thought more about mag 16 - “arachnophobia”, it’sthe first proper web-only statement and spins a story which deliberately mirrors jon’s own life, even outside the fear of spiders and that fear originating from an unfortunate childhood memory—carlos vittery is described as a smoker and works as a data analyst at an online betting company, which. is probably a job that functions and exists on the exploitation of other people, similar to jon’s own position of head archivist at the magnus institute. he also keeps a cat. which feels like an inconsequential detail but in this case likely isn’t. the statement obviously stands out because it’s about something which jon too fears deeply—for once he’s not experiencing someone else’s fear, but being reminded of his own. which is why i feel the opening of “i hate spiders.” which then leads up to mr vittery’s inevitable end, can be read as an early example of jon’s voice being appropriated for the beginning of a narrative he’s in apparent control of and in agreement with (jon hates spiders), but the ending is all wrong. the ending is unacceptable. it can’t be him (which is all analogous to season five, right - the web taking jon’s voice, an act which begins with his voluntary choice to record statements and ends in a plan he wants no part of). the statementisn’t a simple reminder of a guest for mr spider, it doubles as a pointed scare. here is someone so very much like you and the spider eventually ate him. it will eat you too.
