A Lifetime of Happiness: Movies, TV, and Video Games

March 2023 Happy Recap

• Steve Bennet-Martin, Stephen Martin-Bennet • Season 1 • Episode 164

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The Steves discuss what's been making them happy in pop culture, as we dive deeper into Scream 6, The Last of Us, Wolf Pack, You, Metroid Prime, and more!

Ending- Any music or audio clips were borrowed from the original source material.

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Steve:

Hello, returning Happys and new listeners. This is Steve Bennet

Stephen:

Martin. And this is Stephen Martin-Bennet, and welcome to a

Steve:

lifetime of happiness. The podcast where we take you on our journey through some of the movies, shows another bits of pop culture that are helping to keep us happy, while hopefully ring a smile to your face along the way.

Stephen:

And this month we're gonna end things a little bit differently as we spend time recapping what shows in movies we loved watching this month. Yes,

Steve:

I know we start each episode with a little bit of preview of what we're enjoying. And I, you know, I always love going deeper,

Stephen:

So let's talk about a movie that made us both very happy.

Steve:

That would be Scream six.

Stephen:

Scream six. Indeed,

Steve:

yes. It was released on March 10th with a budget of 35 to 30 or 3 million, somewhere in that ballpark, and already as a box office of 121.5 million as of Friday, the 23rd. Yeah, they say

Stephen:

it's going to be easily the most successful screen movie in the franchise. We have a franchise now.

Steve:

Yes. That self identifies as such. Yes, It is a direct sequel to the recall screen five and the sixth in the franchise with the same creative team of Benelli Open and Gillette directing, and James Vanderbilt and Guy Buse writing that we saw in screen five. Yep. And it

Stephen:

features the screen five survivors, our Core four, Sam, Tara, and Mindy. And Chad. Along with OG and Best Scream character, Gail Weathers and the return from Scream four that we were all dying for Kirby Reid. So it's a hell of a

Steve:

cast. It is a hell of a cast. And on top of that, they have new suspects that at that point, like aren't even worth mentioning. Cuz at this point we know they're either with a killer or they're fodder for a along the way. Yeah. And so we will try and keep this discussion spoiler free for those. Still interested in wa watching it. But if you have seen it and want to hear our thoughts with all the spoilers, stick around to the end of the episode in our spoiler room. Yep.

Stephen:

And this was really, really good.

Steve:

Yes, it was. We know from the previews that it took place in New York City. We see the room dedicated to all the screen paraphernalia. Yep.

Stephen:

The collection room was amazing.

Steve:

Yes. And we know that there was a subway scene

Stephen:

and we know there was a subway scene and we also in the trailer saw a scene With Gail getting her own phone call. Yes.

Steve:

And so the, the movie set up basically is that all the survivors from Spring five are now living in New York City and the sisters are dealing with Sam being overprotective of Tara after what they went through while Tara's just trying to drink away or not talk about her feelings. And

Stephen:

Well, and one of the things that they really. in this, that I don't think it's a spoiler. There's a lot of hate directed towards Samantha. Yes. And do you know why they wrote

Steve:

that in? Because that's how the fans react to

Stephen:

it. That's how the fans reacted to Sam after Scream five. They were all pissed that she was the new Sydnee and they said she's not a good actress and it was a horrible character and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Which I disagree with. I thought that the actress that played Samantha, did a great job on Scream Five, and she's even better in six. And what's funny is that most of the people that were so mad after Scream five are totally

Steve:

fine now. Yeah. Well, there you go. And any favorite new characters that stick out in the long run? Mm.

Stephen:

No, the thing that made me the most happy was just Kirby coming back. Yes. But you also

Steve:

loved Mindy's girlfriend, right? Oh,

Stephen:

I did love Mindy's girlfriend. I think she is an excellent character. The actress made herself memorable without chewing the scenery or you know, needing to be one of the core foreign things. Yeah, I really

Steve:

like the character a. Yes. And any favorite moments?

Stephen:

The latter scene. Mm-hmm. and that's all I'm gonna say about it for the spoiler free part. But the latter scene is as intense for me

Steve:

as the car scene

Stephen:

from two, the car scene from two or Gail trying to sneak through the sound booth rooms in two. Yeah. Both of those things in two were the. Of anxiety for me, the latter scene is now up there with them.

Steve:

Yes. And I'm sure Gail's apartment also caused your adrenaline to pump.

Stephen:

Very much so. And it ended differently than I thought it was going to. There was one part in the middle of the scene and I was like, oh shit. And yes cuz I thought there was a certain way it was going. No, these writers are really creative.

Steve:

Yes, they are. And we did see the collection room in the trailer. Yeah. So we can say that the killer has a giant collection room. But what I have to say is I love the attention to detail. Like you can tell even though they came in at five that this team loves the original four movies so much and like wants nothing to do, but respect it in a way. I know we were talking off Mike at one point about. Sometimes like Friday the 13th movies or The Nightmare in Elm Street movies, oftentimes by the time they're getting to like 6, 7, 8, they're kind of like rewriting or forgetting this happened, or it might have happened chronologically, but we're not gonna talk about it or refer back like they are building a story here for movie to movie, right. That builds off of the predecessor in a way that I really love seeing come to visualization when you see this room.

Stephen:

Very much so. And one of the things that I liked in the collection room also not a spoiler is all of Gail's books are there. Yeah. And she has a book for every movie. Mm-hmm. in our franchise. Yes. And also some Nongo face related books. So it's interesting that Gale Weathers has written. Seven or eight novels. That is cool.

Steve:

Yeah. So final thoughts? I would say go watch it if you haven't already. Watch it. Cuz if you like screen movies or raving like horror movies, you need to see

Stephen:

it. Yeah. And this is stellar and up there with the best of them.

Steve:

Yep. Worth the price of admission. I would say if you have a fancy movie theater or a cheat movie theater in town, go to the fancy one. Treat yourselves to a good night out.

Stephen:

Exactly. That was the only movie we went out and saw this month. But we saw some, we watched a lot of tv. We watched a lot of TV and I know

Steve:

we had talked previously about watching the Last of us, but we did get around to finishing it. Yep. For those not in the Know, it's on H B O Season one Premier January 15th and ended up. Finishing up the season on Oscar's night with an audience average of 30 million viewers, breaking all sorts of numbers for H B O that haven't been hit like since Game of Thrones.

Stephen:

Right. And it's based on the 2013 video game of the same name with writer you did with writers, Craig Mazen and Neil Druckman. It's Stars, Pedro Pascal is. And Bella Ramsey as Ellie.

Steve:

Obviously everyone knows Pedro Pascal's role as the college student in the season for episode one, premiere of Buffy the Vampire

Stephen:

Slayer. Exactly. Not the Mandalorian at

Steve:

all. Nope, not at

Stephen:

all. Or that God awful Wonder Woman 1984 movie. Oh,

Steve:

no. I've blocked that outta my memory as we should. Yes. And so the premise for those not familiar with the game or the series is it's a post-apocalyptic world with mushroom zombies. Ellie is immune and Joel gets tasked with taking her across the country to find a cure. That's a good summary. Yes. And what were your thoughts on the season? I mean, the biggest thing for me that sold me on the game was the chemistry and the relationship scene between Joel and Ellie throughout the game. How do you feel like they captured it on the screen? I thought they did a

Stephen:

really good job. I I don't know in the game if they had immediate bond or chemistry from the beginning of the. Or it built, it's rough and it builds. Yeah. So it's just like the show and I, I like that where we end feels earned. Mm-hmm.

Steve:

So I did enjoy that. Yes. And also thoughts on any of the guest characters, cuz most of those were built up from the ground up from what I remember. I need to go back and replay the game, but like I do know, I researched and the gay couple that everyone went wild for in season, in, in episode three was just a, a small minor character. Gives you a truck in the first one. Yeah.

Stephen:

Like Murray Bartlet is fantastic in everything that he. So I enjoyed seeing him in the show, but for me, my favorite guest character was Melanie Linsky as Kathleen Kauflin, who was the head of one

Steve:

of the gangs in town. Yeah.

Stephen:

And he's a very different role for her. It is. And, but I liked it because you can definitely tell that she. Is a smart woman. She was prepared for when all this went down. Mm-hmm. she's believable as a leader and though she's willing to get her hands dirty, she also comes off as smart enough and. is enough of a leader that she can have the underlings do all the things she doesn't want to do.

Steve:

Yeah, for sure. She was definitely a standout. And thoughts on their version of Zombies clickers?

Stephen:

I thought they were really good. My favorite scene of them was also in the, that episode, that episode with Melanie Linsky whenever they just over the swarm came. Yeah. And overran ever overrun everything. So that was really good. Just kind of like in our zombie show. Walking Dead. Walking Dead. Walking Dead. How a lot of the evil in this show is also the people. Yes. Just like in The Walking Dead, it's not always about the zombies. Sometimes people are just awful.

Steve:

Yes, that is true. And after killing so many of them throughout the game, it was great seeing the clickers come to life. I feel. Our, you know, right out of the video game and exactly the way I would imagine them too. I just wish that, other than that one episode that there were more of them agreed, because you do kill a lot of them throughout the game, and I understand they can't have like the entire show be action, but I do feel like there were, there could have been more zombies agreed.

Stephen:

Now, how do you think it, compared to the video game?

Steve:

I, I definitely. Wasn't as moved as I was with the video game. And I feel like that's because I spend more time playing through it. And it does focus more on just the two of them. And like other people are passing through in like less of a starring way, like the, like they build more character, I feel like in the show for the guest stars to make them be worth having guest stars come on for Right. Well, originally the game, like it is about spending the time with the two of you together for so much of the game. And so I didn't get as like emotionally invested and I also knew what was coming, which also probably did diminishes it a little bit. But you know, I remember bawling through the ending of the game and I don't feel close to a tear at the end of seeing it in the show. Did

Stephen:

you? No. I didn't play the video game and I thought the show was good, but I wasn't in love with. Especially like the internet was, and they were also in love with the gay episode, which I thought was fine. Yeah. And I think the show overall was fine. If there's a season two, which I'm sure there will be, I'll watch it, but it's not on my, oh my God, I can't wait for a season two. I thought it was just a good show. Yes, it was. It was.

Steve:

Yes. Well that brings us to you season four. Now

Stephen:

that is a show that I can give rave reviews about. Excellent. While, while I might have been lukewarm on the last of us, I am definitely thumbs up on you season four.

Steve:

Yes, and it, the been on Netflix since season two. Season four was released in two parts between February and March of 2020. It's Stars Pen badge Lee as Joel or

Stephen:

Joe. Joe and I am DB says, A dangerously charming, intensely obsessive young man goes to extreme measures to insert himself into the lives of those he is transfixed by.

Steve:

Yes, I would say that that is a very accurate way to describe season one for those who and all of the whole and all of those seasons, honestly. Yes. But yes, picking up from where we left off on season three, where he basically had to have a hard reset for his life. Yeah. How did the part one go for you?

Stephen:

So, it was interesting Joe is living in the UK as Jonathan. He's teaching literary studies at a university in London and. trying to live a life. He is still obsessed with Maryanne. Mm-hmm. But we kind of see that they saw each other, it didn't work out, and he watched her leave. Yeah. And then we start having. The Eat the rich killer.

Steve:

Yes. And I, I love that for his journey that like in the very first episode, the premise is set up that someone wakes up dead next to him, but it wasn't him who did it

Stephen:

almost that. For, for part one, people can't wake up dead next to you. You know what I mean?

Steve:

yes. Joe woke up dead next to, well, he woke up next to someone who's dead. Here we go. Yes, that's exactly, yeah. The zombie show is the last one we talked about. Not this one. Okay, got

Stephen:

it. Exactly. And that was really interesting cuz you're like, oh shit, somebody else is doing this and Joe's being set up and so in part one you're like, well, We can totally be on Joe's side right now, because in previous seasons, you're like, Joe, you're a great character. Just do better. And this time we're like, Hey, it's not you.

Steve:

Yes. And so we left the first part of the season with a suspect in mind who was confirmed to be the eat the rich killer. How do you feel like they wrapped up season one?

Stephen:

I thought it, or part one. Part one. It was severely impressive the way it was done. They cast a lot of really dynamic caricatures. Mm-hmm. but I almost think they needed to be caricatures because we're talking about. Uber wealthy people from a life of privilege that never had anybody to ground them. Yes. So I think

they

Steve:

probably are caricatures. Exactly. I don't know too many people like that. I don't run

Stephen:

in those circles. No, but I think that that's how you become a caricature like early Paris Hilton. Yeah.

Steve:

Exactly. And thoughts on part two.

Stephen:

So this one is gonna be conflicting for people. We're not going to spoil this cuz it just came out.

Steve:

How is the Internet's reaction to,

Stephen:

A twist? The initial twist episode? Yeah. Disheartening. Yeah. And upsetting. But once seen as a whole, A really interesting character study whenever you think of someone, what they're wanting versus who they are. Yeah. And how that

Steve:

conflicts. Is that where you

Stephen:

landed on it? It is. I didn't like the twist when it was happening. And I'm glad that wasn't the final episode of the season. Because. It made more sense in the finale and I feel like we still earned our character growth. Yep. That we had.

Steve:

Yes, I agree. And I do also just have to add that lady, Phoebe is the best of us.

Stephen:

Oh my God, lady. Phoebe is such an amazing character and. I would be

Steve:

her friend. Yes, me too. In a heartbeat. Yeah. And I want nothing but her to live happily ever after. Yeah. I don't want

Stephen:

her to come back on the show because I don't stay away. Stay away. I'm just kind of like they're like, scream seven Gail, honey, just stay away This way I can know that you live. Yes,

Steve:

All right. And wrapping it up. I guess the new you would be Kate for Joe. Is she, is she good for him?

Stephen:

So. At the beginning of part one. Yeah. And through most of part one, I was like, I do not like you. Yeah. At all. She was not a likable character. She had a lot of walls up. She was really arrogant and pretentious. And then you kind of learn why she's that way. Mm-hmm. and cuz as she lets other people past her walls, she's letting the audience past her walls and all of a sudden you. Well, shit, now I like you. Yes, I do

Steve:

like her now too. As for what kind of influence she'll be on Joe going forward. Who's

Stephen:

to say? Who's to say, but. I'm interested for season five.

Steve:

Yes. All right. And so again, stick around to the end for spoilers as we discuss more in depth the twist and what that meant for the ending of the season. But let's move on to Wolf Pack.

Stephen:

Yes. Now why would we want to watch Wolf Pack?

Steve:

Sarah Michelle Geller. Yes. AK

Stephen:

Buffy That's the

Steve:

reason we watched it. Yeah. You give me any show with her and I will give it a shot. But I would say that overall I'm glad I watched it. It wasn't me too a groundbreaking twist on the teen wolf genre.

Stephen:

No, but it was fun. Each episode was fun and thoroughly enjoyable. It knew what type of show it was. It didn't try to strive away from. Just kind of like B, how Buffy was. Yeah, Buffy knew what it was. It didn't try to be more than that,

Steve:

but it did break ground multiple times. Yes. But yes, with Wolf Pack it was on Paramount Plus, if you'd like to check it out, the whole season's Venable now. It was created by Jeff Davis based on books of the same name, by Ito von Baum.

Stephen:

It premiered on January 26th, 2023. Had eight episodes with streaming numbers, and you never know what they really are. Yes but Parrot Analytics found that the audience demand for Wolf Pack is 17.1 times the demand. The average TV series this month.

Steve:

That sounds good. I would say that I don't, I'm not a TV expert. I'm certainly no parrot, but I would say that that's a good number to be be at. Yeah. I

Stephen:

would say that that'll get us a season two,

Steve:

hopefully. I know that I always wanna see more, as I mentioned, Sarah Michelle Geller. Yeah. This time around. She's not Buffy, she's Kristen Ramsey. She's an arson investigator, and we have two teens, Everett and Blake, who become werewolves after getting scratched. Pair with sibling werewolves, Luna and Harlan, who are twins to take down a super bad werewolf.

Stephen:

So I really like how they did it. There's family connections, there's strangers that are kind of our introductions to the world. And it also starts off amazingly well with the bus scene and the wild animals and the fire. And it grabs you from the beginning because. You kind of feel like you're playing catch up, which means that you want to. Watch and absorb and try to figure out exactly what's going on. Yeah. Because

Steve:

I mean, you don't normally, I would say if they have the one twist on the, the Teen Wolf drama series, it's that it's plus fire. Yeah. But they found a way to make that work and it, it did make it somewhat unpredictable cuz you're not familiar with fire being part of werewolf mythology. It's not like, you know, normally in most of these shows, once you see a werewolf, you know how it happened and you know how to end it. Yep. And like this, they made it a little different with fire and

Stephen:

Yeah. And. There's a big mystery all season of someone calling people on their cell phones Yeah. And warning them about this or telling them about that. And even at the end of the season, we don't know who it is. We don't know who it is because we thought it was someone. Yeah. It wasn't because that person ends up talking to them and I was like, well, there blows my entire theory. Yeah. I would say that

Steve:

it was a good finale if they had been renewed for season two, but I'm very nervous if season two doesn't happen and it's a horrible way to end a show, and I know you always wanna swing for the fences when it comes to your finales, but I don't feel like enough was wrapped up. There's one thing to like wrap up a story you were telling with some cliff hangers to like, or like things to lead you into the next season. No,

Stephen:

this was a launching. Absolutely for a season two. This was a show that's saying we're asking for a season two. With the last 10 minutes of this episode, please give it to us. Oh, I hope they do Now, there are some shows that have come out recently that we haven't watched yet, but are on my list. There is poker face starring Natasha Leon. It's from Ryan Johnson of the Knives Out franchise, and she has the uncanny ability to tell when anyone is lying and it's on Peacock and Natasha Leone doesn't sign up for average television, and I don't think Ryan Johnson. Rights or would write or make average television. So I've only heard good things about this on the interwebs. Cool. There was a reality show called The Traders. Yeah. It's similar to the Mole from back in the day on abc. It stars all reality show stars. It is hosted by Alan Cumming. Mm-hmm. who we liked as Knight Crawler. Yeah. And X-Men. And also one of the contestants is my favorite redhead from Big Brother Rachel Riley.

Steve:

There you

Stephen:

go. Worth the watch alone. Yes. Also, on H B O is a show called Swarm, about a young woman's obsession with a pop star that takes a dark turn. Also heard good things on Twitter about it. So, I'm gonna at least give it a look. And then we've been seeing trailers for this while watching Hulu. It's a show on the cw, not, not cw, isn't it Paramount or Peacock? I thought we were No, it's it's on the one that used to be ABC family, freeform,

Steve:

freeform.

Stephen:

Called school spirits where a girl is stuck in high school purgatory as she attempts to investigate her own murder. She is the spirit in school spirits. Oh,

Steve:

okay. I'm sure I'll be able to stick around for at least two of those

Stephen:

four. Agreed. I would say that you probably like the traders and school spirits. I wouldn't give, I wouldn't put money on you watching the others.

Steve:

I don't know yet. We'll find out. Yes, but yes. We also have a show she was on recently, the Watchful Eye on Freeform that I also want to have us watch.

Stephen:

I almost put that on the list and I was like, maybe

Steve:

that has my vo it has Amy Acker.

Stephen:

Oh, that's right. Yes. We do like Amy Acker on this podcast.

Steve:

Yes. We also like playing video games. We sure do. You played Bayonetta two again, right? I actually

Stephen:

played Bayonetta one and Bayonetta two. And Bayonetta is, is the story of the Umbr witch Cresa who awakens after 500 years with no memory. And she has to try to get her memories back while also stopping the world from coming to an end. So I replay Bayonetta One came out on the PS three, I believe, and then it was redone for the Weu, and then Bayonetta two came out and. Bayonetta one is a good game, but frustrating. Bayonetta two is utterly fantastic. I have no notes like that. This was what they intend. I would think they intended the first one to be all along. It just plays better. It's a better story. It's more beautiful, which happens as game, as graphics improve and all that, blah, blah. but Bayonetta two is far superior. And how's Bayonetta three? I have not gotten to Bayonetta three yet. It came out recently and around Halloween actually. And then someone was kind enough to buy me Bayonetta Origins crea and the Demonn. So I will be getting to both of those potentially before. Legend Zelda. Tears of the Kingdom comes out, hopefully. And then I've also been playing and just finished Metro Prime remastered for the

Steve:

game you've been asking for, for

Stephen:

decades. I really have been asking for this game for so long. Every time there is an Nintendo Direct, I'm like, If they could just do Met Prime hd, the trilogy, that would, that's all I want. That's all I, I've always asking. And then the one time we're watching a Nintendo Direct, I don't mention it. Yeah. And they're like, and it's

Steve:

out today. And it's out today. And I was like, what?

Stephen:

That's the biggest shock. Was it worth the wait? It was worth the wait. So they rebuilt, this was originally Metro Promise out on the Game Cube, and they redid this from the ground. For the Nintendo Switch, it's still one of my favorite video games of all time. It's magnificent. This is probably one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful game on the switch. The controls are so tight, the story is amazing. Exploration battles, loved it all. Now I'm just, and it sold extraordinarily. Yeah.

Steve:

And so is it worth playing for someone who skipped it on the game Cube?

Stephen:

Yes. And is worth playing if you played it on The Game Cube? Play this game. And Nintendo. I know you're listening. Metro Prime Two. And Metro Prime Three. Remastered please. Four Christmas. Oh gosh, that'd be amazing. talk to me about what you've been playing. I'm sure you've been completing a lot of games.

Steve:

March was a struggling month for me. Uhhuh I started with Digi Mon World Next Order. How did that end? It ended great when I played at first on the PlayStation four and I sunk a hundred hours into it. Playing a very grindy intensive, repetitive lose hours, just smashing buttons. Type of game doesn't go so well on the second time around sometimes, as it does on the first time when you're doing it, wondering what happens next. Yeah. When I already know everything that happens next, I'm not as invested to spend days on end mashing buttons, mashing buttons. Yeah. And feeding my Pokemon and hel or a digi on and helping them poop. Okay. Yes.

Stephen:

I'm glad Pokemon don't

Steve:

poop. I'm glad too. Yeah, so then I knew that I had just a couple weeks before Atil three came out, so I played Story of Seasons, friends of Mineral Town, which people previously known as Harvest Moon, and that one was the version that was on the Game Boy events or something. Or Game Cube, who knows? But I went into it knowing I wouldn't play it for too long, and then I played it and I was like, yeah, I'm good. And I still had a week left. So then I played the DLC for Atil Sophie too, just as like a pallet cleanser for like the last week before Atill Reza three came out. But that's the third in the A Tiller series, and that's one of my favorite game series of all time. And they're very, they used to be very, J RPGs, but with atelier rea, it's actually broadened its audience to be like a mainstream RPG or J rpg. Now, so is

Stephen:

this AR Tiller Rea three? There was an artillery REA two, one

Steve:

and two both for the switch and PlayStation four, and then this. Two and three were on the five as well. So there are several artillery games. Yes. And normally they follow like one Alchemist and then like the other ones might pop up. They oftentimes do it in trilogies where like each one has a different name for it. But then the girls or the. Alchemist from the first one might make appearances in the second one as will other characters and people you've encountered along the way. It's rare for it to be one alchemist that you follow through three games, but I'm only a couple hours in right now, like 20 So I would say that you really can tell though the difference and it makes him much more emotional impact when you're not just seeing old friends pop up, but you're actually seeing this group of four friends. Grow up over a period of four years, both in real time and in game time. And it's, I'm excited to see the payoff. I'm enjoying every moment. Is

Stephen:

artillery moomoo

Steve:

in it? No, she's not. She died. Okay. Oh no. Maru was in the Aland series. Okay. Also worth a play if you like these types of games. Yes. But yes. So before we close out, I want to warn everyone that the rest of the episode will be about spoilers for scream. I don't think there's anything really worth spoiling about the last of us. Nope. And you, so we're gonna talk about screaming you now. Yes.

Stephen:

So if you have not seen it and you don't want it

Steve:

spoiled, we'll see you next week and stay happy. Stay happy. But yes, for spoilers, for scream especially, I'm sure the blood is gushing. Oh. Out of you. Just wanting to share it.

Stephen:

So Gail lives. Well, Gail lives, thank

Steve:

God. That was the, that was the number one concern you stated publicly always. And you had going into the movie and she does survive.

Stephen:

And I, I didn't want Kirby to come back just to be killed off either.

Steve:

Yes. What did you think at first when, when they thought that Kirby was

Stephen:

evil? I didn't believe it. Yeah. I couldn't believe it because she didn't seem like the type, she was always more. Than anybody else. And so I just didn't think it was possible.

Steve:

So what do you think about three killers instead of

Stephen:

two? I thought that that, so one of them. I picked out. Yeah.

Steve:

The sister. The sister, because

Stephen:

you prefer the same reason everybody else

Steve:

picked it out because she mentions her brother.

Stephen:

Well, she mentions her brother and we never see the

Steve:

body, which I didn't realize the first time through because it goes straight from her being killed into the ladder scene. But by the time we were into the latter scene, I was like, oh no. Poor lesbian. Yeah. I had completely forgotten about the roommate at that point, which I think was part of the

Stephen:

purpose. And the other brother being one of the killers. You didn't I you didn't really suspect him because he seemed so, Pointless and useless.

Steve:

Yeah. And like the joke the entire time was that he was the killer. Uhhuh So I guess it kind of makes sense since they're getting very like meta and stuff like that to be like, yeah, he was, but there were two more that you had no idea. Yeah.

Stephen:

Samara weaving. Mm-hmm. as the first kill. That was

Steve:

the fact that she was the first kill didn't make me as angry as the fact, as I thought they were gonna make us go through an entire movie. Knowing who ghost's face was,

Stephen:

yes. That was like, I was like, wait a minute, am I gonna be okay with this? Can I know who the, who in the, who done it is from the beginning and

Steve:

then he gets the call and you're like, oh, thank

Stephen:

God. Oh, thank God. And like cuz originally Samara weaving had been offered a large part in screen five. Rumor has it, she was set to play. Samantha. Yeah. Who knows? They, they're, they won't confirm or deny. I love her. She was amazing and ready or not. And so the directors who also, and writers who also did Ready or Not love her, so they asked her to do this. She said, absolutely. And I would take her class. I would take her class too is on Slashers. Yes. And it was like the opening scene was really well done. It made you keep guessing because you're, think. Well, God, now I know the whole thing. And then they turned it on its head and you're like, oh wow. The scene in Gail's apartment. Mm-hmm. whenever he chased her onto the balcony, I thought we were about to have a cece from the 37th

Steve:

floor. Yes. And I was worried when she was cornered in the bathroom and like she was so confident that like her shots landed. Oh. And I guess she was like, unfortunately that she got the small one. Oh.

Stephen:

I also loved, so she finally got the call. Yeah. Thank I. Yes. But I also loved. When the killer was hiding from her. Mm-hmm. and she she just said, hold on a second. Hung up, called them back. Yeah. To hear where the phone was. I was like, that's why you're Gaye fucking weathers. That was genius. Yes, I was, because nobody's really done that with the killer before, so I was very

Steve:

impressed. Yeah, no, that was awesome. And I, I do. Love that she survived cuz she could have easily, like plot-wise have died. Absolutely. But I think that they wanna keep all their options open. I think these writers love the originals so much that they need to have some people be safe.

Stephen:

And here's the question. Did you miss Sydney? Did you feel that there was a lack? Like that her lack of. Hindered the movie at all or did it work okay without

Steve:

her? It worked okay without her, and I almost wish they didn't bring Gail back because what they did to her character, this movie, there better be room for re redemption in the next movie because she was finally moved on and then she lost Dewey and she wasn't gonna write about the movie or what happened, and then she did. And I just don't like what they did with her character in this movie. So I almost wish that they had let them both stay away. Yeah.

Stephen:

Agreed. I wish that, and the, the only reasoning I can see as to why Gail did what she did was to a, she lost her best friend and she probably spiraled a little bit. Mm-hmm. And then she wanted to write something to honor him, even though it's, she, at the end of the fifth one, she's like, I wanna. A book about a man who used to be a sheriff of a small town. Yeah. And I was like, oh, that'll be really sweet. And then she resorted back to her other ways, which we can see coming. I also

Steve:

think that Gail could be ghost facing. You would find a way to explain it so that it makes sense. I would, yes.

Stephen:

I absolutely would. Okay. So here's a question because ghost Billy came back. Mm-hmm. and. and Samantha is definitely leaning more into her stabby, stabby dark side. Yeah. Are they setting us up for Sam's Ghost face in seven?

Steve:

I don't think so, but I do think that she might go too far at some point in the story and like in the, like maybe in the next one. Trying to kill ghost's face, she might accidentally kill someone else.

Stephen:

You mean like faith in Buffy the vampires later

Steve:

season three? Well, yes, maybe, but not like in the same like, oh, oops, I accidentally stabbed this person. Mm-hmm. But like thinking someone's ghost face and killing them. I like, you know, I wouldn't be surprised if they went there, like

Stephen:

if it's just somebody that was wearing a costume. Yeah. Or or somebody that she thought was stalking her. Yeah. And she turns around and like stabs him thinking that she's protecting herself. And yeah, it was just some guy that was follow going into the same road she was. Yeah.

Steve:

And speaking of a little bit of split personalities, what about the twist on you? Okay.

Stephen:

So for those people that have seen both parts of season four of you, we know that. Or we, we

Steve:

thought that the each, the rich killer was the guy that was

Stephen:

running for mayor. Yeah. And Reese. Reese. And it turns out spelled r h y s the very British way to spell Reese. Yeah. That's how you spell Reese. And then we find out that Joe never met Reese at the party. And it was all in his mind, and it was all in his mind the whole time. And. It was, I was upset at first, and then I started thinking of it as Joe was trying to move on and do better, and whatever is wrong inside of him wouldn't let him. So it made him disassociate so it could still keep doing what it wanted to do? I guess.

Steve:

So. I mean, I'm not a crazy psychopathic serial killer, so I don't really know what the experience is like, so I just have to just be like, okay, fiction. Like as long as it gets better, I don't want to see respect next season in the mirror or you know, manifesting himself. Right. I. Like the end of the season to have been him. Like, and seeing Reese, that reflection, that final time being like okay, you're a part of me now. I accept you and goodbye. Right. I

Stephen:

like, I want them to be able to move on as well. And then, you know, for Kate to clean up all of his murders and make him be able to. Be able to live as Joe again, even in New York City of all places. Yeah.

Steve:

The, the fact that she got him back to where it all started, I think it's gonna be very interesting where they go from the season. I, I'm curious to see how okay she is with cleaning up after him, especially if it becomes another woman that he gets transfixed by. Right.

Stephen:

And yeah, cuz then you, then you wonder like, What, what is the line that she's not willing to cross? Like when would she stop? And I want to know more about how she killed all those children too. Yeah.

Steve:

So, well, we have one more season before they wrap it all up.

Stephen:

So season five is the end? Yes, it is. Okay. But there was a lot of good stuff. There's more good stuff coming and. Gentle listeners, I know that you're all as concerned as I am. Grey's Anatomy has been renewed for season 20.

Steve:

Oh, excellent. Thank goodness. I can sleep tonight. I know. All right. Excellent. Well, I wanna thank you all listeners for tuning in to the entire episode and listening to all our spoilers. If you like this, let us know so we could do it again. Email us at happy life pod

Stephen:

gmail.com or you can get in touch with us on all the socials, whether that is Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or TikTok. At Happy Life

Steve:

Pod or if you're one of our closest friends and families, you can text us or find us on Facebook. But no stalkers, not anymore. Thank you. And until next time, everyone, stay. Stay happy.