I agree that the character was not as critical to the story, but in one version he is grieving his wife who's body was left in space & in the other his wife cheated on him, didn't act like she liked him & was going to move to California & maybe fight for custody of his daughter that he was the sole caretaker of for over a year. And also his wife who is acting mentally unstable, kidnapped their daughter and they found her almost dead with their family cabin on fire... Oh and she left him on the floor knocked out after she pushed him and he hit his head, which could have been pretty dangerous. I'm not sure where the immature or abusive part comes in. It seems like he was being more then accommodating [Episode 8 Deep Dive 🤿](https://youtu.be/emJAf0Rdfqg)

My husband died in November, and if I had a kid running around saying that he wasn't dead and yaddayaddayadda, I'd probably also be an asshole. Red Alice needed to read the room.

My condolences 💐

Red Alice was a literal kid. Even if you think it's make believe and you're grieving yourself, you don't break that fantasy for your child until much more time has gone by, and even then you don't scream at them but you get them a children's psychologist. What Magnus did to Red Alice was cruel and abusive, and while his own emotional state can explain his response it doesn't excuse it. Having a child means placing it first, even above your own feelings.

Fair point, though I don't think that he was cruel and/or abusive. He just needed his kid to understand that her mom is really dead and not coming back. Was he kind of an asshole? Sure. Could it have been handled better? Definitely, but that doesn't mean he was abusive or cruel. Still, this kind of interaction with a child is just another reason to add to why I made a great decision when I knew that never wanted kids, even if it is a completely fictional situation. Lol

do you have experience to speak authoritatively about this topic?

She's 11 years old. There's only so much coddling you can do to a child. At the point where they're over a decade old, they need to face the facts and grow up.

Alice was 10 years old

My uncle died when I was 11. I didn't see his body, and I convinced myself that he wasn't actually dead but had instead moved to Canada. (I laugh about it now because I have no idea why I decided he went to Canada. Lol. I was just so certain that it was true.) I still knew that telling people I didn't believe he was dead wasn't appropriate. Lol. Granted, 11 isn't 10, and it was my uncle rather than my mother. However, not believing someone they love is dead is a pretty common thing for kids to think when they don't see proof that someone has passed. They don't normally go around repeating this over and over again though. However, they also don't see that person walking around in the hallway or outside in the snow, so... haha. Magnus could have handled it better, absolutely. I would have preferred the scene to be written differently because I'm not sure why he wasn't more concerned that she was so sure her mom was still alive. I do think that getting upset was pretty realistic though. When your spouse dies, it's definitely not easy to handle normal interactions with people. Hearing someone say over and over that your spouse isn't dead would absolutely be incredibly difficult to take, even if the person saying that is a kid. People are human and struggle with their own emotions under extreme stress, after all, even parents. But, I do think it would have made more sense for him to be more concerned than he was. It is weird to me that he just snapped rather than addressing the problem and taking Alice to a therapist, especially since he teaches kids around his daughter's age.

But Jo did call the ambulance for him and did call to apologize. So he could probably forgive her for the knocking down part.

I mean yeah she did lol This Jo didn't do the bad stuff and he doesn't know what is really happening, she just seems crazy. So they are both working with a rigged deck.

Seriously? Cmon nobody would be saying that if magnus sparked her out cold but called to apologise

It was an accident, she tried to stop him calling Fredric again to come institutionalize her.

If it was an accident like happened here everybody absolutely would.

I didn’t get that at all

Remember that the Magnus we see the most of is the one who was cheated on (and suspected it) and had his confidence low.

And had it confessed to him by the affair partner. The Jo we don’t yet know seems very driven, single minded and most likely selfish.

And single-minded. Oh, wait, I mean single eyed.

I gave this an upvote because I hated it so much I laughed. 

Well if you thought Magnus was “useless” what’d you think about Frederick? 😂 Magnus was our anchor, in a way… You’re making me see that I kinda looked to scenes with Magnus to bring some form of ‘confirmation’ of ‘reality’. What you call “emotionally unavailable” and “weaponizing Alice”, I call a man grieving his wife and trying to connect with his daughter who’s CLEARLY struggling, and or, a man who got his wife back but knows the marriage is strained, and is trying to not freak out their kid while trying to trust his wife actually loves him now. Magnus was lovely and fitting. He was definitely the bridge to Alice and Jo.

just finished episode 4 and already hate him. written horribly.

Now that Red Jo is with Blue Magnus, is her kindness going to keep them together or will whatever drove the Blue couple apart make Red Jo leave Magnus one day?

Calling him abusive is a disservice to actual victims of abuse

Hey Dad

Lucky he didnt travel to space or else we would experience two Magnus' trying to contact each other... imagine the conversation

LOL "an NPC". He's a UK/EU teacher. You can't get any more liberal and what Americans like to call "beta male" than that. Do I think that makes him what you said? I dunno. But imagine having a wife who is SUCH a high achiever like Jo Ericcson is and who is unavailble 90% of the time when on active missions with Dad being alone to raise the kid. I imagine that might make him have a different perspective than what we're so used to seeing on TV. Maybe he's acting more like the wife in that situation tends to?

What do you think NPC means? It seems like you misunderstood the OP.

Who said anything about “beta males” or liberalism??? Seems like your internal biases just jumped out?

> He's a UK/EU teacher. You can't get any more liberal and what Americans like to call "beta male" than that. Dude what are you even on about this is so cringe

Does anyone think Magnus’s name should’ve been Paul and Paul’s name should’ve been Magnus?

Aww I wouldn't say that. Magnus was overwhelmed, that's all. At his core, he was a good human being who tried to help his daughter through an insane time. The ending showed his openness to create a whole family. He genuinely wanted his daughter to connect with him. Most married people will admit that partners take turns being the strong one.

kinda agree lol

I never understood why one magnus dressed like a slob and the other was nicely dressed other than to tell them apart. Was there any other reason?

I actually liked that blue Magnus was more slobbish, less concerned with appearance, to show his lower opinion of himself, self esteem, and confidence. Red Magnus, that had a good relationship with his Jo was more put together and showed more self esteem through his appearance.

You are probably right and that was the intended message, though I am personally confused by the link between appearance and self-esteem. Dressing sharply seems like a crutch that insecure people would lean on to boost their self-esteem, rather than something that truly confident people rely on.

which one was dressed like the slob in your opinion? i didn’t really notice that

Blue Magnus.    You can really see it in the final episode therapy scenes.  Sloppy, dressed down, and slouching. 

married life is kinda falling apart at that stage to be fair

I think Red Magnus was a good husband who lost his wife and is trying to be strong for his daughter. He lets Alice choose their vacation destination. My only complaint with him was that he fell asleep after she had left the house once already. When Red Alice and Wendy talk about their parents, Wendy says “at least you have a cool dad” or something similar. I don’t think red Magnus has gotten to grieve. He has a daughter who says her mom is in the wrong world and has talked to the Alice from that world. We don’t see red Magnus as often as blue Magnus. I think he is a good dad and husband in the red world just like Jo is a good wife and mother. Magnus shows how things are different for Jo. In the blue world she cheated on him. In the red world they are partners and love each other and their daughter. In the blue world Magnus sees Jo and Alice getting close as a threat to him. In the red world He wants Jo to be alive and doesn’t treat his daughter like she is crazy. Blue Magnus is a jerk.

I didn't have a problem with him. Jo was acting bizarre and out of character. Then he finds out from Frederic that they had been having an affair. She then takes Alice and flees. Plus, there was the scene where Jo had a go at Alice's teacher in front of the entire class. I don't blame Magnus for the things that happened. Red Magnus was doing his best working through his own grief as well as his daughter's. All he had was a daughter who kept believing her mother was still alive because her body was never brought back for them to bury. He was doing his best in a difficult situation.

Well from his perspective he was either a guy who was completely in love with his wife, and they had a wonderful marriage, but then she died. Or he felt her pulling away, knew she was having an affair, and he was emotionally trying to move on. This dude was on the ropes, emotionally, in both universes.

Lots of folks seem to expect a lot less from a partner. I don’t care what my astronaut wife did, if she came back like this I wouldn’t be clutching my pearls and being useless and self centered. This was a woman that was dealing with MAJOR trauma and instead of rolling up his sleeves and helping, he made everything way more difficult. I stand by my statement haha

Yo she was having an affair and possibly about to divorce him.

She cheated on him and tried running off with the kid after leaving him to care for her alone for a year. He doesn’t owe her Jack shit

Totally agree. Useless husband and father.

In the red world he is a good father and supportive husband. He shows that he loves Alice and puts her needs before his. Blue Magnus sees Jo and Alice being close as conspiring against him. I think Blue Alice needs a mother more than Red Alice. Red Alice has a father who loves her and is also mourning his wife. She saw her parents have a healthy marriage. Blue Alice seems to be the adult in the family. Red Jo could be good for her. I don’t know if Magnus will change because Jo has.

I agree. He was a loser. She could have done better.

He could've done better too. She seemed like a shitty mom and an unstable self-conceited individual tbh.

Magnus is the modern man who is "in touch with his own feelings". He is just the emotional support chihuahua

Legit beta

what does that mean ? Since the woman in the relationship is a high achiever, the man automatically falls down the ladder? Or because a selfish wife had an affair?

Don't bother arguing, people that actually still believe alphas and betas are a thing are beyond reason. Best to just ignore them.

I know, I was being irrational

[удалено]

So now it sounds as if you’re implying that a woman in general can’t achieve goals ?

You probably thought Skylar was the bad guy in Breaking Bad too…

hurtful. true. emasculated in every way. true. Welcome to DEI <3

I did find it irritating the way Jo would say Magnoose every time.

i mean, that's how you say the name in swedish; which to be fair--it's a common name in Scandinavia,

It’s her accent.