Considering how little Gerard Keay shows up in canon, his character is likely my favorite in the series. Mostly because of his recurring theme’s centered around personal autonomy.
When Gerard was born he had expectations he never wanted placed on his shoulders. He never wanted to get involved with fears, or deal with monsters that “made him so afraid that he could have thrown up,” but in the end, it was the love he had for the monster he was born from that kept him chained to this dark world.
Then, the monster died. In a way that was so traumatic even his love for her wasn’t enough to keep him from running. For the first time, he had really stepped away from it all. And the consequence of that was once again his freedom. He got arrested for his Mother’s death simply of the fact that it was too….weird. There was no real proof he did anything. But the world he lived in was so incomprehensible to those outside it that it didn’t matter. He was charged for a crime he didn’t commit and was only let out on a technicality.
Which left him once again with his Mother. Who had new and improved ways to emotionally manipulate him after he “failed” to help with her death. He was back right where he started, until Gertrude “freed” him by burning the pages.
But he still wasn’t really free. While he was now following Gertrude instead of his Mother, he was still following, walking deeper into a world that he once wanted nothing to do with. And he stayed in that world until his untimely death.
He didn’t go out in the “line of duty” like Gertrude, or Mary, or John, or Tim. His death was simple, and that was when he should gotten freedom for the first time in the life. But then he was yanked back the living world by being forcibly turned into a “monster manual” that was left behind and exploited.
It was only when John burned his page that he was finally set free. That’s why John’s final word’s to him being “Rest in….Just rest.” mean’s so much to me. Because John doesn’t tell Gerry what he should rest in. He just…let’s him rest.
For the first time someone truly let’s Gerry go, and it’s likely one the first friends he ever had.
The story of Gerard Keay mean’s everything to me. He is the most side character’s of all time.
If I could make any two character’s interact in TMA it would 100% be Gertrude and Distortion! Michael.
It would be so interesting to see how much of Michael is really left, and how Gertrude would react to the consequences of her actions literally right in front of her face.
Plus, I think the contrast of their emotions would be super neat. I really believe that Michael is actually a pretty decent part of The Spiral because of the “And she did not HESITATE,” line that is said with far more bitterness than something completely removed from Michael would have. So I think Distortion! Michael would pretty wound up in this confrontation.
Then there’s Gertrude, who, as Sasha calls her, is a “stone cold bitch.” Even if seeing Michael brought up any emotions in her, I doubt that she’d react in the way he’d want her too. I think she’d stay cool, calm, and collected, which could very easily piss off a raging Michael.
There’s so many interpretation’s of how this conversation could go down and I’m going to spend hour’s thinking about all of them, but man I would love a canon answer of how that would play out.
Martin would try to be ✨romantic✨ by hanging a mistletoe over his and John’s head and John would go on this huge rant about how he has no idea why mistletoe is considered such a romantic plant when all parts of it are poisonous. While Martin is a little disappointed
Thankfully, Martin finding the ranting enduring. However, Tim does tease John later for his absolute lack of charisma.
Mikaele Salesa is often shown to be one of the smartest people in The Magnus Archives, and I think this moment is a good example of why.
When a customer comes to him claiming to have not paid for an item he was sold, Salesa has enough sense to realize that any money isn’t worth…whatever this dude is caught up in. He doesn’t want an item that he can’t even remember having, and that is what makes him different from characters like Robert Smirke, who always end up flying to close to the sun.
Mikaele knows perfectly how to dance the line between dealing with the Supernatural and not getting invested in it completely. He knows when something is above him, and he doesn’t have the curiosity or ego to try and prove himself wrong. That’s why he last’s so long while everyone else in the series loses themselves to the world around them. Because unlike them, Mikaele Salesa knows when it’s time to turn a blind eye.
