Podcast #21: Review of “The Toy”

Since 2017, the AIOWiki Podcast has grown from an experimental mixture of news and reviews to one of the most popular Adventures in Odyssey fan podcasts. Now, after three-and-a-half years of views, reviews, news, and interviews, the podcast has come to an end. Lee and Arista reflect on the past thirty editions and all that happened behind the scenes in this final edition of the AIOWiki Podcast.

For the first time in the history of AIO fan podcasting, the review of an Odyssey episode is joined by the writer himself. Phil Lollar returns to devote another three hours to the AIOWiki Podcast, this time breaking down the behind-the-scenes of “The Rydell Revelations, Part 3.” Lee and Ryan barrage him with clarifications, nitpicks, and questions, which eventually leads to the one question left hanging from the three-parter: “Is all of that… good?”

With Arista absent for this edition of the AIOWiki Podcast, Ryan Matlock jumps in to review with Lee the penultimate Rydell Saga episode, “The Rydell Revelations, Part 2.” How good is this continuation of the previous part? The two reviewers pore over all aspects of the episode, including the biggest plot twist and its implications for an earlier, unresolved mystery.

The end begins here. The Morrie Rydell Saga is finally finishing, and Lee and Arista are ready with the 27th AIOWiki Podcast, the review of “The Rydell Revelations, Part 1.” Without hearing the other two parts, is this episode a worthy impetus for the conclusion? Spoilers abound as we find out.

There’s a lot of humming on this edition of the AIOWiki Podcast, as we see how long Phil Lollar can go without spoiling anything about the Rydell Saga in Part II of the interview. Aside from Lee’s grilling him about Morrie, Phil shares about covering hard topics on Odyssey, the story around “One-in-Ten,” his relationships with the actors and other crew members, the themes behind “The Rydell Revelations,” and how Joss Whedon’s “Angel” is representative of Phil’s existential worldview.