'Widows Bay' Episodes 6-7: Generational Trauma

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Joanna RobinsonHost0:30

This episode is brought to you by America's cookout classics, Heinz, Kraft, and Oscar Mayer.

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Joanna RobinsonHost0:40

Rob, what's your ideal cookout scenario?

First of all, I want you on the aux.

I trust you with that sacred responsibility-

Joanna RobinsonHost0:46

Do you?

... to pick our music.

I'm gonna have to man the grill, and I'm gonna need, like, a copious amount of condiments.

I need every possible fixin imaginable.

Joanna RobinsonHost0:53

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Joanna RobinsonHost0:58

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Different vibes, same ingredients.

We all know it's not a cookout without Heinz, Kraft, and Oscar Mayer.

Shop at your local retailer.

[percussive music]

Joanna RobinsonHost1:26

Hello, welcome back to the Prestige TV Podcast Feed.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:28

I'm Joyner Robinson.

I'm Rob Mahoney.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:30

And we're here to talk about Widows Bay, episodes six and seven, which aired together.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:35

So if you only watched one episode, guess what? There's another one waiting for you.

Just sitting there.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:39

Double drop because it was a...

Joanna RobinsonHost1:41

Episode six was a little different.

Meandering.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:43

Uh, a flashback sort of contained episode.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:46

And so they dropped another one just so you were like, are...

Joanna RobinsonHost1:49

How long are we gonna be in the 1700s? Not too long.

Joanna RobinsonHost1:52

Okay.

How do you feel about that structure overall? Like, w- we get a lot of, you know, the penultimate step back kind of episodes-

Joanna RobinsonHost1:58

Yeah, mid-season

...

in a lot of shows right now.

I kinda like it.

If you're gonna do it, you also have to do the follow-up, moving the ball forward-

Joanna RobinsonHost2:04

Yeah

... episode packaged with it.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:05

I th- I think it was really smart to double drop them.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:07

And also, we'll talk about this, but I was always watching it, I was like, wow, this is if, as if the Lost episode Across the Sea, which is a notoriously hated episode in the final season-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost2:18

... was, like, in season one instead.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:21

There's just, like, a lot of lore info here-

It's amazing

Joanna RobinsonHost2:23

... out of the gate, and I was like, that's a fascinating thing to do.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:26

Okay, so episode six, Our History, directed by famed horror director Ti West.

Mm.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:32

Written by Alberto Roldán, who, uh, wrote on Gaslit, which I've brought up a couple times because of my fondness for Betty Gilpin.

Yep.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:41

Um, maybe not on pod, but you've heard me reference it a couple times.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:45

Uh, nobody talks about Gaslit and, uh, they should 'cause Betty Gilpin is amazing in that.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:50

Betty Gilpin, of course, is the star of, I would say the star of episode six.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:54

Hamish Linklater's also here.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:55

We can talk about him.

Joanna RobinsonHost2:56

And then episode seven, Seasickness, directed by Sam Donovan, who also directed episode four, Beach Reads, which we loved, and written by Dave Harris, who was a r- who's staff writer and on season one of Interview with the Vampire, one of my favorite shows of all time.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:08

So this is just an incredible assemblage of talent here.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:11

Ti West, I was asking you before we started recording, obviously this is a huge, like, film director to get-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost3:16

... for a TV show.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:18

Where are you on the Ti West filmography? How do you feel about it?

I mean, mixed but kind of undeniable.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:24

Mm.

You know, I think there are, there are elements of those movies where it's like, okay, is this, like, particular Hollywood homage, like, a bridge too far for me, stacked on stacked on stacked on stacked within my horror movie? Sometimes.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:35

Yeah.

But, I mean, the bonafides speak for themselves.

And I think the atmospheric horror that they create really on Widows Bay in, in general, but especially within these episodes, it...

Like, that is the Ti West model for me.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:46

In the Pearl trilogy-

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost3:48

... do you have a favorite one?

I guess probably just Pearl.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:51

Just Pearl.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:52

Just Pearl.

Is it more complicated than that? Do y- where-

Joanna RobinsonHost3:54

It's just me, Cassie.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:55

[laughs]

Where, where would you go?

Joanna RobinsonHost3:57

Uh, yeah, I think it's Pearl.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:58

Yeah, yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost3:59

The sickos say Maxine, but that's fine.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:01

Um-

They can have it.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:02

They can have it.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:03

Mailbag.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:04

On that front, speaking of Cassie, we received...

Joanna RobinsonHost4:07

You know, we, we asked, you answered, do you want Widows Bay coverage week to week?

Mm-hmm.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:12

A lot of you said yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:14

These episodes are doing pretty well, so we're gonna cover it week to week for the rest of the season.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:18

That's-

We also want this too.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:19

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:20

It's what we wanted.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:21

And we just wanted the numbers to prove that it's a good move for us.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:24

So here we are.

Also on the mailbag front, I can't tell you the last time I was so delighted by the subject lines of so many emails.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:30

Babadooking? [laughs]

So much Babadooking going on.

Another way in which the listeners have really shown up for us.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:34

Babadooking left and right.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:36

I really do, uh, appreciate the listeners sharing their vulnerabilities with us.

Yeah, including the people who literally Babadook.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:41

And we will share some of those with you.

Joanna RobinsonHost4:43

[laughs] But first, Jana wrote in to say, "I need to understand why Widows Bay has been relegated to be- B-tier lump coverage while you continue devoting weekly attention to Euphoria,"

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost4:52

"... a show that is essentially a misogynistic fever dream of an aggressively mid nepo auteur whose only good scene, season was the one built on stolen IP.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:00

Meanwhile, Widows Bay is the Prestige TV Podcast holy grail, Lost-level mystery, Severance-style puzzle box m- mech- mechanics, razor-sharp comedy, god-tier casting, genuine pathos, actual formal ambition, and, small detail, a masterpiece? We deserve week-to-week coverage.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:16

Is Sam Levinson personally wiring money to The Ringer?"

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost5:19

"We are suffering."

Jana, tell us how you really feel.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:21

[laughs] I just, I love that email.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:24

Um, Euphoria is a no-brainer just because it's, like, got three of the most famous movie stars that are currently working.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:30

We're having a fun time covering it.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:32

And, uh, this is gonna come out after, I guess, but we'll be covering the last two episodes of Euphoria live on Sundays.

Indeed.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:39

So if you wanna witness some chaos, if you want to witness me spilling several beverages all over myself, you might be able to enjoy that on a, on a Sunday evening.

And me doing my best, like, Matthew Rhys wide-eyed stupor trying to c- like, contain my shit in responding to those episodes.

That will be the general vibe.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:57

The live experience.

Joanna RobinsonHost5:58

Why not Widows Bay? I will, I will say, you know, it's not just-...

Joanna RobinsonHost6:02

uh, us wondering was the audience gonna be there.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:04

Because that is a question that we had, um, and a, a consideration when we pick what we wanna cover.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:09

But also, like, I'm gonna be curious what it's going to be like for us to cover a single episode going forward, 'cause this is a still a double episode drop.

Yep.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:17

But we're gonna be covering one episode, episode at a time going forward.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:21

They're shorter runtime episodes.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:24

It's a comedy.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:25

We don't usually cover comedy.

No.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:27

And yes-

So genre comedy, but still a comedy

Joanna RobinsonHost6:29

... yeah, so while there are sort of like lore mysteries, which of course we'll talk about this week and stuff like that, I've always, I've been wondering if there's enough meat on the bone for us-

Mm-hmm

Joanna RobinsonHost6:38

... to cover a single episode of Widow's Bay at a time.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:41

And we'll find out together, and I'm sure there probably will be.

Joanna RobinsonHost6:45

It's just less of a no-brainer to me than like, what the hell's happening [laughs] on-

Yes

Joanna RobinsonHost6:48

...

Joanna RobinsonHost6:48

Euphoria, which is, you know.

I think there's like a very understandable misconception that we cover shows because, like, they're the best show or the show we love the most, and it's like there's a lot of other considerations that go into it.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:00

Right.

A sh-

Joanna RobinsonHost7:00

Sometimes that's true

... sometimes it's absolutely true, and sometimes we love it so much we kind of will it into being a podcast.

But like a show like How to Get to Heaven From Belfast is one of my favorites of the year.

I wouldn't know really how to podcast about it.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:11

Right.

And I would say that's a show that has a lot in common with Widow's Bay.

It's a little more like comedy thriller than it is comedy horror.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:17

Yeah.

But a similar like joke cadence baked into this other genre trapping.

It can be tricky, and especially as you said, the runtime itself kinda decides a lot of like how much you can really pack into one podcast discussion episode.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:31

If I were in charge of the world-

Yes

Joanna RobinsonHost7:32

...

Joanna RobinsonHost7:33

I would've done-

Jo, let me tell you, you are

Joanna RobinsonHost7:34

...

Joanna RobinsonHost7:34

I'm not.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:35

If I were, I would've done 20 podcast episodes on the other Bennett sister.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost7:39

But you know what? Nobody wants to listen to that.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:42

Well, like five of you wanna listen to that.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:43

So, um, okay, a couple other emails.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:46

Okay.

Joanna RobinsonHost7:46

We got several emails and comments, uh, about Evan's parentage, which is something that-

Hmm

Joanna RobinsonHost7:51

... we, we raised last week, and we got a lot of people commenting like, "Hey, didn't Tom say in episode one that his wife was already pregnant with Evan when he met her?" I w- I was like, "How did I miss that?"

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:02

I, I went back and re-watched the scene.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:04

I think you could interpret it that way.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:06

The way that I interpret it is your mom was already pregnant when we got married.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:11

That's how I interpret what he says in that scene.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:14

I can see how you could interpret it that he, he says, "It's no secret your mother was already pregnant," but the end of that sentence to me is when we got married.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:22

So like it's no secret it was like a shotgun wedding-

Right

Joanna RobinsonHost8:24

... sort of thing.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:26

Um, and I have to think, Evan, the rebellious teen that he is, if, if it's an open secret that, uh, you know, his mom was already pregnant when Tom met her-

Hmm

Joanna RobinsonHost8:37

... and that his dad is someone else, we w- we would've been hit with a you're not my real dad at some point, uh-

We might still

Joanna RobinsonHost8:44

...

Joanna RobinsonHost8:44

in this run.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:44

Anyway, if you work on, um, Widow's Bay and you're listening to this podcast, and we have heard that some people work on the show are listening to this podcast, and you know for a fact about Evan's parentage, we would love an email.

Joanna RobinsonHost8:55

Pressdcv@spotify.com.

But would we? 'Cause is that not gonna be potentially revealed in time?

Joanna RobinsonHost9:00

Hmm.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:00

Okay, could be.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:01

Could be.

I think here, here's where I'm standing with a lot of these, like, flashing back to early episode moments.

Like we got another email from Kyle-

Joanna RobinsonHost9:08

Really

... who I thought had a great call about when Tom is first talking to the reporter from The New York Times, the idea's brought up that, like, if you were born on this island you can't leave it, and Tom says, "That's an old wives tale," which is a great line, great dismissal in the moment, but also the tale of his old maybe dead, maybe disappeared wife.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:25

Young, but-

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost9:27

... [laughs] but no longer here wife

Not old, former.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:29

Former wife.

Former, not old.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:30

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:31

Uh, yeah.

And so I wonder if this is the kinda show where, given the way they have-

Joanna RobinsonHost9:35

Hmm

...

so masterfu- masterfully laid all of this track to this point-

Joanna RobinsonHost9:39

Right

... and all of these lines that already feel different, all these moments-

Joanna RobinsonHost9:41

Hmm

... of like Patricia calling Tom on the phone in a harried way about the cocktails, and it's like, oh, now we know what that means-

Joanna RobinsonHost9:46

Yeah

... an episode or two later.

It j- might just be one of those things we revisit, and the fact that it plays both ways is very much intentional.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:53

Okay.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:53

I still wanna know, but I won't tell Rob.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:55

[laughs]

[laughs] Tag it as spoiler-

Joanna RobinsonHost9:57

Tell me secretly

...

in the subject line.

Joanna RobinsonHost9:58

Tell me secretly-

Hmm

Joanna RobinsonHost9:59

... uh, if, if Evan's parentage is supposed to be a mystery or who's, who's reading that scene correctly? But it, you know, all the people who wrote in and commented, he does say, "It's no secret your mother was already pregnant."

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:12

But if the end of that sentence is when we met or when we got married makes a difference.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:17

So okay.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:18

Babadooking.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:18

Did you...

Joanna RobinsonHost10:19

We got several emails from folks, and if you didn't listen to us last week [laughs] or if you haven't been listening at all, I will just premise that Katie Dippold, who created this show, has this great tweet about showing up in full Babadook, uh, regalia to a, a more, what is it, like drinking wine-

Grownups drinking wine vibe

Joanna RobinsonHost10:36

... grownup [laughs] drinking wine Halloween party, and she's in full Babadook costume.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:41

So we were soliciting, uh, emails from our listeners of the times that they Babadooked, uh, into one scenario.

Or Babadooked other people it turns out.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:48

Sure.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:48

So did you have any that you wanted to call out particularly?

I did, Jo.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:51

Yeah.

Uh, in particular one email we got from Matt-

Joanna RobinsonHost10:54

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost10:54

This is my favorite one

... who accidentally Babadooked somebody else.

Really a sequence of events in which a party was thrown, like a big dance on Halloween.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:01

Mm-hmm.

And then a follow-up event from like a sister organization was thrown following up in March the following year at a later time, and someone who attended the first dance misunderstood that you're supposed to maybe n- only show up in costume for the Halloween occasion and shown up to a March dance in full Maleficent-

Joanna RobinsonHost11:18

Maleficent.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:18

Yeah

...

Maleficent regalia.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:19

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:20

I'm hoping-

Uh, the, I mean, that is a true Babadook

Joanna RobinsonHost11:22

... and I'm curious if it was like, uh, animated Maleficent or if we're doing-

Or Jolie

Joanna RobinsonHost11:27

...

Joanna RobinsonHost11:27

Jolie.

Wow, yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:27

For Angelina-ing.

Hmm.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:28

Like how sharp are the cheekbones for this occasion? I would love to see the photos.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:33

Speaking of photos, our listener Alex wrote in to sh- let us know that they literally Babadooked-

Yes

Joanna RobinsonHost11:37

... a party, and they have photographic evidence.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:40

Uh, and they believe their Babadooking predates the meme of the Babadooking, so.

Tremendous.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:45

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:45

The er Babadooking, if you will.

Just when you thought you were living a singular life-

Joanna RobinsonHost11:49

[laughs] Someone else-

... multiple people are literally Babadooking

Joanna RobinsonHost11:51

... someone else Babadooked before you.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:52

The last one that I wanna share is like a pop culture reference Babadook.

Hmm.

Joanna RobinsonHost11:55

And who among us has not dropped a, a, a movie quote that we thought everyone knew?

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:00

And we were wrong.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:02

Jamie wrote in to say, "I tagged along with a friend to a New Year's Eve party, and at some point in the evening a woman whom I had made party friends with spilled her drink all over the kitchen counter." Sounds like a real Joanna move.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:11

"Since it was still the holiday season, I obviously said, 'Look what you did, you little jerk.'"Dead silence.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:17

So, uh, Jamie, I see you and I, I would've caught your reference, but sometimes you Babadook yourself-

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost12:23

... just by knowing too many movie quotes.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:26

Anything else you wanna mention? Keep them coming.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:28

I'm a big fan of the Babadooking.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:30

Um-

And future Babadooking.

You know, if you find yourself a year from now-

Joanna RobinsonHost12:34

Yeah

... li- having listened to this podcast-

Joanna RobinsonHost12:36

Oh

... accidentally Babadooking yourself, I would still like to hear about it.

PrestigeTV@spotify.com.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:41

Speaking of which, uh, we did get an email from our listener, Matt.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:43

This is pit related.

Mm.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:44

Um, so if you did not live out with a pit with us, uh-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost12:47

... earlier this season.

Joanna RobinsonHost12:48

But he sent us an ad for a thing called Yinzerpalooza.

Okay, what?

Joanna RobinsonHost12:54

Incredible.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost12:55

Where they're giving away Dr. Robbie bobbleheads at this Yinzerpalooza event, and I just thought the phrase Yinzerpalooza was worth, uh, sharing.

Completely worth it.

Also, I'm wondering, do we have room on our shelves here for a Dr. Robbie bobblehead if we can procure one of these somehow?

Joanna RobinsonHost13:09

Oh, we'll get...

Joanna RobinsonHost13:10

Well, I'll knock that fucking bonsai out of the, out of rotation.

Just straight out?

Joanna RobinsonHost13:12

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost13:13

[laughs] Are you kidding me? Our listener Andrew wrote in to talk about Evan, um, and the Boogeyman house.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost13:23

And comparing the story of Tom being too chicken shit to doorbell ditch Wick, which Wick was like, "That's a failing of you, Tom," and Evan's willingness to go up to, uh, the Boogeyman house.

Joanna RobinsonHost13:35

Did you feel like this was a, an intentional parallel they were drawing between the two?

Very much so.

Joanna RobinsonHost13:40

Yeah.

Or they're setting it up to see does Evan behave as Tom did or not.

Joanna RobinsonHost13:44

Right.

And then undercut it for comedy, for drama-

Joanna RobinsonHost13:46

Right

... for, you know, just like the jump scare of Bashir being there basically.

Like it's, it's a great th- I think, I think thematic tie-in is the way to, to portray it.

Joanna RobinsonHost13:55

Yeah.

Right? It's just kind of an iteration of this idea that's already out there.

I was struck in watching these episodes six and seven about how much the Richard Warren story felt familiar to the Boogeyman story we hear among the teenagers, right?

Joanna RobinsonHost14:08

Oh, tell me.

Well, when, when the teenagers are talking like maybe honestly, maybe just trying to scare each other about what happened with the man who lived in this house-

Joanna RobinsonHost14:15

Oh, in the cement

...

it was like they couldn't...

They tried to shoot him, they couldn't kill him, they had to bury him in cement.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:20

Oh.

And then we see what happened to Richard Warren.

He's like stabbed repeatedly, couldn't kill him, had to bury him underground.

It's like a, a, you know, a...

The Boogeyman story feels like a modernization of the Richard Warren myth.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:31

That's funny because I was thinking about, um, when Bashir is talking to Patricia about, um, like a town council is amassing to do something about Tom.

Yeah, an action committee.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:41

Yeah, an action committee.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:42

I'm like, what is that group in the flashback episode is not an action committee.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:46

Like-

All this has happened before.

All this will happen again, Jo.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:49

Exactly.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:50

[laughs] Exactly.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:50

All right.

Joanna RobinsonHost14:51

Caitlin, uh, wrote in with some expert- some notes for Jerry, uh, our favorite-

Yes

Joanna RobinsonHost14:56

...

Joanna RobinsonHost14:56

Historical Society, I think the lone, um, employee of the Historical, the Historical Society.

J- Jerry? [laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost15:03

Yeah.

Of, of the Historical Society?

Joanna RobinsonHost15:04

Of the, of the Historical Society.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:06

Caitlin wrote to say, uh, "I did archival studies, and you do not wear cotton gloves to handle archival materials.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:12

The industry standard is..." You know I love an expert email from someone.

You really do.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:16

"The industry standard is, uh, nitrile gloves," uh, which I believe is, you know, what we snap on when we're giving TV recommendations.

Theoretically.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:24

Uh, "Though thoroughly washed and dried hands work great too.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:27

Cotton is more likely to tear the materials and leave fibers behind.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:31

Honestly, the entire way that she," Jerry-

Mm-hmm

Joanna RobinsonHost15:34

... "of the Historical Society, "handles the book and the page is a hot mess.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:38

Though if she's never gotten formal archival training, never been off the island," question mark-

How could you?

Joanna RobinsonHost15:43

... "maybe she just isn't knowledgeable about proper procedure." So Caitlin giving some grace-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost15:46

... for Jerry, um, but also saying, "Your procedure is shit, Jerry, and you don't deserve to be near historical documents."

It feels fair.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:55

[laughs]

J- Jerry's doing the best she can.

You know?

Joanna RobinsonHost15:57

True.

We're all working with what we got.

Joanna RobinsonHost15:59

Last email from Dave.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:00

Uh, you asked our listeners to come up with, uh, names, or asked me at least to come up with a name for-

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost16:05

... what my bookmobile might be called.

Yeah.

Have you given it any thought?

Joanna RobinsonHost16:08

I did not give it any thought.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:10

[laughs]

Well, thank you for taking my consideration seriously.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:12

I definitely forgot you asked me that, but I did read Dave's email.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:14

He wrote Jor- Jorder, like Borders but Jo, Jorders Books.

It's a text only joke.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:19

Books, yep.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost16:20

Barnes and Jobel works a bit better.

I do like Barnes and Jobel.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:23

And Jobel Library, like Mobile Library but Jobel Library.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:26

Can we do better? PrestigeTV@spotify.com.

Let's keep workshopping it.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:28

He also expected, like he was trying to do a JOANN Fabrics joke, but he wrote JOANN Yarns, and it's not really-

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost16:36

...

Joanna RobinsonHost16:36

it was, it was stretching.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:38

Dave, I appreciate you.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:39

You're the only one who remembered this.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:40

I didn't, so I appreciate it.

How do you feel, we've never talked about this, about just Joann's? I, I imagine it happens a lot to you where people call you Joann instead of Joanna.

Like, do you h- Is there a blood feud? Is there a rivalry?

Joanna RobinsonHost16:51

Um, no.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:53

Uh, I embrace the Joann's of the world.

Really?

Joanna RobinsonHost16:57

Johanna is the problem.

Mm.

Joanna RobinsonHost16:59

I get a Johanna.

I've often said that.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:00

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:01

You're like, "Johannas are the real problem in the world."

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost17:03

Shout out to the Johannas out there.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:04

Do you have a, a, a Robert, Bert, Rob Beto issue with anything sounding like all of those? [laughs]

[laughs] Before this podcast, Jo compared me to Beto O'Rourke and I can only imagine an unflattering way 'cause I don't know what else to take it.

It was very rude.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:20

[laughs]

It's just ex- just the meanest thing you've ever said to me.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:23

You're so accurate.

Absolutely fucked up.

But I will say my mortal enemy is less even the Bobs.

Frankly, there aren't many Bobs anymore.

Berts are a rare breed.

I'm, I'm maybe poised for a midlife transition to Bert.

Maybe, maybe that's ahead for me at a certain point.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:37

Yeah, I love that.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:37

Yeah.

For me it's the Rons.

You know, that's the one that people mishear Rob as Ron and vice versa.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:42

Oh, no.

And so we're not enemies, but it's like we can't be allies.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:44

Yeah.

You know, we're, we're at cross purposes.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:46

On that front, by the way-

How could it possibly be on that front?

Joanna RobinsonHost17:51

It is on that front.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost17:52

Chris Fleming, who we brought up in last week's episode-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost17:55

... has a great bit about how JOANN's is not Michaels.

Mm-hmm.

Joanna RobinsonHost17:58

And he like...

Joanna RobinsonHost17:58

It's really, really funny.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:00

I recommend-

Gotta dig this up

Joanna RobinsonHost18:02

... uh, you watch it.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:02

It's so funny.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:03

How like JOANN's is like for the girls and Michaels is for, uh, fake craftspeople.

Wow.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:09

But JOANN's is now out of business, so RIP.

Mm.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:11

Mm.Should we talk about Widow's Bay? [laughs]

I think we probably should.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:14

Why not? What a concept.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:15

Um, all right, so our history, uh, a significant departure.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:20

But your first, like, real experience with, with the actress Betty Gilpin.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:25

Uh, how did you enjoy your experience here?

Delightful.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:27

She's great.

She's really wonderful here.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:29

Yeah.

I mean, this is really, I mean, tr- true to the direction and the theme of the show.

Like, a very scream queen kind of performance but, like, stifled by her circumstances.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:38

Mm-hmm.

And I had a particularly great time with all the non-verbal stuff she was doing, like the choking down sobs, the screaming into pillows, like the, like, random yelps she would let out as she's trying to, like, formulate her thoughts to not get murdered by her husband.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:51

Yeah.

Just a wonderful performance.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:53

I just think she's so funny too, and this isn't...

Joanna RobinsonHost18:56

This is the least funny of all the episodes-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost18:58

... obviously.

Joanna RobinsonHost18:59

Like, the horror is horrifying.

But even then, still kind of funny.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:01

Like, her...

Joanna RobinsonHost19:03

When she's trying to get the council to kill her husband [laughs]

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost19:05

And she just, like, gives this little clap like, "Let's go."

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:08

Or they're like, "Go get the children." She's like, "My children? I just met them." But the killer, and I know I might be stepping on, like, our joke category that we're gonna do later, but my favorite was, like, the runner through the, the episode is like-

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost19:22

... "I'm so old.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:22

I never thought I would get married at this age."

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:24

"I'm so old.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:25

I'm so old." And then at one point she says, "I am, I am but four and 10, and I will wither in my father's attic." So she's supposed to be 14.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost19:35

This, like, old maid at 14, and I just love...

Joanna RobinsonHost19:37

I mean, like, obviously Betty Gilpin is not 14.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:39

But she was just sort of like, "I'm but four and 10"

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost19:41

And I was like, "Wait, did I, did I hear that correctly?" [laughs] So yeah, the whole, like, I'm, I'm, "I'm too decrepit to be married at 14" in, in the 1700s.

I mean, her life is over.

Joanna RobinsonHost19:52

Yeah.

You know? She i- she is a spinster and a traitress-

Joanna RobinsonHost19:54

Yeah [laughs]

...

it turns out.

I also...

I think the moment where I knew, again, not having a lot of Betty Gilpin experience to date-

Joanna RobinsonHost20:00

Yeah

... that I was in, like, really good hands is, like, we open with her, you know, writing some of the diary that we later-

Joanna RobinsonHost20:04

Mm

... get the full tie-in as far as, uh, the, uh, "Who is going to kill me? LOL, JK."

Joanna RobinsonHost20:09

Yeah.

"He's right here in the room."

Joanna RobinsonHost20:10

He's right here.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:10

[laughs] Yeah.

We get the full backstory for that.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:12

Yeah.

But the initial diary entry, like, the moment...

She almost has, like, a twinkle in her eye the moment she dares to wish G- for, like, to God that her husband be handsome.

And I'm like, "Okay, there's..." Like, there's something here-

Joanna RobinsonHost20:22

Yeah

... that I'm already so interested in, and she delivered, I would say, at every step in this episode.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:28

Are you aware of the, uh, the Broadway show Oh, Mary! at all?

I'm actually not.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:33

Okay.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:33

Um, it's a great, like, bawdy, uh, retelling of Mary Todd Lincoln.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:41

Um, and a fantastic show.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:44

Betty Gilpin was the first actor who, like, took over for the original actor who did the role.

Mm-hmm.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:49

And my sister saw Betty Gilpin in this role, and she was just like...

Joanna RobinsonHost20:52

It, it's, it's sort of similar to this.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:53

Like, in, in the way that you can do physical comedy wearing, like, so many skirts.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost20:59

Um, like, how you navigate it is, is incredible.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:01

I just think she's so talented.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:03

I'm so happy she's here.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:04

Hamish Linklater is also here.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:06

I will say this is not my...

Joanna RobinsonHost21:08

I love Hamish Linklater.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:09

This is not my f- He's making a real vo- vocal choice.

He is.

How would you describe it?

Joanna RobinsonHost21:14

Sonorous.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost21:16

So- [laughs]

Sonorous is a great way to describe it

Joanna RobinsonHost21:18

... is that the word? I don't know.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:19

I, I'm just, like...

Joanna RobinsonHost21:21

I feel like if I, if I were directing this ep- if I were Ty West-

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost21:25

... um, or anyone-

People do often confuse the two of you.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:27

Yeah, that's true.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:28

You've got the Beto energy.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:29

I've got the Ty West energy.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:30

[laughs]

I think you won that one.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:32

And I heard...

Joanna RobinsonHost21:32

And he was like...

Joanna RobinsonHost21:33

And Hamish came in, and he's like, "I'm gonna go with this."

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:36

I'd be like, "Let's run it back and try again." Uh, maybe not.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:39

But I mean, he's, he, he has more to play with in the, in the second episode-

Yes

Joanna RobinsonHost21:43

... than he does here.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:43

Here he's just, like, really the heavy, the villain.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:46

Um, what did you think of this?

It does feel like he's kinda setting up the voice, too, to be, like, maybe not so jarring if he went from speaking like a normal person to all of a sudden gruff, like, dust for vocal cords.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:57

Undead.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:57

Dead.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:57

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost21:57

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Uh, so yeah, he is doing, like, a certain marble mouth thing-

Joanna RobinsonHost22:03

Yeah

... that I, did work for me.

And I think kind of it makes it, yes, a little bit sinister but also, like, a little bit goofy in the way that the show likes to do.

And the way that they're playing with those extremes-

Joanna RobinsonHost22:12

Yeah

... with this character, I thought was really nice.

And it, it's, it's a classic thing that Widow's Bay is starting to establish in its pattern, its rhythms, where you have these, like, horrific things that happen or these sc- like, really terrifying things that happen.

And within an episode or two, we're sending them up already.

Joanna RobinsonHost22:28

Mm-hmm.

And to me, Richard Warren is the perfect example of that-

Joanna RobinsonHost22:31

Yeah

... of, like, he's murdering people left and right or, like, leaving them for dead as human sacrifices, however you wanna think about it.

Sarah is clearly in danger.

His kids are potentially in danger.

And yet an episode later, we're just doing, like, fuck you gags with Matthew Rhys, and-

Joanna RobinsonHost22:46

Eating Vienna sausages.

[laughs] It's all ribs and Vienna sausage.

Joanna RobinsonHost22:51

As far as last meals go-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost22:53

... where does Vienna sausage out of a can rank for you?

I mean, he seemed to really enjoy himself.

Joanna RobinsonHost22:58

That's true.

How did you feel about R- you know, Hamish Linklater as Richard Warren just straight up moaning as he eats Vienna sausages?

Joanna RobinsonHost23:05

[laughs] Tough.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:06

Really tough.

Uh, so it would be low on my list, but who among us hasn't had a Vienna sausage moment? You know, for, like, a, a six-year-old boy, it's like, "Oh my God, Vienna sausages.

This is incredible."

Joanna RobinsonHost23:18

Can I offer you a one, a one-up from Vienna sausages-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost23:22

... for a six-year-old boy? Beanie weenies.

See, aren't, aren't they, are they not basically the same thing?

Joanna RobinsonHost23:26

I mean, it's literally a Vienna sausage, but you add beans.

See, I'm out.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:29

[laughs]

I, I'm not interested in the beanie element of the beanie weenie.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:32

What? Are you serious?

Ween- we're weenies only around here.

[laughs]

Joanna RobinsonHost23:35

[laughs] That's the quote, guys.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:38

Um, all right.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:39

Okay.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:40

I don't wanna step on our, like, lore category that we have, but we get-

It's robust this week

Joanna RobinsonHost23:43

... just a massive lore dump inside of this episode.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:46

The well is here.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:47

The d- the door and the chair in older guys.

Joanna RobinsonHost23:50

How do you feel about, like...

Joanna RobinsonHost23:51

I feel like you had your theory validated, where you were like, when we first saw the chair in front of the rusted metal door-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost23:57

... and you were like, "I feel like that's been there forever." I was like, "That door looks more modern." You're like, "Perhaps it was once a wooden hatch." And lo and behold, you nailed it.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:06

So, like, what's your current interpretation of, of the door/chair, uh-

Mm

Joanna RobinsonHost24:11

... setup that we get?

Well-I mean, clearly this has been done for human sacrifices.

I think the trail of blood leading from the chair to the then wooden hatch would suggest it

Joanna RobinsonHost24:21

The hunk of hair.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:22

Yeah.

I mean, hair is the new teeth in this episode.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:25

[laughs]

There's just clumps of hair.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:26

Yeah.

We're, we're constantly being told, like, oh, uh...

It's, it's pretty gross.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:29

Yeah.

Uh, I f- I feel great about all of that paying off, and to me it feels like, you know, an e- an extension of what Richard Warren is telling, you know, the priest and the townspeople before he's buried of like, "This is the covenant that we make here on the island."

Joanna RobinsonHost24:44

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:44

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:44

Uh-huh.

And so even though he is being buried underground, someone will continue s- parts of his work.

Joanna RobinsonHost24:48

And it seems like...

Joanna RobinsonHost24:49

I mean, they were asking for specific instructions-

Yeah

Joanna RobinsonHost24:51

...

Joanna RobinsonHost24:51

so it seems like-

What do we do?

Joanna RobinsonHost24:52

Yeah

And so-

Joanna RobinsonHost24:52

Seems like they shall

... over time it becomes part of the ritual of the town.

Over time, the-

Joanna RobinsonHost24:56

Is it every year? How many...

Joanna RobinsonHost24:58

Do, do people on the island living right now know?

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost25:02

Does like-

Yes

Joanna RobinsonHost25:03

... a Rosemary know?

This-

Joanna RobinsonHost25:05

Like, who's doing it?

This is, I think, one of the genius parts of this show, is the who knows what and who is in on it.

Like, there is a small town conspiracy-

Joanna RobinsonHost25:13

Yeah

... potential story within this one.

Joanna RobinsonHost25:15

Yeah.

And even Tom is kind of a part of that, right? Like, we open the show, and the way we're conditioned as viewers, as, like, inherent skeptics of the supernatural, at least that's where I'm coming to it from, I'm like, "Oh, you know, some of the spooky stuff might be real, some of it might be fake."

Joanna RobinsonHost25:30

Mm-hmm.

I'm kind of, like, in a, what I thought was a Tom perspective as far as what the supernatural elements of the island might be.

But he kn- he...

We, we get pretty hard confirmation within these episodes that he knows, like, for a fact if you leave the island as a, as a native-born person you will die.

Like, "My son is locked here in h- a hell prison."

Joanna RobinsonHost25:48

A hell rock.

Joanna RobinsonHost25:48

Yeah.

Yeah.

Joanna RobinsonHost25:48

He at least believes.

Yes.

Joanna RobinsonHost25:50

Like, having seen whatever it was that happened with his wife, and we get more lore information there-

Right

Joanna RobinsonHost25:55

... you know, he's at least believes it enough to not risk it-

Yeah