Word of The Witnesses: 12 Monkeys Rewatch Podcast

Beep & CC are joined by 12 Monkeys writer Christopher Monfette to discuss 4.04 “Legacy” Shooting a western The emotional pacing of season 4 Thanks little ladies Telling the story of the six day marriage What we leave behind Weird science Elliot Jones is having a hell of a day Oppenheimer in a blindfold It took just six days to ruin each other Making Elliot Jones a three dimensional character The reconciliation episode Let’s see if I can make a lasting impression It is the privilege of a child to walk a parent the rest of the way Something I once shunned but now cannot live without Pay attention to the editing! Princess Primary does not have her powers Who knows what & when I never had a family Breaking bad The common core of human achievement The origin of the ouroboros The return of Deacon Monkey see & Monkey do What’s great on tv right now

Beep & CC are joined by Jo & Bubs of “May We Geek Again” to discuss 4.03 “45 RPM” TV we love right now The great mythology payoff Revolutions per minute Endless beautiful cycles Twists built on our expectations Olivia’s agency ouroboros The witness has imposter syndrome I don’t want your life Imagine me & you Olivia experiencing intimacy Olivia is always exactly where she wants to be My mother wants me to make a terrible choice The witness witnesses Cassie’s revenge fantasy There is nothing more powerful than fate? Where are you going? That moment when a genre show actually answered our questions Women, their bodies & agency I got left behind Future Asshole returns All he wanted to do was save you The last one I’m ever going to be I needed to find you The descendants of Chorus Breaking the cycle Rabbit hole: Which way you goin’ Billy?

Beep & CC are joined by Aimee to discuss 4.02 “Ouroboros” The end of a decade in tv A love letter to 12 Monkeys Ouroboros bingo The narrative power of a time travel story The hardest thing in this world is to live in it The post apocalyptic good old days This has always been about revenge He’s a number An ouroboros of introspection Portraits of grief A loop is a second chance Egg & Chicken Jones Maybe we need to make mistakes I didn’t listen Attack the past or investigate the future We’re going to finish this together Until you save your soul Cole & the next right thing Tolstoy’s The Three Questions Only the dead can forgive You’re going to be ok, brother My job is to keep you safe The first splinter Everyone else you see is already dead Promise me You got you I am not alone A literal leap of faith

Beep & CC are joined by Erin to discuss 4.01 “The End” How you stitch a found family back together I’m losing mine An ouroboros of sacrifice A turning point in Jones’ character arc Circles, circles & more circles Season 4 is the pay off 2000s TV always promised Back at the beginning Let’s get medieval! Daughter to mother Would she? Save the one, save them all Maybe now needs to be enough Project Charon! Was it enough? “The End” of Raritan Don’t leave me The ultimate test for Deacon Where are you right now? Too late for us I know this The only failure is giving up Mother would say we have that in common So that you do not walk alone Sydney Bristow Jennifer Primary imposter syndrome Subverting the chosen one story Rabbit hole: the ouroboros

Beep & CC are joined by Meagan to discuss 3.10 “Witness” Finales & the element of surprise Hopeful hopelessness How Athan mirrors Cassie & Cole Witnesses Then all that we do matters The finales collectively tell a story You can never go home again Psycho Gypsy Pirate The clues in red tea vision We are not watching the hands She has never been anywhere that she didn’t want to be Mother, Father God save the king! December 26, 1959 You were nothing Whoever you are today is not who you have to be tomorrow The Jones family reunion The only failure is giving up You can’t have him The witness has returned I beat you Save the dying man Mother Jennifer The cycle of save the one The symbolism of a broken clock When you return to Titan… “Holy sh*t” I wish I could have known you Another Life Nothing is written Surely you’ve realized by now That is why you will lose You are better She has There once was a serpent

Join CC & Beep as we discuss Thief with Terry Matalas and Sean Tretta.

Beep & CC are joined by Alisha to discuss 3.08 “Masks” The dream combo of sci fi & period drama This is when we flail about the production values What period dramas & 12 Monkeys have in common An ode to Rupert Graves & James Callis Literal & metaphorical masks Raising Athan The creation of the Word of the Witness Athan’s visions Just another loop Two Coles are better than one Deacon could use a hug Jennifer is the monkey in the middle Debate Club: Team Casserole vs. Team Jones Super Nay! Casserole Victorian date night Art eternal Nothing bad could come from this James Cole finally got game Hello Constance! The waltzes of the ball So mad and so fancy Family Jones… assemble! Apologies issued in blood We haven’t done anything that you wouldn’t have done I’ve known in my life two great agonies This is the part when you run Locking Jennifer up...again Two pence for a pauper Athan Cole unmasked! Edgar Allen Poe & other rabbit holes What we are watching right now

CC & Beep are joined by Christopher Monfette to discuss 307 Nurture.

Beep & CC are joined by Selina to discuss 3.06 “Nature” The perfect set up for Cassie’s arc The significance of how we meet Athan Nature & nurture Cassie & Cole’s moral dilemma Free will & the power of change in a time travel show Reconsidering Agent Gale’s loop Time as a thief Why Cassie idealizes her perfect moment A very different Christmas in the 1950s The power of allowing a couple to struggle together Foreshadowing Project Charon Eliza! Your name is on there. Mine’s not. The Word of the Witness as a Rorschach test Jennifer, Deacon & the missing piece No one is gonna lock you up Exploring primary powers This is when we flail about Jennifer’s visions The magic of watching S3 now that we know the puzzle from above The whole family’s here Could be read as platonic but why would you We are what we were meant to be I am not a redshirt The tragedy of an encounter story Does it make a difference? The character based Casserole divide on Agent Gale Saving the two dying men The visuals of The Winter of Ash & Blood Choosing the followers The nurture of Pallid Boy The many, many layers to the cemetery scene I’m still stuck in that moment The empathy of the salesman Every faith promises something beyond this People just want to believe that they have control Cassie makes a change Because to you he’s just an idea The performative evangelism of the cult The tragic childhood of Athan Cole The Athan & Jennifer connection “Fate” “I can’t.”/”I can.” Historical rabbit holes

Catch up on some of our past interview highlights with Terry Matalas, Amanda Schull, Alisen Down, Todd Stashwick, and Sean Tretta.

Beep & CC are joined by Erin to discuss 3.05 “Causality” An ode to “If I Could Turn Back Time” The importance of letting the audience breathe Different kinds of cause & effect Fate, prophecy & free will in 12 Monkeys & Good Omens Causality and nature vs. nurture Secrets & their effect His house of cedar & pine was about him That’s a remarkably cogent plan, Ms. Goines The episode that launched Jeacon (Dennifer?) The machine can’t be moved The ferryman’s one way trip A celebration [i.e. tangent] of late 80s/early 90s power ballads & film 1989 NYC The epic lobby entrance Dad...dad...daddio I don’t know who I’d be if not the kid whose mom tried to kill her I find myself missing the talks we never had I didn’t think you had it in you Sam would’ve turned out the same way The rare emotional honesty of the Casserole reunion If there’s something wrong with him, he got it from me You’re a good man These are my steps! What is a cotillion anyway? Can’t you just be normal for once, Jennifer? Your damage is not your destiny And that will be the day she really starts to live Ok, chicken Your dad is an asshole Jennifer’s choice Love is the secret weapon An ode to Christopher Lloyd

Beep & CC are joined by Sarah to discuss 3.04 “Brothers” Sarah enters the gauntlet This was a long time coming Flipping the script on one vs. the many The missing page Secrets are delicate & tenuous A spiritual successor to The Sopranos & The Wire The other great love story of this series The vision of the dying man Stop talking like a supervillain Olivia has never been anywhere she didn’t want to be The rest of us have to juggle eventualities Nope, just me. What the hell happened to you? A lesson for Cole about sacrifice The return of the butterfly The Cassie & Ramse cycle of hope The first time you called me brother A tragedy in the classical sense This whole thing could be a trap When you’ve lost everything... Baking puns when you yeast expect it Two brothers feeding the wrong wolves A lottery scratch card conversation And you always let me down The missing page is forgiveness That’s bullshit, that’s crazy True sacrifice Why couldn’t you have just trusted me We just go about it the wrong way I need you to come home, Cassie This is my reward? I’ll see you soon I’m home When there are no words

CC & Beep get the chance to chat with Alisen Down and Terry Matalas, or as you know them, The Witness and her creator.

Beep & CC are joined by Dark Aimee & Jo of May We Geek Again for part one of our discussion of 3.03 “Enemy” The disarming enigma of Olivia Who is the “enemy”? Trojan horses The fable of Dr. Grim Golems Always listen to Jennifer! Clues in plain sight Which Ramse is in there? I know I’ve got it coming to me You have to be a little bit crazy to be human One last run Whatever the future, you are my family in all of them You were never meant to be a mother Tragic cycles of “nurture” Our “good” guys do bad things The “greater good” & partialism This is not the way Selling the lie with truth The Jolivia ship sets sail! Women like us A critical moment for Deacon’s arc Deacon’s scars Trauma & the “parts work” theory My father gave me scars But that doesn’t make you me An authentic exploration of trauma You kept him weak The devil always tells you what you want to hear Don’t you forget about me

Beep & CC are joined by Jen to discuss 3.02 “Guardians” An ode to splinter suits Many guardians Children lost to time Ramse is the show’s most tragic character The answer to what happened to Sam I protected him because you could not The con within the con...within the con Brain burner: who attacked? You & I were never meant to be this way Abject parental grief scene no 1: Ramse & Sam Some here have lost faith Abject parental grief scene no 2: Cassie wakes up The shrine to Athan Cole Chekhov’s pocket watch Abject parental grief scene no 3: Cassie sees her son “This show is pure sex visually” Jennifer comes into her own Otter eyes! WTF! The Kid The mistress of time Je splinter! Uh, the smart ones will The importance of airing grievances POV debate club: Cole & Jones vs. Jennifer All I ever do is help you, Cole Arguments that lead to reconciliation Deposits in the character relationship bank Hiya scientists! Cole’s reckoning with leadership & agency As long as we have this, we’ll never be alone Welcome to Raritan, Olivia A tv rec for 12 Monkeys fans