Recap Notes: MAGP 1 “First Shift”

Spoiler Warning: this is a purely selfish exercise in remembering what the hell happened last season (from someone caught up thru MAGP31, 2/27/2025). No promises I’ll keep up with it. If you remember when I stopped and started doing this for series 1 during the hiatus? What on earth are you doing here, loves? You know how this is likely to go.

Summary: Teddy’s goodbye Party. Sam’s first Day. Cake in TMA continues to be untrustworthy. 

Casements:

CAT2RC1157-12052022-09012024 — dolls, watching
CAT1RBC257-12052022-09012024 — the narrative immediately tells us our loved ones may not be loved ones just because they’re loved one shaped
CAT23RAB2155-10042022-09012024 — red-stringing for this show continues to be harder than working in a coal mine

Random Thoughts & Observations:
This season’s set in the OIAR i.e. Office of Incident Assessment & Response. Located at the Royal Mint Court, London (IRL former plague cemetery during the Black Death, and packed full of Smirke buildings, because of course it is).

Ministerial Prick who’s been hounding Colin for an app is later revealed to be Trevor Herbert. Interesting, on reflection, that he’s the only character of note from Manchester in the original TMA world. Is his family from there in this one? Did they have their hands on the Institute early on?

Sam ticks the 121 response box on his onboarding form. Still waiting to see what that might have triggered.
- 121 is pager code for: “I need to talk to you”, but I’m not sure we’re going that retro
- one-to-one request more likely

Is FR3-d1’s German source code a Von Closen/Schwarzwald connection? Easter egg? Would love if this alchemy trail leads to the Keay side of TMA canon.

Still want to know who’s checking the cases for a misfile.

RedCanary gives us a peek into the Magnus Institute of this verse.
- Burned down approximately 20 years ago
- Third floor entirely gone
- Asylum-like with offices laid out like cells
- All the files / documentation was cleared out before it was torched
- Alchemical graffiti
- Object to look for: empty wooden box with mysterious symbols
(was it empty, or did RedCanary unleash something?)
- Canaries should stay above ground

“Just a pair of wiggling vermicellis” as a descriptor for Sam’s arms continues to be a phrase I love with my whole heart.