Welcome to Night Vale: 59 - Antiques

January 1, 2015 10:37 AM

The Antiques have escaped from the Antiques Mall. Plus, a very scientific update from afar, new management at StrexCorp, and the return of Children's Fun Fact Science Corner.

The voice of Carlos was Dylan Marron.
Weather: "State of Mine" by Stöj Snak

Transcript

Janice Rio (from down the street) and condos, previously in the live show "Condos" [transcript]

As the Sheriff’s Secret Police slogan goes, “Not our job, not our problem.”

posted by DevilsAdvocate (10 comments total)

I figured Intern Hector would be the one to save the mayor, at the cost of his life, but that was a much more detailed demise than we usually get for interns.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 11:07 AM on January 1, 2015

So, uh, this episode did nothing to counter my theory that there is something wrong with Carlos. Like . . . is he bait?

Is Strex involved?

........
posted by chainsofreedom at 2:31 PM on January 1, 2015 [1 favorite]

Something wrong with Carlos? Maybe. I could see that.

But I doubt it's Strex behind it — Strex is now owned by the tall winged beings all named Erica Erika who are definitely not angels. And they seem to be fairly benevolent, or at least what passes for benevolent in Night Vale.
posted by DevilsAdvocate at 8:23 PM on January 1, 2015

I definitely got a creepy vibe from Carlos in this one. I don't know what's more heart-breaking: Carlos and Cecil breaking up or Carlos turning on and betraying Cecil.
posted by jazon at 9:26 AM on January 2, 2015

Carlos did come off kind of creepy, but I think it was meant to be a combination of "I like this place so much better than Night Vale and want to share it with you" and "I really REALLY want your bod" (right after Cecil said that he missed being able to touch, hold hands, etc). That, or Carlos and the Erikas have all turned to the dark side as a result of their association with Strex. Time will tell.
posted by Flannery Culp at 10:22 AM on January 2, 2015

On a relisten, it seems less creepy, I agree. I dunno, I just know Carlos is out there with Kevin . . . *shudders*

On an unrelated note, I really liked the children's fun fact science corner - excellent voice work. Props also to the weather for sending me back in time 10 years. I would have been all about that song in college.
posted by chainsofreedom at 7:36 AM on January 3, 2015

So was Cecil eaten by an antique or not?
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:41 AM on January 5, 2015

I think I may be getting tired of the trope of a horrible things are about to happen, then the weather comes on, then everything's returned back to normal (for NightVale).
posted by garlic at 8:54 AM on January 5, 2015 [3 favorites]

The vibe I got from Carlos was that he was deeply horny for Cecil, which amused me to no end.

The very end of the episode had Cecil shouting distantly that he made it out alive, so the Intern Hector turned Antique didn't get him.
posted by Julnyes at 11:34 AM on January 6, 2015

I think I may be getting tired of the trope of a horrible things are about to happen, then the weather comes on, then everything's returned back to normal (for NightVale).

I passed that many episodes back and have come out the other side.

Personally, I've come to accept that, in most cases, the episode-level building-crisis/weather/everything's-okay stuff isn't supposed to matter. It's actually meant to be formulaic, the better to draw your attention to the important bits that are all going on between the lines.

Obviously, the episodes that break the mold tend to be exceptions to this rule, and are all the better for playing against the norm. But it's good to maintain the baseline, too, and I'm glad we're pulling back to "normal" behavior for awhile before charging ahead on another major arc.
posted by Shmuel510 at 6:09 PM on January 8, 2015 [3 favorites]