Keep checking out Netflix Puzzled ST Clues (Thread #3)
We are eating well today!
Bonza's theme was Reference List, including a bunch of resources for when you need to look something up (I've been needing more than a few of these for my Bobgate posts lol.)
The most obvious reference is Encyclopedia right in the middle, and the thing Joyce sells in S4!
Atlas reminds me of the Titan, who per Wikipedia, was "condemned to hold the heavens or sky up for eternity [...] According to the ancient Greek poet Hesiod, Atlas stood at the ends of the earth in the extreme west." One of his more famous myths is his deal with Heracles, who volunteered to take on the burden of the sky for Atlas while he went to his daughters' garden for the Hesperides' golden apples. Although Atlas tries to trick Heracles into carrying the burden for eternity, Heracles manages to trick him right back.
Almanac reminds me of the Farmer's Almanac (another farmer/farming reference! also very sad that this year will mark its last print edition) and the Sports Almanac (famously used in BTTF).
I don't remember anything particular with thesaurus or dictionary, but the former makes me think of words that are similar in meaning, but not quite the same.
2. Jigsaw coming in with a new theme -- True North featuring a Canadian postage stamp and... what's this?
Note that as far as I remember, Puzzled *never* includes tidbits with the Jigsaw. Yet, they make a point to clarify this is not just a goose, but a foreign (read: alien) who is "just as full of rage as any other".
We get it: Mother Goose is MAD. But is it that she wants world domination? ....Or does she just want her baby, the MF, back? (check @henrysglock's #Pattyflayer theories)
I was rewatching some S4 stuff, specifically the scene Dustin calls Steve on a payphone to join the Hellfire campaign, and THIS was written in the booth:
Not to mention it's also featured in the T-Mobile stack:
Oh look -- Back to the Future again. I think it might be worth looking into these other movies... (I already found a ESB connection in S4 in Part 12 of my Bobgate analysis... will it make a comeback in S5?)
3. The Crossover was interesting too --
USD being the abbreviation for US dollars, aka that green thing that "makes the world go round".
The Lotus Temple is the Bahá’í house of worship in New Delhi, completed in 1986. Here is a descriptor for these Houses of Worship:
Zinc orange is a paint pigment (Will reference/#paintinggate still on), the clue says it's a vibrant shade to paint a "pretty sunset." Sunset meaning endings... *Will* our painter be the key to ending this thing?
NSA refers to the govt org that spies on all of us. Not to mention it's the org that was exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden, who happens to reside in Russia now.
EER's clue specifically refers to the word E'er (a poetic way of saying something is everlasting). EER also happens to be an abbreviation for energy efficiency ratio (related to cooling devices) and effective exchange rate (related to currency, connecting back to USD).
Utz refers to the snack brand (did we see any Utz products on the show, specifically S5?) They also happened to be featured in Blair Witch Project, which people have compared ConformityGate to here, though I forget where and The Office, a mockumentary-style show.
Shine's clue was "___ bright like a diamond." Again with the diamonds!!! Any ideas? I feel like Will and/or El is gonna be the one shining bright, but where do diamonds specifically fit in? The engagement ring?
Dense makes me think of Mike and Will when it comes to realizing their feelings are mutual, but "very compact" also makes me think of compact mirrors, and suddenly I'm wondering if Robin's compact mirror in S5 wasn't also a Chekov's gun. Reminds me of how Perseus defeated Medusa, the monster with many snakes on her head. (Did we get a Medusa reference this season? Because there was a very random one in TFS re: Bob's DAD device).
Lotus Car refers to, ofc, the car brand -- anything sticking out for you here? Lotus also makes me think of the Lotus Eaters from the Odyssey (sadly, Google's AI describes it well) --
Finally, Temple orange refers to the "hybrid citrus fruit", again another reference to produce/farming.
4. Sudoku featuring a lot of letters:
S for Sudoku: Also S as is snake.
Percent Sign, which looks a lot like the visual for parallel universes or mirrors:
N for Netflix: Suddenly reminding us these puzzles are made by Netflix. They're fully aware of what they're doing.
Two letters -- S & N. Does that mean anything to anyone re: ST?
(I think of Studio & Network, but that could be coincidence)
5. Starstuck themes were:
Play: As in the Play button (yesterday was pause). But there's also 'play' as in the TFS play, and 'play' as in playing a game.
Variety Land: It made me think of a fantasy land for some reason, but I decided to go in and look at the puzzle --
Lots of green here with red and orange in between yellow and blue. Some of the shapes form Ws or Ms, depending on how you look at them, which made me think of the following:
The shapes of the W/Ms reminds me of Wonder Woman's symbol.
6. The Waywords theme was Photography (Jonathan's favorite pastime).
The focus seemed to be on photography terminology:
ISO is a camera setting that controls sensitivity to light.
Flash of course, produces a burst of light that illuminates the shot. (Suddenly that starburst hint from a few days ago is making more sense. Also makes me think of all the talk online about how Will is beautifully and nonsensically lit in the Fake!Epilogue)
Lens is the frame through which we see an image and/or situation. Depending on the lens we use, we can perceive an image differently. Same thing when reading a text: We can read a story through a feminist lens, a race-critical lens, a queer lens...
Aperture is the adjustable opening on a camera lens, measured in f-stops. The aperture helps control light exposure, depth of an image, and its sharpness. The more open the aperture is, the brighter it is, with only the subject of the photo in focus.
Exposure (also a word for revelation that is bound to cause some disapproval + state of being exposed to something, potentially dangerous like say, spores) is the total amount of light reaching a camera sensor, and is determined by the ISO, aperture, and --
Shutter, the device used to let in light for a specific amount of time, and can render the motion of the subject in the image. Almost like a gate.
Interestingly, the clue words were musical instruments.
7. Shapes continues with its use of household appliances, and "Flat Out" uses an iron (another thing you use for laundry, specifically to "flatten out" any wrinkles or imperfections).
Again, the Puzzle reminds us that this is a Netflix endeavor (and to keep streaming Netflix 😉). Also funny they say this as people complain that ST5's dialogue was severely affected by Netflix's policy to repeat information since it's likely people are doing their laundry or other chores while they watch.
8. Finally the Keysmash theme was Bollywood (another India reference today):
Hindi references the movie Slumdog Millionaire, the Best Picture winner about a young man's odyssey through his memories helping him win the game show (also starring Dev Patel, who also recently starred in The Green Knight).
Costume referring to Halloween, which we saw in S2 of ST (definitely worth going back because that's also where the farm storyline took place + Bob Newby's story, but I'm biased). Some Halloween costumes in that episode were Ghostbusters, Mike Myers, clown, a vampire, and Risky Business (idk, might be worth looking into since it was referenced so much).
Melodrama is a film genre featuring over-sensationalized stories and emotions that usually take place in the domestic sphere, featuring stock characters (like in commedia dell'arte). Some popular melodramas include:
The first full melodrama, Pygmalion, inspired by the myth about a sculptor whose dream woman made of clay is brought to life with divine help. It makes me think of El/Wonder Woman//check Part Twelve of BobGate.
The Sorcerer, about a young man who, believing love can flatten all social-economic divides, recruits a potion maker to create a love potion. This potion causes everyone in the village to fall in love with the first person they see, causing chaos. The spell is only broken once the potion-maker sacrifices his life.
Douglas Sirk's films, many of which starred gay actor Rock Hudson, the first known celebrity to die from AIDs. I won't go into the plots of all his movies, but let's say it's worth diving into.
Melodrama also reminds me of Lorde's album featuring her lead single, "Green Light."
Diaspora, again referencing people who are away from their homeland. I really think the MF is the real ET just trying to get home to her mom, Mother Goose.
Dance Sequence's clue is "series of steps that might be tricky to take at speed." Well, if you messed up the steps the first time, sometimes, all it takes is going back and doing the steps again.
Love a good dance sequence! And a good set of buzzy puzzles!
I'll probably do a fresh post highlighting updating all the theories based on Puzzle trends so far -- let me know if there's anything you've spotted!
