Eerie, Indiana rewatch 2015: episode twelve, Tornado Days

[froodle]

Hope no-one here has been disrespectful, because Old Bob might carry you off in a fit of piques. Climb inside your Windmaster Trailer and let's have a picnic because these are... Tornado Days.

Comments

[deifire]

They are paying so much homage to The Wizard of Oz with this one.

I'm glad Simon will eventually learn from this experience and admit that he really wants to go do the thing with the rest of the family despite what Marshall thinks about it. I also love Simon's sense of morality in this one, and how excited he is when he's "won" the trailer.

So we learn an episode or two later that the reason they probably don't want everybody to go to the basement is because then they would find the original Radford--or possibly because the show just didn't have the budget to build a basement set, but I prefer believing this was all part of the master storytelling plan--but why exactly was the World O' Stuff hardened against nuclear strikes?!

Also, why are there tumbleweeds in Indiana?!

We learn later that Eerie's position on human sacrifice is...flexible.

Syndi's thing for police officers becomes apparent here again. Also, I love how she almost feels bad about all the mean things she said to Marshall.

And I adore Matt Frewer throughout the entire thing.

This is one of those episodes where the rest of the Teller family starts to get a glimpse of Eerie's weirdness, but eventually go back to dismissing it as just small town quirkiness. (Then again, weird town festivals for weird reasons are a real thing. I never saw a Tornado Day, but the annual festival in the place I grew up was to honor the day the town got burned down during the Civil War because being on fire is so obviously a thing that should be celebrated. With carnival rides.)

Between re-watches, I remember this one mostly for being the last episode before the series takes a major shift (though that depends on where Broken Record was originally supposed to appear) and for Marshall's hair at the very end.

[lipstickcat.livejournal.com]

You know that a cop is clearly a bad guy when one minute he's eyeing up the barely legal hot girl, the next minute contemplating whether the offer her up as a sacrifice....

[deifire]

It is still a source of sadness for me that we never got to see more of Sgt. Knight or the Eerie P.D. There was such awesomely creepy potential there.

[lipstickcat.livejournal.com]

It's something I think we should focus on at some point!

[froodle]

agreed!

[deifire]

To the prompt post!

[froodle]

YES!

[froodle]

"to serve and to control" - theres something so sketchy about an orga.isatikn that actually comes right out and says that in their motto

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

on the other hand, at least they're honest?

[froodle]

well, there is that in their favour

[froodle]

tbh the first bit of that freaks me out waayyyyy more than the second

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

uh. same.

also I'm pretty sure re: human sacrifice that they wouldn't find Syndi quite as unsuspecting as they...suspect.

[froodle]

yeah, im not saying her mind would automatically go to "human sacrifice" but come on, she was raised in jersey - theres no way shes not at least aware of the propensity for creepy old dudes grabbing up barely-legals.

[froodle]

the world o stuff is hardened against nuclear strikes because at.some point the rest of the world might figure out whats going on in eerie and be like "holy shit you cant meddle withreality and the space time continuuim stop doing that or we'll bomb you!"

and the mayor is like, O RLY?! because chisel is the ultimate troll

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

IDk I think Dumbledore beats out Chisel on ultimate troll.

"THIS CHILD HAS LOST HIS PARENTS AND WE MUST LEAVE HIM WITH A RELATIVE!"
*plops him on the doorstep in the middle of the night*

[froodle]

theres an alternate reality somewhere where harry freezes to death on their doorstep and petunia and... whatshisface... dudleys dad... spend years in therapy because theres a dead child on thir doorstep

[froodle]

So we learn an episode or two later that the reason they probably don't want everybody to go to the basement is because then they would find the original Radford

this never occurred to me but omg YES that makes total sense!

[froodle]

marshalls hair at the end is the definition of bedhead

[froodle]

Also, why are there tumbleweeds in Indiana?!

because wally.

Then again, weird town festivals for weird reasons are a real thing. I never saw a Tornado Day, but the annual festival in the place I grew up was to honor the day the town got burned down during the Civil War because being on fire is so obviously a thing that should be celebrated. With carnival rides

ditto. we have a queenie festival, a tin bath race, a soapbox derby and a thing where you dress as vikings and race lingboats to celebrate the fact that we got.invaded.n conquored by vikings. like, yay?

[froodle]

I'm glad Simon will eventually learn from this experience and admit that he really wants to go do the thing with the rest of the family despite what Marshall thinks about it.

this. it made.me really sad when he tried to cover.for the fact that he bought a ticket in front of mars, like, just tell him you want to go! you dont need his permission to do stuff!

I imagine its an age gap thing whichll fade as they get older n four years isnt much a big difference, but at the time, it made me feel so bad for simon

[deifire]

Yeah, there will be a time in their lives when the age thing doesn't make that much difference, but I imagine its going to be a while before it gets better.

I think of slightly older Simon every time I watch a Gravity Falls episode where Dipper is trying to spend time with Wendy's group of friends. Only without the horrible aching crush issues.

[froodle]

ooooh my god I cringe when dipper tries to hang out with them, I feel horribly uncomfortable for him. although, honestly, I don't think tamry even interacts with her own-age mates so maybe if wouldn't be that different.

[deifire]

True. I got saw the Love God episode, and my feeling is, "Nope, not gonna last. The Gravity Falls OTP is so clearly Tambry/phone."

[lipstickcat.livejournal.com]

I love Marilyn's jellyfish earrings!

Sister city of Normal, Illinois. LOL.

The look on Marshall's face when he realises that he just helped a crazy and somewhat suicidal person trash talk a tornado...

Oh Simon, even though he saw Marshall cheat right in front of him, he really thinks that he won the raffle. *cuddles Simon so much*

For the sake of the comedy value and referring back to what was said earlier in the episode, it would have been funny if Old Bob had blown all the clothes off Marshall at the end....

[froodle]

im always amazed by marilyns earn ngs, and then I watch my so called life again and im like, oh right, 90s. ditto the cardigans and sweatervests, omg they are insane

normal Illinois is apparently a real place!

I love the idea of picking a fight with a tornado. like, how exactly does he expect that one to end?

we did have a whole ep of mars running aroun in his boxers earlier in the season, so it could totally have gone there!

[deifire]

I have driven through there. Also, Peculiar, Missouri.

[froodle]

was it as normal as its name.suggests? and does peculiar live up to its nomenclature?

[deifire]

I didn't say in Normal long enough to peer behind its facade. Peculiar's actually not as interesting as its name would suggest. Then again, I didn't stay there long, either.

[froodle]

probably after you drove out of the city limits all the fish-people slithered out of the darkness and watched your taillights disappearing into the night

[deifire]

I remember watching it the first time, and I thought that's where the episode was going to go, especially after they find Marshall's coat.

It would have been a nice parallel with the nudity in "Who's Who?" as well.

Everybody and everything named Bob is kind of a force of destruction in Eerie.

[froodle]

oh my god. what if the bobs from whos who actually are part-natural-disaster, part human? like how bigby in fables is actually the son of the north wind?

[deifire]

I love this idea!

[froodle]

it would explain why they're so nuts. and like, the mum is the supernatural one so their dad is like, fuck this, im not trying to reign in a bunch of forces of nature so he just gives up

[ftrbestseller.livejournal.com]

This is undoubtably my favorite non-Dash episode - I mean, Eerie? Tornadoes? A MAN WHO LITERALLY RIDES IN TORNADOES? It's like the universe went, hey, here's all these things you love PACKED INTO ONE AWESOME PACKAGE.

[froodle]

appropriate icon is appropriate!

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

no but the real question is:

did Simon enter the raffle just for funsies and to see if he'd win, or did he do it so he'd finally have a safe space away from his parents that wasn't Marshall's house?

because if it's the second one.

well.

ow.

ALSO it's so Simon because he'd probably worry about being a burden on the Teller's so he'd like. Make this little play house out of the trailer and it's just for him and Harley and..

I think I'm gonna go. just. get this dust speck out of my eye.

[froodle]

OH MY GOD RIGHT IN THE FEELS!!

the second prize was a weekend trip to normal, so do you think simon takes Harley there or sends his parents there and stays home to enjoy the quiet?

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

he totally takes Harley and they just have an awesome parent-free weekend

[deifire]

OMG, I didn't even think about that, but it makes complete sense!

I don't care if he is a fictional character, I want to go hug Simon so hard right now.

[eviinsanemonkey.livejournal.com]

I always want to hug Simon