#greater gatsby

[booigi-boi]

The Case of the Greater Gatsby has returned! Here's some characters for the occasion 🐇

Go listen to it

Close ups under cut (choose your fighter)

[awigglycultist]

Funny how shipwrecked has had Gabe Greenspan play both one of the best husbands (Brom) and one of the worst husbands (Rodger)

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

The Case of the Greater Gatsby Episode 24: "CLOSING TIME"

Well gang, we have laughed. We have gasped, we have cheered, we have sleuthed and made guesses both fabulously on-point and woefully ill-informed. We have spent way too much time thinking about Citizen Jasper Fox. And now we are here, at the end of all things.*

(*”All things,” in this case, simply being this podcast)

Full thoughts under the cut. Spoilers abound!

So Leery was our murderer after all! It turns out he was Sheilah’s troublesome stalker vaguely alluded to in the tapes, and he killed Fitzgerald in a fit of rage after poor ole’ Scott refused to leave his, erm, “lover.” But he was not our anonymous writer of threatening letters; that honor, as predicted, belongs to dear ole’ Mel. (Side note: Mel’s “oh, that was so smart of me” made me guffaw. Mel may be evil, but God I love a Lesli Margherita line delivery). I was also right about Mel intentionally sabotaging The Grapes of Wrath at every turn, but I hadn’t quite figured out her full connection to the murder—that she paid Mo Beats to cover up the crime in order to protect her number one star. So, shout out to Mel for being even more corrupt than I guessed! Though I must admit that I kinda’ feel her on the whole anti-adaption thing. While I have absolutely no issue with Hollywood’s lifelong addiction to adapting anything they can get their mitts on, sometimes it feels like we lean too far into one particular thing, such as Marvel comics. I am also tired of sequels that the original work simply didn’t ask for, and as an aspiring screenwriter I know all too well how depressingly hard it is to get anyone to listen to an idea that doesn’t boast the sacred letters “I.P.” (intellectual property. It’s an adaption term). Still, I don’t see myself writing death threats to Robert Downey Jr. anytime soon.

I do have a confession, though. I got so caught up in the joy of solving mysteries that I forgot that Greater Gatsby, despite Dash, the bunny suits, and general abiding silliness, is technically a noir. I did not for a second predict that Fig and Ford would be forced to let the murderer slip through their fingers with nary a helpless peep. But at least the epilogue offered some glimmer of hope as it nicely expanded on the fates of so many of the characters we’ve come to love, hate, or suspect. Mel may have escaped justice, but Bixby is back in his bar and former cop Mo Beats is now out in the LAPD cold. Though judging by his ominous goodbye, our favorite detective duo have yet to see the last of him…

But I suppose the real question is, have we seen the last of our favorite detective duo? While this certainly wouldn’t be the first time Shipwrecked has set up for a non-existent season two (Headless season 2, how I dream of you at night…), you cannot deny that there is, in fact, a good amount of set-up. Barnaby’s potential freedom is on the line. Mo Beats is perfectly placed to return as a dangerous rival PI or something worse. And Claudette’s life might be hanging in the balance…

Who do we think this mysterious voice is? First instinct suggests someone related to Mo Beats and his vows of revenge, but that’s a little too easy and straightforward, especially so soon after his threats. Judging by what the Fig and Ford cases are usually about, I’d say our intruder is more likely related to Ford’s and Claudette’s starry past. Could this be someone at the center of whatever final storm led them to quit Hollywood for good? Could he be related to Ford’s “big secret” (yeah, Shipwrecked, that’s right. I HAVEN’T FORGOTTEN)? A Hollywood connection could even lead Fig and Ford back to Mel and Leery, giving them a second chance to get things right (ssh, don’t tell me it’s a noir, thematically rooted in the unconquerable force of corruption and power. Let me live with my delusions). But whatever secrets lay behind Claudette’s attacker and his shadowy motivations, I very much hope we get to spend a whole season unravelling them one by one.

So let’s be optimistic and say not goodbye, but rather “see you later.” Until our next long December, Bixby’s Brigadeers. Remember to eat your cookies, and don’t let the smoke get in your eyes…

[owchie-wowchie]

was listening to greater Gatsby and was NOT expecting an Ernest Hemingway cameo

[webby2007]

Just thinking about fig and Vivian thinking about them so hard I know they're not getting along great in Greater Gatsby but I'm still just like

[colonelmajorkepler]

finally caved and made a podcast sideblog. i only started getting into podcasts this year so these are the ones i’ve listened to so far!!

- greater gatsby

- wolf 359

- time:bombs

- zero hours

- tides

- janus descending + descendants

- the penumbra podcast

- welcome to night vale

i also have a bunch more podcasts i’m planning to start (unseen, red valley, magnus archives, more) but if you have any other recommendations similar to these (sci-fi/mystery/comedy) i’m happy to take some😊😊please talk to me about these podcasts i have so many thoughts

[starcanwreckedpulpposconfessions]

I fucking love the shipwrecked comedy side of this fandom. It's a lot smaller than the tcb/starkid fandoms but it's so fun and nice and everyone is so talented and cool. Being around while Headless was coming out was so fun and while i honestly still haven't finished the greater gatsby, it's still so cool to see everyone's fanworks...

~~~

[asoftershipwrecked]

they told me feet on the ground

[baatheblacksheep]

Penny Nickpenny be like:

[katvantassel]

I've just completed a new uquiz: Which "The Case of the Gilded Lily" character are you? :) hope you enjoy and it's a good excuse to rewatch Gilded Lily before the release of The Case of the Greater Gatsby tomorrow !

[booigi-boi]

I love you, Dash Gunfire 😭🐇🤍

[awigglycultist]

"How many stuffed animals? Eh you probably only have like one, you're a cool guy"

"Dash!"

"Yes?"

"Good work getting into that back office and snagging these. Mo Beats had no idea"

"Of- of course! Y-you are so welcome! Look if you ever need me to fill in for Fig again or you wanna go see a movie and come over and play a board game-"

"We'll see, Figs been flakey as of late, I need to work with people I can trust or no one at all"

"You trust me?"

I'm actually never going to get over this interaction are you fucking kidding me

[man-down-in-hatchet-town]

THE CASE OF THE GREATER GATSBY EPISODES 20-21

Okay, so tomorrow is the release of the LAST EVER EPISODE OF GREATER GATSBY (cry with me, folks!), and while I’ve been keeping up with my listening I have fallen a bit behind with these analysis posts, largely because these last few episodes have been so jammed packed with answers that up until last week there wasn’t much theorizing to do. So while this post is about episodes 20-22, I’m writing it after having already listened to episode 23 multiple times. I’ll do my best not to spoil anything from episode 23 in the thoughts below, but there will probably be a lot less pondering and guesswork than usual.

Anyways, spoilers for episodes 20, 21, and 22 under the cut!

Okay, first things first—are Shipwrecked really going to get away with not letting us in on Ford’s secret? I couldn’t quite tell what Fig was saying when Ford cut her off, so I pulled up the transcript and it looks like she says “I can’t believe you managed to them all in—“ Which, for the life of me, sounds like absolute nonsense. I’ve spent hours trying to come up with what she could be about to say, and I’ve drawn a blank. Any ideas?

Speaking of Ford, our boy definitely needs therapy. While I understand the place his anger is coming from, probably a lot better than Ford himself does, he does need to remember that technically Fig was hired to shadow Willy as a bodyguard and was technically there on set in her capacity as a P..I. as well. I predicted from the start that Fig’s side job would clash quite badly with Ford’s trauma, and frankly I’m surprised it’s taken this long to get there. But here we are and I am sad. :(

But hopes springs anew! Mel has officially shuttered The Grapes of Wrath! This seems like another tick in my “Mel is intentionally sabotaging the movie” column. If anything, the only real evidence contradicting that theory is that it took so long for her to shut it down in the first place. Perhaps Beanslot is particularly keen on Steinbeck? Regardless, Mel is still my personal favorite suspect for writing the letters, or at least for being the person behind them (I don’t quite believe she composed any of the messages herself). I know Fig and Ford believe the threatening author and the murderer are one and the same, but we have no real evidence for that, beyond the word of the letter writer. Plenty of people could have figured out he was likely murdered, and decided to use that increase the power of their anonymous threats. Mel, for instance, could have learned from Mo Beats. And now that I know who the murderer seems to be (more on that in my next post), I’m not sure what their motive for writing the threatening letters would even be.

Moving on from all these questions, let’s talk a bit about answers. TD stole The Greater Gatsby during the night of Mel’s party to bribe his way into Bixby’s Brigade. He gave the script to Willy on the suggestion of Roger, who was keen on his movie-star wife getting arrested and joining him in prison. Guys, I love Roger. I know he’s kinda’ terrible but I just can’t help it; I guess it’s that classic Gabe Greenspan magic. And he and Willy are, in a very odd and slightly worrying way, kinda’ perfect for each other. The swelling music cue that plays every time Willy decides his dubious criminal action is actually The Most Romantic Thing ever(TM) makes me laugh. Every. Single. Time. It helps that Roger is such a silly goose that it’s impossible to imagine any of his harebrained schemes actually resulting in harm coming to his lovely wife. That’s just not the narrative vibe, I guess. Also, I was right about Dash keeping an eye on Wilhelmina on Roger’s orders! Yay me!

The other bout of answers comes from the Punchwhistle triplets and their grand reunion in Fig and Ford’s office. As expected, “George Astrum” is both Eugene Punchwhistle and the Hinge Highwayman. Except for my brief foray into “Barnaby is Eugene!” madness (look, not all of my crazy theories can be right), George has been my top candidate for Eugene since his introduction in Scott’s tapes. Meanwhile, it turns out that Lex had not been kidnapped or swept up in some epic trail of clues, but had simply gone to ground as part of the search for her missing brother. While I missed the delightful Esther Fallick, the moment where they asked Lex if she was aware she’d been recast was maybe my favorite line of the episode. Love a good bit of meta humor. Lex also gives more evidence that the writer of the threatening letters has plenty of access to the set. While this does point a finger towards the supposed killer unmasked in the next episode, it could also point to any number of other characters. I’ll probably come out of this looking very silly, but, as I said, I’m still not convinced that our killer and adaption-hater are in fact one and the same…

A Couple of Other Thoughts: -If Ford hadn’t been acting so ridiculous about Fig’s onset work, she probably would have taken him more seriously when he said not to hand Mel the script. As it is, I supposed we should just be thankful that Mel did, in fact, destroy it. -Mel and Ford, for all that he hates her, seem to have the same opinion on the bookclub. I don’t think that’s particularly important, other than as an indicator that Ford’s perspective is a bit out of whack, but it’s funny regardless. -God, to be a fly on the wall next time Mel sees TD. I want a three hour Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf-esque character study about THAT.

[starcanwreckedpulp-doyoushipit]

do you ship it?

[webby2007]

Was having a conversation with @venomousray based on the one parks and rec meme and it ended up reading like an actual conversation between fig Ford and Vivian so I used editing magic to create this

[ramblingsofamuskrat]

That tragic feeling when you realize you have to wait another week for more of The Case of the Greater Gatsby...