Title: Never Stop Blowing Up
GM: Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players: Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Russell Feeld (he/him) / Jennifer Drips (she/her). Ify Nwadiwe (he/him) as Wendell Morris (he/him) / Vic Ethanol (he/him). Isabella ‘Izzy’ Roland (she/her) as Paula Donvalson (nee Buocadifuoco) (she/her) / Jack Manhattan (he/him). Rekha Shankar (she/her) as Usha Rao (she/her) / G13 (he/him). Alex Song-Xiao (they/them) as Liv Skyler (she/her) / Kingston (he/him). Jacob Wysocki (he/him) as Andy ‘Dang’ Litefoot (he/him) / Greg Stocks (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout

If you missed it, catch our review for the first episode here.

Coming back into the thick of it, Liv struggles to adjust to Kingskin’s body and the mafia environment. Unused to the power and money, she tests her control, reveling in the way people treat her as Kingskin with fear and respect.

Of course a mafia movie isn’t just about the Marvel-wall of a man-bald crime boss. Another classic trope, older accessorized from toes to teeth mafioso, can’t go without mentioning, and sure enough, The Empesario makes himself at home in Kingskin’s club, ramping up the pressure.

Though his name is Spanish, he greets Kingskin in Italian with “Buona Notte.” Whether this was a mistake, a mashing together of two of the biggest nationalities for mob boss characters, or a reference to action films not always having the most consistent character development, we can only imagine.

Liv managed to keep a float when it was just Kingskin’s henchmen, but Empresario immediately threatens Kingskin, demanding he take care of Jack Manhattan or else. As the Empresario walks out, his men take the brick of cocaine.

Elsewhere, Paula grapples but ultimately loses the suspect. Her confusion comes across as disorientation, leading Jack’s boss to suspect injury. Chief Lieutenant Kosciusko comes in with the paramedics.

Paula realizes she’s in the movie, freaking out and further enforcing possible head trauma. Considering Paula goes on to make out with her reflection Narcissus style, Kosciusko isn’t entirely wrong.

As Jennifer Drips, Russell drops down from the vent. He searches through the bodies, trading out the skin-tight catsuit to dress in the Sinclair Group labeled tactical gear. Though he manages to get away, Russell loses the ID card. However, his mind is on his nephew, who actually manages to escape the Russian submarine.

Dang as Mr. Stocks unites with his uncle as Jennifer at the docks with St. Jude, trying to communicate the situation while dealing with the elderly English gentleman.

Warning the pair about Empresario, St. Jude reveals that another agent was abducted. He puts them on the trail of Jack Manhattan before jet packing away. Unfortunately, he does so with Dang’s deck of cards in hand.

Escaping a dangerous car crash, Wendell ends up speaking with Vic through reflections and finds his way unwittingly to Kingskin’s club. While the rest hear Vic’s voice, Liv hears Wendell’s voice coming from Vic, letting two of our actions heroes unite. Wendell wonders if Usha is dead.

It’s an apt prediction. Fumbling as G13, Usha tries to call her granddaughter and calling the private number of Agent Haldwell, who rages at her and also puts a target on Detective Manhattan’s back. Usha runs into Paula at the hotel. Heading for a drink, the two run into Dang and Russell.

Far less, Liv and Wendell come up on the bar as well, and thinking he’s solved the situation, Wendell punches Paula. Despite the less than peaceful reunion, the group is back together, but with numerous parties gunning after Jack Manhattan, it’s only a matter of time before their more dangerous plot lines intersect.

Highlights

At the beginning of this episode, Brennan spoke more in depth about a few of the games nuances. Any failure gives the player a turbo token. Turbo tokens can be spent at the end of every episode, allowing players to improve their character. Fans were already abuzz, hoping for a Hunters Entertainment / Dimension 20 crossover manual, but from what Brennan has said, an official guidebook seems unlikely.

Dang’s cards, Liv’s cocaine, Paula’s evidence, and Russell’s ID card find their ways into other people’s hands throughout the episode. While we don’t have a clear idea why these items are important, Brennan’s emphasis and the fact that the majority have already lost their items rings few alarm bells. The lights on the board track them, and at the end of the episode, only Rekha and Ify maintained theirs.

Ify had the stand out moment of the episode, having Vic Ethanol speak through the reflection to Wendell, telling him to get out before enemies can close in around him. He completely opened up the floor for communication between the mundanes and their action alter egos.

Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)

Parties rarely split up for long in the Dimension 20 Dome, so it’s not surprising that this episode focused on their somewhat unintentional reunification. Most of the players embraced the disorientation of the Jumanji-like experience. Alex nearly had Liv nearly blew her cover while Izzy’s Paula ended up making it seem like Jack Manhattan had some sort of disorienting trauma. Only Dang really stood out. Rolling with the punches, his alien channeling definitely prepared him to accept the situation far better than the other characters.

Jumping between characters as they were slowly brought back together was enjoyable; however, the pacing stagnated a bit. Tension built but often fizzled. As this is only episode two, we’ll have to hope that the numerous potential conflicts laid in this episode will mount into something bigger down the line.

Let us know what you think in the comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.

Featured Image: Dimension 20

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The Boss Rush Podcast: The Flagship Podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network

The Boss Rush Podcast – The Boss Rush Podcast is the flagship podcast of Boss Rush Media and the Boss Rush Network. Each week, Corey, Stephanie, LeRon, and their friends from around the internet come together with other creators, developers, and industry veterans to talk about games they’ve been playing, discuss video game and entertainment based topics, and answer questions solicited on social media and the community Discord. 

New episodes of The Boss Rush Podcast release every Monday morning on YouTube and all major podcast applications like Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Patreon supporters gain one week early access. 

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