Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

Tuesdays: thoughts & theories about art (movies, games, comics, shows, etc.) Fridays: chapter-by-chapter fantasy discussions (current project: A Game of Thrones)

The Summer of Hope 08/08/2025

The Summer of Hope It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s — a sudden influx of life-affirming summer blockbusters? In this episode, we’re taking a look at both Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, to find out why Cam was holding back tears throughout these movies. Topics include: a dozen pointed similarities between these films, our wildly different perspectives & expectations, a bit of backseat editing, comparisons to past inspiring superhero films, the endless importance of romance in storytelling, and a look towards the future of this new trend. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37614915

The Pitt 08/05/2025

The Pitt The Pitt isn’t just one of the best shows of the last ten years, it is an astonishing work of horror — an urgent, unflinching, life-affirming tapestry of hope, loss, life, and death. In this episode, we’re exploring the story’s central ‘real-time’ conceit from four distinct angles: passing time, compounding time, lost time, and impending time. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37263165

Second Opinion: Diablo IV [Sins of the Horadrim] 08/01/2025

Second Opinion: Diablo IV [Sins of the Horadrim] When Diablo IV is good, it’s really good. We’ve been dungeon-crawling and monster-slaying nonstop for the last month, and thought it was time to take another look at what we’re affectionately calling “Season of the Dungeon”. Maggie has blasted through the whole campaign with a super-powered Rogue, and Cam is deeper into the endgame than either of us have ever gone before. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37567750

Oh, Hi! 07/29/2025

Oh, Hi! "Oh, Hi!" is not really an homage to Stephen King's "Misery" - it's a companion piece, that dives much deeper into the insecurities and obsession of its characters. Pointedly, this film is also a funny, aching exploration of the female psyche that somehow remains grounded amidst multiple felonies and attempts at witchcraft. This isn't a horror movie. This isn't a rip-off. It's a rigorous, open-ended character study that embraces the messiest and most absurd parts of human nature. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37513445

Black Sabbath: A Faust Fable 07/25/2025

Black Sabbath: A Faust Fable We’re celebrating Ozzy Osbourne by doing a close reading of the very first Black Sabbath song — which just so happens to be one of the best “Doctor Faustus” adaptations of the past 400 years. In six minutes and only three verses, Ozzy stages all of the play’s essential events and even manages to capture some of Marlowe’s most daring and subversive subtext. The song also happens to feature the most potent rendition of Hell in any artistic medium, and the best adaptation ever done of Marlowe’s layered, knife-twisting epilogue. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37534470

The It Duology 07/22/2025

The It Duology The thing you really notice about Pennywise during a rewatch is the startling, impressive amount of DROOL he’s got going on in every scene. In this episode, we’re revisiting both movies (and the book) to discuss the intangible magic of creature design, the original sin of adaptation, and more than anything — the controversial topic of bad endings. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37050480

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning 07/18/2025

Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning Imagine if The Lord of The Rings ended with Frodo deciding to keep the Ring for himself — and the film presented that as a happy ending! That’s more or less what happens in the latest Mission: Impossible film. Let’s explore every side of this strange ending, play devil’s advocate, and once again ponder whether or not a bad ending can ruin a great movie. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37030175

Friday the 13th 07/15/2025

Friday the 13th The original Friday the 13th is not only the blueprint for the slasher genre, it might just be the best execution of that tried and true formula. This episode is a critical reevaluation of the classic film and the massive influence it has had on the genre for more than 45 years. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37050390

Titane 07/11/2025

Titane This might be the Frenchest movie ever made. To describe it at all is to spoil it, but the thrust of this episode is about Titane’s relationship to one of our favorite melancholy body horror freakouts: Rosemary’s Baby. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36381735

Diablo IV [Sins of the Horadrim] 07/08/2025

Diablo IV [Sins of the Horadrim] Diablo IV is nothing if not inconsistent, and Season 9 is yet another moment of whiplash for the game. In our State of the Game segment, we discuss seasonal powers, the evolving reliquary system, bugs and crashes, difficulty balancing, the latest gear system, and fun factor. Moving onto the Seasonal Campaign, we celebrate the revitalization of Nightmare Dungeons and a narrative that returns to the lingering threads of the base game. In our Class Update, Cam returns to the Necromancer for a brand new shadow / minion build and finds unexpected build synergies. Finally, we close the discussion with a cautiously hopeful look at Diablo IV’s always uncertain future. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37286295

F1: The Movie 07/04/2025

F1: The Movie Beneath the roar of the engines, F1 is hiding an intense study of human nature — a pointedly Faustian story of obsession that feels equally cautionary and aspirational. The film asks a simple question about Marlowe’s classic story: how does the infamous ‘bargain’ change Faustus? What does it enable and break within him? Come for the vroom vroom, stay for the rigorous examination of Elizabethan theater! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37263270

Clown in a Cornfield 07/01/2025

Clown in a Cornfield This goofy, earnest indie horror movie left us with one big question — why isn’t Frendo scary? Our discussion trails through the pantheon of scary clowns and masked killers into the abstract alchemy of creature design. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36796995

Materialists 06/27/2025

Materialists Materialists is our favorite film of the year, and not just because we love Dakota Johnson. Celine Song has basically created The Jane Austen Singularity, remixing and weaving in the best parts of Pride & Prejudice, Sense & Sensibility, and Emma into a totally fresh modern classic. We laughed, we cried, we theorized — let’s get into it! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37104410

Excision 06/24/2025

Excision This is a bucket list episode for us, as we finally discuss one of the boldest, gnarliest, most affecting works of female body horror ever made. As a longtime fan, Cam reflects on this film’s formative role in his love of provocative art and the timeless power of a great ending. Maggie analyzes her first viewing of the film and its blisteringly novel representation of female adolescence, with all the attendant horrors and delights. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37030890

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina 06/20/2025

From the World of John Wick: Ballerina Does a sequel know that it is a sequel? What about a spinoff? How about a successor series? These are the identity crises swirling in the background of the latest delightfully entertaining film "From the World of John Wick: Ballerina" -- let's break it all down! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/37029340

28 Days Later 06/17/2025

28 Days Later Once we escaped the boundless oceans that are Cillian Murphy’s eyes, a few things occurred to us about 28 Days Later — namely, all of the fascinatingly direct plot parallels with The Walking Dead. We also zoom out to analyze the titanic differences in theme and metaphor between fast zombies and slow zombies. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36796990

The Phoenician Scheme 06/13/2025

The Phoenician Scheme This might be the most fully realized “Faust Fable” we’ve ever discussed on the show. Wes Anderson not only successfully reverses the Faustus / Mephistopheles dynamic, he also inverts the ending and explores the play’s often overlooked supporting cast, implied backstory, and deep sense of yearning. What a picture! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36901900

Hell House, LLC. [Part Two] 06/11/2025

Hell House, LLC. [Part Two] In a twist that might be even more shocking than this terrifying film, this latest Faust Fable discussion is actually built around one of Maggie’s theories — not Cam’s — as she deep dives into that perennial horror question: why don’t they just run away from the scary monsters? The answer is a wild journey of muffled fragments and out-of-focus breadcrumbs through this found footage Faustian masterpiece! Cam sprinkles in some Macbeth for good measure. All hail found footage! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36797020

Hell House, LLC. [Part One] 06/10/2025

Hell House, LLC. [Part One] Hell House, LLC. is one of the most terrifying films ever made. We have wanted to discuss it for years now, and that day has finally come. In this first of two breakdown episodes, Cam offers a theory about the painstaking way the film presents all those devastating creature designs to game the audience’s memory and so savagely weaponize the power of suggestion. Maggie sprinkles in some Blair Witch comparisons for good measure. All hail found footage! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36797010

Dangerous Animals 06/06/2025

Dangerous Animals Dangerous Animals is a summer horror movie with big scary sharks, but we think it has MUCH more in common with our beloved Saw than it does with Jaws. In this episode, we run through the six essential elements that could make Bruce Tucker the next Jigsaw. Happy Summerween! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36856130

Bring Her Back 06/03/2025

Bring Her Back Bring Her Back builds to an almost unbearable fever pitch that evokes both Jordan Peele and Alfred Hitchcock. This episode chases down those comparisons to explore the film’s fractal, fascinating riffs on the theatrical tradition of “doubling” up actors to play multiple roles within the same production. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36800975

Is the Big Mac a Work of Art? 05/30/2025

Is the Big Mac a Work of Art? We have been itching to do this episode FOREVER, and it’s finally here! Is the Big Mac a work of art? We explore this provocative question and the million questions that follow. In the same way that a painting exists in a museum, and a movie in a theater, where does the Big Mac exist? When is it a work of art — when it’s being made, when it was designed, or when you’re actually eating it? Things get even more tricky from there: who made the Big Mac, both literally and functionally? Has this one immaculate burger transcended the bounds of trademark and copyright to occupy the same cultural space as the American flag or the Statue of Liberty? Join us for this bucket list breakdown of that most special of burgers, all the way from the special sauce to the sesame seed bun, on this very special episode of Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36444470

Diablo IV [Belial Rising] 05/29/2025

Diablo IV [Belial Rising] Season Eight finds Diablo IV in a pretty rough place. This episode is a frank discussion of live service grind, difficulty balancing, aggressive monetization, and the limits of class design. In every way, ‘Belial Rising’ is more and less Diablo IV, and it might just be time to get off the hamster wheel. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36659675

Doom: The Dark Ages 05/27/2025

Doom: The Dark Ages Prepping the notes for this episode was unusually difficult. Cam said that he’s never felt this conflicted about a game before. Doom: The Dark Ages lives in the shadow of multiple, inescapable influences — from Halo to Gears of War to God of War and even the other modern Doom sequels — but it’s also a great standalone game. After discussing all the unfavorable comparisons that those influences invite, we zoom out to analyze Doom: The Dark Ages on its own terms. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36698685

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered 05/23/2025

The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion Remastered How has it taken us five years to do an episode on an Elder Scrolls game? Luckily, the new Oblivion Remaster has arrived to fix all that. Cam reflects on the heroic fantasy ideal, Bethesda’s charming jank, the pitfalls of modern gaming, accidental vampirism, and the collaborative wonder of a game that makes the audience feel like they’re simultaneously playing, creating, and living the ultimate expression of the fantasy genre. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36558250

Thunderbolts* 05/20/2025

Thunderbolts* We’re diving back into the MCU to analyze Thunderbolts* as an allegorical pandemic-era period piece. This is an unusually personal discussion of mental health, lost time, and the unironic power of friendship. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36542195

Hurry Up Tomorrow 05/16/2025

Hurry Up Tomorrow What’s this? A polarizing story about art and excess starring the Weeknd that is equally self-indulgent and self-loathing? That’s right, as the world’s foremost defenders of The Idol, we’re back to discuss Hurry Up Tomorrow. In this episode, Cam wrestles with Abel’s self-sabotaging self-promotion, toys with that ambiguous ending, unpacks an avalanche of influences, and breaks down the uncomfortable, familiar sense of embarrassment he felt while watching this film. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36586145

Doom: The Ancient Gods 05/15/2025

Doom: The Ancient Gods What’s the best Doom game? Well, that might be a trick question. In this episode, Cam argues that ‘The Ancient Gods’ — the overlooked two-part expansion to Doom Eternal — might just be the best entry in the franchise. With massive story implications, fascinating gameplay evolutions, and a running length that rivals all the modern mainline entries, The Ancient Gods is a stealth sequel in the proud tradition of Halo: ODST and Gears 5: Hivebusters. Rip, tear, and spread the word! LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36522975

Doom Eternal 05/13/2025

Doom Eternal Five years after the wildly divisive ‘Doom Eternal’ was released, Cam has given the game a second chance — and fallen in love with it. This discussion charts his history with the franchise, the frustrations of that first playthrough, and the unique combat rhythm that turned a simple demon killing formula into a wildly addictive white knuckle chess match. LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36381700

The Ugly Stepsister 05/09/2025

The Ugly Stepsister Don’t believe the marketing, this body horror remix of Cinderella has a lot more in common with our favorite Jane Austen adaptations than it does with The Substance. Our discussion of The Ugly Stepsister centers around the tragic, almost universal sympathy that the film imbues within the central cast. How does this character focus affect the film’s body horror? How is empathy twisted and weaponized throughout the story? How accurate is all of this surreal brutality to the reality of the female experience? LINKS: , , , Feedback & Theories: /episode/index/show/secondbreakfastpod/id/36381720

Second Breakfast with Cam & Maggie

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