Title: Gladlands
GM: Brennan Lee Mulligan
Players: Ally Beardsley (they/them) as Quinn Wedbush (she/her); Zac Oyama (he/him) as Connor Kawasaki (he/him); Oscar Montoya (he/him) as Poppy Persona (she/her); Jacob Wysocki (he/him) as Kokomo (he/all); Vic Michaelis (they/she) as Hugi (All Pronouns), and Kimia Behpoornia (she/her) as Tess Tube5 (he/him).
Streaming Service: Dropout
As we return to the Gladlands, our Dusty Do-Gooders arrive in the town of Rotglob. They’ve arrived just in time for a Chili Cookoff. They need two more judges, and Kokomo eagerly volunteers.
As Tess flirts and the others tend to the Carer Van, Hugi gets to work, speaking with a grieving family to help them prepare to say their final farewells to their deceased loved one. Most as Rotglob is, it makes sense that a traveling crematorium would be necessary as bogs and marshlands often perform a soft mummification, so burial wouldn’t be ideal. Especially as frequent flooding can commonly lift coffins and remains to the surface, which could be a viral vector as well as emotionally traumatic.
One of the group’s tasks while in Rotglob is to retrieve a generator that fell into the radioactive goo of the awamp. Tess is immune, so he’s able to go down to get it; however, while some folks believe it was an accident, Justin suggests it was done on purpose.
Our Dusty Do-Gooders split up. Hugi and Quinn prep the Kiln for the cremations while Tess and Connor head off for the engine. Kokomo heads to the Maternity Mound, leaving Poppy to explore a number of new signs and the shift in tone alongside her assistant, Parcel.
In hopes of answers, Poppy goes to speak with Thagomizer, who used to be the main hut builder for Rotglob. Due to a disaster in another town, Rotglob has been working overtime to take up the slack. Everyone is exhausted. They must do what they’re good at, losing their passion, which isn’t surprising in a wasteland no matter the positivity.
In the swamp, Connor studies the broken wood, determining something broke it. Whether it was something or someone, they can’t be sure. Tess dives into the swamp. He finds the engine, but growing disoriented, he grabs it. As he removes the engine, water rushes, sucked below as a cave beneath gets filled in, and to Tess’s horror, a glass tube labeled “Tess Tube 1” vanishes before he can get it.
Tess makes it to the surface, and Connor helps him get the machine out of the water. Falling trees in the distance draw their attention to a little girl who is part bug, part human. Though she runs, Tess calls out to her, and something in her recognizes him.
Ash reveals she’s also taking part in the chili contest. Her chili is the best thing either Connor or Tess has ever eaten, so after reattaching the generator, they rush to bring her back in time.
At the Maternity Mound, Kokomo helps with newborns whose birthing parents have suffered complications and are under Clawedeen’s care. The babies cuddle him, snoozing on his belly. To help the parents relax, he plays his flute, calming everyone in the Maternity Mound.
Kokomo wraps up with them, heading back in time to meet back up with the rest of the crew as the town preps for the contest. However, upon hearing the generator has been retrieved, Justin seems a bit perturbed. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait until next episode to find out if the Carer Van can ease the stress in Rotglob and uncover any nefariousness below the surface.
Highlights
Brennan put his whole chaos gremlin into The Cooking Person, imagining a leather chef’s hat and a cod piece that ended in another leather chef’s hat. Never have I laughed so hard as when I imagined the Art Department hearing that and saying, “Yeah, no.”
Final Score (4 out of 5 Stars)
This episode allowed us to see a bit more of the Gladlands and get a sneak peek into the lives of Hugi and Tess, but with everyone moving in different directions, it ended up feeling too short. Until next week’s episode, I can’t say for certain, but I suspect that this might be an issue of season length versus pacing which has been a repeat issue for Dimension 20. I’d love to see the stats on the backend to see how watch rates make splitting seasons this way ends up being worth it, but as I doubt Sam Reich or anyone associated would provide that access, I’m left thinking that weekly watching might not be the best format for seasons like this one.
Otherwise, Kokomo continued to be extremely endearing, and the hints at Hugi and Tess’s backstories were the most interesting parts. While it’s possible Hugi lost a significant other, I think it would be interesting if the two hooks were originally for their parents, revealing another sort of loss all together as well as providing a longer history to the Carer Van. As far as Tess Tube5’s siblings, I wouldn’t be surprised to see them coming in all sorts of forms and even being associated with the “bug” that destroyed the world if that isn’t a throwaway to show that humanity no longer recalls the nuclear apocalypse that led to their current existence.
Let us know in comments below or go over to our Discord channel to join the conversation.
Featured Image: Dimension 20
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.
Listen on your favorite podcast application or watch on YouTube!
Anchor | Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google | Twitch | Overcast | Pocket Casts |
Follow The Boss Rush Podcast on Social Media:
Twitter | Discord | Instagram | Twitch | YouTube | Facebook Group | Facebook
Leave a Reply