50: Celebrating 50 Episodes "A Rock and a Faraway Place" FROM MGM+ Deep Dive:

Celebrate a half-century of episodes with us! As Lizzie and I, Alex, raise our glasses to the 50th iteration of our podcast, we're taking a nostalgic trip back to Season 1 Episode 4 "A Rock and a Faraway Place." This time around, the dissection table features not only the unique narrative beats of this fan-favorite episode but also a profound look at character evolution, especially Sarah's. Take a walk down memory lane with us through the rich tapestry of the show, discovering new layers and the foreshadowing whispers of what's to come. We're not just reminiscing; we're revealing hidden gems that continue to shape the series' trajectory.

Through the lens of horror, we analyze the intricate dance between innocence and terror that child actors masterfully perform. Special guest Eli, with his rich industry experience, offers a tantalizing preview of our broader conversation slated for future episodes. Together, we relive the chilling scenes from 'Colny House' and share behind-the-scenes anecdotes about working on 'The Exorcist.' As we delve into the complexities of these young performers' roles, the conversation blurs the lines between the playful and the petrifying, offering listeners a glimpse into the craft of horror storytelling.

We cap off this special episode by unraveling the tangled threads of life at Colony House. From pillow mix-ups to macabre humor, we explore the intimate chaos of communal living and how it impacts the personal journeys of characters like Boyd and Tabitha. As they face serenity, punishment, and loss, we reflect on the poignant and sometimes darkly comedic ways they traverse their realities. So, whether you're here for the heartfelt moments, the eerie atmosphere, or just the joy of storytelling, join us for a deep dive into the essence of what makes this show—and our podcast—so compelling.

Chapters

• 0:00 Reviewing Episode 4 of a Podcast
• 12:30 Filming Horror Scenes With Children
• 16:19 Trudy and Julie's Pillow Mix-Up
• 21:49 Themes of Serenity, Punishment, and Loss

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Welcome to the show. My name is Alex and I'm Lizzie and this is what is from cast, and we are reviewing a rewatch of episode one. I'm sorry. Season one episode for a Rock and a far away so I just want to thank people that are listening in, either on Instagram or on the what is from channel or Facebook or wherever you are. If you want to put stuff in the chat, you're more than welcome to. But the more important thing is, this is a pretty epic episode for us.

Speaker 2: 0:45

Yes, it is. It's not right up on me.

Speaker 1: 0:49

It's not great up on us, I know. And why is it? It's our 50th episode and I Can't believe it. You know some people are Commenting. I just want to show one of the comments, hey, john, and hope you guys are having a great night and you're having a great night too. And I have Some other comments from some people, but you know he's asking about the vibe. Sorry, I'm trying to do three things at once here and if you guys are the one.

Speaker 1: 1:25

I know, let's try to narrow it down to one if you want to hit the subscribe button please and you know we're trying to get to that 500, 500 mark on our Instagram, on our Facebook, on our YouTube. I am, I am so out of, I am so out of it today. It is not even funny. I'm like I'm so off. So let's like rewind here and and get into it.

Speaker 2: 1:50

Let's just get into it.

Speaker 1: 1:53

So what were your first thoughts on the episode?

Speaker 2: 1:57

You know, I continue to be blown away by how fresh this actually looks, and at this point I'm probably into Well, into double-digit viewing on the episodes, but it still hits me as if I haven't seen it before. It's just so very sharp.

Speaker 1: 2:20

You know, it's funny.

Speaker 1: 2:21

It's just funny because every episode seems to be epic, yeah, and you think it reminds me a lot of the walking dead and, in terms of, you think that it can't get any better. And then it does. I mean, they've only had 20 episodes and right now we're on episode 4, but it seems like every episode is a piece of the puzzle, as you like to say, and and I forgot what happened in this episode a lot of things happened and there's a lot of foreshadowing to season 2, which I find really kind of interesting. You know, we learn a lot if we're looking back at what happens to Sarah. That's kind of an important thing that happens to Sarah. So, you know, my first thoughts are basically the same. It's like every time we watch this, it's like, wow, yeah. Now I want to talk about the cold open, because there was none right and I and I want to.

Speaker 1: 3:24

Yeah, no, which I want to point out is that you know what? I think that they have the the balls to do a cold open, and then they have the balls to not also do a cold open. Yeah, and even though they didn't do a cold open, it was pretty powerful that first scene.

Speaker 2: 3:40

Well, I quickly forgot that they hadn't. So Before we begin Going through the scenes, any comments you want to throw in? Has anyone made any comments?

Speaker 1: 3:53

Oh wait, I do have one comment. Okay, and it's from, it's from, wait, let me just find it, cuz it, I had it in my email. Oh yeah, wait, it's from Nova Scotia. Hey, what's up guys? Hey, I'm gonna.

Speaker 2: 4:12

I want to say congratulations on your 50th episode, and I got some people here, I'm sorry.

Speaker 1: 4:21

There's shadows but you know we're working, we're trying to get it done.

Speaker 2: 4:28

All right, you guys congratulations oh. Oh my god, I can't believe you didn't even tell me oh, my god, and I'm going back and forth with Liz.

Speaker 1: 4:53

So, just so you folks know, I have been working on this for weeks. Okay, wait, let me first say I have been working with this for weeks, to the point where Liz Saunders actually Instagrammed me on my other podcast cause she didn't know that you didn't have access to it. And you know what folks? I know other people are freaking out too, and I wanna tell you, if it wasn't for this lady next to me, to my left or right or whatever it is, you know what I wouldn't know what it's like to be a big time podcaster, and what do I mean by that?

Speaker 2: 5:37

You know it's yeah it's funny because I don't see myself as that at all.

Speaker 1: 5:41

No, what I mean by that is. What I mean by that is, when I say big time, the fact that we're podcasting on a show and the fact that they know about us. That's what I mean by big time. And when we started this thing and I know we've said it a thousand times before we connected about two years ago at Comic-Con and she had this idea and I thought she was full of whatever, because I'm like, yeah, okay, whatever, you know, let's do this. And she has been amazing and I wanted to surprise you with this. I told you I had something that I couldn't tell you about, and I have another thing, but it's not here yet, so, but it kind of got lost.

Speaker 2: 6:34

But I just wanted to, you know, surprise you with that little one and I couldn't be more surprised and you know I forgot what I was gonna say, but I'm blown away Like they. Like the cast of From has helped us so tremendously and have been so incredibly gracious and kind and generous like generous, and I'm I can't believe it. I am just Alex. Thank you so much. That surprise, you know, shar, I was locked out of the car today with Charlotte inside.

Speaker 1: 7:27

I know we're not supposed to laugh, but knowing her, knowing you, I'm laughing.

Speaker 2: 7:34

Well, I'm standing in this parking lot that is notorious for being somewhat dangerous, you know. You just have to walk in and come back out, and I was outside for like an hour and I didn't have my coat. Thankfully it wasn't too cold, but it was kind of crappy. So, oh my God, like it's amazing how far different a day can become in one second.

Speaker 1: 7:59

Well, I just wanted to also tell you. Liz Moy and Scott and a whole bunch of other members of the cast wanted to say congratulations to you and to me, and I've been kind of trying to keep it all under wraps. But I just wanted to say thanks because I didn't think I'd ever do a podcast for this long, and it should be longer, but you know they had to go on strike and you know that's why we're here.

Speaker 2: 8:33

We would probably be pretty close to watching season three right now.

Speaker 1: 8:37

Or we'd probably be going to closer to 70 episodes, it's all right, we're gonna be there pretty soon with this podcast. We're gonna be there pretty soon, that's right, so let's get into it. Now that we freaked her out and, folks, like I said, if you guys are into the show, like we are, and you wanna hit the subscribe button, I wish, unfortunately, I could have captured your face on camera, because I wanted to try to do that, because, folks, she's like this, she's like this, she's like this and she was freaking out.

Speaker 2: 9:16

So I just I was like what's going on. I just like what is going on and I'm just going about making videos this week and have a new file.

Speaker 1: 9:35

Like all right, let's talk about young Victor and folks. If you have any oh my gosh, please put them in the chat. I'm gonna monitor them and just so you know, I might not be able to get to them all and I'm not trying to like bombard Lizzie with all this stuff, because I know how she wants to hit me over the head with her files when I start bombarding her with stuff.

Speaker 2: 9:55

But Well, it's not that, it's just I lose my train of thought so easily. I'm trying to be honest.

Speaker 1: 10:01

You know what I mean. I have my skull with my candy. It's my Halloween one on it. It's so I am ready to go. So what do you want to talk about when I purposely wore this because of young Victor in the cellar, so go.

Speaker 2: 10:14

Oh, okay, all right. So the first scene opens with the root cellar door and you know coming open and you don't know who you're going to see. But out comes Victor with the lunchbox in his hand, and it's little boy, victor, the young Victor.

Speaker 1: 10:32

Eli.

Speaker 2: 10:33

Eli right, and you can hear a dog barking in the distance but you don't see the dog. And the root cellar, you know, based on what I've seen, is that road, that dirt road that goes up to Colony House and it's not far from the town, so it's closer to the town than it is to Colony House, and there are dead and mutilated bodies on the road, on that dirt road as Victor's coming out, and it looks like there's two bodies and two random legs and I kind of thought that the bodies had their all their legs, but maybe I just couldn't see it well enough and it was an arm or something. And Victor stares at the bodies and holds the lunchbox to his chest Like he's just like this. And you know, you look at a kid that age and you just feel for them you know he's freaking, freaking out and I don't blame him because I'm freaking out.

Speaker 1: 11:41

I mean just the bodies like and I know this is not, it's a funny thing Like how long did they just sit there before he did anything with them? I mean, you know what I mean, like when you think about it.

Speaker 2: 11:52

I mean, that's something to think about, because he did something, you know he was the last one in that town, but the realization that I had is that this and this was after, you know reading I went back and added this note that this episode is about Victor realizing it wasn't just a bad dream, because this is something he talks about in season two, and this is why I like this rewatch, because we can reference future episodes, because we're not trying to keep things under wraps and not, you know.

Speaker 1: 12:30

Right, I mean we're not trying to spoil what's gonna happen. Well, it's out there. No, no, but my point being is but at the same time, we're trying to stay within the episode, but if there's other things that come up that are related to it, we're gonna talk about them. Yeah, yeah, and I know that sounds kind of weird when you say it that way, but it's so true because you know, we're not, yeah, we're not trying to go after it, but that scene was and we talked to Eli. I talked to him once, which we were gonna eventually re-interview him to put on the podcast. But you know, that takes a lot. I don't know how these kids do it. I mean, I know you've worked with kids that work in horror. I mean, that's some really freaky stuff, yeah, and as an adult, I'm freaking out with it. I can't even imagine what a kid like that at that age is doing, freaking out with that.

Speaker 2: 13:25

Yeah, I mean some that stuff can be scarring, which is a lesson we learned from Linda Blair, and consequently I worked on the Exorcist.

Speaker 1: 13:37

Right.

Speaker 2: 13:37

The Lover and I was at Days of the Dead this weekend and the child psychologist that worked with us on set came and sat with me at my booth for a while and you know, I, the girls were, you know, pretty well adjusted. I mean, they would be laughing, skipping, giggling all the way into you know, the chairs, because they'd be strapped in and they'd be in that stage four makeup which Christopher Nelson and his amazing team would apply over multiple hours. But they would be laughing, giggling and all of a sudden it would be like an action and then boom just demons.

Speaker 2: 14:21

And then the scene you know they'd yell, cut and they'd be back to gilding again. So our psychologist had a lot to do with that.

Speaker 1: 14:30

Well, and that's what it's about. I mean, maybe we should even have her on sometime, because I think that would be kind of a neat little twist to what's going on here. Yeah, possibly Possibly, but let's get back to it and so the second scene is Colleeny House.

Speaker 2: 14:48

in the sitting room Victor is drawing Julie as she sleeps on the couch and Julie wakes up and freaks out yeah. So Victor notices and says you notice how sometimes you dream and you forget, but then later you start to remember and you realize that it wasn't a dream and all of it maybe really happened.

Speaker 1: 15:10

I know it's just like so.

Speaker 2: 15:12

Oh my God, what's going on, right? So Julie looks at him with no idea how to respond to this upon just waking up, because remember the only other time she met this guy. He just comes creeping into the kitchen looking for peaches and they get.

Speaker 1: 15:27

Gotta have some peaches having some personal space, right?

Speaker 2: 15:31

So? And he says I think I'm starting to remember things, things that I thought were dreams. I made you a drawing and he hands her. He hands this to her while she looks at him like he's nuts and he says you can keep it if you want. He gets up and walks away Like it's just so strange, and she doesn't realize. Let's see, julie gets a big dose of Colleeny House. The first thing is modeling for Victor. The next thing is lessons on sharing with Trudy, which we're about to cover. So he leaves and she says she does the oh my God, what just happened? Thing. And then Trudy comes over and says good morning, sleepyhead. It's about time you woke up. Can I have my pillow back? And it's like, okay, like when you're using something that you didn't realize that belonged to someone.

Speaker 1: 16:33

Right right, right right.

Speaker 2: 16:34

You would have asked permission to use if you'd known. So Julie apologized and says someone just gave me this last night. I didn't realize. And Trudy's like, oh no, it's totally fine, I just want to take a nap, which makes me wonder what time of day it is if Julie's just waking up.

Speaker 1: 16:52

And it's like what do they have to do? I mean, it's not like they're doing anything.

Speaker 2: 16:56

And you know what? I do know someone that would get up early, go for a long run, come home, eat breakfast and then take a nap. So she says you can keep it if you want. And then, oh, wait a minute, that's the wrong one. So then she says it's sort of like a security blanket for me. And then Julie apologizes again and Trudy tells her not to worry about it Me pillow, soup pillow or something. Her name's Meredith, and it just reminds me of me naming stuff that really has no reason to be named.

Speaker 1: 17:32

Everything should have a name. That's important.

Speaker 2: 17:35

I feel like everything is important to me.

Speaker 1: 17:39

No, but you know I love how they bring Trudy in. And again, I say this all the time you don't want them to kill anybody, because they do such a great job with these characters.

Speaker 2: 17:49

Oh my God, actors on this show.

Speaker 1: 17:52

But it sucks, because if they don't kill somebody, you know.

Speaker 2: 17:58

But they could have found a red shirt for that episode that Trudy gets killed in. I think Trudy would have been a lot of fun, and you know what? She'd be even funner if she came back as a monster.

Speaker 1: 18:12

Oh, my God.

Speaker 2: 18:13

Maybe that's in store for us, so.

Speaker 1: 18:17

Here's the line. Here's the line that she says Bitly said it, it's on the screen. Things that matter to you should always have a name.

Speaker 2: 18:25

Yes, julie. Trudy turns to go and says you know, it's kind of funny, I have a shirt, just like that. And Trudy says oh, I know I got this out of your suitcase and I'm like no, don't go in my stuff. Julie is incredulous. Like she had said in the last episode, I don't want anyone going through my things, you know. And Trudy says you don't mind, do you? We share everything here. And Julie's like I guess not. And Trudy thanks her for taking care of Meredith and walks away. And Julie is wondering what she got herself into and wondering if maybe Colony House was Isn't the place for her?

Speaker 1: 19:05

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 19:06

I want my mommy. Yeah, cause like she's being thrown into in a sense, well, a version of the grownup world, you know, where everyone's treated kind of the same and casually and they have this certain type of respect.

Speaker 1: 19:22

So let's see, and then after that. I'm sorry.

Speaker 2: 19:32

Then the get to me is like you have nothing. When you live at Colony House, it's like you have nothing, everything can be taken away in a second and your life becomes something else and like because you, you share everything, there's just nothing. So onto the third scene. Or did someone have something to say Up?

Speaker 1: 19:57

Bitly says. I think that there is a reference to the monsters knowing their names.

Speaker 2: 20:01

Oh, not here, Not here. So the third scene, and I think that's bitey.

Speaker 1: 20:08

Oh yeah, that might be bitey. Yeah, I might have said it wrong. Well, I love wait. I titled this one particular section Wheel Barrel Frank because, as we learned from Bob Mann, he actually had to make an appearance twice in this episode one as a corpse and the other as a corpse with legs or just legs, yeah, yeah.

Speaker 2: 20:37

So now we're in the town, outside the box, and Boyd brings a wheelbarrow. I hate saying that word. I want to say wheelbarrow, but it's wheelbarrow. Yes, yeah, like for years and years.

Speaker 1: 20:55

I thought it was barrel.

Speaker 2: 20:57

I know Barrel makes sense. I'm going to have to look up the origin of how that came together. I mean, what the heck is a barrel? All right, you know what? If anyone that's watching can take a look at and see if there's a definition for the word barrow and let Alex know, that would be great. So Boyd brings a wheelbarrow with supplies to clean up the box and take care of. Frank Frank's got. His body is inside the box, main body intact. The legs are off. He's missing some fingers. Townspeople look on and I love how they let Boyd do the heavy lifting there. They just watch, right, boyd looks over.

Speaker 1: 21:39

Oh, I know, like nobody helps him, god forbid anybody else no one helps him.

Speaker 2: 21:43

So Boyd looks over Frank, puts gloves on and mentally prepares for what he needs to do. For Boyd this episode is about the serenity prayer. God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. So I just felt that, going through this episode with Boyd the fourth scene is just the diner. Sarah enters to Mrs Lou crying and Mrs Lou notices her and tries to dry her eyes and says something to her and Cantonese. Now I just want to point out this is the morning of day three, so we're on day three of the Matthews being in town. I'm going to keep track. Oh Crap, I forgot to send you the music. At any rate, that's okay. The fifth scene is the Matthews house kitchen and Tabitha is sitting with her head down on the table with a cup of tea in front of her when Jim comes in and Jim gently touches her head and Tabitha wakes up. She'd fallen asleep after making some tea and Jim wants to open the curtains to let in some light and she doesn't want him to yet and she says I used to love this time of the morning. Sometimes he'd stop crying just as the Sun was coming up. It was like he was saying and she cries you've been up all night, my work is done, and I'm sure you know parents of young babies know that very well. She cries some more and Jim sits down and she asks if Jim thinks that they are being punished. She tells him that she's drinking tea out of a dead woman's mug in a place that can't possibly exist, in a house where another child died and Julie's off doing God knows what. So she feels like her family is Essentially just scattered to the wind and I think she's thinking it's her fault. Ethan comes in asking if Tabitha is crying and she tells him that she has a headache. Jim puts Ethan on his lap. Ethan misses Julie. Jim suggests that they go down to the diner and partake in the big community breakfast. Tabitha asks them to bring her something back while she unpacks and organizes and Jim and Ethan go. So what I want to talk about here is, you know, tabitha is wondering if they're being punished and I have a note to myself to look back at last week's notes and All right. So the difference between how Jim and Tabitha see things and this is something they both kind of all. Right, maybe I don't need to For e4. Oh, this is what it is. All right, the monsters for Jim is everything it was before Thomas died and he can still hear it, see it all of it. He's still there, he's stuck and he's trying to figure out a way so that they don't end up like them, which is lost. So and and she's just looking at it like you know we're in jail, you know we've been sentenced and now here we are in jail. So the sixth scene up. Does anyone have anything to say? No, we're good, all right.

Speaker 2: 25:22

The sixth scene is back to the town, outside of the box and Boyd has Frank's body in the wheel barrow with the same stupid townspeople looking on. That could have helped. Boyd has Blood on his clothes and he covers Frank up with some canvas and boys starts pulling the wheelbarrow down the road and All I can, all I hear, is Monty Python, bring out your dad. I remember like when I used to work in an office and I have to push this cart around every once in a while I mean going by the cubicles, bring out your dad. And Someone always knew what I was talking about. But when?

Speaker 1: 26:06

I'm not dead yet. I'll come back.