UPDATING OCCASIONALLY (FOR NOW)

9 thoughts on “558 – Cotton Clad Calamity”

  1. Raznaak

    Yup, he’s a bastard XD

  2. Dr. Norman (not a real doctor)

    Are those pajamas available in XXXL in the gift shop?

  3. Otaku

    It’s been a while, so let me ask: Did we get a reason for him to WANT Susie dead? Not to backseat, but if we didn’t, I’m worried were about to move into “Stupid Evil” territory. Now, stupid happens, don’t get me wrong. It’s not bad storytelling for that to be the case here.

    You’ve just done a good job NOT having that be a driving factor, so the “Kill off the stars of my successful reality TV show.” seems shortsighted, otherwise. Oh, I guess I could be mistaken about the in-story reality TV show’s success. Like, if the company behind them is losing money, or they think a change in management at the ranch would make the whole thing more popular/profitable, then I can see the above scenario happening as well.

    I REALLY think I’m just forgetting something important, but that I don’t have time to deep dive to remind me of, hence the comment. >_<

    1. Deoxy

      It certainly has been stretched out over quite a while, but there have definitely been hints from quite near the beginning that whoever is running the reality TV show definitely wants her dead.

      But I certainly don’t recall any reason why.

      1. Clint

        Yeah it’s fair to not remember since it’s been a hot minute (many, many minutes) but if you feel like a refresher the most relevant bits would be the beginning of Episode 8 and the end of Episode 15. We haven’t explicitly spelled out exactly what The Exec means by his “side hustle” or who was on the other end of that phone call, though.

        I’m hoping that when the whole thing is eventually available it will make sense, or at least enough sense to have hung this narrative on.

        1. Otaku

          Thanks for the replies, Deoxy and Clint. Yeah, I’d totally forgotten about those things. Good to know!

  4. Evervigilant

    Seems about time for the two people who aren’t there to make a surprise entrance as the ace Susie didn’t even know she had.

  5. Scarsdale

    There’s still 3-5 people on her side that might be planning something. This guy is a megalomaniac with a god complex, so letting him think he’s the sharpest tool in the shed sets him up for a fall. Everything depends on those cameras, and I suspect their little stop over by the charging coffins had something to do with her actual plan, not the one the a-hole thinks it is.

  6. lyra

    Really enjoyed the opening of Zombie Ranch. I like the combination of the western setting with the zombie concept, it gives the story a really distinctive atmosphere. I’m a freelance illustrator and animator, and I’d be interested in seeing how some of these scenes could translate into motion, especially as a short animated teaser or character scene.

    If you’re ever interested in something like that, you can reach me here:

    IG: eve_verse_
    Email: [contact.lilaclines@gmail.com](mailto:contact.lilaclines@gmail.com)
    Discord: Lyralilac_

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558 – Cotton Clad Calamity
Posted on August 26, 2026 by Dawn

What would you call this? Armchair assassination? Merk-from-home?

Well, Suzie ain't dead (or undead) quite yet, so we'll just have to see if his gloating is justifiable.

The Best Western of 2019*

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Clint

*according to Clint

I’ve given my opinions on many a movie, television series, and/or video game in my decade-long tenure here at the Ranch, and in the case of the latter two media have often encountered a problem in that I tend to give my opinions before I finish the dang thing. Sometimes that’s fine. Sometimes I end up with very different opinions after eventual completion. Sometimes I get so disenchanted with a thing I was initially excited about that I don’t end up finishing it at all. So… if you believe I’m not to be trusted on account of that, I understand.

But if there was any upside to be had from our last-quarter-of-2019 crises that led us to our longest hiatus ever, it was that I actually managed to watch some things all the way through before getting back and blathering about them in this blog. So for once I can say, having watched it all the way through not just once but twice over…

The Mandalorian is the best Western of 2019.

Oh sure, it’s technically Science Fiction (or Science Fantasy given how the Star Wars franchise has never been much for the fiddly details of its physics). But where the original Star Wars might have cribbed some of its details and ambience from the Western and Samurai genres (who themselves have been long intertwined), The Mandalorian is completely unabashed about wearing its John Ford-Sergio Leone-Akira Kurosawa love upon its Beskar-armored sleeve, with a healthy dose of the famous manga Lone Wolf and Cub infused as well.

Not only do showrunners Dave Filoni and John Favreau display a deep affection and knowledge of the above, they have the same affection for Star Wars, capturing a spirit of that DNA written into my childhood that I’ve felt somehow missing in more recent efforts. They pay respect to the lore and also expand upon it in new and fascinating ways that don’t feel jarring. What kind of nerd do you have to be to visually demonstrate the behind-the-scenes lore that Devaronians are immune to fire? Well, they are those nerds, and nerdy me was giddy about it along with many other moments.

I could go on but there’s no shortage of praise out there. Just gonna say, even if you have to spring for Disney+ for a single month so you can watch, this is well worth the price. Even the music is top notch, and it would have seemed impossible to think that of a Star Wars score that is 100% not John Williams. Instead credit goes to Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson, who perhaps made his biggest mark so far with the score for Black Panther but his work on The Mandalorian is just next level. It’s as if Favreau and Filoni came to him and said something impossible execs say like “We want a theme for this show which seamlessly blends Ennio Morricone and John Williams” and instead of that being impossible, he locked himself in his studio for a month and then went, “Here you go.”

Listen to it. Then listen to it again. And again. And reflect that there are still good things in life.