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Director's Notes: 195 - Silas the Thief, Part 1
🕑 Added 2021-10-01 17:11:31 +0000 UTC(NOTE: MASSIVE spoilers below. If you haven't listened to the episode, don't read this post or its comments yet)
Joseph and I have talked before - here and elsewhere - about not having all the answers to Night Vale. Why is Night Vale the way it is? I don't know. It just is, I think. There's no final episode planned, no unifying Theory of Everything that will neatly tie up Night Vale's strangeness. To us, Night Vale is a fun place to play in, not a mystery to be solved. It's a sand box, not a puzzle box.
That said...
It's still fun to answer some unanswered bits and pieces of the town. And sometimes the most satisfying questions to answer are the ones no one has even asked. Like: what's the deal with Khoshekh? Where did he come from?
Well, we know he's not originally a cat. "Why are you just now - 9 years and 4 months into your show - telling us this??" you may ask. And I will tell you because I only learned this fact myself 9 years and 3 months into this show. Well, "learned this fact" isn't the right phrasing. More like "made up this fact."
I'm really interested in complex characters, people who are good but do bad things. Or vice versa. Good and evil aren't really a strict binary, though I believe some deeds are unforgiveable. What you're willing to forgive depends largely on who the person in question is. Did a stranger call you a mean name? Or was it your best friend? Is there hope of redemption, of contrition? Did the bad deed come from emotion or did it come from the very core of their being?
Silas, here, is not a good guy. He is, in the shortest of shorthand, a bad guy. That doesn't mean he's evil or unforgiveable, though, I think if he were a real person, I might have a hard time forgiving him for his misogyny, thievery, and unchecked narcissism. But it's all inside the package of an adorable floating cat. Cecil can't hear anything except "meow" or "purr" or "hiss." To the human observers in the radio station bathroom, he's a simple creature with a simple life and simple thoughts.
And this is what Sandrine wanted for him, to be taken care of by Cecil, but never taken seriously. Never given agency or freedom, like she was with Silas.
That's what I'm interested in this two-episode storyline.
Well, that, and getting to work with the lovely actor Jonathan Atkinson.
PS If you want more of Jonny. He and his friend Aileen Clark, host a podcast that discusses Latinx horror films. It's called ¡Uy Que Horror! and I love it. They have great chemistry. I haven't seen most of the films they talk about, but I'm learning so much and having a fun time doing it.
Comments
Calum Millican
I was listening to this while walking and it literally stopped me in my tracks
Catherine Myers
Definite jaw drop on that one.
Kathryn (Lady Lovegood)
When I say I GASPED!!! As someone who tends to pick up on twists just from having to study so many in theatre, I was mildly surprised by the fact that the woman was the beneficiary, but I was thinking Silas was reborn as an infant or something. I can’t WAIT for Part 2!!!!
mme_riphaldin
a stunner! i guessed that he had been turned into a cat pretty early but i never guessed khoshekh!!!
Elana Mitchell
From the opening comments I wondered if this was Khoshekh's internal monologue but boy I was not expecting where it went! A brilliant episode and performance ❤
Ashley Cool
This episode was maybe my favorite. I was genuinely confused throughout and was creeped out by this guy getting pets and scratching someone lol. It was so good!!
Joey Haban
P.S. I enjoy how precise Silas is about pronouncing non-English names correctly. For some reason, considering his present form, it cracks me up.
Joey Haban
I thought I was proud of myself for seeing the Sandrine twist ahead of time. Then the real twist came. What a dolt I was. I loved it!
Vivika Kerridge
Proper, shocked gasp at that reveal! Best episode since Ghost Stories.
Jeff B
I'm probably in the minority, but I didn't need Khosheck's origin story. It was enough that s/he was there.
Sean
I'm so happy that I'm not the only one, but I'm part of that collective Night Vale fan hivemind audible scream when THAT happened at the end of the latest episode.
Serpentine
Same. I was thinking either locked-in or something like a pet dog.
Serpentine
Aaaaa bombshell!
Marti Dolgner
New question. What are the kittens then?
neptune j.b.
I got spoilt via Tumblr, should've remembered there was a new episode! Still enjoyed it though!
Jay
I picked up that Silas was now an animal, specifically a pet, and I thought maybe he was a cat, but I thought maybe more like a hamster when he mentioned the urine smell. Then, holy crap.
Nikki
my jaw DROPPED!!! This is an especially brilliant episode. I went back to relisten to it twice to hear all the little clues that I missed the first time through. Amazing work!!
Andrew Zammit
I had to be quiet cause i didn’t want to surprise my roommates, But THAT TWIST!!!!!
Ollie of the Beholder
If I hadn't been at my desk when listening to this episode, I would have yelled a VERY loud profanity at that line. I very nearly did anyway. I can't wait to see where you're taking this one.
