A little while ago, I did a full IJ rewatch over three weeks, which is the first time Iāve watched the seasons back to back. I made a point to take notes for fic-writing purposes, and I wanted to share them. Theyāre color-coded by character, worldbuilding, and production. Enjoy!
They briefly mention the shadow-lev system in Unpresidented. I assume this is the primary mode of transportation for most of the series, and all secret societies have access.
I didnāt realize this show had a Dave Matthews needle drop
Rand is very conniving for a lot of Part 1 and a lot of the fandom forgets this⦠myself included I am in no way immune
This show has a lot of blood. Much more than I remember.
Thereās also a LOT of electronic transition music early on, which makes the Dave Matthews needle drop even more absurd.
Reaganās arms look really strange in Blue Bloods, which is great. The proportions are always just a little off when she wears the robot-arms, which I didnāt notice until now.
The Reptoids have a rivalry with Atlantis!
Reagan frequently wears a barrette in flashbacks (which may not be huge news to you but as someone whoās written an AU Reagan who wears a barrette it was crazy to see)
One detail that really only shows up on a big screen is that they gave Reagan pinkish coloring around her eyes when she doesnāt have the exaggerated purple eye bags, which looks really nice.
The Reptoids say that Reagan is considered an upgrade from Rand. Do with that information what you will.
Tamiko is on first name terms with the rest of the team! It makes me curious how often she sees them.
Atlantis is REALLY big. Itās also in the South Atlantic Ocean
Each opening scene is around 3 minutes in Part One, which actually changes to around 2 minutes in Part Two!
The Illuminati is referred to as a company in Mole Hunt. Theyāre not just an elite club, they also likely have some sort of business model.
In the summary for āHow Reagan Got Her Grove Back,ā they give away the hookup. This makes me a little frustrated, but oh well.
The Illuminati canonically toilet papered Cognitoās office in the past, which means itās likely not hard to break into their office.
While Part One has mostly electronic background music, Part Two uses a lot of keyboard chords for transitions.
I genuinely think Reagan and Mychelleās Hive School Reunion has my favorite opener. (where they sneak in to change the Constitution) We see the gang on a smaller mission, everyone has new outfits, and also Reagan knocks out a guy with a suitcase.
Rand canonically has a remote-controlled teleporter, which could also solve my transportation confusion from earlier.
āIn the Hall of the Mountain Kingā is played during the roast in Reagan and Mychelleās Hive School Reunion
Ron initially takes it upon himself to complete the mission in Rome. This is SUPER interesting to me, because he already knows itās part of Reaganās job. You could read this in so many ways. Did he want to keep her separate from the part of his past he repressed? Did he want to protect her from another secret society? I am not the person to give judgment on this, I just think itās intriguing to consider.
Ron is canonically good with technology⦠Not only did he hack that recorder in Bohemian Grove super fast, he also mentioned literally building the Catholicizer. More on this later.
Gigiās VA is SO good. Sheās so expressive and her joke delivery is consistently on point.
Glenn is canonically a high ranking general, not just some guy (also, heās my favorite. This is largely because I had to study most of what he references in the two years since I last watched the show.)
During the Mouth of Truth scene, Reagan mentions Ron hopefully changing his mind about sleepovers. Did they just not⦠stay the night with each other before We Found Love In A Popeless Place? (sadly if this is true it makes one of my fics inaccurate)
Side note: The word āsabotageā is used across four of the eight episodes in Part Two. (episodes 1, 2, 4, 5) I donāt think it was used once in Part One. (take a wild guess about why I noticed this)
They use classical music in Part Two again, at the Hand mansion. I couldnāt recall the title, but itās there.
The character animation is SO GOOD in Brettwork.
Iām obsessed with how insane JR gets once he becomes an intern.
Rand canonically collects blood samples of all his employees. Again, do with that information what you will.
Brettwork is the best written āepisodicā episode of the show. Fight me. Also, it was cool to see Reagan in a support role.
Ron canonically has a private instagram account
During the climax of Rontagion, Ron suggests āhotwiring the gun to the buildingās lighting system,ā connecting to the pattern of him being good with technology. This guy was in the wrong field. He shouldāve been building stuff instead of erasing minds.
Brett remembers Ron post-memory wipe. I donāt know why that was written in, but itās definitely theory fodder for someone.
They use a cappella music in the JRand college flashback montage! (College a cappella is very special to me and this made me giggle)
In Gigiās Illuminati cutaway bit, sheās flanked by people in red robes. We also see these guys cheering for the Illuminati in Bohemian Grove, and one going through the TSA in the Rome episode. However, because Ron initially wears a purple robe, this begs the question: does the Illuminati have robes that indicate rank? Does this mean Ron was a higher rank, beyond just being a mind eraser?
In the opener for Appleton, Reagan checks her phone at 9:05 after it buzzes. However, the text she gets from Ron (the only notification) is timestamped as 45 minutes ago. Interestingly, she looks again at 9:50 and the notification is still from 45 minutes ago. Itās probably a production error, but it could also be theory fodder...
Ron never said Reagan needed to make a decision about Appleton, just to think about it. This is canon. I'm not making this up. I donāt deny that this was a huge (and abrupt) ask on Ronās part, but itās worth noting that Reagan rushed herself.
You can tell most of the soundtrack budget went into Project Reboot and Appleton. Thereās a specific motif they use for emotional moments between Reagan and Ron (once when they kiss at the beginning, once in Appleton proper) which is pretty easy to pick up on.
Ron has a Illuminati mind eraser in the timeline where he works at Cognito⦠huh?
And... thatās it. TLDR: I love this show, the work put into the soundtrack is underrated, and thereās definitely still more out there to analyze.