#ethan bespin

[applebunch]

so you know how the stamatis siblings each have something in common with one of the main antagonists? nica with emily, dimitri with oliver, and leon with ethan? there’s something i couldn’t help but notice.

leon’s parallels with ethan aren’t as meaningful as the others’. sure, leon and ethan have a lot in common, but the other dynamics actually have the characters compliment each other. like:

“oliver is kinda what dimitri would be like if he refused to give up chasing mysteries.”/“dimitri is kinda what oliver would be like if he gave up on his “empire”.”

“emily is kinda what nica would be like if she decided to keep hurting people in her anguish.”/”nica is kinda what emily would be like if she finally decided to stop hurting people in her anguish.”

ethan and leon’s characters gain nothing from each other aside from:

“leon is kinda what ethan would be like if he was good.”/”ethan is kinda what leon would be like if he was bad.”

we don’t actually know that much about ethan OR leon. so i’m thinking: if their parallels are going to strengthen from this point on, then maybe we’re about to learn more about them both as characters?

my actual point, though, is that nica and dimitri’s relationship with each other is ALSO reflected in their counterparts.

emily feels abandoned by ethan like nica does with dimitri/oliver is abandoning his family like dimitri abandons nica.

we don’t see anything like that with ethan and leon, either. ethan doesn’t seem to have any meaningful relationships at all, actually. (except with the robots.)

is it possible that we’re going to learn more about them, BOTH of them, by exploring ethan’s relationship with another character? and if so, who is this new character going to be a demonstrative reflection of? are they going to be new at all?

anyway. my guess is that we’re going to meet ethan’s version of michael.

[clonerightsagenda]

Jumping back into podcast posting with a pretty heavy one, but I was talking to someone about this phenomenon recently, and so I was thinking about how Greater Boston depicts Emily Bespin leveraging white womanhood.

To start with, I'm writing this from the position of being a dfab white person who society is going to read as female. There is a long history - continuing into the present day - of white women capitalizing on being perceived as vulnerable/delicate/innocent and using that to harm Black people, especially Black men, by casting them as dangerous aggressors. I could list several examples even from recent news stories.

Emily is a young white woman who runs a successful mayoral campaign relying heavily on racist dogwhistles and white resentment. She runs as the Red Line Bride - leaning into that pure, virginal image. She scapegoats a Black teenager to cast doubt on her opponent, his aunt. (I don't recall if she knew about the plan to frame Isaiah beforehand - either she was part of the plan from the start, or she saw a Black teen arriving at the scene of a crime and immediately named him as the likely culprit due to her biases). She calls people protesting her actions dangerous terrorists and wins votes from commuters and railway workers who are mad about being inconvenienced. Once she wins the election, she kicks people out of their homes and begins a coordinated plan to make the city unlivable for poor and working class citizens, many of whom are people of color.

Whenever anyone brings this up, Emily insists she's not racist. She's married to a Black man, after all! (Ethan interrupts to say he identifies as mixed race, but she talks over him.) She may genuinely believe she doesn't harbor any racial resentment. It doesn't matter. She is consciously using her racial position and racist stereotypes to manipulate people and secure power.

America has an (increasingly legislated) determination to view racism as an individual moral problem caused by 'bad people'. Characters like Emily are often portrayed as simple bigots. And there are plenty of those out there! There are also people who are genuinely clueless and benefit from education - American society is so segregated that some white people can get pretty far in life without ever really talking to a person of color. (And boy do our politicians want to make that even worse.) But there are also many people who know exactly what they are doing, and I think Emily is a great depiction of that. (And in turn how she is a miserable and isolated person who's being used by larger corporate and political actors, because people lacking support systems are more likely to get radicalized.) Racism isn't perpetuated just because people 'don't know better' or are 'mean'. Racism is a tool that benefits the people wielding it. Emily is chillingly familiar in a way some more over the top podcast villains aren't.

Given all that, it makes me distrustful of how to interpret her ongoing mental and emotional deterioration. Is she the neglected wife of an unloving husband? Or is she doing exactly what she has shown herself to be very good at? Emily isn't a character we get a lot of interiority from, so it's hard to say to what extent the listeners are also getting played.

[greaterblogston]

the character profile page on the website is a little outdated (not a complaint!! i totally get that its not a priority lol) so i was just wondering since they arent listed on there: when were ethan and phil born?? also this is probably somewhere in the actual podcast but when was vincenzo born??

Thanks for the questions! Sorry about the character profile page. We know we need to update that and eventually we plan to, but it's on the bottom of a long list of stuff we need to do. :) I'd have to consult with Alexander to get specific answers about these, but I can date much of it to events from the past. Phil was born shortly before his father (Oliver's brother) went to prison. Ethan is fairly young (as is Emily). They're both recent graduates of MIT and Harvard, so he's probably 25 or 26. Vincenzo was born about 9 months after the Mayor split Ohio for Boston / Harvard. The Mayor has probably been there for 17 or 18 years, which gives you approximately an idea of how old Vincenzo is. Again, these are my guesses without consulting Alexander, so some of this may not be strictly cannon! I don't make this all up on my own. :) But hopefully this should give you an idea.

[thesunshinydays]

i used to think that ethan bespin was a total exaggeration of what people think of mit students but like

if i could marry a pretty girl with lots of money then buy a theme park and build cheese robots for the rest of my life i definitely would, and i dont even study comp sci or engineering im a neuro/bio major

[theradioghost]

greater boston season finale reactions because im dyin scoob

“general despair” that is not promising

i am, in many ways, really proud of charlotte, and i love her? she’s made mistakes, and some of them are being made here, but i’m glad she’s starting to push at this.

who do I have to pay to get to punch emily bespin in the face

im still wondering: what the fuck happened to the original ethan

Give Melissa A Break, Please

this is picking up on a lot of the themes about doing and not doing and giving up and trying that have been woven through the whole show and I absolutely love it.

i’m also loving the intersection of Gemma and Charlotte’s arcs here. I remember something in one of the annotations about how few proper conversations these two get and after all of their difficulties in hearing and understanding one another this is really bringing all of that to a head

this season’s being bookended, much like season one. charlotte speaking with people, her dream, the interview segments. I love that.

I really love leon’s long-winded philosophizing to a ridiculous degree. also his refusal to believe in Ghost Things despite being a ghost. bless

did we ever get an explanation for the guinea pig sounds around oliver west??????????

is the banging michael? I hope it’s michael please let michael be okay

oliver is really scum tbh

IS HE GOING TO USE THE CALENDAR

michael warned louisa about phil instead of asking for help directly????

YOU GO AUTUMN. DUMP HIM. DITCH THE TRASH MAN. YOU DESERVE SO MUCH BETTER

“with affection, or at least something reminescent of it” g o d i love beth eyre. i love this new trend where beth eyre is in all the things i love

“mmmmmmmmmfffhhh???” - michael tate

“I’m giving up on order” MY GUY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! IM SHOCK

small touch but I adored that sound effect at the end

NICA’S GONNA CONFESS????

OH FUCK DIMITRI TOLD THEM

DIMITRI’S COMING HOME

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH

NOPE

fuck, i love that. i really, indescribably love that trick of the writing.

it’s interesting to me how hesitant dimitri sounds here? like obviously there’s the situation he’s in and that’s a factor, but for the first time we hear him speak directly to another person, it’s very different from the way he writes to his siblings.

somebody’s docked by the burning trash island?

Nica’s bottle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

fuck, it’s Chelmsworth, isn’t it??

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHAAAAAAAAAAT

honestly this show flawlessly maintains is place as one of the best audio dramas out there I am blown away holy shit

[applebunch]

in other news, peeked at the trailer for it: that's fun! looks like we're going to be discussing the "poletti getting kidnapped and tortured by ethan" thing, finally.

[applebunch]

[applebunch]

anyway. did ethan just sell his soul. is that what just happened.

[applebunch]

greater boston characters with death flags (amount of which in no particular order:

ETHAN:

implied to have been killed by emily in an episode, after several episodes spent emphasizing the degrading of their marriage and the building frustration emily has with him.

additionally. these feelings worsen exponentially after his disappearing, with emily even declaring that she’ll “make him pay” when he comes back. her mental state heavily deteriorates leading up to his reappearance, even leading her to pretend that a robot of ethan is the real ethan.

she does a full 180 when he actually does return, but he’s still entirely not receptive of her. the resentment builds again.

also, he functions as a dark mirror to leon, a character who is dead. character arc irrelevant, therefore disposable.

OLIVER:

has an entire arc centering around him being/becoming “legally dead.” it is constantly said that oliver west is dead, and characters constantly refer to him as “the late oliver west” in a number of ways.

additionally phil comments. “uncle ollie, you do this and you are really, truly legal dead. what will that mean for ada?”

his wife and kid don’t know about all of this yet, and by the time the news reaches them, the lie may very well have become the truth.

oliver’s character arc could be satisfactorily completed in this way, considering the setup for a downfall.

DIMITRI:

character centered around doing dangerous and reckless things, nearly getting himself killed several times. even with his character development, this trait of his remains a part of his character, and other character’s frustration with him continues to grow in this avenue. possible that he could actually die for real as a result.

additionally, it would serve as a comparison to his brother, and would worsen nica’s state, something the creators have stated will be happening in season 4.

however, although his character arc is completed, he’s still being set up to at least see leon again, lowering his chances of truly dying.

MICHAEL:

nearly starved to death in oliver’s office and wrote a plethora of farewell letters to everyone he loves. he was saved at the last second by dimitri. the letters still got out, touching the heart of most recipients, but tinged with a sense of irony, since michael’s entirely fine.

would be double ironic if he ultimately does die not long after writing the letters. louisa’s hesitance in opening her letter and “meeting the version of you who i couldn’t save” and wanting to spend “a little more time with the one who IS here before i can even begin to introduce myself to the one who almost didn’t,” would be near comically tragic if she was forced to meet that version of him anyway.

additionally, he claims that he feels like he was “infected with not existing” and that nothing seems important anymore. telling louisa that the letters were “the last thing he wrote.” with him fully saying that to mean “the last thing he wrote (before he died)” as opposed to “the last thing thing he wrote (as of yet)”, given that he has written several things since then.

however, the writers love him and constantly talk about him in a positive light surrounding his recovery, so they probably wouldn’t do that to him.

LEON:

dead.

additionally, he’s dead.

however, he’s dead.

[clonerightsagenda]

The thing with Emily and Ethan Bespin is I know what's wrong with Emily but I have no idea what's wrong with Ethan.

[clonerightsagenda]

Trying to make a mental list of narrators in preparation for what I hope will be a massive narrator cage match in Greater Boston season 4:

Confirmed Narrators:

The Narrator: obviously. Still unclear how he got that way or if he’s legit a storytelling element that gained sentience

Leon: Got powers via dying, seems to be able to ‘claim’ characters based on alignment.

Gemma: Rightful owner of the crystal ball, unlocks narrator powers when near it.

Michael: Got possessed by Leon’s ghost after using the ball, recovered and now can narrate his portion of events.

Poletti: Was forced to use the crystal ball, doesn’t seem to have conscious control of his ability, did break into the narrator groupchat once to muse about peanut butter.

Weird or potential cases:

Isabelle Powell: Somehow got narrator powers at the end of season 3 despite having no confirmed crystal ball exposure. More on this as it develops.

Mallory: The writers have hinted she’s immune to the Narrator. I’ve speculated this is because she’s played an in-universe narrator role since the beginning which doesn’t leave room for someone else to barge in, except briefly when she was recovering from her injuries.

Ethan Bespin: The guy was working with the crystal ball a lot but I vaguely recall him taking care to never touch it bare handed? So I guess he’s evaded direct exposure. Still, someone to keep an eye on.

Phil West: He’s stolen the crystal ball multiple times now, but I’m not sure if he’s ever touched it bare handed either.

[clonerightsagenda]

So I assumed the cheese robots made cheese, but according to the latest Greater Boston episode at least some of them also have cheese wedges instead of faces? Which raises the important question of whether Ethan Bespin is from Wisconsin.

[applebunch]

starting to watch the new episode. content warning: “Ethan Bespin experiencing nostalgia for the early days of his marriage, oh god, that can’t be good“ i was WONDERING about how these two ever even were in a relationship! anyway. yeah, this can’t be good!

[greaterblogston]

Greater Boston - Episode 33: By Hook or By Crook. Out: Tuesday, February Twelfth, 2019. Available for all Patreon Patrons two days early, February Tenth, 2019.  Click here to visit our Patreon. Click here for our website.

[greaterblogston]

Episode 37: King Nero and The Great George Wombwell

Content warnings at end of show notes.   Greater Boston is written and produced by Alexander Danner and Jeff Van Dreason, with recording and technical assistance from Marck Harmon.   Did you know you can join a Greater Boston Discord server? It’s true! Come meet and chat with Greater Boston creators, cast, and fans like you! Our big season finale episode is coming up in just two weeks and, uh…honestly, you might want someone to talk to after it’s all over. Link in the show notes, or at GreaterBostonShow.com.   Thank you to Patreon supporters Bridge and Rasmus! You to can support us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/GreaterBoston!

CAST   This episode featured:

Braden Lamb as Leon Stamatis (he/him)

Sam Musher as Emily Bespin (she/her)

Jordan Higgs as Ethan Bespin (he/him)

Kelly McCabe as Nica Stamatis (she/her)

Mike Linden as Oliver West (he/him)

Michael Melia as Philip West (he/him)

James Capobianco as Professor Paul Montgomery Chelmsworth (he/him)

Chad Ellis as Jack Vincenzo Wellington (he/him)

Jesse Hall as Clark Smith  (he/him)

Mischa Stanton as Particle Physics van der Molen (they/them)

Jake Del Rio as Fox Fossil Jenkins (he/him)

Jessica Washington as Isabelle Powell (she/her)

Julia Morizawa as Omi Ogawa (she/her)

Tanja Milojevich as Melissa Weatherby (she/her)

Julia Schifini as 23 Skidoo (she/her)

Mario da Rosa Jr. as Isaiah Powell (he/him)

With Ebi Poweigha as the waiter and Vilte Baliutaviciute and Ryan Estrada as Red Line evictees.

Also featuring:

David Rheinstrom

Phoebe Joy

Jordan Cobb

Cole Burkhardt

Fox Cooper

Tina Daniels

Christopher Dole

Todd Faulkner

Jack Pevyhouse

Alma Roda-Gil

Zane Sexton

and Alex Welch

as Legion.   Interviews with real Greater Boston residents.

Charlie on the MTA by Emily Peterson and Dirk Tiede Go Tell it on the Molehill by Doctor Turtle

Broke Yeti and “I Wish Boston was Greater” by Ryan Estrada   Episode transcripts are available online at GreaterBostonShow.com.   Content Notes

Strong language

Abusive classism

Imprisonment

Strained circus metaphors

[greaterblogston]

Episode 35: I Am Who I Am, We Are Who We Are

Greater Boston is written and produced by Alexander Danner and Jeff Van Dreason, with recording and technical assistance from Marck Harmon.

Thank you to our Patreon supporter Rasmus! You to can support us on Patreon at www.patreon.com/GreaterBoston

This episode featured: Lydia Anderson as Gemma Linzer Coolidge Julia Morizawa as Omi Ogawa Mario de Rosa Jr as Isaiah Powell Summer Unsinn as Charlotte Linzer-Coolidge Jessica Washington as Isabelle Powell Julia Schifini as 23 Skidoo Tanja Milojevic as Melissa Jake Del Rio as Fox Fossil Braden Lamb as Leon Stamatis Kelly McCabe as Nica Stamatis James Capobianco as Dipshit Poletti and Paul Chelmsworth Mike Linden as Oliver West Julia Propp as Louisa Alvarez James Oliva as Michael Tate Johanna Bodnyk as Mallory Sam Musher as Emily Bespin Jim Johanson as Rusty Jordan Higgs as Ethan Bespin and James Johnston as Dimitri Stamatis With Tanja Milojevic Jack Pevyhouse (and Alex Welch) as MBTA commuters

Charlie on the MTA by Emily Peterson and Dirk Tiede Childgrove by Dirk Tiede. Gigantic Greater Boston thank you to Great Lakes USA for allowing us to use their song The Best Band at O'Brien's. If you like what you heard click here to check out their Bandcamp page for more songs. 

Transcripts available at GreaterBostonShow.com 

Content Warnings

Strong Language

Kidnapping

Medical Experimentation

Rescue Attempt Tension

Alcohol Consumed

Loud punk rock

Threatening Robots

References to Alcoholism

Chainsaws

Gobbling Turkeys as Boxing Noises