Welcome to Fear Coded, a podcast where we talk about media from the horror genre and take a queer reading of a single book, video game, film, podcast, horror TV show to explore just how queer horror can be.

Today we continue to sit at the Kids Table, a month dedicated to kid friendly horror as we feast upon 1994's The Tale of the Dangerous Soup.

The Season 3 episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?

I'm Tyler.

I'm David.

I'm Marilee.

And I'm Katie, That's right.

We couldn't handle all of these dangerous soup orders alone and needed to bring in some help, so thankfully, Katie from the Novel Gaming podcast has swooped in to assist Katie for the first time ever.

Welcome to Fear Coded.

Thank you so much.

I'm really excited to be here with y'all, you know, on Novel Gaming, a podcast I do on Glitter Jaw, we sometimes read some horror or sometimes play some horror games and I'm not great at them always.

So I'm very happy to be invited to the kids table for this.

Katie, you know, I just listened to your Dear Mothman episode and yeah, I know you were talking about like, there's, there's horror, but it's also quite like emotionally like gripping and, and yeah, you just want to like, hug the main character.

And it's like, oh, that.

That was such a wonderful episode.

And I'm like a huge Mothman fan.

Marilee can also attest that we are such huge Mothman fans here.

So getting to hear you all talk about Dear Mothman, it's such a wonderful book was so wonderful.

So everyone, please go listen to Novel Gaming.

Yeah, especially the Dear Mothman episode.

It was beautiful.

It really was like I, I, I did the thing we kind of were talking about a little bit before record, like I listened to you guys talk.

I paused.

It was like, OK, I gotta go read this book.

And then I did and I circled back around.

It just was such a beautiful conversation about a really wonderful book and I just enjoyed it so.

Much that makes me so happy to hear and yes, like that book is such a standout and I don't know, talking about it.

The books, I mean, I like talking about all books, but the books that like bring up emotion because it doesn't always happen when you're reading, at least for me.

So having that is really special.

And being able to get like Vicki and Doug to partake and talk about it and then to hear y'all doing it too.

Very sweet, very amazing.

Now, Katie, I'm going to let you know this is some David lore here.

My first exposure to you, Katie, was not from Novel Gaming.

I heard you as a guest on The Last of Us episode, a long, long time yes on gimmicks.

And I was like, well, I've got to go check this out.

And that made me a super fan of novel gaming.

So I you know, throughout my entire glitter jaw history, I have done my darndest to listen to everything Doug and Derek make without listening to walloping web snappers.

For the longest time.

I just came so securitiously secure.

Whatever a roundabout way of coming to all of this wonderful media, but I was obsessed.

You all do these wonderful gaming episodes to talk about videos in some other ways that we have.

We've shouted you out when you all talked about Gone Home, you know, quite a while before we ended up talking about the podcast.

And I've got to say, Katie, you're the kind of gamer I wish that I was.

Oh no.

What does that mean?

Well, the actual, the actual gamer I am is Vicky I, I'm here for.

I'm here for an achievement.

I'm not here.

I'm not here for a good time.

I'm here to turn video games into work.

Thank you very much.

Actually, I was recently listening to your Until Dawn episode and that came through very strongly, yeah.

Yeah, but every time Katie expresses joy about a video game, I'm like, David, you could be like this.

You could be happy playing games.

But then.

We get joy in different ways.

We get joy in different ways.

OK this.

Explains a lot about the episodes we've recorded on video games, David.

Yes, absolutely incredible.

I I also love all the lists you all have done over the.

Years.

Oh my God, if anyone Your List episodes are some of my favorite podcasts that I've ever heard.

They're so fun.

If Novel Gaming is brand new to any of you listeners, The List episodes are some of the greatest places to get started because it is a very low threshold for entry.

You can get right in there and enjoy what Katie, Doug and Vicki are talking about.

And it is.

It is a great time and maybe it will set you up for success with other things in the backlog.

Yeah, I, I think the first novel gaming episode that I listened to was your first episode on the the backlog challenge where you guys were like setting up the rules and stuff.

And that's also, I think, a really great place to start.

Yeah, y'all are so kind One, thank you for listening to thank you for being willing to shout stuff out on those things.

Like normally when we do book club episodes or game club episodes, we end up spoiling.

So a lot of the times when we do the lists or the challenges, we keep it much kind of broader, not spoilery.

So if you want to hear about video games, but not hear the details and spoilers about video games, those are great places and we always welcome folks to join in with us on challenges whatever time you start or want that backlog challenge has truly changed the way I game Still I'm I'm much less like let me buy everything right now.

So it's got some staying power, at least for me, it's.

Wonderful.

I love that.

Yeah.

Well we want to thank all the bats in our belfry for being part of our amazing community by supporting our Fierco de Patreon.

Thank you to Will, Knight of Cups, Doug, Jacob, Alyssa, Blake, Puckish, Rogue, Tyler, Derek and Maureen.

Now before I start banning the pots and pans, I want to check in with my Co host and our guests to see how things are going for them in the landscape of horrors that our real world has to offer.

What are y'all reading, watching, playing or thinking about?

Wait, no that's not right.

That's novel gaming in the landscape of horrors that our real world has to offer.

What's making you scared or prepared?

Katie, as our guest, I'd love to start with you.

Yeah, and I am going to say I'm feeling prepared today.

Yeah, starting off strong, but no pressure to any who follow.

And part of why I'm feeling prepared is because I truly love fall autumnal seasons.

And I mean, we watched an episode about soup and I literally like the past couple days, made my first soup of the season.

So I am prepared for soup season and to keep it strong now that temperatures are getting a little more chilly.

Katie, I got to know.

I got to know what was the soup.

Yes, it's I made a crock pot like veggie.

All my soups really turn into stews because I always put too many ingredients in.

So it's really like more like a Stew, but it's just like a veggie.

It's got some potatoes, some peas, some corn, some carrots, some celery, basically whatever I had.

Let's dump it in and put some seasoning on there.

Delicious.

Incredible.

Incredible.

It's so autumnal.

That is fantastic.

Oh, I.

Love that I was getting into character for this this episode.

Was it a safe soup though?

Or was it a dangerous soup?

This one was safe unfortunately.

I would love to try a a dangerous soup.

Maybe if I let it sit out a little bit longer it would have turned a little dangerous, but I caught it before it turned itself off.

Fair enough.

Oh my God.

Katie, do you mess with chili at all?

Like a like a vegan chili?

Would you?

Would you make as part of soup season?

Absolutely, I love a chili and definitely going to get that.

I feel like chili I more the deeper I get.

I don't know how y'all feel about soup seasons and stuff.

The deeper I get into soup season, the more I'm likely to do a chili because it's just like partier, you know, warmer.

Katie, I think I'm our unofficial fear coded soup correspondent, so I'm all about these soup recipes.

If you have any, please send them to me because I am dying, itching to use my crockpot.

Yeah.

Oh hell yeah, sweetheart.

It has not been cold enough in Texas to to really do chili.

Like, I obviously broke it out and made a Halloween chili because that's the weird tradition that I have now.

Yeah.

But like, it's just it's still too hot to really enjoy a soup.

And that is breaking my heart because I love a soup.

Yeah, do you ever?

This is a weird thing.

You ever do the cold soup?

The gazpacho.

Gazpacho, there it is.

Yeah, here's the thing.

I well, have I made myself a gazpacho?

No.

Do I buy spicy V8 and say yes, I'm drinking a gazpacho?

Yes, I do.

Oh.

My God.

Amazing.

Genius.

Amazing.

Where do you where do you land on this Kitty?

Are you a gazpacho fan or do you like a cold soup?

So I I've never had gazpacho like actually but for a long.

Time V8 because it's the same thing.

I have had V8 so I guess I have had gazpacho.

I just didn't see it that way, you know?

They just gazpacho in a bottle and just call it V8.

That's.

Incredible.

Well, This is why I was asking because here, you know, when I go to the grocery store here in Spain, there are there are only three types of cereal I can buy, but there is an entire aisle of of pre made gazpacho in cartoons ready to purchase.

And it is, it is a very standard thing to eat as part of a meal, very rarely as a full meal by itself.

And let me tell you, these things be very wildly.

There have been some that taste like fish.

There are some they have like a seafood component to them.

It is incredible.

And it's hard for me to find the right one because what I want is V8 merrily.

What I want?

What I want is Mr.

T's Bloody Mary mix, but what I am getting are these sort of bizarre concoctions, a lot of things with cream already in them, and I think finding one without cream would also benefit my search.

Interesting, I will say the best gazpacho I ever had.

It was like part of a set menu.

I was at at a restaurant once and they had as an appetizer it was a spicy like a jalapeno, watermelon, gazpacho.

And I don't really like watermelon but like the mix of the tomato, the watermelon and the jalapeno.

And just like this icy cold soup it was, I dream about that soup regularly.

Yeah.

That sounds that was a dangerous soup.

It was a dangerous soup to me because I'll never have it again because it was part of a set menu at a restaurant that I had like five years ago.

Only one taste per your life.

Yeah, exactly.

Yeah, that's Katie.

Not only am I delighted that you're prepared, but I am delighted that someone else in this podcast is prepared about food because normally that is that is what I have to do.

And today is no different.

I come prepared and it's food related.

So put another put another notch on the headboard for your coded listeners.

David talks about being prepared because of food.

But but listen, this one's serious.

It's a it's a big deal.

It's potato related.

Woo Hoo.

OK, see, I've already got your attention, but it gets better.

We have been going to a local bar which is called El Salon.

It's a lot of fun and the proprietor has scored a very specific type of potato that he uses to not make patatas bravas, which are the common fried potato covered with Brava sauce, which is a combination of spicy tomato and like a mayonnaise dressing.

And instead he is making patatas bravas with tater tots and because of our friendship, he has agreed to let us order tater tots alongside his order so that we can have them at our home because otherwise they are unattainable.

Oh my God, where does he get them?

Wow.

He gets them from a special like, I mean, like, like meal, like restaurants order meal or order food from other places.

And this was in their catalog.

And he was like, I want these.

And the guy was like, nobody orders these.

And he's like, yeah, but that's.

Why I want them?

Wow, incredible.

I am now feeling prepared myself because I I'm really excited to eat some food afterwards.

I'm recording like you, I, I was.

I've eaten a protein bar and a fiber bar today and now I'm just thinking, my God, nothing sounds better than like a big soup or a bunch of potatoes.

So I'm going to be getting myself either a big soup or a bunch of potatoes when we're done here.

That's incredible.

Because of that.

Tyler is is your actual answer prepared You know this is important.

We keep stats on this stuff.

Are you?

Do we actually sway you into preparedness over the idea that food is soon to come?

Yes, I was initially prepared because I was like, OK, I'm trying out a video game.

It's like in just like the trial period this weekend and it's pretty fun.

It's called Arc Raiders.

It's something I've never really played before.

It's like an extraction shooter, I think.

And like basically you go in and you just take stuff that you try to escape, but there's other players and then environmental enemies that are like robots or whatever that are trying to kill you and steal your stuff.

So it's a little bit like it's a little stealthy, but I also found it like kind of meditative as well, just going solo and running through like a desert area.

That's like actually very beautifully done.

But that is no longer why I'm prepared.

I'm instead prepared because I'm really excited to eat some soup.

I'm yeah, I'm, I, I, I said it before, I'm getting over a cold right now.

I actually have not had a single.

No, this is a lie.

I had two wonton soups.

But I want like a real like Hardy Stew.

I'm craving like a Stew baby.

So you know soup is.

Important for your health.

Yeah, I totally agree with you so.

Listen, soup heals not only the body but the soul, and we all know this.

We do, we do merrily.

The stakes are high.

Coming into this question today.

Are you feeling scared or prepared?

I'm trying really fast to think of a prepared because I was.

No, I just bring it bring.

It.

Bring it.

Bring the fear.

Bring the fear.

OK, yeah, just not to combo break or two episodes in a row, but I'm feeling really scared today.

Why?

What is bringing you to the scared space today?

Merrily.

I have had a really stressful week and like the part of the the because I've been so stressed and I've got so much stuff going on.

It's not a migraine thank God, but like I've had a low grade headache for like 2 days now and it's fucking killing me.

And I just like I took some more Tylenol right before we started to record and like it's fine.

Like it's I'm starting to beginning to feel a little bit of relief from that.

But like I don't know if I've just dehydrated it's attention because I'm like so stressed or like what is going on but I simply hate this.

Yeah, yeah, that sucks.

I do not blame you merrily.

Like we talked about this in in our fear coded discord, but we have been beset by malady.

It's like truly.

Yeah, for this past week.

And then you and I both had to do the notes while we were beset by maladies.

Is it?

It's just like, you know what?

That's the way the the the.

Cold headache season.

Rolls Yeah, David was over here just being like I'm drawing my little drawings.

I got nothing to do this week for fear.

Coded.

Feeling great, Feeling great.

Not a worry in the world.

I.

Love this week, David.

You deserve that like.

Yeah, you do.

You're you're normally the one that's be set by maladies or some other trauma.

And then Marilyn are just like Doo Doo Doo gonna write out the notes for, you know, Terrifier 2 or whatever.

Oh.

My God, thank God I didn't have imagine if I'd already having a bad week and then I had to do terrifier fucking two.

Well.

Think.

Of course, I picked the notes that David wrote when I'm coming up with an example.

So yeah, probably not the best.

So that was that was a well deserved punishment.

That was self flagellation in in the highest degree.

If I was going to pick that film, I should, I should have been the one to have to do the notes.

I understand, Yeah.

But it's just been a real bummer for me personally and I'm looking forward to any of all of the maladies that have been besetting me just chilling, calming down for like 5 minutes.

That'd be great for.

Real.

Yeah, yeah, I hope you can rest up and or watch some fun things to get your minds off of stuff.

Yeah, fingers crossed.

And hydration, hydration, hydration because today we are talking about a liquid.

We are talking about the episode The Tale of the Dangerous Soup from Are You Afraid of the Dark?

This is our first time digging into the show, which may or may not have mildly traumatized in generation of people.

Are You Afraid of the Dark started off as a Canadian anthology horror show for children.

What a terrifying sentence to read, but was televised in the United States by Nickelodeon.

The central conceit is that a group of kids and teens called the Midnight Society gather around a campfire to tell scary stories, which are then displayed for the audience to watch along.

The tale of the Dangerous soup is the 13th episode of season 3, which was also the season 3 finale.

The.

This doctor vink is a recurring character, having appeared in multiple episodes of the series.

A recurring character in an anthology before American Horror Story.

Eat your heart out, Ryan Murphy.

This episode also features a young Neph Campbell who we know from Scream.

You are a long way from home, Sydney.

So what's your experience with A Tale of the Dangerous soup?

And are you afraid of the dark in general?

Haiti, as our guest, let's start with you.

Yeah, so I definitely watched Are You Afraid of the Dark as a child.

There's one episode that I still remember.

It was about like a dead kid.

I think it was literally called Frozen Ghost.

And he just like, says I'm cold.

And that has like stuck with me forever.

And so definitely strong memories I had not thought really of are you afraid of the dark?

Probably purposefully until y'all like brought this up.

And then once I started watching like so many things were flooding back to me of like watching this but feeling afraid and not wanting to but kind of liking it.

And then again the frozen frozen ghost child coming up.

So I, I watched it, I enjoyed it and it makes me want to watch more of them again because I did not I watched a lot of it.

I don't remember for the dangerous soup, so this was either new or just gone out of my head and felt like new, yeah.

It's I love the way you describe watching Are You Afraid of the Dark, Katie?

Because that is like you've put into words the exact feeling I had watching Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Where it's like, I don't know if I want to watch this, but I also kind of do.

But it's also kind of scary.

Personally, the episode that traumatized me was the monster in the pool.

Yeah.

There's some sort of horrible like swamp creature or something in in the swimming pool.

And then whenever I watched it, I just happened to be like, at the beach that weekend.

The terrible.

Timing.

Terrible, terrible timing.

Oh my goodness, what?

About the rest of you.

Yeah, Merrily.

What's your what's your history with this?

I don't.

I don't think I know.

This so I love this show as a kid very much.

That same experience where like I was scared of it, but like I I it was the kind of scared that you were enticed by and I didn't think I remember this episode like when David was like, who picked this?

Who put it on the schedule?

It was like dangerous soup.

I wonder what that is.

But the this is a real true fact.

The second the episode opened with the gargoyle in like that, like the seeming fog, it all came flooding back to me like this.

The image of the gargoyle in the fog.

I kind of, I think I thought it was took place in like a skyscraper or something.

I don't know what I thought was going on but like I remembered that visual.

Remembered this episode and that was really fun to like rediscover this hidden memory that I didn't realize that I was had been carrying.

That's so cool.

That is very cool.

David, what about you?

Well, this this was a David Pick.

I thought when we were sort of constructing the kids horror of it all, I really wanted to feature this because I didn't want to watch this at all.

But God bless Nickelodeon marketing.

It said if you want to be a cool teenager, you're going to watch our entire 2 hour block of programming.

And so I was snick committed from day one.

And that block ended with are you afraid of the dark?

So I believe that I have seen every episode of this as a child.

Wow.

I know that I have rewatched them as an adult because we got a totally legal copy of all of them in college and shared them on a totally legal network that we set up with everyone who had Max in college because they had some weird networking feature that PCs couldn't understand and the university couldn't regulate.

And so this was among the shows that we, we, we pirated, I guess, essentially to share with each other and then we would all talk about them.

And this was a pretty incredible experience to go through them as a young adult as well.

There are a lot that stick out with me.

One of them is the night nurse because she is using needles the whole time.

She's really scary and kind of sexy.

So I don't know, there's a lot, there's a lot that's working here, but I, I was snick from Clarissa all the way to RE Friend of the Dark every single Saturday night.

I think I was too, now that you mentioned it, I was obviously a lot younger because I think that Snick programming block was maybe like the mid 90s.

Yes.

But I do have strong memories of watching, like starting off with Clarissa, there's the orange couch on the TV that we get Keenan and Kel at some point, and then Are You Afraid of the Dark wraps the whole thing up.

Yeah, I had pretty strict amounts of like television that I could watch as a kid, so I definitely didn't watch the whole snick block, but I definitely have watched at least some of all of the shows that you've mentioned.

Yeah, God, I just, I just had a horrifying memory of Cousin Skeeter.

Yes, wow, wow.

Talk about talk about fear coded.

Listen, I didn't want to watch Scary Things, but I didn't want to watch kids break dancing either.

But I was committed and I had to watch Roundhouse, and then I had to watch Ren and Stimpy, and then I had to watch that Nickelodeon told me how to be a teenager.

Yeah, that's a treasure.

You the dedication.

Yeah, the other reasons that I wanted to choose this one because it is about fear itself and Tyler will end up talking a little about that in the but I wanted to pick there a lot of people got their start on Nickelodeon television programming.

And so I wanted to get an episode where there was somebody before they were famous.

And this is a pre very, very close to, but a pre party of five, Neve Campbell.

And wow, she's a good actor compared to everyone.

Else here.

Oh yeah, no.

Immediately you could tell that she's got star potential and like, I love that.

What's crazy though is it's still just like she's still rough around the edges, but you can like see it.

Yes, yeah, yeah, I loved that.

What's crazy too is I was going to say when I was doing my research for this, for this episode, I forgot that in 1999, like I think probably near the end of the year, Nickelodeon had a programming block on called Nick Knew them When and they would show old episodes of Nickelodeon shows that had special guest stars or just actors that became big household names like Neve Campbell.

And this was one of the episodes that showed up.

And I actually, I remember watching that programming block back in 1999.

Yeah, that's amazing.

That's.

Awesome.

That's wild and.

Then the other thing that I really wanted, if I could get it, was was Doctor Vink and to to get an episode that had everything going for it really delivered for me.

Yeah, the cast in this was fun and I'm excited to talk with you all about everything that happens and what they look like and all that sort of stuff.

Neve Campbell was such a surprise and was such a fun thing to like, pop open and then have Neve Campbell and then Dr.

Vink, who is such a character.

Great selection did.

Yeah.

Real, real winner here, David.

Did any of you remember Doctor Vink from another episode?

No, I I knew that he was a character because in the description on Paramount, it said Doctor Vink returns.

Yeah.

And, and just as a fun note, you guys talk about this as being like the last episode of season 3 on Paramount Plus.

This they do list this as the fifth episode of season 4, by the way.

Get out of.

There, get out of here.

Get out of here with that nonsense.

So on, man.

So Vinc was in the pilot I guess is is his sort of structure.

He actually is only in 4 episodes so he recurs, but it's not as frequent as maybe you might think.

It's like once a season for the first Four Seasons.

But his his standards, which you get to see in this is replying.

I'm not a nut job to which he usually has the call and repeat of somebody calling him a nut job here.

He just sort of adverts it and then people mispronouncing his name as Fink.

Yeah, there was.

Yeah.

Yeah, the the tough guy in this episode did call him a nut job, whispered it.

He called him a nut bag.

Oh, nut bag.

Yeah, close but not.

It's difficult to remember all the nut insults from the 90s.

There were just we, we were really obsessed with nuts back then, Which.

Nothing's changed.

Nothing.

'S changed.

We all know what.

You know what?

I'm not even going to go there.

Yep.

I was going to let that ball go right across the plate.

That's a strike and I don't mind.

Well, before we descend too far into nutting, let's go ahead and talk about our themes.

Oh no.

Yes, yes, Tyler has been on fire today.

It's.

Cold, man.

Maybe it's the sickness.

It's like that, I don't even know.

You wanna get down with the sickness?

Down with the.

Sickness.

Well, no.

I want to get down with our theme.

So our first theme is going to be Fear Itself.

We're no stranger to fear.

It's kind of our theme here on Fear Coded.

And this year we got to watch the clownish embodiment of fear in Star Trek Voyagers.

The Thaw.

This time a gargoyle makes us see and believe the thing that we fear most is before us.

The through line lesson in this episode is the importance of facing one's fears.

That's really important for kids to learn.

They're encountering lots of new things for the first time and the world is confusing.

Not everyone in it as as nice as they seem.

And yeah, there's people out there who want to hurt you, but we have to face what scares us.

We see how small the thing we fear is when we confront it.

As adults, especially queer adults, we still, we still deal with fear.

It's not always snakes, and hopefully it's never a giant axe blade swaying above us, but we have to deal with other fears.

Watching children's horror is a healthy way for us to remind ourselves that fear is important, but it's not something that owns us.

So I feel like our tough guy Reed is is kind of like our queer hero in this story.

He's someone who is a loner and an outcast.

No one really interacts with him except for Nani Nev Campbell's character.

But a big part of his character details is that he is not afraid of Doctor Vink and he doesn't see what the big deal is.

Eventually he finds out that and we find out that his fear is actually very, very real.

And it's a very real world fear.

It's not snakes and knives.

It's it's an abusive family member.

And I think for Are You Afraid of the Dark to go there, even in like kind of like a kid friendly veneer is really important for the audience because, you know, there's kids out there who do have abusive family members.

And it's good to have representation to show like, how do we feel in our different relationships that we don't fully understand or are different and affectionate and caring or fraught and strenuous in another?

I think good children's television does a great job of representing that and explaining it.

And I think this is an episode that does a pretty solid job of it.

Yeah, really.

Nicely said.

Beautiful Tyler.

Yeah.

Oh my God, thank you.

Yeah, I, I mean, I, there's not a lot for me to add except to say that are you afraid of the dark?

It does work as a morality play very often it does put a little bit of this in.

But I think that here what we're doing is not necessarily expecting there to be just lesson learn, lesson learn, lesson learn.

But instead we are, we are doing this sort of like the only thing to fear is fear itself.

And we're we're building on that with some truly horrifying visuals.

I mean, we are spending some money on snakes.

We have set up this scene with the guillotine or the swinging blade, whatever that is called, not a guillotine pendulum.

Thank.

You pendulum, a sharp pendulum, a spooky pendulum, and the terrifying images I think really end up selling this.

Maybe nobody's in actual danger, but the feeling that we get is that the danger is there.

And then that sort of wraps itself up with the the Wrap around story as well.

Which I I thought was so neat.

I, that was always my favorite part of Afraid of Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Was the campfire scenes.

And I like how this one bookends so, so well.

Yeah, listen, I'm going to say something.

Maybe this is universal, maybe it isn't.

I wanted to be a member of the Midnight Society so fucking bad when I was a kid.

Right?

Like, yeah, totally.

No, thank you.

Well, that's why I love, well, that's why I love getting to talk about horror with you all is that it feels like it is our own midnight society.

Like we do get to talk about like we share scary anecdotes, we talk about scary stories and then we and then we, you know, tear them apart or talk about how great they are and we look for the queerness in them.

And I think that's so cool.

So I like to think that we are our own sort of midnight Society of queer people.

Yeah, probably more like a noon, though, because we're mostly asleep at midnight.

Oh yeah.

For.

Sure.

Society, yeah.

The 3:00 PM Society.

And I, I feel like, I feel like we're the cast of all that because I'm just here for bits.

Well, David, I'm I'm glad that you can share that with us and, and admit that you need help because that's clearly what the theme is here, which is our next theme.

The hardest thing to do.

Reid, the male half of our dual protagonist, is a loner.

He grew up without his parents is was instead raised by his cruel uncle who eventually died.

It's easy to infer that Reid is more or less a drifter, and Reid admits to Nani that this has made it difficult to ask for help.

Nani is the only person he grows close to, and their friendship allows them to survive.

Question mark, their encounter with the gargoyle and Dr.

Vink.

I personally really struggle to ask for help.

I feel like a bother and at the end of the day, I'd rather make myself suffer than dare inconvenience someone.

Watching this episode felt like a bull's eye to my brain.

Thank you for that David.

And I could see my unwillingness to ask for help in Reed.

Much like Reed, though, finding friends and family who never make you feel like a inconvenience and are always available to help makes me feel more willing to reach out.

And beautiful, Tyler.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Yeah, no, I, I really, really loved this episode.

Like, it was actually kind of funny because when I first watched it, I had the windows open and I just went like, wow, this is a really great episode.

Just to myself as my neighbor walks by walking their dog.

Yeah, this is not the first time this has happened.

I keep embarrassing myself in front of my neighbor Tyler, just in the comfort of my own home.

Absolutely.

Guerrilla Marketing the podcast.

I love that.

I just have to be like, wow, this.

It was a really good episode that I will talk about on Fear Code at a podcast part of the Glitter Jaw Podcast Collector.

Yes.

What did you all think about this this though like.

I was just going to say, not embarrassing yourself, but if I heard my neighbor talking about TV shows, that would then give me something to talk to them about.

So I was going to feel like you're building community.

You know.

Oh, interesting.

OK, I like the I like the flip around.

See, I'm I'm unintentionally asking for help from you and I don't feel like a bother doing so Good.

Yeah, but but I think this is also, this is like another important lesson for kids to learn because I think if I had been told this much younger, I would have stuck with me better.

But I think the show doesn't like this particular episode.

It kind of loses this theme like once the gargoyle gets out, which is like, whatever, it's OK.

But I still think that this is like a really important lesson for kids to learn is that it's OK to ask for help.

Especially like I know this was filmed in Canada so it's based in Canada, but I think American kids are often taught not to ask for help.

Yes just because you are.

You are supposed to have like a buy your own bootstraps mentality even as a child.

So I think something like this is another really great idea for to show to children that it's OK.

Yeah, and especially to have, like, read, write this cool boy, teen or young adult, do the asking because masculinity, even more than, you know, like Americanness, American masculinity tells you you don't ask for help.

Your abusive uncle just got to deal with it and silence never, never, you know, confront it, never think about it, just kind of keep moving on and, you know, read kind of talks about how isolated he's been.

And you know, we see that with folks who get flavors of toxic masculinity, the isolation.

So I feel like there was something really cool around masculinity in this as well.

Absolutely.

What a wonderful call out.

Yeah.

And you know, like I do think whether or not we're supposed to read Nani and Reed's relationship is like pre romance, like the fact that he does end up like asking a girl for help and like being able to receive that help in emotional place, I do think is also like a very anti toxic masculinity thing to be doing.

Totally, totally, totally, totally.

I love that.

And because you all haven't watched every episode of the series as recently as I have, I will just tell you there are not a lot of story characters who are late teen at maybe early adults.

It is more typical for the people who are in the scenario to be children that are more recognizable as children.

So Reed and Nani are pretty old.

I mean, they have like jobs.

So I, I, I really kind of love that.

And you need it to happen for the story, obviously.

And they never, they never sort of make people children who shouldn't be children, but it is sort of, it does stand out from other Are You Afraid of the Dark episodes, which is, is kind of cool.

But I, I love that they're working together.

I wish that they had both unionized and fought for better benefits.

Like I know the real horror is the minimum below minimum wage they're getting for all they're going through.

Yeah, and you know that he's paying below minimum wage and he's charging $200 a plate of soup, like.

Gosh, I know.

It's insane.

Yeah, I, I looked up how much money that soup would cost now and it, it, it that soup that was 100 of the story is almost $200 now.

Oh, I got.

I got, I got, I got soup facts for you here in a bit.

Don't worry about it, Tyler.

I got you.

I got you.

I was, I read that I was reading ahead, I saw David's note.

I'm so excited to talk about this.

Yes, but but that, you know, OK, well, this.

Yeah.

The story is about capitalism.

So is it horror?

Yes.

We can just move on.

No, no, no, we can't move on.

Just because Ronald Reagan's here doesn't mean we can move on.

But of course of everything that we consider for the podcast, we ask 2 questions.

The first of which is, is it horror?

Were you scared when watching this?

Does this belong in our conversation about horror?

Katie, you've got plenty of experience with horror in in your work at Novel Gaming.

Did you feel like this belonged in the horror context?

Yeah, I, I mean, it's literally about fear.

So yes.

And it was interesting to write the different fears that everybody talks about at the start and then the fears that we see and the ways they plant those seeds.

And then the like, as Tyler talked about the like real life trauma, fear of like an abusive family member, all that shit is horrifying.

So I'm definitely, plus they had some fun visuals that were like definitely setting the atmosphere to be scary.

So yeah, I'm definitely team horror.

Yeah, you're Speaking of, of, of scary visuals.

Like given the way that smoky gargoyle has lived rent free in my brain for decades, I assume this must have scared me a lot as a kid.

So I, I can think of no greater, you know, signpost of yes, this is horror.

One, along with Tager's performance as Vinc saying it knows what scares you every time was so good.

Delicious.

I actually found myself saying it as like a vocal tick afterwards and I just kept on ramping up the intensity of the.

Hell yeah.

Because I was getting high off of Nyquil.

I love that.

I love you just looking at your partner and then there's some inanimate object and you point out and go knows what scares you.

I'm going to start doing that please.

Do sure, Marshall will love that.

But yes, I also found this to be quite the frightening episode.

And that was one of the reasons why I exclaimed how good it was because there's some actually scary stuff that happens to these young adults that I'm glad it's not children that are going through.

It definitely have been too intense for like a 12 year old to go through what they went through.

Yeah.

So really, really interesting episode.

I think probably one of the stand out Are you afraid of the dark episodes, if I'm being honest, Like this is really up there.

And frankly, when David mentioned that this was an episode about soup, I thought, OK, well, I guess we're this is one that we're just gonna have to get through The No, truly, it was it was great.

Yeah, yeah, You know, of course the the ghastly Grinner was on my mind.

We talked about that when we talked about I saw the TV glow with Katie's ghost Doug, But I do.

By the way.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I would have loved to have exposed you all to the ghastly grinner who was scary.

I just think that for queer conversations, especially this one, this one's going to give us some mileage, I think.

But the last thing I'll say about horror before I deprive Merrily of an incredible transition was that the sound?

Now that I do TV podcasting, I will say I noticed things that I didn't used to notice.

Editing is a big one.

We've talked about that and the incredible influence that Gavin has had over my life, but sound design is another thing that I find myself noticing more and more when it capital W works.

Wow.

We would pair a Tager line reading with a with a great musical cue to really drive up that scare factor and it was incredible.

It really was well, listen, horror pish posh.

To be on this podcast, you have to be more than scary.

You have to be queer.

So let's discuss this episode in concepts of queer theory.

Do we think A Tale of the Dangerous Soup works as a with a queer reading?

I could start us off.

Oh, actually, I was going to say merely your note is like amazing.

So actually if you start that would be perfect.

OK great so listen here's the thing I'm always going to say something is queer.

I will try and find a reading no matter where we go.

I did not have to reach far for this one because personally I think trauma bonding with your Co workers at a shitty job is a queer lived experience and we claim that.

Oh boy boy, howdy.

Yeah.

Does that, does that resonate for you, Katie?

Do you, do you, do you feel some vibes in?

That I mean, absolutely right.

Like, because not only and they didn't, we didn't get to see this as much, but it like, you know, having a shitty job, complaining and talking about all that's going on, but then also talking shit.

I wish there was a little more talking shit about your boss because that's always fun and a shitty job to do.

But absolutely.

And that's that's how you sometimes find other queer people's by how you talk about what's going on.

And so that is so true.

Yeah.

That fascinated.

I would have loved Nef Campbell being about nanny, just throw a little bit more shade because I think she had it.

She had the capacity.

It was definitely it was definitely there in Pariah 5.

So I know that I know it's built in her toolbox and I would have loved to seen that deployed in this.

Unfortunately, or I mean, it's fortunate because it's an iconic line and it's a great thing to give to a guest star.

She does the correction on think to Vinc with a that would have been a fun moment for shade, but she got to do the iconic line read and so it's it's hard to give that up, you know?

Yeah, plus they're still meeting each other in that moment, so you're still kind of like feeling out.

What's the vibe gonna be?

So you don't want to give it all away at first, you know, Is it?

Safe interview when when she mentions that and it's like as much as you might hate your boss, you don't want to talk shit during the interview.

That's it, You still hear them.

Yeah.

You still need the Co worker and then you talk shit after.

You took them into working.

And then I don't remember when this happens in the episode, but at one point in time, Reed says I've I've always had to do things on my own and I'm not used to doing things on my own.

It's this whole little speech that he gives to Nani is like a coming out speech.

It it it does not feel like a stretch to get to.

And then for a little less levity.

I I do think an abusive family member, whether that abuse was physical or emotional, is a very queer lived experience or the fear of that being part of our family relationships is a very queer lived experience that we felt like we had.

We were ourselves.

We might be subject to violence and so I think the inclusion of the UNCLE contributes to our queer reading of this media.

Especially because there is the threat of violence when the uncle reanimates.

Like he.

Read by the sure Caller and I can imagine being a small child and having that kind of experience, it would be horrifying.

No wonder Reed is so haunted when he walks into the wild War restaurant.

Like this really does feel like a very queer episode.

And it's it's an interesting contrast because in our previous episode we talked about over the Garden wall and we talked about how, you know, Cartoon Network during the time that it was being produced was very much of an anti queer tirade in the pursuit of money.

And, you know, going back 10 years, because this is literally 10 years before over the garden wall premieres and we're allowed to have those kinds of like illusions.

And excuse me, 20 years, 20 years.

My God.

God, the passage of time.

Sorry, sorry, Tyler.

You're scared now not prepare.

And now I'm scared because I'm old.

But yeah, no, I feel like it's really nice and fascinating to see that we are allowing more opportunities for queer theory and analysis and representation, even if it is our own inference onto a character that as time progresses, we have like an interesting period where it's like, yeah, let's have more queer.

And then it's the flip.

Yeah.

And that is definitely an unfortunate part of the passage of time, but it does make this show still resonate even 20 years after the fact.

Isn't it, isn't it wild Tyler, that we are talking about a space of 20 years from now?

And in, in that period of time, I think what's happened is that the idea of sort of censoring speech has become more sophisticated.

Like, we know your little tricks.

You haze code naughty boys.

We're gonna, we're gonna root all that out in Adventure Time.

We're not gonna let Princess bubble gum be like queer as fuck like she should be.

We, we know what you're trying to do because we're not rubes anymore.

And so then queer people, we have to become more creative at, at like tricking straight people into letting our stories get to air.

And it is it that that I don't think is what's interesting about the 90s is that you end up seeing more of it because we were just ahead of the game and then the game caught up to us.

Not to mention, like in the in the early 90s, we were starting to be more open to the idea of representing queer people on television, right?

So I think that there is more opportunity to have that kind of space where, you know, an audience member could infer like, Oh well, I relate to this character and I also relate to having queer feelings.

I could see myself expressed in this character in a multi dimensional way, right?

And so I think that's a really nice factor to the show.

And I'm glad that like this show is still available for kids to watch.

And I think they've also revived it recently.

Like I think it's still ongoing for kids, but probably I haven't watched it, so I can't speak.

David is giving me a thumbs down.

So it's probably not very good.

It's not a David.

A thumbs down, in fact.

It's not a David recommend, especially because the original series is now just straight up available on YouTube.

Yeah, yeah.

It's also on Paramount.

I think it's on Amazon.

It's very watchable, Yeah.

Everyone.

Well, now I think I'm gonna eat some delicious soup, have some potatoes and watch.

Are you afraid of the dark?

Yes.

That sounds wonderful.

Well, anything else to say about queerness before we move into the plot beat by beat?

I'm ready to talk about queerness in the plot.

B pipe beat.

I'll tell you what.

Yeah, there's one thing I'll toss out.

So I didn't read read Anne's nonie's relationship as anything other than platonic, which could just be where I'm coming from in this day and age.

I didn't feel the sparks but.

No, I agree.

So, you know, one of the other things is that, like, Noni's fear is like closed spaces, closets, helping read, you know, face fears, be open.

You know, I think there's things there too.

Oh my God.

Would you like a job that fear cuts to join us permanently because I was a genius?

Great.

So good bye.

No, no, no.

David has to stay.

No.

No, y'all are good.

You're I mean y'all are bringing the good stuff.

Don't don't discount yourselves.

I again I was the one who said pre romantic.

I just I kind of assume for every every time a man and woman are talking some exact somewhere is like how no have them kiss so fair.

I'm not saying I read it that way, I just know that it could be read that way.

Yeah, absolutely agree with you on that.

I wrote some notes down about that regarding their relationship, platonic, romantic, whatever.

So I'm excited to really dive into that.

I'm and I'm thinking back there are a couple of close to relationship things in are you afraid of the dark?

But wow, man, we're there's a lot of siblings who go through things together.

When I, when I think back on the episode, there's a lot of brothers, sisters.

There's there's not a lot of like we're teens and we're dating.

Although one of them was an episode I also considered pitching just because there's a hot guy in an executioner's outfit.

OK.

So we would be getting them the first.

Time.

Parallels either.

Way I've got, I've got.

I've got a standard default setting.

I don't know what to tell you.

Big burly executioners, David.

Yeah.

What's up, What's up, What's up?

Well then, let's jump into the plot beat by beat for Are You Afraid of the Dark?

The Tale of the Dangerous Soup.

The episode begins with the Midnight Society sharing what scares them.

A kid named Tucker proclaims he's not scared of nothing.

Frank, a Canadian version of Rufio and our narrator, holds a mysterious box and admits that he's afraid of the dark.

Frank then submits for the approval of the Midnight Society, The Tale of the Dangerous Soup.

The story begins with a young man in a strange metal room.

He sits in a chair, which suddenly traps him.

A hole in the wall opens, revealing a small statue of a gargoyle.

A mysterious voice behind the young man says it knows what scares you.

Out of nowhere, a snake crawls up the young man's leg and he screams in fear.

What a star the.

Name of the shot.

This is this is such a great start, like the the whole thing, like from front to to like the end of where we talk.

It's all so great.

Like again, like that smoky gargoyle really lived in me.

I don't know about other people who watch this, but like the visual of that is so striking.

I also just would love to shout out the opening theme that we get every episode, which is so iconic.

Like if you ask any kid who watched this show when they were young and they will tell you that are you afraid of the dark is one of the top like themes that they saw when they were kid.

And like it's so good.

I also this is a fear coded fact.

I love snakes.

And so like I know that he's supposed to be afraid, but like I look at that.

I think, Oh my gosh, what a beautiful Python.

Look at her.

Come on up.

Yeah.

And I just think that she's great.

I just this whole section, I'm, I'm so in, I'm so there.

I love it.

Yeah, it I was, I could not remember what happened, but the thought of being like alone in the room and then not being able to get out of your seat right, like the snake was scary.

Yeah, right.

But I was like, Oh my gosh, you're stuck.

That feels terrible.

That was really scary.

Imagine if you went into that room and you just sat in the chair and it just strapped you in and that was all that happened because you just hate being restrained.

Honestly relatable.

I don't think I would like being locked in a room and then locked in a chair in that room.

Doesn't sound good to me.

Do you usually with the creepy industrial fans spinning?

But I love the fans.

Great set, great set design.

Just incredible choice cuz it's.

Like I'd hate to be there though.

It's like, what is this room?

What is this room?

Is it the freezer?

Like where are these fans going?

It doesn't matter.

They're just.

It's just, it's the.

Fear room, Yeah.

I do wonder to your question of the if you're just afraid of being in a locked in chair like you had a bad experience with a roller coaster, do the gargoyle comes out and it's kind of like fuck, nothing to do.

Hoping for something.

I woke up.

I wonder if the gargoyle is just thinking.

Finally, an easy one.

I never get a break from this.

I'm constantly working.

The gargoyle should unionize with the.

Workers.

Yeah, they should all unionize against Doctor Vank.

Maybe that, maybe that is, maybe that's the happy ending at the oh, I do.

I do want to parrot what Merrily said, which is that the opening is just incredible.

I had, even though I have watched all these, it's been a while since I've gone back to 1, and even then I might have skipped the opening.

But I'm watching for this and especially for thinking about taking it as a clip.

Gosh, just panning over things that are vaguely scary in like a blue light.

It's so effective on a budget.

BB, are you afraid of the dark crew?

Well done, you wacky Canadians.

I mean the the people that make like analog horror and stuff on on TikTok should take notes like.

Yeah, you know what's scary?

A single match that is actually kind of frightening to watch.

Ignite.

Yeah.

Well, we see the inside of a gorgeous restaurant and then are led to our seats Bar Restaurant Hostess Nani Jersey, a loudmouth waitress, offers to read off the specials.

But a recently seated couple know what they want the soup.

In fact, everyone in this restaurant is enjoying the soup.

It turns out this soup tastes incredible and is very expensive.

In the kitchen, Jersey gets upset when a platter of knives falls in front of her.

But back in the dining room, the chef appears.

A wild looking man named Doctor Vink steps forward to wild applause as he is revealed to be the architect of this fabulous soup.

Later, Nani interviews a torture looking young man named Reed who doesn't see what the big deal is about this expensive soup.

Reed is also not intimidated by Doctor Vink's theatrics about the soup, so Doctor Vink hires him on the spot.

Imagine being at a delightful potluck with your queer buddies.

You might not have expected to find an ad on your plate right now.

If you want to enjoy an ad free listening experience, you can join the Fear codedpatreon@patreon.com/fear Coded Podcast for as little as $1.00 a month.

You get access to early and AD free episodes on your very own podcast feed and extra bonus content starts at $3 a month.

So consider joining today at patreon.com/fear Coded Podcast.

Now don't worry, we're never going to try to sell you a weekly meal package delivering Soylent Green straight to your door.

But if you would like to skip ads just like this one, you can join the Fear codedpatreon@patreon.com/fear Coded Podcast and support queer artists for as little as $1.00 a month.

And now that this ad is done, you have plenty of room on your plate for potatoes and molasses.

Man.

Well, Katie, I'm curious to hear what you think of like our first descent into the restaurant and meeting Doctor Vink.

Yeah, well, I loved Jersey, and I only loved Jersey more as the episode goes on.

Jersey seems like a really fun coworker.

Yes, and so was here for Jersey from the start.

Doctor Vink is such a ham, like coming out wearing a tiny little soup pan, like metal necklace thing and then like putting his arms out like, you know, give me the applause.

Like he's, I know he's doing well with this soup, but you know, he's got, he's got some theater in him.

Oh yeah, you know, he does that every night too.

Yeah, absolutely.

Not only is he can't get enough $100 a plate, but he is demanding your respect and applause every and they give it to him because the soup's that good.

Freely.

I think one of the interesting things about that scene is you look around the restaurant and you see the clientele is almost entirely older people.

So it's not just that it's adults, it's also that it's older people.

And I think that's one of the things that Nickelodeon was really focused on doing in the 90s was that if there was a kid show and there was a bad guy, if it wasn't a bully, it was usually an old person.

And I think like I, I don't know if that says anything about how we feel about the elderly or, or older people nowadays, like our generation of millennials, But like it does remind kids.

I think of like they're so old and different and wrinkly and that's weird and uncomfortable.

And then it could even remind them of death as well.

And so I think like, it's a very easy, like way for the writers to show that like, oh, these are people that are bad news.

Like, they are older than you and they want to do something nefarious or, or greedy or something like that.

And I think that's, that's really cool because Doctor Vek is also an older man.

He's look just 'cause he looks like a wizard.

Doesn't, you know, preclude him from being one of these like, nasty old people.

Oh my God, And I think that's that's really fun.

And it was just something that I was reminded of.

And I think, I don't know if we really saw it in I saw the TV glow, but it is something that I was reminded of watching this episode.

What a great poll.

I never, yeah, I didn't clock the like all being elders.

What I really was like focused on was like, these are all rich people, you know, like these are folks that can spend 100 bucks.

We even hear, I think potentially in this scene, some of the back of the house folks being like, Can you imagine?

They like spending.

If I had $100, I would not spend it on soup, you know?

Jersey says that.

The rich, yeah, again, gotta love Jersey.

Another reason but like the the richness as being scary was like what was more forefront in my mind.

Totally.

Yeah.

I mean, I, this is the nice thing is that there were a lot of Nickelodeon programs that were sort of proto anti capitalist like that.

We were, we were trying to give a message to children.

So I think Tyler, actually to bridge the conversation between what you brought up and what Katie brought up is that I think we are meant to infer that all of these old people are wealthy and they are complicit in the pain and suffering of our characters and totally that makes them villainous.

So it isn't just their age, but it is also their wealth.

OK, if, if I have a criticism of the episode, it is that we, we, we sort of did the most basic Mr.

Monopoly wardrobe being here for the patrons.

But it, it, you know what it delivers.

And we only see them for a little while and they're gone.

Plus.

It's aimed at children, yeah.

So it's like you got to be obvious with this stuff.

Yeah, we, we showed some restraint.

Nobody was wearing a top, A literal Mr.

Monopoly top hat, though.

I wouldn't have.

I wouldn't have hated it, truly.

No.

Imagine somebody with the monocle and the top hat and like the the the tux and tie.

It would be.

It would be too much.

I'm kind of curious then about the price of soup and what the hell is going on with these old people, how they just have all this money laying around.

$100 for a bowl of soup in 1994 would be $221.60 in today's money, which makes it about as close as you can be to a feature soup from the Kai at Mayfair restaurant in London called Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, which was sold for $219 approximate as a transition.

This is the Guinness World Records holder for most expensive commercially available soup, and it It contains a shark's fin, abalone, Japanese flower, mushroom, sea cucumber, dried scallops, chicken bouen, ham, pork and ginseng.

And it must be ordered five days in advance because that is how long it cooks for.

Did they still serve it because I thought sharks fin was not legal.

Anymore, they no longer sell it.

But the new most expensive commercial soup has not submitted to the Guinness Book of World Records.

But would you like to know what it is?

Yes, obviously.

Yeah.

For $390.00 you can have a bowl of soup in Las Vegas, NV or in Hong Kong.

They are the same operating operating restaurant group and it is a soup that contains Cordyceps mushroom fungus off of caterpillars.

No, thank you.

You know, we had a whole blast of a show about how Cordyceps are bad.

I knew it was going to come around to Katie's episode on gimmicks.

Full circle here.

Yeah, yeah, damn, that is.

Wild because I knew that you could buy Cordyceps mushrooms just like like previously harvested.

I thought that it was just the ones from like the earth.

This sounds like a terrifying thing that no one should eat.

This actually sounds like the way the Last of Us start God if I'm being honest.

A dangerous soup.

Contaminated with Cordyceps fungus, so.

Dangerous soup.

Yeah, well.

Hate that?

It's incredible.

Bad Thank you for letting me share soup facts here on Fear Coated, a new segment that we'll be doing every episode.

Thank God.

I'm on no now.

I'm not going to be the soup correspondent anymore.

Listen, I'm I'm down to clown for soup facts.

By the way, just throwing it out there.

If we actually want to do this, I sign me up.

And that's a soup Family Guy.

I also adore that in Vinc's theatricality, he drops a fear coded standby of horror which is spoken French.

Just absolutely incredible.

He uses the French words for dangerous soup.

And I was like, yes, we got French in this episode.

Actually, David, it was Nevada Campbell who said the French name for the soup, Le Potage Don Giroux.

Wow, wow, Tyler, normally you hate the French.

I've been, I'm, I'm coming around.

I'm starting to like the French.

Interesting.

Goodness, I.

Make a They make an interesting soup.

A dangerous soup.

Oh.

My God, a dangerous.

I treasure this.

Listen, all of that is great observations.

Here's my dumb little note is that I can't believe the restaurant is pulling in this much cash and they don't have a dedicated book keeper.

Naughty girl, know your worth.

You can't be doing this.

They got to unionize.

I mean, I almost read her as like the manager of the restaurant.

Right, like it seems like that's her job because she's doing everything and she's so pro bank at least here.

Like, I know I made the joke about like trauma bonding in your workplace, but it seems like before Reed shows up, like Nani is Team Vinck.

And like she, she's trying so hard to be like her, like his right hand because she wants to like manage the restaurant, like move up in the world in this way.

And like, that is an interesting thing.

But like, you can't, you cannot be doing this.

I hope he's paying you more than minimum wage.

I don't think he is though.

He's not.

Yeah.

No, there's no, there's no way.

No way.

Just because this is sort of the introduction to him.

I'd love to just celebrate Aaron Taser as Vink.

Just a fantastic actor.

And for our other Glitter Drop crossover, the voice of Cranky Kong in the Donkey Kong Animated Series television program.

Whoa.

Whoa.

OK, Super Mario moment.

Got range?

Yeah, he did pass away six years ago.

Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Fans made a significant contribution to charities that he was he valued and found important in his life.

He was a huge philanthropist and he passed away in 2019.

Oh, that's really lovely.

That's so sweet.

Yeah.

OK, well, let's talk about things that are less sweet.

We learn that Reed is a loner with no family.

He won't even get close to Nani, who is trying to become his friend.

Still, life in the restaurant goes on, even though employees mysteriously keep quitting and then never talking to anybody involved in the restaurant ever again.

When Doctor Vink catches Reid trying to sneak a forbidden second taste of the soup Nani covers for him, Jersey appears and resolves the tension.

She's upset, but Doctor Vink escorts her to a strange room where we saw the young man at the start of the episode.

Jersey undergoes the same ritual with the gargoyle oil, and suddenly a pendulous blade appears above her, threatening to chop her.

Nani and Reed confront Dr.

Vink, who has been cackling evily as he watches a green elixir appear in a little vial outside of the room.

It's insane.

He frees Jersey, who has no memory of the experience, and she promptly quits and leaves.

I'm with Katie.

I was sort of pro Jersey from the very beginning.

I could never understand if she was from Jersey and this was a nickname or if that was her name.

It doesn't matter.

I love her loud.

I'll show you loud and then banging on pots and pans.

I was like, marry me and let's open a restaurant where we are just bad at our jobs and loud to you.

This is incredible.

Incredible.

I absolutely believe that they were like, we need a girl to be really loud here.

Let's call her Jersey 100%.

Oh, incredible.

She really does such a wonderful job though.

I love the banging of the pots and pans thing.

I love that Nani and Reed are having like a whole conversation outside while this is happening and they keep getting interrupted by Jersey's antics and Dr.

Vink is just there like covering his ears.

Incredible.

It's so fun to watch.

The juxtaposition, because I think this is like the heartfelt I'm opening up Reed and Jersey's just fucking banging on pots and pans and screaming in the kitchen and I.

Yeah.

None.

He's even like, should we like, go check?

And he's like, hold on, I'm almost finished.

Yeah, he's like, I've got a couple more things to say.

Incredible.

Very queer, though.

That's a very good.

It's safe to be like, no, no, no, this is about me.

Yeah.

Wait.

Refocus.

Refocus.

Yeah, Incredible.

Giving it's giving like dating simulator where you're like, wait, something else is happening.

But they're like, no, no, no, I've got like 5 more minutes of tragic back story for you.

You can't move on with the other plot just yet.

Oh.

I love her.

I do want to talk about that scene though, because that is that heartfelt scene is the one that we've, we've kind of circled around like now that we're actually here in this moment, do we still like really feel strongly that this is kind of like his coming out to her in a, in a sort of way?

I think so because it's OK.

It's not like I'm queer, but it is sort of like I've had a secret to tell I I'm worried about how you'll feel about it if I tell you.

Like these are words that I feel like I said to the Neve Campbells in my life.

Like truly and honestly this, this probably because I watched it before I came out.

This probably gave me language that I would turn around and use in a few years.

I love that.

Yeah, I do too.

That's, that's actually really a nice and interesting pool because it, it's is again, that kind of representation that we kind of, I guess we did grow up with that, right?

Like this is like, we are the generation that grew up with Willow and Tara.

Like this is the generation that, you know, we especially when this was coming out, like we were still dealing really from the AIDS crisis, us queer kids.

Like even if we didn't know that we were queer at the time, we were still able to get this language from the media that we watched.

And I think in that way, it's actually such an interesting companion piece to I saw the TV glow because I feel like the DNA here is is of that same DNA as the movie.

Like this is we're able to see ourselves in these characters who are in a fraught situation because we ourselves were characters of fraught situations.

I love that.

Yeah, yeah, that makes like Nanny's reaction.

Two reads sharing even more like beautiful because it's not like a it's not like a grossed out or a why are you telling me this thing?

It's like a thanks for sharing, you know, I appreciate this.

Now let's go see what's happening.

In the kitchen, back to.

Work back to business.

Something weird's happening, Yeah.

Can we talk about the greenish color blind?

So maybe not green.

Very, very, very glowy green.

Very.

Green.

The the green elixir that is coming from the fear.

I love this prop design.

I think the production on this is incredible.

I I love later when it's like faster because it's harder to scare him.

I just think this whole thing is so good.

Oh, it's incredible.

I love the vial.

The vial being designed to look like it's snake fangs.

Incredible.

Oh.

Genius.

Oh, it's so good.

Yeah, David, this is a very, like bright supernatural kind of green.

So clearly to the audience, if you're looking at this, it's like there's something up with that.

Yeah, that's not a good natural vial.

This is not like filled with blueberry juice or something.

Yeah, and matches like the soup is also that kind of like toxic and the vats that it's cooked in are kind of big barrels, right.

So there's there is this sort of like neon green.

What really got me though is that the cabinet was not locked.

So what?

Like nobody has ever opened that besides Doctor Ving.

I constantly open stuff at work.

Can I talk about this real?

Quick, so like, here's the.

Thing when Jersey first walks into the area where the gargoyle is stored, she's like, oh, this freezer, this doesn't work.

And he's like, no, no, go ahead in there, the secrets in there and then like closes and and he doesn't lock it because not he's able to open it later, but like like he's standing in front of the door so she can't get out, right.

Here's the thing.

If I have not personally worked in a restaurant, but this is the thing that everybody says, like when you work in a service job, especially a restaurant, you go into the walk in freezer and have a breakdown, right?

Like, this is where you go to like be away from the customers and like watching this and hearing Jersey say that, it was just brought to mind the singular question, which doesn't actually matter, but it was obsessing to me.

Do you think that the gargoyle feeds on the servers having breakdowns in that empty freezer?

Like, because that is where people go to scream.

That's like the thing.

Do we think that it gets nutrients from that, or is it the wrong kind of emotion?

Too toxic, too toxic.

We're in a we're in a monsters.

We're in a Monsters Inc situation.

Like is the laughter better than screams?

What is the long term longevity on this merrily?

What are we?

Doing simply, I don't know, but like if if I'm having a stressful day at work with my my doctor Vinc and and maybe the all of the rich people are being weird and I just want to take a minute to like go in someplace that's at least relatively soundproof and have a little scream.

What do we?

Think you should be allowed to?

You should be allowed to without some creepy boss being like it knows what scares you.

Leave me alone, God.

It's just that other customer that materializes.

Mary Lee's.

Question.

That'd be so bad, God.

Yeah.

If it fed on stress instead, very bad.

That's like the Are you afraid of the dark for adults?

Yeah, no matter what you do, you can't get the right portion of the plate.

It knows what stresses you.

God, could we be a never ending buffet?

God, for real, merrily supposition has also made me wonder, like could we get a Gordon Ramsay's kitchen nightmares for the wild boar?

Like could we could we like do a kitchen confidential on this and like see somebody behind the scenes being like, you should really fix this freezer and then pour vink in a confessional being like, I can't fix the freezer because it knows what scares you you.

Know I was wondering like there's the the the guy walking around with all of the knives and dropping them, right?

Like is there other things in the soup besides the fear juice?

Like do they cook anything else in the wild war besides the soup?

Great question.

I have many many thoughts.

There's so many different ingredients of all different kinds in that kitchen that they talk about.

And it's just like, I, I truly don't know.

It's green.

It looks like pea soup.

It looks like Reagan just, you know, is cooking.

Yeah, it it Reagan from Exorcist, not Exorcist.

Ronald Comma.

Yeah.

Well, if, well, Ron Reagan is cooking.

Tyler, I would like you to know that that was pea soup.

That is what they served in order to create because it's watered, it's watered down canned pea soup.

Discuss production design.

Dangerous.

They did have to eat it.

And so it was a little grotesque, according to folks who were interviewed.

Katie.

Katie has it right.

Yeah, that is soup.

Doctor Vink explains that the gargoyle statue is from a tribe of warriors who never fought.

Rather, they use the gargoyle to terrify their enemies and then drink an elixir of their liquefied fear.

This elixir is what makes the dangerous soup so delicious.

Reed refuses to believe, so Doctor Vink invites him to prove his bravery before the gargoyle inside.

Reed initially isn't afraid, but then Dr.

Vink reads reads mind and sees that Reed's fear isn't knives or snakes.

Reed's fear is his abusive uncle whose coffin manifests before him.

Reed can't believe his eyes and so he opens the lid to see his uncle, who comes back to life, grabbing Reed by the collar.

Nani panics at the sound of Reed screams and opens the door.

The gargoyle animates and takes flight, soaring out of the restaurant.

The gargoyle is now free to terrorize anyone it wishes.

Doctor Vink gives chase after it.

I wish I I was so shook that they went there with Reed's uncle.

I really, really, truly was.

I did not expect them to be like, hey, let's talk about an actual fear that a child might have or an adult a young adult might have, and then show it and make it even scarier on top by making the uncle come back to life.

And the way that this actor revives is like the perfect way to scare the shit out of someone.

Katie, you seem to resonate while I was reading this.

The plot description.

Were you also like my man?

If you're psychic, do you need to be serving the soup?

I, that's I, I was wondering like what was happening in that moment and was interested in yours all's perspective because in the previous scenes when we see the people getting scared, he's just saying it knows what your fears are, right?

And it knows what scares you.

And it's not like I know what scares you.

But then he is able to like, like you said, read his mind.

And so I was like, does the gargoyle give?

Are they connected in some way, shape or form?

That was my thought.

Yeah, there has.

To be given how the episode ends and the conversation we're gonna have around that, I would fully believe that the two of them are connected in some way.

OK, like it gave him some sort of power to read the fear in someone's mind.

But maybe it's also just a thing, that Doctor.

Ving Yeah, he's weird, right?

I'm not familiar with my Are You Afraid of the Dark lore on recurring characters, but he seems like an evil wizard type of guy so when he was able to do that I was not that confused.

Or surprised?

Yeah, it seems all right.

But you know, I love how you all are reading it truly and honestly.

This is beautiful and brilliant and I feel like the worst person in the world.

But this was a script edition because in the table read, they felt like it wasn't clear how who what the coffin was.

And so they added some dialogue for Vank to fill in the blanks, which I think really sold the scene.

But I love all the stuff that you are coming up with.

This is so beautiful.

What a.

Yay, Doctor Vank.

Listen, Speaking of him, children's television, it's.

Makes the creative juices.

Absolutely.

But here's my thing.

My very dumb joke that I'm going to say and nobody else is going to laugh, but I'll laugh so I'll do it anyway, is that, you know, one of Vince doctorates is an exposition because that man, he can, he's a doctor.

Exposition if I've ever heard one.

Truly, truly here.

I love that it.

Is it is the heaviest coat of paint right here.

He was like, wait, we got to get all this out here, really.

Yeah, I'm gonna tell you.

And and here's the thing cuz I do think you need him connecting the dots for us about what the coffin in the man is.

But I didn't actually need to know any more about the gargoyle.

No, the gargoyle activates and the juice comes out.

This is like the least needed exposition.

Yeah, I hated it cuz it was like, Oh no, we put colonialism in my are you afraid of the dark?

Damn it.

Yeah.

Cuz they specifically use the word savage too to like bring up connotations of like this right?

The stereotype we see about people in other countries and in the past and all that kind of stuff.

But then it was also extra confusing because he's like this like backwater savage tribe of warriors who also has this super advanced piece of like magical technology.

So it's like.

Pick a lane.

Yeah, and.

And you know, the other very funny thing about this is that he is giving this exposition specifically to Reed and Nani.

He did not explain any of that to Jersey or presumably anybody else.

So it's like just whatever he has, like whatever Reid has that's so compelling to Vinc has him like really fully walk through the steps for whatever reason.

Yeah, Why is Vinc so like, I know, I know.

It's actually because he's like Reid says, he's not afraid of things.

But like Vinc, if anybody interviewed like Reid did, how did they get any job, right?

So Vinc has like such a thing for Reed.

It was very weird.

Yeah, here's.

I think it's because go ahead for.

Vinc Lore.

Here is the gap I will fill in for all of you.

He's actually a different character every time with one unifying trait, which is theatricality.

And so truly and honestly, I think he's doing it to commit to the bit.

He's like, I've got a story to tell and by gosh, I've got an audience who wants to listen.

Here we go.

I love that then, but you know, I like I I think that like the point is that he thinks that the more denial that Reid has, the stronger like the final product is going to be, I guess.

That was my.

Interest.

Yeah, but like truly there's no reason for this.

He just just like, yes, I will.

I will put my my doctorate from Juilliard to good use here.

Yeah.

I love that a doctorate from Juilliard means that he's actually just a doctorate of acting.

Which actually which totally makes sense.

What he knows what David just described.

He is.

That's what he is.

He's just, he's a camp queen.

We stand Doctor Big.

For real, before we move on, can we please talk about the CGI gargoyle?

Oh my gosh, I can't believe I wasn't going to bring this up after doing research about the CG because when I saw it I was like wait a 2nd 1994 Nickelodeon produced in YTV?

This is some expensive CGI for the age this is, and for all intents and purposes, not.

Listen, I think you could have done this with a rubber bat.

Like, I don't.

I don't think this needed expensive CGI, and yet here it is.

But the director, DJ McHale, who did quite a few episodes, said that this is like the thing he regrets the most, that the effect of the gargoyle flying looks bad.

And he still hears about it and jokes about it.

And the jokes keep coming back to haunt him, even to this day.

Oh, buddy, I hate that to hear that.

DJ McHale.

You know the Demons won on this one.

I didn't think it was that bad.

No, I thought it looked charming in 90s CGI.

Yeah.

Yeah, it looked out of its time.

Again, again, you know, sometimes the things that are bad are actually good.

Yeah, it didn't Take Me Out.

It looked like it was flying away and it flew away.

It comes back somehow, but you know, it just misses itself.

We'll talk about it.

We'll talk about.

It we'll talk about it.

Yeah, so Reed and Nani struggle with what to do.

Suddenly the gargoyle it's returned guys has is now huge and yes, it has.

Let me redo this.

No this.

Is incredible.

All perfect.

I'm keeping it all in David, keep this in.

So this gargoyle, it has returned.

It's huge now, it's torturing Reed and Nani with light wind, a shattered window, and then eventually the snake from the beginning of the episode, which I agree with you merely it's a beautiful looking snake and that comes from someone who is afraid of snakes.

Nani falls into the fear chamber.

Reed yells for her to keep her mind clear that there's nothing in the room that can hurt her.

That's when Nani admits her fear.

She's claustrophobic.

The room is her fear.

That actually worked really well for me, a good job.

Def Campbell.

The walls start closing in on her.

Reed keeps insisting for her to face her fear and that's when he realizes what he must do.

Reed heads to the dining room where he encounters the standing coffin of his uncle.

His uncle emerges and stomps zombie like to read.

Reed shouts that the uncle before him isn't real, that it can't hurt him, and eventually that his uncle no longer controls him.

Reed leaps forward, either attempting to tackle or hug his uncle, who has suddenly disappeared.

Reed goes to rescue Nani, who has collapsed on the floor but is otherwise unharmed.

3 jokes that Doctor Vink won't be making his soup anymore, only to be corrected by Doctor Vink on the other side of the door.

The gargoyle has returned, and Doctor Vink tells the trap duo that he thinks he'll be making his soup for a long time.

Dun Dun, Dun.

Oh my goodness.

One of the few like, downer endings in Are You Afraid of the Dark?

Yeah.

Usually the kids win the day.

Of course, my favorite, and I'm not alone in this, in the Are You Afraid of the Dark fandom.

But the favorite episodes are the ambiguous or the quote bad endings because they were a little bit more fun and a little less like the hero won the day.

There's almost always just a tinge of it's Twilight Zone ask like, oh, you think you won, but it's.

Or outer limits yes, as well Outer limits.

Is probably the better one on this.

Good job Tyler, but I this is the one that is like truly like no you are stuck in a horror cycle and like you will knock it out until they unionize with the gargoyle and then everything will be OK.

Yeah.

OK.

So Speaking of the gargoyle, this is kind of the thing I was talking about earlier.

Like, do we think this was all on purpose and the escape thing was a bit that Vinc did to get them both in there at the same time and like to heighten up the fear thing?

Because like, if they have a connection, then maybe that's why.

Like the the fact that Reed was not able to like open the door to the freezer, which has been already been proven that like, is it locked?

Or at least it wasn't locked and that's why like Nanny was able to open the door or.

And like the fact that at the very end, the gargoyle is exactly where it was in the beginning, even though we never see it going back in there, it's still contained.

Like, was this a bit or was this bad writing?

What?

How do we feel?

Honestly, like Merrily, I think that this is this was all Vink's plan.

Like Doctor Vink seems and and this feels that kind of show where the bad guy can be that complex and like unrealistic with how manipulative and nefarious he is.

So to me, this feels like it was all.

His name, like I don't know why he did it, but it does.

It feels, at least to me, that this was it kind of ended where he wanted it to.

Yeah.

And I think if like we go down the line of like the Gargoyle and Vinc have a connection and can communicate some way shape or form or give each other, they have some sort of deal where they support one another in their endeavors.

I totally see this as them like working together to get these two that have such juicy juice kind of stuck in there for a little bit.

I love that.

One of the things.

I love that.

I was interested in is like how potentially the like mind erasing stuff happens and if that comes into play at all and when for the two that are kind of left in there.

Yeah, Will, will they constantly go through a cycle of forgetting why they're there, getting scared again, forgetting again that wow, that that could not be anywhere you're afraid of the dark.

That's that's a, that's a, that's a, that's an adult's series that that has.

But it's it, it's that interpretation though, because as a kid, I absolutely would have.

Thought, wow, that's cool.

That's.

Cool even like, just cuz you're a kid doesn't mean you can't think of nightmare scenarios.

Yeah, listen like.

Some people had anxiety.

I absolutely thought that.

OK, well, it's just describing the podcast now.

Merrily.

Yeah.

Incredible.

Loved this tale.

Loved it so very much.

Yeah, so let's let's let's close the episode out.

The till has concluded.

Tucker says that the story was weak and that the room wouldn't have worked on someone who has No Fear, just like him.

Frank offers a chance for Tucker to prove his bravery, just like Doctor Vink did.

Frank reveals that the wooden box he's been carrying has a hole in the front, perfect for a hand.

If Tucker is so brave, then he should reach his hand inside to see what's in there.

Tucker makes an attempt but chickens out and runs off.

The remainder of the society laugh, and one person asks what is inside.

Frank opens the lid and says just what Tucker's afraid of.

Nothing so good.

So good.

So good.

Can't believe Frank brought the Gom jabbar from June to the Midnight Society.

Incredible.

Incredible.

Oh my gosh.

I love this capsule.

I think that I think exploring fears is very interesting because they do set up some parameters in the first section, which is like, you can't be slasher movies.

This has got to be like normal things that people are afraid of.

What's your normal thing that you're afraid of?

And to sort of explore that Tucker's bravado that was brought on by a type of toxic masculinity that we then see mirrored in read this whole thing.

It it it doesn't need to work this well again.

I was already bought into watching this series because it's how to be a teenager.

And yet this is this is some exemplary television.

This was a fantastic episode.

And I think the capsule goes a long way to delivering that promise.

Absolutely, Absolutely.

Yeah.

And I think that's, it's just another one of those things that I think is so critical for kids to learn is the importance of fear and why we need to face our fears.

And that also like sometimes our fear is nothing.

It's empty, it's hollow inside, just like the Gom Jabbar box that Frank brought with him.

Like I think that is like so critical and I don't know, I don't I don't keep up with kids entertainment or media.

So I don't know what the landscape looks like at all.

Katie, I know you've had experience reading like young adult and kids like media, like books and stuff on novel gaming.

Do you kind of have like a take of where things are right now and if there's anything like this happening?

Probably not as like widespread, and I'd be interested to hear y'all's thoughts on this too.

I mean, I do think there is one of the other books we read semi recently that I'm blanking on the name of was a it was a book for like young adults maybe.

I don't think it was like a middle grade book.

I think it was young adult, but it was about like high school shootings and.

Ghosts and racism.

That's the the taking of Jake Livingston.

Yes, yes.

Thank you, Marilee, who knows things better than I do.

Yes.

And so there is very much like still a line of media that explores very real fears and says it's OK if this is what like scares you because it is scary.

I'd be interested.

I have something on Tuckers nothingness but I want to hear y'alls thoughts or exposures to like different kid stuff or young adult stuff and kind of where the landscape is in your eyes.

Yeah, I think that.

I think there's still a lot of hope for media to to be available for children that is horror related, horror adjacent and horror inclusive.

I mean, I'm not just doing this because he's a friend, but I, I think Hamish's dead end Paranormal work that aired on Netflix is a, is a fine example of an opportunity to bring horror to children in a way that is accessible and meaningful.

I I do think what we're missing is the anthology version of this, which is what are you afraid of the Dark contributed and what I think it's reboot, reimagining, whatever the re word is for what they did was going for was to try to bring this model back, but but there was 2.

I think the, the faults of it was there was too much you've got to watch every episode and not enough of just being like, it's OK for these people to just have a relationship.

This is not something that we need to necessarily really track the progress of 123.

And I mean, I'll make the same criticism of the Babysitter Club series that went on, which was taking something that's a very independent book by book experience that has a little bit of growth for the characters and forcing it into a serialized structure.

And gosh, last week I was like, let's get a streaming model for Over the Garden Wall.

And this week I'm like, no more streaming models for media.

Like let things be old television.

You just can't win with me, Hollywood.

You just can't win.

But I think I, I think this is where this is needed.

Now, Tyler and Marily, you're a little bit more connected with this, but I, I actually think that in the novel space, like Goosebumps is still ongoing.

There's still a lot of, I think, children's books that that work really well.

No, I just, you know, I, I do spend a lot of time with my niece and nephew.

So I, I do have a little bit more exposure to children's media, but like not live action stuff.

So if there is a show like are you Afraid of the Dark for kids right now?

I don't know what it is, but I do think that my nephew would like it.

So hit me up with your Rex, my friends, but I I think that children's media is such a different landscape now than it was When Are You Afraid of the Dark is on?

I genuinely don't know that a show like this would work anymore.

Or or like it would be so different it would be completely unrecognizable.

Right, right.

Which it kind of sounds like that's what you're describing, David, with the reboot is it's.

It's just not the whole thing.

Well, and I even wonder back to last October and even the bonus episode that we did for Patreon last month is maybe this space for children is also the amateur space now.

Maybe Internet accessible horror and creepypastas are a different way that children are accessing horror related medium.

Like I am not on preteen TikTok.

I don't know what these folks are being exposed to and hopefully that there is some good quality entertainment that's being both made by their peers and made by people slightly older than them for younger audiences.

Listen, I'll tell you, my nephew loves Poppy's Play Time or whatever that horror game series is.

That's not Freddy Fazbear, but it's like in that same sort of vein.

So like the children long for horror stuff?

Yeah, I think it's, I think what's missing though, is the moral lesson behind these things.

Because so from what I noticed, this is mostly about video games.

And so then I noticed especially with like it started with Five Nights at Freddy's, which you should not buy.

The creator is a horrible transphobia.

And he will spend.

He will take your money and put it to something bad.

Do not give him money.

Yep.

So do not give money to that franchise, but I know that got extremely popular.

Poppy's play time got really popular because that kind of started off a wave of like animatronic the the place is abandoned after dark and now you're exploring and everything come to life kind of genre.

I I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but like escapity toilet is supposed to be like horror for for kids, but it's also like the dumbest looking thing I've ever seen in my life.

Which I'm trying not to sound like a boomer when I say that because when I was a kid, I love stupid shit.

Yeah, but it feels like the stupid shit that's stupid now is so much Dumber because it.

It's like an adult.

Yeah, no, but.

I am a boomer, do you think?

That you're right though, because like it's the the AI slop.

It's like the instatification of everything.

Yeah.

And like it's so much easier to make a bad product now and have a way to distribute it to 1,000,000 eyeballs.

So like that happens, you know what I mean?

Yeah.

So I, I think we're just missing something that has some sort of like foundational lesson for kids to learn because it doesn't feel like that is being done so much anymore.

I think like you find that maybe more in like younger, like aimed children's shows like Bluey.

Bluey teaches us like moral lessons and how to interact with people and how people are different and all that stuff.

It's great.

But we need like the horror Bluey.

I love.

The horror Bluey might have, they've got to have.

No.

Did I just write?

I think I just made the title.

They don't really have a horror unless there's a secret hidden episode of Bluey that isn't on Disney Plus.

I've.

I just feel like they deal with, I've like watched a a good amount of episodes and they deal with such like things that I would never expect a kid show to.

I would have just assumed there was something around like fear that was like a.

Little there is a little bit of that in the episode and Season 2 movies where again, I've watched, I've watched every episode with my niece.

It's one of her favorite shows In season 2, there's an episode where Bandit, the dad, goes to the movies with Bingo and Bluey and Bluey wants to go see this movie because all of her friends have seen it and it's like the popular thing.

But she's a little nervous because it's got like a thunderstorm in it and she's scared of thunderstorms and Bingo is for and doesn't understand the social contract of the movie theater.

And so like the the so there's a lot of of, of tension between Bluey, who wants to be at this movie but is really nervous about the upcoming thunderstorms scene versus Bingo, who is running rampant, and Bandit, who's like trying to go to the movies with his daughters.

Yeah.

So that that is as close as I can think of.

Yeah, interesting.

I, I, I think this is so interesting to talk about.

I, I, I want to touch on this more as the, as the month progresses because I think it's so fascinating because like the rest of our, like the rest of our media is for this month, it's older from the.

Night.

Yeah, it's older.

There's like so, so this is we really don't have any modern stuff we should have we should have done.

Future month.

That could be a future month game, you know.

Listen, true, there's there's always more media.

You're going to hear it from us.

Always more media.

But Judy, I mean, before we move off of this, you still have something to say about nothing.

Oh yeah.

Talk about nothing.

Talk about nothing with me.

Yes, well, one I was Googling, Roblox does have some horror stuff.

I've never played Roblox.

I don't know what it is truly, but there's something in there.

So that maybe that's where the kids are getting their scary stuff outside of books.

But the nothingness.

So I was reading and someone said this and then I can't remember who said something about like, you know, you can be afraid of nothing sort of thing.

So Tucker's like, bravado around the nothingness, like to me read as like a false bravado, right?

Yeah, He is actually afraid, just afraid to say what it is.

So he's not actually afraid of nothing.

He's afraid of something but doesn't want to share.

And then like Frank's, Frank's kind of twisting of the words and when he opens the lid and truly shows nothing.

Such great word play.

But also so fucking satisfying when somebody's like talking a big game and you know it's not true and they're kind of annoying about it and you're like, actually fuck you so good.

How great Katie would that be on like a lip sync challenge Just to redo this little scene?

It would be incredible.

Incredible, yes.

Put that, put that shit on.

Dracula.

That's true.

That's true, brothers.

We don't even need to ball.

Come on Blue, let's let's do the real thing.

They said they'll actually put like a spider or shit in there.

Don't.

It's not nothing.

Good point.

Yeah, that's very true.

Well, how do we feel about the episode The Tale of the Dangerous Soup in terms of horror or queerness after our conversation?

And do any of you have some final thoughts for this episode?

Well, I, Katie, please.

I was just going to say 1 thank you so much for like inviting me to be on this and like watching this with y'all.

It was really fun to watch and this happens in Novel Gaming 2.

Talking about it with smart people makes me appreciate it even more.

So I, like you all brought up things that I didn't consider and insights into how or why something might have been done this way or here's a different reading of it.

And I just really appreciated all of that.

So I liked it before and I like it even more now after hearing y'all and being able to talk with y'all about it.

Yeah, Katie, Oh my goodness, that means so.

Much thank you.

You know, like when it's the truth, when we conceptualized this month, it was like truly we were all very excited.

Just like, Oh my gosh, finally we can have Katie on so.

Yeah.

And what a fun episode to talk about with you.

You were so delightful.

Thank you so much for.

Having on here.

Yeah, of course.

Thank you.

Yeah, well, thank you all so much for listening to this episode.

Please remember to rate, review, and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

We just found a killer soup recipe, but the biography of this chef is weird.

You can find more mysterious recipes by following us on Instagram and Blue Sky if you're coated pod.

And Katie, thank you so much for joining us.

Where can people find you and what you're working on if you'd like to be found?

Yeah, and thank you again for having me on here.

Folks can find me on the aforementioned Novel Gaming podcast where I talk with friends Vicki and Doug about video games and books and then some other pop culture stuff.

We're read and watch and thinking about sort of thing in Instagram and Blue Sky.

I believe we are at Novel Gaming Pod and we also have a YouTube channel where we sometimes take little snippets of our podcast and just like put some video game stuff over it.

But we also play Doug and I mostly we'll play some games together and and put it on there as well.

So.

It's fun though.

Yeah, and there there's some scary games in the backlog, the only.

We played man am a Dan.

The only experience I have with Man Am a Dan is watching Doug and Katie play through.

I did not do well I.

Know I I said no thank you, No thank you.

Well, Katie, thank you so much for joining us.

Was a true and honest pleasure.

Absolutely, you are more than welcome back anytime.

Oh my gosh.

Thanks y'all are so nice.

It's just true though, Katie, you're great.

I mean the same is true of all y'all.

Listeners, if you think we're great, you can support the podcast and join the bats in our belfry by subscribing to the Patreon.

At patreon.com/fear Coded Podcast, you can show your appreciation at one of three levels.

Early and AD free episodes are available as low as $1.00 a month, and there is accompanying bonus content starting at $3 a month.

This month we've got an episode all about Bilatro.

Fear Coded is a proud part of the Glitter Job Queer Podcast collective.

If you'd like to listen to more Queer Media podcast, check out the full roster shows at glitterjob.com.

And join us next time as we sit in tiny chairs at the kids table, pick up unnecessary relics that cause us to be cursed, and play the point and click horror adventure Uninvited.

Very important if you're playing along with us, that we will be playing the NES port for the Nintendo Entertainment System, not the original Mac Venture game which is available now on Steam.

Check out Uninvited on the NES if you'd like to follow along with us, but until that time, we shall simply say goodbye.

I don't know why I kept talking, Tyler.

I'm going to cut it out of the edit.

Sometimes gross looking things taste better than good looking things.

That's true.

That's very true.

That's the thing that explains my marriage.

David.

Cut that.

And that's a soup fact.