12 monkeys uncaged by Golden Spiral Media

One last hurrah for 12 Monkeys Uncaged! Our final podcast shares Mike's interview with Alisen Down, who of course plays Olivia on 12 Monkeys, which was conducted just before the season 4 finale aired on Syfy. Alisen shared the challenges of finding the voice of the Witness and how it paralleled Olivia's journey of self-discovery. Read more...

We turn it over to the listeners who get their final say about 12 Monkeys as a series and how it all ended up in the perfect finale. We heard from so many people who have joined us on this journey these past four years, and you'll get to hear some insights Cory and I could never have come up with on our own. This Listener Feedback Extravaganza is a real treat!

It's Mike and Cory's last 12 Monkeys episode discussion ever for the series finale, "The Beginning"! What a great way to go out with a wonderful, thoughtful discussion filled with appreciation, speculation, and awe at how perfect everything was, topped off with some insightful, well-phrased feedback from the listeners. Like the show, the podcast got its perfect ending!

We marvel over the tightly-written 12 Monkeys penultimate episode, "One Minute More," in which secrets are revealed that reach all the way back to season 1, but we also get plenty of shocking revelations from only the final season, such as who the real demon is! With such a wonderful set up, how could the series finale be anything other than epic?

"Demons" has an epic feel that takes us as close to the beginning and end of things as we've ever been in 12 Monkeys! The medieval setting really gives the story the depth it needed to take the team up the stairs to ring the bell, but what could the loss of the weapon mean? And where would the makeshift splinter machine have taken Cole?

Our 12 Monkeys discussion gets a bit literary as we discuss the wonderful duality of "Daughters" as it draws parallels between Hannah and Emma. Interestingly, although Terry Matalas calls the next series of episodes a "descent into darkness," the revelations we get in this one are quite enlightening. Deceiving the Witness to allow the team to reach the distant past is a bold move indeed!

It's time for discussion of one of the zaniest episodes of 12 Monkeys ever: "Die Glocke"! Whether you thought Jennifer's singing and gleeful assassination of Hitler were over the top or not, this episode was undeniably fun. And it notably marks the end of Night 2 as well as the series of romps and adventures the team has been going on.

The question of what comes after victory or loss in 12 Monkeys makes us very philosophical in our discussion of "After" this week. The admirably complex ins and outs of doing a causality loop episode put this one in the top five 12 Monkeys stories of all time. Plus it doesn't hurt to have the return of both Christopher Lloyd and Jay Karnes as Zalman Shaw and Agent Gale.

Our discussion enters the section of 12 Monkeys season 4 in which the adventures of Team Splinter begin in "Legacy." A trip to 1852 gives us the Wild West theme we never knew we wanted until now and blends it with the unlikely circumstance of the building of Titan and the return of Elliot Jones. This discussion contains spoilers up through episode 404 but is spoiler-free for future episodes that have already aired.

The final fireside chat for 12 Monkeys season 4 takes us through the ups and downs of one of the most perfect episodes of television ever! Terry Matalas has quite a few insights to share for many of the lingering questions fans may still have, and we guarantee you'll be more enlightened after listening to this podcast than you were before you hit play.

It's time to explore the origin of the Witness in 12 Monkeys with our analysis of episode 403, "45 RPM." Cassie learns the hard way that using the same old strategy not only is doomed to fail but can cause unpredicted consequences. Plus Jennifer rejoins the fold! This discussion contains spoilers up through episode 403 but is spoiler-free for future episodes that have aired on Syfy.

The third trio of 12 Monkeys season 4 episodes begin the "descent into darkness" of night 3, which includes 407 “Daughters,” 408 “Demons,” and 409 “One Minute More.” The search for the weapon may have ended in tragedy, but the revelations made throughout the night were almost too much to take in! Terry's input is going to be incredibly crucial for this one.

Our podcast discussion continues for 12 Monkeys with a Terry Matalas penned and helmed episode, “Ouroboros,” in which Jones, Cassie, and Cole revisit the very first splinter from season 1 from a different perspective. Plenty of emotional content and opportunities to explain some problems with the time machine make this one of the best episodes of the series. This discussion contains spoilers for episode 401 and 402 but is spoiler-free for episodes that have aired on Syfy.

[sc:tmtop] 12 Monkeys Season 4 Night 2 Discussion with Terry Matalas The second trio of 12 Monkeys season 4 episodes lightens the mood as Team Splinter embarks on series of adventures in night 2, which includes 404 “Legacy,” 405 “After,” and 406 “Die Glocke.” The search for the weapon is on as the Witness seeks […]

We’re back with more episode analysis for 12 Monkeys, this time with the season premiere, “The End,” which finds us right where we left off in season three. We talk about all of the conflicting emotions with the different members of the team and speculate on where things might be headed once they escape Titan. This discussion contains spoilers for episode 401 but is spoiler-free for episodes 402 and 403.

The first chapter of 12 Monkeys season 4 has finally arrived, and fans all over the U.S. were glued to their seats as night 1 unfolded, including 401 "The End," 402 "Ouroboros," and 403 "45 RPM," and the three episodes together really felt like the first chapter of the final tale. The story of the Witness took center stage as the team struggled to find a unified purpose.

With the final season of 12 Monkeys upon us, it’s important to reflect on the story so far, as complicated as it is, to have certain ideas fresh in our minds. Will certain fan theories prove true, or will they at least be addressed? Where did we leave off with the different characters? What are we guessing will happen in the final run of 12 Monkeys, now less than two weeks away?

12 Monkeys season 3 is over, but the theories and predictions still abound! Join us as we read listener mail, play audio feedback, and respond to your thoughts and impressions of the season. We've got opinions about Olivia and how she'll become what she needs to become, about who Cole's mother may or may not be, about whether or not the "linear binge" was a good idea, and much, much more!

12 Monkeys showrunner Terry Matalas hopped back on the phone to talk about season 3 and answer some of our burning questions. He was out in the forest filming a scene for season 4 and teased some of the more significant aspects of season 3 that he assured us would get their payoff.

It's no surprise that the season 3 finale of 12 Monkeys is titled Witness, but the identity of the Witness certainly was! Just when we thought we had it figured out! The battle seemed all but impossible, and parts of it actually were! But the ending was satisfying - not exactly a cliffhanger but a resolution with huge revelations for season 4.

Athan Cole certainly does not seem to be amenable to the future laid out before him, and in the 12 Monkeys episode, Thief, we see his avoidance strategy. Told brilliantly through Cole's and Cassie's reading of his journals, a love story unfolds that explains it all, including why someone might want to pursue the eternal now promised by the Red Forest.

The team is splintered in an entirely different way in the episode of 12 Monkeys entitled Masks. Is the fissure between Team Jones and Team Witness too wide to ever bridge again? Will Cole and Cassie finally rekindle the life they lost in the 1950's here in 1899? Is their mission to save their son from his fate doomed to fail, or is it the only hope for success?

The 12 Monkeys writers fit a LOT of story into this episode entitled Nurture both in the form of Cassie's solo visit to the past and the mission to attack the Guardians' stronghold. With a last minute change of heart, it appears the Cassie and Cole are on their own now! How will the team survive this divide among their numbers?

Going beyond fate versus free will is the idea of nature versus nurture in the rearing of a child in the 12 Monkeys episode entitled Nature. In this Christmas episode of sorts, we see the early Army of the 12 Monkeys led by Pallid Man's father (Christopher Lloyd) and the Messenger known as Mantis (Scottie Thompson), and Cole and Cassie see what their son is capable of.

Night 2 of 12 Monkeys season 3 gets off to a raring start with a trip to the 1980s in this very Ocean's-11-like episode entitled Causality. Secrets abound in this heist to get the Word of the Witness, but with Cole and Cassie gaining a surprising ally, things are about to get really interesting!

We got 12 Monkeys showrunner Terry Matalas on the phone to talk about the brilliance of Night 1 of the season 3 linear binge. He's got plenty to share about the first four episodes of season 3 including exclusive insight on Ramse's story arc. He also teases what's to come in the remaining installments.

The tough choice is made as the brothers, Cole and Ramse, go head-to-head in the latest 12 Monkeys episode appropriately titled Brothers. Is it hypocritical of Cole to protect one person over billions when he criticized Ramse for doing the same? Or is Ramse in the wrong for deceiving Cole in a fake play against the Witness?

With Olivia caged and Deacon imprisoned, the 12 Monkeys episode title Enemy takes on several meanings. How do you get your supposed enemy to do or say what you want? And who among your friends is really an enemy themselves? These seem to be the prevailing questions in this third episode of the season.

We're going down some dark paths in the second episode of 12 Monkeys' third season entitled Guardians! The team seems very fractured, and the mission has barely even started yet! Fortunately, Jennifer is back in play and appears to at least have an inkling of what's going on, but with Ramse showing up on Raritan's doorstep with Olivia, what could possibly be coming next?

Looks like we're picking up right where we left off in the 12 Monkeys season 3 premiere, Mother. Right away, we're learning a lot about Titan and what everyone has been doing for the past few months: a whole lot of nothing! But things get weird, too, with Jennifer's experience in France and Cole talking to himself, and not in the traditional way.

Time for a 12 Monkeys season 2 debrief with our bonus listener feedback episode! Together with an enlightening interview with eminent writer, Sean Tretta, and a surprise call-in from showrunner Terry Matalas and Jennifer Goines herself, Emily Hampshire, this feedback episode begins with a bang!

Like a classical piece with its cadenza, the 12 Monkeys season 2 finale, Memory of Tomorrow, was the perfect cap to a season full of non-stop thrills. Some of our predictions came to fruition, but the manner in which they were fulfilled was unexpected in the extreme! With some mysteries solved, others present themselves as fodder for a third season that we're left wishing we could splinter to see.

Utter failure permeates this week's 12 Monkeys episode entitled Blood Washed Away, but at least we got our "Casserole" moment! With all the narrative time leaps, the story took on an epic scale and the deaths were worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy. It almost felt like a season finale! Thankfully, though, it isn't, and the ending should be spectacular.

The fissure that has grown between members of the group splits wide open in the latest 12 Monkeys episode, Resurrection, and death results. Now we can only hope that Cole is successful in his mission so that much of the damage is undone. But with a year budgeted for both missions, the repairs will take a long time to complete with no guarantee of success.

Causal loops abound, and betrayal is everywhere in the latest episode of 12 Monkeys entitled Fatherland. Will the break in the group lead to a split in the mission as well? Will Olivia's fateful decision also cause a crack in the armor for the Army of the 12 Monkeys? Plenty of set-up as we head into the "three-part finale," as Terry Matalas puts it.

The origin story of the Daughters doesn't turn out the way we expected in this week's 12 Monkeys episode, Hyena, nor does the investigation into Titan and the Witness in 2044. With several clues being doled out for time periods that could be explored, where will the travelers head next? And how will Pallid Man involve himself with Titan?

The most emotional episode of 12 Monkeys ever comes this week in Lullaby, and we're still drying the tears. Terry Matalas and company weren't exaggerating when they called this the best episode of the series to date! We had a lot of fun heaping praise onto this amazing episode, and our listeners had a lot to say as well.

With a distinct horror vibe, Meltdown takes 12 Monkeys down the Witness' rabbit hole, and not everyone comes out alive! Amazingly, this bottle episode manages to further the story with a wholly unfamiliar style, and yet it fits the mythology perfectly!

It's the buddy cop episode as 12 Monkeys heads to 1975 in Immortal! Besides the obvious mending of the friendship between Cole and Ramse and the "saving" of another Primary (depending on how you look at it), this episode left us with a shocker dealing with the consequences of Cassie's red tea indoctrination. What exactly is going on there?

Was the Witness' identity revealed in the latest episode of 12 Monkeys, Bodies of Water? Certainly his method of communication was made clear as the 12 Monkeys fought their internal battles. Meanwhile, both the ladies in the past and the guys in the future seem to have come to a mutual understanding in very different ways.

Emily Hampshire was kind enough to take the time during filming on Schitt's Creek to talk to us about what's been going on with Jennifer Goines in 12 Monkeys. She talked about everything from time travel to the Daughters to Primaries. Join us for this very special interview edition shared courtesy of Den of Geek! Read more...

This week's episode of 12 Monkeys, Emergence, felt a lot like a season finale - so much was revealed! With Jones feeling more uncertain than she ever has, it was nice to have Jennifer give her a new perspective. Let's just hope that carries over into other personality conflicts that could use some perspective as well.

The journey to the 40's begins with a surprising amount of failure in this week's 12 Monkeys episode, One Hundred Years. Cole and Cassie just keep getting there too late! What repercussions will the paradox have for the out-cold time travelers, not to mention those in 2044 who are being inundated with red vegetation and time explosions?

The anchor for the second season of 12 Monkeys is set in this amazing episode, Primary. With history actually being changed and a new mission being put into place, it's clear that the virus is only one part of a larger plan. If only the splinter team were more united in purpose and motivation!

12 Monkeys season 2 is off to a roaring start with the season premiere appropriately entitled Year of the Monkey. With Amanda in the post-apocalyptic future and Cole and Ramse on the run, there are quite a few role reversals to talk about in this first podcast discussion of the season!

Season 2 of 12 Monkeys is almost upon us, and Cory and Mike have returned to the microphone for this interview extravaganza to comment on some exclusive audio content coming straight from the set of 12 Monkeys. Mike visited the set in November of 2015 and has been waiting a long time to share these tidbits from the actors and showrunner of 12 Monkeys. Read more...

Cole and Cassie use Aaron to find where the Army of the 12 Monkeys is operating and get a surprising amount of information from Markridge's new CEO, Jennifer Goines, in the season finale, Arms of Mine. The discovery of the Splinter Project in 2015 leads to some unexpected divergences from what is expected, leaving enticing hints for what's to come next season.

Saving Cole becomes the top priority in Paradox as younger versions of both Jones and Cole are sought out in 2015. As the past unfolds the way Jones (shockingly) remembers it, it spells the end of Cole's time traveling days. But other strangers appear on the scene, chalky-faced soldiers who want one thing: access to the facility.

Didn't Shonin feel like a season finale? What an episode! Ramse takes the long road from 1987 to 2015, and his mission to keep Cole from erasing his son include working with some unlikely allies who were expecting him! Everything happened the way it did because of Ramse's involvement - but is he the Witness?

Cole is back in Cassie's life, and the hunt for the cause of the plague continues in Divine Move! Unfortunately, Ramse has decided that Project Splinter cannot continue if he is to keep his family intact. What will he and Cole do now that they are both supposedly trapped in 1987?

Jones is clearly willing to do whatever it takes to continue Cole's mission in this week's episode, Tomorrow. Whose obsessive devotion to their cause is right and just? In one of the most tragic episodes of the season, it's time to choose a side despite everyone, including our heroes, exposing all of their flaws.

Cole is trapped in the past as the power core that runs the Splinter Project fails in Yesterday! New powerplays and character dynamics appear as Jones, Ramse, and Whitley travel to Spearhead, another stronghold in this post-apocalyptic world, to borrow needed parts. Which plan will win out?

It almost seems like the mission is coming to a close in The Keys, and we have no idea what's going to happen next. Cole gets particularly timey-wimey as he travels back and forth to prevent the M5-10 virus from spreading from Chechnya via Operation Troy or getting into the hands of the Army of the 12 Monkeys.

Cole enlists the help of Aaron to rescue Cassie and fix the broken timeline in The Red Forest. In the process, however, a brand new element of intrigue is introduced in the form of secret government projects in Chechnya. Where and when will Cole be sent to next?

Cole and Cassie reach The Night Room, and things just get even weirder! The source of the virus seems to be a dessicated corpse of some kind, which, when destroyed, doesn't seem to change much. Or does it? The Pallid Man seems to know more than he lets on as does Jennifer Goines. What is really going on here?

In recent episodes of 12 Monkeys, we met the character, Deacon, who rules the scavenger tribe known as West VII with an iron fist. Todd Stashwick plays this sadistic but strangely moral antagonist with villainous grace. He spoke with us about his perspective on his character, his experience with genre television fandom, and other aspects of his career including video games, web comics, voice acting, and comedy improv. A very interesting interview that you don't want to miss! Read more...

The investigation into the viral outbreak takes a back seat to some back story for Cole and Ramse in this week's episode entitled Atari. Cole's flawed nature demands a moral compass, and in the past that role was filled by Ramse. Will Cassie be his new compass as he navigates the past to prevent the death of billions?

Cole travels to 2014 in Cassandra Complex to investigate "the one that got away," whom surprisingly Cassie knew during a quarantine in Haiti! The race to find the Night Room continues, and Cole is being dogged at every turn by the Pallid Man and the Army of the 12 Monkeys. Plus we get a new glimpse at what life is like in 2043.

The search for the Army of the 12 Monkeys begins with search for the patient in Room 248 in Mentally Divergent. Pretty sure Cole wasn't expecting the girl to be Goines' daughter! Details are revealed about the role of the Markridge Group and the Army in the secret development of the virus that wiped out the future.

The new Syfy series 12 Monkeys begs to be discussed! Mike and Cory get the conversation going in this introductory episode of the podcast in which we talk about the pilot, "Splinter." Comparisons to the 1995 film are inevitable and, perhaps surprisingly, the television show holds its own quite well as it reinvents the classic time travel movie.