unforum

[The Happy Madman]

Tim doesn't seem to be in a position to do anything right now, so my best guess for the next entry's content is:
(A) Tim finds the Ark in Benedict Hall
(B) A somewhat coherent TTA video ordering Tim what to do next.
(C) Hoody intervention. (which could be included in possibility B)
(D) Deus ex machina. Something like Tim revealing a massive secret, orJay randomly appearing, perhaps?

Not much to go on, if you ask me.

[Malaclypse]

Everyone who says this was filler failed to notice a subtle, but HUGE clue in the conversation with the groundskeeper. Benedict Hall suffered a flood. Whatever the Ark is must be related to that flood, hence the symbolic name.

[Ascalondion]

[awakeasaurusrex]

[TheOperator]

[Sha Noran]

I am enjoying the path this thread's discussion is taking.

A copy of what I said in another thread, but is equally relevant here:

Maybe he only knows it like Masky knows things that Tim doesn't. So he knows, but can't remember, and tries to leave himself clues in his insane state, but when he "sobers up" (so to speak) its all cryptic TTA bullshit. So he needed Jay to be an outside party that could determine what that hell he was talking about. Thus TTA/Hoody are two different sides of the same person, ala Tim/Masky. I've been saying this for a while now, as it is a very fitting explanation for why Hoody wants the pills too. It makes a lot of sense...

[Marble Hornets]

Opinions. Every time I read someone saying they "got a lot" out of this entry, it just comes off as they're being overjoyed with new content and overriding the lack of meaning and significance anything actually holds within that content. I don't expect action every entry, but I also don't want 15 minutes of crawling through sewer tunnels just to have all that build up fizzle out with a boring and cliche'd ending that we've seen a million times in season 1. Wasn't interesting then, isn't interesting now. Tim blacks out, wakes up later and goes back to look for Jay. We don't know what happened during his blackout, and we never will know since the camera stopped recording. It was a meaningless ending and a long roundabout way of showing that Tim ran out of pills, something we already assumed had happened given Tim's bottles in his house all being empty. You can argue that, but I'd argue back by saying concreting the "no more pills" thing as fact is something they didn't need to spend tens of hours producing because it's not that important, and the entry itself shouldn't have been 15 minutes long for that reveal. It's not good storytelling when you consider how good it could be if they didn't let it fizzle out and went the extra mile to nail great endings.

Most rational people are not annoyed with the wait between entries. The series has shown it can be incredibly scary and move a plot along nicely (season 2) but it has clearly taken a dive and it is apparent to those of us complaining. Nobody expects it to change its formula, but there is a very noticeable difference in the pacing and method of storytelling between seasons 2 and 3 that some of us believe got worse. A lot of the "answers" we've gotten this season could have easily been inferred, not every blank needs to be filled in. We're not going to stop watching something we've invested nearly 4 years into, we want to see the resolve.

Just like you said, subjective opinions exist. Most of us complaining want the series to live up to it's full potential, most of the people defending are just satisfied with what they have given us as of late, a level others of us would consider "mediocrity." There are great entries sprinkled around here and there (recent jessica entry, confrontation with operator at alex's old house) but as a whole the product has become repetitive and somewhat stale due to trying to fit a story to locations rather than the other way around. They need to focus more on the story/dialogue at this point than anything else.

All I pray at this point is that we get a good end to the series. I feel like a lot will be left unsaid. My faith in a great ending is fading out, but it is still there. They need a strong finish if they want to maximize their ability to monetize the series further after it's all said and done.

[MDHDZN]

[wassupbro]

[Nathanial]

On topic:

The biggest thing about this entry I'm curious about is the "no entry allowed" sign. Starting to wonder how important the school really is.. Also, flooded Benedict Hall.. Made me think of "ark". Some part of the school where there's some game changing/ending tapes protected/not damaged by the flood?

Responses (off topic):

[Marble Hornets]

[kurthnaga]

So this keeps on coming up in posts but I want to elaborate my view here. I'm going to present a series of analogies, and then explain myself.

Alex's capture of the Operator on Tape = Eve taking fruit from the garden of Eden, i. e., the first sin.
Tim = Adam, has been tempted by Slendy from the start.

When Alex captured the operator on tape, it was akin to the devil tempting Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, thus creating the concept of sin. You may look at it, smell it, touch it, but consuming of it, or in this case capturing it on tape, binds you to it - you are forever a sinner.

Tim has been influenced by the Operator the longest out of any of the people involved - since his childhood. However, I don't believe he had ever caught the Operator on tape - instead, it was as though Satan/TO was constantly tormenting him - to the point where he was labeled insane. Through Tim/Adam, who resisted, the Operator/Satan found Alex/Eve, and moved on to an easier target - something with less resilience. And it worked - Alex/Eve caught the Operator/ate the fruit.

Here's where things are going to get tricky - Jay is, in fact, another version of Adam - here's why.

Alex clearly seems nervous about giving Jay the tapes from the beginning, in fact not even wanting to at the start. Eve would most likely have been nervous trying to get Adam to sin. But Alex/Eve gave the tapes/fruit to Jay/Adam and brought them into the mess as well - in fact, claiming another victim for the devil. One by one, (as illustrated in the end of what I think was Entry 22) Alex tempted each person involved with Marble Hornets - Brian, Sarah, Seth.

So now we have our protagonists, Jay and Tim = Adam, where Alex = Eve, and TO = The Devil.

In the biblical tales, time passes. Over the years, the world becomes full of more and more sinners, whereas there are few who are pure. Among them is Noah. Lets shake things up with another set.

Whoever finds the Ark = Noah
The Ark = Something metaphorically protecting the wielder from the operator (a la TribeTwelve journal?)
ToTheArk = A prophet, i. e. Hoody, who knows certain things in advance, but cannot find the ark by himself.
Benedict Hall being flooded - the start of the flood that wipes out creation, limiting time to reach the ark. (Hence why TTA gets so mad whenever Jay/Tim seem to waste time)

TTA, or Hoody (sometimes helped by Masky perhaps) wants to get to the ark. This is his utmost priority - get to salvation. However, to find the ark, he seems to need the help of tainted persons, i. e. Jay and Tim - as we don't know what the ark is, we have no idea how he intends to do this.

tl:dr I can stretch the story so far to fit a bunch of biblical analogies and perhaps provide a little bit of insight into characters - ie TO is the Devil and is corrupting people.

Sidenote: By saying TO = The Devil I am not meaning that literally - I am using the biblical story analogously.

Sidenote 2: Is all of this bickering about filler/not filler really necessary? I thought these threads were for discussing and analyzing episode content, not quality. Besides, isn't there another thread for entry quality?

[MistrPibb]

Hoody is def Jacob the groundskeeper, explaining why he has such a comprehensive knowledge and respect of tunnels.

[Marble Hornets]

[kurthnaga]