CW: We use quite a bit of what Jenny calls “canon-typical mental health terminology” in this episode - words like crazy, nuts, etc. It’s something we’re working on!
In this episode:
Our first guest host!
Gray's rules for morphing
How good is Cassie and Jake's relationship, really?
Cassie's philosophical struggles
Could a skunk really defeat Visser Three?
Outside references:
In Memoriam A.H.H., Tennyson
In this episode:
The Animorphs grapple with death (not literally)
Ax discovers chocolate and other human oddities
Jake is the morph police
Warrior societies are almost universally real dumb
Other references:
The Prime Directive (not the Primary Objective, no matter what Gray says)
This week we discuss the first Megamorphs book: The Andalite’s Gift. (Spoiler: the Andalite’s gift is morphing.)
In this episode:
Marco is a bad driver
Visser 3 is a bad manager
What does the Veleek sound like?
The return of the whale
Other references:
In this episode:
Rachel + Tobias 4ever
The importance of blinders
Applegate does not like circuses
They clearly all ship it
Is the future pre-determined?
Internalized misogyny
Other references:
In this episode:
What Jake’s family eats
How big is Jake, really?
Shipping that is not really justified by the book
Incredibly gross morphs
The Yeerk invasion plan
Jake commits war crimes
What it’s like to fight the Animorphs
In this episode:
Gray is grouchy about plot twists
What happens if your tragic backstory is an important part of your personality?
Ax struggles with human impulses
Marco expresses vulnerability
Class in The Animorphs
Other references:
In this episode:
We learn more about Andalites
Teen friendships and teen romances
Race in The Animorphs
Are whales Andalites??
Other references:
Ax is Captain Planet
Gray suggests sharks don’t attack humpback whales. She is incorrect.
Please note, this episode briefly discusses suicide.
In this episode:
Gray ships Rachel and Tobias
Tobias has to fight his hawk instincts and decide what it means to be human
What will spur Tobias to fight the Yeerks?
A trans reading of Tobias’s character and coded characters in general
If you could morph only one animal, what would you choose?
Other references:
In this episode, we discuss suicide. Please take care when listening. If you’re thinking about suicide, are worried about a friend or loved one, or would like emotional support, please call the Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-8255 or visit them online.
In this episode:
A few things we discuss in this episode:
The font! (Gray didn’t like it.)
The Animorphs vs. classic novel structure
The humanity of the Yeerks
Magic vs. science
How much we love Rachel and Tobias
Outside references:
Disability and KidLit: disabilityinkidlit.com
In this episode:
Gray experiences The Invasion for the first time. It turns out it wasn’t an invasion of lizards.
We discuss the crazy aliens, the grossness of morphing, slash goggles, the concept of default identity in literature, the trope of the five-man band, and the way this book does not pull its punches.
Outside references:
Salad shooter commercial - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvL-I3Dfeqc
New Jim Crow - http://newjimcrow.com/
Dogs and Smurfs - https://maxbarry.com/2011/07/08/news.html (which Jenny conflated with another article around the same time about someone changing the gender of characters when reading to their kids, which may or may not have been this one: https://boingboing.net/2013/12/30/genderswitched-bilbo-makes-the.html)
Welcome to Animorphology!
In this episode, Jenny and Ted introduce Gray to the wonder of the Animorphs, and Gray tries to guess the premise.
Bonus: Jenny recites all of the titles of all of the books, in order. What an amazing nerd.
Outside references:
SPOILERS: Tor.com article
What is all this broccoli doing in this cupboard?
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