Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.x (bonus).

Episode Notes:

• A crack ship is born mid-summary
• We count the ways we love Dragon
• The way she is written clearly shows that Dragon is a full person
• Dragon’s romantic prospects
• We trust Dragon with power more than anyone we’ve met so far but leaders with good personalities do not necessarily create good legacies
• Was Richter a Bad Dad or just your average God?
• Is Dragon’s unfairly limited “body” the very thing that makes us see her as a person?
• Dragon the teenager
• We start into “should Dragon-like AI have rights” discourse but then steer ourselves back to Worm proper 
• Dragon’s techno-optimism and Ted’s need for speed limits
• To be clear, all glory to God Empress Dragon
• To show off her rapid intelligence, Dragon quickly skimmed all of Worm so far and basically only missed Coil
• Is Dragon the reasonable hero friend Taylor deserves?
• A digression about rooting against a Taylor glow-up in any adaptation
• We were sorta surprised at how much we felt for Colin in captivity
• Colin owns some of his flaws, but not the Skitter-related ones
• How Dragon’s gender identity affects the way we view her and her relationships
• Wait, is the Birdcage younger than Dragon?
• The status quo seems to be shifting quite dramatically every few years
• The female victim as a horror trope (i.e. Ted poorly glosses Men, Women, and Chain Saws (1992))
• It’s tea time in Philosophy Block
• Ted ships it
• A few more morsels from the Birdcage
• Taylor sees Dinah as a MacGuffin
• Why don’t the Endbringers hang out with each other???
• Oh no are there children in the Birdcage
• Dragon sees Colin through Kid Win colored classes
• We gotta let Dragon be bad to really believe she’s good

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-x-bonus-interlude/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.x.

Episode Notes:

• Sophia won Jenny over, but only at the bitter end
• What a fake-out
• Regent's emotional numbness
• Ted grapples with hate in the face of tragic circumstances
• What if Taylor finds out about this?
• There's a compelling human impulse behind wanting to use Regent’s power  
• Regent’s missing piece
• He likes what he’s doing, but he’s not doing it for himself
• Where's Regent's self-described conscience in all this?
• We don’t learn what it’s like to be Regent alone
• Parallels between Regent's power and Bitch's
• A pocketful of heroin at all times
• Wildbow does such a good job of preserving ambiguity about Regent's character here
• What would it take for Regent to become "a good"?
• Regent as a foil for Taylor
• We as readers are basically using Regent's power all the time
• We check our assumptions about Sophia’s mom
• Sophia's weak spot is being looked down upon
• The mystery of Stephen invites sympathy
• Jenny still thinks Sophia deserved some of these consequences
• Emma is not impressed with Regent’s acting
• Sadly we don't think Emma and Sophia are in love
• We do what we always do: analyze the texts
• Regent knows one of Taylor’s secrets after this chapter, but Sophia doesn’t
• Regent fumbles to have Sophia express emotion… could that be role-play? Confession?
• Does Regent not have emotions, or does he just not understand them?
• Regent: theater kid at heart?
• Regent feels strongly about Brockton Bay, if nothing else
• Regent doesn't build relationships, and he's severing Sophia's
• The question of Regent's queerness
• Regent, like Coil, has a stakes problem
• Ethical applications of Regent's power
• Read Seek y'all
• Will Jenny finally get the Dragon interlude she’s been craving?

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-x-interlude/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.6.

Episode Notes:

• We forgot about Dauntless again RIP :(
• Jenny brings down the hammer on Taylor’s foolishness
• Is Taylor taking the same kind of deal Kayden did?
• Ted tries to shore up Jenny’s secret takedown theory
• The real problem with Taylor’s request is that she’s no threat to Coil
• Why save the world when you can save one girl?
• Maybe this is night eight of Coil trying crazier and crazier schemes to get his hands on this data
• If Jack brings the end, he’s gonna need some Endbringers
• We get another set of story-defining stakes laid out here
• Interpreting Taylor’s apparent foolishness psychologically vs. narratively
• At podcast speed you might drown in narrative tension
• Do we only cut Taylor slack to the extent that she’s narratively dominating?
• Look, at least Regent isn’t controlling Shadow Stalker, Vista, AND Kid Win
• Is it fucked up or does it just look fucked up?
• Would you rather experience one Regent-sized bad day or one hundred Sophia-sized bad days?
• Bad things will certainly happen if Sophia doesn’t just slink away
• Taylor dominates Bitch: heartless or “the heart”?
• Good or bad, this seems pretty easy for Taylor
• The Undersiders have no real opposition left in Brockton Bay
• Shatterbird, uh, controls spiders?
• Violence is sticky
• And a coping mechanism
• Ted defends Rachel’s betrayal
• What Taylor says may be obscured by how she says it
• How do the rest of the Undersiders see Skitter?
• Coil gets his Dr. Claw on
• Predictions for the next two interludes

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-6/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.5.

Episode Notes:

• Jenny loves Dragon
• Dragon's designs on Skitter
• What if Taylor gets Dragon on side?
• Dragon's got her priorities straight
• Also she's prepared!
• ...but her suits are creepy
• We're so impressed by Taylor's innovations, and also Wildbow's
• Heroes have to pull their punches
• We're not pleased with Bitch
• Taylor did say she deserved it...
• What was Bitch's plan, though?
• We loved the gift shop fight
• Nothing's taking down Weld
• New cape names! At last!

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-5/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.4.

Episode Notes:

• Don’t overthink the mystery of Epeios
• Putting the Imp in impact
• Here comes the (new?) Protectorate!
• Jenny keeps leaving the villain part out of “hero-villains”
• Taylor’s gonna win, but maybe someone else will get captured
• TTRPG problem solving
• Gun talk
• Imp can make you forget her actions and not just her mere presence
• If Lisa can kinda remember Imp, can she kinda remember other stuff she forgot?
• Dragon isn’t self-righteous and we love that
• Dating, surveillance, and other topics

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-4/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.3.

Episode Notes:

• Jenny has a new theory BUT HOW CAN WE BE SURE
• The sibling dynamic explains a lot
• What a metaphor for a neglected kid
• A major change in motivation for Brian
• Family powers are at it again
• Does Imp's power work on Brian?
• Buffy comparisons (so many spoilers)
• Flechette's moment to shine
• Which Worm characters would we date?
• We're so happy for Kid Win
• But we're wincing for Vista
• Taylor once again leveling up her bug usage
• This is a pretty brutal way to do it, though
• Glimpses of Taylor's life without the Undersiders
• The problem of Weld
• We kinda see Bitch's point
• More of Taylor's utilitarianism in battle
• This is horrifying and fitting payback for Sophia
• Worm is good at taking tropes to their logical conclusion
• More Animorphs comparisons!
• Was this really the only way to get the data from the Wards headquarters?
• This fight might have been Plan A, actually
• A questionable plan, even before Dragon showed up
• Future anti-Imp measures
• New Madison theories

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-3/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.2.

Episode Notes:

• Where was Imp?
• Putting the Weld in Well Done
• We know the Wards better than Taylor
• What on earth are the Undersiders trying to do?
• Hopefully Imp is just a phase
• Ted doesn’t think Shadow Stalker could pull this off
• The PRT officer who bent the rules is gonna get canned
• Judgy teen Taylor is back, and might not want to look too closely in the mirror right now
• She’d be a fool to trust Coil
• How can you be so pessimistic about beating Coil and so optimistic about influencing him?
• Has Taylor lost herself since her big moment in Arc 8, or did she cut the reader out of her next insinuation plot?
• Seeing Dinah in the mirror
• Maybe Taylor is succumbing to nostalgia
• She just CAN’T settle for Coil
• Taylor brings herself low to get back with her ex-friends
• We like that Alec picks Taylor
• Brian craves control and Aisha is here I guess
• Bitch’s beatdown comedy
• New season, new team dynamic
• Should the Undersiders trust this much in the power of friendship? Of course!!!

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-2/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Parasite 10.1.

Episode Notes:

• Regent the Yeerk
• Talking through how his power works
• What’s their plan for Sophia, both short and long term?
• Arc 9 has made it harder for us to root for Taylor vs. the (non-Sophia) Wards
• Whatever she’s all in on, it’s not Coil
• Jenny could see Taylor setting any number of goals at this point
• Well, does she deserve it? The narrative tempts us to say yes or not think about it too hard
• Does Regent’s power doom him to villainy?
• Guessing at what’s in Regent’s head right now
• Genre tropes help cover up the horror
• Undersiders personnel changes
• Secret Grue feelings about Taylor
• Taylor spends a lot of time thinking about Rachel
• Jenny predicted Imp's annoyingness correctly
• Grue's dependency on Coil
• Why doesn't this version of the U.S. have endbringer FEMA?
• We're so happy to be back in Taylor's head
• Broken windows isn't a thing for Taylor
• The worms of Brockton Bay are thematically ascendant
• We're starting season two of the Worm TV show
• Procedural stuff continues to be satisfying
• What's eating Brian?

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/%c2%ad-arc-10-parasite/10-1/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Sentinel 9.6.

Episode Notes:

• We have feelings about Angelica
• Seeing Skitter from the outside!
• Unclear in what way Skitter is a member of the Undersiders right now
• What's with Imp?
• We contemplate degrees of premeditation
• Sophia: a means to an end?
• Could the Undersiders be turning on Coil?
• We feel so distant from Taylor. We need answers!!
• Murder attempts galore
• Sophia just gave Taylor carte blanche
• Did Piggot cover up a murder?
• Do the Undersiders know about Sophia the bully?
• The many ironies of Sophia
• We try to get into Taylor's shoes here
• Taylor was so impressive in this fight
• But she can't do it alone
• Bitch's training strategies
• Grue's power vs. Sophia's
• Sophia's rage levels are high
• The desire for power and freedom as an ongoing Worm theme
• The mental limitations on powers
• Emma the enigma
• Emma and Sophia's friendship, the other enigma
• Jenny discards some theories
• What has Sophia been through if she thinks the Wards are sheltered?
• Aegis the sartorial Ward??
• We remember that Sophia is a teenager
• We conjecture wildly about her trigger event
• Doing what’s necessary
• Predictions

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-9-sentinel-interludes/9-6/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow

Jenny and Ted discuss Sentinel 9.5.

Episode Notes:

• Sophia isn’t worth all this trouble
• Vista, in particular, has no way to reach her
• But we don’t want her to, because seeing her get under Sophia’s skin was SO SATISFYING
• Are there hidden costs to abiding Shadow Stalker?
• How superpowers sharpen and distort our understanding of why “bad apples” are protected
• Maybe Vista could leverage her strong rating if she had the mind to
• Hess’ The Art of Bullying
• Who, if anyone, does Sophia love? You’ll definitely guess Jenny’s answer
• Sophia’s just BSing but we do consider the horrors of Gallant’s power
• Weld steps up
• Gotta say, Weld’s PSA about crying will be great PR
• Less of a death wish and more of a death acknowledgement
• The symbolic power of Vista’s scar
• This thirteen year old cape is giving us a lot of Animorphs feelings
• Such a nice win for the Wards to find out Chariot's a spy. Too bad their knowledge won't help them!
• Taylor's anti-hero bias is going to hold her back
• We have the cutest scene in Worm so far
• Vista's power, politeness, and past: a mysterious triumvirate
• Vista's power as a metaphor--but for what?
• Who has seniority, Vista or Shadow Stalker?
• Turns out praise is a better motivator for Kid Win than hating himself was
• A Pact Easter egg
• Vista and intrusive thoughts
• Vista's take on death might be realistic but isn't healthy
• The pain of being forced into a role you've outgrown or didn't choose
• Piggot's personality vs. tactical choices
• A new theory about Weld's vice
• What if evil Dragon

Links:

• https://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-9-sentinel-interludes/9-5/
• https://www.patreon.com/Wildbow