Episode Transcript
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Bridgewater is a production of I Heart Radio
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three D audio and Grim and Mild from
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Aaron Mankey for full exposure.
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Listen with headphones. Listener
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discretion advised. How
0:15
did you? I'll explain everything, but
0:17
you need to come with me. This part of the
0:19
swamp isn't protected. Why
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don't you put down that knife first? Well, y,
0:25
Thomas, you're looking surprisingly
0:27
well and this wasn't for
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you? Was for that? Are
0:31
we going to a gathering meeting? Why would
0:33
you think that? I don't know the symbol you
0:36
carved those in the trees when
0:38
you want to meet, don't you? That's one purpose for
0:40
them, But that's not the primary one. So
0:43
what is the primary one? Come on, like,
0:45
we'll talk as we go. Okay,
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Hey, how did you know Thomas's name? I
0:53
know who all of you are, Thomas,
0:55
especially White, the Houdini
0:57
active pooled there. I'm not sure if you are
1:00
impressed or annoyed? Can't I be both?
1:05
Aren't you going to ask me who I am?
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We know who you are. You're gathering
1:10
leader from Virginia, right, I
1:12
guess we all have reputations preceding
1:14
us. Then I assume you know
1:17
why I'm here? Well, why don't you
1:19
tell us? All
1:21
right, here we go? Ah,
1:24
where are you taking us? That's not so
1:26
much about the destination as it is about
1:28
getting on a bus. What
1:31
I haven't had a chance to cover the whole swamp yet,
1:34
and the bus stop was closer than the areas I
1:36
have secured. The bus will be
1:38
safe. Iron
1:41
rank the favor of how by iron busses are
1:43
steel, which is an iron
1:45
alloy. The
1:48
next bus should be here in
1:52
three minutes. We can talk freely on
1:54
it. What do you mean you haven't covered the whole
1:56
swamp yet. The room I carved
1:59
it wasn't for community cation. It
2:01
was for protection. That's why that the
2:04
bigfoot creature vanished. Can't
2:07
come past the boundaries of the rooms. Now.
2:10
I can keep it out of areas, but I can't
2:12
keep it in, So be careful
2:14
if you choose to come back. So
2:17
you're saying it's not gone for good, No, just
2:20
banished to the other side for
2:23
now. That's why I'm here. A
2:26
lot of things are not where they should
2:28
be. Yeah, we've we've figured that
2:30
out on our own. Does that also mean you
2:32
figured out what's causing it? Well?
2:35
Yeah, we know we know that something is off balance.
2:37
Do you think things are
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not just off balance, Jeremy,
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they are broken because
2:46
of you. Me. What
2:48
did I do? I was trapped
2:50
for forty years exactly.
2:54
You should never have come back out. What
3:35
do you mean he shouldn't have come back. Thomas was
3:37
in there for a reason and he should
3:39
have stayed there. How dare you say that?
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Hey, hey, listen, don't be
3:44
mad at me. I'm just a messenger.
3:47
And who exactly is the source
3:49
of this message the other side?
3:52
Oh cool, so you've got like a buddy
3:54
over there or something. I'm not trying
3:57
to come here and mess up your life, Jeremy,
4:00
know you're just coming to murder
4:02
my father. Again. That wasn't me,
4:05
That wasn't any member of the gathering, or
4:07
even a member back then. Oh sure, it was
4:09
an offshoot. Yeah where we've
4:11
heard that all before. Then. You know I'm
4:14
right. You have no reason
4:16
to take your anger out on me, given
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that I'm the only one here who was actually the victim
4:20
of an attempted murder. I think I could be
4:22
angry at whoever I want. That's
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fair, And I know this doesn't
4:27
mean anything to you. I
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wasn't even alive when you were pushed into
4:32
the liminal, But I
4:34
am sorry for what happened to you.
4:37
It wasn't right not to
4:39
mention it didn't even work. The
4:41
liminal that's what
4:43
we call it. Where Thomas was
4:46
and your solution is just a thrown
4:49
back again. Do you know exactly
4:51
what you're dealing with here? We have some
4:53
idea, then you know
4:56
who's on the other side, what
4:58
that place is. Or
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you have a bunch of half baked
5:05
theories but not enough solid
5:07
proof to connect all the dots. Well,
5:09
we've been thinking maybe it's the fae realm okay,
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and considering the way you reacted
5:14
to my iron assumption, Yeah, okay,
5:16
so you're not totally clueless.
5:19
So that is what's doing this. The
5:21
fake Court, the hidden people,
5:24
the Secret Commonwealth, whatever you
5:26
want to call it. Non human
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beings who reign over a kingdom that lays
5:30
just beyond a liminal space, who could
5:32
destroy all of us with ease
5:34
if they so chose. If that were
5:37
true, wouldn't they have done it by now? I
5:39
mean, it certainly feels like they've been trying at least
5:41
here. They made a deal centuries
5:43
ago. What do you We don't bother
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them, They don't bother us. Everybody
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stays happy and ignorant, and
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we have to give them something like
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a human life. It's different
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for each doorway here, Virginia,
6:00
Muda Matlock, the Dragon's triangle
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places where the veil between world is
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thinnest, where the other side
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is accessible. There
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has to be something between here and there,
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hence the liminal where
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you were trapped with someone
6:15
else. I'm assuming how did you know
6:18
that it's similar in Virginia.
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Well, the need for two souls
6:23
is at least two
6:25
souls, one that has to be new
6:28
every forty years. That's
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my understanding of how Bridgewater works.
6:33
And he wasn't willing, so things
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have been hinky here for a while.
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Yes, it's not a deal breaker
6:41
for the fay realm, the willingness bit,
6:44
but having to residents of the liminal,
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that's non negotiable. It keeps
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things nice and closed. So without
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me, the gates are wide open
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for anyone to waltz into the kingdom
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or out of it. Okay, so how do we close
6:59
it? We follow the terms of the deal. Even
7:03
if I went back in Alden wouldn't be able
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to come out, or we'd be stuck with the same problem.
7:08
I take it Alden as the other person in there.
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No, they wouldn't be able to come
7:14
out either. Okay, well that's a moot point.
7:16
Because you are not going back in
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there. Someone has to or
7:20
people are going to die. Oh
7:22
whoa, We do not know that. You think
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you would have been able to defend yourselves against
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that beast? That's not
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your storybook, sasquash Jeremy.
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We've got similar creatures in the South, bear
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like things that can stand on two
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legs, take down trees. There's the
7:39
Focky monster, the Ozak Howler
7:42
and wait wait the monster
7:44
that's that's that's that's Arkansas,
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right, and it kills livestock.
7:49
Right then, maybe what we just saw
7:52
is the thing that killed the cows. That's exactly
7:55
my point. These
7:57
monsters are not going to stop at
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a viscerated and cows, which
8:01
is why we need to fix this.
8:03
Doesn't have to be me, though, right, Whatever
8:06
deal exists doesn't stipulate a specific
8:08
person. It doesn't have to
8:10
be you. But to
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be really honest, I don't know who else
8:16
would willingly go in there. Why
8:19
why would we trust her on this? Why would we trust
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you on this? We don't even know you. And the gathering hasn't
8:23
exactly been good to I have no reason
8:25
to lie to you. Even if
8:27
you are telling the truth, that
8:30
doesn't mean that there's not something else
8:32
we can do. Okay, you got rid
8:34
of that beast, the howler thing, whatever, just
8:37
very easily. You just teach us how to do that,
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and we can take care of this area.
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It doesn't work like that. I
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told you I can keep things out
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by creating a protective boundary, but
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I can't keep anything in. They'd
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be free to roam elsewhere. Can we kill them?
8:54
They are flesh and blood, presumably right, so
8:56
we figure out how we can take them down.
9:00
The monsters coming from the other side are
9:02
not your biggest problem. Let's say
9:04
they are a pretty urgent concern. If
9:07
the terms of the deal aren't honored, the
9:09
phay realm won't stick to its side
9:11
of the veil anyone. You're
9:14
gonna send more monsters through. What does that mean
9:16
they won't have to The boundary will
9:18
collapse, the two worlds bleeding
9:21
into one another, causing problems
9:23
we can't even imagine. The
9:26
deal must be honored.
9:29
It sounds like we we need to renegotiate
9:31
this deal. I don't think you
9:34
really comprehend what we're dealing with
9:36
here, Jeremy. This is old
9:38
magic. It's not something that that can
9:41
be altered or undone. It's
9:44
like gravity. We have to
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bend to it. Humans have
9:48
found plenty of ways to defy
9:50
gravit, but we always have to come back
9:52
down always. And
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do you want to chime in here? Yeah,
9:57
Dad, I think she's right. We
10:00
may not have a choice. What
10:03
is happening here? We we we we met her five minutes
10:05
ago, and you're just taking everything she says a face
10:07
value. I'm not saying that we should just give up, but
10:09
thank you. No, Jeremy's
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right, we don't have any reason to trust
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you. Your predecessor was slippery
10:16
at best, and manipulative and worst. I've
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known her a lot longer. So
10:23
until you have proof of what you're saying, and
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I'm not even sure what that proof would look like,
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we're going to keep doing what we've been doing and figure
10:30
things out the old fashioned way, grasping
10:32
for straws in the darkness. Investigate.
10:37
You know what, Fine,
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I can't force any of you to do anything. We
10:42
all know how disastrous that is,
10:45
so go ahead, do
10:48
your own investigating, but
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do it quickly, and when
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you finally figure out that I'm telling
10:56
the truth, come
10:58
and find me. All right, Okay,
11:01
so have you moved into Celeste house to huh,
11:04
stepped into her whole life. I'm not her permanent
11:06
replacement. Besides,
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I wanted to keep an eye on things, so I'm
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staying in Freetown Forest. That's
11:13
safe, I'm protected,
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all right. Listen, follow
11:19
the ruins from the East Hiking Path
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and you will find that. I don't think we're gonna need to, but thanks,
11:27
Remember, don't
11:29
take too long. Hey,
11:45
it's Jeremy, Jeremy Bradshaw,
11:48
the cool Professor. Hi. I
11:51
know it's only been a few days and I don't have any
11:54
really important sightings to tell you about, although I
11:56
do actually want to tell you about the big foot situation
11:58
at some point, but that's not why call. I'm calling because,
12:01
um, a woman named Peyton Blake
12:04
showed up up here. She's a
12:06
gathering leader from Virginia,
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and I basically just
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wanted to know if you think she's someone
12:14
I can trust or not, if you have
12:16
any infot on her. Uh sorry,
12:18
I know that's a bit weird, but
12:20
um, yeah, anything
12:23
that you could tell me would be helpful or or
12:25
anything any of the other legend
12:28
trippers might know anything
12:30
anyone knows, uh would would be helpful.
12:33
Um, so you can just you
12:36
know, text me back or call me back or
12:38
whatever, any any
12:40
mode of communication, and
12:43
uh, that's it. Okay,
12:46
thank you. I talked about
12:49
whatever to later dork.
12:54
Hey who was that?
12:56
Oh? That was that legend tripper
12:59
that I met. I was just curious if she had
13:01
any information about that about
13:03
Peyton. Yeah,
13:06
well that was an interesting text to get yesterday.
13:08
Yeah. Well, you know, I just thought that I should loop
13:10
you and Olivia in on the newest, weirdest
13:13
developments. But you're okay,
13:15
you know, after nearly getting ripped apart by a
13:18
sasquat, I think so. Yeah. But
13:20
I've decided to call it a hawk a mock howler
13:23
because it sounds more academic. I
13:28
am really not looking forward to lecturing
13:30
today, but I'm not sure what to
13:32
do, because apparently life doesn't stop just
13:34
because evil fairies
13:36
are trying to kill your dad. It feels
13:39
like a reason to take a sick day, though, unfortunately,
13:43
I think if I take any more of those, I'm
13:45
going to lose the health insurance that helps
13:47
me. After these monster attacks. I
13:52
don't know, what do you want to do? You want to help me go
13:54
over the topics for today? This
14:18
is so fucked Eli
14:21
Quinn has always live. Well, I don't
14:23
know what else I'm supposed to say. I mean, if
14:25
even half of what Peyton told you was real, then
14:27
well, first of all, I'm moving the moment
14:30
I graduate. Okay, don't
14:32
joke about that. I'm not joking. It's
14:34
one thing to grow up hearing stories
14:36
about pug wedges and window goes. But now
14:39
there's a whole other dimension that's one
14:41
badly executed ritual away from collapsing
14:43
into our world and unleashing all sorts of hell,
14:46
no, thank you. That is not going to happen.
14:49
Okay, we are going to figure out how to stop all
14:51
of this for good. How new, Grandpa.
14:53
We're talking about some seriously ancient forces
14:56
here, and we can't be the only people who
14:58
wanted to fight back against them before. I
15:00
mean, what if the deal that's been made is
15:02
the best possible version of a win. We're
15:05
not gonna think like that. Okay. We're
15:08
going to figure out what the pay room
15:10
wants, what they can do, and
15:12
how they can be beat. Oh sure, yes, super
15:14
ezy stuff. Well I didn't say it was going to
15:17
be easy, but we don't have any other choice.
15:19
All right, what do you need me to do?
15:22
You still want to help with all this? Do
15:25
I want to prevent the evil fairy apocalypse?
15:27
Yeah? Yeah, that'd be nice, all
15:29
right. I prefer he stayed inside as
15:31
much as possible, because I don't like how close that
15:33
dog got to you. Yeah, you and
15:36
me both? Yeah? What
15:38
needs doing? Ah?
15:42
Well, let's see. Jeremy's
15:44
chasing down some information on the pay room. Vivian's
15:47
working on some kind of map. I have no idea. He's
15:50
using all the different reported sidings
15:52
to try and track creatures movements.
15:55
Fantastic, And I'm
15:58
gonna go and see if Doc Edwards got any think
16:00
from his lab examination of the cow, so
16:02
I could use a hand. Okay,
16:04
I think we need to find out more about what
16:07
happened to Olden. Oh yeah, sure,
16:09
I can help you with that. All right, all right, Well,
16:11
i'll be back in a bit. Call me if the house starts to
16:13
shake again. Ha ha, Wait,
16:16
what do you mean again? What happened?
16:18
Now? I'll explain
16:21
later. I'm sure you'll be fine, Anna,
16:25
We'll be fine Olivia. You
16:27
know, the more you both say that, the
16:29
less I think you believe it. I don't know what else
16:31
to say. I have to believe it will all be okay,
16:33
right, right, of course, I'm
16:36
sure it will be. And I'm
16:38
surprised you didn't want to help Jeremy with his
16:40
research. I'm sure he'd love
16:42
to spend more time with you. It wasn't really something
16:44
I could help with. He had to
16:47
go to work anyway, and he's calling up an old friend
16:49
from Oxford. Did did you know? Did
16:51
he studied there for a semester? I didn't.
16:54
I mean I didn't really know him all that
16:56
well, we only met, like just got
16:58
a few weeks ago. Of
17:00
course, you two didn't even know each other existed. How
17:03
do you feel? And did
17:05
you forget mom?
17:07
Shelley? I'd take it. Anna's
17:10
out, Yes, yes, you just Mr.
17:12
But I'm sure she'd be right back. We
17:14
could call her on her cellular phone.
17:19
Yeah, yeah, probably
17:21
better. She's not here. Okay,
17:24
hey live, would you mind giving us a minute? Oh
17:28
yeah, sure, I'll just take
17:30
my laptop to the guest room and start
17:32
doing that research. Okay,
17:38
Well, I would say that I'm sorry for just
17:40
dropping by unexpectedly. But yeah,
17:44
I guess I take the price for that. Huh.
17:48
Olivia told me she explained everything to you,
17:51
or tried to at
17:53
least, that you needed some time. I
17:56
would have come to see you if I know. It's fine to
17:58
be honest, I
18:01
still need time. But I
18:03
was driving to work and was about
18:05
to pass the turn to my mom's house, and before I knew
18:07
it, I was driving over here. And I
18:10
wasn't even planning on coming in until I
18:13
saw my mom's cart pull away. I
18:15
know she really wants to talk to you. Um,
18:19
do you want to sit or I
18:21
can make you some coffee? I barely
18:23
understand and machine it's got these weird plastic
18:26
pods, but I'm sure I can. I don't know how long
18:28
I can stay, right,
18:32
You've really just been gone
18:36
for forty years and just blinked out
18:38
of and back into existence. Not
18:42
exactly, I was somewhere
18:45
all this time, right
18:48
right, Yes, it was some
18:51
magical in between boys. It
18:53
sounds crazy. I know, Well
18:57
I don't think that you do. I'm
19:00
you don't even look old enough to be the father to a teenager,
19:04
let alone, you know. Yeah, I know
19:06
freaked me out to that
19:08
you're really. Yeah,
19:13
I'm really your dad, And
19:17
you have to know, Shelley, I never
19:19
wanted to leave you or Jeremy and
19:22
and I. We had a plan.
19:24
We were going to be a family, but then
19:26
you got sucked into some other dimension.
19:29
I know it sounds about as
19:31
believable as I'm going out for cigarettes. I'll
19:33
be right back. But yeah,
19:38
at least it's not cliche. At
19:40
least there's that Shelley,
19:45
why are you here? Who
19:47
I was Olivia researching? By the way,
19:50
when she left this morning, she said, something happened.
19:53
We met
19:55
someone who knows a lot more than we do. And well,
19:58
the situation is, it's that's
20:01
complicated. There was a boy
20:03
with me in that other place. It
20:06
was also trapped in Olivia. She's
20:09
helping me to try to find out more about him
20:11
so that maybe we can help him. Is another
20:15
a boy from from
20:18
a long time ago. So so
20:21
this thing, whatever it is,
20:23
it does take children.
20:26
Yes, I don't know if
20:28
that's the preferred sacrifice. What
20:31
sacrifice? And
20:34
there's some sort of balance
20:36
sheet. That other place needs
20:38
two people at all times. I
20:41
ended up there by mistake. I think I think
20:43
maybe it wanted Jeremy back then. Yeah,
20:49
my Mom did mention something about him going
20:51
missing. One we got him back, just
20:54
like you got your boy back. He's not
20:56
in danger anymore. Don't forgive me if
20:58
I don't take you at your word on that. I'm
21:01
keeping him out as grandparents for the foreseeable
21:03
future, his
21:06
other grandparents. I
21:08
I'd like to meet him someday, if that's
21:10
okay. I
21:13
don't think so, I mean, at least
21:15
not. You
21:17
know, I honestly have no idea. What's
21:19
okay? You know I don't know you. I
21:21
know no, I mean, I
21:25
don't even have stories
21:28
about you. Mom
21:30
did not tell me anything. She never
21:33
talked about you. I never
21:35
would have told her to do that. Wow,
21:39
Anne Becker does whatever it is
21:41
she wants, and for some
21:43
reason, she didn't want
21:45
me to know that you
21:47
were my dad. I still am.
21:50
No. You don't just get
21:53
to claim that you've
21:57
been gone forty years and
22:00
we never I mean, we never
22:04
met, and you've never been
22:06
a father to me. You're
22:09
right, but I
22:13
thought about you every single day.
22:16
I understand that you're angry, I
22:18
do, and confused
22:20
and frustrated. I am too. I
22:23
was just figuring out how to be a dad, and
22:26
then I was ripped away from it, from
22:28
the chance to watch Jeremy grow up, the
22:30
chance to meet you. But
22:33
that doesn't mean being a father was ripped out
22:35
of me because there
22:38
was Alden, that other
22:40
kid. He needed
22:43
me, and I did figure
22:45
it out for him.
22:47
So in the times when I let myself imagine
22:50
what it would be like to come back, I
22:52
actually felt prepared. I mean proud
22:55
of who I'd become, the
22:57
kind of father I was turning into. So
23:00
to come back and find that my son has well past
23:03
the point of meeting a parent and my daughter doesn't want any
23:05
kind of father at all, I
23:09
feel untethered. Wow.
23:12
I'm sure Jeremy is thrilled
23:15
to have you back, and
23:17
he remembers you growing
23:20
up. You could tell he lost you. He was carrying that
23:22
hole with him everywhere, and it
23:24
seems like he turned into a good man in spite
23:26
of it. I
23:28
don't know. I'm still getting to know him, but he seems
23:31
smart, protective of the
23:33
people in his life. Like me. I'm
23:37
feeling a bit like a fifth wheel, like he doesn't
23:39
need anything returned to him.
23:42
Then there's you. I
23:44
really don't know you, but I can tell
23:46
you're strong and you've
23:49
raised an amazing daughter. I'm
23:51
glad you didn't grow up like Jeremy, feeling
23:53
like a part of you was missing. But I
23:56
still want to belong to you,
23:59
if you'd ever have me. Of
24:01
course, I felt like something was missing.
24:03
I just I
24:06
didn't know what exactly
24:08
to miss. Well,
24:13
whatever it is, you don't have to miss
24:15
it anymore. I'm here now, and
24:18
you're I mean, you're Are
24:21
you real? You know you're
24:23
not a ghost or a I
24:26
don't even know what to ask you. I'm
24:30
real, and I'm
24:34
I don't know how any of this works. But if I live
24:36
another fifty years, or if my body just looks
24:38
young and really I'm in my seventies,
24:41
I have no idea what my life would even look like
24:43
here in a
24:46
year. That still sounds made up in my ears. But
24:49
I know that all these questions aren't really
24:52
important. The only question that matters to
24:54
me is if you'll allow me to get to know you.
24:56
I don't, I don't know, I'm
25:00
and this is all still so I
25:03
understand. I mean,
25:05
I'm not saying no, I
25:08
just I
25:10
wanted to come
25:12
over here today to try
25:15
and make it make sense, you know, as
25:18
much sense as it could. How's
25:22
that going. H m hmm,
25:26
not great, Mt.
25:31
I've always had a really hard time with the paranormal
25:33
stuff. You know, my teenage
25:35
rebellion was becoming
25:37
as pragmatic and straight edged as possible
25:40
a model teenager, were you. Well,
25:43
no, I would not say that. I was
25:45
still pretty awful with the moodiness
25:47
and shouting matches and awful
25:49
boyfriend you and
25:52
Jeremy never, oh god, no, no,
25:54
no, Jesus Christ, I would have been. Um,
26:00
look, I'm barely registering that I have my father
26:02
who is alive. I
26:05
think the question of a half brother is
26:07
just going to have to sit on the backburn for a minute.
26:09
Okay, understandable,
26:12
but no, no, Jeremy and I didn't overlap
26:14
in school much. I have no idea
26:17
what kind of teenager he was at home. I'm
26:21
sorry I missed it all. I
26:26
really should get going to work. Wait,
26:31
yeah,
26:34
thank you, you
26:37
know, for coming by. Maybe
26:39
maybe we could continue the conversation at
26:41
some point. Mhmm yeah,
26:44
maybe, Oh
26:46
god, what is it, I
26:52
have your nose? Jeremy
26:55
doesn't, but
26:58
I do. Yeah, you do. Tell
27:01
Olivia's here at all, So
27:09
now that go. I have
27:11
no idea, but
27:14
thank you for talking to her. Yeah,
27:16
trying. I didn't mean to overhear
27:20
well. Actually, I was totally eavesdropping when
27:22
she asked if you were real you
27:25
were talking around something not a
27:27
lot gets past you. Huh, you're
27:30
not sure you're going to stay. If
27:32
I have anything to say about it, I will.
27:34
I'll get all then out, I'll shut
27:36
down the fay realm. I'll live
27:39
my life right.
27:41
But Jeremy's
27:43
worried something's happening to me, or that the limital
27:46
might take me back? Is that something you're
27:48
worried about? Peyton sent
27:50
that beast back to the other
27:52
side with a simple carving. What's
27:56
to say that same thing couldn't happen to me or
27:58
to to anyone. That
28:00
it was as easy as drawing a symbol
28:03
somewhere. But you don't belong there.
28:06
That sasquatch was from the
28:08
other side, so that room sent it back.
28:11
You're not from the Liminals. I've spent more
28:13
years there than I did here. Maybe
28:16
it sees me as part of it, and
28:19
I keep I
28:22
keep feeling sick or tired, dizzy.
28:28
That's what makes me wonder if I'm not actually as young as
28:30
I appear. Do you feel like you're
28:32
in a seventy year old body. But
28:35
that doesn't change the fact that I'm sitting here with my
28:37
twenty two year old granddaughter. Oh,
28:40
I just realized I'm dumping all of my problems,
28:42
and I'm sorry. You're a kid. You
28:45
shouldn't have to listen to the adults in your life worry
28:47
like this. Okay, first of all, I'm
28:49
not a kid, and second of all,
28:52
I know we're genetically a few generations
28:54
apart, but I mean the reality
28:56
of it just feels like we're cousins
28:59
or something. You don't feel weird
29:01
about listening to all your grandpa's fears.
29:03
Oh, I feel weird about literally everything
29:06
that's happening in my life right now. But that
29:08
doesn't have to be a bad thing. Besides,
29:11
who else are you gonna talk to? You
29:13
know, like four people, and one of them
29:15
is your long lost love and the other is your son.
29:18
You might be right. I
29:21
just don't want to worry them. I know,
29:24
not that I want to worry you.
29:26
No, I know, it's okay,
29:29
Like, you don't have to explain. And
29:31
after all, we don't really know each
29:33
other, do we. With Nana, you
29:36
have this whole complicated history,
29:38
and you knew my mom existed, you
29:41
didn't know to expect me. And
29:44
with Jeremy, I
29:47
don't know how to talk to Jeremy.
29:52
He's still a little boy in my mind. So
29:54
sometimes when I look at him now, I
29:58
have to remind myself that he's the same person,
30:01
not just some man i've met. But
30:04
there's other times or
30:07
I feel like I'm arguing with him like I would have
30:09
if I'd been around when he was growing up. Well,
30:12
for what it's worth, I think Jeremy
30:15
does need you. You're not a
30:17
fifth wheel. It's kind of you to
30:19
say. I mean it. Look,
30:21
I may not know Jeremy well, but I've gotten no Hippen
30:24
a bit, and I think he might be the person who
30:26
knows Jeremy best, isn't
30:28
he Jeremy's t a yeah exactly.
30:31
They've been working together for a few years, and
30:34
Vippin called him Professor Bradshaw until
30:36
like, I don't know a week ago, but
30:38
I think Hippin is the closest thing that Jeremy
30:41
has to a best friend. Really,
30:43
that's what I mean. He's not. I
30:46
just don't know how full his life
30:49
is, or how full it was before all
30:51
of this happened. Vippin said
30:53
that Jeremy gave him a whole speech about not
30:55
turning out like him, telling
30:57
Hippen to make sure he had a life outside of work
30:59
and all that. I'm not sure that this makes
31:01
me feel better or worse. Yeah. Sorry,
31:05
I'm not exactly the best at tep talks.
31:08
You know what, I think you're doing just fine.
31:21
Hello, Sophie, it's
31:23
Jeremy Bradshaw. I know
31:25
it's been forever Jeremy. Good
31:28
lord. I didn't think i'd ever hear
31:30
from you again. Oh come on, well,
31:32
I'm sorry. I know I'm I'm
31:35
terrible at keeping in touch. It
31:37
goes both ways. I imagine
31:39
you've been quite busy. You're back in the bridgual
31:42
To triangle, right, Yeah, I've been back for a
31:44
while. Must have your hands
31:46
full with all sorts of speaks, no
31:48
less than I'm sure you have in Plucky you're
31:50
still there. I'm actually back at Oxford,
31:53
if you believe it. What are
31:56
you going for another degree? Handing them
31:58
out? In fact, I'm
32:00
a professor like you. Oh
32:03
wow, an Oxford professor.
32:05
Wow. Okay, well,
32:08
I guess you've reached the
32:11
apex for anyone in our discipline.
32:13
Congrats. I don't get me wrong. I'm
32:15
still hoping to someday find fame and fortune as
32:17
the first person to provide definitive proof of the
32:19
paranormal. But twelve
32:22
years in the most haunted village in Britain and I
32:24
didn't see a single ghost. Sorry,
32:27
no, you're not. You always knew
32:29
none of it was real. What am I hearing? Has
32:32
Sophie Burton become a skeptic?
32:34
I'm just getting dangerously close. Well,
32:37
I guess time does funny things to all of us.
32:39
Don't tell me that you're no.
32:42
No, but I would say that I am.
32:46
I am working on keeping
32:48
an open mind. I am impressed.
32:52
Is that why you're calling me up out of thee You
32:54
need me to give you my old ghosts? A real shpille?
32:57
Not exactly. I've actually been trying to expand
33:00
my expertise, hence the
33:02
open mind, and
33:04
I'm working on something that's a bit outside of my comfort
33:07
zone. I'm trying to write a lecture
33:09
that covers the Fay realm. And I realized
33:11
that I don't actually really know much
33:14
beyond the basics because
33:16
it's never really been much of a thing and in
33:19
Bridgewater, so I haven't even
33:21
bothered before you want to
33:23
now just curiosity?
33:27
Well, you certainly called the right person. Were
33:29
choker block for the famous? Yeah,
33:31
that's what I was hoping. What exactly
33:34
do you want to know? It's fairly expensive.
33:37
Well, that's why I wanted to talk to an expert directly
33:39
instead of just diving into my books. Is
33:41
there a particular region or myth
33:44
origin you're looking at? I guess the
33:46
biggest question is friend
33:49
or foe. Yeah.
33:51
So I feel like the popular cultural representation
33:54
is fairly positive overall, or Tinkerbell
33:57
and the like. But
33:59
I know there's a lot of darker versions
34:02
of fay Realm. More so,
34:04
I'd love to know which side
34:06
to come down on. Well, there's really
34:10
not one definitive answer
34:12
to that question. For as long as there have been fay Realm
34:14
legends, there's been good and bad. But
34:17
there is a distinction. I mean, there are
34:19
different there are different groups, right, they can be.
34:22
In Scottish law, there's the Seely Court and
34:24
Unseely Court. Both are fai courts,
34:27
so therefore dangerous. But the
34:29
Seely won't go out of their way to hurt humans,
34:32
but the Unselly Court will. They
34:35
are related to a whole manner of evil
34:38
creatures over here, which is
34:40
boggets, happy lovers,
34:43
creatures of the devil. Essentially, what
34:46
do the Fay want, Well, just
34:48
general mischief, not the cute
34:51
fun kind mind, more of the beating
34:53
and possessing variety you mentioned.
34:55
The courts are those
34:58
physical courts. Some times
35:00
there's a lot of law around fairy
35:03
lands. Sometimes they're called other worlds or
35:05
underworld's, even had fairy
35:07
kingdom. And sometimes they are a physical
35:10
place, sometimes just a ritual or
35:12
the very act of doing magic. Okay,
35:15
So if they are physical places, presumably
35:17
human beings could enter into
35:19
one of these lands, and there
35:21
aren't many legends that explore that idea. Plenty
35:24
of fiction and films, but
35:26
original myth there's mostly the fake courts coming over
35:28
to the human realle. How about making deals
35:30
with humans? Oh? Yes, Fay
35:33
contracts very tricky things.
35:36
The story is you should never accept
35:38
a gift from a theory, especially food,
35:40
never get into debt with them, never make
35:42
any promises, and I don't even give
35:45
them your name in the case of creatures, so
35:47
basically avoid them at our costs exactly.
35:50
Okay. So hypothetically, what if
35:52
there is an existing
35:55
contract, can you break it? Um?
36:00
I have absolutely no idea. Are
36:03
you in law school? Now? Is your class
36:05
on faery contract law? I'm
36:08
just trying to create a full picture. Well,
36:12
I mean, I've given a few lectures on the famous
36:14
and there's so much to cover. It's honestly best
36:16
to keep things surface level. If I were
36:18
you, okay, sure, But let's
36:20
say I was doing very
36:22
contract law. What would I teach
36:24
my students to never enter a
36:26
contract with a fairy no
36:29
matter what. But if
36:31
they had, they are going to let
36:33
a contract be broken. The only
36:35
way I could see out of it would be if you had something
36:37
on the fake court that could neutralize it.
36:41
In a lot of law, they hate being in
36:43
debt. If there was a mutual debt
36:45
that could be exploited, maybe the slate
36:47
would be wiped clean. But more likely, you just
36:49
have a very angry and violent spirit after
36:52
you. Okay, is there a way to kill them?
36:54
Jeremy? What is this really about? If
36:57
I figure it out, I promise I will tell you. Jeremy,
37:00
just please, whatever you can
37:02
tell me about ways to stop them or even just ward
37:05
them off. I really appreciate
37:07
it. Just just humor me
37:09
here. It really depends on the type
37:11
you're dealing with. There's all sorts of
37:13
things, turning your clothes inside
37:16
out. Avoiding fairy circles, of
37:18
course, but circles of all kinds can
37:20
be problematic. A rooster's
37:22
crow or church bells have been said to scare them
37:24
away. I can send you a list of
37:26
all the methods I'm aware of, if you like, That would
37:29
be amazing. Sophie, Thank
37:31
you. Thanks, You've already
37:33
been a huge home. Sure you're
37:36
bring me back if you find yourself in over
37:38
your head. That's why I called you in the first place.
37:41
Are you It sounds
37:43
ridiculous? Are
37:45
you okay? I
37:48
don't know. I
37:50
am. I think I've got it all under
37:52
control. Of course, you've got it under
37:54
control. I always
37:56
do. Wow,
38:04
fuck, I know. Are
38:06
you okay? My whole
38:08
body is sore, but I am
38:11
alive. I cannot
38:13
believe I turned down your offer to join you. Next
38:17
time I go monster hunting, I'll insist. I
38:20
appreciate that. Hey,
38:22
thanks for meeting me here. By the way, I
38:24
was going to suggest hawk amoks But yeah.
38:27
Well, weirdly, Freetown Forest feels safer
38:29
at the moment, even if Peyton is
38:31
hiding around here somewhere I'm sorry
38:33
again for not being able to help with her. No,
38:35
No, it was fine. It was a long
38:37
shot. I
38:39
just wish I could know if I could trust her. Thanks
38:42
are really fucked up. Things
38:45
are certainly fucked up here. There's
38:48
just a lot at stake for me. I don't
38:51
even know how to I
38:54
don't know how to protect myself from a sasquatch.
38:57
Jeremy, it sounds like it was pretty terrifying.
39:00
Yeah, and if Peyton hadn't
39:02
shown up, I probably
39:04
would be dead. My dad was right.
39:07
I'm an academic. I'm not
39:09
the person who fights monsters. Here. Let
39:11
me show you something. I'm
39:15
not poisonous. I promise it'll
39:19
be easier if I just guide your hand. Trust
39:21
me. Okay, so
39:24
move your hand in a V like this and
39:27
then moved to center and
39:29
bring it all the way down. Okay,
39:32
now you do it. M M
39:36
okay, I know it feels
39:39
goofy. Let's try it all
39:41
right, center
39:45
down. And that's
39:48
supposed to do what exactly? Um?
39:50
Yeah, well it's supposed to banish monsters
39:53
or trap them or something. Honestly,
39:55
I haven't had the opportunity to try, but
39:57
seeings and keep running into
39:59
them for real, all that will
40:01
be an experiment for next time. Report
40:04
back to me. I'm dying to
40:06
know if it works. There
40:09
was this other legend trip or a while back. I
40:12
met her at some conference or other their
40:16
legend trip or conferences. You're
40:18
telling me you haven't been to anything like that. No,
40:21
no, no, of course I've been paranormal
40:24
conventions in academic conferences. I just haven't
40:26
met a whole lot of monster
40:29
hunters in one place. Well
40:32
maybe conference was putting a bit strongly,
40:34
But these communities are all
40:36
tied in together, and there are meet ups from time
40:38
to time. As she picked
40:41
it up from some guy in Norway. So it's some
40:43
kind of old Norse room. Yea, so
40:45
she said, it translates to protection.
40:48
I think, now maybe
40:50
you know how to fight monsters. Well, here's
40:52
hoping that I never have to use it.
40:54
Come on, you're telling
40:56
me there's not even a little part of you
40:59
that's die to see something else.
41:01
It was genuinely,
41:04
really frightening. I
41:06
would not, oh,
41:09
ship, yeah,
41:11
okay, maybe you're right, of course I am.
41:14
I mean, after all this time studying
41:16
and teaching all of this stuff for
41:18
years, you actually
41:21
get to witness it. I'd
41:23
be fucking jealous if it wasn't so cool. Yeah,
41:26
well, you keep hanging out in these forests and swamps
41:28
and you might see something yourself soon. Maybe
41:30
I just need to hang out with you more. Well,
41:33
Ah, I guess it's worth a
41:35
shop. There's the spirit, you
41:51
know. I was expecting
41:53
to see you, but not so
41:56
soon. I don't
41:58
think we really got to finish our conversation Asian
42:00
earlier. And what conversation was that? The
42:02
one about how I broke everything.
42:06
I seem to remember your son having
42:09
quite a lot to say about that subject.
42:12
It's going to get much worse very quickly, isn't it.
42:15
Yes? I believe
42:17
so. And you think I'm the only one who
42:19
can fix him, not the only one,
42:22
just the right one. What
42:26
would I have to do? This
42:43
episode of Bridgewater was written by Lauren
42:45
Shippin and directed by Brendan Patrick
42:47
Hughes Assistant director Sarah
42:49
Klein, Sound designed by Vincent the
42:52
Johnny Rema, Okay, Ali, Josh
42:54
Thane, and Trevor Young, with music
42:57
by Chad Lawson. Starring Misha
42:59
Collins as Jeremy Bradshaw, Melissa
43:02
Ponzio as Anne Becker, Alan
43:04
Tutick as Thomas Bradshaw, Karen
43:07
Sony as Vipen Corona, Sabra
43:09
May as Olivia Hoskins,
43:12
Cheryl Umania as Officer Bautista,
43:15
Will Wheaton as Captain Haddock, Tricia
43:18
Helfer as the Legend Tripper,
43:21
Stephen Guarino as Dr Edwards
43:23
Nandamisu Demba as Peyton
43:26
Blake, Hilary Burton Morgan as
43:28
Shelley Hoskins, Nicki McCauley
43:30
as Celeste then Victoria Grace
43:33
as Katie Franks, with additional
43:35
voice acting by Greta Gould, Shelby
43:38
Young, Adam oh Byrne, Monty
43:40
Markham, Charlie Bergman and Tern
43:42
Westbrook. Executive producers
43:44
Aaron Manky, Misha Collins, Lauren
43:47
Shippin, Matt Frederick and Alexander
43:49
Williams. Supervising producers Josh
43:52
Thane and Trevor Young. Bridgewater
43:54
was created by me Aaron Mankey and
43:57
is a production of Grim and Mild and I Heart
43:59
three D Audio. You learn more about the
44:01
show over at Grimm and Mild dot
44:03
com, slash Bridgewater and find more
44:05
podcasts from I Heart Radio on the I Heart
44:07
Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
44:10
you listen to your favorite shows and
44:12
As always, thanks for listening,
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