Album 69: SPOILER ALERT

Whit's wiping down the counter, Connie's mopping the floor, and the kids are sipping on their milkshakes. If you want to talk about Adventures in Odyssey the radio drama, this is the spot to do just that!
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ByeByeBrownie
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Album 69: SPOILER ALERT

Post by ByeByeBrownie »

Album description from AIOWiki:
Long-held secrets are uncovered and major revelations are commonplace in Adventures in Odyssey Album 69: Best Kept Secrets. Listeners have long wondered about Morrie Rydell’s plans for the kids in Odyssey. All will be revealed and questions will be answered in these episodes. Elsewhere, Jules’s mother suddenly arrives in Odyssey to take Jules back to California, maybe for good. What will happen to Jules, her newfound musical career, and her friends back in Odyssey?
We've talked about Morrie. But what about
the Jules two-parter? Is she getting written off the show? Will we get some nice Buckles drama in here?
What are your theories?
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Monica Stone
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Post by Monica Stone »

I am ecstatic about this album! The first half is Rydell Saga and the second half is Jules centric. I have complained that AIO brought too many characters in too quickly last year and neglected Jules and Buck, whose arcs should come to a close before all of the new characters. This sounds like it could be a turning point for Jules. I don't know if she'll become a Christian yet. In "The Long End, Part 2", she sounds like she is starting to come around and is becoming less cynical. But I'm sure the finale sounds like it'll impact Jules's arc greatly, whether she leave or stay. If she leaves, I doubt it'll be for good, though. It'll probably be very angsty haha.

I found out via Facebook video that "For a Song" will feature a song(s)...so Jules will get to sing again? Or Buck? Or maybe both? I don't know...but I'm so excited! The video made me even more excited for the episode!

I have no idea what to expect from the Morrie three-parter, though. The opening scenes they previewed threw me for a loop. Not at all where I thought any of this would go. Emily kidnapping Suzu seems unlikely (despite her likely PTSD, I doubt she would kidnap anyone) but if Morrie is trying to frame Emily...Why?? I love how intricate and unpredictable this is. My only hope is a satisfying and amazing continuation/conclusion.

One of the reasons I have yet to be disappointed by the Rydell Saga thus far is because I don't have expectations... I have no idea what to expect!

Those are my "brief" thoughts. To sum it up, I have no idea what to expect but I'm thrilled for this album nonetheless.
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Post by ByeByeBrownie »

Monica Stone wrote:I am ecstatic about this album!
I, too, am quite psyched for this album.
Monica Stone wrote:I have complained that AIO brought too many characters in too quickly last year and neglected Jules and Buck, whose arcs should come to a close before all of the new characters. This sounds like it could be a turning point for Jules. I don't know if she'll become a Christian yet. In "The Long End, Part 2", she sounds like she is starting to come around and is becoming less cynical. But I'm sure the finale sounds like it'll impact Jules's arc greatly, whether she leave or stay. If she leaves, I doubt it'll be for good, though. It'll probably be very angsty haha.
I have definitely missed Jules and Buck in the last couple albums. I hope they stick around a while more and don't fade away behind all these new characters. I am really looking for some angsty drama in these Jules episodes. XD
Monica Stone wrote:I found out via Facebook video that "For a Song" will feature a song(s)...so Jules will get to sing again? Or Buck? Or maybe both? I don't know...but I'm so excited! The video made me even more excited for the episode!
I am VERY excited for this episode. It looks like Valerie Swanson will be in this one, as well, which is interesting.
Monica Stone wrote:I have no idea what to expect from the Morrie three-parter, though. The opening scenes they previewed threw me for a loop. Not at all where I thought any of this would go. Emily kidnapping Suzu seems unlikely (despite her likely PTSD, I doubt she would kidnap anyone) but if Morrie is trying to frame Emily...Why?? I love how intricate and unpredictable this is. My only hope is a satisfying and amazing continuation/conclusion.

One of the reasons I have yet to be disappointed by the Rydell Saga thus far is because I don't have expectations... I have no idea what to expect!
My thoughts exactly. The Rydell Saga has me all tied up in knots. There seems to be a trend in media right now of going for "gotcha" moments, rather than coming up with an intricate, artfully-crafted plot, and I really hope that's not where this is going. I want to be surprised by this saga, but not tricked, if that makes sense.
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Post by Monica Stone »

ByeByeBrownie wrote:I have definitely missed Jules and Buck in the last couple albums. I hope they stick around a while more and don't fade away behind all these new characters. I am really looking for some angsty drama in these Jules episodes. XD
I definitely don't think they'll fade away. I think Buck and Jules's arcs will be completed sooner or later and they will become Christians. But they'll still have self-contained adventures and perhaps pursue a more serious romantic relationship after their conversations. They have become major characters, the kind who can't be wiped away by any hiatus with no explanation because that would make no sense considering that they're a huge part of Eugene and Connie's lives.
ByeByeBrownie wrote:I am VERY excited for this episode. It looks like Valerie Swanson will be in this one, as well, which is interesting.
All of the episodes I am anticipating greatly!! I am kinda disappointed they have made Valerie just the "mean girl" again after "Take Every Thought Captive". Her development wasn't guaranteed, but I had hoped. :( Oh well. She is a pretty good mean girl character regardless.
ByeByeBrownie wrote:My thoughts exactly. The Rydell Saga has me all tied up in knots. There seems to be a trend in media right now of going for "gotcha" moments, rather than coming up with an intricate, artfully-crafted plot, and I really hope that's not where this is going. I want to be surprised by this saga, but not tricked, if that makes sense.
I 100% agree. That's my complaint with a lot of "plot twists". It's one of my biggest complaints with Frozen.
Hans was built up to be a good-hearted guy who ultimately wanted the best for Arendelle and Anna. But suddenly, with no foreshadowing, he is - SURPRISE! - a villain! One brief mention of his many older brothers isn't really foreshadowing. The movie was so focused on making the twist shocking, that it ultimately didn't make sense given what we knew about Hans earlier.
I hope that this isn't the case with the Rydell Saga but I trust the writers. I don't recall them ever having stories hinging on a nonsensical surprise twist. All I know is that I've been intrigued and enthralled with this saga so far. I love that it has been really character-focused. I love stories that have an amazing plot but are also character-focused and we get great development from said characters. I think we can safely say that Emily has been the main protagonist of this arc and I enjoy getting to see the other sides of her, like her selflessness for Matthew. I hope she's okay in the end though.
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Post by ByeByeBrownie »

So apparently Album 69 was available in the Club for a hot minute earlier today--WUT?! :shocking: Did anybody catch any of it before it poofed?

At any rate, there's a bunch of new info about it now on AIOWiki, including summaries of ALL of the episodes! AND, I would just like to say that I think I totally called it:
#898: “The Rydell Revelations, Part 1”: Emily Jones begins her exhaustive investigation into the mastermind behind a number of mysterious occurrences in Odyssey, including the student council election, the opened lockers, the escape room, and more.
That, we pretty much already knew.
#899: “The Rydell Revelations, Part 2” Whit reveals additional clues to Morrie’s misdeeds around town of Odyssey - the untold story that motivated them.
This agrees perfectly with my theory that Whit knows more than he's letting on at this point. (see below)
From his comments to Emily, I would be inclined to believe that Whit knows more about the situation than he’s letting on. There HAS to be a reason he has not gone after Morrie, nor does he have any plans to, as far as we can tell. My theory is that Whit did decipher the recording and found out it was Morrie. There is then an “off-camera” discussion between Whit and Morrie wherein Morrie gives Whit as much of the truth about the situation as he is able at the time. Everything he has done since coming to Odyssey has been an effort to expose whatever plot is going on here—the TRUTH. But there is more to the story. For some reason (probably for his own safety), Morrie can’t tell Whit the whole story, but he trusts him to figure it out, so he’s been dropping clues all along the way. To quote you out of context, Lee, “Morrie is a genius, and he has a reason for bringing all this up.”
(more at https://aioaudionews.com/2020/04/07/rev ... /#comments and https://aioaudionews.com/2020/04/16/res ... ommentary/)
#900: “The Rydell Revelations, Part 3” Secrets about the past and present are finally revealed as Whit, Emily, and Morrie get to the bottom of all the puzzling happenings in the town Odyssey.
BAM! Whit, Emily, AND MORRIE. THEY ARE NOW A TEAM. :cheerleader: Morrie was never THE VILLAIN™. Instead, he's been dropping hints to the good guys.

Needless to say, I am SO HYPED for this.
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Post by MonkeyDude »

ByeByeBrownie wrote:So apparently Album 69 was available in the Club for a hot minute earlier today--WUT?! :shocking:
:mad: :panic: IT'S HAPPENING!

Thanks for the information Brownie! I'm super hyped as well! Should we all make some predictions?
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Post by Monica Stone »

ByeByeBrownie wrote:So apparently Album 69 was available in the Club for a hot minute earlier today--WUT?! :shocking: Did anybody catch any of it before it poofed?
#899: “The Rydell Revelations, Part 2” Whit reveals additional clues to Morrie’s misdeeds around town of Odyssey - the untold story that motivated them.
This agrees perfectly with my theory that Whit knows more than he's letting on at this point. (see below)
#900: “The Rydell Revelations, Part 3” Secrets about the past and present are finally revealed as Whit, Emily, and Morrie get to the bottom of all the puzzling happenings in the town Odyssey.
BAM! Whit, Emily, AND MORRIE. THEY ARE NOW A TEAM. :cheerleader: Morrie was never THE VILLAIN™. Instead, he's been dropping hints to the good guys.

Needless to say, I am SO HYPED for this.
I heard that the episode titles were on the club, but with no audio attached to them, so nobody heard them early.

I had started leaning into the Morrie is innocent theory recently, but it now feels like confirmation that he is mostly innocent. AHH! I might go back and listen to all of the Rydell Saga episodes with a new lense now. Does this mean Suzu is guilty? She is either missing in part 3 or possibly opposing Whit, Emily, and Morrie's investigation. :panic:
MonkeyDude wrote:Thanks for the information Brownie! I'm super hyped as well! Should we all make some predictions?
YES! I stated earlier in the thread I have no idea what to expect with this saga, but I'd love to do theories. But first a few questions.

Why did Morrie accuse Emily of kidnapping? Has Suzu actually disappeared? And does he actually believe it?

Also, fun fact the themes of the episodes were listed on the official site and are on AIOWiki.
The themes of part one are faith and God's protection. The themes of part two are faith and sin. And finally, the themes of part three are justice, responsibility, and maturity. The two that stuck out to me the most were responsibility and maturity because they feel out of place when listed with the others. I wonder how they'll tie into the episode.
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Post by ByeByeBrownie »

Monica Stone wrote:I heard that the episode titles were on the club, but with no audio attached to them, so nobody heard them early.
WHEW!
Monica Stone wrote:Does this mean Suzu is guilty? She is either missing in part 3 or possibly opposing Whit, Emily, and Morrie's investigation. :panic:
Hmmm, yes! Suzu has definitely said some sketchy stuff, but I don't think she's really THE VILLAIN™, either. I'm wondering if it's possible that she really was kidnapped? (though I'm NOT buying that Emily did it #-o)
Monica Stone wrote:Why did Morrie accuse Emily of kidnapping? Has Suzu actually disappeared? And does he actually believe it?
I find these questions quite intriguing, as well. A lot of it hangs on what can be found on the phone.

As far as the themes of
responsibility and maturity, I would be inclined to say they relate to Morrie's need to take responsibility for his actions, regardless of intent, and (for Emily, Matthew and Whit, at least) having the maturity to handle complex situations in a Christlike manner. But those are just theories.
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Post by Monica Stone »

ByeByeBrownie wrote:Suzu has definitely said some sketchy stuff, but I don't think she's really THE VILLAIN™, either. I'm wondering if it's possible that she really was kidnapped? (though I'm NOT buying that Emily did it #-o)
Monica Stone wrote:Why did Morrie accuse Emily of kidnapping? Has Suzu actually disappeared? And does he actually believe it?
I find these questions quite intriguing, as well. A lot of it hangs on what can be found on the phone.

As far as the themes of
responsibility and maturity, I would be inclined to say they relate to Morrie's need to take responsibility for his actions, regardless of intent, and (for Emily, Matthew and Whit, at least) having the maturity to handle complex situations in a Christlike manner. But those are just theories.
I am not 100% convinced yet that Morrie is innocent. The cover art has Morrie taking off the mask of a smiling version of himself to reveal his true nature, with a sinister look on his face. Why would they make the cover art intentionally misleading? There is a difference between making a character (like Morrie) a red herring between borderline lying to your audience. Maybe the cover will make sense after we hear the episodes, so I am reserving any judgment until I hear the episodes. Also, what was with some of the aio team hinting that Morrie is similar to Moriarty? I'm just kinda confused which is making it harder to wait for the episodes. :anxious: Even if Morrie isn't the mastermind, is he going to jail? He may have intended to do the right thing and expose the wrongdoings/crimes of another, but what he did was also criminal.

It was torturous for the preview to leave us hanging without letting us know what happens in the recording. It's killing me! I feel like when the recording plays, we'll hear something possibly very unexpected.
You're probably right about the themes. Also, I mentioned this on the Parker thread, but if Matthew doesn't show up, I will be really frustrated.
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Post by MonkeyDude »

Monica Stone wrote:I am not 100% convinced yet that Morrie is innocent. The cover art has Morrie taking off the mask of a smiling version of himself to reveal his true nature, with a sinister look on his face. Why would they make the cover art intentionally misleading? There is a difference between making a character (like Morrie) a red herring between borderline lying to your audience. Maybe the cover will make sense after we hear the episodes, so I am reserving any judgment until I hear the episodes. Also, what was with some of the aio team hinting that Morrie is similar to Moriarty? I'm just kinda confused which is making it harder to wait for the episodes. :anxious: Even if Morrie isn't the mastermind, is he going to jail? He may have intended to do the right thing and expose the wrongdoings/crimes of another, but what he did was also criminal.

It was torturous for the preview to leave us hanging without letting us know what happens in the recording. It's killing me! I feel like when the recording plays, we'll hear something possibly very unexpected.
You're probably right about the themes. Also, I mentioned this on the Parker thread, but if Matthew doesn't show up, I will be really frustrated.
Right there with you haha! I feel like Morrie being the villain is far too predictable but at the same time, there are just some things he's done that can't be excused as anything other than maniacal. I really hope that Suzu isn't completely innocent either though, like I don't think she's behind EVERYTHING that has happened but as it has been pointed out before, it's so suspicious that she was the one who told Emily and Matthew about the escape room and proceeded to not test it with them.
Is it possible that Suzu and Morrie have been working together to solve something (maybe the reason behind why they moved away to Odyssey) and Morrie is going kinda rogue. It's far-fetched but maybe he thinks Emily can help them somehow and has been testing her and teaching her about herself so that she can help him bring justice (potentially to Suzu if she does turn out to be the antagonist?)
I really bet the Odyssey team was just cackling when they gave us that preview, knowing how much anguish it was going to put us through. I don't think anyone would have predicted the episodes going that direction in a thousand years haha!
Also, as you know I'm right there with you on the Matthew thing haha!
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Post by ByeByeBrownie »

MonkeyDude wrote:Right there with you haha! I feel like Morrie being the villain is far too predictable but at the same time, there are just some things he's done that can't be excused as anything other than maniacal. I really hope that Suzu isn't completely innocent either though, like I don't think she's behind EVERYTHING that has happened but as it has been pointed out before, it's so suspicious that she was the one who told Emily and Matthew about the escape room and proceeded to not test it with them.
I know the evidence is stacked against Morrie as the bad guy, but I'd really like to see him come out on the good side here. I'm hoping that he's been playing on the bad guys' team in order to do what he deems "good" in the long run. I'm not saying his actions are right, or that they will necessarily be without repercussions, but I'm gunning for him to end up siding with the good guys when all is said and done. I just love Morrie, and I want my lil boi to be good. :angel3:
MonkeyDude wrote:
Is it possible that Suzu and Morrie have been working together to solve something (maybe the reason behind why they moved away to Odyssey) and Morrie is going kinda rogue. It's far-fetched but maybe he thinks Emily can help them somehow and has been testing her and teaching her about herself so that she can help him bring justice (potentially to Suzu if she does turn out to be the antagonist?)
This is quite an interesting/viable theory, as well.
MonkeyDude wrote:I really bet the Odyssey team was just cackling when they gave us that preview, knowing how much anguish it was going to put us through. I don't think anyone would have predicted the episodes going that direction in a thousand years haha!

SERIOUSLY, THOUGH. The writers are playing us HARD with this saga, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that they deliver on all the hype. \:D/
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