S3E4 – I Hate To Ashbash But…Also Some Theory

Published April 8, 2020 · Updated May 30, 2023

Hey Guys,

First the fun stuff. Dick I have to think you’re onto something with the timeline theory. Now, I haven’t had time to invest in going back and forth fleshing it out BUT I may have found a shred of proof. In E3 we see Delores talking Charlotte off the ledge and bringing her back around. This is taking place in Arnold’s old house/Delores’ home base. Now in E4 Serac takes Maeve there and the place has obviously been abandoned and disheveled for a while. Serac has had time to find this place and talks like he’s known about it for some time. We’re to believe this happened in the span of one episode in a linear story line? Maybe, but it lends credence to Big D’s theory. Man, that warehouse took more than 3 months to put together; did ya’ll see how much host juice was in there? To me, that was an obvious Chekhov’s Gun…they’ve shown us Delores has the facility and the means to make a ton of hosts…now that gun has to go off. Unfortunately, this also would mean something is possible that none of us want to happen…Caleb is a host. If there is indeed a major time-lapse (more than 3 months) in between Delores arriving and meeting Caleb it’s totally plausible she’d have time to make host-Caleb, give him his backstory/cornerstone, and orchestrate their eventual meeting. This would explain his scrambled memories. I’ve also had this itch in the back of my head that those military-esqe flashes we get of Caleb are due to him being present in the assault on WW; maybe he was killed there where Delores could have come into contact with him or possibly even killed him. To be clear, I hate all of that., but it occurred to me just the same.

Now the other stuff. After last week’s pods I wanted to vent but I thought, “No, give it another week.” Well, I did and nothing changed. Guys I know that everybody’s starved for stimulation but I think the hyper-intellectual introspective needs to be toned down A LOT…especially by you Ashley. Save American Gods, I’ve listened to every single Shat pod, movies and tv; so I have the foundation when I say it’s gone overboard. I love a high-minded conversation as much as the next fella but I don’t listen to your content for deep dives into academia. I listen b/c it’s fun. Did ya’ll listen to last week’s deep dive?…it wasn’t fun. It was like a lecture at a liberal arts college. It was the first time I’ve thought to myself while listening to you guys, “I’m bored to tears.” And I hear Ash is now going to do movies?…if I tune in to hear how Descartes plays into Fast Times at Ridgemont High I’m gonna shoot myself. and then unsubscribe. Ashley, I don’t hate you; I THOROUGHLY enjoyed and respected your and Tom’s pod and I do enjoy a (moderate) cerebral breakdown. But your addition to the show in small doses as a write-in/call-in guest was much more powerful than your professorial monologues; we’d get your intensely intellectual snippet and then get to hear the hosts playing with it. I tune in this week and all I get is a cheese and whine fest about how the show is “hollow” b/c it hasn’t lived up to you and your brother’s over the top, high-minded standards. Wtf. In verbose fashion you essentially said, “Oh how silly of me to think this show would live up to my superior level of intellectualism.” And you literally said “I’m all for badass but just don’t wrap it in a pretty, cerebral bow; just be who you are.” So a medium can’t be both exciting and cerebral? It has to be either Ash-highbrow or syfy for dummies. That may not be what you meant but by Rehobo it’s what you sounded like. We’re supposed to have 5 total seasons of this show. Another overly mind-bending season to the tune of the past two seasons would most likely lead to cancellation. Just like a musical artist that steps out of their genre WW has changed gears and it’s fun! The show is fun! Shat coverage fun! Until now. The past two weeks have been hard to listen to. Except for Big D (fine and Rog) who has essentially stuck to the formula that brought you here. So, I do like you Ash, but I truly feel you’d pack a more effective punch as a guest host. Looking forward to you changing my mind!

My opinions aside, thank ya’ll so much for what you do and I hope you and your families are safe. My best also to King B, Carrie, Vanessa, and Tom.

Matthew Colson

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