689: The Green Ring Conspiracy, Part 11

[Marvin D.]

Let's discuss the next-to final episode of the Green Ring Conspiracy

[Christian A.]

Boy. This episode was probably one of the best yet. We didn't learn a whole lot, but there was enough new information and action to hold my attention the entire time. When it finished, I couldn't believe it was already done! It's going to be so hard to wait all this week until I can hear Part XII next Saturday. It's so difficult to be patient when I have the means to hear the end of the saga in my possession right in my bedroom where I could pull it off the shelf at any time! But I promised that I would listen to the episodes as they aired and not take advantage of the fact that FOTF has done things differently this time around, so I'm going to do my best to keep that promise. But it's so hard!

I probably could review this episode in a short form, but I got up extra early this morning to get it done today, and I've had a couple of people tell me they really enjoy reading my reviews, so I'm going to do my best to do another long one. Here goes.

This episode begins with Penny and Connie on their planned hike together. But Connie isn't enjoying it very much she was expecting more of a leisurely stroll than a rock-climbing expedition. But Penny encourages her to keep on because it will be worth it when they reach the top and see the view. Connie asks her how she found the area, because she didn't know there was such a place in Odyssey. Penny says that she and some of the class have come up a few times with Dr. Trask to "meditate on the beauty of God." Connie remarks that Dr. Trask must really know his way around the area. That will become important later in the episode. Penny ironically remarks that she's not a big fan of trip like this though. She'd rather go skeet-shooting. I had to look that up. It's a recreational game involving the shooting of clay disks that have been flung into the air. Here's the link to Wikipedia's explanation. I've done something similar called pigeon shooting before. It's pretty fun; I don't know whether I'd rather do it over rock climbing though. Both are moderately fun activities to me. I'm not that outdoorsy of a person.

Anyway, the next scene finds us at Uncle Archie's Carnival where the auction is just starting. A funny-sounding man who's obviously played by Jess Harnell named Hubbard Gutman is the auctioneer. We hear him throughout the rest of the show whenever there's a Whit-Detective Polehaus scene because they keep watch at the auction for the entire episode. By the way, I wanted to mention that I think I trust Polehaus now. I'm done thinking that he's secretly working for the other side. Especially after the events in the last episode and this episode, I don't think there's any way that he's involved with the counterfeiters. In this scene, Polehaus tells Whit that he's been trying to find the Stiletto in the crowd. Whit quickly changes the subject, and asks the detective if he's had anyone see what went on at Trickle Lake Concrete the day before. But Polehaus says it's not his top priority. That pretty much tells us that something big must have happened there, because obviously Whit is smarter than Polehaus, and the pickup truck wouldn't have stopped there for no reason. Plus, Sullivan (Archie Haggler's Goon #1) non-subtly told us last time that the engraving plates were dropped off there.

Well, after that exchange, Whit gets a call from Monty who informs him that Derk Begs (I found out I've been spelling it wrong this whole time.) is finally out of his coma. It feels like it's been forever since that first episode when he was taken to the hospital, but I think it's actually only been two or three days! Monty wants in on the action, so he tells Whit that he's going to go try to get some information out of Derk. Whit tells him to ask about the numbers on the paper in the backpack that matched the ones sent in a text message. Then he started to tell him something about the Stiletto--I would guess he might have mentioned Jason--but the nurse started to come into the room, and all Monty got before hanging up was that the Stiletto is in town. He's able to use that information to threaten Derk later.

Then we hear the little ditty informing us that a Skint-scene is up next. He's preparing to leave to go check on things at the auction and then head over to the compound. He tells Buck his plans, warns him to keep a low profile, and leaves. No sooner has he exited than Ms. Katri...er...Katrina appears. She explains how she found him, but he's still surprised--especially when she explains that she's come to rescue him. He strongly hesitates, and she tries to persuade him by telling him that given a chance to get away from Mr. Skint's influence, he'll see what a "good heart" he has. Now, not to pick on her theology, but what's that verse in Jeremiah 17:9? "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" Umm...that's pretty straightforward and clear. It's things like this, along with episodes like Opposite Day and When You're Right, You're Right that convince me that Odyssey is slowly moving toward the liberal side of the scale.

Anyway, when Buck argues that life isn't about good hearts or bad hearts, but rather about survival, Katrina responds that life is about the choices you make--you can choose evil or you can choose good. I guess you could say that, but in my Calvinistic point of view, life is about the choices God has made. That gets into the issue of free will vs. God's predestination, and I don't want to get into that, so I won't elaborate. She then implores him to choose God. Again, I'm pretty biased, but doesn't Jesus say, "You did not choose me, but I chose you"? Buck says he doesn't know anything about God, so Katrina tells him to come with her so she can explain it to him. They start to argue because Buck says he can't go, but then Skint appears and says that no, Buck can't go. (I'm sorta glad he popped in, because otherwise, there might have been a scene where Katrina explained "salvation" to Buck, and then I suspect I would have had a lot to complain about. But, unfortunately, Chris had a lot to say at the end of the episode, so I guess I'll have to say something when I get to that.) Mr. Skint had come back for his car keys, and he commands Buck to tie and gag her.

Back at the hospital, Monty goes to visit Derk Begs. After he walks in, Derk expresses his frustration over the fact that Monty double-crossed him. If this was a movie, the exchange probably wouldn't have been G-rated, but I'm glad it stayed that way. After they discuss German jazz bands, Monty cuts right to the chase and asks Derk about the numbers. Derk says they should be self-explanatory if the phone's working, so he suspects that Monty is bluffing. He starts to make a deal, but the nurse (who doesn't even care if he's the king of Siam) comes in and orders Monty to return to his room. Monty leaves Derk with the wonderful thought of what the Stiletto might do to him now that he's in town.

Now we go to one of the most pivotal scenes in the episode. Matthew and Emily decide they've collected enough information from the library, and Emily calls Eugene on the walkie-talkie thingamabob. She tells him that she's searched through any instances in Odyssey's past that involved counterfeit money, and then she cross-referenced those dates with national archives. She discovered that pretty much any time the subject popped up, Uncle Archie's Carnival was nearby. (What a surprise!) Matthew discovered a picture taken 20 years before featuring Archie Haggler and Benjamin Trask together, celebrating the beginning of The Consolidated Arts Company. Then comes the surprise (unless you were already expecting it like I was). Matthew went way back in the history of Dr. Trask, and found an article about him from 30 years before when he first came to Odyssey. The kids send the information to Eugene, and when he sees what the professor's occupation was before coming to town, he exclaims, "Unbelievable! Excellent work! I have to contact Mr. Whittaker right away!!"

Thankfully, we aren't kept in suspense for very long, because right in the next scene, we come across Whit telling Eugene to slow down because he can't understand what Eugene's saying. He slows down and tells Whit that the e-mail the kids sent him told him that Benjamin Trask was formerly a template engraver for the U.S. Mint! He was one of their top designers! The only reason he stopped was that he had to retire because the fumes were having a negative effect on his system. Hey, I wonder if that's why his mind has conjured up so much fluffy junk about meditation and God. Eugene lastly counsels Whit to call and warn Connie to tell her that Penny could be involved in the conspiracy along with Dr. Trask.

Back at Trickle Lake, Connie and Penny are climbing down from the "small pile of rocks" remarking about how beautiful the view was. Just as they're starting to discuss the beginning of their business partnership in copying paintings, Connie's cellphone rings. (Even though she's changed the ringtone since A Thankstaking Story, it still might be too rocky for conservative listeners.) We hear Whit tell her to make sure she doesn't react, but that he has important news for her. She walks away from Penny who figures she must have left the cash register open again. We then hear a "WHAT?!" in the background, and Penny remarks, "Oooh. There must have been a lot of money in that drawer.

Over at the auction, Whit fills Detective Polehaus in off-air about Dr. Trask. He says he'll send one of his men up to his place. I don't know about you, but he seems awfully calm about the situation. You'd think having figured out the identity of a thirty-year counterfeiter would get him excited. Nope. He's more concerned about what he sees at the carnival. He tells Whit that he's noticed that everyone at the auction is winning equally; no one person is getting the top bid on any of the equipment. It's rigged. Whit deduces that that must be how the counterfeiters conveniently get the money distributed all over the country. But Polehaus assures Whit that the trucks holding the equipment and money won't get past their roadblock. He then makes a comment about the smell of victory. He's really getting out of character here. Usually he's totally suspicious and pessimistic that anything could go right for him, and now that he's at the pivotal point of the whole conspiracy, he sits back and talks about how superior and victorious he feels. Give me a break.

Now we get back to Connie and Penny's hike which, according to Penny, has turned into a "marathon" because Connie is so bent on getting back into town to talk to Whit. And Penny wants to know what in the world Mr. Whittaker could have said to her to get her heading back so quickly. But before Connie can say anything, lo and behold...Wooton pops out from the bushes! Oh joy! Rapture! (More like "Oh, migraine headache!" which I happen to have right now.) While Penny is amazed at the coincidence that Wooton was hiding in the woods just as they were going past, Connie scolds him for scaring them. He reminds her that he was planning a picnic at Montague Point. (I think that name is an allusion to the last name of the character Romeo in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. I just read that for Literature this year, and it's usually a word used when referring to a forbidden relationship. [Romeo and Juliet had a forbidden love.] I think it might be a reference to the fact that Wooton and Penny are forbidden by the Bible to have an intimate relationship because Penny isn't a Christian. That's probably a longshot though. But maybe that's why they never make it to Montague Point. Does any of that make sense?) Connie tells Wooton that she forgot about the surprise, but that they need to get back to town.

Penny practically begs Connie to tell her why they're suddenly in such a hurry, so she gives in because she trusts Penny (oh, and we'll assume Wooton too). When Connie finally spills the beans that Penny's mentor might be the crime boss of the whole counterfeiting ring, Penny is shocked and immediately changes her mind and, to the dismay of Wooton, sides with Connie about going back to town. Penny leads them on a shortcut that will take them "to the truth."

*insert Skint music*

But, *gasp*, it's not a Mr. Skint scene! Marvin was wrong! Well, while he did say that it was always there when a Skint scene was coming, he didn't say that whenever it came, a Skint scene was coming. But this is a Buck scene, so it's pretty close. Buck has just finished tying and gagging Katrina, but she has something to say to him. After she promises not to scream, he takes the gag off. She tells him that he still has a choice as to whether or not he's going to follow Skint. She promises to pray for him every day, and then she gives him a talk about Mr. Skint. She tells him that though he may be loyal and that may seem like love, if he really loved Buck, he'd do the right thing. But that strikes a nerve, and Buck tells her that's enough talking for now. I have to commend Buck for his loyalty; even though Skint is doing the wrong thing for him, Buck, I think does love him, and he doesn't want to think of leaving him. But I think he'll eventually come to his senses, and that's when he'll leave Mr. Skint. The question is, what will he do then? He has nothing. That's why I think that it's perfectly plausible that the Meltsners will adopt him. It is a weird idea, and it'd take a lot of getting used to, but what other option is there? I mean, he could just go along with the counterfeiters, but that would contradict everything to which the Katrina-Buck saga seems to be leading. I don't know.

After a commercial break (I'm not sure if it was the first or second one), we get back to Whit and Polehaus where the auction is over and the trucks are leaving. Detective Polehaus is disappointed that he hasn't gotten to see the Stiletto, and Whit nearly ruins things when he says that he's been looking for him all day and he's concerned. But after a double-take by Polehaus, Whit quickly corrects himself, and the detective tells him he might be spending too much time in the sun. Whit changes the subject, drawing the attention to Uncle Archie, who's looking very pleased with himself. Polehaus remarks that he's confused about how they got the money into the trucks. We know from a few episodes ago that the plan was changed because of the Stiletto's suspected treachery, so that's not how the exchange is going to happen. Polehaus then speculates that maybe the trucks are headed to a rendezvous point, but then he chuckles because he "knows" that the roadblocks will get them.

Back in the woods with the three wheels (of which Connie was originally the third, but now, since the tides have changed, of which it seems Wooton has claimed the title), Penny claims they're almost to the place where the truth will be revealed. Judging by the barbed-wire fence, Penny says that they should be right about to Dr. Trask's property. Connie is shocked and frustrated that Penny brought them to his house, but Penny says that they need to get to the bottom of the issue, and this is best way to do it. However, a guard, who has a voice strikingly similar to Mr. Dosh from the Old Ross Compound, comes to them before they enter the property and informs them that this isn't Dr. Trask's house, but rather, they should go down a road over to the other side of the property where they will find him. Unfortunately, Mr. Skint picks that time to walk up, confirming to us that this is the Old Ross Compound and that is Mr. Dosh. He asks Mr. Dosh what the trouble is, and at that moment, Penny decides that she recognizes Skint--even though he's shaved his entire head and face. (She'd know his dreamy blue eyes anywhere!) Mr. Skint acknowledges her then, but at that time, Connie realizes the danger and starts leading the group away. Therefore Skint commands Dosh to get out his weapon and take them to the bunker and lock them up. He, not unlike Wooton, doesn't trust awfully strange coincidences. By the way, I absolutely loved Phil Lollar's (Dosh) "You'll see" at the end of the scene.

Over at another yelling-detective scene, Polehaus is radioing Martin for a progress report on the blockage of the trucks. He redeems himself from any doubt I had that his heart is in this chase, because as soon as Martin describes the situation of eight trucks going in separate directions, Polehaus yells nearly at the top of his lungs to pull them over. However, the truck-drivers have lost their minds and are speeding on. But have they lost their minds, or are they quickly headed to the rendezvous at the Old Ross Compound. I'm going for the latter.

At the compound, Wooton, Penny, and Connie are locked in the bunker (reminding me of The Other Side of the Glass) which, relievingly, has both a light, and more than enough space for the picnic blanket. Wooton starts getting out the food, while Connie desperately tries to figure out how to escape. Okay, maybe not desperately, but she's pretty stressed. Wooton says that even though there's only one way out, there'll be another chance to leave because the bad guys will have to come back for all the boxes of money. And of course, the boxes have to be full of money, because who would go to all that trouble to package Cabbage Patch Dolls? Connie rips open a box and finds that it is full of money, and she concludes that adding that with all the other boxes in the bunker, there must be millions of bills! Penny remarks, "How could this happen?" But of course she doesn't mean, how could she be duped into helping Trask with this scheme--she means, how could she lose her taste for raspberry soda! *sighs* Seriously. To quote Marvin, "DIE...PENNY! DIE!"

So they're stuck. But maybe not! Wooton exclaims, "This is a job for Captain Absolutely!" But Connie quickly shoots back, "No it's not." Man! I totally believed him. I thought maybe the counterfeiters were going to come in and maybe he'd do some kung fu and make it out and tell the police and apprehend them all. But, then again, that'd be totally unrealistic and...unrealistic, so I'm glad it didn't happen that way. Instead, Skint barges in with some goons and they begin taking out the boxes. Dr. Trask then comes in and, after Wooton and he have a nice little exchange about the wonderful Montague Point, Penny starts into him. First she asks how he could do all this with all of his classes and talks about the beauty of God; they were just lies! But he says that everything he taught he believes is true. (That's awfully comforting.) So she digs further, making her first very good point of the season, saying that he didn't live it; none of that talk is any good if he doesn't live it. Dr. Trask commends her for making that point, and says he'll consider it...while he's living off of his millions of dollars. Finally we see the bad side of the professor. That seemed so out of character, but I guess the real time he was out of character were any of the times he was acting innocent. Then Penny takes the opportunity to make a very thoughtful observation: "You are not a very good person at all!" "Oh, good, bad," says Dr. Trask, "they're all a state of mind." Yeah, sure. Depravity of man--right there. Even the worst of criminals can't admit that they're bad. Anyway, the episode ends with Dr. Trask letting them know that they aren't getting away; they're getting moved with the money--and they're not using the roads! *Dun-dun-dun*

Okay, that's it! Well, not exactly. Chris said some interesting things during the ending segment about how we receive "salvation." (I put it in quotations because I don't believe doing what she said gets us true salvation.) I won't bore you with all that I think about what she said, because I'd probably spark a theological debate, which I don't want to do, so I'll just say I don't agree with her, and that's that. (Though you're perfectly welcome to ask me about it; I just don't feel like writing anything else now.)

Thank you for reading the review! I know it must take a long time, so I appreciate those of you who do.

[DanP740]

Why u no make poll?

This episode was quite good. 4/5

[Marvin D.]

Y u say dat? I put it up now.


Episode Eleven

And everything is pretty much starting to wind down, considering there are only two more episodes left. We join Connie and Penny who are climbing up Mount Everest—or so Connie thinks—all while hiking. Penny’s ‘sense of humor’, if I can call it that, is weird. They’d need a sherbet to climb Mount Everest? Just like the whole apple strudel thing. Then Penny drops another hint about Trask—she pretty much has a crush on him. After all, she’s not big on hiking, but because Trask does it, she does it. But doesn’t Penny like Wooton? So why would she be still doing this? Maybe she thinks she can crush on Trask and hook up with Wooton, perhaps. I’m not sure...also, whatever happened to Wooton’s taking more time to see whether or not Penny’s a Christian? He did that with Victoria, but now he doesn’t even seem to care. It’s another big flaw with the whole Wooton thing. I totally dislike him as a character. And considering that we’ll be hearing more of Penny and Wooton and Connie in the next album...my life will be all but over. Moving on.

And finally, what we’ve been waiting for happens. The auction is finally here! But this kind of surprised me with Polehaus. He wasn’t worried about finding out why the trucks stopped at Trickle Lake Concrete? Really. You’re a detective. Everything is important. Sometimes, I wonder if we’re the detectives and they’re the pawns...or is it possible to be done this way for younger listeners again? Tanner’s obvious role as bad guy, Jason’s pretty much dumbness, Whit’s naiveness, Skint’s slip-ups, and all these things. I dunno, but the relaunch definitely has changed AIO a lot. Anyway, Monty wakes up and calls Whit. And naturally, he’s impetuous. And I like that about him. But as usual, before Whit can tell him anything important, in comes the nurse. You’d expect that.

The Skint-music plays, and we can tell where we’re headed to. When Skint says that Buck shouldn’t go, it first comes off as his being all wonderful and caring about his boy, but the only reason is that he doesn’t want to be recognized. And Buck doesn’t realize it? Wut? So Skint leaves, and then we suddenly find out that...Katrina’s here. Now, she’s here to rescue Buck, and she seems to know more about Buck than he does. She knows all about him. Some Emily? And then, Skint comes back. And here we see a little bit of his slightly vicious side. At least he has some respect for her...just bound and gag her. Yeah.

Finally, Monty and Dirt Bags, er, Dirk Beggs—have I ever said that this is a really lame name? Jake keeps mixing it up for Dirt Bags actually. I mean, come on. Let’s be real. Would some parents name their kid Dirk if his last name was Beggs? Really.—have the conversation that we’ve all—or at least I have—been waiting for. After the pleasantries about being honest and German jazz bands, they’re down to business. I’m surprised that Dirk gave in so easily about being taken to jail. Why didn’t he even think of trying to escape? That was weird. However, before any information is given...what do you expect? A nurse comes in. Just like last time. Stereotypical. So all it takes to get Monty away is that Dr. Graham the Bulldog will come after him if he doesn’t go, and he’s gone.

Finally, the sleuths find some information about the counterfeiting gang. And sure enough, it looks like the counterfeiting gang is connected to Uncle Archie’s carnival. That was a major hint and fall in Haggler’s plan. Of course, it’s used to our benefits. And then Matthew and Emily find out about Trask and Haggler being connected. I had always suspected that Trask was guilty, mainly because of his suave and mysterious voice. But the surprising bit of information is kept to leave us in suspense. And you know what? It’s actually fair. I mean, we find out so much information, it’s only fair that we have to wait for awhile. So while I sort of wanted to know at the moment, I actually didn’t mind as much. I’m weird, I know, I know. The music transition right there reminded me of Novacom-time music. Was it just me being weird?

However, we don’t have long to wait to find out what Matthew and Emily found out and told Eugene who told Mr. Whittaker. It appears Trask was an engraver, letting him easily be one of the bad guys in the whole plot. I always thought he was bad, as I just mentioned earlier, so it’s no surprise at all. And everything else starts to fall into place, including that Penny could be on the whole plot. Which, also didn’t surprise me. Because I always thought she too was guilty and was in on the bad side along with Trask.
So off we go to little Ms. Wooton-and-Trask-crush Penny Wise and Connie. Once again, Penny brings up the topic of their new business. Does anyone need more proof that Penny was involved in it? Trask offered to invest in it...seems like it’s for real, and they’re going to drag Connie into the whole counterfeiting business. And Whit calls Connie, and she’s told to not react to it in anyway. Well, she reacts pretty well. “WHAT?” That’s just like Connie, which makes it funny.

Back at the auction, Polehaus is convinced that everything is under control. Really, I think he would have learned about being so overconfident and cocky. A fourteen year old was able to get around him, for crying out loud. For a detective, he should be ready for something to go wrong. Of course, some people don’t ever learn. Eventually, perhaps. Even his whole popcorn/victory thing shows how...arrogant he can get if he’s not careful. Oh, well.
Back to Penny and Connie, who are raising as fast as they could. Really, Connie, so much for not being suspicious. And then comes...Wooton. *facepalms* I was hoping we wouldn’t have these characters run into each other anymore >_> I guess not. So he literally scares everyone, and then after talking about surprises and smoke signals, Penny makes an ultimatum. Either Connie tells, or she won’t move anymore. I’m surprised actually that Connie placed this much faith in Penny right then. I mean, really. After what Whit had told her, I don’t think she’d really just tell all of that. But she does anyway, but then Penny seems to actually be a good guy. Surprise? Very much. Amid Wooton’s naturally annoying remarks, they finally set off, eating licorice on the way. Oh, Wooton. Just die. Or go live in a cave somewhere and make your smart remarks to the lichen and moss growing. And I will stop here before entering a long ramble about the stupidness of Wooton. *rambles to himself*

Finally we go back to Buck and Katrina. She’s tied and gagged, just like Skint said, but still can’t let Buck go. She’s just as persistent as Connie. They still have a short talk, and it seems that Buck still has a heart (hurrah!) despite everything going on. Some people have been talking about Buck being adopted by Katrina and Eugene. My opinion? Never. Not happening. Nuh uh. No way. Besides the fact that I would have to hear of Buck more, which is a bad thing in my opinon, Katrina and Eugene having an adopted teenager would just make them...not who they are. They’ve all ready changed because of the hiatus, but this would make it so totally out of place. I wouldn’t be able to bear it at all. So yeah, no Buck and Eugene and Katrina living happily ever after if I can help it. Buck though, refuses to let what Katrina says affect him, so he quickly regags her to leave.

After the carnival, our favorite detective group is talking some more. Whit nearly slips about the Stiletto, something he should have really thought about before he said. Careful, Whit. And Polehaus is just a little disappointed about not seeing his man. Then they talk about Archie Haggler, who’s totally grinning about the whole situation. Yeah, I’m afraid that he’d start laughing and never be able to stop. His giggle/laugh is so annoying...and it sounds like he can start laughing and never stop. It would be nice if he did that, I think. Poetic justice, perhaps? Poleahus, though, is still smug. Really, Polehaus...prepare for the worst. It’s gonna hit you, and hit you hard if you’re careful *sings*. Whit, though, seems to be maintaining a better attitude, steeling himself for whatever can happen. Attaboy, Whit.

Penny, Wooton, and Connie are going as fast as they can towards Penny’s shortcut that will lead them right to the truth. But then Connie finds out that Penny is taking them right to Dr. Trask. Now, if I had any doubts about Penny, right here, they came out. After all, why else would she lead them to who Whit and Eugene are sure is the bad guy? Of course, Penny’s reasoning might be a little wrong. If Trask is a bad guy, why would you go to him for the truth? “Yo, sup, Trask, wanted to ask if you was one of the guys in the counterfeiting ring, ya know?” Is that really gonna work? That’s like...really lame. Get a brain, Penny. And Wooton. So this guy marches up to them and asks what they’re doing there. And so Penny finds out that she’s not as close to Trask as she thought she was. But before they can get very far, in comes Skint—the commissioner of the poster with dreamy, blue eyes. Connie, of course, realizes that something is drastically amiss and wants to get out. But Skint lets the guard draw his weapon. And naturally, Penny and Wooton have a smart remark. “I can draw weapons,” she goes. “Is that a water pistol?” says Wooton. Seriously, people! -.- Skint however, is getting jumpy so he makes the trio get taken away to a bunker. And as usual, Wooton has another smart remark I’ll skip over.

Meanwhile, we have a short scene with our favorite detective. Polehaus thinks he’s finally got his guys, as he’s on the phone with Martin. However, he may not have everything under control. He yells for Martin to turn on the sirens and chase them and make them pull over. However, it’s not working. They keep going. See, Polehaus? Ya always need to be ready for the worst! Who knows what can happen?

Then we go to the bunker where the trio is told to make sure that they behave. Penny and Wooton though, don’t worry in the least about the situation. After all, there’s enough space for them to picnic, and that’s good enough for them. Connie is the only one in the room with sense. Wooton says, “Oh, there’s no way out. That door is the only way. Pass the potato chips, Penny.” Seriously. Wooton. HOW DUMB CAN YOU BE?! They’re off to who knows where, and all they can do is MUNCH POTATO CHIPS? I’m sorry, but Wooton is totally lame. He is a character that should just be gotten rid off. He really is pointless, sensless, and doesn’t care what happens to himself. BLAH. But, however, Wooton shows just...the tiniest bit of sense. He knows they’ll come back for them only because they’re full of money. So they’re surrounded by millions of dollars. And Penny is sick and can’t drink her raspberry soda. Really, Penny? And Captain Absolutely can’t do anything either. And then Skint gets to work, and in comes Mr. Trask. He seems so cheerful...and almost...good, for a few seconds. He chats on and on about the point. Penny, though, demands an answer. After all, Trask did all that nice talk and never acted on it. He didn’t live up to it. So, she’s confused. Trask, though, has no conscience, and says he’ll consider practicing what he preaches....when living with millions of dollars. And *ding ding ding*, Penny FINALLY realizes that Trask is *mega gasp* a bad guy! She’s hit the jackpot! Good grief, Penny, didn’t you ever realize that? Trask though, doesn’t care about anything else, and then everyone wants to know if they can be let go. But, it looks like not. After all, they’re going on a trip...and it doesn’t seem to be like they’re gonna travel on the road.

And so we come to the end of the next-to-final episode of the Green Ring Conspiracy. Obviously, we’ll close up the case and find out about Jason, Trask, Buck’s resolution, Connie and Penny and Wooton, and everything else next time. So much next week, eh?
Anyway, Chris gives her talk about all the lies that people have made. However, her talk about following God is a little...uh? All we need to do is accept the love? While that’s a major part, what about the not so nice part? We’re all sinners, and we need to be saved too. It’s too sugarcoated, really. AIO has never done much on the Gospel plan, which has kind of irked me a bit.

That said, this episode gets a rating of 8.5/10 stars. Now, for the conclusion...

[Leonard Meltsner]

They’d need a sherbet to climb Mount Everest?

I believe Penny said "sherpa", as in, a Tibetan skilled in guiding mountain climbs, such as up Mount Everest.

[Taps]

They’d need a sherbet to climb Mount Everest?

I believe Penny said "sherpa", as in, a Tibetan skilled in guiding mountain climbs, such as up Mount Everest.

Yeah that's what they were talking about

[Bob]

I know the "checking to see if Penny is a Christian" thing is a major sticking point for some, but I got the impression that it happened off-screen... either Connie told him at some point, or he heard it from Penny herself in all the time they spent together.

Now, as it turns out, her brand of "Christianity" is definitely..."unconventional", to say the least. Still, I was under the impression that he believed in good faith that she was a solid Christian.

I thought this episode was pretty good -- Dr. Trask, in particular, was great in his scene (though he still came off as being definitely, and credibly villainous, more than, say, "The Whisperer" did).

Penny: How could you do this, Dr. Trask? What about all your talk about the beauty of God, and - and all that stuff?
Trask: Well, what about it?
Penny: All those classes... and all those meetings... they were just lies!
Trask: Lieees? I never lied! Everything I taught I believe is true.
Penny: But you didn't... live it; I mean, what good is all the nice talk unless you're going to live it?
Trask: (brightly) That's a very good question, Penny... and I'll consider it, while I'm living off of my millions of dollars!

I mean, come on, that part was just hilarious... if you didn't like that scene after Trask came into it, I don't think you're ever going to like post-relaunch Odyssey.

---

As far as talk about salvation -- I think the problem with Odyssey writing about it is that there are so many different "brands" of Christianity that they can't market to *all* of them without getting some hate mail. There's a lot of people that sincerely believe different things, and the AIO team doesn't want to contradict anything that the listeners' parents, or someone else might have taught them, so they only teach the stuff that is bland enough that it can't possibly be objectionable to anyone -- while it might not be too helpful in getting you saved, they at least figure it's a step in the right direction.

It so happens that when Odyssey was more involved in showing their perspective on the conversion experience, that it didn't fit what I believe -- so whenever I heard someone get 'saved' on the show, I figured myself that it's a step in the right direction, but not yet the whole experience. With that in mind, I think it's easier to make a "generic Christian show" where they don't actually talk much about what it takes to get saved, past the most obvious basics, so you can imagine that the characters did whatever you believe it takes.

Now, does that mean that's right? Well, no, it doesn't. Even if what AIO teaches is partially true, it's not good enough to throw out a cliche line that just about every branch of Christianity would interpret, in some way, as being accurate. Obviously, I would prefer for AIO to teach what I already believe, but in the absence of that possibility, I think they would do best to tell listeners to defer to their pastors or parents on the process of salvation -- which they have usually done in the past, and generally try to do now.

Still, whatever it may or may not be, at least it's still clean, safe family entertainment, which you can't say for most of the stuff that's out there in the world today.

[Leonard Meltsner]

I'm always glad that Odyssey, as may be guessed since it's Focus on the Family, makes sure not to just tell kids things about issues and salvation standalone, but always refers them to their family, friends, churches, pastors, etc.

[Christian A.]

I'm always glad that Odyssey, as may be guessed since it's Focus on the Family, makes sure not to just tell kids things about issues and salvation standalone, but always refers them to their family, friends, churches, pastors, etc.

But what if they don't have those people to go to? Or what if those people don't have the right Gospel message. What if a Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, or Catholic kid found AIO, Chris told him to talk to his parents about salvation, and he got the wrong message?

I personally believe that they need to be more clear on the issue. I don't think that any denominations would have a problem with Chris saying something as general as, "We are all sinners, and we fall short of God's glorious standard. Therefore, He must punish us, and we can't get into heaven. But He's provided a way to save us. That way is through Jesus..."

How could that be offensive to anyone but someone who isn't a Christian?

[Leonard Meltsner]

I'm always glad that Odyssey, as may be guessed since it's Focus on the Family, makes sure not to just tell kids things about issues and salvation standalone, but always refers them to their family, friends, churches, pastors, etc.

But what if they don't have those people to go to? Or what if those people don't have the right Gospel message. What if a Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, or Catholic kid found AIO, Chris told him to talk to his parents about salvation, and he got the wrong message?

I personally believe that they need to be more clear on the issue. I don't think that any denominations would have a problem with Chris saying something as general as, "We are all sinners, and we fall short of God's glorious standard. Therefore, He must punish us, and we can't get into heaven. But He's provided a way to save us. That way is through Jesus..."

How could that be offensive to anyone but someone who isn't a Christian?

Yeah, I know what you mean. That has certainly been said on the show before, but probably not enough.

[Samitude]

I agree that Odyssey needs to be very clear on salvation. According to this article Paul McCusker has become catholic so I don't know exactly what he believes. I'm not sure about the other writers.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/st ... he_church/

[Christian A.]

According to this article Paul McCusker has become catholic so I don't know exactly what he believes. I'm not sure about the other writers.

I don't know about anyone else, but that is extreeeemely disturbing to me. I had absolutely no idea! I hope and pray that he really is saved, but that is very concerning. I also wonder about the other writers, and I hope beyond hopes that the majority of them are still Protestant in major doctrines like salvation. I don't know what I'd do otherwise.

[Leonard Meltsner]

I agree that Odyssey needs to be very clear on salvation. According to this article Paul McCusker has become catholic so I don't know exactly what he believes. I'm not sure about the other writers.

http://www.ncregister.com/daily-news/st ... he_church/

I'd figured that he was Catholic when he went off FB for Lent.

[Catspaw]

According to this article Paul McCusker has become catholic so I don't know exactly what he believes. I'm not sure about the other writers.

I don't know about anyone else, but that is extreeeemely disturbing to me. I had absolutely no idea! I hope and pray that he really is saved, but that is very concerning. I also wonder about the other writers, and I hope beyond hopes that the majority of them are still Protestant in major doctrines like salvation. I don't know what I'd do otherwise.

I think a quote from the article that Samitude linked to is appropriate here:

I realized then that, on one hand, I needed to push aside all of the misinterpretations of Catholicism that I had learned from Protestants — people who thought they knew what Catholicism was, but didn’t. And, on the other hand, push aside all of the misrepresentations of Catholicism that I had learned from “cultural Catholics.” I had to simply study what the ancient Church itself believed, to let the Church speak for itself.

Most denominations and churches and groups have a wide range of beliefs within them. Please don't judge a stranger's long-term spiritual journey based on one small part of the information. There are people in all denominations that genuinely live out God's truth, and people in all denominations that don't, regardless of the label that they or anybody else assigns to them. Another quote from the article:

Some friends felt it was a betrayal of my Protestant faith. They do not understand why or how I made the move and have no desire to talk about it. Others were more accepting and decided that, as long as I still loved Jesus, then it was okay.

Anyway, part 11! My brother jokes about wanting a sherpa to carry his stuff around at university (and just in general) so I really had to laugh at the sherpa reference!

[Knight Fisher]

According to this article Paul McCusker has become catholic so I don't know exactly what he believes. I'm not sure about the other writers.

I don't know about anyone else, but that is extreeeemely disturbing to me. I had absolutely no idea! I hope and pray that he really is saved, but that is very concerning. I also wonder about the other writers, and I hope beyond hopes that the majority of them are still Protestant in major doctrines like salvation. I don't know what I'd do otherwise.

I think a quote from the article that Samitude linked to is appropriate here:

I realized then that, on one hand, I needed to push aside all of the misinterpretations of Catholicism that I had learned from Protestants — people who thought they knew what Catholicism was, but didn’t. And, on the other hand, push aside all of the misrepresentations of Catholicism that I had learned from “cultural Catholics.” I had to simply study what the ancient Church itself believed, to let the Church speak for itself.

Most denominations and churches and groups have a wide range of beliefs within them. Please don't judge a stranger's long-term spiritual journey based on one small part of the information. There are people in all denominations that genuinely live out God's truth, and people in all denominations that don't, regardless of the label that they or anybody else assigns to them. Another quote from the article:

Some friends felt it was a betrayal of my Protestant faith. They do not understand why or how I made the move and have no desire to talk about it. Others were more accepting and decided that, as long as I still loved Jesus, then it was okay.

Anyway, part 11! My brother jokes about wanting a sherpa to carry his stuff around at university (and just in general) so I really had to laugh at the sherpa reference!

Nice way to put it George. The episode was OK beside the fact that I think Penny is ruining Wooten's character. I'd think Connie would be a little less gullible. Not a memorable episode. But not awful.

[rickyderocher]

I don't know about anyone else, but that is extreeeemely disturbing to me. I had absolutely no idea! I hope and pray that he really is saved, but that is very concerning. I also wonder about the other writers, and I hope beyond hopes that the majority of them are still Protestant in major doctrines like salvation. I don't know what I'd do otherwise.

Yeah, that is disturbing to me too.