A Dickensian Dilemma

[ASmouseInTheHouse]

What did everyone think about this episode?

[ByeByeBrownie]

I feel like this episode was Phil's shot at the fans for their distaste for the Rydell arc.

[Peachey Keen]

I feel like this episode was Phil's shot at the fans for their distaste for the Rydell arc.

I think this episode is more of a sequel to Millstones and follows the teaching from that more than The Rydell Revelations. I do like this episode a lot better than Millstones. This episode was not as problematic as that one.

I expected from what I was hearing before I heard the episode to be frustrated. Because I knew to be ready for it, it did not irk me like it did others. If you're expecting a nice "wrapped-up-with-a-bow" ending, you will be disappointed. I suggest listening to it again without your original expectations and see how you feel about it.

If they wrote an ending where Emily chose one solution over the other, I'm sure there would be people saying "That's not what Emily should have done! How dare you!" There would be no way to please everyone.

I think it makes sense to have something like this. At the very least, they're experimenting. There have been other experimental episodes in the past like Walter's Flying Bus, Hindsight, Sounds Like a Mystery, and others with unique concepts. As long as these types of open-endedness are rare, I'm pretty okay with it.

One thing that I did love? The score. It was brilliant!

[Polehaus53]

This episode was interesting. I need to hear it again before forming a more solid opinion, but I believe that my thoughts are leaning towards the positive end.

I liked how Phil Lollar incorporated many different characters of Charles Dickens into this episode. I’ve read a few of Dickens’ books, so I was able to catch some of the references to different stories and character names.

It’s interesting how this episode continues the theme of making ethical decisions, a theme which was introduced in the 2020 Club episode, “Millstones”. Renee is learning a lot from Whit and her program which sets up this complex ethical dilemma reflects this. In a recent episode of the Official Adventures in Odyssey Podcast, Phil Lollar and Dave Arnold talk about this episode and the importance of having these discussions regarding moral questions, so be sure to give it a listen. I found it very insightful, and agree that this is a very important topic; I am glad that Odyssey is addressing these things in their episodes.

Although I need to hear it again, I think I can safely say that I think this episode was overall pretty good. I personally liked it better than “Millstones”, and I am interested in what lies ahead for Renee Carter.

Oh, yeah, and I also really liked Emily in this episode. Her investigation was fun to hear. Emily RULES!