Fire Escape Cast #125 – Episode Summary (Feb 2, 2026)
Episode Overview
In this lively episode, Dan Ryckert, Mary Kish, and Mike Mahardy gather for Fire Escape Cast #125, bringing their signature blend of irreverent humor and deep dives into games, pop culture, and personal anecdotes. The trio discusses everything from wild weather and climate worries to film and TV discourse, tackles new and classic video games, debates fast food “bridges too far,” and navigates ridiculous anime fan service. The episode is full of strong opinions, sly banter, and genuine recommendations.
Table of Contents
- Weather & Small Talk (01:08–04:44)
- Movie & TV Deep Dive (04:44–22:08)
- Song Misheard Lyrics (22:08–25:01)
- Anime (Fan Service & Viewing Habits) (28:07–38:44)
- The Bear & Medical Shows (38:29–40:29)
- Dan’s Sekiro Journey (40:40–47:07)
- Resident Evil 9 Anticipation & Game Open Worlds (47:54–52:09)
- Mary Recommends ‘MIO’ (52:10–61:37)
- High Guard, Multiplayer Complexity & Board Game Rants (62:38–74:07)
- Shadow Gambit, Platformers, & Quarantine Zone (76:13–87:58)
- Listener Emails (88:03–128:43)
Weather & Small Talk (01:08–04:44)
- The hosts open with banter about weather in their respective regions, with Mary lamenting the too-warm, rainy West Coast, and Dan enduring the brutal cold Midwest.
- Conversation swerves into climate anxiety—Mary: “Our ice pack is really low…If it doesn’t get cold enough and we don’t get snow, it’ll affect our rivers and streams in the spring. And I think that has downstream impacts.” (02:24)
- Dan brings up a bizarre conspiracy theory he’s seen online: “Are you guys aware of, like, there’s some conspiracy theory now about snow being plastic?” (03:00)
- Group debunks social media griping about “fake” snow, with much mockery of the faulty logic.
Movie & TV Deep Dive (04:44–22:08)
The Master, Begonia, and Paul Thomas Anderson
- The hosts discuss recent movies watched, notably Begonia and The Master.
- Jesse Plemons and Joaquin Phoenix’s acting are dissected. Dan: “Joaquin Phoenix is just, he’s a guy that…Every time I’ve seen him, I bet that guy’s actually fucking nuts.” (05:31)
- Discussion turns to the ambiguous themes of The Master, cult psychology, and the “actor’s movie” vibe.
- Mike offers a nuanced breakdown: “The big thing that movie doesn’t touch on after the first 10 minutes is this is a generation of people suffering from PTSD…Freddy’s dealing with that, not knowing how to handle it.” (08:16)
- Mary admits: “Nothing that you guys have said is functionally able for me to put together and understand what this movie is about.” (09:57)
- Joaquin Phoenix’s infamous “method” Letterman appearance is recounted, with Dan explaining the context and Letterman’s dry retort: “Well, Joaquin, I’m sorry you couldn’t be here tonight.” (14:26)
Horror Movie Binge & Amanda’s Movie Tastes
- Mike’s partner Amanda is finally enjoying horror movies, so the group discusses Get Out, Weapons, and genre comfort levels, especially relating to audience identity and catharsis: “I think it’s not gonna be truly scary because you’re white. But, like, that’s kind of the point of the movie.” (17:45)
- The Rashomon-esque structure of Weapons is praised.
The Sopranos, Mad Men & Prestige TV
- Dan is finally watching The Sopranos (“Did you know The Sopranos is a good TV show?” – 19:34), and Mike gives an impassioned sell (“It’s like The Godfather…When you finally watch it, you’re like, oh, I get it.” – 20:11).
- Mary confesses to always dropping off after season one, despite intentions to finish.
- Dan talks about misheard lyrics in the theme song “Shave my body,” later clarified as “shame about it.” (22:45)
- Mad Men’s glacial pace and the challenges of rewatching big TV are mentioned.
Song Misheard Lyrics (22:08–25:01)
- The hosts share favorite misheard lyrics and mondegreens:
- Sopranos theme: “Shave my body” vs. “Shame about it.”
- Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy”: “shit happy” instead of “the living shit out of me.”
Anime (Fan Service & Viewing Habits) (28:07–38:44)
- Mary dives into High School of the Dead, lovingly roasting its egregious fan service: “There’s this iconic scene…where they’re shooting a really high caliber rifle … and the recoil is making these boobies ripple.” (30:53)
- Tangent on anime “fan service”—Mary explains, “In anime, fan service means paying tribute to the horny boys.” (30:09)
- She shares a GIF of an infamous “boob matrix” bullet-dodging scene mid-laugh. Mike, Dan, and Mary dissect the intentionally over-the-top nature of it all.
- Anime-watching habits are discussed: background “Steam Deck” play for filler episodes, but pausing the game for action or fan service scenes.
- Dan prepares for “All Systems Goku” podcast and asks about watching filler vs. condensed “Kai” versions of Dragon Ball.
- Mary recommends skipping anime filler or using it as productivity/gaming time.
The Bear & Medical Shows (38:29–40:29)
- The group pivots to “The Bear” (season 2), and their ambivalent feelings about watching stressful hospital shows after a tough day, praising the intensity and realism of the medical portrayals.
Dan’s Sekiro Journey (40:40–47:07)
- Dan is deep into Sekiro, says he can't only play weekly on stream due to the game’s intensity: “I’ve streamed a bunch of sessions, several times a week…since I started.” (40:51)
- Sekiro’s infamous “Genichiro skill check” gave Dan “the same feeling as beating Mike Tyson for the first time.” (41:28)
- Mike and Mary recall their own Sekiro experiences—Mary relates both the beauty and the stress: “It’s stunningly gorgeous…the fall and the leaves…but I found it so stressful.” (43:52)
- They praise the game’s elegant stealth and stealth vs. all-out combat balance.
- Discuss favorite boss fights, late-game challenges, and compare From Soft game runbacks and design quality.
Resident Evil 9 Anticipation & Game Open Worlds (47:54–52:09)
- Upcoming Resident Evil 9 is discussed:
- Big news: It’s reportedly moving toward an open-world sandbox structure, with dynamic enemy behaviors.
- Excitement is high; Mike says, “This is the most excited I’ve been for RE since maybe four.” (49:19)
- Appreciations for previous titles’ maps, their approach to multiple playable characters, and skepticism about retreading the Raccoon City setting.
- Seven and Village’s strengths compared; delight at the “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” and “Dracula” atmospheres.
Mary Recommends ‘MIO’ (52:10–61:37)
- Mary’s #1 current game is the indie Metroidvania Mio. She calls it “between Hollow Knight and Ori...the difficulty curve of a Hollow Knight but kinder…more beautiful, too.” (52:10)
- She details its highlights:
- No contact damage during boss fights.
- Currency you lose on death, but can “harden” to save between runs.
- Badge-based upgrade system, reminiscent of Hollow Knight’s charms.
- Striking hand-drawn backgrounds and creative mechanical/robot themes.
- Flexible progression—a friend and Mary had totally different experiences five hours in.
- Addresses complaints about a slow start: “I found a boss almost immediately. This game is chock full of secrets, hidden hidey-holes…” (57:39)
- Highly recommends for platformer/metroidvania fans, especially as a Steam Deck game.
High Guard, Multiplayer Complexity & Board Game Rants (62:38–74:07)
- Dan tests new multiplayer shooter “High Guard”:
- Finds it typical of modern multiplayer—“Spend the first few minutes doing boring chores, something changes, then you die.” (63:19)
- He and Mike reminisce about simpler shooter objective design: “I like simpler objectives. Dota or League…seems like the most miserable thing I’ve ever heard.”
- Tangent: Modern board games are “all complicated.” Mike tells a story: “They bring out three options, each with like ten subsystems. ‘Sorry, we said we wanted simple!’ And he says, ‘Oh, these ARE the simple ones.’” (68:48)
- Group aligns in preferring party games or quick-to-grasp mechanics (e.g., Wavelength, Codenames) over the modern glut of rules and tokens.
Shadow Gambit, Platformers, & Quarantine Zone (76:13–87:58)
- Mike continues playing (and loving) Shadow Gambit, commending its isometric stealth-puzzle design and multiple character unlocks. “If you like first-person immersive sims…it’s essentially kind of an immersive sim…but top-down stealth.” (77:43)
- Mary offers “mini Blight Club” recommendations:
- Deepest Sword: Humorous, slightly horny, “game jam” style platformer where the goal is to penetrate deeper into a dragon’s lair as your sword gets increasingly unmanageable. Features sex jokes and physics gags. “It’s a cute little gimmick but…absolutely outrageously well done for a short game.” (81:12)
- Big Hops: Colorful, janky platformer with unique unlocking/puzzle mechanics (e.g., ropes, goo balls).
- Quarantine Zone: Papers, Please-style simulation about letting (or not) people into a zone depending on their infection status. Highly janky but scratches Mary’s “zombie apocalypse fantasy” itch.
Listener Emails (88:03–128:43)
1. Unique Habits Hard to Explain
- Thomas from Minneapolis does “kava” instead of booze; asks the gang for hard-to-explain habits.
- Mary: Szechuan peppercorn obsession — “mess with your tongue’s flavor profiles and make beer taste like apple juice.”
- Dan: Meditation — “the thing that’s helped me so much for so long with anxiety…there are so many misconceptions…that’s the practice.” (92:12)
- Mike: The horror genre — “People who don’t get it ask, ‘Why do you like being scared?’ … There’s a way of processing emotions in a very powerful way.”
2. Fast Food Bridges Too Far
- Lucas from Australia: “What fast food is a bridge too far?”
- Mike: Not morally opposed, but won’t choose chains over local places. Admits Arby’s roast beef “just looks like a stack of labia.”
- Dan: “Never liked Burger King…if it’s the only option, I’ll eat it.” Excited to celebrate Valentine’s Day at White Castle.
- Mary: Skyline Chili and Subway seafood sub—hard no— “a vat of mayonnaise and a baggie of seafood.”
- Group shares McDonald’s orders, with back-and-forth on the quality of Chicken McNuggets and the dollar menu.
3. Best Nickname
- Simon from Perth: “Best nickname you’ve encountered?”
- Dan: College friend named Brian stuck with “Linus”—to the point where his father calls him that, from a drunken rhyme.
- Mike: Childhood friend “Pooch.”
- Mary: Shares her dad called her “Maybe.”
- Tangent on Goonies, Gremlins, and fun night movie marathons.
4. Movie Recommendations
- Mike and Mary exchange horror movie recs (The Monkey, Annette), with Mary suffering through the “experimental musical horror” Annette upon Dan’s urging: “I can’t get through this. Torture. It was 20 minutes of torture.” (122:10)
Notable Quotes & Moments
- On The Master:
- Mike: "I think it’s actually my favorite PTA movie. I love The Master. It hit me hard the first time I watched it." (06:47)
- Dan: “I watched that whole movie and didn’t realize there were allegories ... am I totally missing something?" (07:40)
- On Anime Fan Service:
- Mary (describing High School of the Dead): "…the bullet goes in between the boobies as they flop, and it misses both boobies and then hits a zombie in the head." (31:19)
- Dan (reacting): “That’s stupid. That’s very stupid. That’s so dumb.” (33:26)
- On Fast Food:
- Mike: "I don’t know how Arby’s got so big…just looks like a stack of labia on a sandwich." (101:45)
- Mary: “Skyline Chili…that is my bridge too far. I won’t eat that. I think it’s disgusting.” (109:06)
- On Meditation:
- Dan: “Thoughts and feelings aren’t reality … as soon as you realize, ‘Oh, this is just a thought, this is in my head,’ you can let it go.”
- On Watching Annette:
- Mary: "They keep singing how they’re feeling. I hate it." (125:31)
Episode Tone
The discussion is loose, playful, and packed with inside jokes and banter. There are moments of genuine appreciation for art, games, food, and self-improvement, cut through with self-deprecating humor and occasional sharp, affectionate digs among friends. Long, tangent-filled exchanges make the episode feel like hanging out with a group of hilarious, equally game-obsessed friends.
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 03:00 – Dan’s “plastic snow” conspiracy theory
- 05:01 – Dan’s first viewing of The Master
- 19:34 – Dan discovers The Sopranos
- 22:45 – Sopranos theme: misheard lyrics riff
- 30:09 – Fan service in anime explained
- 43:52 – Mary on Sekiro’s stressful difficulty
- 52:10 – Mary sells everyone on Mio
- 62:38 – High Guard and multiplayer shooter fatigue
- 68:48 – Board game complexity rant
- 77:43 – Shadow Gambit recommendations
- 88:03 – Listener email: unique hobbies
- 101:45 – Fast food “bridge too far” debate
- 122:06 – Mary’s revolt against Annette
Final Thoughts
Whether you’re here for game recommendations, in-depth movie discussion, meme-worthy anime fan service, or just to enjoy the group’s friendship and mockery, this episode delivers laughs and thoughtful takes from start to finish. The strong personalities and opinions shine through on every topic—so much so that even a debate about Chicken McNuggets is fiercely entertaining.
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