You know what? The song "This Is A Life" by Son Lux, Mitski, and David Byrne really reminds me of Remnants. Idk, just the whole vibe
"This is a life / Free from destiny / Not only what we sow / Not only what we show / This is a life (every possibility) / Free from destiny (I choose you, and you choose me)"
I am so looking forward to the next season, because I guessed some things but not that ending let me tell you. I could write a whole other post about why I love this podcast so much and how itâs about topics that have fascinated me ever since I was a kid, but I will show restraint. I will just once again politely ask you all to go listen to it.
Before I even listened, I revisited the capitalised letters for the code of episodes 16-30 and realised some mistakes sneaked in. Thanks to this post right here (I was really impressed when I saw that), I was able to decode it too (and I guessed the last word correctly, proud of that, haha).
Anyway, you know the drill, spoilers under the cut:
IHI YMF AWY COJ QII NDL QAN PHFY YHZ KWI IWFA LHC DYI ASR KBW
"Is this how you break down a soul or is it how you build a God?"
I think I also cracked the last bits of the morse code:
RESHELVE OR DISCARD. THE QUESTION IS NOT WHAT IT MAY FIRST APPEAR TO BE IF INDEED IT APPEARS TO BE ANYTHING AFTER ALL WHAT CAN SUCH OF THIS THING BEHOLDING US
Thereâs just the question if the T and N of the capitalised letters from episodes 1-15 mean something that I have missed or if they are a red herring.
There are so many things I want to talk about, but I really donât want to be over the top with my long ass posts, so hereâs one of the things that got to me the most: it is repeatedly said that the Apprentice didnât want to be known by anyone and didnât even really know himself in combination with Sir repeatedly saying heâs not a thing that knows. Sir even hinted at that too.
Also the Apprentice saying he broke a God amused me.
I guess now the tables have turned, didnât they?
Good gods, I should study, instead I want to write an essay about the â¨themesâ¨
Thanks to another post, I noticed that I missed a big part of the Morse code, so I here is the correct one (credit to @the-voldsoy and Judas):
Reshelve or discard? The question is not what it may first appear to be, if indeed it appears to be anything at all. After all, what can such judgements show beyond a reflection of those who judge, and in that dark mirror what of ourselves do we see reflected back in the eyes of this thing beholding us?
I am soooo normal about Remnants (<-lying) and I listened to the final without jumping up and down (<-lying even more)
Anyways. I am having so many thoughts and so many things are clicking neatly into place so let's do another debrief! As always I could absolutely be wrong on any counts so take everything with a grain of salt. Spoilers ahead!
To make it easier to understand, I will refer to Edward/Teddy/Perry/etc as "Edwin". The First and Last Place will be shortened to âTFALPâ.
First let's start with the easy things with "simple" answers: the codes!
The morse code at the end of the episodes reads in it's entirety (and attempted punctiation)(I did not decipher this one, credit to Judas on discord):
Reshelve or discard? The question is not what it may first appear to be, if indeed it appears to be anything at all. After all, what can such judgements show beyond a reflection of those who judge, and in that dark mirror what of ourselves do we see reflected back in the eyes of this thing beholding us?
Discard means to burn the remnant, so that it crumbles quicker and the soul is returned to the cycle of life and reborn quicker. Reshelve means that an object is kept for longer in the First and Last Place -- maybe specifically in the Apprentice's "room", maybe not. But eventually the reshelved items crumble to dust just the same, and the souls in them are reborn too. Ultimately, it is a pointless question. Everything meets the same fate in the end. It is just for the sake of sentimentality.
The question was posed as a way for Sir to better understand A, too. In turn, A began to learn more about himself by seeing Sir's reactions to him (and also in other remnants talking about him).
Now the capitalised letters in the descriptions! The first half, when separated, read:
He more or less has totally gone to dust / I am still in here
I believe this is referring first to A, leaving "dust" everywhere he goes; the second is A -- or Edwin? -- speaking, showing that he is still there, despite the multiple iterations and memory wipes. Or maybe that he is still inside TFALP, trapped by Sir. This code being intertwined in this way could speak to the two of them being interconnected deeper than either of them realise.
And the second half when put through a Vigenère cipher, reads:
Is this how you break down a soul, or is this how you build a god?
Turns out it was both.
Now, just general information. I think the easiest way I can think to do this is if I go through my theories from last time and correct some, and try to go from there :)Â
The Apprentice has a remnant, and is slowly crumbling like one.
The Apprentice is being kept by Sir because Sir did not know how to judge A. Sir does not know why it is A, and thinks it a mistake. A is empty, in a way. Sir does seem to want A there, though, but doesn't know exactly how to keep him. Like holding sand in cupped hands. Or dust, I suppose.
"It frightened you to be known, so you made sure you never were."
Sir also does not really know why he is there or how he got there or what he is. This makes me think that this cycle of reincarnation has happened so many times before that maybe they did know how they both got there, once upon a time, but they've since forgotten
There might be an external force that put both of them there, though. It's too early to tell :)
Sir and A have effectively switched places; as Sir became more whole and human and feeling, A became more hollow, losing pieces of himself
This is a story about cycles. Reincarnation, trauma, families. Even the clue on the website, "It is always a day away". I am soooo normal about this
The dust is made of A and other remnants. All remnants crumble to dust eventually, discarding just speeds it up. A attempted to forcefully discard himself when he threw himself into the fire in e15 (?).
What is the 'veil'? Is that the gap between life and TFALP?
All of the remnants that A reads are now confirmed to be specifically about him.
Sir was TFALP.
Perhaps Sir was a God. Whoâs to say? Certainly not him.
It is interesting how Sir talked about the two of them and TFALP. They are metaphysical, I suppose. But everything they â or Apprentice, at least â see is a conjuration of their mind, made of what they expect to see there. Iâm not sure what to do with that information yet.
I honestly forgot the tagline of the show was âA man of many faces, a story of many fatesâ. Oh boy it certainly is
âThe Apprentice soon discovers that when we judge others, we often expose truths about ourselves.â - quote from the RQ site. â more evidence for the morse code and reshelve/discard thing
I do wonder if the heart-shaped rock will ever come up again. It crumbled to dust when Apprentice touched it, suggesting that it was very old, so probably not.Â
I do wonder to what extent the dust is sentient. Is it moving because it still has a âsoulâ or mind of its own, or because A is willing it to do these things? Or is it only the dust that came from A, and it is still connected to him in some way?
Edwin Peterson. He goes by many names (which ones and in what episodes can be found in my handy-dandy spreadsheet. Itâs even colour-coded!) But now we know what is him and what is not, at least. He is the Apprentice, first and foremost.
-> We also know why his eyes are different colours sometimes now! He wore contacts, and every new identity was something he made up to remain unknown.
I cannot get into the rest of the remnantsâ storyline right now though because it is not something that can be described fully in one sitting. Eventually I will maybeee make a timeline, but that is a job for another day.Â
This little remnant still bugs me. What does âthe markâ mean !!
I am so looking forward to the next season, because I guessed some things but not that ending let me tell you. I could write a whole other post about why I love this podcast so much and how itâs about topics that have fascinated me ever since I was a kid, but I will show restraint. I will just once again politely ask you all to go listen to it.
Before I even listened, I revisited the capitalised letters for the code of episodes 16-30 and realised some mistakes sneaked in. Thanks to this post right here (I was really impressed when I saw that), I was able to decode it too (and I guessed the last word correctly, proud of that, haha).
Anyway, you know the drill, spoilers under the cut:
IHI YMF AWY COJ QII NDL QAN PHFY YHZ KWI IWFA LHC DYI ASR KBW
"Is this how you break down a soul or is it how you build a God?"
I think I also cracked the last bits of the morse code:
RESHELVE OR DISCARD. THE QUESTION IS NOT WHAT IT MAY FIRST APPEAR TO BE IF INDEED IT APPEARS TO BE ANYTHING AFTER ALL WHAT CAN SUCH OF THIS THING BEHOLDING US
Thereâs just the question if the T and N of the capitalised letters from episodes 1-15 mean something that I have missed or if they are a red herring.
There are so many things I want to talk about, but I really donât want to be over the top with my long ass posts, so hereâs one of the things that got to me the most: it is repeatedly said that the Apprentice didnât want to be known by anyone and didnât even really know himself in combination with Sir repeatedly saying heâs not a thing that knows. Sir even hinted at that too.
Also the Apprentice saying he broke a God amused me.
I guess now the tables have turned, didnât they?
Good gods, I should study, instead I want to write an essay about the â¨themesâ¨
Image Description: there is a single digital illustration of Arthur Lester and John Doe in the midst of a fight with an unseen opponent. Arthur is wearing a decorative 13th(ish) century tunic with a tear in the chest and stomach. He is crouched clutching his wounds and looking up through his hair which has fallen across his face. His expression is determined and calculating. John is leaning over the top of him, arms either side of Arthur, bestial claws beared threateningly. His expression is a wild glare, sharp teeth grit into a snarl, eyes wide and processing their enemy. His tentacles are wiped up into a roiling frenzy as if trying to create a barrier between their opponent and Arthur.
âAinât nothinâ free. But Iâm a kind old soul. I wouldnât ask for nothinâ you couldnât afford to lose.â
The Stranger is one of many spirits who haunt the untamed frontier of the Skelter, an enigmatic gambler who offers aid to lost travelers - but always for a price.
Meet The Stranger, their steed Consequence, and many other bizarre residents of the Skelter in The Night Post - a queer fiction podcast about defying tradition, hope in the face of terror, and a land that loves you too much. Find us on your podcast app of choice!
UPDATE: I listened to Episode 29 âMothsâ of the Audio Drama âRemnantsâ
I canât believe that I was RIGHT! Not entirely, but for the most part (original rambling can be found here ). I am not surprised that I am this fond of Sir, I apparently collect eldritch beings like others collect stamps. Anyway. I cannot wait for next week.
As usual, spoilers under the cut (I apologise, I love theorising and talking about it)
So. Sir was unable to judge Edwin. When he confirmed that, I audibly gasped. Not only was I right about that, but also about the fact that it had happened for the first time.
The remnants, as the Apprentice sees them, are indeed a ârepresentation of a thing which mean the mostâ. It is interesting, that he sees himself as torn out pages - scattered, loose, not a whole thing but undeniably part of the same story; so many pages, so many names, so many lives. Fluttering, never standing still. It is so very fitting. Edwin wanted to be nothing so desperately, he became everything (this reminds me of a poem: Vultures are holy creatures. / Tending the dead. / Bowing low. / Bared head. / Whispers to cold flesh, âYour old name is not your king. I rename you âEverythingâ.â by The CryptoNaturalist on Twitter).
And Sir as a moth. Beautiful. Moths represent among other things transformation, the âdeathâ of an old thing and the rebirth of a new one. They are also often seen as messengers from the afterlife - standing in between somewhat, like Sir. Another thing I thought about when Sir said âEvery day I am less and more than I was. Less and more than I will beâ, was the paradox of Theseusâ ship, which questions identity over time: Is the ship that exists after the (complete) replacements the same ship as it was before the replacements? That isnât necessarily relevant, but it made me think of it regardless.
And donât get me started on the dust. Everytime it is mentioned, words are echoing in my mind: Erde zu Erde. Asche zu Asche. Staub zu Staub. - Earth to earth. Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. This is a phrase often used during burials in hope of reincarnation into eternal life. It represents the idea of: we come from earth, to earth we will return. Death and Rebirth. Discard and (Re)shelve.
Something I havenât figured out yet is the message of the capitalised letters from the Episodes 16 - 29. Maybe I need the ones from the upcoming Episode too - it was easier in the first half, not gonna lie.
Also, these questions still stand:
Who are you without your memories?
How will you judge others without a mask you can hide behind? (When Sir called the Apprentice a mask -)
Sir, how far will you push in your new found desperation?
Edwin, you have been so many other people, are you able to be yourself? (Do you even want to be?)
This killed me
âI will be a thing that chooses. And I will always choose you.â
Started a new Podcast!! âRemnantsâ an audio drama by Eira Major
To say I am invested would be an understatement. I absolutely love Sir, there I said it. And all the characters and storylines are so intriguing and once you think you have something figured out the podcast throws another curveball at you. And thereâs nothing more I love than a series that lets you theorise.
Spoilers under the cut!
So, you might have noticed the random capitalised letters in the Episode descriptions. I think I have figured out the first two messages up to Episode 15, but I have yet to make sense of everything that comes after. I tried to record the morse code and use an online decoder but that didnât work very well, then I found out that the morse code (I guess it is the same which can be heard at the end of the Episodes) can be found under ask and receive
At the moment, I do not have any theories about the characters the Apprentice reads the Remnants of, for this I need to listen again and listen more attentively or read the transcripts.
But then thereâs Sir. He is so interesting to me. And he seems, not sad, exactly. A tad bit desperate maybe. Sir repeatedly says he is not a thing that knows only a thing that processes. Doesnât he seem like he wants to be a thing that knows, though? I think Sir was, maybe for the first time, unsure if he should (re)shelf or discard someone.
Before I dive into that, something else: remnants are objects that hold memories of peopleâs lives, that is to say, in my humble opinion they are the embodiments of the souls that have lived those lives in form of objects that had a certain amount of significance during that lifetime. They are made tangible, like Sir does so he can touch the Apprentice.
I once had an interesting conversation about rebirth: they believe, that once you die, your soul arrives at, for lack of better wording, the âspiritâ realm, where it (the soul) processes the life lived (sounds familiar, right?) and studies the things it was meant to learn and experience while alive. And after some time (whatever time means for them) they might get to live another one. But, and hereâs the interesting part, not necessarily in what we call the future. The soul might get send to our past to live there. Time for them is not as straightforward as it is for us. My friend, who I had the conversation with, said the soul receives a life that is necessary to teach whatever it needs to learn next. I am talking about this, because something Sir said in Episode 28 reminded me of this: âIâm afraid they only lived the lives they lived. What is done is done. The past cannot be untangled.â The souls have lived those lives and it cannot be unmade, they have experienced what they needed to experience.
In this context (re)shelving means the souls get another turn at life and discard means they do not. If discarding means complete âdeathâ, whatever Death might be, or the souls are just done with this particular world and get scattered to somewhere else like dust in the wind is something I cannot answer. Especially because we know the Apprentice tries to find out on what criteria he has to judge the remnants and he once seemed to want them to label in a black and white scheme - have they lived an honest life; were they evil liars; etc etc, but thatâs not how Sir judges. He said in 28 that he would shelf them all if he could, but that is not how it works.
That brings me back to my first point: Sir was not sure how he should judge Edwin and thus made him his Apprentice to get more time, to see more of his character, to learn about this soul that played a part in so many other stories, but it somehow escalated and Sir grew more and more curios and thus attached. He seems to care about his Apprentice like a person cares about their favourite pet, and I do not mean this in a degrading way, but in the way you love this little creature you share a home with to bits but you are not the same. Sir seems to me like he got the taste of deeper knowledge (in this case about the Apprentice and his opinions and actions and whatever is happening with him at the moment) and experiments to acquire even more information. Itâs not about Edwinâs fate anymore, at least not solely.
Who are you without your memories? Who are you without your experiences? Are you still you? Is this who you are in your very essence? How would you judge others without a mask you can hide behind? How would you judge other people when all you know about yourself is what you carry in your heart, in your gut? How would you judge yourself without knowing it is you? Is this why Sir shows the Apprentice only remnants about people that are tangled with his own? Sir wanted the Apprenticeâs judgement of himself because he himself was unable to decide. But now he refuses to let him go. Sir, you have already decided but are undeniably tangled with your Apprentice, how far will you push in your curiosity?
Edwin Peterson, you have been so many other people, you have barely been yourself.
Isnât this lifeâs greatest lesson - to be unapologetically yourself?
Please, does this make any sense at all? Did I hit any mark?
u ever have on mutuals whos so deep in another fandom that u know absolutely zero about and they make posts that look like they speaking another language or some shit
i really appreciate the number of mutuals who are not in any of my fandoms sharing this post. its like a little hello nod as we pass each other in the hall
origamiaround
kianamaiart
yousharknotpass
blakekathryn
snowghoul
ellievsbear
