Ep. 194 The Talisman, Part 3, chapters 27-33 and Interlude
episode
Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came: A Podcast about Stephen King and His Books
45 min
2 speakers
8 chapters
transcribed 1 month ago
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What is the opening introduction and purpose of this episode?
Welcome everyone to Two Guys to the Dark Tower Came, a podcast where we discuss the characters and connections in the ever-expanding universe that revolves around Stephen King's Dark Tower. I'm Jay Russo. And I'm Sean McGurr. You can email us at twoguysdarktower at gmail dot com. To support the show, visit us at patreon.com slash two guysdarktower. And you can buy merch at store.tuguistothedarktower game.com. In this episode, we'll cover the Talisman Part Three, A Collision of Worlds, Chapters twenty-seven through thirty-three. And the interlude. Let's start the show.
Following Wolf's death, Jack continues his journey west. He makes it to the Thayer School, where his best friend and Morgan Sloat's son, Richard, is. Jack tells Richard most of what has happened to him. Or Richard does not believe him, even when things begin to get very strange at the Thayer School. With little hope for escape, Jack jumps back into the territories and brings Richard with him. Jay, one of the things we talked about in the Dark Tower, especially as we read the last couple books of the series, was how King seemed to be flirting with this idea of the power of storytelling, and how ultimately Roland's journey was about telling the tale. And how characters within the story had a part in it, but also there was this metafictional aspect of Stephen King and even Patrick Danville and how he was able to to no to note this and that all this storytelling has a power of its own.
Mm-hmm. This seems to be a theme that comes out pretty strong in this section of the book as well. After Jack gets to the Thayer School, and there's this real distinction between between Jack and how he looks at the world. And Richard and how he looks at the world, and it seems to be based around fiction and storytelling.
Yeah, we learn by This w way of comparison between Jack and Richard, that Jack embraces fiction and its power to transport your imagination. It shows you experiences, places And things that you maybe are difficult to experience or maybe impossible because they're just not real. Whereas Richard had an experience earlier in his life that made him reject all possibility of anything e except Cold hard facts.
How do the hosts explore the power of storytelling in The Talisman?
Yeah. And he refuses to engage with anything other than that.
Yes, and that idea that being able to get lost in a book opens your mind enough that when Jack He doesn't seem phased by it. And in fact, it seems to energize him. Jack is a different person as a result of having been in the territories. We see him more energized, more open. When he is in a car after being picked up as a hitchhiker, he gets the sense that one of the guys may be trying to do some funny stuff and he's able to just with his force of will sort of the guy's like, all right, whatever, go on your way. And that confidence comes from the fact that he's just more open minded, I think. And that allows him to be able to go to the territories and not have it any ill effect and even have uh a a better effect.
And Richard's just not like that at all. Like you said, he's got to be straight with the facts. He's interested in the hard sciences, what's reality and what's not. To the extent that when he starts to see stuff, he has to ironically make up a story and say, like, no, this isn't happening. I've got a fever. I'm sick. I'm I'm not seeing what I'm seeing. I must be hallucinating.
Yeah, he he's basically gaslighting himself. Yeah. He totally he either puts himself to sleep or he tells himself I'm sick or both and I the equivalent of the ostrich sticking its head underground, right? This none of this is actually happening. Thank you very much. And closes his eyes. And he continues to do this for so much of the this all of these scenes. It's very frustrating. I honestly don't know how Jack puts up with it. After all Jack has been through, and it's been a lot. I would have zero patience for this. Somehow Jack keeps Richard going and keeps Richard with him.
And this goes back, as you said, to some event that happened to Richard when he had seen his father enter a closet when what Richard was about six, I think.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the opening introduction and purpose of this episode?
0:14–3:02
2
How do the hosts explore the power of storytelling in The Talisman?
3:02–8:56
3
What happens during the “Collision of Worlds” section of chapters 27‑33?
8:56–17:29
4
How does the discussion shift to late‑stage world‑building at the Thayer School?
17:29–23:44
5
Why do the hosts call the Thinnies a “Dark Tower Thinnie” and what does it mean?
23:44–25:34
6
What is the “Yuck‑King” segment and why do the hosts focus on the moldy vending machines?
25:34–28:41
7
What fun moments or memorable lines stand out in this portion of the book?
28:41–30:29
8
How do the hosts connect the discussion to the upcoming novel Other Worlds Than These?
30:29–45:31