Jon’s leg is injured in this encounter and he can’t run. Martin chooses to stay with him rather than leave and save himself. Later in mag 40 he starts crying and apologizing because they got separated in the tunnels and he thought he left Jon to a horrible fate.

And look at early s5, when og!Martin was still there. Look at these scenes and notice how empathetic he is, how supportive. How he doesn’t blame Jon and provides comfort and support instead of just putting the weight of everything on Jon and telling him doesn’t want to hear about anything or make any decisions (only to turn around and blame Jon for every decision and every piece of information he didn’t share when Martin was the one who asked him to keep quiet). Instead. He is there for him and trying to help him with firmness and compassion. He doesn’t dehumanize him and he helps shoulder the emotional burden. Also while they do argue the arguments lack the viciousness of their later debates and are more equal. Jon snaps and then apologizes. Whereas later it’s just Martin constantly yelling at and blaming Jon and throwing awful accusations (like comparing him to Jonah! WTF!) and being tremendously hurtful while Jon begs for forgiveness.

These are just a few examples but they really illustrate how Martin as he was written in s1-4 and arc 1 of s5 and Martin as he was written in arcs 2 and 3 of S5 are totally different characters. But the narrative treats them as the same. We’re supposed to keep rooting for Jonmartin even tho Martin is no longer the character we know and love and consequently the relationship now has a totally different dynamic. I love Jon being with og!Martin. S5!Martin is frankly a toxic and abusive partner. And the fact that he isn’t treated as such by the narrative makes me uncomfortable. And it makes a lot of the season not work for me because the moments that are supposed to be “sweet” and happy between a couple we’re supposed to root for don’t strike me that way. Also s5!Martin is frankly a much less interesting character than og!Martin. 

So yeah. I love og!Martin. I hate s5!Martin both as a character and a person and I think a lot of the problems with s5 stem from the way he was mishandled as a character.