48: Slim Pickings in the Terrarium

This week kicks off with John talking about the new Zelda game alongside thoughts on what it takes to keep a franchise great. In follow-up, John addresses online angst and agita about the recent discussion of _Arrival_. Next up, Merlin gets his time in the barrel as John disabuses him of his self-styled situation as "the dumb one." Merlin tries gamely to change the subject to how status works in improv, but finds his knife further sharpened in the bargain. Your hosts reluctantly accept that their college friends may no longer be 19. At 1:17:17, we turn to the Spoiler Slot, featuring that long-teased discussion of the whackadoo Netflix series, _The OA_ (as well as passing references to _Sound of My Voice_). Then (**then!**), at 2:11:15, we have an unprecedented _second_ Spoiler Slot for follow-up forensic analysis of _Arrival_. (_Episode recorded Tuesday, March 14, 2017_)