![Diablo IV [Season of Slaughter] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199790575?height=50&width=50)
Diablo IV [Season of Slaughter]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Diablo IV’s shortest season yet has also turned out to be its most promising. Season of Slaughter is an ode to fan favorite character ‘The Butcher,’ but beneath all the flash this season represents an exciting reinvestment in the foundational parts of Diablo IV. After a short burst of narrative, Sanctuary opens up with a whole bevy of new and refreshed activities. This is fun factor personified, and it has us feeling incredibly hopeful about the future. Topics include: state of the game, seasonal campaign, a class update exploring all sides of the Paladin, and a look at the forthcoming...
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Undertone
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
It’s rare for a horror movie to divide us this much. Undertone scared the bejeezus out of Maggie, but left Cam completely cold. In this episode, we’re exploring both of these reactions in turn as we investigate the question of what makes Undertone so terrifying and divisive. Topics include: invisible creature design, weaponized ambiguity, “downtime” in horror movies, our complicated relationship with genre tropes, and a reckoning with the most strangely overpopulated genre in movies: dead mom stories. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories:
info_outline![A Clash of Kings, Vol. 3 [Bran 1 / Arya 2] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/199123795?height=50&width=50)
A Clash of Kings, Vol. 3 [Bran 1 / Arya 2]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
How extensive is the connection between the Starks and their direwolves? Is it a metaphor about house sigils and “the pack,” or is GRRM suggesting something more monstrous and surreal? In this episode, we’re chasing the direwolves of ‘A Song of Ice and Fire’ across space and time, culminating in a brand new theory about the creatures that Cam has dubbed “weirwolves”. We also return to Maggie’s (increasingly metatextual) Comet Corner and reflect on the brutally contemporary fascism of the Goldcloaks. Finally, we investigate the idea that both the books and the show slowly...
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The Bride!
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Clip from our latest Patreon-exclusive bonus episode covering The Bride!, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, Psycho Killer, and Scream 7! The world of horror is never dull. In today's episode, we're covering two ravenously bold, fascinating movies and two others that were crushingly disappointing and non-committal. Scream 7 is the Hallmark version of The Rise of Skywalker, an insult to the whip-smart commentary-focused filmmaking that began the franchise. 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple is a gonzo meditation on violence, cruelty, and hope that refuses to make even one easy or obvious narrative...
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Chapterhouse: Dune
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
In this grand finale of our ‘Devouring Dune’ series, we’re discussing Frank Herbert’s much-maligned & misunderstood final novel: Chapterhouse: Dune. Is the endless repetition of character resurrections and plot devices a sign of diminishing returns, or a lesson in pattern recognition that reveals the true ending of the series? Is the famously unresolved ending an indictment of the later sequels or a bittersweet commentary on the cynical nature of history and impossible narrative expectations? Hope into the no-ship and buckle up tight, this episode is getting esoteric....
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Winter Burrow
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Winter Burrow has everything Maggie loves in a game: beautiful art, meaningful story, gut-wrenching characters, talking animals, fun mechanics, and a dash of whimsy. Sometimes a game just hits. Topics include the unavoidable Stardew Valley comparisons, the value of a smaller scope, intentionality in game design, and the chance to furnish your very own Bag End. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories:
info_outline![A Clash of Kings, Vol. 2 [Sansa 1 / Tyrion 1] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/198976880?height=50&width=50)
A Clash of Kings, Vol. 2 [Sansa 1 / Tyrion 1]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
George R. R. Martin has a unique talent for ghost stories. In this episode, we continue to trace echoes and shadows across the blood-spattered halls of power in King’s Landing. Maggie investigates the eerie comet hanging over every moment of the action, this time as a proxy for control. Cam sees another Targaryen mirage in the form of Joffrey Baratheon, and dives down a rabbit hole of dead kings and martyrs that totally reframes our understanding of Westerosi monarchs. We take a closer, more critical look at Cersei Lannister as a power player in the titular game of thrones, before finally...
info_outline![A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms [Season One] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/198897955?height=50&width=50)
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms [Season One]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a fantastic season of television, and it’s an even better adaptation. In this episode, we’re exploring the relationship between AKOTSK and GRRM’s The Hedge Knight to find out how this miraculous translation happened. Along the way we’ll spotlight six essential changes that the show made to the source material, analyze the half-hour format, and discuss delicate tonal evolutions. After that, we break down the show’s revolutionary approach to combat on-screen, consider the state of the franchise, and wrap up with a few thoughts on the future of big...
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"Wuthering Heights"
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights” is two movies at the same time. We begin by discussing the film on its own terms, before bringing in the larger context of Emily Brontë’s immortal novel. This one is an absolute heartbreaker — it’s not just a bad movie, but a terrible adaptation too. Topics include: endlessly laundering Heathcliff’s cruelty, debating whether or not this is a love story at all, inconsistent production design, miscast leads, the strange shadow of Saltburn, all those missing ghosts, incomplete adaptations, and that Charli XCX score....
info_outline![A Clash of Kings, Vol. 1 [Prologue / Arya 1] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/198513260?height=50&width=50)
A Clash of Kings, Vol. 1 [Prologue / Arya 1]
Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie
And Just Like That … we’re back in the world of Westeros doing chapter-by-chapter of A Song of Ice and Fire. A Clash of Kings opens with one big metaphor and a bunch of tricky new characters. Maggie’s History Corner returns with a jaunt through the British Empire and a quick stop at Halley’s Comet. Cam asks if Stannis is the new Ned Stark, and then worries that Davos is the new Lord Varys. We work together to uncover a treasure trove of unexpected parallels between Stannis Baratheon’s pathetic host and the bygone Targaryen dynasty. Finally, we revisit our old friend “The...
info_outlineCheck out Cam's latest novel / audio drama here!
In this episode, we’re exploring the calming, focusing, and meditative power of Powerwash Simulator 2, a game that Cam accidentally dumped fifty hours into — and found some measure of inner peace along the way. Topics include: the immortal attraction of color, what makes a great iterative sequel, and the thrill Maggie gets from pretending to farm.
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