Personal Highlights
Lost Terminal: 8.8 – Friends are important. As suggested by the episode’s title, Seth has a lot of thoughts about friendships and how complicated they can be this episode – especially for an AI like him, who doesn’t understand the complexity of human relationships. There are some more new details about this post-apocalyptic world, as Maddie’s journey continues. There’s a focus on what was lost, not only the human life, but also the tragedy of the knowledge that has been lost to survivors since the collapse of society.
InCo: Episode 44 – Perfectly Fine. My reaction on hearing this title was to pause the episode and internally scream, ‘Nova is not perfectly fine!’. Sob. And she really isn’t. Now that she’s back home, she has to deal with the past that she faced on her trip to Astos, and considering who she visited, it’s a lot to process. It’s also not a surprise that she’s still not telling anyone why she went on her trip, but the gift she brought back for Chell is a real oof moment. And the last thing you need when you’re hungover is Kora…
The Pilgrimage Saga: 2.9 – It Tolls For Thee. I was stunned as this episode closed. I had a whole thing planned around how I’d say that I loved the resolution to the conflict aboard the Starstrider between the humans and the Eschians, and how I was literally cheering for Saph (“Come at me, bro”? Legendary behaviour.), but then during the last few seconds… Everything changes. Up until that final decision, we’re led to believe that it’s done, it’s all over, the good guys have won, the struggle between the two AIs is over (excellent examination of personhood and identity, by the way), but no. Things have just got a lot worse for our crew, and I’m eager to find out what happens next.
Debuts
It’s an action-packed opening to SPECTRE‘s story, as we’re thrown into Rho’s escape. There are some intriguing details about her character, and why she could’ve been held hostage at a mysterious facility, as our first image of her is built up through overheard conversations as she hides. However, there’s a lot about Rho that she doesn’t even remember herself, adding to the picture of a very mysterious character.
Parábola‘s story initially opens in what seems like a familiar setting, but it gradually becomes more futuristic and dystopian as the scene progresses, and new details about this futuristic world are introduced through this group of friends. They’ve decided to go out to the desert and use psychedelic drugs to escape the control of the regime they live under, but the outcome is anything like the adventure they were hoping to have.
Devoid of Space is a new production from Law of Names Media (Breathing Space, Fading Frontier), created by Charlie Caruso-Neal. The Mystery of Haven Station is the first story in this sci-fi horror anthology, in which a pair of detectives investigate a station on Mars, which becomes increasingly sinister the more time they spend in its surroundings.
Trailers and Prologues
The Goblet Wire is an upcoming surreal microfiction podcast about a roleplaying game from the creators of Station Blue, The Far Meridian, CARAVAN, and The Great Chameleon War. With a such a talented group of folks behind the show, I’m very excited to hear it – and even more so after the intriguing trailer that was released this week. The podcast is due to launch on the 9th of June.
This week Janus Descending released the prologue for the sequel series Descendants. The episode immediately opens with a highly emotional link to the original series, and a reminder of the human cost of the Adamantine’s expedition. The episode presents the setting of the sequel, six months down the line, and how the mystery of the Adamantine has been reported publicly on Earth.
A Sky Full of Pods 