Hey Riddle Riddle – Patreon Preview #347: King Mumbles pt. 5 w/ Allison Reese
Date: October 31, 2025
Hosts: Adal Rifai, Erin Keif, John Patrick Coan
Guest: Allison Reese
Main Theme:
This bonus episode of Hey Riddle Riddle continues the whimsical, long-running saga featuring the eccentric King Mumbles—a blend of improv storytelling, character work, and playful riffing on tropes of riddles, fantasy, and pop culture. The gang, joined by Allison Reese, navigates their way to and through King Mumbles’ bread-filled castle, encountering ghosts, birds, and ever-present absurdity.
Main Story & Structure
1. Surreal Banter After a Long Recording (Starts ~00:00)
- The group is feeling brain-fried from an intense prior recording.
- Erin and Adal joke about strange characters and worn-out brains.
- Conversation veers into an extended, self-aware riff about podcast recording running over:
- “This sort of feels like we thought this would be a month and it's actually a month and a week.” – Erin (02:00)
2. Meta-Narratives & Fantastical Digressions
- Narnia, TARS, and Movie Stress:
- The team gets tangled in a pop-culture reference spiral—from Narnia to Interstellar’s TARS.
- Erin confesses to movies causing anxiety, even benign ones like Mrs. Doubtfire and Brave Little Toaster:
- “Is it a safe space to say that Interstellar kind of stressed me out?” – Erin (04:08)
- “Well, yeah, and Brave Little Toaster stressed you out.” – John (04:20)
- Adal and JP joke about following the most confident person, with a tongue-in-cheek cult comment.
3. Summoning (and Sassing) King Mumbles (Storyline Proper ~04:30)
- After various comedic starts, Erin’s “King Mumbles says…” joke actually conjures the king.
- Confusion about King Mumbles’ first name being “Marco” leads to a funny Marco Polo riff and tying it back to a possibly drowned man in the castle moat:
- “He was trying to reach my bread pantry because he was hungry… and I said, drown him in the moat.” – King Mumbles/Allison (05:36)
- Light-hearted exchanges about Les Mis, with King Mumbles’ misunderstanding creating a comic dynamic:
- "Who's Les Mis?" – King Mumbles (05:51)
4. Negotiating with King Mumbles
- The cast role-plays requesting favors of the king, slipping between Renaissance drama and modern idioms:
- “We are actually kind of a group of miserables. Who is coming to you, hat in hand, hand on bended knee, hat on bended hand.” – JP (06:16)
- King Mumbles riffs on “three for one” deals and past misadventures:
- “Okay, so you want a three for one? What, bedroom, mine or guest rooms?” – King Mumbles (06:46)
- “Oh, we actually already tried that and almost ruined our friendship, so better steer clear.” – Erin (06:50)
5. Running Gags: Bread, Mead & Headings
- King Mumbles’ obsession with bread and mead becomes an improv focal point:
- “I love bread. I heard you mention bread as I zoned out. Bread is so good.” – King Mumbles (07:28)
- Extended riff about mead orders, threats of beheading staff if requests aren’t met—a farcical “tyrant” motif.
6. Ghostly Companions and Castle Silliness (~09:01 onward)
- King Mumbles reveals his best friends are the ghosts of those he’s had executed, sparking goofy irony:
- “Everyone else works for me or is scared of me, but the ghosts, they really tell me how it is.” – King Mumbles (13:05)
- Discussion about friendly versus heckling ghosts:
- “Are these all the spirits of those you have put to death?” – JP (14:34)
- Further comic world-building with bird companions and chainmail made of croutons:
- “Your chainmail made of croutons looks so tasty.” – Adal (15:06)
- “Those are my other friends.” – King Mumbles (15:19)
7. Childlike Logic & Absurd Details
- Squirrel mascot makes a “saving acorns” financial literacy cameo, improvising puns and breaking the improv “fourth wall.”
- MIT is humorously redefined as “Munch Into Trees” by the talking squirrel.
8. Small Moments & Running Jokes
- Erin’s childhood crush on the human form of Casper.
- Adal and JP playfully threaten to stomp cartoon animals.
- Repeated confusion and gentle bickering about mundane modern concepts in a medieval logic world.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
Bread, Death, and Rulership
- On arbitrary executions:
- "He was trying to reach my bread pantry because he was hungry and was babbling on about not feeding the peasants of the land, and I said, 'drown him in the moat.'"
– King Mumbles (05:36)
- "He was trying to reach my bread pantry because he was hungry and was babbling on about not feeding the peasants of the land, and I said, 'drown him in the moat.'"
- On ghostly friendships:
- “Everyone else works for me or scared of me, but the ghosts, they really. They really tell me how it is, you know, they're my best friends.”
– King Mumbles (13:05)
- “Everyone else works for me or scared of me, but the ghosts, they really. They really tell me how it is, you know, they're my best friends.”
Running Gags & Absurdities
- On following confidence:
- “You came in really hot and I just follow whoever's the most confident in the room. That's why I'm susceptible to cults.”
– Erin (04:00)
- “You came in really hot and I just follow whoever's the most confident in the room. That's why I'm susceptible to cults.”
- On drinks order stakes:
- "Do you have nae mead? Is that a crazy thing to ask here?...If you cannot, I will kill you."
– King Mumbles (08:02, 08:27)
- "Do you have nae mead? Is that a crazy thing to ask here?...If you cannot, I will kill you."
On Pop Culture Tangents
- On TARS & Interstellar:
- “What's the movie? That's like Inception, but in space.” – JP (02:55)
- “Star Wars.” – Erin (02:59)
Character & Performance Highlights
- Allison Reese, as King Mumbles: Effortlessly weaves regal cluelessness, menace, and wacky joy. Her delivery of lines about executions, bread, and ghosts opens up rich, laugh-out-loud character moments.
- Group Dynamics:
- Their comfort with one another allows for hilarious “yes, and” flows, especially with role reversals (“king at your service”) and meta-commentary on the improv process.
- Squirrel Interlude (Meta-Absurdism): The “savings squirrel” bit lampoons sponsorships, infusing the mid-episode with energy and wordplay (“MIT = Munch Into Trees”).
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:00 – 01:50: Post-recording wind-down and sponsor bits (skipped as non-content)
- 02:00 – 04:15: Meta-commentary, tangent about “TARS”, Narnia and movie anxieties
- 04:30 – 05:56: Summoning King Mumbles, Marco Polo and ‘moat murder’ riff
- 06:16 – 08:10: Request to King Mumbles for favors; three-for-one joke, mead negotiation; bread obsession surfaces
- 09:01 – 09:14: Ghosts of victims, castle being haunted/inhabited by former friends
- 13:05 – 15:19: Discussion about ghosts, crouton chainmail, bird friends, and blending of absurd character details
Summary Review
This episode is a shining example of Hey Riddle Riddle’s hallmark blend: sharp improv, world-building silliness, and affectionate meta-commentary. With Allison Reese’s King Mumbles at the helm, the hosts riff through a world where bread is king, ghosts are confidants, and every pun and intertextual joke is a springboard. Tangents and asides blend seamlessly with the ongoing fantasy, making it one for fans who love absurdist comedy with just enough narrative continuity to keep the fairy tale rolling until the next week.