[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] S0405 "The Tale of the Water Demons"

RECAP

Frank sneaks a peek at what he thinks is Sam’s diary, but it turns out it’s just another one of Tucker’s pranks. Tucker takes a cue from his big bro, Gary, and weaves a moralistic tale about why stealing is wrong and will lead to nothing but trouble, i.e., lifelong harassment by sea zombies.

Shawn is a classic bad kid sent off by his parents to live with his uncle and cousin, Dean, for the summer. When he’s not moping and whining about how bored he is, he’s stealing from his uncle’s general store, much to Dean’s chagrin. Eager for any excitement, Shawn jumps at the chance to help Dean make a delivery to the Westchester Mansion, home of the troubled Captain Abraham Westchester, who made his fortune looting sunken ships. Westchester reveals to the boys that he hasn’t been able to sleep more than a few minutes at a time because he’s haunted by those who died at sea and want their valuables back. Shawn clearly doesn’t take the story seriously, since he steals one of the captain’s treasures on the way out. That night, Shawn gets into a tiff with his uncle and runs off. He ends up in a hammock outside the Westchester Mansion and is almost attacked by the water demons, who turn out to be 100% real and not just the ramblings of a sleep-deprived old sea captain. Dean brilliantly realizes the captain must return all his treasures to the sea if he wants the demons to leave him alone. Shawn and Dean help return the treasures but Dean is almost drowned by a demon before Shawn realizes he’s still got a piece of loot and chucks it into the water.

After Tucker leaves the campfire, Gary finds a backpack full of stuff that Tucker borrowed without asking and a note that reads, “Thanks for letting me borrow this stuff. Sorry I didn’t ask first. P.S. What’re you doing in my knapsack? Didn’t you get anything out of my story?” Oh, Tucker.

REVIEW

T: First off, before we get into it: this is the episode I remembered really well and THOUGHT was part of “Cutter’s Treasure” so I kept waiting for sleep zombies in that one. Like I thought we’d meet a captain who had stolen some of the treasure, and the pirate zombies were coming for him in his sleep.

E: That actually may have made for a more interesting plotline, since the fulfill-your-ancestral-destiny quest didn’t do a whole lot for me. And I can totally see why you mixed them up. How, for the love of god, are there TWO pirate episodes in one season? Were pirates a big deal in 1994?

T: No! This was years before Pirate of the Caribbean made pirates and rum cool again. AYAOTD? was just ahead of its time.

E: As it often was.

T: Gotta love gullible Frank. And Sam’s use of “fresh” zit. Zits are bad enough, but “fresh zit” is the worst.

E: Totally is! “Fresh zit” is almost as gross as the word moist. *cringes* But isn’t Frank’s reaction to the fake diary kind of adorable? He’s completely wrong for her, but he really does like Sam.

T: The way I see it, Frank is instantly attracted to her physically, once Betty Ann removes the bag to tell “Watcher’s Woods,” but then he genuinely gets the feels over the next few months/episodes as he gets to know her.

E: Exactly. It’s initially shallow but then pretty cute.

T: Betty Ann puts Frank in his place for looking at the dairy. I love that Betty Ann is very soft spoken most of the time, but she doesn’t take shit. And she protects her friends.

E: She’s an excellent example of a strong female character who’s not loud or brash -- she’s assertive when she needs to be. People seem to forget that strength doesn’t need to be tied up in traits that we think of as masculine.

T: I love that Tucker’s whole story is about not messing with other people’s shit, and Gary calls him out for messing with his stuff.

E: Yes! Most of Gary’s recent stories have been moralistic lessons for Tucker. Tucker’s following in his brother’s footsteps, but in a cheeky way that is classic Tucker. As much as I love him onscreen, he’s the worst kind of smart-alec-y little brother.

T: Oh, here we go, ANOTHER jackass protag (in a yellow and black checkered shirt no less!). Unlike “Laughing in the Dark” and “Crimson Clown,” Shawn’s actually a pretty solid character. This is an anti-hero who works. I’m not rooting against him, and I appreciate him learning to be a better person.

E: He comes off as a bit of a stock “bad kid” at first, but his humor makes him likable and his redemption seems considerably more believable than some of the others.

T: Did Shawn say to cousin Dean, “Don’t be a squint?” What the hell’s a “squint?” And is that worse than a zeeb?

E: I wondered the same thing! I think it’s a reference to Dean’s glasses? I immediately thought of Squints, the kid with the big, thick glasses from The Sandlot.

T: That must be it. Confession - I’ve never seen The Sandlot… I know! Honestly all I know about it is that tween boys play backyard baseball and get yelled at by James Earl Jones? And also there’s a dog maybe?

E: You’re killing me, Smalls! Sorry, I don’t know what just came over me. Oh, The Sandlot. I have so much fondness for it, and not just because I had a gigantic lust-crush on Benny, I swear. And yet, it’s incredibly androcentric and pretty misogynistic in some spots. One of the worst insults slung in the entire movie is, “You play baseball like a girl!” Ugh. Also, as theoretically funny as the Wendy Peffercorn fake-CPR scene is, like, Squints basically pretends to drown so he can assault her. Gross. But I digress. What were we talking about?

T: Just once, just one time – I want there to be an AYAOTD? episode in which cousins get along. I mean, it does make perfect sense. You can throw two characters the same age into a story and have them not get along but still be family. I totally get it, but damn, I love my cousins.

E: I don’t feel like most people fight with their cousins, so this is definitely a weird dynamic. Siblings fight, cousins generally don’t see each other often enough to have beef.

T: I think that’s the core of it. The idea is that cousins don’t see each other all that often, so if they’re very different people, when they are thrust together and have to deal with supernatural shenanigans, there can be conflict? The reasoning makes sense to me, I just don’t love it.

E: Yeah, that’s fair, but I share your ambivalence.

T: Abraham leaves a map on the front door – wouldn’t he want the company to keep him awake? Hasn’t he ordered before?

E: I also thought this was weird, though maybe he’s afraid to leave his study? I also wonder if this was supposed to imitate a treasure map.

T: We meet Abraham and – damn – I just love everything about this one. A Nightmare on Elm Street pretty much showed up and said what sleep horror could and couldn’t be. You fall asleep, something in your dreams kills you. Oh shit. This reverses that in such a fun way. You fall asleep, and that causes zombies to come for you. So you stay awake. And turn into a crazy old man. Love it.

E: His character is just so spot on. Everything from his pale makeup to his cozy cardigan to the way he waggles his finger in Shawn’s face. Keep being a selfish little sociopath, Shawn, and this haunted old coot is what you’ll become.

T: “Do you think it’s cool to slide a ring from a bony finger or steal a necklace from around a rotting skull?” asks Capt. Winchester and Shawn answers, “Yeah.” I think that’s what makes him more likeable than other AYAOTD? anti-hero protagonists. There’s something about the actor/character that’s just fun. Maybe it’s the honesty.

E: This might be some of the best dialogue in the history of AYAOTD? and Shawn’s reaction is priceless.

T: Abraham’s serving old man craziness, and both the teen actors are matching his levels. That doesn’t always happen and it works really well here.

E: The cast in this episode seems solid all around. We frequently have episodes where one actor seems to outshine all the others, but that’s not the case here.

T: AYAOTD? loves fog machines. I think half their budget annually went to fog machines.

E: But look at that fog! Worth it.

T: We finally get zombies! “Water demons” are just “water zombies,” right? It took four seasons, but we’re here. Flipping zombies. That said, I’m not a huge zombie fan, but I do love certain zombie flicks like Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things or One Cut of the Dead, or Day of the Dead. I love the wet handprints on Shawn’s shirt. So simple but very effective.

E: 100% water zombies. Though they talk, which is not typical of a zombie. Still, I’m counting it.

T: Let’s talk about Captain Abraham Winchester for a moment. I can’t help but think he’s named after William Winchester, who made a fortune selling Winchester rifles. His widow, Sarah, believed she was haunted by everyone killed by a Winchester, so she put the entire fortune into building the Winchester Mystery House as penance. Our Winchester is also haunted by ghosts and a guilty conscience.

E: It’s actually Captain Abraham Westchester, but I don’t blame you one bit for thinking it was Winchester, because the Winchester Mystery House immediately sprang to mind while I was watching this. Given that he’s got a bigass house with booby traps and a similar name, I think it’s very likely the reference is intentional.

T: Egads! I so had the wrong name until I read your synopsis.

E: Understandable!

T: The boys decide to help Abraham out, and Shawn concusses the old man AND knocks Dean’s glasses into the water. It’s a real turning of the screw moment that doesn’t feel (too) cheap.

E: Shawn is just oafish enough to pull this off without it reading as a slapstick curveball at the eleventh hour.

T: Why is Shawn such a theater queen? He narrates half the stuff he throws into the water. Like, gurl, just do it, don’t make such a pageant show out of it.

E: I laughed out loud when he said, “Here’s your stuff! Hope you like it.”

T: Dean actually tries to find his glasses? In the midnight water? Good luck, my dude…

E: Given how lost I am without my glasses, I might’ve done the same thing.

T: “What hit me?” Abraham asks. “Uh,” answers Shawn, “That’s not important.” LOL.

E: I’m weirdly amused by the fact that Shawn’s just confessed to stealing one of the Captain’s stolen treasures, but can’t admit to accidentally thwacking the old man with an oar.

T: I love that unlike most stories in which the protag’s an asshat who needs a lesson, we actually see Shawn making amends. He pays back his uncle at the store. He doesn’t just say, “Wow, I’ll change,” but we see him following through.

E: As saccharin as I found that final scene, you make a good point. This sets Shawn apart from the brat that starred in “Crimson Clown.” You just know that kid went right back to being a little shit after the fear wore off.

T: Gary’s bag that Tucker stole has super specs! Gary takes Super Specs wherever he goes!

E: It’s a callback that will never get old.

T: Generally, I remembered the plot and story structure of this episode really well but I forgot how funny it is, kind of like “Tale of the Dark Music.” This is one that juggles creep and dark humor like a pro.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Well I assume Tucker bought a diary and then filled it up with thoughts about how hot Frank is. That’s not super straight…

E: Bahahahaha. It was for a prank but you make a fair point. And they have SUCH a weird, hilarious dynamic. Dean also came off as a bit queer to me, but maybe that’s just because his quiet, bespectacled vibe contrasts so sharply with Shawn’s tough guy act.

T: Good point. I hesitate to read every non-asshole male as queer, but I wouldn’t be surprised if we were to spend more time with Dean to learn that he’s pining over a neighbor boy or something.

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: I love this casting. Griffith Brewer as Abraham Westchester is so good. He previously appeared as my favorite villain, Peter Kirlan III in “Captured Souls” and the official in the “Phone Police.” We’ll see him once more in season six in another short, but memorable role. There’s an old man role in season seven I kind of wish he’d played, but the actor they did use was perfect for it so no complaints.

E: I knew he looked familiar though I wondered for a bit if he was Old Man Corcoran.

T: When this aired, Tony Sampson, who played Shawn, was co-starring in The Odyssey, which ran for three seasons and also featured Illya Woloshyan (from “The Tale of the Hatching”). He did a bunch of voice acting, like Eddy in Ed, Edd, and Eddy.

E: OMG, The Odyssey. Low-budget ’90s TV was apparently obsessed with post-apocalyptic worlds populated by teens and tweens who’ve gone Lord of the Flies. There was a very similar New Zealand teen soap called The Tribe. Both shows are weird as well and worth checking out on a rainy day/drunk evening. And I digress. Again.

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: I love when there’s rules to horror so this really works for me. I do wish we had a little more backstory on Shawn. He’s a good kid who’s acting out so much that he’s sent away for the summer? What’s the root of his acting out?

E: *Waggles finger in Troy’s face, Captain Westchester style and whispers* ~~REASONS~~ Also, like, how has he acted out? Shoplifting? Staying out past curfew? Smoking the weed? Also, I know we only have twenty minutes, but Dean’s quick conclusion that the demons will go away if they throw the stolen treasures back in the sea seems a bit too easy to me.

T: I hate when a character just happens to know how the supernatural works, but I think they do the work here and Dean learns about the problem and you see him coming up with a theory so they try it?

E: Meh. Again, twenty-minute time slot so whatevs.

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: As a fellow sufferer of insomnia, boy do I love this episode. For me, it’s funny, scary and flawless. The characters, the cast, the script. Perfect. 10 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

 E: ~~FLAWLESS~~ Minor complaints aside, this episode does a damn good job of establishing three characters and a horror mythology in less than twenty minutes and includes a totally hilarious and clever wraparound. I could whine about the lack of female characters, but AYAOTD? does such a good job with bringing us diverse casts and characters that I won’t bother. Fine, fine. 10 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.