686: The Green Ring Conspiracy, Part 8

[Bren]

What in the world is going on in Odyssey?

[Jason Whits Son]

This episode would have to be my personal favorite of the season. The twist they put into it was epic! Beware, if you haven't heard yet I have included spoilers

The scene with Eugene getting the saliva sample from Buck is classic. Though I'd think Buck would be a bit more suspicious by Eugene's approach than he let on to be.
Though the absolute best part of it is the character they brought back.

When I first heard the revealing that Jason is the stiletto I gasped so loud and hard I almost hyperventilated. Not only did they bring my all-time favorite character back in the best album since the reboot, they had him be the Stiletto. The best twist of the entire thing!

I was surprised that more hadn't reviewed this yet. Considering what a spin this episode put on it. Though I suppose there may be more response later, or tomorrow.

"So how long are you gonna wait?"

[Bren]

"Wait?"

This was a great episode by the way.

[Jason Whits Son]

"To take off that disguise."

[Bren]

"Disguise?"

We are nuts folks. Live with it.

[Jason Whits Son]

"You know what I am talking about."

[Bren]

"Now thats very interesting. I'm afraid the beard won't come off without a razor. However the hat will and the sunglasses. There. Hows that?"

[Jason Whits Son]

"Much better."

That quote is like the most epic part of the episode.

[Bren]

Well, thats disappointing. I'm afraid we have gone 2-way too long to finish this quote.

[Samitude]

Did anyone else recognise the Stilletto's voice before the identity was revealed? I did. As soon as I heard him I said "That's (you know who)! If it's not actually him I know it's the actor's voice playing that part." My sister said that she didn't recognise him at all. I wasn't positive until he said he wanted to speak privately with Whit. Then I knew.

Someone said that they are surprised that more people haven't commented. I'm not surprised. I think most of the Odyssey fans have already discussed all this in the Spoiler thread. They have already listened to this series a long time ago. I'm afraid there aren't many of us on here who are listening as it comes out on the radio/internet.

[EMBEE]

Yeah, I pretty much knew who it was when I heard his voice, and I was really happy and surprised.

[Jesus' Princess]

I actually didn't recognize the voice until he had the private meeting with whit, I was expecting something totally different! Like someone we had never heard from before or something, I'm so happy they brought him back!! But I'm dying to hear the next part to find out why he is the stiletto and all of that, that was probably the worst cliff hanger in the entire album! By the way, I'm one of the few fans who is waiting to hear the episodes as they air on the radio, so no spoilers please!!

[Smaug the Dragon]

This episode was pretty awesome. I really am growing to love Buck, he's such a funny character. Eugene displayed his unsubtly here, Whit should know better then to leave a secret assignment to Eugene... I guessed the identity of the Stiletto when he asked Agent Tanner to leave. Oh, and, who else was creeped out by Doctor Trask and his "like-minded people of faith"?

[Moontide]

Oh, and, who else was creeped out by Doctor Trask and his "like-minded people of faith"?

I am, Now I am sure that Doctor Trask is up to something evil. It is amassing that Connie didn't seem even in the least bit suspicious. Now that we know that Stilletto is not behind the green ring, I think he is.

[EMBEE]

When Eugene something about being his "usual discreet self," I was like, "Yeeaaah..." I could pretty much guess how that scene would go.

[Bob]

When I heard the first episode of the Green Ring Conspiracy, I didn't know what to think... but now that I've heard more episodes through, I have to say that I'm really impressed.

Albums #51 and #52 weren't 100% amazing, and I wasn't sure that the Odyssey team had it in them to put this kind of thing together again.

It seems I was wrong.

The last few episodes, part 8 in particular, really left me wanting to know what was coming next -- something that I don't think this show has done since "Exit", and that's all I need to know to tell me that this album has it together. All the highlights...

like when the Stiletto burst into the room, and Dr. Trask becoming a more ominous figure, and Buck and Mr. Skint's plans starting to fall apart

... have me genuinely interested in hearing how this story arc concludes, and I'm not sure what more you can ask for from a radio drama.

Our family hasn't bought new albums in probably over a decade, but I might really consider picking this one (and maybe #51 or #52) up someday.

Not everything is perfect, but it's good enough. 5/5 for parts 1-8, and I'm looking forward to extending that rating to the next four parts as well.

[Taps]

When I first heard his voice I thought The Stiletto was Rocky...

[Peachey Keen]

Wow! This episode let me down and raised my spirits at the same time.

I laughed out loud several times with Eugene trying to "get that kid's spit!" Sooo funny! Altohugh, Buck should have got suspicious. I think he's going to quit his job soon and head for the hills next episode. Too many people are getting close to the truth. But for us, that's a good thing!

Emily? Blech again!

They way I heared some people talk I knew that some old Odyssey character was coming. I was hoping against hope that it would be Richard. I knew if it wasn't him it'd be Jason.
When I heard the Steletto, I knew almost instantly that it was Townsend Coleman. I did NOT think that it was Jason. But when Whit said "Take off that disguise," I knew it was Jason. I wasn't surprised that he was in it, but I was surprised of how he was in the show.

All in all, 4.64 stars out of 5.

Please come, Richard Maxwell!!!

[Leonard Meltsner]

All in all, 4.64 stars out of 5.

You're very precise about your ratings!

[Christian A.]

All in all, 4.64 stars out of 5.

You're very precise about your ratings!

Yeah, no kidding!

I also recognized Townsend Coleman's voice, but that was probably because I had already unintentionally found out who the Stiletto was. Also, I am very concerned about Connie. She went through this whole thing back in Bad Company, but she seemed like she was totally duped by Dr. Trask. Yeesh! But anyway, here's my review:

I just got done listening to the episode, and I don't know about you, but I'm quite shocked! We just met the Stiletto, and already we know who he is. Of course, I already knew who he was, but I wasn't expecting him to be revealed so soon! And I especially don't understand how he can be involved with it while being a good guy. I know that the writers wouldn't have made him turn bad, so I assume that he's working with the Secret Service against the counterfeiting ring from the inside. The big question is how he is so well-known by Wally, Polehaus, and Tanner. How could he have become such a big-name gangster who is supposed to be dead in just the few years it's been since he left Odyssey? Now I really can't wait for next week's episode. This was the worst cliff-hanger of all!

Well, we finally found out why Penny's "Christianity" sounded so suspicious. Dr. Trask started out by saying that he would call their group "a group of like-minded people of faith who are seeking God together." Stop right there. "Seeking God?" If you are a true Christian, you have unlimited access to God and His blessings, so they shouldn't need to seek God. Romans 3:11--"there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God." He says, however, that they seek God as one would seek a painter or composer by learning as much as they can about that person's work. "We're dedicated to finding the beauty of God in nature, art--within ourselves. And in doing that, we get to know him better. And through Him, we find His beauty inside of us. We can see our true potential--who He wants us to be." Now there isn't too too much wrong with that. We can see the glory and attributes of God in a small sense by looking at creation. But creation is fallen. The beauty of the image of God is marred by the curse. We do not have any natural goodness inside of ourselves. Romans 3:12b/Psalm 14:3b--"there is no one who does good, not even one." Furthermore, Dr. Trask describes the Bible as having "the poetry, the prose, the stories, the insights into our humanity. It is pure revelation." Now all that is right, but did he say that it is God's Word? It does give us insight into our humanity, but probably not in the way he's thinking. He also says, "I believe that God has created within us something unique and beautiful. But over time, that uniqueness and beauty gets covered up with the soot and constraints of life. Our vibrancy and color fades. Our little group wants to restore who we really are. There's a beauty inside of you Connie--a potential you haven't begun to explore." Yeesh! And Connie doesn't see through any of this! Jeremiah 17:9a--"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure." Psalm 51:5--"I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." I don't see anything there about "uniqueness and beauty" or "vibrancy and color." I sure hope Connie talks to Whit about this. She nearly fell into this trap twenty years ago. I hope she's learned by now.

I was so glad that Emily and Buck and Penny and Wooton weren't together in this episode. There was a small amount of talk about the subject between Penny and Connie, and now we know that Penny feels the same about Wooton as he feels about her. Big surprise. But we did hear from Buck. And I'm still not sure whether or not he knows exactly what he's caught up in. I think he knows that Mr. Skint is involved in something illegal, but I haven't seen any evidence that he knows it's a counterfeiting ring. When Jay confronted him about it at Whit's End though, he almost sounded like he was trying to make himself sound like he knew nothing about what Jay was talking about, but maybe he actually did know. I'm not sure. I guess Robby Bruce does do a pretty good job with his acting--even if he gives Buck what sounds to me like a fake accent. In any event, I certainly hope Eugene and Matthew can keep him from stealing back the AppleBerry.

Detective Polehaus is finally learning a lesson about trust, but now that he is getting more trusting, I don't think the actor is doing as good a job of playing him. He isn't sounding convincing as a tough detective who just got proven wrong. He's too okay with the fact that his whole "worldview" as he calls it was crushed. But aside from that, there was another thing that I noticed. When Whit told him about seeing Agent Tanner at the place to which he had tracked Monty's location, Polehaus told him, "Don't do anything until I get there!" and Whit answered, "No promises." I don't know what other episode that reminds me of, but I remember another situation very similar to this happening in the past where a detective or policeman or somebody told Whit to stay put, but Whit didn't, and the detective ended up being in on the plot against Whit. If any of you can tell me what episode I'm thinking of, please tell me in the comments! Anyway, according to that episode's reasoning, I'm really starting to think that Detective Polehaus might not be who we've thought he was. And maybe Agent Tanner is telling the truth for the most part.

So that brings us to Agent Tanner. I still don't know what to think about her. At first, when Whit approached her as she was entering the Stiletto's hideout, and she gave that explanation about why she was there and what she had to do with Monty, I was ready to believe her. But then when Jason seemed to give sketchy details about her, I wasn't sure anymore. He said that she had been a double-crosser, but to whom? He didn't trust her with his true identity, but that makes sense. Obviously Polehaus and Tanner are on different teams, but which one is on our side?! My guess is that we'll find out for sure next week since Polehaus is on his way to the Stiletto's hideout, and he's bound to run into Agent Tanner.

Well I think that's about all I have this week. I'm not going to throw out a bunch of questions, because I don't have time, and I don't think there are any more than I've already asked. Other than of course: What is Jason doing as the ringleader of a counterfeiting ring?!?!