Latest / Replay Reviews / They Had His Pants Down and Everything | Red Dead Redemption II | Part 2

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They Had His Pants Down and Everything | Red Dead Redemption II | Part 2 · Replay Reviews

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Episode two, chapter two, part one. Anything
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you want to say before we do out of context summary?
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Nope. All right. Well, in this episode, what
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are we doing about the pisser? John's had more
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than enough and Abigail has had it. And who are
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you? They need to hire you to be an NPC. Thank
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you for coming back from our replay reviews.
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My name is Leah. And my name is Kathy. We are
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two friends who are here to replay, review, and
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analyze your favorite video games. And since
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Kathy has never seen the games before, it helps
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me view them through her fresh eyes, almost like
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I'm discovering them again for the first time.
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We hope it will be a similar experience for you.
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Scene 1. To summarize, we're starting Chapter
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2, Horseshoe Overlook. We're going to see camp
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interactions and the first mission, Polite Society,
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Valentine's Style. First thing we learn is that
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we've been at Horseshoe Overlook for a couple
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of weeks. And then Hosea fills Arthur in on a
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few leads he can check on. He says Bill, Charles,
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and Javier are in Valentine. Swanson is at the
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train station. And Strauss, he's forced money
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upon some locals. What's cute is, though, we
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have that scene where Arthur is just writing
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in his little diary. I know, I love it. To kind
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of give us that update. And it's like, dear diary,
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Ditch's eyes are sparkling. There's a lot more
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to his journal. That we could look at, but it
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was just too much time. So Arthur will soon then
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approach Uncle and kick him. Maybe a little bit
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too hard. There should be a little bit of a respect
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your elders thing, even if they have fake lumbago,
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right? Well, he encourages Uncle to go into town.
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And then Carrie, Carrie, Karen, Mary, Beth, and
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Tilly ask to tag along. He's hesitant at first
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until Karen makes fun of him. What's really cute
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is... When they are all on the wagon and then
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they stop to, well, Arthur helps someone kind
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of bring in their horse. It's very cute to see
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Arthur being bashful at all the praise of him
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saving the horse, even though he did it to just
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try to impress them, I guess. Or so he says.
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Yeah, but it's hard because it shows that he's
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kind of kind -hearted in this way. So in town,
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they all split up. Arthur and Uncle go shopping.
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and the girls head to the saloon to look for
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leads. After some time passed, Mary Beth approaches
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Arthur and Uncle again, and she's found a lead
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for a train robbery. She then tells Arthur that
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Karen and Tilly were picking up some drunks at
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the bar, and Arthur just goes, Why? He's just
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not amused at all. He didn't want to be put in
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this situation to begin with, but then now he
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needs to act like a dad or a chaperone to everyone
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here. Well, their plan to rob drunken men does
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not go super well. Arthur has to rescue both
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of them. Tilly's being harassed by some guy outside
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the hotel. And then Arthur saves Karen in the
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hotel from a guy that's punching her. You thought
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that Arthur, like, sticks up for them? And I
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get it. It's part of his job. But still. Also
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want to point out that Karen is actually pretty
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smart too. Like despite getting herself in this
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position, the fact that she made the ties that
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it's a livestock town, there's going to be a
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lot of cash on hand. So when someone mentions
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a pink, it's a good lead. I like how we see their
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roles in the gang and how they actually have
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their own criminal strategies. I don't know the
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word I'm trying to say, but you get it. Which
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also makes me think back in Red Dead Redemption
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1 when they made Abigail seem like she was just
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the whore. She probably was so much more than
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that. Like either the medic or someone nurturing
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there. She probably was just looked down just
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like how these other gals are. Yeah. I mean,
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it seemed like she was the one taking care of
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Davey. So, I mean, he died, but that's not her
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fault. Yeah. When the five of them are back together.
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A man approaches and questions Arthur about being
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in Blackwater. And then he makes a run for it,
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so Arthur chases him. So stupid. Why are you
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making such a big deal about it? And what are
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you going to do? And the fact that you recognize
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who they are, you know what they would do to
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you. So look away. Mind your own business. Not
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decide what the outlaw is in this, but for his
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benefit. Self -preservation. Yes. No, I agree
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100%, which makes me feel less bad about the
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choice I make. So, well, second of all, this
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dumbass rides to the edge of a very obvious cliff
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and falls over the edge and is dangling, hanging
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on by his fingertips. And then we question him,
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threaten him a little bit. And he promises he
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won't tell anybody. But as we've discussed, he
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already doesn't know when to shut his stupid
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mouth. And so I decide I don't think we can risk
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it. I think we've got to let him go. So I have
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Arthur stomp on his fingers and let him fall
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to his death. You don't have to be upright 100%.
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There's times where looking away is probably
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the way to go and the way to stay alive. And
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if there was a way to go, it was straight down
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the street to the sheriff's office and not out
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of town. There's that. That's the other thing
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that kind of drives me nuts. Nuts is if he went
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up to Arthur and says, you're the people from
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Blackwater. And Arthur says, yeah, so what? What
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did you think was going to happen, dude? All
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right, moving on to the next mission. Arthur
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enters the saloon to meet up with Charles and
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Javier. They're trying to talk up some ladies
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of the night. And Arthur goes, how much you cost
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anyway? Ain't that a nice way to talk to a lady?
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Oh, I didn't know I was talking to a lady. Wait,
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why would Javier think that Arthur could be a
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good wingman? I don't know why it's so funny,
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but it is. Even funnier, though, is Bill walking
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in and starting a bar fight before he's even
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in the building. Also, I'm too good of a listener
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because when the bartender was like, oh, all
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right, that's enough. I was like, oh, we're supposed
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to stop fighting now. And then Javier's like,
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will you punch someone, Arthur? You're conditioned
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to listen. And then the big boy comes lumbering
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down the stairs. What was his name? Tommy, maybe?
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But I love Arthur punches him straight to the
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back of the head. They start getting in a big
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fight and Arthur is punching the hell out of
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him. And it doesn't let me stop. A stranger has
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to stop Arthur from going too far. He has to
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kind of defend himself or his people at that
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point. But also, wasn't he the one saying that,
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hey, let's not draw attention? We'll blame it
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all on Bill. Yeah. So we meet Josiah Trelawney,
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who Dutch found and they seem to know. just as
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Arthur's walking away from the fight. And it
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sounds like he went to Blackwater to look for
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them. My question and my first impression of
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Trelawney is, is he the stranger man based on
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his hat and the way that we later kind of notice
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him kind of coming in and out of this gang's
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life? That's my first note and that mustache.
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And I need to go back and see what the stranger
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man looks like compared to Trelawney, which if
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they obviously look different, please tell me
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because. I think they look the same, but I also
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can't remember what the stranger man looks like.
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There is a resemblance. Okay. And you're not
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the only one to notice it. Okay. By the way,
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it's strange man. Oh. So the fan base doesn't
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make fun of you. Okay. Honest mistake. It's the
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whole impatient thing again. Okay, strange man.
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It's better than that. It's better than that.
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Strange man. I mean, don't leave that. He's also
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heard about Sean, who was nabbed in Blackwater.
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He says, That bounty hunters have him. So they
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hatch a plan to rescue Sean. I'm surprised they're
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so eager to save Sean when they were not this
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eager to save John. I know. And Sean is in Blackwater
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where they're like, we can't go back there. I
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agree. Yeah. Well, Arthur returns to camp where
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he finds Uncle Harang and some of the men and
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then he goes to bed. Arthur walks around camp
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when Kieran calls out to him, begging him to
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talk to Dutch for him. At which point Dutch and
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Bill walk up trying to get him to provide info
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on the O'Driscolls. Why did they take this long
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to interrogate him? I think they've questioned
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him before. I think this is just the first time
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we're seeing it. Oh, okay. And I think that's
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why they escalate to, Gailed him. They're only
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balls, boy. He's scared into telling them that
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Colm is at Six Point Cabin and says that he'll
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take them there. So he leads Arthur, John, and
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Bill. On the ride, Bill and Arthur immediately
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get into it, and Bill ends up telling Arthur
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that he went soft rather than he was being smart
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when he decided to quit punching Tommy. But Arthur's
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response definitely one -ups him. He says, after
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all, you are the authority on not being clever.
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I like how everyone just knows Bill's an idiot.
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Except for Bill. And then Kieran tells them that
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they're just like the O'Driscolls, but John makes
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a distinction after what he says. You're out
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to survive. We're out to live free. So John then
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says Dutch is like a teacher. And then Kieran
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goes, no, you guys are all like the Driscolls.
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And this just kind of got me thinking it might
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be a metaphor. I'm not quite sure if Kieran is
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correct that they are all the same. It pretty
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much implies that this group has been brainwashed
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by Dutch into thinking that Dutch is a good leader.
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Or he's just talking and just spitting out nonsense.
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I have a feeling that it might be something that,
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especially knowing the way things turned out
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for John, John just really saying that Dutch
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is a good leader makes me think that he may be
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a tad bit brainwashed. So they get to the outskirts
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of the cabin where they see a few O'Driscolls
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walking around camp. One stops to go pee so he
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doesn't have to face Colm after not finding anything
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out hunting. And this is where Bill goes, So
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they stab the pisser. And then they're sneaking
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up on two other people. Why'd they turn around?
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Is it because I went too quick and Arthur was
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still talking? I don't know, but it was just
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very unfortunate timing. So a shootout. And after
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the dust settles, Arthur is jumped when checking
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the cabin, but saved by Kieran. So Arthur thinks
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he set them up, but does seem mostly convinced
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otherwise after thinking it over and realizing
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that Kieran just saved his life. Kind of surprised
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that Kieran wants to stick with them and being
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part of their gang, especially making previous
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conversations saying that they're all the same.
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But I get it. At the same time, I know Sadie's
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probably going to lose her mind. Right. I think
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it's just a lesser of two evils. Especially if
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he almost got his balls cut off. Oh, that's pants
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down and everything. Final scene for this part.
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We're doing the mission. The first shall be the
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last. Arthur rides out to meet Javier, Charles,
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and Josiah as they plan to rescue Sean. I feel
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like we're dangerously close to Blackwater. If
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we can be this close, can we not go get the money
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that's in there? I don't know. Can we not send
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Trelawney because he went to Blackwater? I don't
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know. Just thinking about that, too. But I'm
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also curious where the money is buried. If it's
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like smacked up in the middle of the town, then
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I totally get it. But if it's on the outskirts
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while you're doing this stuff and they don't
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recognize who Trelawney is, why not two birds
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with one stone kind of situation? Trelawney informs
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them that Sean is on a boat with the bounty hunters
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going upriver. So they kind of trail the boat
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while they're riding. We hear more mention of
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the woman Dutch shot. I keep hearing about this
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woman, Heidi McCourt. Some young mother, they're
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saying, Dutch murdered on the boat. And Arthur
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kind of just says, I wasn't there. I'm wondering
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why she keeps getting brought up. And it's not
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just in this game. We know what happens later
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down in John's future. What's the significance
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of her death? And then there's also... Arthur's
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reaction to it each time, just I can't tell if
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it's like none of my business and we're shutting
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this conversation down or is it that I'm still
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so uncertain what happened because I wasn't there
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and it seems like things just went south real
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quick. I wonder if the Heidi McCourt incident
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is like kind of a turning point for Dutch because
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she was seemingly innocent. And so I think the
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question is. Why did he kill her? What does that
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say about him? Did he really just like lose it
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in that moment? But then it does seem like a
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really major point in the story because it is
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mentioned in the first game by the strange man
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who's, you know, kind of testing John. So to
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me, it feels like a turning point that maybe
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they all ignored. And I think Arthur not being
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there is kind of his cop out where like everyone
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else has to think about it and ignore it. And
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Arthur can just be like, oh, I wasn't there.
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So I don't really know what happened. That makes
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sense. Once the boat stops and they confirm that
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Sean is the prisoner that gets off the boat,
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Trelawney goes and distracts a couple of the
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bounty hunters while Arthur and Javier sneak
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up to kill them from behind. Arthur just stabs
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his guy, but dang Javier, he like took him down
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and choked him out with his bare hands. Like
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that was so unnecessary and brutal. So intense
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too. And he got lucky that the man didn't scream
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or do something. Legs were flailing and everything.
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Rescue Sean. Arthur is pretty great about knowing
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who to delegate, what to do, because he tells
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Javier to take Sean because he knows Charles
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might kill Sean with all that talking. But poor
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Javier had to listen to Trelawney prior to this.
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Surprised, though, that Sean didn't spill the
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beans with how much he's talking. I mean, it's
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cute that he's like, Arthur, you love me. I know
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it. At the same time. You kind of got to read
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the room, Sean. If there's one thing Sean does
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not do, it's read the room. That's why he's so
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delightful. I've noticed. All right. Well, Arthur
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does some hunting before returning to camp where
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the gang is celebrating Sean's return. We get
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to see a lot of drunk people and just golden
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moments. The first one that I noted is Bill telling
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a story. That just leads to rambling to the point
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where he doesn't even know what he's saying.
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Bill's talking about people leaving the army
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just to end up joining it back again. And I think
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that this is some kind of metaphor for the outlaws
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where even if they have a chance to leave, they
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still go back in, which we see here in kind of
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situation. He could have been free, but in the
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end, he still goes back and joins a different
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gang. And I think this is just going to be an
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overall theme for this game is that maybe death
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is your only redemption. Otherwise, you're just
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going to go back into the army in this case.
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It's funny to think of Bill so stupidly telling
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this story, but it being like a major theme in
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the game at the same time. But this entire scene
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about them just all celebrating and having fun
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around the fire. Feels like it's the game just
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showing us that this is the free life that they
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want, that Dutch kind of promised them. And what
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Hosea wants is just everyone to have fun and
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to not be in fear and worry. And this might be
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the calm before the storm. Like this is the last
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time they'll be very happy before something bad
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happens. That's my theory. Yeah. And that's why
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I chose to leave so much of it in, even though
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I did cut a lot. Because I feel like seeing the
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gang happy, number one, it's a nice reversal
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from when they were all miserable in the previous
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chapter. But it also helps you understand why
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they enjoy being in the gang so much. Because
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they do seem like a family. They are having a
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good time. And so I think it just makes it easier
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for us as the player to understand where the
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loyalty comes from and all of that. A couple
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other moments I noted was Arthur tossing the
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stew aside to dance with Mary Beth. John walking
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by saying, hell, I'm doing real good as he's
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stumbling drunk. Who would have thought young
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John was like that? But it makes sense. We'll
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see. I never would have thought Arthur would
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be dancing like that. Kind of flirty with Mary
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Beth. Just so weird to see him like that. So
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relaxed and not very stressed. And then I had
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to leave the gross ring dang do song in because.
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It's just simply for Arthur saying, you dirty
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man, when he walks away, as if he wasn't singing
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along himself, though. Exactly. He could have
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walked away at any point. Arthur almost wraps
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up the night by watching a conversation, a very
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drunk conversation between John and Bill, which
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was pretty. And I love hearing John laugh like
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that. Like, we never really heard him really
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laugh in the first game. I think it shows that
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when he's free. And yes, he's young. But still,
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when he's free, that's the level of giddiness
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that he has. And then Abigail watching for a
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while and walking up going pathetic. But I have
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to say, good on Jon for going after her, though.
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Yes. And it makes sense why going through all
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this in the end, they still are together. Well,
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that was all I had for episode two. Did you have
18:32
anything else or should we close it out? We'll
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have to close it out. Sounds good. We will see
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you next week as we continue Chapter 2. Audacity
18:42
on 1, 3, 2, 1. Thank you for listening, and don't
18:45
forget to send in any questions, comments, or
18:47
game suggestions. You can find all our contact
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info on our website, replayreviewspod .com, or
18:53
contact us directly through our site. Did we
18:55
completely miss something? Are we way off the
18:57
mark? Or do you just want us to take a deeper
18:59
look at anything from the game? We'll tackle
19:01
any topics you all want to hear in our season
19:03
wrap -up episode. We also have a Reddit where
19:05
we discuss anything we're curious about. Go take
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a look and let us know what you're thinking.
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They'll play you out and we'll be back next week.