You thought we were done with one horror-esque episode with the release of “The Place Beyond the Pinecones” in this countdown? Screw it, let’s go for another and back to The Great North we go. I know that it’s December and not October, but the episode came out in March, so you tell me? Coming in at number 9 of the Top 12 Countdown of 2025 is The Great North with “Silence of the Dams Adventure”. Featuring one hating ass beaver that plagued the town for generations and should at least be a candidate for the Haters Hall of Fame.
If you haven’t seen or heard of the movie “It Follows”, it might as well be this episode in a nutshell for one Honeybee Shaw-Tobin. Especially when having to mess with something that she is not supposed to come across, something that is sacred to the town of Lone Moose as a safety valve. A safety valve that has the whole town scared shitless if something happens to that valve in the form of a wooden tower. A wooden tower for a vicious little creature plaguing the city, and it looks like Honeybee will learning that the hard way. Especially when having to do all of the errands herself for the family. And what were the Tobins doing leading up to the moment her actions decided to come back to bite her in the ass?
They have themselves a marathon at the table playing board games. Well, A board game that would last them a day and not have to get out of the house. Hence, why Honeybee had to go out and run a few errands, mainly buying supplies to make pizzas for the family with the pizza oven they got, and also not wanting to be a part of playing a board game for the next 24 hours. And the same goes for Dirt, who is, of course, absent in this episode. Saying that she would rather spend another 60 years hiding in her bunker than playing a board game with the family. The game Lizards in the Library, on the other hand, later in the season, in the episode “Dungeon Aunt Dragons Adventure”, that's a whole different story. At least we got an excuse for that for once with this episode. So, the focus, at least in the first half of the episode, is on Honeybee, with her actions leading up to the moment her actions catch up to her.
Having to quote-on-quote “make a beeline”, or taking a shortcut, as what Honeybee would say when being stuck in traffic on her way home from the store because of an accident that happened on a road that happened to be two lanes and pretty much the only way in and out of Lone Moose (though not really). And the fire road would be her alternate route to get out of the jam. Not noticing that the alternate route that Honeybee took on her way home holds the wooden tower that shouldn’t be messed with... up until Honeybee ends up accidentally running over it when trying to get out of a traffic jam. And if you've seen or heard of the movie “It Follows”, it’s going to be like that for her for the remainder of the first half of the episode. Either that or the movie “Smile”, since the premise does look the same, but with different… well, everything. Though you could compare it to that one Courage the Cowardly Dog episode with what Honeybee did to the wooden tower. Oh, you know what episode I’m referring to. Though that is hardly the case when making the comparison.
The point is, Honeybee, ending the first act and going into the second act of the episode, she is dealing with the consequences the hard way that which does feel like something straight out of “It Follows” once Honeybee heads out of the house again after making the family pizza while, yes, still glued to the game that had barely begun. The townsfolk avoid Honeybee as if she had the plague. Honeybee did brush it off at first when getting her tires checked when noticing a wooden stake that flattened her tire, and thought it was Vera. But the moment Kyle knew where the stake came from, that’s where the townsfolk began to fend for their lives by avoiding Honeybee. And you can see why, once the scene changes to Maude’s, where everyone in the background starts talking about wanting to avoid being around her because they don’t want to catch any smoke on what is about to come.
And boy, did it ever once Honeybee uses the bathroom, where she hears a gnawing sound from afar. The sound of a rodent coming from the back. Invading the place once everyone leaves to fend for themselves. Leaving Honeybee to fend for herself when coming across whatever is following her since the incident took place that made her pissed. Turning it into a chaotic chase scene for Honeybee on her way back home to alert the Tobins to what just transpired that nearly cost her life. Nearly about to be GGs for her if she didn’t swerve off whatever is attacking her. It ain’t a human, because otherwise, it would be a terrifyingly different story.
And of course, the Tobins know about what Honeybee did that caused the town to shun her, and the recent attempt from a mysterious figure who is not even human. Especially once she arrives back unharmed and tells the family about what happened, and the moment she accidentally ran into the wooden tower. Causing the Tobins to say the phrase “Honor the tribute” like it’s straight out of a freaking cult. And that leads us to the introduction, even if it’s only a one-time exclusive, of Lone Moose’s greatest hater and the animal embodiment of Black Air Force energy.
Steven Beaver. This hating ass rodent had the citizens of Lone Moose shaking in their boots if something happened to the wooden tower that was meant for him. And Honeybee had to go and fuck it up, even if it is by accident, when taking a detour to get out of traffic. And sure, a beaver as the town’s biggest op in this episode was random at first and should’ve gone with any of the mythical creatures that the state had to offer, but whatever, because Alaska. But having a beaver that knows that its habitat shouldn’t be messed with and having to be territorial at best in at its worst, was something. And it would make sense for a wooden tower to be the central item for the episode and to be destroyed as the trigger once Honeybee drives through the fire road where the tower is. A fire road that was closed off to the public because that is where the tower was. And if you think that this is just a Steven problem because it is one beaver that is plaguing the town. No, no. This whole thing doesn’t start with Steven and ends with Steven.
No, no. This hatred from the beaver spans generations. All the way back to when Lone Moose was first founded, back when Alaska was a territory. Stemming all the way back to the first-ever hater within the Beaver family, Steven’s great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, Phineus Beaver. And all of this started because you have, of course, white people having to go and fuck it all up. Especially, three settlers who happened to be drunk one night and took the wood that was used for the dam. Not knowing that it would anger the beaver because they decided to mess with their habitat without asking. And that is more than enough for Phineus to unleash hell on the settlers. Especially when having to go towards the city hall and take one of the logs that was used off the wall like it’s a Jenga tower, and pretty much killing the town’s first mayor, Mayor Pecan, by having him buried under the rubble of the log cabin. Pretty sure you can’t survive that. Especially in the olden times when modern medicine was non-existent.
But it was a total nightmare for the early citizens of Lone Moose when dealing with Phineus and, later, his descendants. Having to pay the consequences that three drunk white settlers did by taking some wood from the dam instead of... oh, I don’t know... chopping some trees?! But for the early citizens of Lone Moose, it was Hell in the early years of the town. Whether it's getting the mail, taking a stroll, going canoeing, or hoping to have a good time, the beaver is going to attack you. Taking no prisoners, no matter the age or gender. They’re getting packed up because they’re humans and they have to pay the consequences.
The humans thought they had an advantage in 1915 when a woman named Mrytle Jones pulled out a shotgun and decided to play pest control. Phineus is long gone, and having to inherit the hatred towards his son, Herbert. Shooting the beaver, thinking that he was dead, and for the localized nightmare to be over with... until Herbert and a few of his gang decide to have the last laugh because Mrytle missed in the vitals. Shot him in the eye, which you think should be fatal (though not really, but again, modern medicine didn’t exist back then). But Herbert got the last laugh, and as a result, Myrtle got the #PackWatch #RIPBozo treatment. While unarmed. Thinking shit was going to be sweet after thinking that the nightmare was over. So, shooting the beavers doesn’t work. These beavers aren’t your usual beavers. These are the types that breed hatred, breathe hatred, and are born into hatred. These beavers don’t give a fuck. Belt to ass no matter the age. No matter the generation. This had plagued Lone Moose for almost a century, with little to no option other than having to force a lockdown and have a plan straight out of a horror or disaster movie. How the fuck was this not a theme for the town’s annual Disaster Day event?
And it was getting to the point where it took nearly a century before the disgraced former mayor of the town, the mayor before Mayor Peppers, took the seat, came up with an idea to get rid of the beaver problem that was on their King Von timing by creating a wooden tower that we saw at the start of the episode and had to be built every year like its a game of hot potato and handed the hating ass beaver to the next town over to make it their problem. Definitely following the playbook from the movie “It Follows”. So uh, shooting the beaver dead is totally off the table. Because that would require Aunt Dirt to step into the ring since she is armed with a gun. And knowing that someone tried that, and failed, to deal with the beaver like it’s pest control, she would also be off the table. Pretty sure when it comes to Dirt, when it comes to surviving the apocalypse with years of training and having to live in a bunker for 60 years, then she got it. But against a beaver who has hatred in his veins that was passed down for generations...
Yeah. And Dirt should know that because she is a long-time resident of the town, long before going into hiding for 60 years. And I’m guessing the same goes for the military or the National Guard when taking on the rodent. So, the plan is simple, yet complicated for the Tobins to clean up Honeybee’s mess that triggered Steven to go mad on her and the Tobins. And that is to rebuild the wooden tower and light it on fire to get Steven’s attention.
And I said complicated because they need the time they need. Especially since Steven comes crashing into the house by tearing the tree into the area of the house where they’re at, and is about to go on the offensive. Though Ham, you’re not helping out with the cause when thinking of sacrificing yourself to the beaver and thinking that you’re turning into one after being nearly attacked by Steven. And that is the name of the game: find some wood to rebuild the wooden tower, with the council's help, but they got to need some time to construct. Leave it to Wolf, Judy, and Moon to serve as the distraction and to do some action as bait for a hating ass angry beaver. And for the others?
No need to go out to the woods and find some wood because they shot a shipment worth. Mainly used for the replacement chairs made for Judy. Forgot to mention in this post, go check the review to this, where there are some moments in the episode where Judy feels her chair being wobbly due to one of the legs being short and having Honeybee step in to help out. Mostly placing her much to serve as the leg. But the extra replacement chairs should do the trick, along with a set of junk paper, and some help from the council from earlier, then it should be a foolproof way to get Steven out of Lone Moose. Did it work?
The look at Steven’s face paints it once the wood from the chairs and the extra set of paper is set up and set ablaze. Like a moth to a flame, literally. Coming towards the artificially produced dam to serve as bait for Steven, before both Beef and Honeybee tear the trees down to break the dam with a strong enough pressure to sweep Steven away. Making him the next town’s problem to deal with his hating ass. Putting an end to this little encounter that nearly claimed Honeybee’s life by destroying the wooden tower that was meant for him. And something that Honeybee should at least learn her lesson in not messing with the forces. Even if the animal in question has black Air Force that spun generations. So, finally out of their lives... or until the next year comes in for Steven to drop by. I mean, we might as well be treating the beaver like he’s a hornet. And you do know that hornets can remember faces. But other than that, the mess had been taken care of as a lesson learned moment in preparation for next time, sequel bait at its finest, that is never going to come, and decides to give game night a try... a poor, poor decision to make for Honeybee.
And yes, I did say sequel bait because Steven had to arrive at Ted’s Folly and had to go attack its mayor. A sequel bait that is never going to happen. Mostly because it is a one-time thing. But also, because, right, it didn’t get renewed. Though that is common to some horror movies where there has to be sequel bait, as if the monster known as Steven is going to make a return in the distant future. And once to implore y’all to give a show a shot if we’re going to pull some sort of miracle for a revival. I know that I am latching on to shit, but what else to talk about once Bob’s Burgers goes into hiatus for the early parts of 2026? I need content, damn it. Even if I do need a take a breather.
Other than that, back-to-back horror-eqsue episodes in the countdown for this year. And even though the ratings for both “The Place Beyond the Pinecones” and “Silence of the Dams Adventure” paint a whole different picture when it comes to whether these two episodes should swap places, at the end of the day, it seems to be the better of the two, but probably by a hair’s breadth. It has that Alaskan flair when trying to do a horror-esque episode to make it feel like something coming out of... well, a Halloween episode sort of feels like what we saw with “The Yawn of the Dead Adventure” back in Season 2.
I have never seen the movie “It Follows”, but knowing the references by watching a few YouTube videos and watching the Doctor Who episode “73 Yards”, which has a similar premise to the playbook, to understand what this episode holds. And it sort of delivers, but it did not disappoint. This was an interesting episode to watch, especially since it came out the week after what we saw with “Bots on the Side Adventure” with the shift in the status quo, and you think that with Honeybee, who knows a thing or two about all thing pop culture, should a thing or two that it feels like something coming out of a horror movie when having to deal with a situation like this one. Especially when dealing with a beaver that, once again, even if it is considered a joke entry, should be a candidate for the roundtable of Black Air Force activity. And other than that, the moral of this story... honor the tribute. Honor the motherfucking tribute if you want to avoid catching smoke from a hating ass rodent who doesn’t give a fuck.
Day 4 of the Top 12 Countdown of the year 2025 is in the books. What do you think about this episode? Should it be higher, lower, or stay put on your list? Put it in the comments below as we prepare to go into the Number 8 spot of the Top 12 Countdown. Hopefully, I can get through the whole thing for once. Which episode and series will be taking the eleventh spot? Find and see sometime tomorrow. Follow me on Tumblr, Twitter, Instagram, Mastodon, Threads, and BlueSky for updates and behind-the-scenes stuff. And y’all should know the drill by now...
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