And we're off!

Wow. What a marathon!

Okay, let's take it down. Step by step.

First Step: Where We Are.

So, time marches on in the 2S verse as it does in the Real World huh? Months have passed since the last episode.

Katherine and Arkahn seem to be getting along now. But IMHO, it's not Zana, it's that they're both annoyed at Mike.

Fortunately, those of us who enjoy the 'Claws Out' fights are now turning their attention to Mike and Jareth.

Speaking of that, am I the only one that just wanted to slap the two of them when Zana came charging in?

Mike's problem, is that he can't speed up time. He knew it was going to be a long time in Baela this round, if nothing else he'd have to wait a year for the next Silver Night to get Shauna home. But now months have gone by and Meek's starting to realize that he's got no path. "Go West" gives him nothing any more, and any other direction takes him further from Shauna.

Second Step: Q and A

The part of The Joker, to be played by miss Cheanti.

The title of the episode is "How the other half lives." I think Arkahn's got yet another dose of that here. #Sigh# And Katherine was just getting along with her again too. Think she'll hod a grudge over the broken bones?

The woman had a point though Katherine. You can be as mad at Arkahn as you like after the fact, but you were in the room and you said nothing.

The second I heard the "Arkahn Spooky Voice" coming from someone else I knew we were in for a hell of a ballgame. I had expected it to be something more along the lines of the Questioner being one of Arkahn's old gang. The fact that it was an old... friend... (And yeah, I wish I could type in that ironic little tone) just made it scarier I think.

Also, the fairytale was surreal. I'm trying to decide it it was a Garden of Eden allegory or not...

Speaking of Fairy tales, we got a new puzzle piece here with the phrase "When the Eight Became Seven"

Oren was the odd one out, this we know. And the numbers and the appropriate awe used when speaking of "The Seven" indicate the Universities. But what nobody has asked us yet, is "The Seven...What?" The seven kings? the seven Professors? the seven Jedi Knights?

Step Three: New Players.

I don't know who these guys are, but I'm sensing a shift in balance here.

During the great search, I wanted to yell 'Shut up guys, you're giving stuff away here!"

But these guys (Gavin's employees) led them straight to the ship, shared relevant Intel, and otherwise acted like helpful people.

I knew Zana had to be up to something. Nobody emphasizes the word 'Chef' that much. Not even if they make Ravioli powered spaceships.

When I heard Gavin and Zana talking after the others had left, I knew. Gavin was the local chapter of whatever the hell Zana is when she's not cooking pig pies. All the similarities she listed carefully couldn't be a coincidence. He had just received word that one of his guests had been kidnapped from their room and he barely blinked before moving onto "Rescue the Girl and be back in time to prepare the evening meal." He was a guy version of Zana the unflappable.

But I expected another five or six episodes before we actually got an answer. No wonder you guys made a point of marking a distinction between the 'Seekers of Truth' and the 'Hunters of Truth'.

The problem with secret societies is that it's all too easy to start working at cross-purposes and not realize it. This episode is a prime example.

And everyone? Don't go thinking that Gavin and his team is evil just because Cheanti does a little torture on the side. Zana hired Arkahn after all. (Yet another similarity)

Step Four: Things That Are Good To Know.

We've discovered a new edge that our heroes have in that world. Tayoden. Shauna reacted badly to Tayodes. Everyone in this world does. Those who hang around them get zombified, but Mike can fall into a vat full of them and get out again unharmed. And Katherine only gets hurt by one if it's attached to an iron rod. Lucky girl(!)

If everyone in this world starts with magic at the age of five years old, then everyone would be subject to the Magic down-sides. Wonder if the Seekers of Truth would react badly to Tayoden.

Step Five: Pieces in Motion.

Blowing up that factory is pretty self explanatory. I don't think the University is run by the Legion. Not based on this anyway. Al Capone had cops, lawyers, judges and politicians at his beck and call, didn't mean he owned the entire Justice System.

Thing is, it's more than just the blast. It's a factory full of Tayoden. We know the effect that has on everything. Blowing it up from the inside with explosives... Chernobyl comes to mind.

Step Six: Final Points.

Zana is having nightmares, and they're chronic enough that the girls know about them. Shauna had nightmares too, right before the bad guys came for her.

Just sayin'

Cheanti was supposed to be Red Circle. Now she's "Hunters of Truth" at least as far as she knows. Exactly how does recriting work here?

And speaking of Recruiting, I think Fesmer is A Hunter of Truth himself. He said it himself back at the start of season two. he went looking for some clarity about himself on his journey. Sounds like the kind of thing Zana would set up a team for. And we know that Zana knows something more about Fesmer than she's saying. She asked hij during Arkahn's trial if he had found 'Her Friends'. And in at least two occasions, this episode included, Zana gave Fesmer a cover to vanish from sight to report in with Tinkerbell.

And speaking of that, Who is Tinkerbell? Because whoever it is, we have her actual voice now, and Fesmer knows her (Seemingly personally,) and is willing to share information...

And speaking of the Tinkerbell effect, we just heard another one. The sound seems something akin to the 'IM New Message' effect, only for magic users.

Finally, for the Mike/Katherine shippers out there, don't read to much into that last line before the blast. There are a good forty ways that sentence could have ended.

So, unanswered questions.

Who's still standing? You've got a limited cast of voices, so you can kill off most of them if you like. You can't take out Zana though. She's got a story to tell.

#Lets out long breath# Whew.

You can read more of Matt's work at mattstephens.me