[Theme song]
Barbie> Welcome Vagrants, to another edition of Dispatches from Xija Station. I’m Barbie
Christine> And I’m Christine
Barbie> And this week we are talking Episode 4, In a Sticky Spot. The original air date was April 23rd, 2020. The director was Danishka Estherhazy and the writer was Mariko Tamaki and of course it’s based on the comic book of the same name by Magdalene Vissagio and Jason Smith.
Christine> So this episode, in a nutshell, A stealth mission through the Republic border becomes a fight for survival as Lazaro closes in. So we start out with a plan and all and things just kind of go south from there.
Barbie> We have two major storylines this time around, and they’re going on simultaneously. The A plot is Elida, Amae, Isaac and Hath having to sneak around, and the B plot is Clive, Ihred, Dengar, and Krob going through security legitimately
Christine> Quote, unquote.
Barbie> As legitimate as we get here at least. So this is the first episode that does not have any flashbacks in it, so we are solidly staying in the present time, so that really helps to tell the story for each group I think.
Christine> Absolutely.
Barbie> Last episode we had a good look at the team being split up, with Isaac and Amae teaming up, this time the main team sticks together (mostly) and we get a different dynamic and see the Loyalists and how they are as people.
Christine> Yeah, this is definitely an episode where, sure, there’s plenty of action, this is Vagrant Queen, there’s always plenty of action, but you also really get to dive deeper into these characters, why they are who they are, how these different views of the world and the galaxy and all these different motivations really mesh with one another, whether it’s Hath trying to get Elida to see the greater good, Elida just wanting to do her own thing, Isaac working on getting home, you get the idea.
Barbie> Right. So let’s talk a little bit about the team before they split up. We start off with a scene where everyone is huddled around a table and getting the plan in place, the classic plotting out. Elida has made this fantastic model of the space port using random items as stand-ins for the different people. One of those items was a bug, which she thought was dead, but was very much alive when she pointed to it. I can’t remember if it was in an interview, or one of the fan Fridays, but Adriyan says she does not like bugs and that scene was really hard for her.
Christine> Though you have to admire Elida’s dedication to the cause, building props to get the point across, even *if* those props end up being, shall we say, rather pointless...
Barbie> Yeah, well
Christine> What can you do?
Barbie> Some of those props might not be pointless, in the end you know. But we get a classic [music dies] caption when Dengar points out that Winnibot has a layout. Of course, Elida is still using the model she made, which I absolutely love that the rest of the scene is shot through Winnibot’s hologram (which is still following along), so shout out to director Danishka Esterhazy on that wonderful shot.
Christine> And I think there will be a lot of praise coming throughout the rest of this.
Barbie> Yeah. All the props. We’ll just say it right upfront here, way to go. Nice job.
Christine> Absolutely.
Barbie> But, there’s also a quick Amida moment between Elida and Amae, when Elida was frustrated about how much time she spent on the model of the port, she’s kind of throwing it around, and Amae just stares at her.
Christine> As you do when you’re incredibly gay.
Barbie> And infatuated with your, how should we put their relationship.
Christine> Yeah, with your crewmate.
Barbie> Right! Crewmate. That’s a good - that’s a better word than what I was going for.
Christine> I mean it’s really just such a fun scene to watch, and it sets the stage pretty well for everything we see later on, even when things start to go south and they just have to really abandon the plan they spent all this trouble on.
Barbie> Yeah, I mean the model alone. I’ve gotta, we’ve gotta go into the colors. There are tons of spectacular colors in this episode! I know that Jem has said that each planet has its own color, and I think it’s pretty obvious that the space airport would have to be white. And it’s really cool because we see all the other colors pop. I know in one of the scenes we see a person with a rainbow hoodie and, if I could find that in the store I would buy like three.
Christine> Yeah, same.
Barbie> I noticed that the first episode, and I notice it ever time I watch. So anyway, we also have the exterior shots of space, you know, the dark vastness of space.
Christine> Right.
Barbie> But the colors are still so pretty. Like, with all the spaceships. One of the scenes, I’ve said it like a million times, would make a great puzzle.
Christine> Mmhmm, absolutely.
Barbie> So I don’t know if you are into puzzles at all…
Christine> A little bit.
Barbie> But the scene that I’m talking about it’s all the ships going into the port and there’s the different ship exhaust colors, so there’s purples, and greens, and blues, and it really took my breath away.
Christine> Yeah, I really loved getting to see just how colorful it was outside the station, IN SPACE and yeah, sure, the space airport itself is rather more nondescript, but it’s kind of like things here on Earth, not every building can be the Sydney Opera House.
Barbie> Of course.
Christine> And I think of it really like Xija Station in episode 1, where the nondescriptness, if you will, of the environment is really made up for by the all the people in the station. You really get to see just how diverse this galaxy is! Sometimes you need a setting where the focus needs to be more on who’s around and what’s going on, and I think this accomplishes that rather nicely.
Barbie> For sure, it definitely does. We see all kinds of different space aliens, and different situations. So going back to the color, I think the BEST color effect moment was when Elida was provoking the guard to chase them and her head is framed by blue and pink, her head is in the middle. And, if you aren’t aware, those are the colors that represent bisexuality and are in the bisexual flag. So here she was in the middle of what is known as bisexual lighting. And her line is “Eh, I hate labels.” Literal perfection, I’ve gotta say.
Christine> Absolutely. Not just one of the most memorable lines of the episode, but of the entire show period.
Barbie> Right.
Christine> And it goes to show just who Elida’s become -- here she is, having rejected these labels and these ideas that her society tried to push on her, and she’s become, well, herself! She’s free to be who she wants to be, and she doesn’t really have to answer to some higher authority. I’d strike the really from that if it weren’t for Lazaro.
Barbie> [Laughs] Right. So, as we said, this episode you can just cleave in half as far as storylines go. Luckily our heroes stay together with the addition of Hath. Isaac is adorable with how excited he is to be on team “most wanted.”
Christine> And we’ve mentioned Hath and I do want to touch on Hath being there, because Hath being around really brings a whole new dilemma for Elida into the equation, that question of what her destiny is vs. who SHE wants to be and it’s something that I related to a fair bit. There’s a bit toward the start of the episode, I think it’s about 7-8 minutes in, where Hath mentions that soon, Elida will be able to wear her birth name with pride. Now, let me tell you, as a trans person, and that’s something I fully admit, who has some experience with tossing my birth name away, my first thought was “but have you considered she doesn’t want to go back to that life, Hath?” Here Elida was destined to serve as queen, but in a sense, being on the run has given her a sense of freedom, a sense of who she really is! And just from my own perspective, I can completely understand why she wouldn’t want to abandon that! She gets to choose her own path and her own priorities, not just get stuck with the ones shoved onto her.
Barbie> Yeah, you make such a great point, you can tell she’s conflicted because she wants to make mom happy, but is the cost of that going to be her newfound freedom and identity?
Christine> Right, that sense of balance, and is it really possible to balance it?
Barbie> Right. When the four arrive in the space port … I just need to know how NO ONE noticed the random people falling from the ceiling.
Christine> I mean we’ve talked about how this galaxy is a lot like Earth in a lot of ways I’d imagine it’s very similar in this case -- never underestimate the ability of people to either not pay attention to things or just brush off the unusual as completely normal.
Barbie> Yeah, for sure. So they get this epic hero walk down the hall, getting ready for their plan to go into action, as you do, and it just fizzled out because there was no guard.
Christine> A quality comedy moment!
Barbie> Right, it was just so anti-climactic. But never fear, Amae the hacker is here! Unfortunately for Elida and Isaac, hacking is not instantaneous like they show in the movies.
Christine> Yeah, There’s just that feeling of “Get on with it already!”
Barbie> Right. But that’s another thing that I love throughout this episode especially, and the season, because there are so many moments like this.
Christine> Same.
Barbie> Like, once the heroes are in the door, the guard comes back, clearly from break or something, and he must have gotten a space coffee, maybe a squirp berry shake, but he proceeds to attempt to drink it without removing his helmet, which is just a funny moment. Because, how did he expect that to work?
Christine> And that’s what I love about this show -- it takes itself seriously when it needs to, but not too seriously. You blend all those sci-fi tropes with a touch of comedy and reality. It’s a human touch to the show -- we can enjoy what’s happening, and sort of distance ourselves from it while still relating to what’s going on even in this galaxy so different from ours!
Barbie> Yeah, definitely. And speaking of technology not being immediate, we learned again later on, when Amae finished her work-around, it would take the system 10 minutes to reboot. As a quick aside, during that technical moment, there’s another shoutout to Star Wars when two republic guards are talking to each other about their career choices and there’s a comment made about joining the ‘Dark Side” which is then followed by a comedic power going out, leaving them in the dark. And then when it comes back, both of them were just in awe, “Holy shit, is that a sign??” which I laugh every time.
Christine> And again, it’s those touches of realism -- it’s another world, another galaxy, such a long way away from our own, and yet, in the grand scheme of things it’s not so different.
Barbie> Yep. And Elida is consistent in her thoughtfulness and caring for others. We saw in the last episode with Pallas and wanting to help them, and here she tells Hath “I’m not playing the hierarchy game. If one of us falls, we all fall” and we get that heart melting look from Amae as she realizes how big Elida’s heart is underneath that hard exterior.
Christine> Another one of my favorite lines from the episode. And I touched on that balance, that conflict from earlier, and I want to come back to that. It’s in that moment where you really realize that it’s a matter of the family you’re born with vs. the family you choose. And I think that’s something a lot of us can relate to. Elida’s taught throughout her life that her obligations as queen, brought onto her because of her bloodline, take first priority, even as, as she is quick to point out, her bloodline leads her to have to run for her life. And of course, she cares for her mom, but she also recognizes what Isaac and Amae are doing for her -- she knows damn well that they care about her, and here she is, showing that care right back. You really see here just how much they mean to her -- she’s found people she really feels like she belongs with, and it’s the sort of chosen family where they all make one another better people. Even if Elida, being Elida, is doing her best to not let her feelings show…
Barbie> Yeah, and I mean you’re right. This is a concept that many of us, speaking as a queer person myself, that found family is huge. I mean you have so many people that don't have the best relationship with their blood family and that get kicked out of their homes or worse. But yeah, once you find your people, and that’s where you’re safe and that’s who you love and that’s who loves you, and that’s definitely a theme and it describes Elida and crew.
Christine> Yeah, it sums up the state of things so well, I mean, here Elida practically had to abandon her home. She got forced out not because family or anything but because of the whole revolution. But it forces her to really grapple with things.
Barbie> Well let’s take a little turn, let’s change subjects here, and talk about Amae’s character.
Christine> Oh, of course we have to!
Barbie> We’ve seen her in a couple of different roles now, she’s played the Republic guard, she’s played a mossy rock creature or whatever, and here she is, she gets REALLY into it this episode. She plays a Port worker, and comes up with an entire backstory. Not only does she come up with the backstory, but she really gets to lean in and use it this time.
Christine> Right.
Barbie> Once Isaac is taken, We have Amae splitting off to use her computer skills where she can use them and she runs into an engineer and starts to go into character right away, but Elida is trying to talk to her too. Amae keeps it together, at the start, but the port authority gets the gist after Elida says something else, so that leads Amae to use force. I love that she hates to do it. She’s always so apologetic, and like she really doesn’t want to hurt anyone. She just has such a caring personality, but she can be so tough. So she knocks the engineer out a second time when she was working. Another fun fact, those sparks were real in the computer! Talk about commitment to the role, that actor really had to be careful I bet.
Christine> Oh, I’m sure. And just thinking about all these roles Amae is taking on, I can just picture the “Amae tries to hit it big in Hollywood” AU. Fanfic writers: get on that please! But yeah, I just love seeing that in this episode Amae really tries to build up her character. She’s so dedicated to the cause. She takes this so seriously, and yet when it comes down to it, she will take, as Isaac puts his approach early on, more of an improv approach just for the sake of getting the mission to work. I just think of the line: “I just… completely forgot my entire backstory… that was a terrible performance!” It’s just so delightful, and you really feel for her in that moment. She doesn’t want to be a bad person, and yet, you’ve got to do what you have to do to get out of these situations!
Barbie> Right! Yeah, whether it’s bad acting or what. Speaking of getting out of situations, when the guards are searching for the fugitives, Amae makes a comment to herself that she’s glad her character isn’t claustrophobic. Clearly a VERY thorough backstory made up! And then, shortly after the escape, when she’s going through the vents, she runs into some other port workers. Instead of shooting or causing a scene of some kind, which is probably what Elida would do, or even Isaac, she just stops and falls right back into character, and that works out great for her, because they end up telling her how to get to where she needs to go, or how she needs to get to where she needs to go. I’m sure she’s the only one that could pull that off so smoothly.
Christine> Yeah, imagine if Elida or especially Isaac were going through that. But yeah, I love that scene, partly because you really get that perspective of what everything going down looks like to the people who aren’t fighting this fight I can just picture “You gonna tell us what the hell is going on?”, especially when they really don’t have an effing clue what’s going on! You really see a lot of that this episode which I suppose is natural when you set it in a space airport: “Better not be any delays, we got places to be!
Barbie> Right, right.
Christine> And it goes to show that all of this isn’t happening within a bubble. The consequences are very real!
Barbie> Right. So true. Let’s talk about the B plot. It was so much fun getting to know and love these characters. I mean, we’ve known them the last couple episodes, but e haven’t really dug deep. Of course, just as we started to like Ihred, she sacrifices herself to let the others escape. So I guess she now joins the likes of Nim, who, if you’ll recall, sacrificed himself back in episode two. Can we have a moment of silence for the previously creepy, now kinda heroic Ihred?
[moment of silence]
Christine> Rest in peace, Ihred -- at least we leave you with fond memories.
Barbie> I love the callback though, earlier in the episode when she notices the armor and points it out to Krob and Dengar, then zeros in on it when they needed something later on. Also something about Ihred, I loved when they are at customs and there’s that “Anything to declare'' moment where they all laugh … because they, like an inside joke that they’re not really there for the reason they’re saying they are, but Ihred gets to go into character a little bit, making sure her voice deepens as if that will sell the story better. Also, the diarrhea story just gets me. The captions make it about a hundred times better, when they say [makes sputtering sounds]. Of course, Krob is clueless, a couple minutes after they get turned away, and is asking when Ihred ate this nut, and Dengar and Ihred make this motion that I interpret as a “signals crossed” thing which is basically the old “this went over your head” type sign. Also, did they really feel the need to have a Squirp berry machine right after talking about diarrhea? That can’t have been an accident.
Christine> [laughs] True. I really just love how Ihred really gets those moments in the spotlight this episode -- it’s a nice farewell to her character. And really it’s something that we see a lot of this episode, where characters are having to get into character themselves. It’s really a testament to all these actors. It’s one thing to play another character, it’s another thing entirely to have that character playing a character themselves. It’s like -
Barbie> Inception.
Christine> 4d acting.
Barbie> Right, yeah. It’s great. And they pull it off.
Christine> They really do.
Barbie> While Krob, Ihred, and Dengar are waiting to get access to the ship and asking about Elida and crew, and who should come bursting through the door but our hero herself!
Christine> Yay!
Barbie> Fanfare! That roll Adriyan pulls off is impressive! Danishka has said that the fight scene had to be done all in one take, because once the feathers flew they couldn’t re-set that shot.
Christine> At least without hours and hours of wasted time.
Barbie> Right. So props to both of them, definitely.
Christine> Absolutely.
Barbie> I love Krob and Dengar teaming up to use the orbs. That was great.
Christine> It’s yet another fantastic fight scene, even if it does end with us losing Ihred. You get to see everybody being a badass, especially Ihred -- for all Elida looks down on the loyalists, you have to admit their intentions are good. Ihred gave her life so that Elida and her team and the other loyalists could all keep on going.
Barbie> Yep, yep. So let’s go to the bad guy. Lazaro.
Christine> Lest we forget.
Barbie> Right, there’s still some bad guys. We get to see Lazaro in a few different scenarios. Of course he’s on the ship with his call to the admiralty, who, Admiral Rykal - Robyn Scott - is, I love her!
Christine> Same!
Barbie> She is SO OVER Lazaro, just done.
Christine> And I can’t blame her one bit.
Barbie> Not at all. She seems like she has a very good head on her shoulders. But then, we also see him on the space port when he’s questioning Isaac after he gets captured. And then, at the end during the aftermath of the battle that we just talked about. I feel like, even though we see him throughout the episode, he is not a focus at all.
Christine> Yeah, I mean, I feel like Lazaro takes kind of a backseat in this part of the season -- I mean certainly we get the introduction of him in episode one and all, and of course he’s still there throughout these next few episodes, an ever looming threat, but let’s be honest, he’s not terribly much of a threat, not right now, anyway.
Barbie> Right. I think there is kind of a funny moment where Isaac is questioned by Lazaro and Isaac says they are in a rock band. He started off so serious!
Christine> Right. I just love the interplay between Isaac and Lazaro. It is glorious this episode - because Isaac’s snarky attitude plays so well off the no-nonsense attitude of Lazaro. Lazaro really does his best to claw through and get to the heart of Isaac’s motivations and I’m paraphrasing here, “Is this really worth giving up your chances of getting home?”. Even if Lazaro isn’t necessarily a major threat, he can still do loads of damage at a psychological level.
Barbie> Right, yes. We all know that’s what Isaac - that’s Isaac’s heart is at home.
Christine> Right, because of course we’ve heard him talking about his family back at home. You kind of feel for him.
Barbie> His son or daughter. Right. Enough about the bad guys, let’s talk love! This episode has the best Amida scenes to date.
Christine> Yep, truth.
Barbie> The “of course you thought of that” at the beginning of the episode … actually that whole scene. “Let’s handle this one together.”
Christine> Right! It’s just such a heartfelt scene, you can see just how much of a bond is building up between them. If last episode launched the ship, then this episode, full speed ahead. You can really see how much they care about each other, and ESPECIALLY how much Amae cares about Elida.
Barbie> Yes, and so many looks this episode. Like, when Amae was hacking the door open, she gives Elida the sweetest look right after Elida asked how much longer until the door opens. I was absolutely convinced they were going to kiss when they were in the hallway.
Christine> That makes a LOT of us!
Barbie> Best Amida moment so far! I mean -
Christine> Hands down.
Barbie> They looked at each other’s … lips? And the smile … and the “sorry” “It’s okay, you’re saving my life” That hallway moment was intense.
Christine> Truth!
Barbie> Fun fact, another one, I’m just full of them today: Adriyan and Alex wanted to shoot that scene again because they knew how important it was to get it right, and that was the take that was used in the show. I think they got it, spot on.
Christine> I would have to agree. And I really just love how the moment comes out of nowhere. One moment, they’re just doing their best to carry out the mission and get away, and next thing they know, there they are, right next to each other, staring right into each other’s eyes. Here we are, back at home, having a complete gay meltdown.
Barbie> [laughs] I know I was.
Christine> Same! It was just such a heartfelt moment, and one of the best of the entire season!
Barbie> Yeah, definitely. When Amae says “I know what I’m doing” all I can think about is what she’s doing to all of our hearts. But the way she looks at Elida when she is talking about not leaving anyone behind when Elida’s saying she doesn’t leave anyone behind… you can tell there’s some deep respect that’s forming.
Christine> Yuuuuuuuuuup, and you have to wonder if either of them would consider themselves in outright LOVE.
Barbie> Yeah, and there’s definitely the base is set. We’re laying it down. So let’s wrap it up. Let’s talk about the end of the episode.
Christine> That cliffhanger, oh my goodness.
Barbie> Once everyone is back on the ship, Elida says “That’s all of us” and immediately stops short and looks at Hath, apologetic, because they have literally JUST lost Ihred.
Christine> And it’s such a sad moment. As much as we had a lot of reasons to dislike Ihred, she was still a valuable part of the team, and a person with good intentions, on the whole.
Barbie> Yep, definitely. We get a final Amida moment in the cockpit when they’re talking about their moms. Amae says she tells her mom about interesting people, and then cue STARING AT ELIDA. Let’s just listen to this whole exchange.
[Show clip]
Elida> Any words of advice?
Amae> It changes all the time. Sometimes I tell her about a new food I’ve tried, or an interesting person I’ve met. I update her a lot on Chaz, especially every time he gets a new tattoo. Wow. I’m sorry. I’m totally making your moment about me.
Elida> What? Are you kidding me? This is helpful. I just wanted to say thank you. You know, for everything.
Amae> You don’t have to keep thanking me. I’m glad to be here.
isaac> It’s been what 7 years since you’ve seen your mom and that’s what your wearing?
[Clip ends]
Barbie> Ahhh, Isaac why did you walk in right there?
Christine> Well, we can’t win ‘em all, can we?
Barbie> I guess not. Anyway, we end the show crash-landing on Wix. I really love that the ship crashes in the distance, you know, we see it come down, we’re focused on this dunkrum, eating this harmless little banana - not banana. Carrot-like thing. And you don’t hear the crash. You see it, and you know it happens, and I think that it actually adds instead of just taking away.
Christine> Yeah, it’s just such an ominous moment andd If ever there were a cliffhanger, this is it -- I remember watching this episode for the first time and spending the entire next week being being desperate to find out what would happen, because what a moment! and let me tell you, that wait ended up being worth it.
Barbie> Yeah, definitely. Episode 5 is a good episode, a lot happens.
Christine> And of course we’ll be talking about it soon
Barbie> Yep, can’t wait!
Christine> Neither can I. First we gotta finish up talking about this episode.
Barbie> So, what was your favorite line?
Christine> Easily “If one of us falls, we all fall.” with “I don’t like labels” being a close second.
Barbie> That was my favorite! But yeah, those two were just, perfection. The “if one of us falls, we all fall” - solid.
Christine> The writing is just phenomenal. And then of course of we’re going to talk about episode highlights, we have to talk about the Amida scene in the hall.
Barbie> Yes, of course. That was - I think that IS the episode highlight at least for me. I guess if you’re not really into love stories maybe it’s not for you, but I’m a sucker for them.
Christine> So am I. And so on the whole if I had to rate this I give this episode 9 squirp berry lattes
Barbie> [laughs] And I think that I would do probably about 9 meat sticks. Thank you, Clive.
Christine> [laughs] Also, rest in peace Clive.
Barbie> Also rest in piece. And let’s, we’re going to start a segment of deaths in the episodes.
Christine> Because there’s so many that there comes a point where you just have to start keeping track.
Barbie> Right, so I’ve got a tally. So we’ve got Ihred and Clive from this episode, and then of course as we mentioned we have Nim.
Christine> Nim!
Barbie> So we have a total of 3 deaths [laughs in the manner of Sesame Street’s The Count]
Christine> After episode 4 and trust us dear listeners, that count’s just going to keep going up from here.
Barbie> Yeah, well, I mean we’ll see. Good guys, bad guys, main guys? I don’t know!
Christine> Enough about the episode, let’s talk about - well, one last bit about the episode we’ve gotta talk about ratings. This was the first episode to air on Thursday night and it clocked in at 182,000 viewers not down too terribly much from episode 3, only about 26,000 viewers or so down -- and it ended up coming in 122nd among new cable broadcasts that night. And as far as 18-49 viewers go it ticked up a hundredth of a point to .05 It wasn’t quite the death sentence some of us worried it was going to be!
Barbie> So let’s go to a few bits of recent news, though some of these are things we mentioned in our #SaveVagrantQueen episode that we released earlier in the week
Christine> So if you haven’t listened to that already, go ahead and give it a listen, you’ll be glad you did.
Barbie> For sure, and it’s a quick one. It’s just a little 8 minute or so minisode. First of all, the UK Vagrants -- lucky ducks.
Christine> Damn right.
Barbie> There’s a DVD and Blu-Ray of the first season coming your way! That’ll be out officially on the 13th, just a few days from now as we’re recording this. Unfortunately, it seems like it’s a bare-bones release, no special features or anything like that, but still, if you’d like another way to support the series, the option is there!
Christine> Absolutely. And I took a look and the DVDs clock in around 20 pounds and the Blu-Ray I believe is close to 30 pounds so it’s a good investment from my point of view. But then of course we host a podcast of the show so…
Barbie> Yeah, I know I broke down and bought the season on Google Play. I’m doing my part.
Christine> We certainly all are.
Barbie> So this is breaking news, it came out the day that we’re recording this episode, but Emily Andras of Wynonna Earp fame, has confirmed that Jem Garrard will be directing at least one episode of Wynonna Earp.
Christine> And forgive us for taking a moment to just geek out here, because of course both of us are Earpers.
Barbie> I’ve been happy all day, and it’s so funny because I have actually been daydreaming of that match for months. I wish that Adriyan or Alex could be on the show, obviously Tim already is so we’ve got that covered, but, due to the funding Wynonna Earp gets, the cast and crew have to have Canadian citizenship, but we can dream, right?
Christine< We absolutely can. It will be exciting to see what ends up coming from that.
Barbie> Yeah, I was thinking, I know that Jem is not a writer, she’s just doing the directorial aspect of it, but I wonder if they’re going to pair her up with any major deaths that we get to see. Because she seems so good at them. I mean we just saw Ihred and Clive right there.
Christine> Right, rest in peace one more time.
Barbie> Right, Nim, Clive, Ihred, we remember.
Christine> I believe we also have a charity giveaway to discuss, do we not?
Barbie> We sure do! We are nearing the end of our charity giveaway. The last day to get those donations in for the 3rd and final charities is July 15th. The prizes for this one are really exciting. There’s a hand stitched sterzaad that you can display prominently, and a Vagrant Queen comic page from none other than the artist himself, Jason Smith!
Christine> Exciting!
Barbie> We thank him very much for being so generous and donating that to us.
Christine> We certainly do, thank you Jason.
Barbie> Thank you, very much. I will let you know how much we raise for each charity in our next podcast episode because it will be wrapped up by then. Thanks to all who donated to the charities, and a huge thanks to all those who donated items to win!
Christine> Yes, massive kudos go out to all of you.
Barbie> Yes, and we will put up some links to the folks that have donated and we hope that you will take a look at that stuff and hopefully buy some things.
Christine> Yeah, of course. It’s not just about us, we like to hear what all of you have to say, too. So it’s on that note that we’ll get into our listener comments for this episode. So @ArtsyMagician a friend of the podcast, has these thoughts and I’m just quoting directly here:
I really enjoyed this episode for many reasons:
- It poked fun at airports and the TSA. As a New Yorker I always have to go to JFK to travel...definitely not the nicest airport. It is chaotic and filled with endless lines of travelers with quite the personalities. VQ does a good job showing of what this place is like in space.
- THE MUSIC! Specifically in the fight scene with Elida and crew. That guitar riff is epic as Elida runs and flips into battle. I am so impressed with Adriyan, she literally gave me butterflies watching her do this stunt herself. I probably watched this battle over 20 times or so.
Barbie> That’s a great point. @Artsymagician continues on a third point:
- Elida’s line: “ugh, I hate labels”. I loved it so much I literally had to design it.
Christine> And the design came out so well.
Barbie> It did! I love it. I have two of them myself. I have one of my laptop and one on my water bottle, but yeah check that out it’s perfect. And then she goes on to say, her fourth and final point:
- Ihred’s line to the agent: “It’s diarrhea. I’m having violent diarrhea. Like the fountain of Rivelian. Swoosh swooosh.” I didn’t expect her to say something so out of character. It caught me off guard, just like it did with her allies. It was hilarious. It brought me into tears of laughter.
Christine> Yeah, there are just so many things to love about this episode.
Barbie> Yes, and thank you for really putting that, the whole quote. We did not do that in our podcast, but here it is right for you the listeners.
Christine> Thank you for sending that in @Artsymagician. We appreciate it. And of course of you’ve got thoughts on episode 5 that we’re doing next, or on what we’re doing here on the podcast, or on the show in general, or on the matter of #SaveVagrantQueen we’ll have the deets on how to do that in just a minute here.
Barbie> Yeah, I mean even if it’s not episode 5 if you have really strong feelings on 6, 7, 8, 9, or 10. We are open! You can e-mail us anytime, or DM us on Twitter - our messages are open so you can do that. But for now, thank you for listening to our discussion. Christine, where can we find you on social media?
Christine> I am @RetroTimeLady on twitter.
Barbie> And you can find me @Only1Leia on twitter and instagram, for whatever that’s worth, and that will wrap things up for the episode.
Next week, we are talking episode 5. We are looking forward to it, and we hope you will too.
Christine> Of course, keep listening now to hear about all the different ways to support our dispatches. For now though, until the next dispatch from Xija Station, the fight goes on. This has been a podcast from another galaxy …
Both> … Not yours.
[End theme]
Barbie> We are a fan-driven podcast, which means you help us do what we do, so we appreciate any way you can show your support for our work.
You can find us on Twitter at @XijaDispatchPod -- there, you can find current news about Vagrant Queen, our podcast, and many other things happening in the fandom.
You can also support us on a long term or short term basis through Patreon! Your subscription there helps us cover expenses for the podcast, whether it's hosting costs or giveaways or anything else that makes us the best fan space it can be. To find us on patreon and to get more information, just go to patreon.com and search Xija.
And of course, as a fan podcast, we want to hear from you the fans! Our email is vagrantqueenpod@gmail.com - you can send us text or a voice recording, whether it's about what's happening on the episode, your thoughts on the show as a whole, or what we're doing here on the podcast. This is an inclusive space, so send us some comments or feedback and make yourself heard!
Finally, Podbean hosts new episodes of our podcasts - that's where you can go to find the latest episodes of our programs and keep up to date on what's happening in our galaxy. We also have transcripts available if you need them - that's at xijastation.podbean.com.
Til next time, Xija Station, over and out.