So episode 37 gave me a handful of feelings, but they weren't the myriad, screeching feelings I'd expected, and I'm actually kind of glad for that. I did walk away from my computer and do some dishes to the tune of "No, No, No, Why Did You Do That Cecil, No," though. If that helps.
Anyway, here is a list of thoughts in chronological order, with approximately one billion spoilers.
NOTHING IS FINE, CECIL, NOTHING. Except you're still doing the thing, sorta, so it's closer to fine. Maybe.
THAT CHEERFUL TONE IS SO NOT OKAY.
That pinata is armored? Cool. Can be used to crush rebellions? HOW ABOUT NO.
Lot 1's pretty good, actually.
SSP is a bunch of dorks, truth be told.
Like, he starts in that cheerful tone, and then drops it, and kind of tries to put it back on (that chuckle felt kind of off), and that is making me really worried.
"Not the blob who lives in the housing development..., the fictional one."
WHY IS CECIL LOT 37, THOUGH
It took this long for aliens to come to Night Vale. Wow.
Hilariously, we're actually kind of fucked-up!
In your face, inept newcomer presence. Please tell me you're still doing the thing, Cecil.
DON'T YOU DARE FULFILL YOUR POTENTIAL
"Leading citizen and friendly billionaire"? I dunno, Marcus sounds like a dick who lives above a dirigible hangar.
So, Marcus, how do you feel about Strex? Do you own Strex? No, no, that's not right.
...festive peddlers? Cecil, are you getting a bit confused? Or do we have organ grinders in Night Vale?
Cecil Palmer, calling us out on our grossness, all over the place.
So Marcus probably wrote/had someone write that ad for the Preschool Chimneysweep Academy, and that's really funny to me.
HAIR-PULLING?! Wow, Cecil.
That mental image about the auction was A+, though.
Well. Cecil is not a happy Cecil.
I see the election's been pushed to the 2-year mark. I am very, very cool with that.
See, if that's a simple slogan in Night Vale, what's a complex one?
I love that the Faceless Old Woman is into apiology. Not just birds' melting points.
Time of the Lizard. Yep. Okay.
Marcus, what even are you. Gold-plated hats being flung into giant rings? I quit.
I'm going to be mayor, thanks.
Hey kids. HOW. ABOUT. NO. HOW ABOUT NO FOR THAT WHOLE CHILDREN'S FUN FACT SCIENCE CORNER THAT SHIT WAS SO CREEPY. Except there's actually some really beautiful prose, when he's talking about your not-yet-still, still-beating heart, and the miscommunications between the living and the dead.
The letter O.
Isn't that what auctions are like anyway?
I really, really love the weather for this episode. I'm really bummed that it's not on Spotify.
You don't sound very cheerful, Ceec.
What the fuck is scrip, and wow, you don't enjoy Dust Hut.
STREX OWNS THE SSP? NOPE. NO NO NO.
So I can see Cecil being that type of person who just writes a lot in his head and gets really spacey and distracted and stuff like that. And did Cecil start getting a panic attack? Tunnel vision and... Hm.
CECIL YOU IDIOT CECIL WHAT THE FUCK CECIL OHMYGOD NO YOU MORON
Only one bid? Why was that the case?
"Bully pulpit." Sometimes, you can be a bully, but you sounded like a total weenie then. So...
Who cheers for abandonment and decay? Slow your roll, there, SSP.
That's our casual Carlos mention. That's enough for me, but seriously, who bought Lot 37? WHO BOUGHT LOT 37?
Secretly, that's my favorite proverb. Just saying.
A couple of people have said that they didn't feel like this episode was up to par with the rest, but honestly, I kind of liked the really terse, uncomfortable atmosphere of it. This is a Cecil who was made helpless somehow. This is a Cecil who's being auctioned off without his knowledge, and definitely without his consent. This is not quite the Cecil we knew before 36, and I feel like they're keeping the in-between under wraps because, let's be real, this is really the only way he'd be able to keep his job, and maybe his head.
I had seen some really great ideas for this episode last week and the week before, that I know you guys have all seen. My absolute favorite was that Kevin took over, and that Cecil would be this staticky, pirate radio interference. That would have been great, but I feel like there's a shit ton of potential in this Cecil being ground out by Strex's boot.
There's also been some annoyance that they didn't talk about the events of the previous episode, which I already sorta addressed, but let's do this head-on. There was a direct reference to it in the beginning, by Cecil saying that he wouldn't/couldn't talk about anything of importance. Just the auction, some ads, and the mayoral election. So many other episodes are filled with something more like gossip than news, and that's not a thing anymore. That's been burned out of the show. It's strictly news, nothing as friendly as "Old Woman Josie's angels said they saw Rita Hayworth at the gas station." It's all business, and I find that really worrying. Is all of Night Vale being reduced to so much productivity? Or is it just Cecil's show?
That being said, there were a couple of moments when his voice was just way too cheerful, and they kind of faded in an out. It kind of seems, to me, at least, like he was smiling big for something and doing that whole Happy All the Time thing when they were looking and then relaxing back into himself. There are some points, like with that awkward chuckle about the knives, where he doesn't quite do either, and I'm getting more and more worried about fictional characters.
I was pretty pleased with this episode, and Cecil got distracted with what might possibly be a panic attack, and now we're all left wondering who bought him. Someone, or something, with a lot of power, I'd say.
I'm still excited for where the whole arc is taking us, and I hope we'll find out who bought Lot 37 next week, or, you know, ever. These guys need to keep doin' what they're doin'.
Most of this episode was kind of sharp and a lot of felt like one big allegory that just said Strex Sux, and that was beautiful. Honestly, I don't think I'll get over this one anytime soon. So here, my friends, is a (fairly long) chronological list of thoughts and a (long as well) collection of more thoughts. Let's all BE SO EXCITED FOR THE NEXT ONE.
And, yeah, there are some fairly major spoilers. As ever.
He always sounds so bothered every time he talks about Strex.
He sort of sounds angry through most of the episode. I get prouder all the time.
"You're not hard to find." HOW IS STREX SO MUCH MORE OMINOUS THAN THE SSP
He's being all passive-aggressive and trying to get Daniel to leave. Cecil is magic.
FOREEEEEEVVVVVEEEERRRRR. You're always such a cutie, Cecil.
THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE OPEN HOUSE BIT, SAYING IT'S A TRAP. Cecil cares about nothing like he does the citizens. It keeps getting better, it really does.
Tamika is my queen. Completely and absolutely my queen. She's gonna take Strex down, one rock at a time. She's going to spark a revolution, and it's going to be glorious.
Children keep going missing? Children keep joining Tamika's militia? Children are going to save Night Vale? I HOPE SO.
Strex is scared of her, and they should be.
The traffic. THE TRAFFIC. "I'm not telling you the whole truth," neatly tucked into this long, beautiful metaphor. The discussion on displacement and being pressed under someone's thumb. "Gather its forces and turns, savagely, on its oppressor." Cecil's telling them to act out, and that's hopefully going to become one of my favorite plot threads. I absolutely hope it's going to keep being a thing, because there's so much potential, and it feels like tremendous character development. He trusts City Council and the SSP completely, but his distrust of Strex is absolute and immediate.
THE FUCKING AD IS CREEPY, THEY'RE ALWAYS CREEPY. Can you stop with the snarled Rs, Cecil, Please? "StrexCorp. Get to work!"
We got three new names in this episode, and we know that there are weird things flying the bird-of-prey helicopters, and they're super snarky and I love them.
Okay, why are we talking about deer? Is it a metaphor for Strex? Terrible and deceitful? Or is it a literal warning about deer? I THINK HE'S WARNING EVERYONE NOT TO TRUST STREX.
JOSIE LIVES OUT BY THE CAR LOT. But children, children brought down a Strex helicopter.
Daniel saying to turn off the show GIVES ME SO MUCH ANXIETY CECIL NO CECIL, CECIL NO WHAT ARE YOU DOING YOU REBEL
YOUR LITTLE MCGYVER SETUP I LOVE YOU CECIL
CHILDHOOD BEST FRIEND E A R L H A R L A N They were Boy Scouts together, ohmygod
Tamika is my chosen queen. She is my world. I can't tell you enough, guys. And also, that's a damn good quote. AND WHO IS THIS PILOT ARE WE GONNA PLAY OFF THAT AND Cecil supports her so much, ohmygod.
I hope that she will find you first, that is. FUCKING CECIL, OHMYGOD I JUST
THINK ABOUT HEROES, WE DON'T NEED THEM, WE CAN BE OUR OWN HEROES Seriously, "You need to find it out for yourself," how long have you been teaching and preaching through your radio show? For how long has this been going on?
YOU. TAKE. ACTION.
I swear to every single thing, if Kevin hosts the next episode, I will cry and scream and also be kinda pleased, but you know.
So, as I'm sure you know, this episode gave me a lot of feelings. Mostly feelings of mild anxiety and even fear because, damn, these writers are fantastic. I got really, incredibly excited about the notion of Tamika taking Strex down after hearing her statement in "Lazy Day," and I'm so glad that it panned out as well as it did. I'm also pretty pleased to know that Cecil and Earl were friends, and I could hear nazi-nurse screaming through the whole internet at that.
Cecil's acting out was incredible. He's a very interesting character in that he walks this weird line between rebellious and obedient. He talks continually about things he shouldn't talk about, but always surrounds those bits with reminders that they aren't real, in an effort to keep himself safe, I think. It really is clear that there is nothing, and I mean nothing more important to him than his friends and neighbours, Night Vale itself.
I was a tiny bit disappointed not to hear anything about Carlos, but then, I'm always a little disappointed when we don't hear about Carlos. But I do like that his relationship is only a single facet to the whole thing, and really, Cecil's got more to talk about than his beautiful scientist.
I love that the major theme of this episode is just, you know, be your own hero. I really, really do. I hope that thread continues to run through more episodes. I'd like more Carlos, with or without relationship development; I just want to know how the outsider is dealing! I want more Tamika being incredible, I'd like to know what's going on with Josie, I can't wait to find out about the mayoral election (or if that's going to happen), and I want more Kevin and possibly someone akin to Diego, and I'm so excited for where they're going ohmygod.
Just kidding, it's actually just some bullet points and capital letters expressing my opinions on the latest episode of Night Vale. Proceed with caution, as spoilers abound. And these bullet points are in chronological order, written as I listened, if that makes any sense at all. Come shriek with me in my ask box, it's been the best part of my day!
WHY DO YOU KEEP GETTING MORE SINISTER CECIL, and why do i like it so much
YOU'RE GONNA BE A CUTIE AREN'T YOU
No, I'm the only You.
I WAS RIGHT OH MY GOD I CAN'T HANDLE THE SQUEAKY VOICE
YOU PRECIOUS DORK I CAN'T
THE GIGGLE
DON'T SING DON'T SING
I couldn't handle it anyway
Seriously, Cecil, why does your voice keep getting darker, it's gorgeous.
"Or, whatever."
"Nnnnope!"
Cecil has a brother. Let's fic that, guys.
Did you compare your brother to a cat, or a cat to your brother? What are you doing, Cecil.
WHAT ARE YOU DOING, CECIL.
You sound so bummed!
N.O.
NO.
NOPE.
N
O
Neat!
...hollow eyes...? No. Nope, Kevin is not your brother, no.
...Gershwin-Palmer? Okay.
The weather was great. It's in my Spotify playlist. Yeah.
Leonard makes me uncomfortable.
THIS SCENE IS MAKING ME UNCOMFORTABLE
Cecil, your backstory makes me uncomfortable and I can't even deal.
In summation, I knew I wasn't ready for this episode, and holy balls did I love it. And CECIL DID YOU DO YOUR OWN TEENAGE VOICE OHMYGOD I GIVE UP. Anyway, the thing you should get out of this was that it was a big ol' delicious bag of nope. There was something interesting about the vibe this time, though, during his regular reporting. He wasn't as chipper and excitable as last time, and during that Strex ad, he just sounded about 120% done. And when he reported on the disappearance of intern Jesus—was it really just distraction, Cecil?
I'm so excited for following episodes, because I feel like the vibe might have something to do with the Strex takeover.
