...And So It Endures...

Wow! Episode five was packed full! I think it's my favorite episode so far! We didn't exactly learn all that much new stuff, but it was a great episode! Here's my review of this week's episode combined with last week's.

I love how Connie continues to have no idea what's going on. How surprised she must have been when Whit and a detective came in to her and Penny and interrogated Penny like she was a criminal. And then she asks Whit in the style that Tom continued to do in the Novacom saga when she's going to find out what's going on! I'm interested to see what part she'll play in the drama as it continues to unfold. Maybe she'll get kidnapped and Mitch will come to rescue her again! Maybe he's the Stilletto!

Andre Stojka is growing on me more and more as these episodes continue. He does a pretty good job in mystery mode, although I do have to admit, I still think Hal Smith and Paul Herlinger did better. He still seems like a Winnie-the-Pooh to me, and doesn't really get all that involved in the mystery. But the chemistry between him and Monty is pretty good. Their voices fit together, and it sounded good when Monty was giving Whit the scoop about everything that had happened up to this point. Monty doesn't sound exactly like I would have hoped, but he's okay. The guy who plays him played the bully in Another Man's Shoes years ago, so I have that guy's personality stuck in my head when I hear his voice, which isn't such a good thing. It gives more of a possibility for him to actually be a rogue agent. But I think that's been cleared up now, and now I suspect Agent Tanner.

I kind of suspected her from the beginning, since she suggested that Monty was a bad guy. Plus, her voice just screams that she's up to no good. Just as Detective Polehaus pointed out, she had no agents with her, and she traveled from Springfield in impossible time. I think her head really was turned when a lot of money was offered to her. She was the one who called Dirk Beggs and convinced him to change flight plans and go to Atlanta. I think that when Matthew and Eugene finally figure out the password to Dirk's phone, they're going to find Agent Tanner's phone number in there.

I liked the presence of kids in this episode. I think that's what's kept the last couple of episodes from being more exciting these last few weeks. I'm liking Jay more and more, since he continues to try to help catch the bad guys, and he trusts his uncle despite what the detective has said. I'm interested to see what he and Wally find out about Mr. Skint and Buck in the next episode that we might not already know. By the way, speaking of those two, this is what I think Buck and Mr. Skint look like as a result of their descriptions:



That picture of the man on the left (the villain from The Spiderwick Chronicles movie) was the first thing that came to my mind when I heard the description of Mr. Skint in episode four. And then hearing the description twice more at other times, combined with his southern accent, I think that face fits him almost perfectly. The one on the right is a picture of the boy who plays Buck. I think how he looks in the official podcast better fits Buck's voice, but this was the only picture I could find. Although his southern accent continues to sound fake to me, this is how I think he should look.

I think Audrey Wasalewski did a great job as Katrina in part four, and I look forward to hearing her response to Buck's suggestion that she meet Mr. Skint at the carnival. I hope she gets to play a major part in the rest of the season, because I want to hear her with Eugene more. They're husband and wife, and yet we hadn't heard mention of her in four seasons! So I want to hear more of them together. Maybe they can work together to catch the counterfeiters.

Moving on, I don't know what to think about Penny Wise and Dr. Trask. I was thinking that the fact that they were involved with the painting of the carnival poster would link them to the bad guys, but so far, it doesn't seem to. But the counterfeiters would need an artist to design the fake bills. Who else could it be but the suspicious "Christian" local artist teacher at the college? But as Chris always says, I guess I'll just have to keep listening to see what happens with them. :)

A bunch of questions were answered in these last couple episodes, but now a bunch more have been brought up: Are we going to hear anything more from Dirk Beggs? Will he try to do something to Monty to keep himself clear? What will Matthew and Eugene find on the cell phone if they figure out the password? Will Katrina's suspicion about Buck lead her on a search to the address Buck gave her? Will she be convinced about Mr. Skint if and when she meets him at the carnival? What significance do Uncle Archie and the carnival have in all this? What is the connection between Archie and Wally, and when will it come into play? Are Penny Wise and/or Benjamin Trask real Christians? Do they have any connection to the counterfeiting? What will Detective Polehaus think about the printing press at Haggler's Junkyard? Will Monty stay put at Whit's house? Or will he seek out Agent Tanner? Is she really on the bad side or are we just being made to think that? Is there maybe something that Detective Polehaus is hiding?

Boy, I don't know if I'm going to be able to wait seven more episodes until all these are answered! And then I hear that there are more questions after that anyway! Aaah! I can't wait for next week!

Thanks for reading my review! Please comment with any thoughts!

P.S. @ odysseyzone: If you haven't been there, there's an Odyssey website called The Odyssey Scoop, and each year the last two years, the webmaster there has had a contest called "Scoop Yourself" where fans send in pictures of their Odyssey collections. I got my title picture from that website, so no, unfortunately, it isn't my own handiwork. :) If you want to see some other ones, click here or here.