The Blackgaard Chronicles

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djchatswithu
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The Blackgaard Chronicles

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I know it's not technically an "episode' but as the Blackgaard Cronicles are based on one of Odyssey's best saga's, and villain's, I thought we could discuss any plot points and/or inconsistencies regarding the books and Episodes.
I thought I'd start the ball rolling as it were, by answering questions that we've all had since "Recollections" came out. I really do recommend it, as we learn about the somewhat tragic past of Richard, how Glossman got involved, and some of Blackgaard's family history. but for those who have wondered for 30 years, and can't wait any longer, here's some of the long awaited answers to the Blackgaard Saga:
"Clara" takes place in the month between Jenny's death and Whit buying the Fillmore recreation centre, about 5 years before "The Battle".

Blackgaard got Glossman involved by threatening to hurt his former girlfriend, who left Glossman due to his Stubburness, which he (Glossman) regrets letting happen.
Richard had a girlfriend called Rachel that died in a house fire, with his depression afterwards leading him to crime. after pulling a few small robberies he is abducted by thugs hired by Glossman (on Blackgaard's orders) to steal applesauce and keep Whit and Tom busy during the meeting. Since Richard had pulled a robbery just before he was abducted, Blackgaard had evidence to give the police if Richard refused to help. Knowing he was in over his head, Richard agreed.

Blackgaard's real name is "Blagueur". his, and Edwin's, father went missing during a war so their mother brought them to America, where the immigration officers misheard their name as "Blackguaard". when he was teased by students and teachers Blackgaard pulled several schemes of revenge which landed a teacher in hospital and earned him the 'respect' he wanted.

Richard only meant to start a small fire to delay Tom, but when he heard the horses inside he went put the fire out, but Tom arrived and called Rachel's name. Richard panicked (remembering his girlfriend's death) and threw a can of water over the flames - except that the water was actually gasoline. Richard went to help Tom but Whit and Connie arrived, so he ran away, terrified and guilt ridden at what had happened, which is why he is so persistant in getting Tom's forgiveness in later episodes.

Richard rigged Blackgaard's Castle to go crazy as revenge for Blackgaard landing Lucy in hospital, and Tom and the horses nearly getting hurt.
Tasha and Donavan downloaded a copy of Applesauce just before Whit erased it, which is how it still exists after "the Battle", they then listened to him destroy the master copy of Applesauce over a 'bug' they hid in Whit's office, just before Tasha gets a call from Jason.
That's basically the main stuff from "Opening Moves" to "Rook's Ruse" but there's one more in the Book 5 Preview
Blackgaard did indeed use a tunnel to escape the fire in "The Battle part 2", a tunnel that connects to Whits End (turns the underground railroad tunnel is actually a series of tunnels leading to key buildings in the town, though only Whit and now Blackgaard know this) and contains the mineral. In a scene set after "The Battle Part 2", Whit finds the tunnel and some boxes with "ebit" labels on them. Whit also finds an old map of the tunnel network he had sent to Jack in an attempt to make up for yelling at him in "Clara", and wonders how Blackgaard got hold of it.
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ASmouseInTheHouse
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I have read all the Blackgaard books and enjoyed them a lot. My main complaint is that they're pretty short.
djchatswithu wrote:
Wed Oct 16, 2019 5:00 am

Richard had a girlfriend called Rachel that died in a house fire, with his depression afterwards leading him to crime.

Richard only meant to start a small fire to delay Tom, but when he heard the horses inside he went put the fire out, but Tom arrived and called Rachel's name. Richard panicked (remembering his girlfriend's death) and threw a can of water over the flames -
I don't remember anything about Richard having a girlfriend in the book. I'm curious as to where you got this information from, because I've read the books several times and there is no mention of a past girlfriend.
According to the books (and the audio) Richard's sister is named Rachael, is alive, and did not die in a house fire. A house fire isn't even mentioned in the books. When in the burning barn, Richard is reminded of his sister, Rachael, because one of the horses is also named Rachael. Also, according to the book, Richard was trained by Brownlow and was not led to crime because of depression over his girlfriend's death.
"Next up, Mark Morgan's message to all math maniacs in the middle school is meaningful if you mingle by the mezzanine for a momentous mix of methodological mayhem and a menagerie of multiplicative inversions. Ha ha ha! I bet I could say this backwards. Inversions multiplicative of menagerie a and mayhem methodological..."
djchatswithu
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ASmouseInTheHouse wrote:
Fri Jun 05, 2020 11:51 am
I have read all the Blackgaard books and enjoyed them a lot. My main complaint is that they're pretty short.
djchatswithu wrote:
Wed Oct 16, 2019 5:00 am

Richard had a girlfriend called Rachel that died in a house fire, with his depression afterwards leading him to crime.

Richard only meant to start a small fire to delay Tom, but when he heard the horses inside he went put the fire out, but Tom arrived and called Rachel's name. Richard panicked (remembering his girlfriend's death) and threw a can of water over the flames -
I don't remember anything about Richard having a girlfriend in the book. I'm curious as to where you got this information from, because I've read the books several times and there is no mention of a past girlfriend.
According to the books (and the audio) Richard's sister is named Rachael, is alive, and did not die in a house fire. A house fire isn't even mentioned in the books. When in the burning barn, Richard is reminded of his sister, Rachael, because one of the horses is also named Rachael. Also, according to the book, Richard was trained by Brownlow and was not led to crime because of depression over his girlfriend's death.
Richards guilt over what happened to Rachel indirectly led him to crime as it made him an easier target for Brownlow, and yes, I probably mixed up girlfriend and sister by mistake. I'll reread the books to check if I got anything else mixed up, I did write this a while ago after all.
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ASmouseInTheHouse
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Oh, ok :) That makes sense.

I have a lot of thoughts about the books. I think they were mainly consistent with the episodes, but some scenes had a ton of extra or rearranged lines. Also, a lot of unseen action was added to scenes that were in the episodes, which I like.
The Mrs. Hooper storyline in Book 3 was at first surprising, because I didn't expect her to even come into the saga. But it makes it seem as if everything Donna did in "An Encounter With Mrs. Hooper" was worthless.
One of my favorite things that they did in the books was making Richard Maxwell's cologne (from I Slap Floor) a part of the story. The last paragraphs at the end of chapter 3 in Book 2 made me laugh:
Glossman stewed in anger and in rank-smelling cologne. He had no building, no way to get the building, and no good news for Blackgaard. And to top it all off, he was going to have to sell his car and burn his clothes because they smelled like Richard Maxwell.
This was not a good day.
I'm starting to see how the Blackgaard Chronicles are connecting with the Young Whit books. I am looking forward to Book 5!
"Next up, Mark Morgan's message to all math maniacs in the middle school is meaningful if you mingle by the mezzanine for a momentous mix of methodological mayhem and a menagerie of multiplicative inversions. Ha ha ha! I bet I could say this backwards. Inversions multiplicative of menagerie a and mayhem methodological..."
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