Thank you very much to Yama for commissioning this episode!
It's the final battle in the strange land that the Irish wizards (plus Kit and Nita) have stepped into, and there are a couple moments in which it really looks like they're outnumbered. This is when we get to see the full force of the cup and the stone and what they're capable of. It's actually pretty dope!
Then there's the confrontation with Balor, and I have to confess that I wasn't ready for how much pain it was going to inflict. I ALSO wasn't ready for a sarcastic cat to get the better of him!
Thanks so much for listening, and I will be seeing you soon with the start of the next book!

Thank you so much to Yama for commissioning this episode!
We're getting into it now, kids, and poor Clariel was dead right about how things were going to go once she and Bel landed the paperwing. It's super irritating to read because we know that Bel means well, but he's also very naive. Alas.
Also, MOGGET IS HERE!

Thank you very much to Michael for commissioning this episode as well as a live read!
This episode is FUCKING BANANAS. Balls-out bananas. I don't even know where to start, but the main event here is that Keith Mars is apparently going to be a major player and looks to be the one behind the team's abduction in the previous season. He has a really fascinating backstory, and I think I know what he's up to but we shall see!
Meanwhile, our people are soon surrounded by fellow travelers due to a loophole of questionable ethics that makes Philip very uncomfortable. I'm really interested in whether this is due to their orders getting hijacked, or if the director was INDEED the one who gave them the orders.
Thanks for listening, and I will see them soon with a new episode!

Thank you so much to Jaime for commissioning this episode!
I'm super excited to be getting back into this universe, and that excitement was rewarded with a helluva twist. I never expected that Alina would get caught, NEVER. Or if she was caught, I assumed that she was going to escape before they were able to collar her. NOPE. WRONG AGAIN.
I'm really into this book and I'm looking forward to seeing how this book wraps, because the next one is coming up!
Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Thank you so much to Karyn for commissioning this episode!
I am blown away by some of the reveals in this episode. Holy shit, there's so many implications to the fact that the Director is...what it is. And I'm reeling from the idea that even if you manage to escape an upload, you were supposed to be dead and that means you're now on a list and eligible to be taken whenever they feel like it. YIKES.
Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Thank you very much to Nicole for commissioning this episode!
This was a really good one. I'm a huge fan of Eliot's acting, and I really thought he managed to push himself in this episode to do some things that were pretty unsettling. Also, the fucking scene with Margo and Fen absolutely killed me.
Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Thank you very much to Martin for commissioning this episode!
I'm having so much fun with these books! These chapters are really compelling because Nona figures out how to undo the threadwork that the Holothour used to make all of the girls forget what happened in the caves. They go back, and there's a battle of wills that Nona wins. And then, there's a Shade Trial that doesn't go how anyone expected.
Thanks so much for listening! I will see you soon with a new episode!

Thank you to Ashely for commissioning this episode!
I'm really enjoying this season so far, and this was a particularly fun one. I really liked the overall weirdness of a dragon egg that makes everyone want to care for it, and I was a fan of the twist with Alice's mother actually giving a shit about her. HOWEVER, I'm not totally on board with this prophesy thing at the end of Fen's storyline. Why is she believing this random creature? MAYBE IT'S A TRICK!
Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!

Thank you very much to Nikolai for commissioning this episode!
I'm really flipped out because when I recorded this episode I had NO IDEA that it was the last episode available and that I was going to have to wait until fucking JUNE for the next episode! I AM GONNA DIE
Thanks for listening, and I will see you AT SOME FUCKING POINT for the next episode. *sobs quietly*

Thank you very much to Melanie for commissioning this episode!
I loved this episode so much. I am always excited to hear the backstory of characters that I've grown to feel like I already know, especially when it turns out to be full of surprises that make me recontextualize a lot of what I THOUGHT I knew. Also, I like seeing close friendships while they're still pure, even if you know that there are troubled waters ahead. It's even more touching when they're siblings, and you expect them to be fighting because of their differences.
Thanks so much for listening, and I will see you soon with a new episode!