The subversion of the “Whatever it takes” trope in the Magnus Archives is something that’s so near and dear to me.

In so many pieces of media, the narrative is quick to justify coldness or even cruelty if a character’s intention’s were noble. What does it matter if someone died as long as the hero saved the world in the end? What it does it matter if a character will be forever scarred as long as it was for the greater good?

Well, The Magnus Archives answers that question. And it answer’s it by saying “It’s always mattered.”

Sacrifice in the name of the “greater good” is never portrayed as something overly positive in the series. We see this with Gertrude Robinson as it’s slowly revealed that all the people she killed or betrayed weren’t sad but necessary sacrifices, they were just people who’s lives she stole for them.

Then there’s what John does in Episode 200 by taking over The Eye to try and doom his universe instead of them all. This act isn’t portrayed as a tragic decision that had to made to save the most amount of people, it’s portrayed as a betrayal of the promise he made to the one person he love’s the most, and that betrayal lead’s to Martin choosing to sacrifice himself.

It’s one of the more “righteous” sacrifices in the series, but it’s still a death/disappearance that’s directly caused by John putting the greater good before his own need’s. And that bittersweet theme is continued by what is probably the most necessary sacrifice in the series: Tim’s.

Tim’s sacrifice stop’s The Stranger’s ritual, and save’s the world from being a distorted version of itself. But even his sacrifice isn’t portrayed as a strictly good thing. When Tim presses down on the detonator, he drop’s the building on John, which put’s him into a coma that cause’s….all of the problem’s in Season 4. Even a sacrifice that was necessary is portrayed in such a way that you have to wonder if there was ANY other option that could have saved the day.

And that’s because the Magnus Archives is a series that doesn’t believe in sacrifice. It doesn’t justify the horror of giving up on a life by saying “Well. Whatever it takes.” It portrays Gertrude as someone who made such a massive mistake that she seem’s similar to the monster’s she fed people to. It portrays John putting the need’s of thousand’s of universes over the need’s of the of the few people who loved him as a betrayal. It portrays Tim’s sacrifice as something that had long-lasting consequences for everyone around him, instead of something that solved all the series’ problems.

The Magnus Archives does not believe in sacrifice. And I love it for that.