[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] Season 4.2 "The Tale of Cutter's Treasure, Part 2"

RECAP

The Midnight Society arrive at the clearing eager to hear the end of Frank and Gary’s story.

Unable to contact his parents or get the police to take the kidnapping of his brother by pirate ghosts seriously, Rush heads back to the Magic Manion for help. Sardo sends Rush to the Wild Boar Coiffure, which is run by none other than Dr. Vink! Vink explains that the pirate who took Rush’s brother, Max, is the ghost of Jonas Cutter, a bloodthirsty captain who keeps his treasure in an underground vault that’s never been found. The chest that Rush opened in the Magic Mansion belonged to the one man who tried to defeat Cutter, Rush’s ancestor, Ian Keegan! Vink tells Rush he’s been chosen to finish what Ian started. Vink and Rush head to the cemetery that Rush keeps seeing through the spyglass, and Rush plummets into a crypt. Using the supernatural power of the dagger from the treasure chest, Rush is able to fight his way through to the treasure room. He duels with Cutter, who encourages Rush to use the magic dagger. Rush finally realizes that Cutter wants him to use the dagger so that he may be released from the curse of guarding his own treasure for eternity. Rush refuses and snaps the dagger in two. The crypt begins to collapse but Rush and Max make it out in time. Vink congratulates Rush and rewards both boys with a precious gem.

Frank and Gary reveal Rush and Max never told anyone about their weekend adventure because they didn’t want anyone to go searching for Cutter’s treasure. 

REVIEW

T: You know Tucker’s been bugging the boys all week to find out what happens. “Come on, Gary, I’ll do your laundry, just tell me what happens to Max! You don’t kill the scampy younger bro, do you? Do you!”

E: Max’s survival is undoubtedly Tucker’s biggest concern. But this makes me wonder if the Midnight Society ever employ “beta listeners” for their stories. Like, do Betty Ann and Sam ever critique each other’s stories before they’re presented for the approval of the Midnight Society?

T: Oh, interesting. It would make sense, although you know “Phone Police” wasn’t beta’ed.

E: Ha! Either that or all the constructive critique was ignored.

T: I love that the girls and Tucker relate everything from the story, then Gary’s like, “I’m not sure you remember what happened, here’s the recap.”

E: Way to mansplain, Gare Bear.

T: Sardo sleeps in the Magic Mansion! This is his freakin’ home?

E: This seems so logical to me. I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t converted to some sort of food truck/trailer setup so that he can take his home and shop wherever his campy heart desires.

T: Fingers crossed for the revival series. I mean, I don’t want to expect a Sardo appearance in the new series, but I’ll be let down if he doesn’t pop up in an episode.

E: He’s such a natural fit for the campy glee of the new series.

T: And Dr. Vink’s a barber now. Okay. It seems random at first, but it really fits the pirate theme when you consider barbers used to do so much more than cut hair.

E: Totally does! Last week we talked about how horrifying the lives of actual pirates were. Barbers were basically surgeons from the middle ages until the early 1800s. They did everything from shaving faces to blood letting! Gross! Now, where’d I put that jar of leeches...

T: It feels weird getting Vink back right after “Dangerous Soup” but it makes sense since this is a new season. This will be adjusted when I compile my Proper Watch Order of AYAOTD?

E: I’m eagerly looking forward to this definitive list. And, personally, I never get sick of Vink.

T: Rush proves he’s a true hero by pronouncing “Vink” correctly. “Precisely.”

E: LOL. Even though we were robbed of the classic “Vink with a va va va” line, it’s a funny twist on the way things usually play out. Plus, we still get the “NOT a nutbag” line.

T: Vink gets a pirate boatload of exposition but Aron Tager sells it.

E: Aron Tager was basically born to breathe life into the Johnny Explainer trope.

T: Ian has a flippin’ slit throat! I didn’t notice that last episode. Ghosts on AYAOTD? never have gore effects. Damn.

E: I had to go back to check this. So, yes. Yay gore, but it’s certainly not in-your-face gore.

T: I really want Rush’s sweater. It looks so comfy.

E: And it looks so much better than the shirt he had buttoned all the way up to his chin. Really glad he wasn’t attempting to swashbuckle in a garment meant only for accounting.

T: I get that they didn’t want to show teens stabbing pirates to death, but the magic circle flying out of the blade when he holds it up feels really cheap.

E: Oof, yeah. This didn’t really work for me. Then again, any kind of power that manifests as glowing balls of energy has always fallen flat for me, no matter the context. It’s a cheap trope all around.

T: I can look around the general use, I think for me it’s the fact that the magical item already is a weapon. So what’s the point of turning it into a wand?

E: Very good point. Daggers are meant for stabbing!

T: Cutter’s skeleton just lying there in the treasure room is pretty sweet. The whole treasure room scene is just plain fun. Cutter’s drinking and laughing and stating, “I’m enjoying this,” and Vink pops up over Rush’s shoulder like a cartoon voice bubble.

E: I may not be a big fan of pirate stories, but this whole sequence has an Indiana Jones/Goonies vibe that I kinda dig. Plus Vink as Rush’s conscience is classic. Nothing says morally gray meddler like a cartoon voice bubble.

T: I love Max asking, “Who are you?” to Vink, and he’s totally ignored.

E: LOL. Poor Max doesn’t get to play a very active role here, but at least he manages to escape from his cage and grab the dagger.

T: Cutter’s death wish makes perfect sense and grounds his actions in a great way.

E: Not only is this a convenient way to avoid having a teen stab a pirate to death, it’s a fascinating twist that dovetails nicely with Rush’s realization that he actually loves his kid brother. Infinitely more interesting than a glowing ball of energy!

T: Vink’s a cool dude here. He gives a pep talk (and jewels!) to the boys. That’s right, he wanted Buzz or Denny’s hand, he sicced a vampire on Pete and Katie, and he extracted pure fear by terrorizing Nonnie and Reed. And now he pays for the brothers’ college educations.

E: Though I don’t think I would’ve done it differently because we want this two-part season premiere to end on a high note, it bothers me a bit that Vink is so toothless at the end here. He presumably kept most of the treasure he managed to swipe from the crypt and will undoubtedly screw Sardo out of his $5,000 cut, but I miss his usual open-ended darkness.

T: Sardo pops up and we finally get to see him interact on screen with Vink! With the bonus fun of Max tugging on his sleeve.

E: I have so many thoughts about this interaction but I’m going to save them for the QUEER OR NOT? section.

T: Um, what happened to Stevie Budd? Rush’s whole motivation in part one was to get with her, then he goes on this adventure, and there’s no mention of her again? I hope Emily Hampshire pops up in the series again (spoilers, she will in season five).

E: Her complete absence from the second half of his episode is really unfortunate. Like, hey kids, it’s okay to have a girlfriend and set aside time for your little brother. These things are not mutually exclusive. And it’s okay to bring your girlfriend on adventures! Girls like adventures!

T: I was just hoping she’d show up at the end, but now I wish she’d gone with Rush! Although that’d probably turn this into a three-parter, and I can’t even imagine AYAOTD? having a three-part story... *cough* season seven *cough*

E: Good god. Though the revival was a three-parter and that worked for me.

T: I was pretty thrown off during this because there’s another treasure episode coming up that involves a sea captain that I conflated with this one. So I kept waiting for stuff to come that didn’t. Excited for that episode to come up though.

E: Wait a sec -- are you telling me there are more pirates headed our way this season. Scupper that! (that’s angry pirate slang for, “hey, throw that shit overboard”)

T: I’m not entirely sold that “Cutter’s Treasure” needed two episodes to be told. I don’t think you would have lost all that much if it was just one episode. That said, the story does have a cinematic vibe and feels bigger than a regular ep.

E: I had the same thought, but then again you and I are always saying that some of these episodes would make great full length features. The second half does feel a bit thin though. Maybe it’s because the bulk of it is a lengthy action sequence?

T: I think so. And part one had that lengthy (but really effective) abduction sequence.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Like last week, Sardo ticks this box.

E: And how! Did you catch the way he touches Vink’s jacket when he proposes that the two of them could team up for more shenanigans? My god, there’s a whole vibe happening.

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: The Wild Boar Coiffure continues Dr. Vink’s wild boar theme from “Phantom Cab” and “Dangerous Soup.” We didn’t get that reference in “Midnight Madness” but I headcanon that his production company was Wild Boar Studios. I may incorporate that into some fan art down the road…

E: A wild boar is a totally respectable motif!

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: Yeah, I’d touch back with Emily Hampshire. And figure out a better way to handle that magical dagger that emits a glowing light.

E: More Emily Hampshire! Bring her on the adventure! Girls like adventures! And maybe she knows Krav Maga so you can leave that dagger at home.

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: Damn, Are You Afraid of the Dark?’s only two-part story. We get two Midnight Society members telling it, Sardo and Dr. Vink, and a mix of fun and spooky. The story’s not perfect, but it is fun. I’m really torn on rating this. 8 to 10 feels high, but 6 to 8 feels low. Think I’ll wait for your input before I give this one a grade.

E: Oof, I’m torn as well. I love that we get two storytellers and that we get two recurring characters in one story. But, dammit all to heck, I’m just not into pirates. Also, it’s debatable whether the two parts are justified, and the female character gets totally sidelined. I’m going to go with 7 OUT OF TEN CAMPFIRES.

T: You sold me. I’ll also go with 7 OUT OF TEN CAMPFIRES.