Director's Notes - Ep 209: The Black Coat

I was a Religious Studies major in college. Well, I was originally an Anthropology/Religious Studies major, but I dropped Anthropology after I learned how much hard science was involved.

Religious Studies is not the kind of degree that you would think might be super useful out in the real world unless you plan to become a professor in that field yourself. But I have ended up using what I learned there quite a bit. For me, Religious Studies is about looking at the stories we tell ourselves. Not in a dismissive way, but with the understand that our core stories are one of the most important non-physical things in our lives. Without stories, we flounder. Even the most hardcore atheist, even though they would stridently deny it, exists in the world less through facts and more through a narrative they have constructed. It’s not a weakness. It’s fundamental to who we are as a species, in the best way possible.

All to say that I really enjoy exploring the pantheon of Night Vale gods. The Woman From Italy. Huntokar. The five headed dragons. And perhaps most inscrutable and terrifying of all, The Distant Prince. I love that he is defined by a subjective title. Distant to whom? Presumably to everyone. By what frame of reference? Presumably all of them. No matter who or where you are, the Distant Prince is there, in the distance.

Some other plotlines are building in here obviously. Cecil has some sort of surprise for Carlos. I wonder what it could be? (I know. I already wrote the script for our tenth anniversary.) Also both Kareems are still around, and what is this organization that Kareem has contacted? (I also know the answer to that one.) And Cecil seems to be in a lot of trouble with the IRS. (We don’t currently have plans to do anything with that, but I would not be surprised if it came back at some point.)

Misc notes:

-The story of Bella in the Wych Elm is 100% real. Look it up.

-I love that the Pinkberry in Night Vale not only is still popular, but appears to be a vital center for community life.

Next episode is our tenth anniversary of making this show, which I struggle to wrap my head around. Like Cecil, I am also preparing a surprise for that episode, one that I hope all of you will enjoy.

From my personal narrative to yours,

Joseph Fink