Episode 162: Sequels, Part 2

This week the nerds spend a lot of time talking about sequels, reboots, and continuing adventures. Keith talks about Oceans 8, which leads to a big discussion about Deux ex machine, crabgrass, red herrings, Chehov’s gun, Hitchcock’s bomb, plot twists, and subverting viewer expectations. Moving on to game design, they discuss how newer versions of rules for games are more like updated versions of software than sequels, and the challenge of adding new features while also wanting to simplify and optimize game mechanics. Regarding media, Andy talks a little about the first episode of Manifest, then they bring down the spoiler curtain to discuss the final season of The Americans at length.SPOILER WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS