Personal Highlights
Hubris, 1.4 – Mirror, Mirror. A fantasy story, which gives us a point of view that we don’t traditionally see. An adventurer brings a broken magic mirror to Eliana, an artificer who fixes broken magical objects. The mirror only speaks Greek, and it turns out that he was only pretending to be broken, so he could get rid of the adventurer who stole him. Unhappy with his life, and the way the adventurer treated him, he was trying to be thrown away. Eliana helps him out, by creating a dupe mirror to give back to the adventurer – one who isn’t sentient. It all goes to plan, and there’s a heartwarming ending, and a new start for both the magic mirror and Eliana.
Sidequesting, 2.10 – Orion’s Nebula. The season two finale. I was really curious about this episode after seeing the moodboard that was posted on the show’s social media. Rion’s travels take them very far from home, as they accidentally step through a portal, and are transported onto a spaceship! The captain looks and sounds very similar to them, which raises even more questions as to where Rion comes from – and how the crew can get them home. Rion, in true Rion style, takes everything in their stride, and helps out the crew with an issue that comes up. It was awesome hearing all those familiar voices!
Aishi Online, Episode 29 – Wants. MJ starts the episode with some reflections on the pandemic; and more specifically, mask wearing, and how she’s able to hide parts of her face that she’s not comfortable with. Then we’re into the fantasy story, and we’re getting close to the Duchess giving birth. MJ goes a little deeper into her home life, more pieces are added to the picture, as she talks about the differences between her mum and her aunt, and how they barely spoke to each other, even though they all lived under the same roof. Back in the story, the Duchess gives birth, to a girl, and this brings up a discussion on how her aunt had a child once. MJ speculates on the effect this had on her family – and the secrets they hold. Even though MJ doesn’t talk about her as much, the GiftedDuckling and her influence are still there in the background.
Tides, 11 – The Long Rain. It’s been raining for three days, but luckily Fred’s sheltering in the sub. She talks about what she’s been watching outside, and has new observations about the life on Fons. Her time in a sheltered place also gives her the opportunity to look at how the snaliens communicate. As the episode progresses, it becomes clear how lonely Fred is feeling, which is obviously understandable, but she takes out her frustration on her crew when they contact her. There’s a difficult balance to be made, she can’t talk to anyone for very long at a time, and there’s a lot of important mission information to share, and research to be made – which means socialising can’t be the priority. At the end of the episode she gets the sub working, and talks about the amazing snalien tech that’s integrated into it. It’s incredible what they’ve done to it, and there are lots of things that Fred doesn’t understand.
Lost Terminal, 3.4 – Systems Normal. Something very strange has happened since Seth was forced to use backup power in the last episode. The interference we’d been hearing wasn’t parts of old transmissions as I’d been suspecting, but a whole other AI – a copy of Seth! And it’s the copy who opens the episode – we hear him talking about how it’s been 45 days since he crash-landed on Earth. He can’t see or hear anything outside, and he has a vague idea that he landed somewhere in central Europe. Then we’re thrown back to the Seth we know, back to the bunker. Seth realises there’s another AI that’s taking up the black box’s storage – one that’s older than the Seth we know. They also seem to have been built by different people, and act very differently. Why does this copy have completely different memories to the Seth we know? And who is the ‘real’ Seth?
The Mountain’s Heart, You Are Not Going to Like This. In what initially sounds surprising, Felisa tells us that Lola wants her to go back to Mount Makiling. But it makes more sense when Felisa tells us that she asked Lola about Lolo’s experience on the mountain. There are huge similarities to what happened to the two of them – he also disappeared on the mountain – and Lola had assumed that what happened to Lolo happened to Felisa, too. Felisa gives a bit more detail as to what actually happened to her on the mountain, and the woman she met; but the details are still vague, and Lola thinks she needs to finish the conversation. Felisa wants to go back too, even though that brings its difficulties, and it’s created a standoff in the family.
The Magnus Archives, MAG 192 – An Appointment. Jon and Martin climb up the tower to finally confront Jonah Magnus, but are thwarted by his assistant, Rosie, who tells them that they can’t see him without an appointment. Then, Jon has to tell Rosie’s statement. Through her statement, we go through events that happened in the Archives as she saw them, from her interview with Elias, to a time in season one when she’d been mentioned by Jon, to Elias’ arrest and Peter Lukas’ arrival. And through her statement, we see her fear, and how she realises that she was working for someone who was truly evil. For a character who we’d only ever very briefly seen up until this point in the show, it’s a whole new point of view – and the point of view of someone who had been close to Elias through everything, right up until the end of the world. And right at the end of the episode, after their long journey, Jon and Martin finally meet Jonah.
Desperado, 13 – Family Meeting. There’s still more to talk about ‘that night’, and as serious as the events are, the group still finds plenty of opportunities to bicker and banter. And the soundboard, the soundboard, I literally had to pause the episode because I was laughing so much! And who knew Shinji had wings, right?? Of course, there’s a lot to discuss about Shinji’s night with Asher the warlock, including such a great line from Talia. The three and Samar start to put together a plan, as the threat against their world becomes more sinister.
Hughes and Mincks: Ghost Detectives, Case Cracked. The season one finale. After the shocking revelation at the end of the previous episode, here we go back to Hughes and Mincks’ first meeting, which is extremely on brand. That glance into the past doesn’t last long however, as we’re taken back to the present, with Hughes agonising over what they now know about Mincks. They confront Mincks, in a bit of a roundabout way to begin with, and then… There’s a line that just broke my heart. But after that confrontation there’s a heartwarming ending, with a hilarious realisation, striking a balance of emotions in the episode.
Debuts
Neighbourly – a new horror podcast, which observes the people who live on Little Street. What hides behind the doors of a lovely house? We follow the family of House No.1, and the secrets they hide. The narrator leads us through the house, which looks perfect, apart from a stain on the carpet. It’s this stain that the narrator wishes to talk about, and the disturbing story behind it.
The Night Post – Clementine, a courier, writes a letter to a former partner that will never be sent, and we get some insight into Gilt City and its world. Letters here are delivered at night, and it’s a more dangerous job than people think. Clementine’s father was also a courier, and the job was passed down to Clementine. The details in the letter are intentionally kept vague, and the audience only has hints of why people would be afraid of those who deliver the Post, and the areas their routes take them through. At the end of the episode, the missing ‘asset’ from the trailer is mentioned, but they still haven’t returned.
Trailers and Prologues
Folxlore, a poetic queer horror show, released a trailer for their first full season, due to be released on March 7th. It sets the mood with a darkly atmospheric soundscape, flickering lights, slow footsteps, and a cry for help.
Someone Dies In This Elevator released a trailer for their upcoming first season, which is more of a minisode than a trailer, at nearly 5 minutes long. I loved the meta-ness of the series being introduced by a historian in the future saying that he’d been listening to a piece of old Earth media called Someone Dies In This Elevator, and explaining to the operator of the elevator he was currently taking what it was about. Of course, the trailer being part of the show, things start going wrong in the elevator, leading both characters to their deaths. The show is due to begin their crowdfunding campaign on March 26th.
Unwell released a second trailer for their upcoming third season, due to launch on the 17th February. It gives us an introduction to a mysterious new element of the story, called the Delphic Order. A poem is recited by a group, what sounds like a welcome to a new member. I’m very intrigued as to what kind of role they’ll play in this new season.
Returns
The Oracle of Dusk, Oracle 1 – Message 1. MJ Bailey has certainly been very busy recently, and her first podcast, The Oracle of Dusk, returned for its fourth season this week. From the title of this episode, we can assume that Delphi is talking to the first ‘oracle’ who contacted her – one of the two people like her who she talked about in the season 4 announcement. Delphi talks about her time in college, her different majors, and how she didn’t really dream. She had a sleep cycle which meant she was too exhausted to dream, or at least, to remember them. After this explanation of her background, she naturally goes on to talk about her shared experiences with Oracle 1, and the weight of seeing people’s lives in their dreams.
Y2K, Episode 1: Kirsten – Age 21 – Gothenburg – January 1976. (Note: I play Emma in Y2K). Y2K is back for its second season, and with a different format, with episodes this season released monthly, with each focusing on one of the 12 main characters of season one. This first episode focuses on Kirsten, Kat’s mum – and it’s in this episode that she realises that she’s pregnant. She’s a university student, and recognises that there are many issues to work out if she keeps the baby. Gender inequality is a big theme in this episode, there are mentions of the women’s strike in Iceland a few months before the events of this episode, and Kirsten gives an impassioned speech about how women can have a baby and also study or work.
Casting Calls
Tandon Productions are casting for their new podcast, That Vampire Show.
The team behind Dining in the Void are looking for two writers for an upcoming spin-off show, titled Written in Stardust.
A Sky Full of Pods 