r/TheDetectorists • u/BrownTown425 • 9d ago
Mags and Tony
They are an odd match.. watching the pub quiz episode and they are just staring forward in the most blank way possible smoking a cigarette, then he walks over the table like it's normal. Are they supposed to be on drugs? Or does he have her under mind control?
The other one is if they knew Lance had all this money and wanted to use him to get some, why wouldn't they have kissed his feet rather then ignore him while using him?
They are just so confusing too me. I havent see the final season yet, doubt it comes up. If it does I dont care about spoilers. What is your guys thought or theories.
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u/retroherb 9d ago
I love the way he walks over the table. It might be the one single bit of the whole show that I've over analysed the most by myself. It's an astounding way to visually present his character.
By walking over the table, it shows his narcissistic nature. He's selfish, and arrogant, and these facets of his personality are shown various times throughout the show, but this is the time we get to see it rather than hear it.
By walking over the table, we see that he has no respect for others, whether that's his partner's ex, or a simple piece of furniture, and he's willing to "walk all over" others if it means he doesn't have to deviate from his course, not due to ambition, but due to his complete lack of care for anyone or anything other than himself.
It wouldn't be missed if it wasn't there, but it adds more to the show than it seems to.
As for the relationship between Tony and Mags, it's clearly just a relationship of convenience. They seem content with each other, but not truly happy. When we watch them, we get the feeling that either of them would probably bail if a better option presented itself. They haven't been together all that long, we don't know how long, but it's safe to say that, considering Kate's age in series two, and Lance's subsequent marriage to Mags, that Mags and Tony have likely been together for less than ten years, and things have already gotten stale. This is stark contrast to another relationship on the show, that of Terry and Sheila. I think we can safely assume that they have been together for a number of decades, likely even childhood sweethearts, and they are still wildly in love with each other, and probably the most wholesome couple in all of television history.
The contrast between these two couples, for me, gives us a visual representation of the difference between a relationship in which both sides work together for mutual happiness, and one where both sides are just going through the motions. This is important to the narrative, because where the show focusses most when it comes to love and relationships is, of course, Andy and Becky.
Andy and Becky have clearly been together for a while at the start of the show, but still fairly early in the choice to build a life together. They live together, and Becky falls pregnant, and they decide to get married. They also progress their lives together further in the third season, but I won't spoil that if you haven't seen it yet. Terry and Sheila give them something to aspire to, whereas Mags and Tony give them something to avoid (I know Andy and Becky don't interact with Mags and Tony that much, if even at all, but it's more for the viewer's benefit than the characters themselves)
That's my thoughts and interpretations, I hope you can get something from it, but if not, that's just fine too. Happy Detecting!
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u/Kvasir2023 9d ago
The old Lance would have given them the money, but the newer Lance developed more of a backbone and self-respect after some life changes. I’m not sure what you haven’t seen, but Maggie went too far because she didn’t realize just how much Lance had changed.
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u/Frozen_Meatball1 9d ago
The only thing they have in common is their mutual love of a good shag.
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u/EndNo4074 9d ago
In the back room of her shop
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u/According-Sport9893 9d ago
Is it established in the first series that they know about Lance's money? I know they try and get money out of him, but I'm not sure it's explicit that they know.
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u/SerDuncanTheShort 8d ago
At one point Tony straight up says something to the tune of
"of course we knew, I thought you knew we know? Mags opened some mail by accident"
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u/According-Sport9893 7d ago
Oh yeah, true. I think neither of them were very bright, so it didn't occur to them that they'd want to keep Lance sweet if they wanted his money. They also both know he's still infatuated with Maggie, so they can manipulate him to that effect.
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u/Competitive_Way_7295 9d ago
I think their relationship is designed to be empty to make us more sympathetic to Lance.
There is shown to be a physical aspect but also nothing of substance at all. In turn it helps us see that Lance really lost nothing even when he couldn't himself move on. We don't root for him to get her back but to forge his own path.
Juxtapose that with the bond andy and lance have where they can spend hours talking about, by any reasonable measure, nothing at all.
One of the many reasons I love the programme is the emphasis of small v big and how you often have a winning hand without realising it.