Intro

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hey, this week we review two movies that deal with journeys of discovery.

SPEAKER_04 0:07

Ooh, that's right. We'll be covering a journey of self-discovery in The Wrong Girls and a journey of, well, dinosaur discovery in Paw Patrol, Colon, the Dino Movie.

SPEAKER_00 0:21

And for TV, we're back to covering two shows again. We'll be continuing our recaps of Silo with season three, episode seven, titled radio, and kicking off our discussions for the new HBO Max series, Lanterns, with the series premiere.

SPEAKER_04 0:38

Anyway, I guess it's time for us to take our weekly musical journey.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Get the music, because this is we We should watch that Episode 21.

SPEAKER_04 0:55

We can join the military and drink now.

SPEAKER_00 0:59

I think we only have to be 18 to go in the military, but yeah.

Movie Review: The Wrong Girls

SPEAKER_04 1:06

Guys, our first movie is The Wrong Girls. It's the directorial debut of Dylan Meyer, who wrote the movie, and if the name sounds familiar, it's Kristen Stewart's wife. Stewart also produced it with Seth Rogan's Point Gray, and the cast is kind of ridiculous. We've got Kristen Stewart and Alia Shawcat leading things. Then we've got Seth Rogan, Lakeith Stanfield, Kumil Nantiani, Tony Hale, Kate McKinnon, and Gina Davis. In the movie, Stewart plays Frankie, Shaw Kat plays Molly, two aimless stoner best friends who accidentally get their hands on an experimental drug. And because this is a stoner comedy, well, of course they take it. And uh that gets them mixed up with some dangerous people who would very much like to get it back. So, Sush, what'd you think of this?

SPEAKER_00 2:04

I found out about this movie from the trailer, which was a pretty easy sell since it seemed right up our alley. Yeah. Overall, the movie was presented as a Lady Stoner film.

SPEAKER_04 2:16

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:17

But ironically, it actually seems to be doing a lot in the under two-minute trailer.

SPEAKER_04 2:23

It does! Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 2:26

We got what seems to be our best friend leads, Kristen Stewart, who is one of our favorite child and teen film franchise stars that ended up taking on really interesting roles. We actually have a list of those. And obviously, she starred opposite of another one of our favorites that's on that list, Robert Pattinson, both in Twilight, obviously. But uh Aaliyah Shawcat. For me, she's one of those funny ladies I've often seen in cameos or guest starring in different TV shows, but never got around to actually seeing her in anything that she was a regular cast member on.

SPEAKER_04 3:03

You didn't watch Arrested Development?

SPEAKER_00 3:05

No, no, I didn't.

SPEAKER_04 3:06

What? Okay, that on the list.

SPEAKER_00 3:10

But even from the trailer, I thought she had great chemistry with Stuart, along with one of your personal favorites, Lakeith Stanfield.

SPEAKER_04 3:21

Lake!

SPEAKER_00 3:22

He's in some wild outfit doing some hand-to-hand combat and using weapons and shit. Yeah. I don't know. There's so much going on. Even with that said, I want to mention that the trailer did a good job throwing people's names up on the screen. Oh, yeah. Didn't have to spend too much time trying to work it out as they're cutting through a montage of scenes. Did they do it because they knew they had too much going on in the trailer? Or because they knew their audience.

SPEAKER_04 3:54

Yeah, they're gonna need caps, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 3:59

I think the one moment though that definitely stuck in my memory was Seth Rogan and Camille Nanjang voicing the pet cats.

SPEAKER_04 4:08

Very cute cats, too.

SPEAKER_00 4:10

So yeah, with how much we love weird, silly comedies, especially ones with a lot of cameos and crosses over into other genres like thrillers or action adventure, uh, which are certainly characteristic of stoner comedies. And also having known to partake myself on occasion.

SPEAKER_04 4:31

Oh, really?

SPEAKER_00 4:33

I was really looking forward to seeing this.

SPEAKER_04 4:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:36

Seeing the movie right out the gate, I was hit with so many design elements that kind of laid out what I was in for immediately. We get this complex cinematography with these hazy, out-of-focus shots.

SPEAKER_02 4:50

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:55

And there's ethereal, vibesy music that pairs perfectly with what we're seeing. Even though those elements aren't constants throughout the film, they're definitely revisited several times as our lead characters get high on various substances and have some of the craziest experiences that aren't even due to them being high.

SPEAKER_04 5:15

Oh, yeah. They just invite it into their lives somehow.

SPEAKER_00 5:21

But design elements overall just contribute so much to helping the audience connect with the feelings and experiences they go through. Visually, I just love the way this movie looked from the costumes to the sets and the crazy props, weed related, and that. It was just super fun. I mean, I think I even clocked the youth of the same font as Beavis and Butthead during the opening credits.

SPEAKER_04 5:52

Oh my god, I was wondering what that font was.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

Yeah, seriously, it's just one small example of how fun this movie was beyond the audiovisual aspect of the movie. I think the story was the other major aspect that led to it being really fun. And I'm not just talking about the actual plot. I honestly also think Dylan Meyer did a great job with how they told the story. We pretty much opened the movie with a great example of this. An introduction of our lead characters that's completely void of any dialogue. If you caught the trailer, you see a tiny bit of it. It's when they're both coughing after taking rips off hookah tubes. But it goes on for a bit, actually, and it's kind of genius since it immediately not only establishes that these are Lady Stoners, uh, like real Lady Stoners, not posers who just take a scary, you know, a few times a year at a festival or something. No. Also, they have a deep bond because they don't even have to exchange a single word to basically carry on the entire conversation. Revisiting the plot, I love that even though this certainly has all the hallmarks of a stoner comedy, typically involving some kind of ridiculous journey, possibly crossing over into another genre with leads that have a close family andor friend bond, and of course, some epic munchie type foods.

SPEAKER_04 7:22

Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 7:24

It really invests into the formula with a level of quality that I haven't seen in a movie like this, maybe ever. Sure, maybe weed or other substances are usually the catalyst for all the wild and crazy shit happening in the movie. But there's no reason why some of these sequences needed to be as visually or sonically complex as they were.

SPEAKER_04 7:46

Yeah, really.

SPEAKER_00 7:48

Or why the humor stretches across so many different styles: satire, dark humor, puns, and so much more, or why that humor needs to be so detailed and seemingly ingrained into so many aspects of the movie. If you're not an uptight asshat, I really think you can feel the love and enjoyment everyone involved in this film shared in making it. If this movie were a specific type of stoner, there's no doubt it'd be the kind that makes all the food or activity preparations before they're their friends get high, so they can just really live in the moment and enjoy. With this being a fun movie, I really think the cast was able to throw themselves into these roles, which were all pretty ridiculous characters.

SPEAKER_04 8:36

Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:38

But since I earned so much time talking about the design and writing, I'll do what I usually do and just list my highlights. All right. Kristen Stewart and Aaliyah Shock Cat, as I mentioned earlier, BFF leads, Frankie and Molly. Undeniably central to so many of the funniest and craziest moments in this movie. But that was obviously expected. Still, you really do feel the depth of the bond these two share.

SPEAKER_04 9:06

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:07

I don't know if it's because this is the first time I think I've seen a lady stoner movie, but the bond between these two honestly felt a lot more magical than even some of the best stoner duos I've seen in film. Lake Stanfield as not Metalhead Dave. Man, I swear this guy has just been playing mysterious dude roles lately. Tend to be fairly serious, though.

SPEAKER_03 9:31

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

So I think this time it was just nice to see him playing one where he at least seems like he's intended to be funny in certain moments. That was cool. Zach Fox is Josh, Molly's boyfriend. I thought he was a great down-to-earth straight man character to contrast all the craziness happening around Frankie and Molly.

SPEAKER_04 9:53

Which is crazy because my other context from him is the insane role he plays on Abbott Elementary as this totally unhinged, unemployed sort of rapper. So it was so fun to see him be the straight man in this.

SPEAKER_00 10:10

Yeah. And obviously Seth Rogan and Camille Nanjani as the cats of the leads, Dio and Gigi. I thought they were hilarious and weirdly, when you hear them having these conversations, they, like Josh, also seem kind of down to earth.

SPEAKER_02 10:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:29

And last but not least, since I don't want to forget or miss any of them, all the actors that played the, if I remember correctly, Danish dudes in the clean white suits.

SPEAKER_04 10:42

Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:43

Yeah. They, as a group, provide some of the most simple yet satisfying comedic moments in this movie. So if you see this, definitely keep an eye out for them. I don't know how you could miss them though.

SPEAKER_01 10:56

It's very funny.

SPEAKER_00 10:58

So moving into my ratings, I gave this a four for enjoyment and a three and a half for quality.

SPEAKER_03 11:05

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

I know we've reviewed other stoner movies, or at least what I'd consider stoner adjacent movies. But honestly, this one was something special. Maybe it was because this was the first Lady Stoner movie I've personally experienced in a theater or ever, really. Maybe it was how cool it looked and sounded, or how fun, but also detailed and smart the plot and storytelling was. Perhaps the fantastic cast. I think it's safe to say there's probably at least a bit of each of those things that contributed to me enjoying this movie as much as I did. I honestly only gave it a four because things can get frantic and hard to follow, especially seeing this in a theater. And it was kind of easy to pick out several of the details that were sure to set up jokes later on in the movie. I also think that criticism affected my quality rating, which was half a point lower than enjoyment at three and a half. So that kind of quality rating for a stoner movie is definitely on the higher end of the spectrum.

SPEAKER_03 12:12

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 12:13

Even though I won't name any specific movies, thought about it, and I definitely wouldn't put any Stoner movie I've ever seen personally at a quality score higher than maybe a four. So, other than the predictability of some of the jokes, I didn't think there was too much wrong, though there were some moments where I think character development for those outside of our two leads was a bit lacking. Since I remember wondering about motivations for some of the things that they do, which I can't really get into detail about because spoilers, but yeah, none of it was that noticeable or frequent of an issue as the predictability was overall, but it is a stoner film, and they did kind of lay out at least a pretty solid outline of the plot in the trailers. So yeah, maybe just don't do that next time. And I really hope there is a next time, too, since I could really see this being a new stoner movie franchise.

SPEAKER_04 13:07

Oh, can they be the new Chi Chin Chong, please?

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Yeah. Um and that actually leads me to my related recommendation, uh, which happens to be the third movie in a Stoner movie franchise. Oh 2011's a very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas. For me, it's usually a toss-up between this one or the first movie in the franchise. Harold and Kumar go to White Castle as far as the favorite goes. Obviously, John Cho and Cal Penn is Harold and Kumar, along with Neil Patrick Harris playing a crazy horny hetero version of himself. Some returning characters, as well as new appearances by Tom Lennon, Danny Trejo, and the Rizza. This movie also has a weirdly funny and coincidental link to an upcoming movie that also has John Cho in it. Ooh. Your mother, your mother, your mother. Oh Maher Sherla Ali. Can't wait. In that movie, Cho plays what seems to be the villain, which looks surprisingly like one of the goofy versions of the Korean gangsters he played in a scene from this third Harold and Kumar movie. Oh, and the part where Danny Trejo's character tells the story about why Christmas trees mean so much to him. If you know what I'm referring to, you gotta look up the trailer for this movie he's gonna be in and compare. It's seriously uncanny.

SPEAKER_04 14:27

It's got Danny Trejo, can't go wrong. And there's some Emerson alumni in there as well.

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Cool. Well, what do you think about uh The Wrong Girls?

SPEAKER_04 14:36

Sushi, you know what I think about The Wrong Girls.

SPEAKER_00 14:40

Of course I do, but tell the people what you thought.

SPEAKER_04 14:43

This movie is so straight down the middle, my thing. Okay. Friendship, weird girls. Yeah, little weed. I loved it. This is a weed movie that made me cry about friendship, and I think that's pretty amazing. I was already excited because I like stoner comedies, but even more than that, I just love girlfriend movies. My friendships are incredibly important to me. These women are like my family. So to see two weird girls get high and go on adventures together and share their lives together, I was just there. On top of that, you know there's gonna be hijinks because they're stoners. It's just such a great setup for an Ashley movie. And sushi, these girls are a fucking mess, but I love them. Their home is, I'm gonna say, lived in. Their bongs are incredibly dirty. And at one point, they literally wear dresses made out of trash bags.

SPEAKER_00 15:46

Yeah, but they're actually two different styles of trash bags. I was trying to pay attention to the one of them had the red drawstring and the other one had blue. So I did think that was kind of funny. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 15:59

Because I think they're fundamentally just artists, you know. There's this one line too, I loved where one of them said, Did you find cash in the fridge again? I laughed so loud because oh my god, I've lost things in the fridge before, too. I once lost a pair of glasses. I I'm just gonna say I relate to these girls as a fellow weird mess. And I love their friendship. They've got this nice laziness, they complain. And oh my God, they've got their regular buffet with weird food combos, they've got their fluffy, sassy cats, their messy apartments full of art and bongs. Like, damn, these girls have built a whole weird little life together, which makes it even funnier when they try to interact with uh what I'm gonna say is normal people. They sort of overperform being normal in the way that high people do when they're trying to hide it. They also are just so good at finding the weirdest, most unhinged people in a room. I don't know how they do it, but it's quite the skill. Something I found interesting about the movie is that the movie itself functions as their high brains do. From the opening, it looks awesome. You've got the psychedelic octopus, that huge, shaky looking font that you're talking about, rough around the edges, much like the characters. Everything is really saturated, psychedelic, hazy. It's got this old school sci-fi look at times. And I think what's key is it doesn't just show you people getting high. The movie itself feels high. Like the details, they're a little blurry. Your understanding of what's going on. Yeah, that's blurry too. Like you're sidetracked, and then suddenly something incredibly stupid feels incredibly important. It really has a high logic to it and aesthetic. I loved that about it. I also love, oh my god, those manicured European Danish, right? Danish dudes. They are so funny, such a good contrast. I mean, these girls, there's so many lines I loved. There's one where someone can remember the word for engineer and says, the train one where you invent things. Yeah, that's it. That's an engineer. I got it immediately. I don't know what that says in all my mind that I'm on their wavelength, but it's compelling, it's stupid, it's funny. Underneath it all, oh, the friendship is so good. Frankie is definitely resentful of Molly's boyfriend, but I like that instead of making it a whole dude coming between two women thing, the movie mostly plays it for laughs because he's actually a nice guy. It's really more that Frankie's nervous about change. I think there's that universal fear of losing closeness with someone you love. Then, oh my gosh. Oh, there's this moment near the end where they're embracing each other, singing and dancing in a circle. It is this incredibly powerful moment for them. The whole movie has been leading to this. This is a key moment in their friendship. And I sobbed, I cried. But then the camera cuts away and you see people watching them like, what the fuck are these two doing?

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Right, from everybody else's point of view.

SPEAKER_04 19:37

Yeah. I just like, you know what? That's friendship. Being in this little bubble with someone where you're connected in a way that makes no sense to anyone else. But to the two of you, you completely understand each other. Okay, I'm not saying this movie's perfect, I'm just saying it's very much my waypoint. If you're looking for a tightly plotted thriller where everything makes sense, it's not this movie. Also, I don't know why you would buy a ticket for a Kristen Stewart Stoner movie expecting that. If you do want two artsy dirtbag girls getting really high and making bad decisions and loving each other very, very much, then yeah, this movie fucking rolls. It's for you. So at one point, I literally turned to Sushi and said, I love my friends. That's what this ridiculous psychedelic weed movie left me with. I fucking love my friends. And I think there should be more movies about female friendship, more movies about weird weirdos. So for my scores, I gave it a 4.5 in enjoyment. This is just so specifically my shit. And I have literally a list of friends that I want to watch this with.

SPEAKER_02 20:58

Sweet.

SPEAKER_04 20:58

Yeah, it's on the list, it's on the agenda. For quality, I gave it a four. I think it's messy a little all over the place, but I think that's by design because that's the way the girls are and what their experience of life is. So that felt pretty right to me. God, I loved this movie. I really loved it. Well, more please.

SPEAKER_00 21:22

Yeah, I know. It's just wild that we're going from this movie to the next one. But I don't think the energy is going to change in the reviews. Yeah, it was uh definitely an interesting week at the movie theater.

SPEAKER_04 21:40

Indeed. Yeah, yeah. All right, let's uh get into it.

SPEAKER_00 21:45

Yeah.

Movie Review: PAW Patrol: The Dino Movie

SPEAKER_04 21:47

Our next movie is Paw Patrol Colon, the Dino Movie. And I gotta tell you, we're covering this one because we saw the last one at a late night screening and just couldn't stop laughing. Partly because the dogs are very cute, partly because we had a lot of questions about why the city's entire emergency response system seems to be controlled by one child and his dogs. Nonetheless, this time the pups get caught up in a mysterious storm and crash land on an island full of dinosaurs, where they meet Rex, a pup who's been stranded there for years and has basically become the resident dino expert. Then their nemesis, Humdinger, starts recklessly mining the island for resources and accidentally wakes up a volcano. So once again, the entire population survival rests on the shoulders of puppies. So, Seosh, what'd you think?

SPEAKER_00 22:49

I know it might be weird to some listeners, and I assume some of the audience when we saw it as well, that we saw a Paw Patrol movie before you're even able to question why we're reviewing one. But just so everyone's aware, we actually have some knowledge and prior experience with the government-funded K9 special ops team. Ashley and I had a blast catching the last Paw Patrol movie randomly, like she said at a late night screening. That the moment I caught this teaser, I made sure to immediately bring it to her attention. Uh without getting into too much detail, since I'm certain that's bound to happen once I start talking about my experience actually seeing the movie. Paw Patrol is just one of those concepts that taken at face value as an adult results in an ongoing list of questions, even before we get to the fact that these dogs also talk and regularly uh deliver emergency services to their hometown residents.

SPEAKER_04 23:58

Yes, yes, professionally.

SPEAKER_00 23:59

Yeah. The teaser for this movie was set up like a goddamn action franchise film. We got the Paw Patrol in a montage of action scenes and panoramic shots with them in their insanely technological yet sleekly designed vehicles. Hell yeah. Sold. The full trailer basically shows a lot of the same footage from the teaser, but builds on that with moments of humor and charm, as well as a sampling of the new Backstreet Boys single Bottle Up that they recorded for the soundtrack.

SPEAKER_03 24:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:42

So did this movie end up being as fun and exciting as the trailer was?

SPEAKER_03 24:47

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 24:49

But with this being my second Paw Patrol theatrical experience, I think a few minutes into the movie, I kind of realized there's some pretty serious pros and cons making a movie like this. The biggest upside from the writing and direction standpoint, I'd assume, would be that this is a very cookie-cutter story where a group ends up stranded on an island due to a storm. The strip has been used since like the Odyssey. God damn it. So you know it works, right? Add dinosaurs to the mix, both scary and cute ones.

SPEAKER_04 25:28

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_00 25:29

Along with some nearly Jurassic Park or world level greedy scheming from that no good son of a bitch, Mayor Humdinger. Oh man. And you're pretty much done. But with that simplicity comes the great cost of keeping the audience engaged. Preferably for the right reasons. Because the downside is if you're not keeping the audience's attention, at least for adults anyway, the movie could easily fall apart once you start questioning how ridiculous everything is. Before I continue, I need to provide some context. If you're unfamiliar with Paw Patrol as a brand or franchise, it's a pretty big IP targeted at children around preschool age. And it's actually one of the many brands that are owned by Spinmaster, a Canadian multinational toy and entertainment company. Oh. As my friend's wife, who was a teacher, once explained, compared to other IPs in the kids' market, it pretty much only exists to sell toys and merch.

SPEAKER_04 26:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 26:36

It doesn't try to teach many lessons or provide any sort of reflection on real life like other kids' shows might try to do. So following up with what I was saying before about the big challenge of keeping viewers' attention, I'm not at all saying that I go into movies where the main target audience is children, always expecting something captivating or anything like that, because I really don't. But for an IP that doesn't seem to provide much value beyond how cool and fun it is to watch, I think it has considerably more heavy lifting to do in order to get a positive response, especially from adults, than something that's already trying to appeal to them as a secondary audience or at least provide them with something they could see being valuable to children. Luckily, Cal Brunker, who also directed and wrote the other two Paw Patrol movies, as well as a slew of other animated and children's films over the last two decades, is back for this movie. So we knew we were in good hands. All that they really needed for this movie to be a success was to give this story that was constructed of classic literary and cinematic tropes the Paw Patrol treatment. And then give it some polish and just throw some money at it. And man, did they do that? The design of this movie, the way it looks and sounds, is honestly the 3D animation version of a big studio action movie. Those themes and concepts carried into the movies we watched, and now, as the generations likely most involved in creating children's entertainment, we've continued reworking them for different characters and evolving preferences among kids. Sure, I was aware I was watching an animated movie, but the animation looked amazing. And if I let myself forget that I was watching a movie about a team of talking cartoon rescue dogs, I could just enjoy it as a great dinosaur adventure movie alone.

SPEAKER_04 29:10

Nice.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

And when the look of the movie isn't keeping you entertained, there's always the score and soundtrack. I mean, these guys knew how to spend their money properly getting the Backstreet Boys to put out a brand new song for this movie. And the vibe of it is just fun and it works for the movie. Even though I think most people would agree that the mood of this movie is light and unserious, there's definitely some real care and attention put into the design. So the last part for me to cover before I give my ratings is obviously the voice cast. Lots of names from movies, TV, and other areas of entertainment. I had a great time just trying to guess who voiced the characters before I looked up the cast. So skip the next part if you want to do the same. But personally, the ones that I got right were McKenna Grace, who returns in her role as the Pup Sky after the previous movie, and Jennifer Hudson, Terry Cruz, Snoop Dogg, uh Paris Hilton, and Fortune Feamster. But I feel like what I enjoy most about the cast of Paw Patrol movies, unlike a lot of other animated films catered to children and families, is that I feel like the young voice actors for the pups in the Paw Patrol seem to get as much attention as the adult celebrities that do guest roles. Yes. Like I was telling Ashley earlier, saw some promotional appearances by the cast, and appreciated that the time spent covering the kids who voice the pups was as long or maybe even longer than the time that they spent with some of the celebrities like McKenna Grace. So it's cool. Moving into my ratings, I gave this a four for enjoyment and a four for quality.

SPEAKER_04 31:04

Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00 31:05

Speaking from the point of view of a 43-year-old dude without kids, I gotta say that this movie was honestly pretty much non-stop action from early on in the movie. One of the most enjoyable aspects of our experience with the previous Paw Patrol movie, of the Mighty movie, was having the opportunity to whisper questions and statements that only adults would have about a movie that deals with black budget canine task force. While that didn't end up happening as much during the new Paw Patrol movie, considering the fairly high enjoyment rating, the movie itself was definitely more exciting and engaging than the previous one. So even if my overall experience seeing this movie was arguably maybe a little bit lower than the last, I honestly just enjoyed this as a movie, like a film specifically, more than the previous one, since it just seemed to hold my attention better. As far as quality goes, there's no doubt this movie is pretty impressive, even as someone who isn't the target audience. Is the plot that original? Nah. But did the Paw Patrol branding and style treatment, overall quality of the animation, voice acting, score, and soundtrack all make up for it? I'd say it probably did a bit more than that, since this movie did at least feel noticeably higher quality than the previous movie. Sure, part of the criticism over the last movie was how superhero fatigue probably wasn't helping it, given that that movie was basically the Paw Patrol superhero movie. I mean, they're talking dogs that provide emergency services, which in itself is arguably already superheroic. But in all seriousness, I do feel like that could have impacted critic response to the Paw Patrol Mighty movie. Regardless, there's no denying the everlasting appeal of dinosaurs.

SPEAKER_01 33:11

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 33:12

If you follow the popularity of superheroes over the years looking at the big picture, interest comes and goes. Besides, this movie isn't trying to make several dinosaur-based movies in succession like a Jurassic Park or World. This is just one Dino movie detour in the ongoing movie offerings from this kids' TV franchise. So, uh, for my related recommendation, uh I'm sticking with another franchise that's well mostly targeted at children, though you could argue that if you consider how crazy the card game has been with some adults, the movie is Pokemon descriptive Pikachu.

SPEAKER_04 34:14

Yes, of course.

SPEAKER_00 34:16

Yes. I really enjoy that movie, and at least compared to a Paw Patrol movie, I think it'll probably be way more appealing to most adults.

SPEAKER_04 34:28

Yeah, definitely.

SPEAKER_00 34:29

It's got Ryan Reynolds' the voice of Pikachu, Justice Smith, who I refer to as the non-Smith Smith, uh, Catherine Newton and Bill Nyheat. So yeah. Paw Patrol. What did you think of uh the Dino movie?

SPEAKER_04 34:46

Oh my god, I had so much fun with this movie. I think probably my favorite part, honestly, was the Paw Patrol headcanon I was creating while watching it. Because it case value. This is a very cute, very entertaining movie for toddlers. But if you're an adult with a sense of whimsy, maybe you've had a cocktail or two, it's an incredibly fun thing to start thinking about how any of this would actually work.

SPEAKER_02 35:17

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 35:18

Getting into the meat of the movie, why does it look so good? This is Paw Patrol, right? You don't need to be doing all of this, but I there's so much really beautiful detail and things like the fire and water. At one point, I genuinely wondered does this water look better than in Moana? Yeah, the Paw Patrol movie made water look better than the live action Moana movie with a 250 million dollar budget.

SPEAKER_00 35:49

Yo, that's crazy. Yeah, mostly because I don't know if you've ever seen Paw Patrol, the cartoon, but it's definitely a few clicks down in quality compared to the movie. Yeah, but even with that said, it retains something I feel like Moana, all the effort was put into one movie. And Paw Patrol, man, they've had the TV show going, they've had two other movies, and they're still cranking, they're still working at this level of quality. It's pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_04 36:22

I really liked how detailed and almost realistic y some of the backgrounds were. So detailed, and then in front of it, you've got these dogs that look just so cute and cuddly. You wouldn't think that combo would work, but it really does. And then the action is so good.

SPEAKER_03 36:41

Oh my god, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 36:43

Oh my god. At the beginning, you've got this epic scene where Marshall the fire dog does this big jump onto a burning boat, and later, someone literally does a fast and furious. One of the cars is driving up a collapsing bridge. It's incredible. I just put way more effort into this movie than I would expect for a movie that's essentially for preschoolers. But like I was saying earlier, a lot of the fun for me was just sort of being like, hey, what did this really happen to man? They wash up on this island full of dinosaurs, and immediately I've got some questions. How has no one found this before? Is this a lost situation? Are they all dead? Is this a shared hallucination? Then we meet Rex, who's an adorable dog in a wheelchair, who apparently lives here in this elaborate tree house that he built for himself. It's got platforms and walkways and a massive slide running down through the trees. This dog basically built himself a Dino Island compound. And I'm sorry, but how'd he build any of this? He's a dog, Mayor. He doesn't have a place.

SPEAKER_00 38:04

Yeah, but doesn't have full appendage use as a dog. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 38:10

I'm just so curious.

SPEAKER_00 38:12

Did he like Flintstones this situation? Like get the dinosaurs to help.

SPEAKER_04 38:17

Well, okay, so my theory, the only way this can work for me is if first he somehow invented mechanical hands.

SPEAKER_00 38:26

Yeah, you need opposable thumbs, right?

SPEAKER_04 38:29

Yeah, you need some dexterity because paws and teeth, that's not gonna work if you're building a slide. Like how are you? Oh my god. So yeah, first he invents hands, then the wheelchair, then the tree house, and that's how it goes. None of this is in the movie, but to me, it is the story of this movie. I couldn't stop. Paw Patrol has this massive boat, and I'm like, who's paying these guys? Ryder drives a big rig. Does Ryder have a license? Does he have a DOT license? Who's in control of Ryder? Wheel out his parents. Is there any adult overseeing this operation?

SPEAKER_00 39:15

Also, where is his moral compass coming from if he doesn't have any parents directing this?

SPEAKER_04 39:23

He could go bad so easily. Oh my God. But yeah, I also love thinking about the adults who write these movies. What is the line between, yeah, kids will buy that? No, they won't. Because with how much insane stuff happens, it's just funny to imagine what's on the cutting room floor. Meanwhile, I'm sitting there trying to figure out the regulatory structure of Dino Island and what evil billionaire must invariably own it to exploit for resources. Then you've got the villains showing up. They're so weird and swishy and diva-y, like Humdinger does a literal evil jig on a diner counter. And he's got these adorable cats. And one of the other villains is a demolition expert who really, really likes explosives. So then in my head, I'm like, oh man, this guy is a cold-blooded killer out here, blowing people up left and right. Now, maybe he's not. Maybe he's in construction. I don't know his life, but I have my theories. One of my favorite moments in the theater was when Huntinger's cats start driving. This dad sitting a couple seats away from us goes, Cat's driving, come on. I'm like, that's where you draw the line. We've got talking dogs operating heavy machinery. There's an undiscovered dinosaur island. A child is apparently DOT certified, but the cat driving is a bridge too far. Okay. But for all the ridiculousness I was making up in my head, there was one thing I took completely seriously, and that is Marshall, the fire dog. I still love you, Rebel, the construction dog who loves snacks. But Marshall has this whole thing in the movie, which is basically he's clumsy. He's like, oh, that's what always happens. I fall down, I get back up, I say, I'm okay. And then everyone cheers and is happy. Like, damn. On the one hand, he's happy that people seem to enjoy his clumsiness. But on the other hand, isn't it messed up that people enjoy his clumsiness? And oh my God, that's me. Um one time in high school, I went to sit down at my desk and I completely missed the chair landing on the ground. Everyone was laughing because they thought I was doing a comedy bit, but I wasn't. I'm just clumsy and I was sitting there with a sore ass trying to be a good sport.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

Yeah, you ain't got depth perception.

SPEAKER_04 42:06

I don't, man. I do not. But yeah, I found this fire dog deeply relatable. And we heard the Paw Patrol describe as you're saying, the only children's show with no educational value. And you know, yeah, but I will say I really enjoyed this movie. Marshall's whole story is about resilience. There's friendship, heroism, teamwork. It's not teaching the kids about how infrastructure works, like I would prefer, but there's some qualities there.

SPEAKER_00 42:43

If nothing else, it definitely teaches kids hey, if you're not good at any of those things, the least you can do is give people something cool to look at, right?

SPEAKER_04 42:54

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_00 42:56

Absolutely. Do cool stuff, man. Entertain. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 43:02

Would I tell an adult to see this? No. God no. But I do think there's some joy in taking a stupid movie at face value. I mean, stupid's even underselling it. I think this movie has some real heart and it's just enormously entertaining. If you've got a little imagination and you're willing to spend 90 minutes inventing an elaborate backstory for a dog with no thumbs, this is a good movie for that. So for my ratings, I also gave it a double four. Four for enjoyment, four for quality. Wow, it's a little quality entertainment. Yeah. I just felt good about how much work was put into it.

SPEAKER_00 43:48

Yeah, man.

SPEAKER_04 43:48

Uh, and just sort of going uh above and beyond what they needed to. This is like the third, fourth movie in a franchise based on a TV show for kids. Yeah, but based not on dogmas.

SPEAKER_03 44:00

Military.

unknown 44:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 44:02

But I would love some answers. Is there non-creepy fan fiction? Like people just trying to figure out the logistics.

SPEAKER_00 44:10

Yeah, there's definitely non-cree fan fiction. And you know what? We can definitely write it.

SPEAKER_04 44:17

Write a city. We're gonna start figuring out.

SPEAKER_00 44:22

I don't know if you know this, but comics sometimes have alternate labels for their edgier material. So DC had DC Black, and Marvel had Marvel Knights. So I could basically do the Paw Patrol version of that. Yeah, that would be tight. With that said, I'm gonna lead us out with a sultry rendition of the Paw Patrol theme song.

SPEAKER_01 44:50

Paw Patrol. Paw Patrol Be there on the double Paw Patrol.

SPEAKER_03 45:07

The Dino movie.

TV Episode Recap: Silo - Season 3, Episode 7 - "Radio"

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Yeah, what's up?

SPEAKER_04 45:16

You know how dude dogs like to dig holes in the ground? Rex, the genius inventor dog in a wheelchair. Do you think he created the silo because he loved to dig in the ground so much?

SPEAKER_00 45:33

Well, no, I'm pretty sure he didn't because we kind of know that Daniel created the drill and all that. Uh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 45:40

With advice.

SPEAKER_00 45:41

Unfortunately, no, I don't think this one's gonna work out for that. But guess, I guess.

SPEAKER_04 45:46

Okay. Well, I guess this we're talking about.

SPEAKER_00 45:48

I appreciate you trying to connect the movie we talked about right before to this, but hey, I'm always attempting. Appreciate it. But yeah, before I actually start on the recap today, I just want to mention that I'm going to change how I reference the storyline that occurs in the past.

SPEAKER_03 46:04

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 46:04

I've been calling it the flashback timeline, and even though I'd previously heard the term the before times used, I just assumed that was a one-off as far as what the people in the silo referred to as the past. So since Bernard actually does use the term before times again in this episode, I'll actually be referring to that storyline occurring in the past as the before times moving back.

SPEAKER_04 46:29

I like it. It's old timey.

SPEAKER_00 46:31

Sorry, I guess if I caused any confusion. We begin the episode in silo 18 as Juliet assembles Lucas Kyle and Patrick Kennedy for a critical mission. She explains that she needs information from silo 17, specifically plans that might reveal the layout of the safeguard system. Juliet isn't trying to stop an active safeguard event. Rather, she just wants to understand how the system works and identify a way to disable it should it ever be activated against silo 18. The plan troubles Juliet because the algo had previously prevented Knox and Shirley from leaving the silo. Yet it readily approves Lucas and Patrick. Lucas volunteers without hesitation, but Patrick is reluctant and has to be persuaded before agreeing to go. After Juliet says if he makes sure to go to 17, he can do whatever he wants after that. Yeah, I like that. From a secret meeting with Robert, Juliet learns that Camille has already begun introducing memory alting vitamin D plus into the water supply, adding urgency to an already stressful situation, which leads her to send Lucas and Patrick out immediately instead of waiting until done. We briefly cut to Camille in her home as she receives a page on her light up keychain from the algo to meet before returning to Lucas and Patrick speaking with Juliet and Martha over the radio. Patrick's shocked to see the barren landscape while Lucas is just captivated by the night sky and the stars. But they soldier on, their journey appearing to progress normally. That is, until an unusual buzzing sound interrupts communications. Moments later, gunfire erupts, the transmission cuts out, and contact is lost. Panicked, Juliet grabs a handgun and rushes home, believing Camille could stop by to check on her unannounced at any moment. However, we see Camille's meeting with the algo at that moment, who reveals that the two men have been neutralized and emphasizes the importance of keeping the residents from attempting to stop the safeguards. Following her meeting, we see her appear at Juliet's door to inform her of this, but they both kind of downplay their awareness of the situation as we see them each quietly reach for their firearms. But the situation quickly de-escalates and Camille leaves with Juliet devastated, realizing that the silo has defenses beyond anything that she had anticipated. The story then shifts to the four times timeline. Daniel and Helen arrive at the secret airfield. He's in the previous episode where they discover that Charlotte is also present. He asks Charlotte if she remembers him. She says, of course, but I can't say anymore until you do what Anna says. Senator Thurman promises answers, but requires strict secrecy. Although both Daniel and Helen are uneasy about the conditions, they meet Pear Stenson, who comes off completely arrogant in his self-introduction, but manages to convince them to sign, telling them he'll give them a million dollars each if they agree to do so. Back in the silo, Sheriff Billings and Hank visit Ed Harwood, thinking he might be able to shed some light on how Orla's body ended up in the mines following her murder. They believe she was moved there and ask him if he's aware of any way the body could have been moved without being picked up by security. Ed responds sarcastically with a story about a magician, which somehow becomes a perfect example to illustrate why there's so much distrust between the sheriffs and those in the mines. Yeah. But regardless of how likely Billings thinks his involvement is, Ed says he's not a murderer. Elsewhere, with Lucas and Patrick, presumed dead, and the vitamin D plus crisis escalating, the resistance considers a more aggressive response, with a plan being presented for a team to sneak into judicial after hours and bomb the infrastructure believed to be connected to the safeguard system. The burden of leadership weighs heavily on Julia throughout these scenes as she wrestles with the possibility of an operation that could save the silo, but could also kill many innocent people. The episode returns to the before-time storyline. Daniel, Helen, Charlotte, and the others board a private jet. Daniel takes a moment to speak with his sister, who confirms Dr. Sarkovich has actually helped her restore some of her memories, though Daniel still seems skeptical. Meanwhile, in the silo, Knox continues seeking out answers regarding his father's supposed death, visiting Mark in Mechanical, who reveals that his father is in fact alive. And though we see Nox ask for more details, the scene ends before we see whether or not Mark agrees to provide them.

SPEAKER_01 51:47

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 51:49

Back on the plane, Helen speaks to the white-haired man who reveals that he worked in military intelligence for 20 years and started a successful firm that eventually tanked due to his quote personal defects. Yes. He seems grateful to Thurman, though, as she hired him as her driver after those tough times, but eventually he was entrusted to provide security for her and her daughter. We then cut back to Juliet in the silo, dealing with increasing concerns that widespread memory loss could erase everything that the rebellion has learned. However, in response, Bernard has arranged for Gloria Hildebrandt to meet with her, providing important insight into the effects of memory suppression and the dangers of repeating mistakes from the past. Her perspective helps Juliet appreciate the scale of the threat facing the silo. Returning to the before-time storyline, Charlotte and Thurman's daughter, Anna, seem to have a flirtatious exchange. Yeah. Daniel catches up with Dr. Cerkovich, who explains how personal tragedy drew him into memory manipulation research, hinting at the origins of the technology later used inside the silos. Back in the silo, it seems like things are still rocky between Camille and Robert, as she tries to get him to encourage their son to wear a jacket. However, it actually ends up presenting the perfect opportunity as one of the resistants appears at his door soon after, asking for passes into judicial, and he eventually has them drop off another jacket for his son at school in exchange for his where Robert ends up hiding the requested passes. We cut back briefly to the before times where the group's plane lands for the final leg of their trip as they head for helicopters that will take them to their mysterious destination, with Pear and Thurman providing Helen and Daniel respectively with some details on the site they're about to arrive at. In the final silo scene of the episode, the resistance continues with their plan to get into the and Bond Judicial. However, as soon as the team enters and places the explosives, the apparent deaths of Lucas and Patrick are suddenly called into question as Patrick gets back into touch with Martha over the radio, reporting that he's reached Silo 17 and the children are alive. Oh my gosh. The unexpected message gives Juliet new hope and causes the resistance to halt its most drastic plans. However, Lucas's fate seems to remain uncertain. Oof. Meanwhile, Camille brings Robert into judicial seclusion, revealing that she has Amy chained up in there and is well aware that he hasn't stopped helping the resistance. Questioning his audacity to involve their son in their dealings, she threatens to kill Amy. Finally, closing out with a scene from the before time storyline, the helicopters bring them to a massive construction site dominated by enormous drills boring deep into the earth. Looking out over the project, they realize they're witnessing the creation of something enormous, with the scene strongly implying the vast operation as the beginning of the silo network itself, providing the episode's final and biggest revelation regarding the origins of the 51 side.

SPEAKER_04 55:26

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 55:27

Yeah. So what'd you think about this episode?

SPEAKER_04 55:31

Well, okay. I liked the episode, but also found it kind of overwhelming.

SPEAKER_03 55:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 55:37

Um I definitely felt that it was crazy. There was so much information coming at you that I had to stop and rewind a few times because I was like, wait a minute, what exactly are we doing? What are we blowing up? Who dies if we blow it up? Who dies if we don't blow it up? Now, granted, I'm also taking notes, which a normal person watching TV isn't doing. But even on rewatch, I felt like I didn't have enough time to process one revelation before getting another. Probably the most horrifying detail in the episode is that decision that Juliet has to make between allowing the vitamin D plus to continue or bombing judicial. They basically have two options and both potentially end with a shitload of people dying. That would be terrifying for anyone, but especially Juliet, because these people they don't have history in the silo. We make decisions based on our own experience and everything we've learned about what's happened before us. Juliet's society has been intentionally deprived of that. And now she's being asked to make this life or death decision without one of the basic tools we use to make decisions.

SPEAKER_03 56:53

Right.

SPEAKER_04 56:54

Damn, that was crazy to me. And the mission diary makes the alternative seem so much worse. My jaw actually dropped when they said that people living in the past forgot to eat. Oh, damn, that's that is so depressing. But it's also an effective way of showing how when you fuck with people's memories, things don't go according to plan. Your brain's not like a cabinet where you can pull out rebellion and then leave how to stay alive. So that was insane to me. And Bernard's obviously using it to push Juliet towards a decision. He seems to be wanting the common good, but there is a part of me that feels suspicious of him still. Meanwhile, Camille is fully losing it.

SPEAKER_00 57:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 57:49

I mean, she threatens to kill Amy.

SPEAKER_00 57:51

Oh my God.

SPEAKER_04 57:52

And Robert's just like, hey, can our son have one parent who hasn't killed someone?

SPEAKER_00 57:58

Right.

SPEAKER_04 58:00

Jesus Christ. I mean, that is such a low bar for parenting. But it's true. Can that kid just have one parent that can serve as an inspiration? I never liked Camille necessarily, but she's interesting because she doesn't seem like she has a strong moral center. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 58:20

And you know that because she's mentioned it before, a lot of what's motivating her is almost like some sort of envy towards Julia for her ability to stand up and inspire people. So that's driving it. And obviously, I'm sure even more so with her own husband being a big ally of hers, or at least providing significant assistance.

SPEAKER_04 58:51

Yeah. Yeah. And she takes such pride in her relationship with Algo. Really, I think enjoys that role and wants to succeed in it.

SPEAKER_03 59:01

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 59:02

But it's hard for me to tell what she thinks the stakes are. Right. I mean, obviously she thinks it's high, she's freaking out, but she doesn't have that same empathy towards people. Uh-huh. Oi. And oh, the other thing I loved, Lucas and Kennedy's different reactions when they went outside. That was so cool. Lucas is looks up at the sky and is just captivated, which is perfect. Because when we met him, he was in the cafeteria studying the stars. And Kennedy, oh my gosh, it was so depressing. He just calls out, it's nothing. It's just nothing. But then he looks up at the stars and says, What the fuck is that?

SPEAKER_00 59:50

Yeah. Well, because he doesn't know what he knows.

SPEAKER_04 59:56

A great example of their two different outlooks. And also, they're two different levels of understanding of the world around them. I also really love Juliet and Camille's confrontation at the doorway. Ooh, it was so good. They're both so scared and they're holding their guns and they're taking these little digs at each other. Camille implies Kyle and Kennedy died because Juliet sent them out too early, and Juliet's like, oh yeah, we forgot to make their suits bulletproof. So that's probably why they died. Like it was so tense. And I thought both of the actors did so great. I loved the stuff with Ed Harwood because he's clearly a bad dude. But he tells this story about the man doing the magic trick and him getting sent to the minds because magic was a theoretical relic that essentially his thought was what was not allowed. But you know, he's clearly involved in some shady shit.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:15

So I'm curious to see what's gonna happen there. And in the before times, I mean, great, we got the silos, love it. Finally, they're being made, but I wish there was more information. But oh, what really stood out to me was what was going on with Anna and Charlotte? Like, yeah, damn, their conversation on the plane felt flirty, but then it got even crazier when Anna asked Charlotte if she wants anything, and Charlotte's like, you could rub my feet.

SPEAKER_00 1:01:48

Right. What maybe that was just a not so subtle way for the showrunners to hint that Charlotte swings down.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:01

See, I the more I thought about it, developed a theory, which is Charlotte is the one who told Daniel to get on Thurman's committee. So I'm wondering if maybe Charlotte and Anna had some kind of relationship before the memory drug. And maybe that's why she pushed them to connect because she knew something was going on and wanted her brother to be protected.

SPEAKER_03 1:02:30

Oh, good theory.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:33

I don't know. That's my theory. We'll see. I'll probably be wrong. But I liked the episode. Good character work. But yeah, I hope the info's more spaced out next time because it was a little overwhelming.

SPEAKER_00 1:02:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:02:46

What do you think, Sush?

SPEAKER_00 1:02:48

Well, I agree with you on at least the silo stuff being a bit overwhelming. But I think my biggest takeaway from this episode was how much contrast was presented throughout the episode of different people or groups in both of the timelines, even like Juliet and Camille, Helen and Daniel, Patrick and Lucas, how the sheriffs and the mines you know deal with things differently or why they don't get along. There's a lot of that, and I think it does a great job kind of reinforcing why there's conflict in a place where you think everybody would be in the same boat. Because even in the before times storyline, we started off obviously with Daniel and Helen having similar goals, but as that progresses, we see how their motivations are different and how that might change maybe where they end up moving forward. Especially in this episode, because like they split them apart and they're having separate conversations. But Daniel seems much more cautious and wants to learn more about what's going on before he commits to something, even though he knows he can't speak about the situation regardless, right? Or at least for a good amount of time. But for Helen, it's something completely different.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:22

He's just on this quest for knowledge to reveal things. And that's what drives her. So when Pear tries to entice them with money earlier, she's obviously very dismissive about that. Not like Daniel is accepting of it or anything, but he just doesn't seem to care about it.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:44

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:04:45

But I think that was interesting. The one thing that I will say that was a little bit irritating about the before times stuff is that for the last few episodes, I really feel like they've been milking it. Uh but I will say that I'm glad that at the end of this episode, we at least finally see the drill and the location where apparently the silos are. So you can't really drag on the journey to get from this conspiracy all the way to actually seeing the silos anymore. Uh-huh. Now we need to start getting some answers. At least I feel like now we need to start getting some real answers about what is really going on. You know, they signed the NDAs, they took the trip, they're there. Next episode, I better find out what the whole purpose of this is. I I just want to know what's happening, man.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:43

Well, I think there was a part in this episode where Daniel asks Thurman, how long until I know what's happening? She's like, Yeah, we'll get there, then you'll know. So hopefully for the audience.

SPEAKER_00 1:05:57

Well, yeah, other than that, feeling The showrunners were kind of milking it for the last couple episodes. I was fine. I liked how there was a little bit more character development, filling in some backstory for some of the characters. And obviously, going back to the silo timeline, very stressful. I definitely had to go back and watch this episode. Actually, I think I ended up watching it maybe three times. Oh man. Because of how quick the pace was and how much was going on. Especially once you get towards the end when they're dealing with all the bombing stuff going on. Because I think on my initial watch, I didn't even catch that. Patrick actually radioed them back, and I really didn't understand that. I had to go back and kind of re-watch it to get it.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:49

I gotta tell you, I just figured it out when you explained it.

SPEAKER_00 1:06:55

I didn't realize. Yeah, it was really tough because of everything that was going on. There definitely was a lot of information, but I think if you're one of those viewers who doesn't mind going back and re-watching some episodes of shows that you enjoy, or listening to us tell you about it. Yeah. This is definitely one of those where I think it's worth it because there's so much not just as far as actual events happening on the show, but there's also so much being provided really cementing the personalities of these characters because of the contrast that's really evident throughout this episode. So yeah, overall, great. Obviously, shit is getting crazy. One thing I will say is that I really feel like Camille is a little too overconfident about her trust in the algo. Or just believing it, because obviously it lied to her about Patrick and Lucas. So yeah, we'll see how that turns out. That kind of goes back to my theory that maybe it isn't an AI, maybe it is just some kind of voice that's delivers messaging from a think tank type thing. Okay, well, yeah, it just seems strange that it feels the need to relieve people's anxiety. So I feel like, sure, we can say that AI is advanced enough to do stuff like that, but it's a little strange given that it clearly isn't all powerful, or else it really would have taken care of the situation, but needs to be manipulative for some reason. So I just want to get to the core of why that is, whether or not that is because it's a weird computer that just I guess without continuing progression in technology, maybe just doesn't operate the same way that we would assume. But I don't know. It just seems strange that it doesn't quite act in a way that you would think artificial intelligence or even a machine would. So uh yeah, really interesting. Looking forward to it. Glad we're getting to a point where we can stop uh setups of more things to happen because yeah, we're getting into the last what three episodes of the season. So show me some stuff, man. Show me some silo stuff, show me the silo stuff. Show me the silo secrets.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:40

You know what else you can show me? A lantern.

SPEAKER_00 1:09:45

Oh well, let me light the way oh to our next recap, yeah.

TV Episode Recap: Lanterns - Season 1, Episode 1 - "Pilot" **Series Premiere**

SPEAKER_00 1:09:57

So we're back to two shows again. There's a lot of work this week, especially with that crazy ass silo episode, let me tell you. So it's taking a little getting used to again, but you know, behind the scenes information. Yeah, I'm just glad that lanterns was not as crazy. So let me get right into that. Uh we kicked out the series premiere in 1996, shortly after Green Lantern Hal Jordan has become a public superhero. During a 60 minutes interview, Hal explains his background, how he became a Green Lantern, and the philosophy behind the Intergalactic Green Lantern Corps. Among the viewers is a young Jon Stewart who watches the broadcast with fascination. Hal discusses fear during the interview, saying that after losing his father as a child, he no longer feared anything. John's father arrives home and catches him watching the interview. Taking John outside, he conducts a shocking test of courage, placing an apple on John's head, asking if he's afraid. When John answers no, his father shoots the apple off his head.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:08

Jesus, call CPS.

SPEAKER_00 1:11:10

Yeah, the incident establishes John's remarkable ability to remain calm in the face of danger. The story skips ahead to 2016. John, now an adult, has been selected by the Guardians as a Green Lantern in training under Earth's current Green Lantern, Hal Jordan. Their relationship is uneasy, with Hal frequently testing his trainee and pushing his limits. During a drive, Hal abruptly exits the moving car, leaving only his Green Lantern ring for John to handle the situation on his own as the car heads off a cliff, turning what seems like a routine trip into another lesson about responsibility and confidence. John deals with the unconventional training exercise. And soon after catching up with Hal, information reaches the pair about a strange incident in Rushville, Nebraska. A mysterious event involving multiple deaths has occurred near a local football field. Hal believes something unusual is involved and heads to investigate, using the ring to take flight immediately, but leaving John to again find his own way there. Arriving in Rushville, the two Green Lanterns join the investigation and meet with the local sheriff, Carrie Kane. Kal tells her the victims are likely connected to extraterrestrial activity, placing the case within Green Lantern jurisdiction. While she's dismissive about that, he follows up pointing out several details about the incident that are highly unusual to support his theory. However, Kane still refuses to hand the case over immediately, firmly demanding the lanterns hold off at least until she's able to confirm the situation isn't so cut and dry. John asks Hal what he believes happened, but Hal again turns the moment into a learning opportunity, encouraging John to analyze the evidence. As they examine the crime scene and question witnesses, suspicion falls on a seemingly ordinary man connected to the investigation. John's pursuit of the suspect leads to a chase and arrest. Further examination reveals that appearances are deceptive and that alien involvement in the town may be far more extensive than anyone initially suspected.

SPEAKER_03 1:13:37

Ooh.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:38

We get a great scene with Hal and John at a local bar.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:13:42

Hal providing a brief version of his origin story while also working a plan to get arrested in order to speak with the man who was arrested earlier. And as he's dealing with that, John strikes up a conversation with a woman at the bar, which provides an opportunity for us to hear his backstory. So Hal and John disagree on methods. Through the progression of the story, we see them slowly begin working together as partners rather than simply mentor and student. The investigation continues throughout the episode, including some amusing stereotypically small town interactions between the lanterns and various residents of Rushville, eventually leading to an invitation from Hal's lawyer, who also happens to be Carrie's husband, to his family's ranch. When the lanterns arrive at the ranch, we see a secure compound.

SPEAKER_01 1:14:39

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 1:14:40

Very secure, in fact. That suggests some pretty scary secret activities are likely taking place beneath the town's quiet exterior. The following morning, Hal is finally given the opportunity to interrogate the man they arrested at the stadium, Wayland Sanders. Though the encounter ultimately does prove Hal's suspicions to be correct, with the now confirmed alien revealing himself as an emissary in a galactic war that he claims will eventually make its way to Earth. His satisfaction is short-lived as Wayland sets off a self-unaliving explosive. Luckily, Hal is able to create a dome construct using his ring to contain the actual explosion, though we can see the impact felt across the entire small town.

SPEAKER_01 1:15:36

Oh man.

SPEAKER_00 1:15:37

Just when the mystery seems to be gaining momentum, the episode delivers its biggest shock. The story abruptly jumps ahead to 2026. In the snowy future timeline, Jon Stewart is called to examine the apparent corpse of Hal Jordan, who has been found dead from a gunshot wound. Even more troubling, Hal's Green Lantern ring is missing. The revelation completely changes the context of everything that came before and sets up the central mystery of the season. Ashley, what'd you think about Lantern's pilot?

SPEAKER_04 1:16:14

I loved it. Now I should preface this by saying I know basically nothing about Green Lantern. My whole entire experience is the first few minutes of the Ryan Reynolds movie before I fell asleep. So I'm coming into this completely blind. And I think that's gonna be really fun because I already have a lot of questions and a lot of theories. But first of all, I really like Hal. He is a scamp, he is funny, cranky, he's an asshole. I love a cranky older character because sometimes you can tell they've earned it. This man is worn down. He's supposed to be training John, but he hasn't taught him shit. At one point, he gives John the ring, jumps out of a moving car, so he has to save himself. Okay. Rude. Then they need to go to Nebraska. Hal flies there, and John has a whole sad montage of all the transportation he has to take. This guy's a pain in the ass. But he also really is clinging to being the lantern, even though he seems jaded about it. He's basically like, This is my job as long as I'm alive and I don't plan on dying. Spoiler alert. But then we meet this backup of Hal's consciousness from 10 years ago. So that's the way he comes back and he happens to catch John wearing the ring, says, Am I dead? It's like, no, you're not dead. I'm just wearing it. But I found that so interesting because that Hal is very different. He's lighter, he's more earnest, he takes responsibility seriously. Because apparently, lanterns are supposed to upload their consciousness every single week, but Hal hasn't done it in 10 years. That's nuts. So immediately I was like, okay, what happened to Hal? Did he fail at something? Did someone he he loved get hurt? Did he become disillusioned? Did he stop caring about preserving himself? Why did he stop crying? And why did he stop uploading himself? I think that also connects to another one of my favorite things in the episode, which is all this stuff about fear. Hal's whole origin story starts with him being asked by an alien, Are you afraid? He says, No. Now he's the Green Lantern. John grows up idolizing that fearlessness. But then John calls Hal fearless. And the sheriff, who I love, by the way, is basically like, No, if you have people you love, you're afraid of losing them. Hal isn't fearless. He's alone. Oh, okay. Maybe Hal's not actually about conquering his fear. Maybe he's just made his life so small that there's nobody left for him to be afraid for. So I liked that. I loved also Hal's relationship with the sheriff. He is very into how much she hates him. I thought that was very funny. Really, I don't know what to make of John yet, I have to say. He's clearly caring a whole lot. His dad is very strict, but there's a warmth there too. Yeah. Just with the Apple scene, it almost feels like his dad made him think he had to prove himself before he would get affection. So I think he's very focused, and I think he really wants to do things by the book. And he's paired with someone who has thrown the book away 10 years ago. So it's an interesting relationship. Also, here's my theory. I could be wrong, but I suspect maybe John's mother died when he was young. Because we never see her, no one ever mentions her. And when the show starts, he and his brothers are all alone at home watching TV. Then their dad gets home. So it makes me think maybe he was a latchkey.

SPEAKER_00 1:20:31

Yeah, and he seems pretty fearless from the get-go. So with the comment that Hal makes during his interview, and then seeing that, yeah, I could understand why you would assume that.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:41

Yeah, so I'll be interested in seeing that. But John also gets to Nebraska and within like 12 hours is sleeping with a woman who turns out to be the sheriff's mother-in-law, who also is a grandma but looks like she's 10 years older than him. What?

SPEAKER_00 1:20:57

Yeah. And unfortunately, he is married to the dude who has something to do with this crazy militia.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:04

Anti-alien militia? And he knows that he this wife. Because as they're leaving, he says, Did you like the meal? There's nothing better than eating off another man's grill. Whoa! Okay. Damn, that's direct.

SPEAKER_01 1:21:21

Oh man.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:22

Was interested in the investigation. There's something inherently funny about intergalactic cops looking into a shooting in a Nebraska town.

SPEAKER_00 1:21:32

But it's also crazy because there's clearly something going on. This guy is very serious about having a militia deal with aliens when they undoubtedly finally do arrive on Earth. But why? Like who I know convinced you? Well, I mean, other than you know, the existence of Hal Jordan, obviously, but he's there to protect Earth. So why do you think you need to do anything?

SPEAKER_04 1:22:00

It's very interesting. Little sus I did the math, and if we assume that the characters being played in this show are the same ages as the actors, Jason Ritter's character, his parents would have been 16 and 8 when he was born.

SPEAKER_03 1:22:17

Oh.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:18

So there's definitely something weird going on about how young uh they are.

SPEAKER_00 1:22:24

So might be, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:26

I'm interested in that. There was just so much I can't wait to find out. But yeah, so my theories before I stop, Don's mom died when he was young. Something traumatic happened to Hal, and that's why he stopped uploading his consciousness. I think maybe Billy's parents are aliens. I know that the dad has an anti-alien militia, but he looks very young. And I think also the sheriff's gonna need probably Hal and John's help with her crazy ass family. I don't know. I just get the feeling. But what did you think, Sush?

SPEAKER_00 1:23:05

Well, being somebody who read the comics and is primarily familiar with Hal Jordan and maybe Hal Raynor, the Green Lanterns that I actually read comics that had them in them. I find this characterization of Hal to be really interesting.

SPEAKER_01 1:23:25

Oh.

SPEAKER_00 1:23:27

Because there's some great stories involving him that definitely lean more into the mystery detective side of things. I like that that energy is being put into the show. I know that there's been a lot of comparisons between the show and true detective. And while I see those uh similarities, I still think that it's going to become a very different show the farther into it we go. But I do enjoy the setting is in a small town, so it doesn't seem too overwhelming given that Green Lanterns are space cops.

SPEAKER_03 1:24:09

Right.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:11

So I like how the way that this show was written literally grounds it.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:18

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:19

I appreciate that it's an interesting contrast having these two guys work together and also explaining this relationship that they have, wherein that John's being trained as Hal's successor, but he really only succeeds Hal if Hal dies. Yeah, that's rough. I don't believe that is something that existed in the comics.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:46

Oh, interesting.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:56

This is the guy that we're going to choose, kind of thing.

SPEAKER_02 1:24:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:24:59

So I know that that isn't the typical way that it's been handled in the past in the comics. So I do think that's kind of interesting. It adds another layer to things. And yeah, it really does beg some interesting questions, one of which the lady that he has a conversation with at the bar brings up, which is like, so you're literally just backup. And he's like, I'm just patient. Oh my gosh. Whatever that's supposed to mean. Uh, I do find it really amusing that we're initially presented with both of these lanterns, Al being the one that's very obviously reckless. We don't know how he got there. Obviously, some disconnect between who he was on that 60 minutes interview to who he is by the time we see him in 2016 on the show. I guarantee that's part of what we're going to deal with this season. So I do look forward to finding out what the hell happened. But I also find it interesting that John is presented as a straight man for most of the pilot.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:11

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:11

But the further into it you go, the more you realize that he's probably just as messy as the rest of the people there.

SPEAKER_03 1:26:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:19

He just thinks he hides it better, but he doesn't. Like the whole scene with him at the farm and it being slowly revealed that he slept with the dude's wife was killing me. Because initially he doesn't even realize that yet. Yeah, I'm just like, oh, right. This dude is being pretty aggressive towards him. Then reveal it at that point.

SPEAKER_04 1:26:39

Right, right.

SPEAKER_00 1:26:40

So I did think it was just amusing, but then obviously knowing that rewatch for the recap. It's so funny to watch him just hack at ribs after telling him that he got him tofu steaks. And then now I'm kind of being like, oh, that's really nice of you. But you see him just hacking at me. Like there's something going on. You obviously don't understand it the first time you see it, but going back and seeing the second time you're like, oh man, yeah, this guy is just trying to keep it uh under wraps while he has this person over. I love that we don't dare end a show with Green Lanterns without involving space.

SPEAKER_03 1:27:27

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:27:29

You know? I just really appreciate that they didn't really treat it like DC's version of True Detective and not to give us any space stuff. Literally, the dude is confirmed alien, yeah, tries to blow himself up following in interrogation because he's involved in this war. So yeah, it's wild. Right out the gate. We got all this stuff set up. And what's even better is we get this 10-year time jump.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:05

Where all we're being showed is hell is dead.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:09

I know.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:10

That's how we start out the episode. Come on, man. I didn't even look into how many episodes this season's supposed to be. Okay. So we're looking at eight episodes. Yeah. They're hitting the ground. We're really giving a lot of space for things to happen. That 10-year window. I just expect to be wild.

unknown 1:28:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:33

I'm looking forward to it. I love the look of everything. I do really like that it does have that true detective gritty feel to it or look a small town rough around the edges kind of thing.

SPEAKER_04 1:28:47

It's not bleak though, like that shit.

SPEAKER_00 1:28:50

Yeah, it's not bleak. Face stuff, it spices it up a little. Uh-huh. True detective can be very somber and depressing. Especially in some of those seasons where the really cool mean spirited too. Yeah. But this show, I like how the space aspect of it really doesn't allow it to get too dark. Right. Or at least I hope that's the case. And if they do, it'll be like space dark because I'm aware that they do have somebody casted for Sinestro for this show. So I expect that we'll at least get an introduction to him and being one of Hal's biggest rivals, but also one of his early mentors. I I think uh that'll be a real interesting relationship to again have on the screen. Uh, I know it's been presented a few times, but with how different the show has already felt in the pilot. Uh yeah, I'm just really looking forward to how they integrate all the comic book stuff into it.

SPEAKER_04 1:29:54

Hell yeah. And I think I'm gonna watch the Ryan Reynolds movie to fall asleep tonight. I gotta recommend it. It's one of my top sleepy streamies, so yeah. But looking forward to next week.

SPEAKER_03 1:30:08

Oh yeah.

What We're Watching Next

SPEAKER_04 1:30:20

You scared me with your loudness. Um, okay, so now that I've composed myself, next we're gonna be watching the movie's Mutiny.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:30

We're gonna be out of composure after that movie. It's just Jason Staples beating dudes mercilessly on a boat. This is another blue-collar hero thing, I have a feeling.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:44

Yeah, and we will have a special announcement next week related to that movie.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:49

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:30:50

That's true. We'll also be watching Spa Weekend.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:54

Yeah, aka the white girls trip. I don't think they're all white, but near It's a white girl's trip with their one black friend.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:04

Oh, just one, okay.

SPEAKER_03 1:31:06

I think oh okay, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:09

For TV, we'll be checking out season three, episode eight of Silo, and the second episode of the first season of lanterns.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:19

Yay!

Outro

SPEAKER_04 1:31:22

Well, thank you so much for listening, guys. You are awesome. Thank you for spending time with us.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:27

Yep, and make sure to subscribe, rate, and review positively. Oh my god. As I want to say, because Paw Patrol, but also I'm positive that team is uh secretly funded by one or more state governments.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:50

If it's Elon Musk, I'm gonna lose it.

SPEAKER_00 1:31:53

Other than that, make sure to follow us on social media, TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, and we will catch you guys next week.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:04

Yay, bye guys.

SPEAKER_00 1:32:05

Have a good one. Diggity.