[AYAOTD? Recap with Erin Callahan] Season Four Begins with "The Tale of Cutter's Treasure, Part 1"

RECAP

For the season four premiere, Gary and Frank join forces to tell a tale of two brothers who get caught up in the antics of a dead pirate.

Pirate Ian Keegan attempts to avenge the innocent souls slaughtered by Jonas Cutter. Turns out Cutter’s already dead, and he kills Ian and vows to protect his treasure for all eternity. The story flashes forward and we find Max Keegan sabotaging his older brother Rush’s awkward makeout attempt. Rush calls Max “toe jam” and swears revenge. The boys are left with a babysitter for the weekend, but trick her into leaving. Max is psyched about the possibility of spending a whole weekend with his big brother, but Rush is having none of it. Rush heads to the Magic Mansion to buy a Shandu magic set to occupy Max and pick up a love potion from Sardo. While there, Rush wins a “contest” by opening a treasure chest. His prizes are the key, dagger, and spyglass inside. Rush takes the spyglass home and gives it to Max. Strange things begin to happen, which causes Max to interrupt Rush’s second and third awkward makeout attempts. Furious, Rush tells his brother to stay out of his life. That night, Rush has a strange dream about pirates and wakes to see a vision of his own nightmare through the spyglass. He returns the spyglass to Sardo, but it turns out his nightmare wasn’t just a dream. The ghost of Jonas Cutter has kidnapped Max!

Rain begins to pour and the Midnight Society is forced to cut the story short and wait until the next meeting to hear the ending.

REVIEW

T: Hopefully you’re not sick of my Doctor Who references, because season four starts and I’m shouting, “Everybody lives!” This is the only season in which nobody leaves or joins the Midnight Society (how’s that for an ominous foreshadow to season five?)

E: As we discussed during our season three recap, it’s hard to imagine losing any of the current members. They all seem so essential and I love the way Gary captures what makes each member a unique storyteller. I’m already crying, thinking about season five. Dammit, Troyson!

T: At least losing someone we love means we get a new character who we may end up also loving? Eh, maybe? The whole Midnight Society setup is great. We get some Gary fourth-wall-breaking fun and Tucker’s grown a few inches. Then Gary and Frank share the throne!

E: This is peak Grank and I love it so very much. I’m so glad they’ve finally gotten past their rivalry for Sam’s affection and decided to team up. There’s no queer subtext here or anything. Nope, none at all. LOLOLOLOL.

T: Pirates! This one’s chock full o’ pirates. Um, I’m not really into pirates. They’re fine, I guess. I get the appeal, but I can’t help thinking this episode’s going to be so much more exciting for pirate enthusiasts.

E: Same. The only thing I find fascinating is the extent to which storybook pirates differ so drastically from actual pirates. Have you ever read about actual pirates? They were terrifying, and being an actual pirate was pretty freaking miserable. Like, scurvy isn’t just a funny word that pirates say. It’s a horrible disease that results from serious nutritional deficiency. And here Ian Keegan is supposed to be some kind of “good pirate”? Yeah, not a thing.

T: We’re starting the season off with a guest star! Charles S. Dutton had been in Crocodile Dundee II, Aliens 3, and Menace II Society by then and was starring in the TV series Roc when this aired. He’s won multiple Emmys and NAACP Image Awards. He’s great here and you can tell he’s having a blast filming every second.

E: Almost terrifying enough to be an actual pirate, but mostly because he’s basically undead.

T: Did you notice the same actor who plays Ian Keegan (the pirate ghost) also plays Mr. Keegan (Rush and Max’s dad)? I didn’t at first. Nice little world-building work there.

E: I didn’t! Love it.

T: Rush is Jed from “Tale of the Full Moon.” Looks like he’s given up playing with dogs and is chasing girls now. I love that they juxtapose real pirates with kids playing pirates while Rush is trying to get a handy.

E: Never put your makeout picnic blanket by a sprinkler, Rush. What an amateur!

T: Did you scream, “Oh my god, it’s STEVIE BUDD!” like I did? Emily Hampshire’s so cute here. She does that shy, bashful, but still playful thing so well. This was her first on screen role.

E: Play by play of me discovering Sandy Campbell is played by Emily Hampshire.

Me, to boyfriend: Doesn’t she look like a young Stevie from Schitt’s Creek?

Boyfriend: That’s because it is her, Erin.

Me: Oh, stop. There’s no way.

Boyfriend: IMDB challenge. Right now. Pause the show.

Me: *looks up “Cutter’s Treasure on IMDB*Holy forking shirt balls, it really is Emily Hampshire! This is magical!

I just love when AYAOTD? alumni end up doing cool things as adults. Child actors who successfully make the transition to grownup acting seem to be a rare breed.

T: I like that the parents are going away on a cycling trip. It’s so specific and not some cliché “We’re going to visit Aunt Doreen.”

E: Yes! As you know, one of my biggest problems with stories for teens and tweens is the tendency for their parents to be dull, one-dimensional cardboard cutouts with no personality beyond being a parent. But the Keegans have interests! They like cycling! They go on cycling trips!

T: Someone in that family doesn’t know proper grammar. Keegan’s House should be Keegans’ House. Apostrophe placement is important, people. And speaking of the Keegan house, I love that it’s chock full of nautical symbols like paintings, model ships, and the anchor door knocker.

E: Love the nautical decor, but I noticed the unforgivable apostrophe error straight away. I really do try not to grammar shame people, but who, for the love of god, is making these signs? It’s not a bit of casual conversation. It’s a goddamn thing you hang in front of your house. Take the time to get it right, for flip’s sake.

T: It wouldn’t be a super special, two-part season premiere without Sardo (with some nice pirate’y tweaks to his costume). He’s serving the comedy and plenty of callbacks like Shandu and popularity potions. Which member of the Midnight Society do you think gets the biggest kicks out of the callbacks? I’m picturing Gary’s big old grin while he mentions Shandu and Kiki being all, “I remember him! Nice, Gare!” Of course then Tucker’s like, “Um, who dat?” but they ignore him.

E: I was totally going to say Kiki! I’m glad we’re on the same page here. Kiki obviously cares about world-building, so of course she’d be most likely to appreciate Gary’s in-universe references. Though I love that, in the next episode, Sam takes extra care to pronounce Sardo’s name correctly.

T: It’s a nice nod to the audience that the spyglass is supernatural when Rush gives it to Max and Max says it’s not busted. Of course Rush is too busy adjusting his shirt and pants to pay attention.

E: Well he’s got a boner for Stevie Budd so of course he’s distracted.

T: Ouch, Rush is pretty damn awful to Max.

E: I’d like to think my brother and I never said such hateful things to each other, but this is obviously a setup for Rush to realize how much he actually cares about Max once he goes missing. That said, it might go a shade too far. I fully realize actual siblings fight and say things they don’t mean, but this made me viscerally uncomfortable.

T: Hmmmm, that mysterious man who hired Sardo – who could that be?

E: Surely it’s not one of Frank’s recurring characters. That would just be too much. *wink wink*

T: The effects in this are really solid. The skeletons, the vines, everything.

E: I suspect the budget for this two-parter is the biggest one the series has seen so far, and it shows.

T: Mr. Noise is pretty damn frightening, and then Cutter in the doorway? This is a child abduction scene and it’s INTENSE.

E: In addition to Mr. Noise, the zombified look on Max’s face as Cutter carries him away gave me the shivers.

T: And a rainstorm comes in to end the story. Got to love the Midnight Society urging them to talk fast. “We don’t care about mood and world-building, just talk super fast! How’s it end?”

E: You just know if these kids were living in the 2020s, they’d be looking up spoilers on the interwebs.

T: You think they’d have a group text going? Just a barrage of questions for Gary and Frank?

E: Totes.

QUEER OR NOT?

T: Any episode with Sardo gets a checkmark.

E: Totally. And is it just me, or is he at his absolute campiest here? Must be the pirate flair of his costume. And let’s not forget Grank. I swear there are at least a few times that Frank looks at Gary like he wants to cuddle with him.

TRIVIA, USELESS TRIVIA

T: The creepy Mr. Noise is played by Mark Bromilow, who played Nazrak in “The Magician’s Assistant.” Especially fitting with the Shandu reference. If the boys’ mom looks familiar, actress Suzie Almgren was on the show not long ago as the irritated and irritating mom in “Crimson Clown.”

E: I had to rewind and pause to be sure, but one of the CDs that Rush drops on the floor when he’s about to kiss Sandy is the 1980 punk masterpiece Is This Real? by Wipers. Highly recommended if you’ve never heard it. And what, exactly, is a semi-obscure 1980s punk album doing in this episode, which came out in October of 1994? It’s possible D.J. McHale or Real Proux are just longtime fans, but I have a theory. Kurt Cobain died that same year, probably while this episode was in production. He was a huge champion of Wipers, and they saw their fanbase grow immensely because of Nirvana. Can’t help but wonder if the placement of that CD is a subtle nod to both him and Wipers.

MODERNIZE ’90s CANADIAN KIDS

T: This doesn’t feel all that outdated. I mean, kids still play pirates right? Adults sure do. And Rush’ whole storyline is that he’s horny. Pretty sure teen boys are still horny.

E: Most of the core elements hold up. Are kids still into stage magic? I certainly hope so, but I suspect Modern Rush would have to buy Modern Max a video game instead of a magic set to keep him occupied. Also, the shock-your-eyes-with-colors striped shirt that Max is wearing at the beginning of the episode is ’90s-tastic.

T: Um, magic is still huge. There’s magic camps, Erin! And by “huge” you know what I mean. The lovable offbeat kids who used to do magic still do and I’m jealous of them.

E: Magic camps??? Now there’s a TV series waiting to happen.

JUST GIVE IT A NUMERICAL RATING ALREADY

T: We set the precedent (covering the revival) that we rate multi-episode stories together, so no rating this week, folks. Erin, any predictions for the second half of “Cutter’s Treasure?”

E: If I hadn’t already watched part two, I’d be predicting an appearance from an AYAOTD? legend and for Rush to pull his head out of his selfish ass and realize he loves his kid brother! But he could say, “Screw that kid,” and just go makeout with Sandy some more. We’ll see.