Episode description[edit | edit source]
No, I’m in the salon. Of course I’ve got time to talk. I’m just sitting here. She’s doing her thing. No, she doesn’t care. Do you - do you care? No. She’s shaking her head.
What were you saying? About Christy? What do you mean “he doesn’t like it.” Of course he likes it. It’s novel to him.
I don’t know what you mean. “He makes a sort of face.” Of course he makes a sort of face. Dogs have faces! The dog is making a face all the time. Even when he’s drinking the still—Right. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.
Right. But we talked about that, didn’t we. About novelty. For Christy. You know, the life he lives is so—we give him a good life. We do. But I think he’s been hankering for that extra spark. Right. The shock of the new. Right. In his water.
Contents[edit | edit source]
Plot[edit | edit source]
Melvin Calvin approaches Samantha with an armful of tupperware, giving them back after he took home leftovers weeks ago. He uses this as an excuse to tell her to keep down the noise in her bar that evening, as he has “a big game” (of Magic: The Gathering) at his gambling hall that night. Sam mentions that she is holding an open mic night, which annoys Melvin, though he departs on semi-good terms.
The Augur arrives as he leaves, telling Samantha that they “need to talk”. Samantha and The Augur go back into the bar, and The Augur puts a battered suitcase on the table, opening it to reveal a set of wind-up toy soldiers. When The Augur winds them up and sets them going on a table, the soldiers walk in a way so that they spell out the words ‘still water’. The Augur believes that this is a sign that their community and the world at large has become stagnant.
Samantha asks if she has a plan, and The Augur says she does not, too busy with managing her scouts and followers, but she is greatly concerned. Samantha tries to placate her, but The Augur interrupts, asking that if she can think of anything “immaculate and strange” to do, that she should let The Augur know. She then leaves to share this prophecy with Melvin and the other members of the community.
Robyn arrives to check on the bar’s speakers in preparation for open mic night. They fetch a ladder for the job from behind a pile of Melvin's tupperware, and asks if they can have some (she lets them have three). Robyn mentions that they’ve seen The Augur moving around, and Samantha asks if they’ve seen anything unusual. Robyn says that Knots managed to knock over their cup of tea, but it’s not exactly what Samantha believes The Augur has in mind for the “unusual event”. They get to work on the speakers, fixing the feedback on the left speaker by using their hair.
While fixing the speaker, Robyn hears something through the feedback that sounds almost like someone talking. They zone in on the speech in an attempt to identify it, and it resolves into the “distant, ghostly voice” of someone describing a game of Magic: The Gathering (the way you might hear a chess game described). Robyn decides to write down the moves described and go to Melvin’s that night to see if the same moves occur.
They do not fix the speaker system; instead, they take apart the microphone, informing Sam that it's broken and they need to take it back to their place to fix it. Sam is disappointed, but sees this as an opportunity to mend fences with Melvin, and asks them to tell Melvin about it. Robyn does, but calls him "Kelvin", which annoys him.
Already, who is still trying to fix their truck-driver sleep schedule, is awoken by their phone’s notification sound. They check the notification and are startled and upset by what they see, immediately getting up to find The Augur. Augur insists that she's not the conclave's leader, but is willing to help. Already shows her the notification, which is an acknowledgement that Already has gone AWOL and that Potat.to representatives are coming to retrieve them, the truck, and the value of any merchandise that would have been in the truck.
The Augur asks why they didn’t leave the phone with the truck, which Already doesn’t have a specific answer to, only that it seems useful to have. The Augur tells them to throw it away. Already is concerned that doing that will mean that the Potat.to representatives will come to the last place the tracker worked, and asks for reassurance from The Augur over their safety and the safety of everyone in the community. The Augur offers very little comfort, providing instead the more practical view that keeping the phone here has given the Potat.to representatives an excuse to enact violence on the community.
The Augur offers guidance “of a more direct kind”, performing a ritual. She gets an old Yellow Pages and, taking Already’s hand - her hand under theirs, with her thumb on the back of their hand - looks into their eyes, asking them to choose a letter. Already chooses the letter ‘D’, and The Augur flips to the first page of the ‘D’ section, asking Already to choose a number. They choose twelve. The Augur flips twelve pages forward and asks Already to choose a colour. They choose grey. The Augur moves a hand down the page, asking them “which bird is it, that you’re thinking of?”. Already says at first that they are thinking of “a brown bird”; when The Augur asks them to name a specific bird changes this to “a tall white bird, a heron”.
The Augur says that this is a good answer, but that their first answer of a brown bird was “closer”, and that she’s sending them to Jeff Brown Dentistry (the ad for this business in the yellow pages depicts a goofy black-and-white cartoon heron). She tells them to bring the phone there, and that this will keep the community safe.
As Already is walking home, another sticker prints out of the phone. It's a reminder that Already is forbidden to move outside of a 1-mile radius from their current location until they have collected their items. Jeff Brown Dentistry is much further away from this, requiring Already to cross two bridges to reach it.
Meanwhile, back at Sam’s bar, the open mic night manages to proceed without an actual microphone though Sam does note that it does change the vibe of the night (making some people’s performances more intimate and some people’s inaudible). The bar has a quieter night as a result.
Samantha is greeted by a woman, Lorelei, at the bar, who asks about the bar and the mic-less open mic night, and asks for a drink (“do you know what a martini is?”). Samantha offers to make her a drink with what they have on hand (a gin pickle), and the woman offers to pay with money, marking her as someone from outside the enclave. Sam asks her about it, and Lorelei says that she’s taking a trip to “see the world” and be “a little outside her comfort zone”. Sam asks her to leave, which confuses Lorelei. Sam says that while she understands that Lorelei is trying to be nice but that, knowing Lorelei plans to return to the city, her money is no good in the enclave and would prefer to keep her supplies to give to those within the community.
Sam notices Cheddy, a bar regular, eyeing Lorelei, and recognises that Cheddy is calculating how best to separate Lorelei from her money. Sam decides not to intervene, insisting that Lorelei leave her bar. Cheddy approaches Lorelei, offering to take Lorelei to a place with a “perfect” view, telling Sam to put Lorelei’s drink on her tab. Sam does pour Lorelei a drink, and Cheddy wordlessly thanks Sam for her assistance.
Next door, the magic the gathering tournament continues to great success. Robyn watches, taking notes to see if it matches up with what they heard. A man, Vincent, standing next to them asks them about their knowledge of the game, expressing surprise that he isn’t familiar with it. Vincent says he’s from elsewhere, asking again about their knowledge of the game, trying to get out of the conversation so they can focus on their note-taking.
They introduce themselves to one another, and Vincent gives Robyn his business card (which they put in their hair on a piece of gum). Just as Robyn begins to hear the moves played that they heard previously over the speakers, Vincent says that he finds that “the best way to learn is by doing things”, explaining that he is there for his work as a retrieval expert, as he is looking for a missing grocery truck. Robyn stalls for time, saying that they have a truck back at their garage, offering to take Vincent there. Vincent agrees, and the two head towards their garage. Once there, Robyn hits him over the head, knocking him out and tying him up (Vincent’s gun and phone fall out of its hidden holster, which Robyn takes).
Already stops by to get a drink at Snoopy’s in order to steady their nerves before their trip to the Dentistry. They chat to Sam about the broken microphone and about her earlier run-in with Calvin. Sam asks if they’re planning on going to the magic the gathering competition and Already says that they already have a plan for the night, as The Augur has told them to get rid of their phone. Already explains the situation and the ritual The Augur performed directing them to go to the Dentistry. Like The Augur, Sam asks what they plan to use the phone for, which Already says they wanted to keep it in case they needed to make calls.
A sticker prints out of Already’s phone of Robyn’s face (a cut away reveals that Robyn is attempting to figure out how to use Vincent’s phone). Already asks if they should call Robyn, but Sam is concerned that this will draw Potat.to’s involvement. Another photo prints out, this time of the ceiling. Already says they will go to Robyn’s workshop to check on them. Sam says not to go to the Dentistry until after she closes up, because she and Robyn will go with them.
Back at Robyn’s workshop, the void kid bangs on the wall to get Robyn’s attention. Robyn opens the door, ushering them in. They can see that the void kid, Quincy, has returned for their regular maintenance, asking who the man they have tied up is. Robyn explains the situation briefly, telling Quincy that he was planning on hurting “Duke’s dad” (“a they/them can be a dog dad”). Quincy asks what they plan on doing with the man and his gun.
Robyn asks how urgently they need maintenance and Quincy vanishes briefly (using their hand as a sock puppet: “pretty bad, Jack!”). Robyn throws Vincent into a hover-racer they’re fixing and welds the door shut.
Already arrives, shocked at what Robyn is doing. Robyn explains the situation from their point of view and gives Already Vincent’s business card. Already knows of Vincent, and is more worried about the situation than before. Robyn asks why they can’t just give the items back, and Already says it would be impossible, since they already gave the food to the community and they would be unable to pay back Potat.to.
Robyn says they have to leave to help Quincy, handing Already the blow torch and telling them to handle the situation. Already doesn’t know how to use the blowtorch, which only produces a small flame (using their hand as a sock puppet: “it doesn’t work, Jack!”). Already says they have to leave as The Augur told them they have to go to the Dentistry, and Robyn tells them to take Vincent with them.
Already notices that Quincy is fading, startled by their appearance. They begin talking to Quincy, their voice taking on a different cadence (similar to a voice in a commercial or a talk show host). Their voice has an effect on Quincy, stabilising their body. Quincy asks if they know their mother but Already does not, continuing to talk to them.
Vincent’s phone buzzes. Robyn, startled, throws the phone to Already. Already reads the countdown ‘two minutes until contingencies’, which Already knows means that they need to send an update within two minutes or more people will be sent. Already hits the update button. A video call opens immediately, showing a man sitting in front of a wall covered in fifty-one pistols. As soon as the man sees that the call is being made by Already, he ends the call.
A rainstorm begins to roll in. All through the enclave, people run for cover, their parties moving inside as lights flicker in the windows. Seated under an In and Out umbrella, a perfect waterfall of water coming down either side of them, Lorelei and Cheddy discuss something out of earshot, money changing hands between them.
A musical montage begins inside the parties. Someone touches two wires together, and pizza-themed EDM music begins to play (“it’s actually great”, similar to the ‘Buying Goods at Palmira’ track from the Evergrace OST). The camera returns to Robyn’s workshop - Robyn checks a map and notices that the Dentistry is close to where they need to go for Quincy. They head with Already to meet Sam. As they head out of town, The Augur is waiting for them in the rain with the briefcase from the beginning of the episode. The Augur expresses surprise that Sam is coming, despite not being invited herself.
Cast[edit | edit source]
- Austin Walker (The Augur, Providence)
- Ali Acampora (Samantha)
- Jack de Quidt (Already)
- Andrew Lee Swan (Robyn)