#th meta

Before we can really dive into it, though, we need to get an idea of the society from which Magnus comes. Magnus is a member of the ruling Reptoid caste: the Draconians. Specifically, he's a soldier and engaged to Gracelis, who is, in turn, part of the Draconian nobility. Keeping this in mind, Magnus also seems to have some connection to Emperor Coracoid. If I correctly interpreted Coracoid's line on page 908, Magnus might even be a direct blood relative of the emperor. (For what it's worth, my headcanon is that he's either Coracoid's nephew or grand-nephew.) Thus, the guy probably has a lot of sway among the Draconian elite. 

If Magus is high-ranking, even among the high-ranking members of their society, it stands to reason that he has a lot to lose should he fall out of line. But Magnus revels in abusing the power he holds over others, you may say, surely there's nothing that could possibly tempt him into risking literally everything he has!

And that is where I say, Maybe. But maybe not... 

What do we know about Reptoid, specifically Draconian, society so far? For one thing, they're very warlike and take great pride in that. It also looks as though marriages among the upper class are arranged. If they aren't, however, the feelings and opinions of female Draconians regarding their marriages/betrothals don't appear to be taken into account if Gracelis' situation is anything to go by. Reptoids also have an extremely strict social hierarchy that could spell certain doom for anyone caught breaching it or anyone born as a result of that disobedience. 

Regarding Gracelis' impending marriage to Magnus, the fact that she's evidently stuck in this marriage implies that female Draconians as a whole don't really have much input or say about who their mates are if their parents— maybe more specifically, their fathers— and future husbands (and they will be husbands, which I'll touch on in a bit) are all for the idea. From here, we can conclude that Draconian society is not only very warlike and class-obsessed but also heavily sexist. 

Sexist societies are often very fixated on gender roles and binaries. They will say, there are men and there are women and these are the only two genders, and there are certain roles for men and certain roles for women and they are rigid and will never ever overlap or change and that's it goodbye the end. They will say, men defend, women are defended. Men pursue, women are pursued. And, of course, if a society prizes men for their abilities to fight and defend and pursue, to be aggressive and not show their emotions because to be otherwise would be to compromise one’s masculinity, it wouldn't be out of the question to assume a society like this is also likely homophobic.   

What does all this have to do with Magnus? Everything.  

Which means it’s time to talk about the man of the hour himself. 

To recap, Magnus is a (presumably) high-ranking soldier of the Draconian military, a (probable) relative of the emperor, and engaged to a noblewoman, with this potential marriage only increasing his social status. Again, the guy has a very far fall ahead of him if he fucks up. But what could possibly compel him to even want to fuck up in the first place? 

Enter Longus. 

Oh, Gus. Poor, poor Gus. He's a sweetheart, and his almost-love story with Brevis broke my heart. Even though I knew they weren't destined for a happily ever after, I still found myself rooting for him to get that hunk of Draconian beef, and when Brevis died, I grieved the lost potential along with Longus. The fact that Brevis never got to tell Longus he returned his feelings only makes the whole situation all the more poignant and tragic.  

But I don't think Brevis was the only Draconian captivated by Longus' charm and looks.

It's never been explicitly stated in the comic, and I don't think it will be, but reading between the lines has convinced me that Magnus was/is in love with Longus. And I do think it’s love, not just lust. Let me explain why!

Firstly, the scene where Magnus finds Longus grieving Brevis is hugely telling to me because, like, let's be real here: if Magnus wanted to kill Longus, he would've done so then. His brother was dead, so there was no risk of incurring his wrath if he'd killed Longus, and the only person who would likely miss Longus would be Quazky, a member of the serving class with little to no sway in Draconian courts (if they even have a court system in place.) Magnus would quite literally have gotten away with murder if he'd killed Longus then and there. But he didn't; he even made Longus his servant, tying Longus to him and thereby ensuring, in some capacity, that he could keep him in his life. And that, I think, speaks for itself. 

Of course, we can't ignore the violent attack on Longus. However, I think this is a manifestation of the trauma Magnus has endured and the damaging beliefs he has internalized living on the Draconian mothership. It's not meant to show that he's just a big piece of shit that has it out for Longus (at least not entirely lol), but rather that Magnus doesn't know how to deal with feelings and/or uncomfortable situations in a healthy way. To summarize, Magnus didn't kill Longus because, in spite of how much it obviously infuriated him, he couldn't bring himself to kill the man he loves. Longus was banished, but he was alive.

The next piece of evidence is maybe a bit more blatant, though it also comes with some implications you may not catch immediately.

He straight-up calls Longus "baby" here. I don't know about you, but I have a sneaking suspicion this isn't something Magnus just says to people. He's openly flirting with Longus, and there are probably two options here regarding Longus’ reaction: either 1) Longus simply doesn't think he's being serious or is otherwise mocking him, or 2) he’s still reeling from the loss of Brevis and being exiled from the mothership, and thus doesn't pick up on Magnus’ intentions. 

On this page, Longus also mentions that sometimes, after a kill, Magnus would invite “comrades” that he wanted to impress to eat with him. (Part of me can’t help but wonder, though, if some of them were less “comrades” and more “one-night stands”.)

Here, however, it looks like they're alone, which is why Magnus said what he did on this particular page. He's offering Longus the chance to eat with him. On the surface, this may not seem like a big deal, but when you consider the fact that Draconians are obsessed with hierarchy, that Terrans are servants and should be treated as such, it becomes a lot more apparent why Magnus might have said this when it was just him and Longus. 

Terrans are servants, and the Draconians are their superiors. It wouldn't surprise me if their society, besides all the other bullshit, also has strict rules about meals and who eats when. If I had to guess, I'd say that Draconians eat first and separately from Terrans, who are then given the scraps and tidbits from their masters' meals. 

With this in mind, Magnus' offer to Longus doesn't seem so trivial now. He's inviting Longus to eat with him, i.e. essentially treating him as a sort of equal. I highly doubt Magnus would've done that if his feelings for Longus were purely carnal in nature. 

Have I got you onboard the Magnus/Longus (Lagnus? Mongus?) ship yet? Good, because now I’m about to smash it all to pieces and explain why it didn’t work out! 

There's one character I haven't really discussed in detail that's the main drive for Magnus doing what he does in the story, and that is, of course, his brother, Brevis. Magnus loved him, there's no doubt in my mind about that, but I also think their relationship was highly complicated and messy.

Brevis was Magnus' younger brother, so right away, Magnus was at risk of developing "eldest child syndrome": as Brevis' older brother, he would've been expected to set an example for him and live up to their parents' expectations, which was likely becoming a mighty, fearsome warrior. Of course, living in a warlike society, Brevis would have at least been expected to foster a taste for battle and bloodshed, if not rise through the ranks of the military. This being said, from what little we saw of Brevis, it's clear that he never reveled in violence the way Magnus did/does. Brevis was able to stay true to himself and not fall into the pit of toxic masculinity that his society demanded of him. But I'm left to wonder: how? How could he remain so compassionate in a world that was the complete opposite?

Which brings us back to Magnus and the  "eldest child" matter. We can assume that Magnus felt pressured to give Brevis someone to look up to, but maybe there was more to this potential desire to become the "perfect soldier" than just providing Brevis with a strong role model. Brevis was kind and sensitive, which are certainly not traits that Draconian society values. In fact, they're traits that likely would've been beaten out of Brevis (maybe literally) as soon as possible unless nobody ever really picked up on them. I don't think it's too far of a stretch to suggest that Magnus gave everything he had and then some to turn himself into a killing machine to have all the attention focused on him so no one could see Brevis' "un-Draconian" characteristics. He hardened himself, and in doing so, he allowed his baby brother to remain soft. 

We didn't see much of Brevis, but based on what we did see, I got the sense that he was much more in tune with his feelings and emotions than Magnus was and is. This self-awareness, along with his kind nature and good looks, is probably what initially drew Longus to him. I imagine Longus met Magnus around the same time he met Brevis: he may even have met Magnus first, depending on when Gracelis got engaged to Magnus and when she and Quazky became involved. 

Maybe Magnus fell in love with Longus first, but because of trauma resulting from internalized homophobia and deep emotional repression, was unable to properly express his feelings, let alone act on them. This left Longus all ripe for the picking, so to speak, to be swept off his feet by Brevis, and Magnus, who might have destroyed his childhood to save his brother from being chewed up and spat out by the world, could do nothing but watch on. 

For all the love Magnus had and undoubtedly still does have for his baby brother, I think he also despised and resented him: in Magnus’ mind, Brevis stole what should have been his. But when Brevis died, Magnus realized he would never get the chance to apologize to him, that the person he sacrificed everything to protect ended up dying anyway, and this sent him spiraling into a hole filled with self-destruction and violence that I don't think he'll ever crawl out of. He doesn't see Rose as a living reminder of Brevis' compassion but as a dark memento of what he lost and can never get back.  

in Jungian psychology the shadow is the unconscious side of our personality. it’s everything that’s hidden from us or that we refuse to acknowledge about ourselves. this delves beyond less desirable aspects because the shadow can include both positive and negative qualities, and the person is unaware these qualities exist in them.

the monster doesn’t behave much anything like Jim. it’s feral and violent and impulsive and primitive, seemingly unbounded by morals. it’s animalistic, more animal (or monster) than man. and this is where Jungian psychology would say based on its behavior it represents the Id, instinctive and irrational, “one’s link to more primitive animal instincts which are superseded in childhood by the conscious mind”, blah blah. 

in TH, this could get pretty literal if the kid is part monster and literally does have those suppressed animal instincts buried beneath his conscious humanity. but either way Jim can be considered the self while the monster is his shadow. and so the Deep can be seen as a battle between self and shadow now that the shadow is consciously known to the self.

Jung’s idea of the shadow is where the shadow archetype in the hero’s journey comes from, and the shadow archetype isn’t limited to figurative/symbolic interpretations. it can appear as external villains or as the hero’s own dark side. if we consider the monster in the Deep represents the shadow archetype, both what the monster is and what it represents is Jim’s fear.

think: Luke Skywalker in the original Star Wars, which draws entirely on the basic hero’s journey. Luke’s greatest battle, especially after discovering Darth Vader is his father, is with himself. Vader is Luke’s shadow in that he represents what Luke’s dark side looks like, but Luke also has his own shadow he internally wrestles with.

he starts to become aware that this shadow exists within him and not just outside of him when he ventures into Dagobah cave and sees his face behind the monstrous Vader’s mask. its not until he realizes he’s Vader’s son however that he becomes fully aware of the shadow inside him. it frightens him, and its his fear and doubt in himself that pushes him closer to succumbing to his shadow, to making his fear a reality.

he prevails (and saves his father and himself) only when he sees his mechanical hand and acknowledges his dark side exists. he absolutely has the potential to become like Vader or worse, and it’s this acceptance that allows him to unify himself and his shadow and thus take control of his dark side instead of letting his dark side control him. he stops viewing his shadow as separate from his self, something he must escape or defeat, and accepts it as part of him. “Unlike the knights of old, Jedi Luke Skywalker, you are not afraid of the dark.”

i’ve compared the Deep to Luke’s journey before, and i do think it is a direct reference to Luke’s brief encounter with the Dark Side Dagobah cave, as Aaron Waltke, one of the writers for TH, describes what Jim sees in the Deep as “only what you take with you,” and this is what Yoda tells Luke when Luke asks what’s in the cave. we can say the monster Jim fights is one representation of his shadow then, and like Luke he probably also has to stop fighting and fearing it to prevail.

arguably Jim gets his butt handed to him by the monster because he’s fighting it. to him It’s separate and scary and he wants it to go away, but acting on his fear only makes the monster stronger, and it nearly overtakes him. remember, this battle is representing a psychological battle. if the monster, the shadow, overtakes Jim, Jim becomes the monster, and Jim, his self, “dies.”

literally in the case of the Deep because he does risk physical death at the hands of his greatest fear, but outside of the Deep it’s a psychological/spiritual death at risk. like Luke. Luke attacks his vision of Vader and that’s why he sees his own face on the dead Vader. If Luke would’ve physically killed Vader outside of the vision, he would’ve spiritually killed himself, succumbing to his shadow, the dark side.

similarly, if Jim kills the monster or lets the monster kill him in this psychological battle, he spiritually kills himself. the monster wins. his fear consumes him. and then its a self-fulfilling prophecy, because his fear of becoming what he fears results in him becoming what he fears. the only way to stop it is to accept the monster, the shadow, as part of him.

the shadow archetype is not the only combined perspective you can take of course. i favor a more combined perspective because I can see arguments for each perspective, for why Jim fears what the monster is and what it represents. there’s a good chance Jim’s fear of himself is going to play an important role in s3, especially because we don’t know how his fight in the Deep ends. a lot of s2 (and some of s1 too actually) features Jim split between personalities and potential selves and lives and at odds with himself and these battles are all left hanging.

even when he says “We’re stronger together” to the different parts of his personality and integrates them back into himself (which yes, sweetheart, you’ve got the right idea!), its not with hunter!Jim’s consent; he ignores the conflict hunter!Jim is fighting him on: Jim can’t balance both the human and monster worlds forever. some day he’ll have to choose one. and he’s in denial, probably because he’s scared.

i dont think Jim’s too concerned however because he’s human. clearly he belongs in the human world. until he’s sent to the Deep and the scales tip and he arguably discovers he does belong to the monster world, perhaps as much as he belongs to the human world. he’s split more obviously than ever. suddenly, human’s not the only option. suddenly he’s not sure where he belongs. suddenly, the possibility of having to choose the monster world and leave the human world behind is very very real and terrifying.

in this respect and in my opinion, the monster represents Jim’s fear of losing his humanity. his connections to the human world, his human thoughts, behaviors, feelings, and relationships. the monster acts exactly like a stereotypical monster because that is what it’s supposed to be. Jim is afraid of becoming a monster, whether he’s part monster or not.

but we must consider what the definition of “monster” is. trolls are technically monsters, but most behave human. changelings are technically monsters, but good or bad, they seem to behave rather human. Peer Gynt asks us, “What is the difference between troll and man?” if trolls behave human, is there a difference at all?

what does Jim consider a monster to be? i think it’s two definitions: something that looks distinctly other, or something that does not behave with humane principles. good trolls are monsters. evil trolls are monsters. evil humans are monsters. a monster in appearance is not a bad thing to be, unless it lacks humane principles. then it’s scary. then it must be stopped. Jim meets his combined definition of a monster: himself, looking distinctly other, and behaving without humanity, even though he knows not all monsters lack humanity.

personally i think Jim being part monster would emphasize this fear of himself he has. it would externally reflect his internal conflict, akin to the archetypal shadow in the hero’s journey, and it would raise the stakes in how Jim’s fear can become reality. it would make his fear harder to deal with but his journey ultimately more satisfying when he does overcome it, when blue finally tosses aside its weapons and embraces red, when he can finally find some internal harmony between his conflicting sides, as harmony is perhaps found between the conflicting worlds he belongs to.