Warning: There are spoilers ahead for Season 3, Episode 8, “Thresholds.”
Of Season 3, Episode 8, “Thresholds” features the return of Martin (Robert Verlaque), a mysterious character introduced in Season 2. Boyd Stevens (Harold Perrineau) has already crossed paths with Martin in the dungeon where the Music Box Monster was released. Before dying, Martin infected Boydalthough Boyd later overcame this infection and the Music Box Monster in Of the season 2 finale when he went back to the dungeon and destroyed the music box.
Despite his death in season 2, Martin returns to the story in Of season 3, episode 8, when Julie Matthews (Hannah Cheramy) enters the ruins and is transported to the dungeon where Martin is being held captive.. As seen with Father Khatri (Shaun Majumder) and Tom (Reid Price), dead characters have a way of reappearing in Ofbut Martin’s return has a different explanation. His return answers a mystery that hasn’t been solved since the Season 2 premiere and opens up a new element of Ofuniverse.
Martin was a marine trapped in the city and became a victim of the music box monster
Boyd tried to help him
When Boyd climbed to the top of the dungeon shaft in Season 2, he saw Martin chained to the wall. Martin asked if Boyd was from the city, with Martin saying he always thought the city was the worst part, until he passed the tree, which refers to traveling through the city. OfThey are distant trees. Based on this, Martin was apparently one of many individuals trapped in the city over the years who attempted to pass through a distant tree.which took him to the dungeon.
Boyd soon freed Martin and noticed his United States Marine Corps tattoo. Even though Martin begged Boyd to kill him, Boyd refused to leave his fellow Marine behind. Martin tried to tell Boyd about escaping the music, which was a warning from the Music Box Monster that had tormented Martin for countless years. Martin cut Boyd and put his blood into the wound, thus passing the infection, including the worms under the skin, to Boyd.
Apparently, Martin was being tortured by some force in the city for years before Boyd found him.
He suffered a lot before Boyd found him
When Boyd asked Martin how long he had been trapped in the dungeon, Martin stated that he had lost track a long time ago and that Boyd’s kindness was the first he had experienced in years. Martin probably had to survive in the city, despite Of‘s monsters, which is why he once thought the city was the worst part, before trying to escape like Dale (Cliff Saunders) did, passing through a distant tree. Instead of being transported to the pool wall, Martin was transported to the dungeon, where the Music Box Monster infected, tortured and held him captive since then.
The Music Box Monster’s torment was even worse, which would explain why Martin told Boyd that the city’s monsters were just “the tip of the spear.” The only reason Martin survived for so long was because of the Music Box Monster’s infection, and once Boyd freed him, that infection was passed on to Boyd, and Martin finally got the death he wanted. It’s possible that Martin was trapped in this agonizing state before Victor Kavanaugh (Scott McCord) even arrived in town.
How did Martin know who Julie was and how long he had been in the dungeons?
Time works differently in the dungeon
When Julie is in the dungeon, time overlaps and she travels to different points in time. It’s like this Julie manages to find Martin and throw the rope down the well to Boyd, as she temporarily travels back in time. back to that moment in season 2. Before Kenny Liu (Ricky He) and Acosta (Samantha Brown) carry Julie out of the dungeon ruins, she travels further back in time, to when her mother, Tabitha Matthews (Catalina Sandino Moreno) ended up in the tunnels with Victor in the 1st season.
If the dungeon is causing Julie to travel through time, Martin may have also traveled back in time when he was trapped in the dungeon, which is probably why he already knows Julie.. Although he initially made it seem like he didn’t know Boyd in Season 2, Martin later asked Boyd if he thought Abby (Lisa Ryder) was right about it all being a dream. Martin may have also encountered Abby during his time travel, which would explain how he knew this information about her, along with her connection to Boyd.
Martin may have the answers that Ofthe characters must survive the horrors of the city and perhaps even learn how to escape, which would change the trajectory of Of moving forward.
The entire history of the village and all its residents can be known by Martin after years of being unable to escape and trapped in time travel. If Martin possesses this invaluable knowledge, Julie needs to return to the dungeon ruins and learn as much as she can from him. Martin may have the answers that Ofthe characters must survive the horrors of the city and perhaps even learn how to escape, which would change the trajectory of Of moving forward.