File #111 (S3-31) - "Family Business"

[Oneiros]

Or: "On the same page"

Oh boy! That was quite an episode, wouldn't you agree? Kudos to those who guessed correctly that today we meet one of the longest-anticipated characters in the whole show - our goth boy himself, Gerard Keay. Our Gerry.

And whilst he's not exactly the Hunters' "Monster Manual", we do learn the spectrum of what we're dealing with and that being a scion to a legacied family isn't all that it's cracked up to be. The tale of Gerry & Mary's relationship is a eminently relatable one, I feel - eldritch bookbinding rituals, notwithstanding  . And some touching back references, such as to Mike Crew's desire for a contracted name, and poor Evan Lukas, who may have just wanted to escape like Gerry. 

So, what do you think? How much red string has now come together? Ostensibly we know that Smirke was right, at least in some form of cataloguing. Serious applause to those of you who had narrowed it to 14 entities and even got all of them right!

Also, thank you so much for your kind words & feedback so far - this is an episode we were/are very worried about, particularly from an 'Opening the Box Explains the Mystery' perspective. We hope it worked, that there are still mysteries and horrors to be experienced, despite knowing rough shapes. After all, we only have one deceased guy's view of this...

And many thanks to Special Guest Star, Jon Gracey (@jongracey) as Gerry - actor/comedian/game designer & all-round lovely egg. If you're in Edinburgh for the festival this year, we heartily recommend going to see his shows - Werewolf Live! and Courtroom Play: A Courtroom Play.

[Mauley Stopit]

Hoooooo goodness, I am not okay. (but in a good way.) That was an incredibly emotional episode to me, and mad props to EVERYONE involved. Jon Gracey did an amazing job!! The perspective was great... I'm glad everything was pulled together in a way that I could finally see. One of my favorite episodes of all time. Well done, everyone! <3 <3

[liraven]

Super awesome to finally hear from Gerard, he's one of my favorite side characters! <3 Hopefully Jon burns his page though, poor Gerry.

As for explaining the mystery, I'm personally relieved we have more concrete information now, especially this far into the show. I think it's rewarding for fans who've correctly speculated on the powers too.

Knowing some fears rise primarily from animals makes me want to re-listen to the Flesh episodes again, like 'Cruelty Free'. Murder Pig scared the human farmer of course, but how much worse to be a pig trapped in the pen with that thing?

And yay for the Color Wheel of Fear! That resonates with me more than Leitner's explanation. Very interesting how similar powers bleed through if an apocalypse ritual succeeds. Makes more sense now why Desolation would help out the Stranger and why Peter Lukas accommodates Elias. And we finally have a name for Beholding's ritual too! Cool! Hopefully Jon has better luck than Gertrude in stopping it, but there's the tiny problem of that darn Web lighter. Loved when Gerry asked Jon if he was a 'spider freak'.

Last note: this is a longer episode and there's a lot of tasty info to chew on, but it didn't feel long while listening. So excellent job on the pacing!

[lego]

This was an amazing episode, and so very helpful, as i have been utterly unable to keep track of the powers before!!

The animal fears is so cool, I love that concept so much!!!