Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Summerween to bring you a dual-perspective look at the latest House of the Dragon hubbub. Cam breaks down a hopeful and informative two-part article from The Hollywood Reporter, while Maggie brings us her reactions and brief analysis of the newly released trailer. We discuss the unique challenges of prequels, the importance of visual language in TV and film (especially in fantasy worlds), and the value of having direct involvement from the original creator. Rings of Power comes up throughout the discussion, as do several other fantasy adaptations and genre franchises. We really can't wait to watch and discuss this show next month. In the meantime, more thrills and chills are coming your way next week! Hollywood Reporter article: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/house-of-the-dragon-game-of-thrones-prequels-1235181929/ Bernadette Banner on Game of Thrones being "historically accurate": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7aBLEio6J8 Cam's Twitter: https://twitter.com/camfucile Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

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Blood of Elves, Chapter 4

This is one of those chapters that you could unpack and discuss for hours. Sapkowski is not afraid to throw contradicting worldviews at the wall like pieces of spaghetti. The ideas that were debated in the abstract in Chapter 3 have come fully into practice as we encounter old friends and new enemies. Our characters debate and test the merits of Geralt's cold neutrality vs Triss's idealized activism, and Ciri tries her hand at both. Somehow, the politics and worldviews in this Polish book published in 1994 are ringing remarkably true for this 2022 American audience. If you're not reading along at this point, drop everything you're doing and catch up right now – these books are a true delight.

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

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This week, we were going to take a break from Summerween to talk solely about Netflix's new Jane Austen adaptation, but instead we're bringing you the weirdest crossover known to man. It turns out Ti West's X and Carrie Cracknell's Persuasion have quite a lot in common. Join Cam as he brings Maggie along for a bizarre ride while meditating on love, the passage of time, maternal absence, and the consequences of seizing – and not seizing – the day. Both of these films pay beautiful homage to the forebearers of their respective subgenres (Jane Austen period pieces + 70s slashers), yet still appeal to a distinctly modern audience. Stream both of these movies for a truly funky and thought-provoking double feature.

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Blood of Elves, Chapter 3

This chapter is chock-full of what we like to call "big boy" conversations: discussions on fate, destiny, prophecy, trauma, and war all work together to create moving character moments and big-picture revelations. Triss continues to flourish as one of our new favorite characters, and her outsider perspective is essential to get Geralt's forest-for-the-trees attitude under control. We learn a heck of a lot more about Ciri's magic, and our boy Sapkowski sets us up perfectly for the rest of the story to take off. Plus, we accidentally invented new gross nicknames for ourselves (shh, just go with it).

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We interrupt our regularly scheduled Summerween programming to bring you a chilling discussion of Scott Derrickson's latest release, The Black Phone. Our boy has done it again with one of the most unsettling, emotionally gripping, and terrifyingly realistic horror movies we've ever seen. Truly astounding performances from Mason Thames, Madeleine McGraw, and Ethan Hawke, combined with a remarkable restraint that is rarely seen in contemporary horror, made this a cinematic experience that's hard to shake. This movie feels like Saw and Stranger Things had a weird true crime baby. Go see it immediately. It's in theaters right now and available to rent digitally this Friday!

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

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Blood of Elves, Chapter 2

Triss Merigold is the star of the show in this surprisingly special chapter. Sapkowski does it again with his knock-out female characters, as we follow Triss through her introduction to Ciri and her complicated relationship with Geralt. We get to examine the ideas of found family, the limits and cost of magic, strength in femininity, and grappling with prejudice and worlds we don't understand. Cam also rambles about Downton Abbey, and Maggie makes a really weird comment about Lemony Snicket (don't blame us, we've been sick for 11 days).

(FYI: Maggie got the "Summerween" idea from a readathon by the same name, first hosted in 2021 by gabbyreads and oliviareadsalatte on YouTube. They're hosting another one this summer! You can learn more here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9_Dru36JX4)

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Joel Anderson's 2008 mockumentary-style horror film opened the door for a really spooky discussion – not just about ghosts, found footage, and masterful low-budget horror – but also about grief, loss, true crime, and our role as consumers of those things. We talk about what it means for a horror film to feel "real", why we watch true crime, and how subtle special effects can be oh so scary. We spoil this movie here (thanks Cam), so be warned! This discussion pairs nicely with our episode from last week on Funny Games, so give that one a listen too if you have the guts. Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

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Blood of Elves, Chapter 1 Guess who's back, back again – it's Sapkowksi babyyy!!! We're finally back into the Witcher books and we are over the moon. The first chapter of Blood of Elves hooked us right away, with knockout character moments, thrilling action sequences, powerful author statements, and oh yeah – Yennefer (the real one). This chapter acts as pure hype for the rest of the series, and we can't wait to continue down this path with Geralt & co. Onwards and upwards, good friends! Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

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Summerween Episode 4 is a Big Brain Deep Dive into a modern horror classic. Sinister (2012) was a rewatch for us, but we got SO much out of it this time around. The bulk of our discussion is centered on a *shocking* argument from Cam – this movie is a perfect Faustus story (no really, it is). This episode is about more than just a really good, really terrifying scary movie – it's about theology, Elizabethan drama, true crime, hubris, demons, family, and post-2008 America. This discussion is full of spoilers by necessity, so give this movie a watch if you haven't already. You won't regret it (or maybe you will?? Watch at your own risk). Our original (spoiler-free) discussion of Sinister from April 2021 (begins at 54:19): https://directory.libsyn.com/episode/index/id/18743366

For creatives: here's co-writer C. Scott Cargill's encouraging, inspirational Twitter: https://twitter.com/Massawyrm Feedback & Theories: [email protected] Instagram & TikTok: @secondbreakfastpod

Discussion of The Witcher, Season 1, Episode 8: "Much More"

I'm sorry, are we even watching the same show?? In a shocking turn of events, the Season 1 finale absolutely blew us out of the water. Geralt's back to fighting monsters, Ciri is much truer to her book self, and Yennefer is called out for being – well, the way that she is. Structurally, this episode followed Sapkowski's storytelling pretty closely; and yet there were a few significant changes for this TV adaptation that really worked. This episode, like Episode 3, was what we wanted this show to be, and it made us delightfully hopeful for Season 2.

Feedback & Theories: [email protected]

Instagram & TikTok: @secondbreakfastpod