[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] 2.10 "The Tale of the Shiny Red Bicycle"

RECAP

Perennial sad-sack David shows up to the Midnight Society meeting right after having his bike stolen and tells a story about a kid who loved his bike so much he took it to his grave.

Mike still has nightmares about the day his best friend Ricky fell off the bridge over a dam and drowned a few years back. Neither his body nor his shiny red bicycle were found. When Ricky’s bike begins popping up around town, Mike worries he’s either losing his mind or being haunted. Things go from bad to worse when Ricky’s ghost starts appearing outside of Mike’s dreams. Mike becomes convinced that Ricky wants revenge. While his kid brother is off fishing by the same river Ricky drowned in, Mike decides to confront Ricky’s ghost. The ghost reveals that he’s simply been trying to warn Mike that his little brother is in danger. He loans Mike his shiny red bike and Mike speeds off and saves his brother from drowning in the nick of time.

David reveals that, the very next day, a fisherman found Ricky’s remains.

REVIEW

T: We start with David obsessing over his bike like Gollum while the Midnight Society eats marshmallows. I love how they’ve already heard his sad news and check to make sure their little buddy is okay.

E: Word travels fast in whatever idyllic hamlet the Midnight Society reside in. But seriously. What kind of shitty person steals a bike? I hope whoever stole it really needed it, though I doubt they needed it as much as Ricky needed his to help save his old friend’s kid brother. Oof, my feels.

T: Kristen’s really supportive of David here. Do I like her now that she told a story I love?

E: *gives Troy side-eye* You’re late to the Kristen party, man.

T: Better late than never. Since David’s mourning his bike, he starts his story by killing off a young boy. And, wow, Ricky’s death is kind of hard to watch.

E: Again, my feels. That opening scene is legitimately heartbreaking. But actual kids deal with actual trauma all the time, so I applaud the writers for including something like this.

T: I made a few notes throughout this episode wondering why Mike’s parents are the absolute worst. “So you know how you’re having night terrors because you couldn’t save your best friend from that terrible death a couple years back? Um… STOP IT!”

E: I had the same thought. They. Are. AWFUL. Every time Mike’s dad rolled his eyes over the inconvenience of Mike’s trauma, I wanted to punch him in the face. Real father of the year, that guy.

T: The history teacher is oddly cool for some reason. And I appreciate that she’s not giving a lecture on ghosts or dreams. Just about every time there’s a classroom scene in a horror movie, it happens to be a lecture that directly relates to the theme, and this is about the Kennedy brothers. Dead brothers relates but doesn’t feel heavy-handed.

E: Yes, there’s an impressive amount of subtlety for a kids’ show.

T: I have to point out I’m somewhat color slow, but I’m pretty sure there’s no strong reds in the entire episode besides the bike. There’s some muted red/oranges, but that’s it to highlight the bike.

E: COLOR SLOW?? Is this a thing?? Does it mean you’re not quite colorblind? (Poking fun at Troy aside, I think he’s right and it’s a nice touch.)

T: I wasn’t planning on coming out as somewhat colorblind today, but yeah, I am a little. I have trouble distinguishing between pastels and I don’t really remember color very well. I coined the term “color slow” and I’m sticking to it.

E: Ah -- I get it now. I apologize for being an ableist (colorist?) asshat.

T: Ricky’s ghost is disturbing. The makeup isn’t revolutionary or anything, it’s just the directing/acting/effects work really well together which doesn’t always happen. Is he the first ghost in the series that A) talks regularly and B) is solid?

E: *puts on thinking cap* Yes? Unless you count Giles from “Hungry Hounds,” though he appears only in the dream/ghost world. Then again, it seems like only Mike can see Ricky.

T: Usually, characters move to a new town or get trapped somewhere, and hear the spooky tale about a ghost. Ricky is actually someone Mike knows personally. It makes the entire haunting much more intense.

E: Excellent point! The emotional stakes here are notably higher than they are in your typical “ghost of a stranger” story. And the emotional flip from the ghost wanting revenge or release to actually wanting to help the protagonist is really effective.

T: It’s nice to see Mike and Ben getting along. Usually AYAOTD? siblings or cousins bicker. But here we have two brothers who just get along and the drama’s mined elsewhere.

E: Aww, so true. But even the bickering siblings are kinda cute and obviously love each other. Except maybe Christina and Andy from “Dark Music.” If this wasn’t a show for kids you know he totally would’ve fed her to the basement monster.

T: Um, my headcanon is pretty clear Andy fed her to the entity, Eric’s hand-waving aside.

E: 

T: This might be one of the simplest narratives the show has to offer: a guy dreams of his dead friend and the ghost helps him save his brother. That’s it.

E: Hmmmm. And yet you’ve managed to distill each episode down to a single, lovingly irreverent sentence on your Instagram account. But I see your point. This one is much more about emotional impact than a twisty or complicated plot. 

T: I love the reveal of the rusted old bike at the end. It’s so simple but really ties the story up nicely.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Is it me, or is Mike in love with Ricky? The framed photograph by his bedside is a bit much for just friends.

E: I fully support this ship. Give me ALLLLL the queer subtext. But jeezus. Not that I think romantic love is more important than friendship, but this makes the story even more tragic.

T: That’s a tricky thing for me. I wish there was more positive male/male friendships in TV/film, but then when there is, it feels like it’s queer subtext and you potentially get producers queerbaiting fans. There’s absolutely no queerbaiting in this series, but it can be a tightrope act.

E: Damn. It’s the queer subtext Catch-22.

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: Here’s a fun one: Mark Camacho (Mr. Buckley) and Pauline Little (Mrs. Buckley) are married in real life. And if both look familiar, it’s because he played the loose-lipped delivery man in “Nightly Neighbors” and she played infamous Aunt Dottie in “Lonely Ghost.”

E: Love it! Though now I wish Pauline had brought more of her Aunt Dottie wackiness to this episode.

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: I know children still ride bikes and go fishing, but this story feels super dated. I’m not even sure how to make it feel contemporary. You’d definitely have to change every single conversation about grief, since people actually care about mental well-being now. The whole ’90s (and earlier) “suck it up, buttercup/walk it off” vibe is thankfully dead for the most part.

E: Thank gawd! The whole “suck it up” thing was thrown around at everyone, but even more so at boys. It’s totally tied up in the kind of toxic masculinity that we’ve spent the past decade trying to dismantle. I think a story like this is still do-able, though it would require a major rewrite. People care more about mental health than they used to, but grief and trauma are often still misunderstood, even by people who mean well.

T: While we’re talking about it, I really don’t think the parents would’ve come off as awful at the time. They do act supportive when Mike’s put on bed rest. I think it’s a sign of positive change that their lack of support is now seen the way it is.

E: You’re totally right but now I feel extra bad for all the ’90s kids who had to deal with trauma plus parents who didn’t know any better.

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: The plot feels a little thin and stretched out. Ricky’s creepy and the acting’s fine. It’s one of those where there’s nothing wrong, but nothing really leaps out at me either. It’s a startlingly adult episode about grief that’s mired in ’90s insensitivity. 7.4 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

E: I kind of love the helpful ghost twist and the trip down memory lane to some of the more unfortunate aspects of the ’90s. It makes me realize how far we’ve come in a relatively short amount of time. I’m going to round up to an even 8 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

T: You know what? I’ve thought about this episode more than most others since watching it in a good way. Sure, it’s not flashy, but I really appreciate the mental health character study. In an unprecedented move, I’m upping it to 7.9 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

E: Fuck yeah! Progress for the win, y’all.