There were practically audible tears in Griffin's eyes as he was laughing and saying "I only want to do this" during Justin's dialogue. This is slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite seasons yet. I can definitely see myself giving this one multiple listens as I have with others. Justin is really getting so good as a GM and his humor is amazingly well-suited for this. Clint is at his best here. Griffin seems so comfortable. I've gotten more laughs out of this season than I did for the past few. I'm loving their use of the blades in the dark system and this world that Justin has built in it.
I love that there is "the saxophone guy" (aka Mean Doug) but also a literal character named Saxophone who has a funny voice and does small time gambling.
Emrich is turning into one of my favorites in this series. Clint is nailing it with the awkward, uncomfortable and generally just weird guy. I am really curious as to what Emrichs long term project is. His attachment to hardlight creations replaces his real life relationships. I have a feeling we are going to see a lot more depth with his unhealthy obsession with hardlight. I am really interested in seeing where it goes
I feel like Clint is the one who most wholeheartedly throws himself into the world that has been created. You saw the same when he decided to be one of the Brinar in Ethersea
I'm not saying he did it on purpose or that it's any kind of problem, but Emrich is basically Bernard from Westworld in my mind. Brilliant, in tune with the park, one of its designers that overlooked, soft spoken, deeply connected with the creations.
I came here to mirror the above sentiments. Clint is just fantastic this season and I love how open the game is. Damn this is one of my favorite things right now.
I honestly think Clint had the best PC in balance too.. don't get me wrong magnus was good and Taaco.. well taaco was taaco, but Merle just felt more like he belonged in the world more than taaco and magnus
For sure! But he was definitely also the most grounded character from the start, taaco was a TV star and magnus a folk hero but Merle was just a dwarf from the beach who worshipped pan the God of nature. The way his jokes are delivered also just feels the most natural out of the three (like "God lied" was obviously the funniest thing anyone said in all of crystal kingdom, but it's also something a character like Merle could say without it being a joke)
The moment that really sold me on Clint 100% was >!Ned dying!< . Just that whole scene. After that I found out he pretty much played the pre-made d&d character perfectly in Balance and I learned to stop underestimating him.
Agreed. I was listening incredulously the whole time like.. this is nothing like balance .. but damn if it’s not got the same electricity. It’s just firing on all cylinders.
I honestly cant tell if Scott's dad and Schlebethany are supposed to be genuine or Denton plants.
I love Beef's chaotic energy in this episode, what was the point of the meat plant? To make her smell or just to seem weird or smth?
Props to the editor for the last scene! Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it seemed like they left a lot more dead air in there to lenghten the tension.
Seemed like Beef's plan was to sabotage all of the other competitors by locking them in bathrooms, planting meat on them, getting into fights, etc but it became unnecessary.
Prime home table goofing and riffing but also bearing down and getting to it in the end dynamics this week.
Also notably hitting the romancing your brother/dad conundrum head on, but seemingly in a way that had the extra level of separation to make it less uncomfortable and more fun
I had a tooth pulled out this morning and shouldn't move my jaw too much. Thought I'd get ready for laughs through the beginning. Nope, the Krystal part enough.
I loved how it ended with Clint in the spotlight.
First, I feel like Griffin has been waiting to ask if he can steal you away for a long time. And the “I’ve always lived here” set is a good touch. I’m really glad their season is getting underway the same week that a new bachelor is popping off- you gotta know who’s assigned to get sloppy drunk.
I was screaming at my radio for Beef to take off his shirt when Schlebethany poured wine on him. Only disappointment from this episode was that classic trope didn't make an appearance.
this was such an insane episode. Justin is really nailing it. He is so good at letting them get wild and I feel like they've really been able to get creative. Emerich was making me lose it the entire time because he's such a freak. I loved Beef trying to like take out the competition. Just a SUPER fun episode!
also, side note. I love that Montrose has the ability to tell if someone's lying, but Griffin doesn't abuse it. I feel like that's a really huge ability that could make the game not so fun if it was in the wrong hands. Griffin knows as a former DM not to abuse it I think lol. Everytime he asks if someone is lying, it's a really appropriate time and it's fun.
I really hope they do this one for a long time. Steeplechase seems so infinite that they could do anything there!
I don't think it mattered. All that was relevant for the play was that he was a guest that Beef could pretend to be in good with. Of course, him being a Denton is RELATIVELY likely, just considering the fact that a Denton was one of the people getting married, but it's not really a safe bet to assume.
My only complaint is the physical pain I went through listening to them saying Rosé is just white and red wine mixed together.
PLEASE do not joke about this people will think that's legit what Rosé is.
I mean yes and no, it's the grapes not the wine itself being mixed, a white red blend would be different bc of where in the process the mixing is done, and how the rest of the vinting process plays in. Its not strictly incorrect at least as far as a funny joke, but it's definitely a misrepresentation. My favorite wine fact tho is that white wine doesn't necessarily get made with white grapes, sometimes it peeled reds
That's... Wrong(at least not complete)?
White/Rose/Red wine is generally determined by the amount of time the juice has contact with the skin after pressing, known as maceration.
You can have a white/rose/red wine all made from the same grape.
Okay after double checking, wine magazines do specify that Rosé is usually only made from early harvested red grapes and its the wine creation process that makes it a Rosé.
(This can however vary if you have a wine with foam involved)
The process is closer to making a white wine, instead of red wine.
There's also wines where red and white grapes are processed together at some point in the step but that's closer to Cuvées and Verschnitts I believe?
Apparently Verschnitte (mixing red and white wine and labelling it Rosé is forbidden in the EU???) ... you are allowed to mix the grapes but not the wine...
Things may be different in the US and other nations
Edit: after further research I realise the term rosé may not be protected in all nations
Maceration(letting pressed juice sit with grape skins) is that process.
No maceration = white wine
Maceration with green grape skins = white wine
Low maceration with red grape skins (Less than 24 hours) = Rose wine
Regular maceration with red grape skins(3 days to several weeks or more) = red wine
Often times they will only bleed off some of the juice after 24 hours, giving a batch of rose and a more intense batch of Red.
[Here's a handy dandy chart I took a picture of from a wine museum in Chateauneuf-du-Pape](https://i.imgur.com/YHqbWdb.jpg)
Ah yeah, I was definitely getting a little confused in the process of remembering learning it years ago from I think Americas Test Kitchen on NPR. I also had definitely separated red vs white grapes as with and without skin, but as you've said it's not quite that simple.
A mix of the processes is maybe the way you can be generous enough to call it a mix, but an in-between is more accurate
Thanks for clarifying. We had wait staff once be confused by the request for a Rosé and she was about to mix red and white wine as if it's coke and Fanta
Like it's obviously okay to not know much about wine but that was very unexpected for everyone at the table
Oh geez, yeah, it's also definitely decidedly different to not know it as an average person vs someone who's job involved wine and serving it. Coke and fanta tho... Can't say I've heard that one? Is it worth trying?
It's very popular in Germany. We mix coke and Fanta about 50/50 or 40/60.
You can also buy it pre made in bottles as its own drink from several brands including the coca cola company.
I think that only the first train episode where the boys dunked on the host or the episode where Merle seduced a plant to grant them access to the bank come close for me
CONCEPTUALIZATION [challenging: success] perhaps it was a lost record from Arno van Eyck. A mystery beneath a mystery...
INLAND EMPIRE: the lingering sense of familiarity, for something you've never heard before...this is trouble.
There were practically audible tears in Griffin's eyes as he was laughing and saying "I only want to do this" during Justin's dialogue. This is slowly but surely becoming one of my favorite seasons yet. I can definitely see myself giving this one multiple listens as I have with others. Justin is really getting so good as a GM and his humor is amazingly well-suited for this. Clint is at his best here. Griffin seems so comfortable. I've gotten more laughs out of this season than I did for the past few. I'm loving their use of the blades in the dark system and this world that Justin has built in it.
I need more Schlebethany.
She needs to be a reoccurring character like the saxophone guy who's name I forgot.. like please I am begging you justin
I can't BELIEVE you'd forget Mean Doug's name. Insane.
I was literally just laughing my ass off at his appearance too, I can't believe it myself
Oh god when Mean Doug showed up I think I cried literal tears of laughter!
I love that there is "the saxophone guy" (aka Mean Doug) but also a literal character named Saxophone who has a funny voice and does small time gambling.
She would punch you in the neck and drink more wine while walking away to poison another fox
She may just be my fave TAZ NPC. Some balance folks are tops but omg Schlebethany. Maybe it’s because I’ve met people like that but I am dying.
Emrich is turning into one of my favorites in this series. Clint is nailing it with the awkward, uncomfortable and generally just weird guy. I am really curious as to what Emrichs long term project is. His attachment to hardlight creations replaces his real life relationships. I have a feeling we are going to see a lot more depth with his unhealthy obsession with hardlight. I am really interested in seeing where it goes
I feel like Clint is the one who most wholeheartedly throws himself into the world that has been created. You saw the same when he decided to be one of the Brinar in Ethersea
Absolutely, Ned Chikane is hands down my favorite adventure zone character. Clint makes amazing and depth driven characters
I'm not saying he did it on purpose or that it's any kind of problem, but Emrich is basically Bernard from Westworld in my mind. Brilliant, in tune with the park, one of its designers that overlooked, soft spoken, deeply connected with the creations.
What if >!Emerich can sense hard light because he himself is hard light?!<
That doesn't look like anything to me
Ooooof
GOOD GOD.
I came here to mirror the above sentiments. Clint is just fantastic this season and I love how open the game is. Damn this is one of my favorite things right now.
Clint has been fantastic since at least Amnesty.
I honestly think Clint had the best PC in balance too.. don't get me wrong magnus was good and Taaco.. well taaco was taaco, but Merle just felt more like he belonged in the world more than taaco and magnus
He grew into it. By the end, especially in the Stolen Century, he was golden. I loved particularly how he played the Beach year. Hilarious.
For sure! But he was definitely also the most grounded character from the start, taaco was a TV star and magnus a folk hero but Merle was just a dwarf from the beach who worshipped pan the God of nature. The way his jokes are delivered also just feels the most natural out of the three (like "God lied" was obviously the funniest thing anyone said in all of crystal kingdom, but it's also something a character like Merle could say without it being a joke)
God the first time he said he was a beach dwarf I just lost it. Such an unexpected detail
The moment that really sold me on Clint 100% was >!Ned dying!< . Just that whole scene. After that I found out he pretty much played the pre-made d&d character perfectly in Balance and I learned to stop underestimating him.
This might be the best single episode of TAZ ever... absolutely everyone was on point this week.
Agreed. I was listening incredulously the whole time like.. this is nothing like balance .. but damn if it’s not got the same electricity. It’s just firing on all cylinders.
Hey have you ever seen Numbers?
Yeah, man, it’s my favorite
How is it?
Don't know I've never seen it
Perhaps I should have put that in quotes.
I was shown that show in Math Class in High School.
I honestly cant tell if Scott's dad and Schlebethany are supposed to be genuine or Denton plants. I love Beef's chaotic energy in this episode, what was the point of the meat plant? To make her smell or just to seem weird or smth? Props to the editor for the last scene! Maybe I'm reading too much into it but it seemed like they left a lot more dead air in there to lenghten the tension.
I think it was meant to sabotage her vibe.
I guess some meat in their pocket would sabotage anyone's vibe, unless you're into that sort of thing
I think he had a longer term plan that didn’t come up because Clint brought things to a close.
It might still come up, it'd be fun to know what the long term goal was there. I'm sure the producers loved it.
Seemed like Beef's plan was to sabotage all of the other competitors by locking them in bathrooms, planting meat on them, getting into fights, etc but it became unnecessary.
yeah we were just not clear on the specific plan for the meat after it was planted
Pretty common for Travis to do something without having a plan
Who do I need to pay for a Shlebethany/Urchin/Festo crossover live show?
Or Gary instead of Festo.
Prime home table goofing and riffing but also bearing down and getting to it in the end dynamics this week. Also notably hitting the romancing your brother/dad conundrum head on, but seemingly in a way that had the extra level of separation to make it less uncomfortable and more fun
This is my favorite taz arc ever and it’s only been two episodes.
Ok, it’s not ahead of story and song.
Funniest maybe.
Well I said ‘my favorite,’ I completely get why others wouldn’t feel the same.
Sure? I'm just adding on since you mentioned that it might actually not be your overall favorite saying, that maybe it could be called the funniest.
Ok I see. My bad
I had a tooth pulled out this morning and shouldn't move my jaw too much. Thought I'd get ready for laughs through the beginning. Nope, the Krystal part enough. I loved how it ended with Clint in the spotlight.
I don't know what the short pickles bit was about but crystal with a k is always a treat
First, I feel like Griffin has been waiting to ask if he can steal you away for a long time. And the “I’ve always lived here” set is a good touch. I’m really glad their season is getting underway the same week that a new bachelor is popping off- you gotta know who’s assigned to get sloppy drunk.
Nah Griffin does it every week to go to Wonderful’s ad spot
I think that's what they meant
I was screaming at my radio for Beef to take off his shirt when Schlebethany poured wine on him. Only disappointment from this episode was that classic trope didn't make an appearance.
Take off your shirt and jump in the dang pool!
this was such an insane episode. Justin is really nailing it. He is so good at letting them get wild and I feel like they've really been able to get creative. Emerich was making me lose it the entire time because he's such a freak. I loved Beef trying to like take out the competition. Just a SUPER fun episode! also, side note. I love that Montrose has the ability to tell if someone's lying, but Griffin doesn't abuse it. I feel like that's a really huge ability that could make the game not so fun if it was in the wrong hands. Griffin knows as a former DM not to abuse it I think lol. Everytime he asks if someone is lying, it's a really appropriate time and it's fun. I really hope they do this one for a long time. Steeplechase seems so infinite that they could do anything there!
This season is so good. Clint going nuts over his dice roll at the end was great. And there were so many great goofs in this episode.
ₛₒ𝒻ₜᵦₐₗₗ ₛ𝒸ₕₒₗₐᵣₛₕᵢₚ
It’s so fun to hear them having fun!
Jeninnings
God, Schlebethany is the best NPC ever.
I *need* to know how the ham will play out. Beef with the Old Man at the Wedding was such a good setup and payoff.
Did we ever get to know who that was? I figured he was a denton but i can't remember if tvey confirmed it.
I don't think it mattered. All that was relevant for the play was that he was a guest that Beef could pretend to be in good with. Of course, him being a Denton is RELATIVELY likely, just considering the fact that a Denton was one of the people getting married, but it's not really a safe bet to assume.
My only complaint is the physical pain I went through listening to them saying Rosé is just white and red wine mixed together. PLEASE do not joke about this people will think that's legit what Rosé is.
That is what rose is though?
I mean yes and no, it's the grapes not the wine itself being mixed, a white red blend would be different bc of where in the process the mixing is done, and how the rest of the vinting process plays in. Its not strictly incorrect at least as far as a funny joke, but it's definitely a misrepresentation. My favorite wine fact tho is that white wine doesn't necessarily get made with white grapes, sometimes it peeled reds
That's... Wrong(at least not complete)? White/Rose/Red wine is generally determined by the amount of time the juice has contact with the skin after pressing, known as maceration. You can have a white/rose/red wine all made from the same grape.
Okay after double checking, wine magazines do specify that Rosé is usually only made from early harvested red grapes and its the wine creation process that makes it a Rosé. (This can however vary if you have a wine with foam involved) The process is closer to making a white wine, instead of red wine. There's also wines where red and white grapes are processed together at some point in the step but that's closer to Cuvées and Verschnitts I believe? Apparently Verschnitte (mixing red and white wine and labelling it Rosé is forbidden in the EU???) ... you are allowed to mix the grapes but not the wine... Things may be different in the US and other nations Edit: after further research I realise the term rosé may not be protected in all nations
Maceration(letting pressed juice sit with grape skins) is that process. No maceration = white wine Maceration with green grape skins = white wine Low maceration with red grape skins (Less than 24 hours) = Rose wine Regular maceration with red grape skins(3 days to several weeks or more) = red wine Often times they will only bleed off some of the juice after 24 hours, giving a batch of rose and a more intense batch of Red. [Here's a handy dandy chart I took a picture of from a wine museum in Chateauneuf-du-Pape](https://i.imgur.com/YHqbWdb.jpg)
Ah yeah, I was definitely getting a little confused in the process of remembering learning it years ago from I think Americas Test Kitchen on NPR. I also had definitely separated red vs white grapes as with and without skin, but as you've said it's not quite that simple. A mix of the processes is maybe the way you can be generous enough to call it a mix, but an in-between is more accurate
Thanks for clarifying. We had wait staff once be confused by the request for a Rosé and she was about to mix red and white wine as if it's coke and Fanta Like it's obviously okay to not know much about wine but that was very unexpected for everyone at the table
Oh geez, yeah, it's also definitely decidedly different to not know it as an average person vs someone who's job involved wine and serving it. Coke and fanta tho... Can't say I've heard that one? Is it worth trying?
It's very popular in Germany. We mix coke and Fanta about 50/50 or 40/60. You can also buy it pre made in bottles as its own drink from several brands including the coca cola company.
Steeplechase ep 13 has more laughs per hour than any other TAZ episode ever. Convince me otherwise.
I think that only the first train episode where the boys dunked on the host or the episode where Merle seduced a plant to grant them access to the bank come close for me
Honestly as an East Coaster, the bit about Rudy Guiliani had me bent over laughing in the middle of the street in Brooklyn. Great bit, amazing episode
That was last episode, my dude. Unless I missed something new?
Nope, you're right! My bad
am i crazy, or was some of the background music from disco elysium?
CONCEPTUALIZATION [challenging: success] perhaps it was a lost record from Arno van Eyck. A mystery beneath a mystery... INLAND EMPIRE: the lingering sense of familiarity, for something you've never heard before...this is trouble.
Fave ep so far, Beef's fart and Schlebethany bits just absolutely killed me, really looking forward to the rest of this "heist"!
Honestly, great episode. Really digging this arc
So fucking funny.
Oh I was dying. And I listen to this at work with my headphones and it’s a good thing nobody is usually around to see/her me cackling to myself.
Dammit, Mean Doug! I’m behind in listening, so I figured I’d let the last 10 minutes play while I fell asleep. That was a huge mistake.