The Rydell Revelations, Part 2
2 Corinthians 5:10
“The Rydell Revelations, Part 2” is episode #899 of the Adventures in Odyssey audio series. It was written and directed by Phil Lollar, was originally released in the Adventures in Odyssey Club on July 21, 2020, and originally aired on October 10, 2020.
Summary
Whit reveals additional clues to Morrie’s misdeeds around town of Odyssey - the untold story that motivated them.
Plot
"I think you're trying to game me, just like you've been gaming everyone in Odyssey since you moved here," Mr. Whittaker says to Morrie, after listening to a recording of Emily's 'case of the Rydell Revelations'. Morrie is shocked that he thinks it's a game and isn't more concerned about his sister's kidnapping, but Whit pulls out a piece of paper and begins reading, "I have to admit, they were good. It was a risk to show them a page of my playbook like that. But it was worth it to see if the could keep up with me, and of course, they couldn't, no one could. I shouldn't have expected anyone would be that good, not in this town," which was from a computer journal he wrote after he conducted the writer's ruse case. Morrie is shocked again and asks how he got it, and Whit replies, "all in good time." However, as he was playing a game with them, he could be playing one with him, too. Morrie promises that he is telling the truth, and says if he's playing a game, then so is Emily, because he had her phone, as well as Matthew, Olivia, and Zoe.
Whit replies with a skeptical, "Maybe" and asks an out of the blue question. He wonders if Morrie likes the theater. Morrie says, "Well, kind of," to which Whit replies, "have you been to the Stratford theater in Connellsville lately?" Morrie is angry that Mr. Whittaker would ask such an unrelated question instead of helping find Suzu. Whit says that he was passing by there and saw a poster for their new play, which had the names of actors in it. One of them, Beatrice Coffman, looked very familiar. Whit went inside and talked to her, and found out how good she was at voices, including European accents, like the one she did playing a Miss Anya Popov. He also met another actor by the name of Roland Tomlinson, who played Jordan Winword, the "representative of the Student Project Fund," a bogus organization. Morrie once again asks how it is related whatsoever. Whit says he asked both who hired them to play the characters, and they said they did the transaction over the phone, and although they were paid in full, they didn't know who gave them the money, and their voice was disguised. Whit wondered who would have the ability to do such a thing. When he came back from the theater, he played around with Suzu's recording of the man who talked to her, himself, Emily, and Matthew when they were trapped in the basement and the escape room. The original recording played, only it sounds just like Morrie! Morrie, flustered at this point, has nothing logical to say. Mr. Whittaker reminds him about how he sent Emily on a portable Imagination Station adventure at the sink in the kitchen. When Morrie says that was only Emily's guess, Whit laughs and asks if Morrie thinks he doesn't know what happens in his building. Whit again reminds him about the election and asks if Morrie manipulated it. He also asks about the other misdeeds, and Morrie says yes to all of them. Whit comes to the same conclusion as before. They eventually decide that if Morrie is telling the truth, they should go to his house and see the evidence for themselves.
When they arrive at the house Mrs. Meido comes and asks what happened to Suzu's room. Whit says hello to her, while Morrie, surprised again, wonders how they know each other. When Whit says he knows Mrs. Meido, Morrie realizes she was the one who gave him the journal entry and is offended that she was spying on him. Morrie says that Suzu was kidnapped, and once again asks why he was being spied on. Whit asks why he is in Odyssey, and when Morrie says his father wanted him to be here, Whit begins the story. Whit did work for the U.S. Government, which involved a lot of travel. One of the places he went to was Japan, where he met on the U.S. Embassy a man named Raymond Rydell. He received a wedding invitation, as well as announcements of Morrie's birth and Suzu's adoption. Morrie thought that his father didn't care about them after his mother's death, but Mrs. Meido assured him he did. Back in the past, Mrs. Meido tries to explain to Raymond that his son is a very slippery child and that all he ever wants to do is come back to the embassy. He had made friends with many of the personnel, in particular, a secretary named Natalie. His father decides not to have him live in an embassy anymore and calls Whit to tell him he's sending them and Mrs. Meido to Odyssey. He asks him and Mrs. Meido to be his parents, in a way. Morrie is disappointed that his father didn't want to keep him just because he couldn't cope with his mother's death. Whit mentions that because he has manual dexterity, so he couldn't have opened all the lockers on his own. He must have had help. Morrie says that it was all just games, was how he and "her" talked to each other, and that Suzu must have kidnapped Emily. He explains that Suzu was brilliant when it came to engineering and mechanics, and in the past, she had had a problem with taking things that didn't belong to her. When she opened the lockers the first night, she took stuff, but Morrie returned it. The next night, Morrie was the one who took stuff, information that is, such as the password to Emily's phone. He also found out that most of the kids around were Christians. He then decided to put everyone to the test by the drama club fundraiser and the escape room. It was Suzu's idea to conduct an escape room to give Matthew and Emily a challenge, and so Morrie could see if they believed "that greater love stuff" they always talked about. The imagination station adventure was Morrie's idea, although Suzu knew about it. Mrs. Meido suddenly notices a notebook under Suzu's bed, Morrie hands it to her, and she reads that Suzu talks about a "secret place she has found, a special place to hide away, a house in a tree." Whit guesses they are at the Wonderworld Treehouse, which doesn't make sense because the boys sometimes play there and it's not exactly hidden. Morrie and Whit leave Mrs. Meido at the house while they go to the treehouse.
On the way there, Morrie asks why Mr. Whittaker didn't tell anyone he was on to him and his sister, and he replies he wanted to see how things played out, and he should have stepped in sooner. Morrie says that Mr. Whittaker is doing the same thing as he was because he is manipulating emotions by using his inventions. Just as Whit tries to explain, Morrie sees the treehouse and runs up, finding neither Emily nor Suzu. After Morrie asks where they are, a familiar voice says "good question" and Whit is surprised to see Natalie, and Morrie is surprised that he knows her at all, and by a different name, Tasha Forbes.
Discussion Questions
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Cast
Heard in episode
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Morrie Rydell | Atticus Shaffer |
| John Whittaker | Andre Stojka |
| Mrs. Meido | Ren Hanami |
| Raymond Rydell | Jason Spisak |
| Suzu Rydell | April Hong |
| Natalie | Mandy Fabian |
| Role | Actor |
|---|---|
| Morrie Rydell | Atticus Shaffer |
| John Whittaker | Andre Stojka |
| Suzu Rydell | April Hong |
| Mrs. Meido | Ren Hanami |
| Natalie | Mandy Fabian |
| Raymond Rydell | Jason Spisak |
Mentioned in episode
Notes
- This is the first episode featuring Tasha Forbes since #635: “Accidental Dilemma, Part 2”.
- It is also the return of the Wonderworld Treehouse, which was last in #497: “Expect the Worst”.
- This episode briefly flashes back to #804: “The Key Suspect”.
- Goofs
- Whit claims that the reason he didn't tell Emily about the escape room was that she said she wanted to solve it on her own. However, Emily only said that line at the beginning of #898: “The Rydell Revelations, Part 1”, meaning that Whit could not have possibly had the same reason to withhold the information from Emily during #877: “A Sacrificial Escape” or #885: “Further from the Truth”, during which he knew (as confirmed in part 3) that Morrie was the antagonist.
Gallery
Artwork
The cast
Quotes
Morrie Rydell: Natalie?!
Natalie: Hi Morrie.
John Whittaker: Okay, now I'm convinced this is not just a game. Natalie, eh?
Natalie: Hello Whit, good to see you again.
Morrie Rydell: Wait...you two know each other?
Natalie: Yes, very well.
John Whittaker: Only I know Natalie by a different name. Tasha. Tasha Forbes.
Resources
- Episodes aired 4 times
- Episodes in Album 69: Best Kept Secrets
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