Christian Ashley and Leah Robinson dive into the latest happenings in pop culture with a spotlight on two intriguing series: "Fallout" and "School Spirits." Kicking things off, they explore the post-apocalyptic chaos of "Fallout," where characters grapple with the remnants of a nuclear world, uncovering secrets and confronting moral dilemmas. Meanwhile, "School Spirits" brings a ghostly twist, centering on Maddie, a high schooler who must unravel the mystery of her own death while navigating the quirks of her fellow spectral students. With clever banter and insightful reflections from their faith backgrounds, Christian and Leah tackle themes of free will, morality, and the complexities of human nature. They wrap it all up with witty takes and heartfelt recommendations, making this episode a must-listen for fans of thoughtful pop culture discussions.

In a recent episode of Systematic Geekology, hosts Christian Ashley and Leah Robinson tackle a mélange of topics, starting with the impending snowpocalypse that has everyone in a tizzy. Christian humorously critiques the panic that ensues when a few flakes fall, and Leah shares her own survival strategies—spaghetti and canned goods over the usual bread and milk. Their easy banter sets the tone for a discussion that flows smoothly into the realms of gaming and television, focusing on the new season of Fallout and the peculiar series School Spirits.

Christian dives deep into the Fallout universe, explaining its rich lore and complex characters that grapple with moral dilemmas in a post-apocalyptic world. As he describes the intricacies of the game's factions and their motivations, Leah, who’s not well-versed in the franchise, keeps the conversation lively with her insightful questions and witty retorts. They explore the overarching themes of humanity’s flaws and the cyclical nature of conflict, drawing parallels to real-world issues. As the conversation unfolds, it becomes apparent that the Fallout series is not just a game but a narrative that challenges players to reflect on their own values and decisions.

The episode then shifts focus to School Spirits, a show that combines humor with mystery, featuring Maddie, a high school student who finds herself trapped in her school as a ghost. Leah enthusiastically explains the show's premise, noting how it cleverly weaves together supernatural elements with relatable teenage issues. The dynamics between Maddie, her ghostly friends, and her living ally add depth to the story, making it both engaging and thought-provoking. The hosts reflect on how the show tackles themes of loss, identity, and the afterlife, all while maintaining a light-hearted tone. With their engaging discussions, Christian and Leah offer listeners a delightful exploration of these captivating worlds, encouraging fans to dive into the adventures of Fallout and the quirky mysteries of School Spirits.

Takeaways:

1. In the latest season of Fallout, the complexities of human nature and the consequences of power are explored through the lens of a post-apocalyptic world, prompting deep philosophical questions about morality.
2. School Spirits combines supernatural elements with a murder mystery, intertwining character backstories that reveal emotional depth and societal issues, making it compelling for viewers seeking more than just a ghost story.
3. Both shows tackle the theme of seeking identity and purpose in chaotic settings, highlighting how characters navigate their circumstances while grappling with their past and relationships.
4. The hosts engage in witty banter about societal norms, the absurdity of fear-driven behaviors during snowstorms, and the human condition, bringing a light-hearted yet insightful touch to serious topics.
5. The discussion touches on the unpleasability of fandoms and the challenges adaptations face in living up to audience expectations, raising questions about the nature of storytelling and fan engagement.
6. Finally, the episode emphasizes the importance of community and shared experiences in facing life's challenges, whether in a fictional wasteland or the real world, showcasing the power of connection.

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Check out all of our other Whats News episodes here:

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Hear some of our gaming episodes for more on Fallout:

https://player.captivate.fm/collection/409f2d81-9857-4426-b1f0-d8a02e58b150

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What's happening in the newest season of Fallout? And how has school spirits been going? Did you even know it existed? Because I didn't.

We're going to find out that much more on today's episode of Cismak Ecology. We are the Priests of the Geeks. I'm your host, Christian Ashley.

As we're going to go through another what's New episode today, I am joined by, of course, Leah. How's it going? Leah Robinson.

I am doing well. As we talked about, just preparing for the snowpocalypse that will or maybe will or will not happen.

Yes.

The Epson that you have for everyone down there, you know, in the southeast right now, we're suffering nothing that, you know, the northern part of the country does every single year. And yet when it happens to us, it's the end of days. You know, sign your families away, you know, try and get all the bread and milk before.

Even though it's going to go stale if the power goes out. But we don't think about that.

Why the bread and milk, too? I just need to know what are we doing with those things?

I don't understand it. The pack mentality that comes out of this is what we have to do. It's like, okay, couldn't you, like, like canned food or something, or.

That would actually be worthwhile.

I grabbed some soup and I was like, we'll figure it out.

You know what? It's fine. We've lived the previous ones. We'll live through this one.

Even if the power goes out again, Even as we were talking about earlier, if Duke Energy decides it's going to take 17 weeks or whatever for stuff to get done, you know, eventually the power will come back and we'll be able to live again like regular people. So that's. That's what's going on in our lives.

But actually, Leah, why don't we go ahead and discuss, like, our lightning round here of, like, the smaller stuff that we don't really focus on, but, like, we've. We just got to get it out. Something else besides our main topics today, you've been getting into.

Yeah. So I'm assuming you guys and I haven't seen the episode, but I'm assuming you've talked about Stranger things.

I did just finish Stranger Things as well, and that's been really. I mean, I. I thought it ended quite well. I have thoughts on it. I have been catching up with Doctor who.

I feel like I'm forever catching up with Doctor who. But we're. We're getting Closer to the controversial season that we'll have to talk about.

I think it's only controversial with you and Joshua, though, Christian. So I've been watching. I've been doing those two. Predominantly, of course, I'm always doing horror. I've started a.

A new kind of horror series with Ryan Doze, who's been on your podcast before. And so we've been revisiting some. Some favorites. It's not theology, which is kind of a weird thing for me. It's just the movies. And we. We've done.

We did poltergeist and 28 days later, which, by the way, 28 days later, like, really holds up. It's a good one.

Absolutely. It does it.

I don't know the exact time. This is where Ryan.

Ish.

Yeah, I think so. But he filmed a lot of that on, like, 35 millimeter. And it looks.

You'd think that it would make it look old, and it does, but there's something like that. It needs to look that way. So, anyway, I've been revisiting a lot of that, and that's been really fun. How about you?

I will be seeing the Bone Temple in a bit. I have, let's say, less than favorable opinions on the first 28 years later compared to Joshua.

We walked out of that theater together having differing opinions. Imagine that. So I'm interested to see where they're going with this.

I asked you a question. So there was a one before the Bone Temple.

I didn't know that.

Yeah, 28 years later, 28 weeks later.

But that was going to be, like, a plan. 28 months. Wait, sorry. No, 28 days, 28 weeks. Are the first two.

Yeah.

Then the first one came out of the new three sequels last year, and Bone Temple is the second one is releasing. Has already released as of the time of this recording. So, yeah, all that to take care of. So I. Once again, it left me with a bit of sour taste.

But they can win me back. I have heard good things, so I want to see what they're. They're cooking up with that. So that'll be up there.

But also on the horror side of things, I saw Primate last week, which was.

Was that scary? Oh, it was okay.

I mean. I mean, if younger Christian were seeing it. Yes, absolutely. But, like, I guess I've become not Numb.

But like used to the genre, I think so very few things like scare me, scare me anymore. I'm not saying that I'm so big and tough, like. No, it's. It's just kind of. After watching so much, it kind of runs together. But it was a fine film.

It's like a maybe 6.5, 7 out of 10. I mean, worth watching, not worth. I mean, like, it's never going to be in my top 10 list, I'll put it that way.

For the year, it looked very jump scary, which is a different genre to me than like.

Like there's plenty of jump scares there.

Yeah. I was going to say because sometimes I'm just an anxious human as I drink my coffee.

So I can get like the jump scares can get me when like the ideas maybe are not scary.

Run. There's definitely some. Plenty of good tension, I would say in the film.

The idea of like, you know, Earl heard reports of people trying to have like, chimps as pets and like. Yeah, it can work for a while until it doesn't, you know, because they're not domesticated in any way, shape or form and.

No, they explained it in the film why it happens. But it's fine. I mean, I have no like big gripe against it. It's just. It's a popcorn flick. Just. Just watch it and have fun.

I will say another TV show that I think we should talk about at some stages from. It's not new, but it's. Oh, yes, I want to put that in the sand as well because that's a really good one.

It's been going for a while, so it's not like a what's New, but like, I. It's something I think would be fun to talk about.

I had covered, I think the second season forever ago on a what's New. But when I think third season's coming out right in June or July somewhere during that time, I think it's. Unless I'm misreading things.

No, I think it's maybe in. Is it in the fourth or maybe third season? I think you're right, Christian. I think you are. I think it is the third season because it.

They take a long time.

Yes. Modern tv, everyone. Yeah. If that comes out.

Well, when it does, I am more than welcome, more than happy to talk about that with you because that has scared me in the past.

The other thing that I have from our quick lightning round is it's not very quick, but, you know, we're the ones talking, so I don't expect it to go quickly is 12 months, the newest book in the Dresden File series released. I have not managed to open it yet, but it is on my desk. I am ready to read it. I adore this series very much.

TJ and I have talked about it in the past on another separate episode. So I'm hearing good things and I'm ready to read more. There have been some graphic novels done in the world of that. Yeah, of the Dresden Files.

They're pretty good too.

Cool. That's awesome.

All right, so those were our lightning round choices. Today we're going to get into meat of this. We have two big ones. The newest season of Fallout.

And of course a new thing to me like I said earlier is School Spirits which I read a brief synopsis of the idea and I'm interested to see where you go with it when we get there. But we're going to start with Fallout. So I. You had mentioned earlier that when we were texting about this, you're not into it at all.

But you do you have any idea what it is?

Well, I did what you did, which is I looked up the synopsis. So it sounds like. Is it like a post apocalyptic situation? I mean it is called but I mean.

Yeah, this is based off of the game series.

That's maybe why it sounds familiar. I live with a gamer, so. But you know, I. I'm kind of much like 28 days later.

I'm, you know, I'm into these sort of like what do we do when speaking of the snow. We've come full circle. Oh my gosh, this is great. What do we do when the things that are the day to day are gone and we have to figure it out.

Bombs were flown from both sides nuke the world to hell.

And now you're in the aftermath of that several years later your people depending on a game pretty much almost all of them start with a character in a vault which is a location created underground where people to survive the nuclear war. And you learn along the games like who was behind the creation of the vaults. Like why were some vaults created as like control vaults?

Why were like really bad experiments done in them? And one of those people behind them is an entity known as Vault tec. They're the ones who designed them.

But they were also, as we find out, working alongside the secret part of the. The government.

I'm laughing because I'm just remembering conversation I had with Andy, Will and TJ on comic book catch up about how difficult it is to explain the X Men. Now I'm doing that with a video game and it's like, you know, what is what it is. I'm gonna throw a lot of proper nouns your way today.

Sorry about that. In the universe, things just are.

So you find out that this group called the Enclave, which is the secret part of the government of the United States, the remnants of it, who knew things were gonna go off, the war was gonna happen. So they prepared for years to once reclaim the United States, because every state's kind of fractured.

You know, we have no, like, centralized government anymore. So the original games take place west coast, the Bethesda games take place on the east coast. Washington, D.C. boston, Massachusetts.

Well, Massachusetts area. The series itself, the TV series, takes place on the West Coast. And we have our group of people here.

We've got a member of the Brotherhood of Steel who is like our. They're kind of knights, but they've also kind of lost their way. Like, the goal was to protect technology, make sure no one could abuse it.

And of course, people are people. And that kind of got corrupted. We've got Lucy, who is our main character.

She's the one who's lived in a vault her entire life, so she's never experienced the wasteland. But after something horrific happens there, down there, she's forced to leave the vault and experience the upside. Excuse me.

The top world for the first time. I'm going to set upside down because it's Stranger Things earlier, Are they on.

Like, because of the Fallout, they've had to move underground in these vaults. That's the idea. They're like living there. They're not just hiding out there.

Most of those people are descendants of people who fled to the vaults after the bombs fell. So most of them are radiation free. And then you've got people who lived on a surface and they were affected in different ways.

Some people just got a little harder. Other people became known as. What is a ghoul. Because Fallout science works on, like your 50s, you know, monster kind of media, sci fi of like.

It doesn't work on actual science. It works on science. Like anything that could be fantastical, it kind of happens that way.

So people, when they're affected by radiation, can turn to things called ghouls. That's another one of our main characters who live before the bombs. And it's 200 years after the fact. And you find.

Yeah, he kind of is trying to track down his family who he knows were working with some of the people where his wife was, who may have caused the bombs to fall in the first place, but they've been preserved in cryostasis. So he's trying to figure out where at. And of course, they've got Dog Meat. You always have a dog in the game. He's always named Dog Meat.

It's never the same dog. It's always the dog named Dog Meat. And he's just the loyal canine companion.

Oh, no. I don't like it when they bring the animals in.

I will say, I know some people are more sensitive about that. Very few bad things have happened to Dog Meat in the show.

I mean, I think they know their audience, and I think putting the dog in peril may be a bit too far, even in a world as evil sometimes and as wacky as Fallout can get. So a first season happened with all these characters coming together, realizing the organization.

Excuse me, organizations they worked with or associated with aren't as perfect as thought they were. But also Lucy from the Vault. Her dad was the administrator of that vault. The Overseer, they call it. If I'm remembering things correctly.

That sounds right. It's been a while since watch season one because there's been multiple years between seasons. Not my fault. Yeah.

And found out that he is not as good a guy as she thought he was. And in fact, is also from pre war. He was kept in stasis, and there's three different vaults they have that are, like, connected to each other.

And the vaults that he came from are people who were, like, upper management with vault tech who would periodically come in and take control of the other vaults to make sure the experiment they were running on them was done.

Well, no, he's a vault.

Yes. So the jig is up. He has to flee. Now. Season two is where we pick up with that.

He's gone to Vegas, which in Fallout New Vegas, one of the video games made by Obsidian, who was hired by Bethesda to make another game there. Was under the control of an autocrat named Mr. House. And he was also pre war, but he put himself in. Not stasis, but, like, in a life support unit.

Like, he's still alive, but, like, he has, like, an almost an AI kind of, like, controlling Vegas.

And you have the opportunity of, like, going for, like, the New California Republic, which Is kind of this more democratic, that very flawed government. You have the opportunity to go independent and say you're going to be the one to take over the entire city of Vegas.

You have the option to go with Mr. House and be kind of more libertarian with it and free business and all that. Then you have Caesar's Legion, which is kind of the.

More like the Roman Empire reborn inside of the Southwest and all the bad and good that comes with that.

It's nice to know that humans have learned from history and that we're doing new and inventive things as opposed to repeating old things.

And that's one of the things of the games in a series itself, is that humans continue to make the same mistakes of the past, no matter how much time has gone. You know, one of the main like theses of the game series is that war never changes.

Yeah, you can always develop a new weapon or you can develop a new style of fighting, but war has been a thing humans have experienced for years. So you can launch a bunch of nukes at someone. Well, people will find a way to wage war after that fact.

You know, was that old quote about, I don't know how World War 3 will be waged, but World War 4 will be waged with like, sticks and stones and, you know, stuff like that. I butchered that quote. But it's kind of the same idea.

No, I mean, I teach history as well as theology and we. It's just painful to watch us do the same things over and over and over and over again in different players, but the same things.

Yeah.

So this season has primarily been built around trying to find Lucy's dad and the different conflicts between our different people because they fractured in the multiple different groups like Maximus, our brotherhood of steel is trying to do what he can there, but he ends up becoming pretty much too much of a murder hobo for his own good and causes problems trying to do the right thing. Then the.

The ghoul has his own thing trying to get back to his family so he'll betray Lucy if he needs to, while at the same time, like Vegas itself seems to have fallen. We'll get to that in a while. And why people are very upset about that and like learning because one of the things that Hank wants to do, her dad, is.

Is pre war, they were developing this thing where they could like just put this thing on the back of your neck and they would literally brainwash you and do whatever they wanted. It wasn't perfected then. Now he's trying to perfect it and we see in our latest. Why. Because you get to tell people what to do. And they'll do it.

Oh, they'll be super happy to do it.

Okay, cool, cool.

So we see, like, all these different warring factions that I mentioned earlier. Every. Almost every single one of them has a representative.

And in our latest episode where they're doing, like, office work together, but, like, they're so happy and cheerful, like, they're under one banner. Isn't that great? And that's kind of the question I want to ask, actually. We can get to other stuff. Other. Later on.

What's so wrong with wanting to control the world? Like, Leah, like, what's so wrong with unity?

I mean. Well, and it's a question I had a student asked me, you know, in a class once. What's the. Why is free will such a good. A good thing?

Like, maybe we don't need. Because I kept. I kind of was lamenting about what I was lamenting to you, which is this sort of we keep repeating.

And one of my students was like, well, maybe humans don't deserve to have free choice. And I was like, okay, okay, I see where. And it was.

It was interesting because the way they presented it was kind of like what you're saying is, you know, would we do better if we did just have someone kind of telling us what to do? And this has been an argument with a lot of dictatorships through the years, is that, you know, people do better when.

Well, this is their argument, is that we do better whenever we're told, you know, and we fall in line. And, you know, all of this other stuff, great catastrophes don't take place and all of that.

I mean, I don't think it's the human condition, whether you take us from a theological perspective or not. I don't think humans. It won't last is what I'm trying to say. Like, I don't think it's something like someone's gonna break rain at some stage.

I don't. Unless we have something like you were talking about, about the. There's a reason why the Hank you said maybe is creating that thing to control us.

Because we. Unless we are externally manipulated, I don't think that humans are able to fall in line like that. I just don't think we're wired that way.

No matter where, you know, what kind of thing you grew out. You know, I've been to many communist countries, some dictatorships along the way, and you always have those little pockets of rebellion. Like it's.

You know, humans are gonna are gonna do that. And so, you know, is there anything innately wrong with the idea that everyone's under one banner and doing things for the greater good? No.

Is someone going to rebel against that? Yeah, I think people will fall into. But that's just my opinion, of course.

Yeah.

As someone who believes in original sin, as someone who believes that humans are flawed, but there's a lot of capability of becoming more than flawed, of actually learning to be good along the way. Any system of government, of leadership or whatever is doomed to fail. You know why? Because I've studied history.

It doesn't matter the form of government. It doesn't matter. The most charismatic person in the world in charge to make people do the right thing.

You know, maybe they do it for a time, but then they die and someone else takes charge who isn't, as, you know, up to the task.

Or maybe the first person wasn't up to the task and you were ignoring their flaws because some of it made you feel good that they were doing some things that made you feel good.

Like it's the blind leading. It's the. It's those flawed people leading flawed people. And so eventually you will.

And again, even if you're not theologically based, you know, if you just think in your mind that humans are just selfish, I mean, and that could tie into original sentence. Those things are not mutually exclusive. But if you think about these flawed folks who are leading the flawed, like eventually they're going to.

Their flaws are going to show through. And it's what the people below when, when the, when the chinks in the armor start to show, what do the people below them start to do?

You know, say, oh yeah, that person's just like us. And as soon as someone becomes just like us, you know, I think it's hard to just blindly follow someone.

I think the other part too is that is just that human desire to rule your own life in whatever which way, shape or form you want to do it. That's literally been a story since the beginning of told to do one thing and then you do the other. Because, well, I want to do that.

I want to be in control. I want to be God, you know, I want to be the one who makes the decisions and be right to do it because I said so.

And that's another flaw that comes into the system. And yeah, I'm not one of those people who's anti human, who's anti the belief that anything good can ever be done in the world.

But I want to be honest with the self assessment of humanity and say, no, it's never going to work while humans are in charge because humans are flawed and humans are imperfect. So any system we make is going to be flawed and imperfect. That doesn't mean we shouldn't strive to be better.

I mean, there's a reason I want to work in a church, you know, because there is no perfect church out there. But I can make it better.

I can work along other side people who are attempting to work to do good in the world, to love others well and to love God well. Yeah. So I think the central premise of. Is it so wrong to want to control the world? Yes. Because it puts us in the wrong position. And yeah.

And yes, it's a Christian show, but at the end of the day, like it's whether I'm putting God on the throne or me on the throne and when I put me on the throne, things are inherently flawed.

Yeah, I mean I agree with you on, on all of those points. I think that, you know, we should always strive.

I'm, I'm actually, it will come across that I'm, I have a low view of humanity, but it doesn't mean I'm not pro human. Those are different things. I'm a teacher after all. So I, I do wake up every morning and try to make the world a better place in my own little way.

So I don't, you know, I have hope for us. It's just that it can get a little, our own sort of inherent selfishness can get a little overwhelming at times.

But I think if we can push against that, you know, and as you said, try to try to make it a better place in terms of, you know, egalitarianism and trying to make, you know, for the greater good sort of thing. I think that, that they're, that I honestly think that's the reason why we do what we do.

You know, whether you're a theologian, you're in the church, whether you're not religious, whether you're, you know, working for non profit or you're a teacher or whatever, fill in the blank.

Like, I mean we ain't doing it for the paycheck or the power, you know, and so, and if that's sort of what drives a lot of humanity, which we do see that it does, you know, the people who do pick up those, those sort of bits, I think are people who are kind of going against what you may call human nature or you know, what is expected by society sort of thing. I was supposed to be a medical doctor, Christian.

Oh wow.

I would have been okay at it, but. But here I am.

That's not what I want to see in my doctors. Which one am I going to go to? Oh, the okay one.

Well, it's hard to say. I mean, I'm being humble here, but I mean, you know what? I feel pretty good about the surgery, but, you know.

You're pretty okay doctor. Well, I'm an excellent theologian, so there.

There you go.

There you go.

So one of the things that's also brought up in this show and the franchise as a whole, too, is like, most of the games are pretty gray and gray. Some people would argue Fallout 4 is a little too nice.

I can see the arguments, but I think ultimately it contains the spirit of humans make decisions. Sometimes they're not always the right decisions. But are we inherently selfish?

Can we ever do good things in a world like, where does that morality come from? And this is shown really in the show with Lucy and the ghoul Cooper Howard.

He has been someone who's lived for over 200 years and he has seen the very worst of humanity before the bombs and after the bombs. She, meanwhile, grew up in a rather prosperous place, free of radiation, underground, where her every need was attended to.

And now she's up on the surface world trying to bring the good things she learned, like the Golden Rule and stuff like that. But she's living now in a surface world that doesn't believe in those things. So, like. And they pretty much continue to laugh at her.

So, like, how do we not living in a post apocalyptic wasteland quite yet continue to be good in a world that lasts in the face of that ideal?

Yeah, I'm surprised she goes up there. How do they look? I have one question. How do they live so long, those goals?

It's. It's the science part. The radiation is magic, essentially, and can do it whatever it wants. Yeah, it can turn a bear giant. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Okay. It's a part of the system. It's fine.

Yes.

The world they've created. How do we. How do we keep doing good when people. Well, I think you need a strong group of people around you.

Like, I think we see that there's always a merry band of followers and all of these shows where people are doing good.

And I do think that's important because we as humans are very capable of, you know, getting discouraged or faltering in this sort of mission that we might have of doing good in the world or trying to do good. We need other people to keep us. To keep us going, you know, And I think that could be a TV show, that could be a podcast. I mean, I was telling.

I have Christy Whaley, who's my. Who's my band of Mary, Band of Person. She does a podcast with me as well.

But she's also someone that I can talk to when things are getting a bit grim and in the world. And I was telling her, you know, just watching Stranger Things actually, you know, it could be a TV show.

Watching that made me feel a little bit better about the world that we were living in, because I was like, here are these kids who have very little resources, and, like, they're just really, really trying to fight the good fight and fight against this evil that they have, you know, a collective evil. And so I think I. I think so. I think that's important. I think having travelers alongside you is. Is important. And having people who will. Who will.

Because we are going to get discouraged. Like, I don't think that's an. That's a. If it's a win. Yeah.

So I think having other people around you to sort of be like, this is what we're doing is important, like, because you can put in, put in, put in, and then, like, you know, you may not get anything back for your whole life. You know, I get. I have. On my little shelf here, I have, like, five or. I've been teaching for, like, 16.

I have, like, five or six notes that students have sent me in 16 years, you know, and. But that's okay. And those notes are up there, and I'll look at them every once in a while when I'm having a bad day. And so I think that's.

You've got to surround yourself in whatever version of encouragement that could be human or otherwise. I think that's the most important bit.

That's an extremely great point, because it is so very tempting to think that you're always right, to think that if you say something, it must be true.

And to go out and try and live that way, even if you were right, is a terrible way to live, because by definition, you're alone trying to reach out to other people. Like it's possible.

I mean, we see it countless times throughout history, throughout Scripture, of people going to other people who are definitely an other, and then reaching them with truth, reaching them with good things, and something being done with that.

But you also see the exact opposite of it being rejected and people being threatened with death or actually being murdered for it, for trying to help people. So what are you supposed to do? Well, I mean, you know, Paul didn't go alone on his missionary trips, Barnabas with them to help out there.

They get Luke along the way, Timothy along the way. Like they build things up.

Because like you said, it can be very difficult when you're alone, especially when you're surrounded by people who don't think the same way you do. But I think more important, not more important than not being alone is to make sure that you have a solid enough foundation.

So yeah, you can get like shaken, stirred a little bit by something that goes your way. But if you're grounded in that truth, grounded in love, like it's a lot harder for you to be knocked down.

And so that attracts other people who would also like to live that way, who would also like to think that way. Maybe they're already around you, maybe you can find them. But in the show itself, like it's one of those things.

Lucy is so wide eyed, idealist for her own good is that you also need someone who's experienced the bad to kind of temper those. And the ghoul isn't a good man by any stretch of the imagination, but he also, he's helping her learn about what the wasteland is like.

Like, look, you have those good ideals and morals, but this is the reality you're facing here. So how are you going to handle it?

You know, if someone's shooting at you, are you just going to try and kneecap them or are you actually going to take them out knowing it would be better for everyone else if that raider or what have you didn't live anymore to hurt someone else? And those are deep questions to ask. We thank God we don't live in that scenario right now.

But if we were like where would our, how would I answer that question? What would my foundation be to establish why I could be okay answering as I did.

Well. But in some ways I think we do live in that world. The questions are maybe slightly different, but they are kind of similar, you know.

And you know, what, what sort of, you know, what are we willing to do for the greater good? You know, the sort of train. I always think about that psychological train scenario where you get willing to go build a force.

Oh my gosh, what is the name of that thing? Trolley Problem.

There you go. Trolley problem. And so I think, you know, it's one of those things where, you know, we, we, we are faced with, with some of those questions.

We're just not in a fallout scenario. And you know, what do we do in the Face of that, we're not, as you said, not yet. Not yet.

Hopefully never. But, I mean, if it happens, it happens. God. Still sovereign either way. All right, so my last bit here.

Yep.

For Fallout is as someone who's been in the fandom for quite some time, I have seen through many fandoms, not just this one. When a new adaptation comes out, there's always going to be that contingent of fans who say, this is ruined forever because of xyz.

There's always going to be that group of people that say, this is the greatest thing ever because of xyz. There's going to be other people in the middle who go, I like this. I'm not big on that. But you know what? Ultimately, I like it.

I like to think of myself as the middle option more often than not. Whether that's true or not, that's open for debate.

But one thing we've seen here is that a lot of people are angry because at the end of New Vegas, the game that a lot of this is based around, all the factions that you can join with ultimately have fallen short of where they could have been. Like, House is seemingly dead. Maybe at best, he's an AI.

The ncr, they got nuked, their capital got nuked, and now it looks like they're fracturing into different, you know, factions. Caesar's Legion was never a good option, but some people would say that has gone into a civil war after the death of Caesar, their leader.

And the independent option is gone because no one's in charge of New Vegas anymore. So I say, you've invalidated my decisions, and because you had to tell your story, you wanted things to be bad in the world.

There's no hope for the world or anything. So that's some of the arguments.

There are plenty of others I could bring up, but, like, do you think on this idea, are fan bases inherently unpleasable?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yes. That's the easiest question I've had today. Absolutely. We are. We are.

But here's the reason why we hold so precious to stuff, and it means something to us. And also, I do think, especially in a lot of these fandoms, like, you know, they get us through things. You know, I just talked about stranger things.

Now, there are parts I don't love about that ending and. But. But what in it? And it kind of hurt me in the heart a little bit sometimes.

Like, I'm going to talk about this when I talk about School Spirits, actually in the Lynchian connection, but it's. It's One of those things where, you know, they become a crutch for us in a positive way, I. I would say.

But it could be a negative way, too, in the sense that it's propping us up in a world that is very chaotic and very, you know, not so nice sometimes. And they inspire and they excite us and they're kind of like friends that we can go to at the end of the day and, you know, sit with and. But the.

The issue with that is anything that we lean upon in that way is never going to be able to live up to the standard that we need to keep us going. And so, yeah, no, I've never had a series finish. I think I'm going to say this, and then I'm going to reflect a little bit back in like 10 minutes.

I'll tell you if it's true. I don't think that there's ever been a series that has ended where I've been perfectly happy. Have you had one?

I mean, like, perfect, like, where you would change not a single thing. I'm. I don't. I.

That's an excellent question. Like, not even Deep Space Nine. I'm not big on how the 6 Cisco ending was. Oh, man, I'd have to think about that one.

Recently, I will say I finished Expedition 33, which is a very fun video game. I've talked before about how it deals with grief and trauma.

And I will say maybe it's just honeymoon phase, because I just finished it, but I am completely satisfied with that ending based off of everything that was built up in the game. But anything else, Return of the Jedi, for me, it's not a flawless film, but as far as the ending, Yeah, I am 100% satisfied with how things go down.

And that's one reason why I don't like the sequel trilogy. But that's something. And I've said that.

I don't say that people should take a drink, but I'm sure there's a drinking game out there built around that. As Christian mentioned a sequel trilogy and how much he hates it. There you go. Ding.

Yeah, well. But I think that I. So there's a couple that came to mind. Like I was saying Sopranos. Like, I think that to me, was a perfect ending.

However, people really don't like that. A lot of people, they're very upset about it. And so it would be interesting. This is my academic.

It would be interesting to take the ones we did find satisfying and to see the good place. And that was a good ending. I liked it.

I'm the good place ending, but to take the ones that we liked and to see if there's, like a common thread about. And that probably says more about us than the series itself. In a way.

I don't like ambiguity, but ultimately it doesn't affect my feelings on the series as a whole. I'm not big on the choice that was made, but, like, it's still.

I don't feel like my time was wasted just because I got an ambiguous ending in that regard. There have been other things out there when definitely, like, okay, tell me what happened. I'm not happy. Give me, like, information. So, yeah.

I want to watch the leftovers. Like that show. I've never seen it, but I think it's. I want to see it really, really badly.

And not at all because I have a crush on that guy, but maybe a little bit. What's his name? Justin Throw. But also, I. I know that it ended before it was supposed to end, I. E. They, like. They canceled it, basically.

And so I'm really hesitant to watch it because I get really invested in TV shows and I'm. I know that it didn't end properly or the way they wanted it to or even in a sad. I don't know.

Again, I'm not seeing it, but I know it didn't end when it was supposed to. So that really puts me off. Sometimes shows as if they didn't get their ending. But the Good Place, I liked that.

Have you seen the Good Place, Christian?

No, I have not. I know Pastor Will really loves it. I'm sure there was someone else who was on that episode or talked about.

It, at least before it has a satisfying ending. I think the idea was they knew where they didn't keep it going, and I think that's. It didn't go on.

Yeah, well, to go back to the original question. Yeah, I'm with you. Fan base is inherently unpleasable because you've got a myriad of opinions, you know, some more Right than others.

But you know what? That's still their opinion.

So when something gets a new game is introduced or a new movie is made in a, you know, trilogy or franchise or what have you, there's always going to be the detractors who didn't like it because they were already upset about the first film or someone who didn't like a change that was made, or maybe you changed the lore or a character got a new actor or something like that. By its very nature, no one. There's no such thing as like 100% great fan base.

Because there's always going to be at least that one guy who's got to be the one to say, this is why you're wrong. This is why I'm more enlightened than you. Yeah. So I'm not saying that everyone who has a gripe against the series is wrong.

Let me state that perfectly clear, because I do have some gripes. But. And I would. That would be extremely hypocritical of me to say that. If you have a gripe against something, that means you're wrong.

But I think there's a way to say it better. There's a way to state your opinion better than saying, you've ruined my childhood or this is trash. Anyone who thinks it's good is trash.

That learn how to speak well. Be more eloquent in like you're taking down of something you don't like.

Process things through critical thinking lenses.

Take some classes with me and you can learn all about critical thinking or just listen to systematic ecology and also learn critical thinking, I would argue.

Yeah. So as far as reading, reviewing, It's a solid 9, 9, 5 for me. If the series keeps going as well as it is, it may end up as a 10 one day.

But for right now, I think a 9 is pretty solid. So we talked enough about my. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I rate things out of 10 because it gives me more numbers than out of five.

I always feel like that's not enough and I feel bad giving things like three. It feels like I don't like it.

So do you, man.

Yeah, that was fallout. We're moving on to the third season. If I remember correctly, from what I read of School Spirits. So, Leah, can you explain what is School Spirits?

How'd you get into it? What do you like about it?

Yeah, we're in the second. The third season comes out next week.

Okay.

So it's already filmed. It's on the book.

So if you want something to binge where, like, you don't have to wait a year or two years for it to come out again, then this is a good one. So how did I. I came across it just through, I mean, advertisements and wanting to binge something that already existed.

I've been watching a lot of, like, I sort of lean towards the. The, like Wednesday, like Sabrina the Teenage Witch, like, sort of Supernatural, but Legacies.

Vampire Diaries, but things that are, like, when I'm talking about binging and, like, eating food and, like, drinking wine and it's not gonna, like, make me think too hard because my whole entire Life is thinking very, very hard. And I do like those series, like, where I have to really wrestle with the big, like, the good place, the big questions, you know?

But then sometimes I just want to sit there and watch some vampires that are attractive run around, and I think that's okay, too. So this is. That definitely falls into this category.

So when they advertised it, there was another show that had come out where it was like, basically, ghosts that are stuck in a school and they're, like, hanging out. And it was. It. I'm not sure what it was called, but I'd seen it, and it just. I just wasn't really interested in it.

But the way they presented School Spirits is that it was more of, like, a murder mystery. Like, it was like they were trying to figure out, like, what happened to me. I was like. I was, like, very into that.

So the premise essentially is because Twin Peaks, by the way, is my favorite TV show of all time.

And so anything that has this sort of show, it's great, if you want to get me, have an underlying mystery, a band of kooky characters, and we're just working towards this mystery. But then there's also other things happening at the same time. But the mystery stays as perfect. I mean, many people have tried to recreate.

That's why I was talking about the Lynchian stuff. They've tried to recreate it. You know, you've got your Riverdale, you've got your Lost, and they'll admit it, and they make references to it.

In fact, School Spirits makes reference to it as well. Their very last episode of the second season is called they. They like to do puns on TV shows, and it's called Fire Talk With Me.

It's the very last episode, which, of course, if you know lynch is. Firewalk With Me is one of the Twin Peaks universe movies that he did. So, anyway, the premise of the show is that there is.

There's a high school called Split River High School. And essentially this young girl named Maddie goes to the high school. She's got two best friends. They're kind of outcast. They, like, hate everything.

Very. Like, we're. We were converse, so we hate everything. You know, that kind of thing. And they're a little stir, but so.

So she ends up waking up from this kind of dream one day after school, and all of a sudden she's with this other group of characters, but they're all dead for good. And they live within the school and they can't. They, in fact, can't leave.

Premise of the school There's a fence that keeps them in, essentially, and if they try to run past this fence, it basically takes them back to the part within the school that they died. So that's the key bit within all of the cases that they died on the school camp.

The issue with Maddie is that, well, she's new, so all of this is new to her and she can't figure out how she died. Everyone else remembers how they died, but to her she can't remember and she can't figure out.

All she knows is that when she runs off campus, she ends up in the boiler room of school. So she knows where she died. She just can't figure out what happened. Right. And there's a teacher there.

And then most of the other people are students that are ghosts. And then there's some ghosts that are unaware that they're ghosts. So there's the marching band that just does this like, little loop because they're.

Their school bus, like crashed into something at the school, but they're still practicing because they're. What is it called? The person that directs the marching band. The drum beat.

Yeah, they didn't die in the school bus accident, so they're left without their leader. So they're just perpetually on this loop trying to figure out this song. So. So the other ghosts will go up to them and be like, hey, hey, hey.

Like, come, like, let's talk about stuff. Let's hang out, like, you're dead. And they just keep on.

So the whole the, the show is, is really, it's this underlying mystery of, you know, what happened to Maddie, how did she die? Like, what is. Who killed. And of course there's all these red herrings of like, this person did it.

And one of the key bits of the story because this, no one, by the way, in the school can see the ghosts. That's a big part of it. And you can't.

The ghosts can't manipulate or like move things or like if they like rip something off the wall, it appears again like they can't do anything to the world. Except for Maddie's best friend can somehow see her, but only her and can talk to her.

And that becomes a real question too about why this person is able to see and, and hear her. And so he's essentially helping her solve this mystery along with this band of ghosts and then her like real life human friends.

And so we're in the second season. It's a pretty low level show in terms of like, like I. There's. There's some like, sexual Innuendos and some violence, but, like, it's not.

It's not going to, like, keep you up at night. Like, I put it at a solid PG13. Like, it's not really, like. But I'm very intrigued by it. And I think it's. It's really.

They did well with the characters. Like, you're very invest. Because there's all these, especially the ghosts.

Like, there's some from, like, there's this high school guy called Wally who was from the 80s and he loves 80s music, but he's a teenager and he, like, broke his neck on the football field. He didn't even really want to play football, but his mom really wants. So there's a lot of, like, angst and backstory and we're. We're trying.

And also they're really working towards crossing over. So there is some sort of, like, theological elements. Is that they're trying to figure out what. Why are we stuck here? That's another big question.

Like, because one of. I will say very early on, one of the ghosts does cross. And so they. They start to figure out there's.

They're trying to figure out, like, why did she get to cross over and not why are we still here? So there's some theological elements to it as well.

So there's a lot of mysteries, and they've done well here, I think, by creating these mysteries so that it keeps you going. Because I think if it was just the mystery of who killed Maddie, I don't know that people would hang on that long.

I think that you had to have this, you know, this group of characters that you cared about what happened and sort of the mystery of the school. Because the teacher at one stage says there's something about the school that none of y' all realize.

And so that's another mystery that we're trying to work out too.

So it's an idea kind of being like, if you had died elsewhere, maybe you would have moved on. But, like, if you're. If you. Because you died at the school, something is keeping you here that is preventing what would otherwise happen.

And there's a reason you're fenced in, which I like having not seen a single episode solely based off of your testimony. This sounds very intriguing.

I love the idea of returning to the spot where you died and having a limited range because that establishes a little bit of weaknesses for our main character and that she just can't go fly off anywhere and figure out and investigate. Well, this guy was with me like, an hour before I maybe died. Let me go look at him. Maybe she can only do it at school.

I haven't, once again, not seen anything I love as well, the idea of multiple people being our characters here, like the Twin Peaks analogy you made there, is kind of perfect of seeing, like, yeah, the driving mystery is like, you know, who killed Laura Palmer? Who killed Maddie? But here we get a bunch of people like, how did they die? What are the circumstances? Why would they not be able to move on?

But this one character could. What was it about her that's so different? Could we replicate that? So, yeah, I am intrigued.

Yeah. And the other characters you care about, I think that's the biggest thing too, is that you have to care what happens.

So, like, Maddie's mom is a recovering alcoholic, and, like, the mystery of where she went and if she's ever coming home is keeping her sober. And so Maddie has to wrestle with the fact that, like, you know, if I did exist, would she still be an alcoholic if I was still in her world?

Like, you know, and. And there's all this other stuff too. Like, it's just. It's a. It's.

It's this world of characters that while you do care about Maddie and what happens sometimes when the other characters are on the screen, you care more about that. So, you know, for me, I'm obsessed with the Wally character. I think he's such a sweet, sweet character.

And so when he's on, I'm like, maddie, just go fight your mystery. I want to see what Wally has to say. He's dancing to, like, David Bowie. He has a high school reunion, and it's all.

And he's still 18, and he's going to this reunion, and they're all have their kids and they. Or, you know, whatever, and they've moved on, and he's sort of stuck there just dancing to David Bowie.

So you said something like, they don't even know where Maddie's body is. She's officially a missing person by the.

End of the end of season one. You don't know where her body is by the end of the. Actually, the last. This should.

Should tell you that the last episode of season one is called Maddie. Where is Maddie's body?

That's another a good swerve there, too. Not only does Maddie not know where she is, she doesn't Even she's not even able to know that, hey, people know where my body is.

Or they could be doing, you know, trying to solve my murder. Well, you can't. I mean, you can do it without a body. No, no, no. Nobody, no crime doesn't exist so much anymore in the world.

You can still prosecute people based on that. But yeah, that's another good element there.

She had a really childhood and so everyone's like, maybe she just ran away. Like and.

Because the common excuse.

Yeah. And so for. And you're not, you know, you know, we know watching it, something happened.

But the rest of the characters that are in the world, like at one stage her friend Simon is his name who can see her and talk to her. He's the only person he thinks he's going crazy. So he quits going to see her because he's like, I'm going nuts.

Like I'm seeing this person that nobody else can see. And that feels like a me problem and not that you are a ghost. And so she's like, no, no, no. And that's her one link to the outside world.

So she's like, no, no, no, don't go, go, don't, please, please, you're not crazy. He's like, that's what my crazy brain would. He said, tell me something that my brain wouldn't know already.

And that's how she proves that she's real, I guess.

But there's also something really compelling behind the idea of she's the only one he can see, not the other ghost. Because normally if any other scenario, they would be a psychic and naturally would see ghosts anyway so they could deal with the other characters.

But now that drives a further wedge and that only her, that's the only person he can be with.

Oh. And it causes really that they start to get annoyed at that because they're like, why is she able to have this outside link and we can't?

And then, you know, and he's supposed to go off to college and it's just like there's a. I mean it is all. It's high school stuff in a way, but it's compelling.

Oh, something you said sparked my memory. Kyle McLaughlin is Hank in Fallout. So good old Dale Cooper is in the wasteland.

Yes, I do love him. I do love him. He was Lynch's, one of his muses, him and Laura Dern. So. Yeah. Oh, so. Well, that gives me more.

Although the idea that Kyle is now a dad, probably could be a granddad.

Yeah. Anything else you want to add About School spirits. Where can people find it?

They can find it on. I watched on Paramount plus, if you have that, but I think it's on HBO Max. I mean, again, whatever. I just google it, I think.

But I watched on Paramount plus, so if you have that.

Okay.

I think it's on multiple platforms.

Right. So for our first two seasons, like, out of 10, what do you think you get to rate them at?

By the end of season one, I would have rated it an eight. I'm going season two, if you combine them, I'm gonna say a 7.5 out of 10. They have to keep it going.

And so they do reveal quite a bit at the end of season, if you want to. And it's up again. As we talked about before, I found it less than satisfying, though.

Still compelling enough for me to continue watching it and be excited, but, like, maybe not in the upper echelon of 10 out of 10.

Yeah, fair enough. All right, so reach the end of the episode here.

Leah, do you have, like, out of everything we discussed today, lightning round, main topics, what was. What do you think is going to be your top recommendation for everyone to go check out?

Oh, out of everything. I mean, your show sounds really interesting, and I kind of want to go watch that.

I've not played the video games, but, like, the whole idea that sort of is like, I kind of like that world that you're describing. I mean, I do recommend School Spirit. I mean, I. I think, too, those would be my 2.

I will say I was thinking a little bit in my back mind about the things that we don't like. And I think one of the things I don't like is in a universe when they break the rules. This is my type A personality. And so I think, like.

Or they create new rules that make it easier for the story to move along. School Spirit suffers that a little bit. But it's a new show, so they're creating a universe. You know, they're not necessarily manipulating it.

They're creating it. So I gave them a little bit of leeway. However, I don't. I don't love that.

And I think fans get a little bent out of shape about that in terms of when you start to mess with the rules. So as long as Fallout doesn't mess too much with the rules that it has created, I would be excited. Does it, though? Because I would be.

I think it's open to interpretation. I would argue mostly no.

Okay, fair enough, Fair enough. Because if you're just like, oh, you know, this doesn't matter. Anymore. You're like, well, I've invested in this matter.

Like, yeah, this is part of the tent, as you said, tension. This is part of the tension. So in my mind, I. I think you. I think you advertise that show. Well, I want to go watch it.

Not. Not a paid sponsorship. It could be. If you want to throw that away. Amazon, which is where it's on for me, actually.

I guess I'll be stereotypical, and I'll pick your choice for school spirits, because I knew nothing about this coming in outside of the paragraph that I read beforehand on the synopsis.

And now I've gotten an intriguing mystery, and it sounds like multiple characters, and you said Twin Peaks, and of course, how could I say no to that? So, yeah, I'm gonna throw that out as my recommendation.

Fun peeps. Also not sponsored.

All right, so thank you guys for listening on this one. If you were live on YouTube, you know, it was great to have you in the chat with us.

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A geekdom of priests.