[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] S05E07 "The Tale of Badge"

RECAP

Tucker has stolen his brother’s glasses and uses them to do a spot-on Gary impression for the rest of the Midnight Society. Gary is furious but uses Tucker’s “talent for being a complete idiot” as a segue for his story, which is about hidden talents and how they reveal themselves.

Gwen’s sixteenth birthday gets eclipsed by her genius kid brother’s first place win at the science fair. Feeling upstaged, she retreats to her room to mope and play the flute. But Willy, her grandmother, has a gift for her--a jasper amulet, just like the one Willy wears. Willy is also about to pass down a book and a small trunk that’s been in the family for generations when Gwen’s mom interrupts. She’s disappointed that Gwen recently quit the school band and asks Gwen to babysit her brother so she and Gwen’s dad can meet with the band instructor. Gwen complains that it’s her birthday and she planned to go to a party with her friends. Willy has plans but says she will be home by 8:00 so Gwen can go to the party.

Gwen’s brother, Trevor, snoops in Willy’s room and opens the trunk, which contains a crystal and a flute. When Trevor plays the flute, a goblin named Badge is freed from the crystal. He takes Trevor into his lair and tells Gwen that he’ll return her brother only if he hands over “the setterwind.” Gwen opens the book her grandmother planned to give her and discovers that she and her grandmother are descendents of a family of witches named Setterwind. Gwen is next in line to inherit her grandmother’s power. Willy arrives home and Badge attempts to steal the family’s magic from her, but she reveals that he’s too late, since she’s already passed her power to Gwen. Meanwhile, Gwen finally realizes that she must play the music notes carved on the chest--B-A-D-G-E--in order to trap Badge back in the crystal. Willy uses a spell to erase Trevor’s memories of Badge and promises to teach Gwen all about Setterwind magic.

Stig reveals his hidden talent of howling at the moon. The Midnight Society hear dogs and possibly wolves howling in the distance and run from the clearing.

REVIEW

T: Tucker’s impersonation of Gary is so much fun. Even his friends get into it, until Stig calls out that Gary’s crushing on Sam. Is it a little strange that Tucker happens to have Gary’s glasses in his shirt pocket though?

E: The fact that he stole them makes me think he planned on doing this impression of Gary, but it’s weird that he waits for the gang to wonder if Gary is going to show up. The impression itself is hilarious though. He manages to nail every Gary-quirk in the span of a minute. “I like magic and you do too, because I’m the boss.” LOLOLOLOL. That said, poor Sam. This is not how I’d want to find out that a guy a maybe-sorta-kinda like has a photo of me in his room. Yeesh.

T: I’m going to give Gary the benefit of the doubt and say it’s either a group friend shot, maybe something taken by Kiki of the Midnight Society, or it’s a yearbook picture Sam gave him.

E: In my mind, it’s a Glamour Shot he stole from her nightstand. Tsk tsk, Gary.

T: Gary: “Everyone but my little brother has a positive talent.” Lol. I do like the set-up here though, as many an episode don’t really tie into the opening speech.

E: Good point! This one relates without being too coincidental or convenient.

T: It’s Allison from “Carved Stone,” and this time she has a family. Aidan Pendleton does a great job of being a relatable, yet sad, main girl.

E: She really does! Like, Jewel Staite may be charismatic but she doesn’t remind me of any of the actual girls I knew in high school. Aidan Pendleton, on the other hand, has a distinct actual girl vibe. She’s got a truly natural and believably awkward on-screen presence. She also strikes me as kind of an old soul.

T: So Gwen is pissed that her family skipped her brother’s science fair to celebrate her birthday, and they congratulate him when he comes in with a first place ribbon? Maybe she’s really upset because there’s no gifts on the table?

E: LOL. As much as this is a fair take on the opening scene, I feel like we’re supposed to quickly infer that her brother is always outshining her and continues to do so, even on her birthday.

T: Agreed. It’s one of those “straw that breaks the camel’s back” scenes but without seeing all the other straws, it’s a little much.

E: Gwen is a total Jan. “Trevor, Trevor, Trevor!”

T: Gwen’s parents make her babysit her bro on her birthday? It’s so last minute, like, “Oh, I forgot to tell you, don’t make any plans today.” Also, they’re going to be home around 10:00 from a parent teacher meeting? I call shenanigans!

E: Total parent shenanigans, right? It sounds like they planned on going to a parent-teacher conference but have to stay later than planned to talk with Gwen’s band instructor? I think? But I still don’t understand why this requires springing babysitting duty on Gwen at the last minute. Let’s just admit this makes no goddamn sense and agree that the parents needed a spontaneous romantic evening away from the kids. Because, as a mom, I can tell that Gwen and Trevor are exhausting.

T: I just wish one episode had the AYAOTD? parents leaving because, “We just need one night off from you kids!”

E: If only!

T: Willy is awesome, I love crafty old women. Even if Badge escaping and her grandkids dying is her fault. She can’t take five minutes to explain everything before she goes to her meeting?

E: Willy might be one of my all-time favorite AYAOTD? grownup characters. In fact, I had no recollection of this episode based on the title. But as soon as Willy appeared, it all came back to me. I love that she’s a perfect balance of realistic grandmother and clever witch with secrets. And, yes, she does arguably put her grandkids in an absurd amount of supernatural danger. But how was she supposed to know that would be the night Trevor would get snoopy?

T: The fog outside and the lights out are some nice horror touches. This whole second act is pretty damn creepy with Badge asking to come in.

E: That scene with him at the door, pretending to be a stranger who’s just gotten into an accident, is legit terrifying. It’s proof that horror cliches can still be very scary if they’re employed effectively.

T: I feel like if Yoda weren’t so famous, Badge wouldn’t sound so cheesy? His dialogue is actually clever because they’re structuring it like some Celtic languages. In English, our sentences go subject-verb-object. Some Celtic goes verb-subject-object. So he’s not mimicking Yoda (who would say, “Returned, Yoda has”), he’s speaking like a centuries old Irish folklore character (“Returned has Badge”).

E: Have fans accused him of imitating Yoda? This honestly didn’t even occur to me.

T: While we’re talking lore here, Red Jasper is a healing crystal. I can’t find it intrinsically tied to Celtic lore (although there are homophones for “jasper” in Celtic), but Irish pendants are sometimes carved out of it. This almost makes up for all the wrong uses of Irish lore in “Jake and the Leprechaun.”

E: Oh man. That episode had it so wrong. And even if this lore isn’t wholly authentic, it’s about a thousand times more interesting than that episode.

T: The make-up on Badge is utterly flawless. It’s a head to toe look, every inch of the performer is covered, but he’s still able to clearly emote. His face twists, he sneers, his speech is clear. There’s been some really strong make-up effects on this series, but I don’t know if anything is more impressive than Badge.

E: Is he supposed to be a badger-goblin? I feel like that’s the look they were going for.

T: I always assumed he’s a hairless badger. Some fans think he looks like a rat. I can see it. Plus, I love that he’s stated to be a goblin but does not lean into cliche goblin looks. Kind of like how unique the werewolf is in “Full Moon.”

E: Yes, good point! This is an interesting take on the goblin trope.

T: In Trevor’s defense (and he needs some), he does try to protect Gwen. Of course it gets him sucked into the void in super slow mo. Why didn’t they speed that up?

E: I had to go back and watch this again. LOL. I feel like that’s just silly ’90s TV shenanigans. Slo-mo shot here, green screen there. Cue laughable claymation.

T: I thought for sure when Badge took Trevor and then shut the door behind him that Gwen would be stuck on this side and spend the episode trying to get into Badge’s realm. Nope, she just opens the door and follows.

E: I’m still confused by the rules around this. Also, the lights are back on when she returns from Badge’s lair?

T: I guess Badge was using his powers to keep them off maybe? It’s very unclear what his powers consist of. Not really a negative. Keeping him vague makes him more threatening without coming across overpowered.

E: Fair point.

T: Badge has corpses hanging onscreen, and threatens Gwen and her tween brother that they’ll “rot in my garden.” This is a serious villain.

E: For real. Badge is just as dangerous as the “Watcher’s Woods” hags and less funny.

T: Oh boy, Gwen finding that book is super convenient. Not sure if I love all the fairytale aspects of this.

E: To be fair, she knew the book existed, Willy just didn’t have time to explain it. Also, I just love all the witchy portraits in the book that eventually lead to Gwen’s realization that she’s a witch. Some very satisfying girl-power fantasy stuff happening there. Like, some girls dream that they’re princesses who were switched at birth. Aaaaaand, some of us dream that we’re descended from a long line of powerful crones. *shrugs*

T: Gwen: “I’m not sure I really understand what happened.” Troy: “Gurl, you and me, both.”

E: Haaaaaaaaa! Becoming a witch is totes confusing, yo.

T: When the jasper glows, Badge gives it such a disgusted look. Like he’s just smelled shit. “What the hell is around your neck, lady?”

E: Had to go back and watch this again. You’re right! You’d think the reaction would be fear, given that the power of the jasper has trapped him for centuries. But no. He looks at it like it’s a turd-necklace.

T: The reveal of Badge’s power being unlocked by musical notes (B – A – D – G – E) is pretty damn cool. And it’s actually seeded well throughout the episode. It’s right there on the box the entire time, and Gwen has a subplot about giving up playing music.

E: It’s a great reveal, and a magical trope that’s so much more interesting than an incantation. But I kept screaming, “Look at the box, dammit!”

T: Stig’s special talent is calling wolves? I buy that.

E: Totally track’s with Stig’s character. You know he’s got a drawer full of grimy black t-shirts with wolf screenprints.

T: LOL those shirts give me so many ’90s memories. Do you think Gary told this story to try to win over Sam? He did recently go to Lollapalooza with her, so is this his way of saying, “Girl power is awesome, and we share musical tastes?”

E: I love this theory! There’s something kind of adorable about Gary telling a story designed to appeal specifically to Sam.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Badge is very campy, but also a little hot, right? It’s that voice. It’s kind of like how Candyman is terrifying, but at the same time, when Tony Todd’s all, “Give me permission to devour you,” I gotta fan myself.

E: *Blinks at Troy* You know what, Badge doesn’t speak to me in a sexual way, but I’m not gonna yuck anyone’s yum. For me, the sexiest thing about that line from Candyman is the request for consent.

T: We so got to watch Candyman together sometime. And like I said, it’s just Badge’s voice that does it for me.

E: I guess if I close my eyes there’s something hot about the huskiness.

T: It’s not queer, but we discuss feminism in this section, so here we go: Badge represents the patriarchal forces and Setterwind magic is feminine power? I don’t have a fleshed-out, close-reading theory, but I’m picking up on some of these themes. How do you read this, Erin?

E: Excellent question, and I think you’re on the right track here. In Willy’s explanation of Setterwind magic, it’s not quite clear why generation after generation of Setterwind women have been charged with babysitting Badge, though, at one point, Willy refers to him as “the evil part of our magic.” One interpretation is that Badge actually grew out of Setterwind magic, thus they’re responsible for containing him. I think this echoes the struggle that so many women face as they gain power in our culture. Patriarchy is so deeply entwined with our concepts of power that there’s always pressure to “act like a man” in order to become a powerful woman. This is why we see so many powerful women onscreen using violence or aggression to express strength and secure power. If we’re going to deconstruct patriarchy and toxic masculinity, we need to recognize those impulses in ourselves and make efforts to contain them by choosing power that doesn’t revolve around violence or dominance, such as...the power of music!

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: Some fans consider this the finale to the original series since it aired in America that way, but the intended finale does a much better job, which we’ll get to in six weeks.

E: I liked this one but I’m glad the original run’s not really over!

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: Overall, the plot would work fine today, just like it did in 1986 when Labyrinth came out. Girl’s stuck watching her bro, and a goblin takes him. Cool. But I’d explain what the Setterwind is. I don’t need a five-minute monologue, but just a little more. And major props for having lore that works, although that might just be because it’s so vague it feels Irish-like.

E: I actually like that there’s some mystery around the term “Setterwind” before Gwen discovers its a family name. Though are you looking for the origins of the name itself? That could certainly be interesting. And Labyrinth vibes will never go out of style, but Gwen’s boxy cordless phone definitely needs an update. Pretty sure my parents had that same one in 1995.

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: This is one of those episodes that I go back and forth on. Some viewings, the campiness and first act detract, other times I focus on just how cool Badge looks and how well written the episode is (Chekov’s flute). At times it almost feels like Badge himself is too dark for this episode, like they’ve put a genuinely scary monster in a kid’s show about a girl whose family doesn’t care about her birthday. Still, it’s a big improvement over the last few “decent but not great” episodes. I give “The Tale of Badge” 8.5 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.

E: You know me and Labyrinth vibes. I just can’t resist them. Plus, I find Gwen totally likable and Willy is the bee’s knees. And though there’s some messiness here, I feel like this is one of the more memorable episodes. I’m going with 9.5 OUT OF 10 CAMPFIRES.