Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

Verity has a fantastic premise and some jaw-dropping twists. We both devoured the book. But then we read the ending, which backpedals and defangs everything that's interesting about the story's most interesting character. And then there's the brand new epilogue, which unwids the central drama even further. And THEN there's the movie, which doubles down on all of these problems until there are no fun wrinkles left. No texture, no intrigue, no unlikable characters. In this episode, we're tracing this strange, compounding "nesting dolls" problem across multiple editions of the book and the recent film adaptation. How does a promising erotic thriller premise end up as a movie that is neither erotic nor thrilling?

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Impressions 04:46 The Ending 11:21 The Epilogue 15:47 The Movie 18:56 The Actors 19:28 The Setting 22:05 Overall Theory 23:21 Alternate Endings 24:26 Ambiguity 27:25 Closing Thoughts

This might be the most difficult-to-describe movie of the year. It's Mad Max: Fury Road meets Curb Your Enthusiasm with a lot of Independence Day thrown in there, but then at the end it kinda turns into Avatar? We can guarantee you that you've never seen anything like this, and that it will be one of the most energizing and entertaining theatrical experiences you have this year. Topics include: the secret delights of (occasionally) bad CGI, unexpected genre mashups, evolving creature design, how to portray / maintain urgency onscreen, the relationship between action and emotion, and the important role that absurdity can play in grounding a narrative.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Introduction / Impressions 01:53 Genre Mashup 03:00 Controversial Effects 06:27 Creature Design 07:55 A Sense of Momentum 10:52 B-Movie Absurdity 13:23 Action & Emotion 14:51 The Ending (No Spoilers) 16:00 Closing Thoughts

As we discover in this episode, Maggie loves change and Cam hates change. Guess how we each feel about the big news out of Blizzcon? Diablo IV just dropped the best season they've ever made but also kind of put the game out to pasture. Diablo V was announced. Destiny 2 was brought back from the dead. It's a lot to talk about, in addition to our traditional state of the game check-in, analysis of the seasonal campaign, respective class updates, and wrap-up questions about the future of the franchise.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Emotional Whiplash 06:44 Conflicted Impressions 13:46 State of the Game 21:48 Seasonal Campaign 26:50 Class Update: Warlock 29:44 Class Update: Necromancer 32:15 Diablo V Wishlist 39:04 The End of Diablo IV 43:03 Closing Thoughts

The shadow baby has finally arrived, and with it, the tragic end of Renly Baratheon — except that none of it goes the way we expected it to. In this episode, we dig deep into the first ever explicitly supernatural 'act of god' in this series, only to find that the god in question might not be the Lord of Light at all. Maggie tracks the hit rate of prayer in Westeros and searches for narrative ghosts. Cam questions the duality and prominence of Stannis Baratheon. We work together to uncover the couplet comparisons between these two chapters and develop an overarching theory about the God of Death that involves a particularly illuminating metaphor about email forwarding.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Fantasy Updates 01:48 Recap of Chapters 13:44 Roly Poly Renly 17:38 The Villain of ACOK 24:25 Divine Right, Redux 28:04 The Duality of Stannis 29:19 The Least Worst Option 31:15 Couplets & Crimes 32:38 Troubling Deaf Heaven 38:13 Who Killed Renly? 44:05 The Narrative Ghost 46:30 Depictions of Tragedy 49:50 Closing Thoughts

Expectations are the trap of all adaptations. This Resident Evil movie lives in many shadows: the beloved game series, the false impression that the trailers gave that this was a very straightforward scary movie, and the towering legacy of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead. But the wonderful thing is that this movie is still fantastic. Even if it's not 'the scariest movie of the year,' it might just be the best horror comedy of this century — and the very first one to truly speak to our modern sensibility. Put another way, this movie often feels like a Twitch streamer playing a horror game, and the effect is both incredibly immersive and wholly unique.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Theater Heckling 01:38 First Impressions 09:29 Jump Scares 11:20 Fear Factor 14:21 Very Short And Too Long 18:29 The Fury Road Comparison 20:34 The Non-Gamer Perspective 23:10 Game Design Onscreen 24:50 The Gamer Perspective 27:27 Loose But Faithful Adaptation 30:34 Austin Abrams & Aaron Paul 32:04 Marty Supreme 33:00 The Evil Dead Comparison 36:29 Twitch Era Horror Comedy 42:14 Buried Themes 44:13 Zach Cregger Check-In 45:17 SPOILER ALERT: The Ending 50:52 Closing Thoughts

Parasomnia terrified me in a way that I haven't felt since Oddity. This movie feels like it was made in a lab to appeal to us specifically, as a mashup of Insidious 1 & 2, Hell House LLC., The Blair Witch Project. James Ross II has created a powerhouse work of indie horror with remarkable emotional investment, under-your-skin creature design, a grounded and restrained directorial style, and some deliciously upsetting body horror.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Impressions 02:12 Insidious / Hell House 04:20 Emotional Stakes 07:48 Creature Design 11:24 Fear Factor 14:02 Closing Thoughts

It's never a bad thing for an indie horror to be ambitious, and Buddy is as bonkers and delightful as it is uneven. In this episode, we're trying to figure out why the conceit of this movie was so effective for us — and why the experience suffered when the movie moved beyond its premise. Topics include: three act structure, Winnie the Pooh: Blood and Honey, a spirited carpet tangent, and the jaw dropping commitment of Cristin Milioti.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Impressions 02:10 A Story of Thirds 09:25 Our Core Dilemma 12:46 The Gimmick Problem 15:26 Blood & Honey 16:59 Closing Thoughts

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

Neither Renly nor Stannis Baratheon ever sit the Iron Throne, but could things have turned out differently if they had worked together? In this episode, we're chasing down a what-if question that involves Catelyn Stark's talent for diplomacy, the long shadow of Robert Baratheon, and the history of a castle that might be more magic than stone. Elsewhere, Cam examines the increased villiany of these chapters alongside the new complicity of our favorite characters, before searching for some supernatural precedent for the (infamous) forthcoming shadow baby. Maggie takes a closer look at the legend of Durran and the mystical origins of Storm's End. We work together consider the evolving identities, personas, and crises of Arya Stark in the context of her declaration that she's becoming a living ghost. Finally, our long-time couplet theory faces its most serious test yet, and explodes into a much larger, trickier narrative device.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Bloody Mummers 03:20 Recap of Chapters 21:02 Lost Cause Diplomacy 30:33 A Glut of Villains 37:51 Shadow Baby Precedent 41:08 Chosen One Gold Rush 45:45 Castle or Metaphor? 51:50 The Ghosts of Arya Stark 58:30 Compare / Contrast 01:02:28 The Universal Couplet 01:07:56 Closing Thoughts

In this episode, we're giving you a quick programming update about the (exciting) future of The Lost Episodes. We also take a look back at Summerween 2026, discuss some behind-the-scenes ideas we've been having, and formally ask for your horror recommendations!

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram, Cam's Books

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

Check out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!

Indie horror is an endless stream of new ideas, new voices, and scrappy, ingenious storytelling — and "It Ends" is the latest hidden gem delight that we're here to break down and celebrate. Think of this one as an intoxicating blend of The Long Walk, The Blair Witch Project, and Six Feet Under. Topics include: naturalistic dialogue, sustained metaphors, the relationship between runtime / music / sound design, genre innovation, restrained creature design, and an extended, spoiler-filled discussion about the film's ending, title, and central metaphor.

LINKS: Patreon, YouTube, Spotify, Instagram

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

00:00 Introduction 01:53 First Impressions 07:41 Runtime & Music 12:36 Stephen King 15:18 The Blair Witch Project 17:51 Six Feet Under 22:04 Backrooms / Hadestown 24:57 Genre Innovations 31:08 Creature Design 33:03 SPOILERS: Ending & Title 35:26 SPOILERS: Central Metaphor 43:39 Punctum 46:55 Closing Thoughts