Test Tube Baristas? In MY Diner?
What’s Poppin’ Thegronis?
I hope you enjoy/have enjoyed/are currently enjoying our newest episode “Chapter 41: The Malthusian Trap.” Here’s a link for you if you need it:
Spoilers ahead!!
Looks Like we Made It.
Y'know that feeling when all your carefully laid story threads finally come together and you're like "WAIT, IT ACTUALLY WORKED.” Well, that's exactly what happened in this episode. We've been juggling two major storylines all season - the sisters doing their sister things (rebelling/shooting things/telling the future), and our beloved diner being stuck on Earth (I USED TO LIVE IN SPACE). This episode is where everything finally comes together, and let me tell you, it's a relief! I submit into evidence, this page from my notebook:
A lot of the time in making the show I know what the big moments are, but the connective tissue between those moments I have to, sometimes, just trust is going to be there. It’s always a relief when I reach one of these moments, it’s like a rest stop on a very long trip.
Now that everyone is together in the same “boat” we’re going to start feeling a very quick capitulation towards the end of the season. We are in hostile territory now, and it’s going to take everyone working together to make it happen. Not to spoil things but, some fangs are going to have to come out.
We Stole a Barista.
As you recall from Chapter 40, Gloria went full-gloria and stole a barista. Fiona is her name and she is going through it, to put things lightly. There's something magical about throwing a completely normal person into the world of the show. She serves as our "fresh eyes" - someone experiencing everything for the first time. What's great with characters like Fiona is that they were just normal people (or at least they thought they were) until the diner came along, so we get to witness a very normal person put into very extraordinary circumstances. And I believe that when you put normal people in extraordinary circumstances, they then can become extraordinary people, and we're starting to see that now with Fiona. And speaking of new people…
Meet Alice!
Guess what? We've hit 1,500 subscribers to this newsletter! I honestly didn't see that coming, and while it's AMAZING, it's also made me realize I need some help keeping up with everything while making the show.
Enter: Alice.
Alice has been part of the Midnight Burger community since forever, and when they heard I was struggling to keep up with the newsletter, they appeared like a magical unicorn. From now on, you'll be getting a double feature: I'll chat about the episode and show stuff, then Alice will take it from there!
Alice is basically the best (ask them about their playlists, they seem to have one for every occasion), and we're super lucky to have them on board. SO, that’s enough from me, I'll hand the mic over to Alice...
Testing, Testing… 1, 2, 3…
Howdy folks,
This is your new favorite jack-of-all-trades, Alice Malice, here to make some color commentary, show off the best that fanart has to offer, and chat with my favorite fans in the multiverse.
So! Have you ever found yourself, as a weird test tube child, kidnapped by a diner and stranded on a planet where it is perpetually pre-Industrial Revolution? [If you or your test tube manufactured loved ones have been affected by a diner, you are probably entitled to a free Monte Cristo at best. Or a job waitressing.]
In this new episode we’re catching up with the diner on a strange new Cryptessian planet designated Malthusian Trap as they follow the trail of refugees. And guess what? IT’S A WHOLE GALAXY OF BRAINWASHED PODLINGS, WELCOME TO THE PARTY! Sci-fi cloning and podbabies are back in season kids!
But seriously, how darling is is our newly adopted Fiona? Threatening Gloria with cheese in the midst of leaving her 2012 themed pseudoclone-cult set up by a godlike entity from before the universe supposedly existed. You know, everyday activities. The youth are so varied and spritely these days, I can’t keep up.
Important Questions of the Episode:
Is Leif the Keanu Reeves in this podperson-freedomfighter scenario? Or is this up for debate? Personally I vote Gloria. I can totally see her fistfighting Agent Smith.
How does Joe Fisher know so much? As someone who consumes knowledge-based gameshows for fun, I need answers. I need to hoard more random facts.
Who else would someday in the future like a detailed list of the bird sounds Joe uses and their accuracy?
If the Benefactor is from before the universe, are there others like him? What is the point of saving the universe into a standstill, or back to what it was? Does he just think atoms are icky?
Who else wants to be David with a gun, taking a selfie? Simultaneously, y’all are also worried about this man’s mental health now too right? I want to hug him.
Lastly, did Caspar finish his crossword?
Listcles, the Most Fun Since I Was Banned From Playing Pursuit At Christmas For Arguing:
Best lines of the episode: “Well excuse the shit out of me tiny Gandalf” - Caspar
Song for the Episode: Wrung Out and Hanging (On West Coast Time) by the Distrcits
Panic level: 6 ½
Best performance: All of them, they’re all such great voice talents.
Cat of the episode: Callie, the cat who lives fulltime at my local wildlife bird store. She is 13. Also very grumpy with me for interrupting her nap and smelling like dog.
AND NOW… To Those Who Have Art-ed, We Salute You!
What’s Next?
Mark your calendars for December 31st, when “Welcome to the Horizon Part 9: The Mountain” drops. June and Deidre decided to go on a bender and it goes… poorly. And then on January 14th please enjoy “Chapter 42: Speedrun!” when the diner goes on a mad shopping spree for lost refugees. Of course, our subscribers on Patreon, Supporting Cast, or Apple Podcasts can listen to both of those right now, along with other exclusive benefits, you should check it out!
Your support means the world to us. Be sure and stop by our website sometime to send us a message, leave us a voicemail, or shop for some merch!
We'll be out there, somewhere, lookin’ for ya’.
-Joe and Alice