The Audio File: Cupid and the Reaper

As of late, several audio dramas have been wrapping up their latest seasons. I certainly intend to review said shows soon enough. However, there’s one follow-up season I’ve been meaning to review for a while now. I think I’ve wait quite long enough. So, without further ado, let’s get straight into it. We’re taking a look at Cupid and the Reaper, chapter two of The Natureverse. 

Mondo Ramirez has alway been the big man on campus at his middle school in Savannah, Georgia. He’s known for being very grandiose and has a flair for the dramatic. His plan to ask his crush, Harper, to prom is no exception. It’s going to be perfect. Or it was, until a mysterious man with a black cloak and scythe appears. Oh, and Mondo accidentally electrocutes the man. Before long, Mondo learns that the mysterious man was the Grim Reaper himself. Now that the Reaper is dead, his role and title has been passed to Mondo. And as if that wasn’t enough, Mondo also learns that his classmate, Marcus Aronson, is the current wielder of Cupid’s powers. Mondo must get the hang of his new powers, and duties, with a little help from Marcus. But both boys must be careful, for there are dark forces lurking about. Thankfully, Chloe and Felix are also keeping a close eye on things from Mother Nature HQ. Hold on tight, because chapter two of The Natureverse is here.

As I said in the introduction, I’d been meaning to review this season of The Natureverse for a while. But, as often happens, life had other plans for me. Still, I’m doing it now. I thought that Cupid and the Reaper was absolutely fantastic. In fact, it was even better than Becoming Mother Nature. The writing team built upon the strengths of Becoming Mother Nature, while also addressing and correcting its shortcomings. One of my biggest complaints about Becoming Mother Nature was that the rules of Chloe’s powers were very poorly defined. It seemed like the writers were discarding rules as soon as they created them. In Cupid and the Reaper, however, the rules Marcus and Mondo’s powers are far more consistent and straightforward. Also, when Chloe does appear, her powers are far more streamlined. The way they work is presented in a far more straightforward, simplified, and internally consistent way.

Interestingly, some stories about the Grim Reaper say that it is indeed possible to kill the Reaper. However, should you successfully accomplish this, you become the new Grim Reaper. So, the way Mondo gets the role of the Reaper has roots in actual folklore. He can travel anywhere in the world, and even to the underworld, by tapping his scythe twice and thinking about his destination. He even get’s a new digital assistant, named Cerberus, to help keep track of his assignments as the Reaper. Mondo’s primary duties are to reap the souls of those due to die, and bring them to the underworld. After that, the ferryman Charon takes them across the River Styx to the Land of the Dead. However, if a soul that is due to be reaped stay in its body too long, the person becomes a zombie. Fortunately, zombies can be stopped if their souls are reaped. Well, they’re easy enough to deal with as long as Mondo doesn’t let them get out of hand.

Mondo might seem a bit mismatched with his role as the Grim Reaper, but I think he fits fairly well. He’s very friendly, personable, and has laidback and easygoing personality. In other words, the kind of person you’d want to meet after dying. True, he has a bit of a learning curve, but eventually he does get the hang of being a psychopomp. For reference, psychopomps are gods, spirits, and other mythological beings who guide the souls of the dead to the afterlife.

Marcus has a pair of retractable wings, a bow, and quiver of arrows. The gold-tipped arrows make people fall in love, while the lead-tipped arrows make people fall out of love. Again, this is accurate to mythology. This most famously happens in the story of Apollo and Daphne. Apollo got hit with a gold arrow, and fell madly in love with Daphne. Daphne, unfortunately, got hit by a lead arrow, and wanted nothing to do with Apollo. She did wind-up turning into a tree, but hey, at least she didn’t have to put-up with Apollo anymore. So, you know; win some, lose some.

Marcus is very nerdy and super smart. He tracked down the original Cupid to a fountain at a park in Savannah. Cupid had grown a bit weary over the past 1000 years. He got to spread love, but never had time to pursue love of his own. So, he agreed to let Marcus have his powers on a trial basis. I really liked the Cupid before Marcus. He only appeared a few times, but he seems like a pretty nice guy, and he gives helpful advice to our heroes.

Now, some of you are probably confused about the pervious Cupid only serving for 1000 years. Surely, it ought to be at least 3000 years? Well, that ties into one of the things I really loved about this season. It is explained that the various gods from mythology aren’t individuals. Rather, they are titles and positions that are passed from person to person. That’s actually a pretty brilliant way to explain all the contradictions within mythological stories. It wasn’t the ancient writers misremembering things, or getting the details wrong. Rather, they were recording accounts of different individuals who happened to hold the same title and position. So, major points to the writers at Gen-Z Media for creativity and originality.

Marcus take a very meticulous and analytical when it comes to love. He’s developed an algorithm to determine how compatible two individuals are. Of course, he got a pretty good reasons for this. Mr and Mrs. Aronson were about to get divorced, so Marcus hit them with extra-strength love arrows. They still argue, but they do so in a very lovey-dovey saccharine way. So, Marcus knows what it looks like when a relationship falls apart. Interestingly, this is the only time he abuses his powers. He never seems tempted to use them to make girls like him. Maybe that’s why the previous Cupid trusted him with the powers. He knew Marcus wouldn’t use them to nefarious ends. Or maybe the algorithm didn’t show him as comparable with any of the girls at school. In fact, Chloe seems to be the first girl Marcus has even truly fallen in love with. He develops a major crush on her shortly after the meet. Oh, and Harper, the girl Mondo likes, is Marcus’ sister. As you can imagine, this creates issues.

I’d also like to take a moment to praise the strong performances that the cast gave. There were some very strong performances all around. Of course, excellent voice acting is to be expected with a Gen-Z Media production. I particularly liked how they handled the accents. Cupid and the Reaper is set in Georgia, but we hear a variety of accents. Some character have thick Southern accents, while other have more subdued accents, or are almost totally lacking any stereotypically Southern characteristics. As someone who is from the American South, I can confirm that this is how it goes in real life, especially in descent-sized cities.

I might be wrong, but I think Mondo’s voice actor was in the first episode of The Creeping Hour. Come to think of it, Marcus’ voice actor sounds very similar to Max from Treasure Island 2020. I wonder if it was the same person. Well, in any event, I do have one minor critique. I found some of Chloe’s dialogue to be a tad stilted and wooden. It was particularly jarring, as none of the other characters suffer this issue. For that matter, none of Chloe’s dialogue from Becoming Mother Nature had this issue either. Though, I do concede that it is a minor issue in the grand scheme of things.

Okay, that’s pretty much everything I can discuss without major spoilers. So, if you don’t want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, you sure you want to continue.

If everyone who wants out is gone, let’s get into it.

There is one more important character to discuss. Mr. Apep is a really cool teacher at Mondo and Marcus’ middle school. Well, that’s how he initially seems. This is one of those instances where being in audio was a major advantage for Cupid and the Reaper. If it had been in print, I would have figured Mr. Apep out far sooner. Apep is an alternative name for Apophis, the serpent of chaos from Egyptian Mythology. Mr. Apep was a much better villain than Duncan Sunshine was in Becoming Mother Nature. Duncan wanted the powers of Mother Nature…so that he could be the greatest weatherman in the world. Oh, and he also had an array of weather manipulation satellites, making the whole thing rather redundant. Mr. Apep’s motivations make far more sense, and his reasons for trying to manipulate the heroes is far more justified.

Mr. Apep knew Grandma Ivy, and fell in love with her. Unfortunately, she only had eyes for Chloe’s grandpa. So, Mr. Apep wants Mondo to take him to the Land of the Dead so that he can bring Grandma Ivy back to the world of the living. Of course, this is a serious violation of the natural order of things. The dead are suppose to stay dead, after all. But hey, he’s the embodiment of chaos, so what does he care? Obviously, he needs Mondo to take him to the Land of the Dead to pull this off. It was never stated, but it appears that part of his powers include eternal youth. Going off the voice, Mr. Apep appears be physically younger than his age would suggest. Based on certain comments he makes, Mr. Apep has been around since Ancient Egypt.

A big theme for this season is that death is a part of life; it is as natural as the rain. It was also clear from the start that something was going happen with Harper. She was going to be reaped if Mondo hadn’t accidentally killed the old Grim Reaper. As the playwright Anton Chekhov famously said, if you introduce a gun in act one of a play, it better fire by act five. So, what would happen with Harper? Would she become a zombie? Would she turn out to be terminally ill? Would Mondo be forced to reap her?

All wrong. She helped take down Mr. Apep. However, Mr. Apep’s power work like the Grim Reaper’s do. Since Harper, technically, killed him, she is the new embodiment of chaos. Well, didn’t see that coming, but I do like it. That’s going to open a lot of possibilities for season three. I’m also happy that the previous Cupid met a nice man at a resort in Tahiti. I guess he found love after all. Of course, Mondo also exposed his secret identity to the world, and became a bit of a celebrity. It seems that season three will involve Father Time, and probably time travel as well. I do love a good time travel story. Oh, and apparently the current Father Time is female.

Cupid and the Reaper was absolutely fantastic, and I can’t wait for season 3 of The Natureverse. Cupid and the Raper built upon the success of Becoming Mother Nature, while also correcting the mistakes and shortcomings of its predecessor. If you loved Becoming Mother Nature, you certainly won’t want to miss Cupid and the Reaper.

Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

The Audio File: Becoming Mother Nature

Gen-Z Media is doing some really great work in the world of kid friendly audio dramas. They've got a good mix of genres to choose from. They've also decided to dip their toes into the world of superheroes. That brings us to the audio drama we'll be reviewing today. We're taking a look at Becoming Mother Nature, season 1 of The Natureverse. 

Twelve-year-old Chloe Lovejoy has a rather strained relationship with her mother, to put it lightly. Chloe has been sent to live with her grandmother in California so that they both have some space. Before long, however, Chloe discovers some startling secrets. Grandma Ivy is none other than Mother Nature herself. Moreover, Chloe herself is the latest in a long line of women who are destined to inherit the power of Mother Nature. Chloe's got a lot to learn, and she'll have to master it quick. There are dark forces at work that want to claim the power of Mother Nature for themselves.

I've had a pretty good track record with Gen-Z Media shows, and Become Mother Nature bowled a turkey for Gen-Z Media. That's a bowling term that means to get three strikes in a row; if you get it in the first frame of a bowling match it is called a sizzling turkey. So, when I first started listening to this podcast, I figured it was a standard urban fantasy show. Hey, nothing wrong with that, I love urban fantasy. However, the more I thought about it, I realize that I could better describe Becoming Mother Nature as a superhero audio drama. It's a little unconventional, but it's there. Chloe finds herself in possession of extraordinary powers, has to figure out how to master them, has a sidekick, and has to take down a man who is basically a supervillain.

I'm all in favor of more superheroes with magical urban fantasy style origins. Mother Nature is one of those characters, like the Sandman or the Tooth Fairy, that everyone knows of, but not many people can actually tell you anything her. There's a lot of wiggle room for interpretation. William Joyce certainly found a lot of wiggle room with his Guardians of Childhood book series. You might be familiar with its, criminally underrated, film adaption Rise of the Guardians. 

Personally, I think Becoming Mother Nature is a really fun take on a superhero origin story. I also appreciated that does touch on import life lessons. If there is a moral to Becoming Mother Nature, it is that you should be kind to other people, because you don't always know what they're going through. As I've stated, Chloe and her mom, Laurel, have a somewhat strained relationship. However, for as often as she screws up, Laurel does genuinely love Chloe, and wants to do right by here. Of course, at lot of Laurel's issues stem from the fact that she and Grandma Ivy had their own issues. Ivy did love Laurel, but her duties as Mother Nature meant that she couldn't always be there when Laurel needed her. It also meant she couldn't explain to Laurel why this was. Well, actually, I think a case can be made that Ivy should have been more trusting of Laurel in that regard. The Mother Nature powers always skip a generation, and are passed from grandmother to granddaughter.

I also like what the audio drama did with Felix. He's a boy that Chloe befriends, and he quickly becomes her sidekick/mentor. Felix, superhero fan that he is, practically jumps at the chance to be Chloe's sidekick. Felix works mission control for Chloe, and also provides moral support and guidance. Hmm, interesting. In these sorts of stories, it's usually the girl character who provides emotional support and advice. Nice to see Gen-Z Media mixing things up a bit. It was also nice to have a girl and boy as just friends with no hints of romance between them. Though, that might in part have been due to Chloe and Felix's age.

Of course, every superhero story also needs a supervillain. Becoming Mother Nature has Duncan Sunshine. He's a hotshot weatherman, and local celebrity, in the town the series takes place in. He's also been completely obsessed with Mother Nature ever since Grandma Ivy saved him during a storm when he was a little boy. More specifically, he wants to claim the power of Mother Nature for himself. So, he's kind of like Mr. Crocker from The Fairly Odd Parents, but as a genuinely threatening and competent villain. Duncan has a sidekick of his own in the form of his daughter, Raye O. Sunshine. She is involved in climate change activism, and claims she wants to save the planet. In reality, however, she's only in it for the fame and attention.

When I first listened to Becoming Mother Nature, I thought that Raye's name was spelled R-E-I. So, I envisioned the Sunshines being Asian-American. But I guess they were supposed to be more the blonde-haired blue-eyed All-American looking type.

I've often wondered if weathermen secretly get excited whenever severe weather happens. It's probably a lot more fun reporting on that than it is when everything is calm and relatively peaceful. As Duncan himself notes, storms tend to be great for the ratings.

Now, I did very much enjoy Becoming Mother Nature, but it does have a few issues. As I've said, Duncan's evil scheme is to steal the powers of Mother Nature for himself. The first step was to weaken Grandma Ivy, so he could take her out of the picture. How does he do this? Why, he builds an array of satellites that are capable of manipulating the weather, somehow launches them into orbit, and screws with weather systems across the world. Uh, what?

Why does Duncan even need Mother Nature's power? He's pretty much there already. He could probably become incredibly rich if he patented his satellites, or failing that, could make a bunch of money by auctioning them off to the highest bidder. Granted, the government can force you to suppress your inventions if they consider them a significant threat to national security. And Duncan does seem power hungry enough that he wouldn't just stop at weather manipulation satellites. So, I suppose I can let that one slide.

A bigger issue I had is that the Mother Nature powers, and their rules, were very inconsistent. At one point, Chloe freezes a puddle to test her powers out, and as a result, there's a sudden cold snap across the entire continent of South America. That just seems disproportionate. One of the big themes of Becoming Mother Nature is about the need for balance. Chloe has to find a sense of balance within herself if she wants to truly embrace her role as Mother Nature. It is also important to use the Mother Nature powers to help keep the world in a state of balance. I'm just saying, freezing a puddle causing South America to freeze just seem a bit too disproportionate.

I will say that the secret Mother Nature command center was cool. I especially loved the globe that shows real time weather events. It really added to the superhero feeling of the series. I also really loved that Grandma Ivy had a pet opossum named Oscar. He eventually becomes Chloe's pet. I admit, Oscar's not all the consequential in the grand scheme of things, but I like possums, so he made me happy.

The biggest issue with Becoming Mother Nature happened towards the end of the season. As such, we're going to have to get into spoilers. So, if you don't want that, either turn away or skip down a few paragraphs.

This is your last chance. Sure you want to keep going?

Well, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

Duncan scheme is to get Chloe to give the powers of Mother Nature to him. There's a big spell book/user's manual for the Mother Nature powers, and one of them is transference. It is the spell that officially passes the powers of Mother Nature from person to person. So, Duncan successfully tricks Chloe into giving him the powers by pretending he'll be her mentor. Except, they don't go to Duncan, they go to Raye. Raye does mention some rule saying that only women can be Mother Nature. However, Duncan makes a remark that suggest he made-up to rule to get Raye to cooperate with his schemes. But, as previously mentioned, Raye really did get the powers.

Uh, how exactly does that work? If a man attempts the transference ritual, do the powers go to his closest living female relative instead? Oh, but we aren't done yet. Chloe may have given the powers away, but never fear, she doesn't need silly things like spell books or transference rituals. It turns out the true power was deep within her all along. So, she taps into her innate Mother Nature power to defeat Raye. Not only does the contradict the previously establish rule, it also comes completely out of the blue, with little to no foreshadowing. Then again, the rules were pretty inconsistent to begin with.

At times it felt like the writers were coming up with the rules on the fly, and this discarding them as soon as they jotted them down. That, or they painted themselves into a corner and just went "You know what, screw it."

Now, I don't want to sound too harsh or negative here. Overall, I did very much enjoy Becoming Mother Nature. It's a Gen-Z Media show, so you know it's going to have excellent voice acting, music, sound effects, and sound design. It will also add that in Cupid and The Reaper, season two of The Natureverse, Chloe's powers and portrayed much more consistently. The rules and also greatly simplified, and are followed consistently. And yes, I will review Cupid and The Reaper before long.

Well, there you have it. Becoming Mother Nature is a good, if slightly flawed, superhero origin story. It is an enjoy story on its own, and sets things up for later installments in The Natureverse.

I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.