1 00:00:03,090 --> 00:00:06,170 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff to Blow Your Mind, a production of iHeartRadio. 2 00:00:10,539 --> 00:00:12,460 Speaker 2: Hi, my name is Robert Lamb, and this is The 3 00:00:12,520 --> 00:00:15,660 Speaker 2: Monster Fact, a short-form series from Stuff to Blow Your Mind, 4 00:00:15,980 --> 00:00:23,939 Speaker 2: focusing on mythical creatures, ideas, and monsters in time. I 5 00:00:23,960 --> 00:00:27,850 Speaker 2: recently completed a rewatch of the 2023 animated sci-fi series 6 00:00:27,910 --> 00:00:32,110 Speaker 2: Scavenger's Reign, which I highly recommend. Created by Joe Bennett 7 00:00:32,190 --> 00:00:36,050 Speaker 2: and Charles Hüttner, based on their 2016 short film Scavengers, 8 00:00:36,110 --> 00:00:39,330 Speaker 2: which you can find last I checked on YouTube, the 9 00:00:39,370 --> 00:00:43,339 Speaker 2: show balances a mature sci-fi plot full of complex human 10 00:00:43,380 --> 00:00:48,640 Speaker 2: characters with an exotic alien ecosystem. It provides near limitless 11 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:53,260 Speaker 2: biopunk fun. Our characters make frequent mechanical use of alien 12 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:58,790 Speaker 2: flora and fauna for their survival, alongside just chill-inducing body horror. 13 00:00:59,370 --> 00:01:03,670 Speaker 2: The planet Vesta is a dangerous place full of near-constant 14 00:01:03,710 --> 00:01:06,630 Speaker 2: threats to human life and autonomy, but it also presents 15 00:01:06,730 --> 00:01:11,450 Speaker 2: enticing possibilities for a new life lived in harmony with nature. 16 00:01:11,750 --> 00:01:14,420 Speaker 2: And of course, in this, Vesta is an exotic take 17 00:01:14,470 --> 00:01:17,759 Speaker 2: on our own world. Over the course of the show's run, 18 00:01:17,800 --> 00:01:21,600 Speaker 2: we encounter multiple life forms intent on hijacking or otherwise 19 00:01:21,660 --> 00:01:24,800 Speaker 2: controlling human bodies, but the most central to the plot 20 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:28,890 Speaker 2: is Hollow. When we first meet Hollow... It's just a 21 00:01:28,980 --> 00:01:34,449 Speaker 2: small example of a seemingly native Vestan species. These big-headed, piebald, 22 00:01:34,530 --> 00:01:39,369 Speaker 2: frog-like forest dwellers also bring to mind koalas, human infants, 23 00:01:39,790 --> 00:01:43,090 Speaker 2: and a little bit of the gray extraterrestrials from ufology. 24 00:01:43,580 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 2: We quickly learn that these creatures use potent telepathic and 25 00:01:47,200 --> 00:01:52,180 Speaker 2: telekinetic powers to survive, mostly leaning on telepathy to manipulate 26 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,210 Speaker 2: other organisms into doing their work for them. The creatures 27 00:01:56,250 --> 00:01:58,350 Speaker 2: seem to have a balance to their way of life, 28 00:01:58,450 --> 00:02:02,250 Speaker 2: living socially with others of their kind, ruled over by 29 00:02:02,290 --> 00:02:06,970 Speaker 2: a larger alpha, and above all, in balance with their surroundings. Okay, 30 00:02:07,050 --> 00:02:10,110 Speaker 2: major spoilers ahead for this show. So if you haven't 31 00:02:10,150 --> 00:02:12,130 Speaker 2: seen it, and you're interested in watching it, go out 32 00:02:12,150 --> 00:02:14,750 Speaker 2: and watch it, and then come back. Okay, let's keep going. 33 00:02:15,889 --> 00:02:18,430 Speaker 2: So these creatures are living in some sort of harmony, 34 00:02:18,490 --> 00:02:22,410 Speaker 2: but then the smaller individual, Hollow, discovers one of the 35 00:02:22,450 --> 00:02:26,120 Speaker 2: human castaways from the spaceship Demeter. a very flawed man 36 00:02:26,180 --> 00:02:30,190 Speaker 2: by the name of Kamen. It telepathically manipulates Kamen, as 37 00:02:30,250 --> 00:02:33,090 Speaker 2: it would any creature, but Hollow then develops a vicious 38 00:02:33,150 --> 00:02:36,750 Speaker 2: streak of greed, gluttony, and cruelty that puts it at 39 00:02:36,810 --> 00:02:40,810 Speaker 2: severe imbalance with its environment, transforming it into the main 40 00:02:40,889 --> 00:02:44,430 Speaker 2: antagonist of the series. So one major read here is 41 00:02:44,450 --> 00:02:47,950 Speaker 2: that Kamen's state of mind corrupts Hollow and makes it 42 00:02:47,990 --> 00:02:50,530 Speaker 2: the monster that it becomes. though I think you can 43 00:02:50,590 --> 00:02:53,639 Speaker 2: also view it as a synthesis, with the raw power 44 00:02:53,680 --> 00:02:57,940 Speaker 2: of Hollow also bringing out the worst in Kamen's emotional state, 45 00:02:58,320 --> 00:03:01,600 Speaker 2: with these two things feeding into each other. By the 46 00:03:01,639 --> 00:03:04,840 Speaker 2: end of their time together, Kamen is reduced to an organ, 47 00:03:04,880 --> 00:03:09,609 Speaker 2: or perhaps a gestating embryo, inside Hollow's now gigantic body. 48 00:03:10,030 --> 00:03:13,270 Speaker 2: And in their final defeat, we see Hollow itself reduced 49 00:03:13,310 --> 00:03:16,870 Speaker 2: to its original form, held in Kamen's arms like an infant. 50 00:03:17,250 --> 00:03:22,480 Speaker 2: paradoxically inverting the parent-child presentation of impulse and manifestation that 51 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:25,840 Speaker 2: we saw earlier. Like much in the show, this presents 52 00:03:25,900 --> 00:03:27,940 Speaker 2: us with a lot to think about, and I love 53 00:03:28,220 --> 00:03:31,310 Speaker 2: that each in their own way, both Caiman and Hollow 54 00:03:31,430 --> 00:03:36,690 Speaker 2: are ultimately redeemable in the show's eyes. Scavenger's Reign obviously 55 00:03:36,710 --> 00:03:40,060 Speaker 2: draws a great deal of inspiration from French comic legend Mobius, 56 00:03:40,460 --> 00:03:44,690 Speaker 2: as well as the rich ecosystems of Hayao Miyazaki, Certainly, 57 00:03:44,790 --> 00:03:46,670 Speaker 2: there's a lot of Nausicaa of the Valley of the 58 00:03:46,730 --> 00:03:51,220 Speaker 2: Wind here, with its poisonous jungles and fantastic insects. But 59 00:03:51,240 --> 00:03:54,900 Speaker 2: there's also an undeniable connection to be made between Hollow 60 00:03:55,240 --> 00:03:59,040 Speaker 2: and the spirit No-Face from Spirited Away, who is also 61 00:03:59,130 --> 00:04:02,470 Speaker 2: presented as an entity that, corrupted by the greed and 62 00:04:02,510 --> 00:04:07,630 Speaker 2: gluttony of others, quickly spirals out of control in monstrous ways. 63 00:04:08,670 --> 00:04:11,290 Speaker 2: Tune in for additional episodes of The Monster Fact, The Artifact, 64 00:04:11,350 --> 00:04:14,460 Speaker 2: or Animalia Stupendium each week. As always, you can email 65 00:04:14,540 --> 00:04:18,100 Speaker 2: us at contact at stufftoblowyourmind.com. 66 00:04:27,589 --> 00:04:30,050 Speaker 1: Stuff to Blow Your Mind is a production of iHeartRadio. 67 00:04:30,410 --> 00:04:33,750 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app. Apple 68 00:04:33,770 --> 00:04:36,110 Speaker 1: Podcasts are wherever you listen to your favorite shows.