Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Potions & Prejudice by Tee Harlowe
1 Plays3 seconds ago
What if Pride & Prejudice was a full-blown romantasy novel? What if the Bennet sisters had to marry to access their magic? What if Mr Bingley was part werewolf and Mr Darcy has the most romantasy name of all time?
Melinda and Stefanie discuss witches without magic, fantasy tropes and men with zero communication skills in Potions & Prejudice by Tee Harlowe.
Links & Mentions
If you need subtitles or a transcript, these are available through Apple Podcasts. Please note, they are auto generated so we apologise in advance for it not correctly understanding our accents on certain words.
As always you can find us (and our memes) on Instagram @janeaustenremixed and you can contact us via janeaustenremixed@gmail.com.
Join us every second Monday to hear all about a new adaptation of our favourite classic novel. Next episode we will be watching Bride & Prejudice directed by Gurinder Chadha.
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Apology
00:00:00
Speaker
Hey everyone, Melinda here with a brief apology to start this episode. You get to hear lots of fun, random noises this time, like water bottles on desks, jackets rustling, and an ambulance zooming past my place. Something went very wrong with our settings, so apologies. And now, on with the episode.
00:00:18
Speaker
Hey
Introducing 'Jane Austen Remixed' and 'Potions and Prejudice'
00:00:19
Speaker
Stephanie. Hey Melinda. What if Pride and Prejudice was a full-blown spicy romantic novel that's cozy, filled with magic, and Mr Darcy has the most romantic name of all time?
00:00:34
Speaker
Okay, I'm going to put all of my romantic prejudices in a box, we're going to close the lid, and I'm going to try and enjoy myself.
00:00:57
Speaker
Welcome to Jane Austen Remixed, the podcast where we examine the cozy and witchy world of Pride and Prejudice adaptations. I'm Melinda. And I'm Stephanie. And this week we are looking at Potions and Prejudice by T. Harlow. It was published in 2025.
00:01:14
Speaker
I saw this one pop up on our social media algorithm for the podcast, so I immediately added it to our list. Here is the blurb that Stephanie will read out if you'd like to read the book yourself before listening to the episode.
00:01:26
Speaker
And please note Mr. Darcy's most romantic name of all time. Oh boy. Buckle up, listeners. Witch hates Warlock, Warlock hates Witch, Warlock falls for Witch.
00:01:40
Speaker
Things get very, very complicated. Elspeth Moonflower just wants to cast a spell. Unfortunately, that's impossible due to a curse her grandmother cast that forces every witch in her family to marry before using magic.
Elspeth Moonflower and the Magical World
00:01:58
Speaker
As a result, Elspeth and her sisters are outcasts, helping their mother run her travelling apothecary shop while she complains that her daughters are all magicless spinsters.
00:02:09
Speaker
When their cart breaks down and strands them in the charming village of Thistlegrove, Elspeth's older sister meets a handsome warlock who's smitten. If only the warlock's best friend wasn't completely insufferable.
00:02:23
Speaker
Draven Darkstone! It is broody, arrogant, wealthy, a perfect example of why Elspeth never wants to marry. But for the sake of her sister, she needs to be nice.
00:02:37
Speaker
Which is hard when all Draven does is glower at her. It's even harder when the glowering turns to longing glances. It's downright impossible when he kisses her.
00:02:49
Speaker
Little does Elspeth know the line between love and hate just got thinner.
Romance and Fantasy Elements
00:02:55
Speaker
Melinda. Do you thoughts? I feel like you're going to have thoughts. I already have a lot of feelings, but i promised to keep a lid on the box in the opening.
00:03:07
Speaker
i Wow. Okay. So yeah, this is a full blown romantic version
Meet the Moonflower Sisters and Thistlegrove
00:03:15
Speaker
of Pride and Prejudice. We've got witches, magic, secrets, vampires, werewolves, yearning, and spicy scenes and language. So consider this your warning that there are adult scenes in this one.
00:03:28
Speaker
Oh my goodness. I want to preface this up front with I love urban fantasy and I am a massive fantasy novel nerd.
00:03:39
Speaker
Where I struggle is when it's just fantasy lens slapped over what's essentially Mills and Boone. That's my own thing. But if you guys enjoy it I'm not holding anything against you.
00:03:52
Speaker
I am on a podcast that talks about adaptations of Pride and Prejudice. People in glass houses shouldn't throw stones. Yep. I love stories about witches and wizards and, you know, vampires and all the rest of it.
00:04:06
Speaker
I do struggle when it's just like a glaze put over what is just a romance novel. That's fair enough. So I've read a couple of romanticity novels, not many. i find I like the really cozy ones where there's a cottage and a witch has to find herself or something and, you know, finds family and rediscovers her whimsy. So I don't mind those ones. I have not read any of the big name ones and probably won't. It's not really my thing, but at least have a teeny tiny background in
Elspeth and Draven's Relationship
00:04:35
Speaker
it. And I think that Potions and Prejudice fits more into that cozy variety rather than my taste that runs to hyper violent stuff. Yeah.
00:04:43
Speaker
And now it's time for some spoiler chat. So the Moonflower family, our Bennetts, run a traveling apothecary business. There are four sisters who live with their mum. Elspeth is our Elizabeth. Her older sister, our Jane, is named Adelaide.
00:04:58
Speaker
Her next sister, Augie, is our Lydia. She's flirty, brash, and sociable. And the youngest is Prue, our Mary. This Mary is a bookish nerd who screams when she sees the library. So audience stand in? question mark Also, Augie is a men's name. Continue.
00:05:16
Speaker
I don't think you can just drop that in and leave it, Stephanie. It's a men's name. Okay. It is. Sorry, listeners, if you know a woman with that name, I apologize. I only know men. Or the band Augie March.
00:05:29
Speaker
okay right yo So this was spoiled in the blurb. But the Moonflower daughters don't have magic. 12 years ago, their grandmother made a mistake wanting to bless the family before she died. She wanted to grant the girls strong magic and healthy marriages, but she tied the two things together, accidentally cursing the girls to lose their magic until they are married.
00:05:51
Speaker
oh Big L there, Grandma. And the realm is currently ruled by a very strict witch superior. She's cracking down on magicless people in the land. Even though the girls are witches, the family risk being kicked out to a magicless
The Witch Superior's Influence
00:06:05
Speaker
realm. So they travel around selling potions that Mama Moonflower makes, never staying in one spot for too long.
00:06:11
Speaker
But traveling around makes it hard to meet people and therefore get married. So I love this. It's an incredible premise for Mama Moonflower going full Mama Bennett and being obsessed with getting the girls married.
00:06:23
Speaker
That's great. That's a really cool setup. It's a really interesting look at like the end tale from a fantasy setting. I think that's really fun, actually. Yeah, it's great. The story opens with Elspeth trying to convince a young witch not to buy a love potion. The romanticized version of, girl, he's not worth it if you need a love potion. And of course, Mama Moonflower rushes in with the upsell. We then get this corker of a quote that that I think really cements Prue as one of us. For context, this is Mama Moonflower speaking to start.
00:06:53
Speaker
All right. We are harbingers of hope. Hope that these poor, unfortunate souls may finally get the love they're so willing to give. Because that's what everyone needs to be happy, Prue said, still somewhere behind the cart, presumably reading.
00:07:09
Speaker
You could do with a nice witch, Mama shot back. Get you away from those books you've constantly got your nose stuck in. If any real men were as good as ones in books, maybe I'd be more interested, Prue yelled.
00:07:23
Speaker
yeah Yeah, audience stand in. I think you've got that right. That also is a quote in the Austin Land movie. Oh, yes, it was Apparently, the only good men are fictional.
00:07:35
Speaker
Oh, dear. Anyway, I enjoyed it. Love it. Adelaide and Augie then return home from their shopping trip with a gentleman in tow who gets the most romantic-y intro ever. And Steph is going to read this one out. This is Elspeth narrating.
00:07:50
Speaker
Alright,
Romantic Tropes and Cultural Elements
00:07:51
Speaker
okay. My head shot up as Augie and Adelaide walked towards us, Augie hanging back on the arm of a tall, muscled man with his black hair tied back in a ponytail, his skin a warm brown.
00:08:03
Speaker
Tendrils of curls hung around the sides of his face. He was huge, like a mountain. There was only one species who grew that big. Werewolves. Ha!
00:08:15
Speaker
Okay, so sideline here because I know you probably won't know this, but werewolves are often depicted as people of colour in fantasy novels. Oh, okay. Not always, but it did sort of start as a slightly iffy trope about, you know, vampires were always pale, high class, rich, you know, European coded. oh And werewolves give me into their quote-unquote wholeness. Baser instincts and, you know, barbarians and a bit feral were often depicted as people of colour. So it's very interesting that she's gone with tall, dark and handsome, but pushed it into that. Like, obviously I haven't read the book, so I don't know whether he's just got a tan or whether he is a person of colour, but super interesting that trope has come across as well.
00:09:01
Speaker
I'm not reading anything into it. I'm not passing any commentary. I'm just saying for readers who aren't as familiar with fantasy tropes, that is a really strong fantasy trope that's been going years. Well, since the genre started really.
Chemistry Amidst Misunderstandings
00:09:13
Speaker
And there you go. We learn something new every day because I definitely did not know that. But also you were so correct. That is the most romantic-y entrance. The dark hair pulled back in the ponytail. It's super tall and like ripped. I'm like, uh-huh.
00:09:26
Speaker
We know what genre we're in. Yeah. Do you want to know who this is? Wickham. nine No. No. Is it Bingley? No. Augie might be the one hanging off his arm, but he he keeps sneaking looks at Adelaide.
00:09:41
Speaker
Okay. So when I first started reading it, I was like, this has got to be Bingley. But then I got to the like werewolf bit and I'm like, oh, well, maybe it's Wickham. No, but it is Bingley. It is Bingley. Our muscled half werewolf is introduced as Elm Kingsley, who is our Bingley. Hello?
00:10:00
Speaker
Oh, the names in this are fantastic. Elm? His name is Elm? All right. We are in a realm. We just went along with it. It's just an elm in a realm.
00:10:12
Speaker
I didn't even mean to make that rhyme. That's great. Mama Moonflower invites him to stay for lunch, but Elspeth is anxious about this stranger. He's clearly rich and the upper classes often have ties to the witch superior.
00:10:25
Speaker
Elspeth orchestrates the most awkward situation for the family to leave, but as they flee, their magical cart breaks. This cart is their livelihood and it's not like they're rich enough that they can just buy a new one.
00:10:37
Speaker
Elm strolls back into the picture and offers to take the family and the cart to the nearby town of Thistlegrove to get it repaired. Elspeth, being the family's protector, is quite concerned about settling in a town, but they don't really have a choice.
00:10:50
Speaker
So now we've met the Bennets and Bingley, it's time to meet our Darcy's. Draven Darkstone is the owner of the local tavern. How many beds were in the tavern? Sorry, joke about there's only one room and there's only one bed. Oh, right. i like I'm confused. Right. Yeah. No. Unclear. It doesn't come up, unfortunately.
00:11:12
Speaker
He is a grumpy barkeep and really doesn't seem like the type of person who'd be good in hospitality. He is rich and owns a manor, but our characters don't learn this until much later. We also learn that unlike most witches, Draven has a rare powerful magic that doesn't need a wand to cast spells.
00:11:28
Speaker
Of course. Gotta make him special somehow. We also meet his miniature dragon named Edgar. Sorry. Sorry. Miniature dragon.
00:11:40
Speaker
oh my god. This is so good. He's the comedy relief Skatey Cat dragon. So kind of like Mushu in Mulan, but not as sassy. I was just about to say, is this a Mushu?
00:11:53
Speaker
I don't think he's that small. I don't know. It's not completely clear, but it's not dishonoring anyone's cows or... Dishonor on you. Dishonor on your cow. Sorry. Continue.
00:12:03
Speaker
No, it's fine. Every time I hear the word dishonor in a sentence, that's where my brain goes. Anyway, Edgar the dragon is supposed to be keeping an eye on Draven's younger sister, Georgie, who keeps sneaking out.
00:12:15
Speaker
Yes, Georgie has a normal name. Why? This is the thing that baffles me constantly. Why do they
Family Dynamics and Social Interactions
00:12:23
Speaker
change all of the names and then just inexplicably keep like one name the same? I can understand changing Darcy to a first name because Fitzwilliam is not a normal name anymore or calling him Will Darcy. Whatever, that's fine. But calling half the characters like Elm and Elspeth and then Georgie. What are we doing? I'm I just go with it. I'm not as fixated on the names as what you are. I find it fascinating.
00:12:48
Speaker
So Georgie and Draven had only recently moved back to Thistle Grove, which is their parents' hometown, after their parents died. Georgie had been living with their grandmother and Draven worked in the capital. But after an incident, Draven bought the tavern to provide some stability for his sister and bring her home.
00:13:06
Speaker
The Draven-Georgie siblingship is not the strong one that we see in Pride and Prejudice. They grow into it, but I want to note that early. Now that all of our characters are in place, discussing this adaptation is going to be hard because not many Pride and Prejudice plot elements are adapted. We'll have to talk about the plot as it unfolds to show the character development, but I will be skipping over a lot of the plot to focus on the character adaptations and their relationships.
00:13:35
Speaker
The usual disclaimer goes, if this is your thing, go and support the author and read the book. On arriving in Thistle Grove, Elm offers to put the family up at the local inn. Elspeth, however, refuses. She doesn't want to owe someone that rich anything at all.
00:13:50
Speaker
The woodsmith says it will take at least a month to fix their cart. So Elm takes Elspeth and Adelaide to get a drink at the brew house, which is, of course, Draven's tavern. Draven is working when Edgar brings Georgie home.
00:14:03
Speaker
Georgie is a 16-year-old brat. The siblings quarrel and Draven sets her to work wiping down tables. Draven sees Elm arrive and is determined to protect him from these new witches that he's convinced are taking advantage of him.
00:14:16
Speaker
Draven tells Georgie off for doing a bad job with the cleaning and Elspeth steps in to defend her. Do you always pick on young women in your employment? They argue until Adelaide and Elm tell them to stop.
00:14:28
Speaker
Elspeth decides that she doesn't like Draven, though. She's met enough bullies in her lifetime. The Moonflower family spend the night camping, but it's miserable. The family complain. They should have taken up Elm's offer. They've realised they're going to need an income to pay for repairs, and Thistle Grove already has an apothecary, so they need something new.
00:14:47
Speaker
Elm and Draven meet up, and Elm sings Adelaide's praises, because of course he does. Draven warns him to be careful, though, of being manipulated, and Elm tells him they refused his help to stay at the inn.
00:14:59
Speaker
Elm has a plan, though. Draven has an empty magical cottage that is in disrepair. If the family help to clean and maintain the home, can they stay there? And Draven says yes. That sounds like a nice thing to do. Yes.
00:15:11
Speaker
The next day when Elm offers them the cottage, Elspeth is of course immediately suspicious, but the rest of the family are charmed. Elm says they'd be doing them a favour by staying there and looking after it. A paranoid former owner spelled the cottage to always protect its owner, and the house became a little unhinged when the owner died. So the cottage lets the family inside, so they decide to stay.
00:15:33
Speaker
This is another favourite trope of mine that pops up, which is the weirdly overprotective or opinionated house. Fabulous. We have a very opinionated house. Go read the book to learn about the opinionated house.
00:15:47
Speaker
While they clean, we get a little info about Elspeth's paranoia about their safety and their secret. She'd gone out with a guy named Johannes for two years. Elspeth decided to tell him that they had no magic and Johannes reported the family to the witch superior's magistrates, basically her spies, to get a reward and the family had to escape.
00:16:07
Speaker
So, Elspeth is understandably paranoid. Yeah, yeah, no, that's going to make you very non-trusting of literally every person you meet. Exactly. Elspeth and Adelaide are chatting about how much Adelaide likes Elm when Elm and Draven arrive at the cottage. Elm wanted to see Adelaide and Draven was determined to protect Elm. Elspeth and Draven end up on their own and tentatively talk.
00:16:30
Speaker
Well, if my best friend is courting your sister, we're going to be seeing more of each other. Perfect. They argue there's a struggle over a bucket. It's not important. And Draven ends up falling on top of Ellsworth. Romantic trope, yada, yada, yada. There's lots of that.
00:16:47
Speaker
Nice. A bucket. A few things happen quickly here. There's a games night where Draven and Ellsworth eye each other off throughout the evening and end up versing each other at the end.
Social Challenges and Expectations
00:16:57
Speaker
It's just you and me, Darkstone. Wouldn't have it any other way. Can't even get through the line without laughing.
00:17:03
Speaker
Prue suggests they set up a soup stand to make money, and then Adelaide stops things with Elm. I don't want to say breaking up because I don't think they were actually together, but Augie observes that Adelaide hates conflict, and given how much Elspeth and Draven had been fighting, Adelaide wouldn't want Elspeth to be uncomfortable. Elspeth realises that Elm could actually make Adelaide really happy and vows to get along with Draven no matter what.
00:17:26
Speaker
They set up the soup stand the next day at the market and meet some of the interesting local characters, notably a vampire named Helena, who is a talent scout, and Morty, a matchmaker who used to run a tea shop.
00:17:38
Speaker
A talent scout for what? Great question. Basically, she works with famous people, is what she says. She talks about a few music acts she's worked with. Okay. But it's quite generalized. Let's just leave it at that.
00:17:52
Speaker
Yeah, fair. Okay. Elm, Draven, and Georgie are there too. Morty, along with Georgie, convinces Draven to throw a ball to celebrate an upcoming holiday at Darkstone Manor. They wander up to the Moonflower Soup cart, and Elspeth is immediately nice to Draven, which, of course, makes him suspicious.
00:18:10
Speaker
Elm invites the entire Moonflower family to the ball and while Adelaide is hesitant, Elspeth immediately accepts, trying to show how she's getting along with Draven. Adelaide ends up challenging Elspeth to dance with Draven to show how much they're getting along. Oh, okay.
00:18:26
Speaker
The ball begins and Elm finds Adelaide to ask her to dance. Adelaide looks over expectantly at Elspeth, who then asks Draven to dance. Elspeth and Draven make small talk about how they look after their own families.
00:18:40
Speaker
Elspeth observes Augie flirting with a group of guys, and Draven notes Augie has found a couple of the rich local guys and says, wow, the Moonflower women sure know how to pick them. He's basically implying that Elspeth only started being nice to him when she realised he was rich.
Community and Belonging
00:18:55
Speaker
ah I mean, he doesn't know why. it fits the timing. It does fit the timing. Elspeth drags him off the dance floor and into a closet, because it's the first door she opens, and proceeds to yell at him, You don't know me or my struggles. I was just trying to be nice. And mid-argument the closet door opens... Elspeth sees Adelaide out of the corner of her eye and to show how much they're getting along, decides to kiss Traven.
00:19:23
Speaker
I was going to say, this is absolutely going to lead to them making out of the closet. I love it. Yes, it does. Adelaide and Elmer are like, um, excuse me? And Elspeth says, see, I told you we were getting along. Hilarious. Elmer escorts Adelaide away and closes the door to be a helpful wingman. Elspeth tells Draven that she doesn't want to fight him, not because he's rich, but because she's trying to help Adelaide, and the arguing could also put the townspeople offside. The moonflowers are there temporarily, and she doesn't want them to be outcasts.
00:19:54
Speaker
Draven backs down. He compliments her dress and all he can think about is kissing her again, but she slinks away. So I'd say this is our Netherfield Ball, but only because it's a ball. And there's dancing. There's dancing, but none of the other character development really lines up with what happens at the Netherfield Ball in Pride and Prejudice. It's just the next phase of Draven and Elspeth getting closer together.
00:20:19
Speaker
Yeah, it's Draven finally coming terms with his crush and Elspeth still being oblivious. Yeah, basically. The following day, though, Elspeth can't stop thinking about that kiss either and how enthusiastically Draven had kissed back. And scandalously, Adelaide didn't come home from the ball. Oh.
00:20:39
Speaker
But Mama Moonflower gets a letter that Adelaide is actually sick and she won't be returning home. Mama Moonflower insists that Elspeth go and see Adelaide to check on her, but also to spy on how things are going with Elm, which, mate, she's sick. Let her be sick, please. Mama Bennett gonna Mama Bennett.
00:21:01
Speaker
So this is our Jane Sick at Netherfield arc. Elspeth arrives at Darkstone Manor as a storm begins outside. We still get some rain at least. Hey, someone still gets trapped by a storm. Adelaide is thrilled to see Elspeth and confronts her about the kiss with Draven. Elspeth says, I've been trying to tell you we're getting along.
00:21:18
Speaker
Adelaide is convinced and admits she really likes Elm. Then Elspeth starts to head home in the pouring rain. Elm finds Draven in the manor and mentions that Elspeth had visited but had left in the rain, and Adelaide is worried about her getting home safely.
00:21:35
Speaker
Draven immediately offers to go after her, which Elm teases him about.
Rising Tensions and Relationship Tests
00:21:40
Speaker
Elspeth gets caught in the mud and Draven finds her. They share another tension-charged moment where Draven frees her and then they head back to the manor to warm up with tea in front of the fire.
00:21:49
Speaker
They sip tea and share more info from their backstories and this moment of emotional intimacy is immediately followed by some physical intimacy. We jump forward a few days and the fam are back at the soup stand. Their little enterprise is starting to thrive. They now have a table for people to sit and eat.
00:22:06
Speaker
Helena the vampire shows up and Mama Moonflower tries to gossip with her. She spills that Adelaide and Elmer courting and she thinks that Elspeth is in love with Draven. Helena frowns a little bit at this and walks away.
00:22:20
Speaker
Is Helena Caroline? Elspeth tells her mother she's going to go keep Helena company. Now, I didn't mention this earlier, but Helena tells Elspeth that she isn't invited to the Dark Stones ball, and Elspeth should be careful of Draven because he's cutthroat, powerful, and will turn against you if he doesn't like you.
00:22:41
Speaker
Oh, she's Wickham! She's Wickham! I love it. And while they eat soup, Helena shares her story. After Draven's parents died, Georgie lived with her grandmother in the city.
00:22:55
Speaker
Helena became like a mentor to her, like a sister. And Stephanie, I will get you to read out the rest of Helena's words. So we have Helena here. I can only assume Draven was jealous.
00:23:06
Speaker
He never got along well with his grandmother. He came to visit one day and decided to take his sister. Decided it would be best if she stayed with him. He tore that poor girl away from their grandmother.
00:23:18
Speaker
From me, Helena's eyes watered. I worry about Georgie, but Draven won't even let me see her. There's a gap, and then... Draven will always do what's best for Draven, Helena said.
00:23:30
Speaker
I just think you should know that before you pursue a relationship with him. How kind of her. i know, right? Bestie be girl talking. She's just a girl's girl, you know?
00:23:44
Speaker
Also, this is the trope of the conniving and manipulative vampire. Very on brand. When you mentioned it earlier, i was like, ah, wait for it. There is a vampire coming. ah Elspeth, of course, freaks out at this revelation because if that's how Draven is, he will absolutely betray the Moonflower's secret to the Witch Superior.
00:24:04
Speaker
A few days later, Elspeth is out shopping and comes across Georgie heading towards some caves. Elspeth talks to her and Georgie asks if her brother had sent her to keep an eye on her. Elspeth detects disappointment and surmises that Georgie is likely intentionally acting out so Draven will pay her attention. More on this in a little while.
00:24:22
Speaker
i was going to say the girl with three sisters absolutely can clock this kind of behavior immediately. ah hundred percent. Georgie starts sharing how Draven used to be more adventurous.
00:24:35
Speaker
To Elsbeth, it sounds like Georgie really admires Draven and that she isn't unhappy with him or there against her will, like Helena suggested. Elsbeth then realises they're in a dragon's lair. Georgie's there to cast a protection spell on some eggs. They have a close call, but escape.
00:24:50
Speaker
Just casually wandering into a dragon's den. Draven is worried because Georgie is missing, but she arrives home with Elspeth in tow. Elspeth doesn't share about the dragon, which makes Georgie smile, and Draven invites Elspeth to stay for dinner.
00:25:03
Speaker
Georgie agrees, because of course, halfway through the dinner, she announces she suddenly has homework to do and leaves her brother alone with Elspeth. Haha. We do love it when the Georgie character is just like, huh, I'm going to matchmake.
00:25:20
Speaker
I see this. I see what's happening here. They have a good talk and Elspeth asks why Draven's so reclusive. He says it's because he doesn't trust people. Once they know about his magical power and his wealth, they tend to use him.
00:25:34
Speaker
He explains his parents were powerful curse breakers who used to work for the witch superior. Once people found out, they'd start asking him for favours. So he instead threw himself into his work and kept his distance from people.
00:25:46
Speaker
They flirt for a little bit and Elspeth leaves. The following day, Elspeth chats to Adelaide and her mother. Elspeth realises that they think they should permanently stay in Thistlegrove. They're building a good life there, but Elspeth starts to panic.
00:26:00
Speaker
Thistlegrove was supposed to be temporary. Adelaide says she's in love with Elm, and while Elspeth is glad for her, especially if it works out and she gets her magic back, Elspeth, Prue, and Augie will still be magicless and at risk.
00:26:12
Speaker
Which is
Character Growth and Communication
00:26:13
Speaker
when Draven turns up and asks Elspeth to accompany him on a walk. Mama Moonflower is like, of course, Elspeth loves her daily walks. And Elspeth, in a very much not Lizzie Bennet way, says that she hates walking.
00:26:26
Speaker
oh Okay. Though, to be honest, if Mr. Collins had asked Lizzie to go for a walk one-on-one, her response would have been, I hate walking. It's very true.
00:26:37
Speaker
Depends on the walker. She doesn't seem super keen to go on this walk, but Mama Moonflower is definitely Mama Banditing. On their walk, Elspeth asks Draven if he wanted to bring Georgie back to Thistlegrove.
00:26:48
Speaker
He said no, he liked working in the capital and creating powerful spells, which confirms to Elspeth that he did in fact work for the witch superior. But he says he brought Georgie there because it was best for her.
00:27:01
Speaker
Elspeth says she doesn't think Thistlegrove is best for her family because they need to keep moving. Draven reflects that sometimes life can change and you can discover a new normal. Oh. Draven opens up some vines to reveal a hot spring and a waterfall.
00:27:16
Speaker
Elspeth asks Draven what they're doing, and he says, I like spending time with you. Draven brought her here because she'd said she hated the cold, and he thought she'd like somewhere warm to swim.
00:27:27
Speaker
Elspeth is shocked. He listened and remembered. Basic human behaviour, of course, but her experiences with men till that point had not been great. Uh-huh. The bar is in hell.
00:27:38
Speaker
Yes, but... Elspeth invites him to stay and they hook up. Of course. Yeah. I just casually brought you to a hot spring and I'm just going to leave you here to hang out by yourself.
00:27:51
Speaker
Patently transparent. After all of that, they talk about their siblings. Draven thanks Elspeth for looking after Georgie. Elspeth shares she thinks that Draven prefers to focus on his work because it's easier than dealing with people.
00:28:06
Speaker
Draven concedes but says that Georgie doesn't even like him and Elspeth observes that Draven only really pays attention to Georgie when she acts out. Elspeth said that Augie used to do something similar and eventually she realised that Augie just wanted to be seen.
00:28:21
Speaker
Draven marvels at how good she is at this stuff and Elspeth says it's years of practice. You'll get there. Man discovers basic human empathy. We're going to discuss this, but yes. Oh god, yeah, cool.
00:28:35
Speaker
The next chapter starts after a month of secret hookups. Draven, Georgie and Edgar are at the market and Georgie suggests stopping for soup so Draven can make moon eyes at his moonflower.
00:28:46
Speaker
but They sit and eat and Georgie asks her brother if he's ever thought about inviting their grandmother to visit. Draven asks if she'd like her to visit and Georgie says she would. Draven starts to realise that when moving Georgie back to their hometown, he never really asked what Georgie wanted. He then takes the completely wrong lesson and says that maybe he's just not good with people and maybe Georgie isn't where she wants to be.
00:29:11
Speaker
oh my god. The following day, Elspeth is cleaning and Prue shares she's been offered a job at the local bookstore. Prue says she won't take it though because she knows they'll be leaving soon because the cart is fixed.
00:29:24
Speaker
Elspeth didn't even know about the cart, but now that they can leave, she feels disappointed. Maybe they don't have to leave after all. Elspeth tells Prue to take the job, but of course Mama Moonflower and Augie appear and look shaken.
00:29:39
Speaker
Apparently the Witch Superior is on her way to Thistlegrove with some magistrates, and Draven Darkstone invited the Witch Superior to town because she is his grandmother.
00:29:52
Speaker
Oh, of course. Of course she is. That makes so much sense. I didn't even think of it. Wow. So the families start panicking. Elspeth takes charge.
00:30:06
Speaker
It's time to get out of there. Draven is pacing in his tavern. He does not have a good relationship with his grandmother because he's a man, just like his father. I'll explain. Okay.
00:30:17
Speaker
The witch superior must be a woman. So his grandmother wants Georgie, her first granddaughter and the first woman in her line, to take over ruling when she retires. Hot damn.
00:30:31
Speaker
No wonder Helena wanted to get a hooks into Georgie. Yes. So Draven's parents were against Georgie following in her grandmother's footsteps, but Draven wonders if Georgie going with her grandmother will make her a better witch.
00:30:44
Speaker
Draven had told Georgie that their grandmother was visiting, but not that he was considering sending her back to the capital. He would make sure that Helena was kept away from Georgie. Is this man incapable of asking a woman what they want?
00:30:59
Speaker
Just ask Georgie what she wants. Yeah, this is my most hated trope. the Just the wild assumptions that happen in the background when you can just ask a very basic question. This is how everyone ends up dead in Othello because Othello refuses to ask his wife a question.
00:31:16
Speaker
Yeah,
Resolution and Growth
00:31:17
Speaker
we'll discuss it a little bit later. But yes, Treven's communication skills are truly terrible. It's not even miscommunication. It's just he gets stuck in his own head and he's just not asking. Full non-communication. just Yes. Hey, maybe I should just like hear a few sentences and then make some wild assumptions and then ruin everyone's life again.
00:31:38
Speaker
Yay. Yes. Woo. Draven decides he needs Elspeth's advice, so he goes to the cottage to find a flurry of packing and is shocked to find that they're leaving. Well, the cart's fixed. It's time to leave. Draven asks what's really going on.
00:31:52
Speaker
He's at least cluing into that. And Elspeth says she's doing what's best for her family and Draven needs to move on and do the same. And of course he takes the wrong lesson again. Draven spots Georgie in the forest, skipping school, and decides to take a leaf out of Elspeth's book. Georgie, you won't listen to me, so you can't live with me anymore. You're going to go live with your grandmother.
00:32:15
Speaker
Georgie doesn't want to and runs away, and Draven has left a sock. Holy moly. We'll get into this, of course. The man has the communication skills of a frog.
00:32:27
Speaker
He has the communication skills of an inanimate object. Yes. o Very accurate. He does not use his words. He doesn't use questions. Is the man capable of having a conversation?
00:32:40
Speaker
Like where he asks a question and he listens to the answer and then he uses that answer to then construct the next part of the conversation or his next... yeah He does with Elspeth, but seemingly no one else in his life. Oh my god, he's actually like turning into Bingley at this point, who's just like, Welp, I can't make a decision for myself. I need this other person to decide everything for me. Please help, tell me what to do.
00:33:06
Speaker
Yeah, it's not great. On the cart ride out of town, Elspeth and Adelaide have a mini therapy session. Adelaide asks Elspeth why they really left. Well, the Witch Superior was coming. We had to be safe. But Adelaide links it all back to their father leaving.
00:33:22
Speaker
We find out that when his daughters were cursed, their father left them to start a new family. What? And Adelaide says that him leaving hurt Elspeth the most.
00:33:35
Speaker
Daddy issues? Yeah. And Elspeth doesn't want to open herself up to being hurt again. She says Elspeth has done so much to protect their family, but maybe love is worth the risk.
00:33:48
Speaker
Is this the worst version of Mr. Bennett we've ever seen? Are we rocketing from the best version of Mr. Bennett that we've ever seen, which was in The Shadow of Anubis, to now the worst possible version of Mr. Bennett, which is just straight up child abandonment?
00:34:08
Speaker
We do discuss it a little bit later in the character analysis. Yep. I actually think it fits. Yeah, no, it fits the storyline. It fits well, but we'll get into it a bit later. The whole family have something to lose leaving Thistle Grove.
00:34:23
Speaker
The soup stand, their friends, the bookstore, Elm, Draven. So the Moonflower family agree to return to Thistle Grove. And at that moment, Georgie and Edgar fly in front of their cart. Why are you leaving? My brother loves you.
00:34:36
Speaker
When Elspeth admits she likes Draven, Georgie says good because you have to convince him not to send me to live with my grandmother. ah Yeah, Georgie, get it. We cut back to Draven, who is, of course, moping at his tavern until Elm arrives. Are you just going to give up? I'm going after Adelaide. Aren't you coming with me?
00:34:54
Speaker
Morty, our matchmaker, arrives and tells him that the Witch Superior has arrived in town, but also that Georgie is missing. Draven panics and goes to leave and walks straight into Ellsworth, who's walking into the tavern.
00:35:05
Speaker
Elspeth tells Draven that Georgie is safe at their cottage and she's there to talk some sense into Draven. Elspeth says she knows the witch superior is his grandmother and asks, why didn't you say anything?
00:35:16
Speaker
Draven says he's ashamed of her. She's not a good leader and she didn't want Elspeth to think less of him. Elspeth and Draven have a heart to heart where Draven realizes he's what's best for Georgie because he deeply cares what happens to her, even though he needs to get significantly better at listening to her and asking her questions.
00:35:34
Speaker
Oh my God. Oh, okay. Then Elspeth tells Draven the entire truth. No magic, cursed, father leaving, Johannes, marriage breaks curse.
00:35:48
Speaker
Draven actually listens and says he's sorry that that happened to her, and then they declare their love for each other. Elspeth then says she doesn't actually want to marry Draven. Not yet, anyway. She wants to model a healthy relationship for her sisters rather than just marrying to get her magic back.
00:36:04
Speaker
Draven then shares that, well, just like my parents, I'm also a curse breaker. And maybe he can figure out how to solve their curse. Of course. Yep. All the pieces are falling into place. Of course, my brain immediately just went to Bill Weasley. Yeah. Curse breaking. They're like breaking into magical vaults and stuff. Not actually like breaking a curse. It's not a person. Fair. Okay.
00:36:27
Speaker
but back at the cottage, Draven is unsuccessful trying to break the curse. The plot point literally goes nowhere after this massive reveal.
Community Unites Against the Witch Superior
00:36:34
Speaker
You're joking. but So either he's actually not that great at curse breaking or their grandmother was accidentally like incredibly brilliant at making accidental curses.
00:36:45
Speaker
Oh no, it goes into a whole ton of detail that I don't have time to get into about how the magic is bound with her death, so that's the whole reason they do these blessings to begin with, so because she's died they can't undo it.
00:36:56
Speaker
Cool. Unbreakable death magic. Always handy. Then Augie arrives and says, um, I've done something bad. Apparently she's been working with Helena.
00:37:07
Speaker
Draven immediately stills. Augie says that Helena was going to get her work as a model. At which point Draven cuts in and asks Augie what she had to reveal. Helena trades in secrets to bind her contracts, and Augie told Helena the biggest secret of all, they don't have magic. And her talent scouting is basically a scam because Helena is one of the witch superiors' magistrates.
00:37:33
Speaker
Oh no! Georgie then shares her story with Helena. When living in the capital, she thought Helena was a friend. Georgie didn't want to be the next witch superior and had told Helena that. But slowly, Helena used what she knew about Georgie to manipulate her to change her mind.
00:37:52
Speaker
Georgie eventually realised that Helena and her grandmother were working together and Georgie was humiliated. This is such a good twist on the Wickham thing. Absolutely.
00:38:03
Speaker
Because... Technically, his activities are creating secrets that can ruin people's lives. And Helena trading in secrets that can ruin people's lives is such a cool read on that.
00:38:16
Speaker
It's also emotionally manipulative. We discuss it in a little while, but yeah, spoiler alert. alert I also love this. With the family exposed, Mama Moonflower says they have no choice but to run, but Elspeth is the one to stand up and say no this time.
00:38:30
Speaker
She's sick of running and they've built something lovely here. She'll go speak to the Witch Superior, but Georgie points out the window and says, well, she's right there. When the Witch Superior tries to walk into their home, the cottage attacks. It's very funny.
00:38:44
Speaker
Yes. Yes, I was waiting for that. i was waiting for the cottage to just be like, I'm sorry, my family, hands off. Yeah, Chekhov's cottage. Elspeth steps forward and takes responsibility for keeping the secret. She basically trash talks the witch superior, like that final conversation Elizabeth and Lady Catherine have in the garden at Longbourn. The witch superior sees Draven and calls him the quote, other disappointment in my family, unquote.
00:39:10
Speaker
And he cops it for falling in love with a magicless woman. ah Then suddenly, there's a lot of noise outside. Turns out all the residents of Thistlegrove have turned up to kick the Witch Superior out of town.
00:39:23
Speaker
We protect our own. And if you don't leave, we'll rally the realm to invoke the selection of the new Witch Superior early. This family have helped us re-find our sense of community and we won't let you take them away from us.
00:39:35
Speaker
The Witch Superior caves so fast, she turns to Georgie and asks it a pack and Draven says it's Georgie's call. He's finally listened and Georgie wants to stay with Draven. Ugh, you're all pathetic, says the witch superior, and she leaves. Crisis over in literally a few pages.
00:39:50
Speaker
Wow. Okay. That seems mildly anticlimactic. It is. Yeah. I mean, look, I think the idea of a community coming together to save a family who they've adopted as their own is very cozy romanticy. Like there's a very subset of that that it's very on brand for. So yeah I'm rolling with it because... you know, we've found our family, we've found our home, yay. But yeah, it does finish very quickly.
00:40:20
Speaker
Yeah. I'm not against the community rallying and setting up for their own and all that sort of thing. That's very sweet. And I really like that. But like she's the witch superior. Doesn't she have like a reputation as someone really scary to uphold?
00:40:34
Speaker
Yeah, because they invoke the fact that they can call the witch trials early. There's a whole thing. Okay. Yeah, yeah, that's fair. Let's not get into all the law. Scary witch in charge, but also democratically elected.
Character Adaptations and Retelling Approach
00:40:46
Speaker
Sort of. Yeah, close enough. We then finish with an epilogue sent one year later. Elspeth and Draven are now married, so the family gather round to see Elspeth cast her first spell in 12 years.
00:40:59
Speaker
Intriguingly, Adelaide looks on longingly. Elspeth still hasn't quite forgiven Elm for leaving and breaking her sister's heart.
00:41:09
Speaker
But don't despair. It looks like book two in the series, which will be called Sense and Sentability, will focus on a second chance love story between Adelaide and Elm. Wait, where did Elm go?
00:41:20
Speaker
he went back to his home. He was visiting Draven. It's a whole thing. Oh, okay. Because like the last time he was mentioned, he's like, I'm going after Adelaide. And what, then he just left instead?
00:41:31
Speaker
Well, it's 12 months. I'm not sure when in the 12 months. Okay. And the book ends with a family group hug. no So cozy. Yeah. So time now for a bit of that promised character analysis.
00:41:43
Speaker
First, let's start with our Moonflower sisters. They do map quite nicely onto their 1813 counterparts. Elspeth is a true obstinate headstrong girl who steps up and protects her family.
00:41:54
Speaker
Adelaide is a great Jane. She's kind and open-hearted, and she uses her emotional intelligence to talk Elspeth down and help them return to thistle growth. The other two sisters i didn't mention much.
00:42:05
Speaker
Augie pops in and out of the story, trying to give her older sister's relationship advice. There is a hint earlier in the story that she's working with Helena. In an argument, Prue implies that Augie is useless. And Augie is like, well, I've got an amazing opportunity to help our family.
00:42:20
Speaker
so obviously that's Helena. Prue as the book nerd is a modern take on a Mary. She's intelligent and uses her access to the library and bookstore to try and find ways to break their curses without magic. She mostly, though, sits in the background with her nose in a book.
00:42:33
Speaker
Mama Moonflower is a great translation of Mama Bennet. The story set up is a great way to get her meddling and marriage obsessed. She babbles to both Elm and Draven a few times, embarrassing her daughters. But she is slightly more perceptive than Mama Bennet, realising that Ellsworth has feelings for Draven much earlier and vice versa.
00:42:51
Speaker
And I would also argue that Mr. Moonflower is pretty successfully adapted. as we've discussed numerous times on this podcast, Mr. Bennett is an absent father who is not looking after his girls. And in this one, he literally just abandons them and is absent.
00:43:07
Speaker
He also has a huge impact on Elspeth, who thought the best of him until the truth of his betrayal set in. I thought that was quite well done. It makes sense that Elspeth is the most affected being quote unquote, the daddy's girl traditionally in the storyline.
00:43:23
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, it is Mr. Bennett's character taken to the most logical conclusion, which is straight up abandonment as opposed to emotional and financial abandonment while still just kind of being there.
00:43:36
Speaker
In terms of Adazi, Draven's okay. He falls more into the grumpy man with a heart of gold romance trope more than anything else. His dedication to Georgie is admirable and he is clearly very kind and cares for his community. His biggest flaw is having no basic communication skills.
00:43:56
Speaker
Yeah, that's clear. Which is where his relationship with Georgie comes in. Draven keeps saying that Georgie is acting up and he doesn't understand her, but he doesn't make any moves to try to understand her. On one of their market trips, Georgie asks to do something and Draven says, oh, Edgar can take you.
00:44:12
Speaker
She looks disappointed and flounces away and it takes Elm to be like, mate, it looks like she wants to do stuff with you. You should do stuff together. And Draven is like, nah, this happened several times. but maybe he'll only listen to advice when it comes from his crush.
00:44:27
Speaker
Elspeth eventually says the exact same thing and points out some comparisons between Augie and Georgie. They both want to be included and be seen, and that's all you have to do. And the first time he does, it works, and he's like, wow, that worked. Look, god I get that some people have the emotional range of teaspoon and low EQ. We all have different skills.
00:44:49
Speaker
But he was told what to do even and he didn't do it. The one thing I do appreciate here is that it flips the usual trope of the man only taking advice from other men and is like, man will only take advice from woman.
00:45:04
Speaker
Okay, that's slightly better. Slightly. He's got a lot of growing to do. And look, he does grow across the story. He eventually asks, but it is a little bit annoying when you're reading it through.
00:45:17
Speaker
And then there's Elm. I think Elm in this story is relegated to the role of pod favourite trope, the sexy lamp. The sexy man lamp! Yes! Yes, we've another one!
00:45:29
Speaker
He's just there in the background, quite literally in several scenes. I'm so excited. I was also so surprised at the fact that he's a half werewolf never comes into play. I was going to ask you if that plays any relevance at any point anywhere else. Maybe it becomes relevant in the sequel.
00:45:53
Speaker
Potentially. he's not just the sexy man lamp. He's literally just chilling in the background, being nice and being slightly more perceptive until he dumps Adelaide. Boo. Boo.
00:46:04
Speaker
There's going to be some issue with him being a half-breed. There always is. That's another fantasy trope. I mean, yeah, I can only go off what's in this book, but hopefully it does. And now to the plot adaptation.
00:46:16
Speaker
Most references to the original Pride and Prejudice plot in this book are just references. At the start, Elspeth gets thrown into the mud in the cart crash and her dress ends up muddy, which Draven notices and judges. There is that ball, but it doesn't really function the same way that any of the other balls do in Pride and Prejudice. It allows our main pair to bond a bit and then they get caught kissing which is not very often. Yes, Adelaide does get sick and has to stay at the Darkstone Manor and Elspeth does go on foot to visit her, but the storm happens on the way home and Elspeth's the one that gets stuck in the rain. It does allow for some relationship growth between our leads, but it's really only a one day stay.
00:46:54
Speaker
There's also no real misunderstanding between our Elizabeth and Darcy after that first meeting. There isn't any pride or prejudice in either of these characters. Draven shows a slight snobbishness and suspicion when he thinks Adelaide and Ellsworth are going to take advantage of Elm's kind nature, but he's proven wrong very quickly.
00:47:12
Speaker
And Elspeth thinks Draven is an arrogant bully for a few chapters, but is also proven wrong quickly. They're just doing enemies to lovers, but with magic. They argue until they slowly stop arguing and start kissing. It does take them a little while to admit their feelings for each other, but there's no abrupt change of heart. So without a first proposal, there's no letter, no Elizabeth changing her mind, no Pemberley section where Darcy shows how he's grown. It's a slow burn with slow growth from the characters over the course of the story.
00:47:39
Speaker
Yeah, I got that sense. And actually i saw a great post today and I should have saved it. I'll see if I can find it and we can link it in the show notes so that I can credit the smart person who thought of this. But it was this really interesting discussion in Instagram slides of how so many enemies to lovers storylines exist. now are not truly earned.
00:48:01
Speaker
It just is like a convenient, you know, woman meets walking red flag and the actual enemies to lovers arc is not earned. It just kind of flips as soon as it's convenient in the plot for them to start kissing.
00:48:14
Speaker
And it is definitely something that I've seen in a few of the other books that I've done. Me and Mr. Darcy and Austin Land, the two shining examples of that, it flips really quickly. And there's no earning of the enemies to lovers, which when it's done well, cough, pride and prejudice, cough, it works really well.
00:48:34
Speaker
But you have to earn it and it has to be like a genuine slow burn. Otherwise it makes no sense. And yeah, I kind of get the sense that this one, to your point, not really earned.
00:48:45
Speaker
I think it's more that just they start not liking each other quite substantially, but it turns very quickly when Elspeth is like, I want Adelaide to be happy, so I have to like you. And then it just turns on a dime and all of a sudden they both like each other. Anyway, it is what it is.
00:49:03
Speaker
i didn't find it offensive. Like it did at least take a little while to turn, but without the other Pride and Prejudice elements. There's not much to it. Yeah. And there is a way to do enemies to lovers where they start making out, but they still kind of hate each other. There is a way to do that. But that takes, again, really long set up. Anyway, it seems fun.
00:49:23
Speaker
The only real plot translation we get here is our mini Wiccan Mark. Within the world of this novel, Augie being manipulated into giving up their family's secret is an interesting approach to the Wickham story. It plays on Augie's desire for attention, and Augie's actions do threaten the reputation and safety of the whole Moonflower family, which corresponds to Lydia Bennet. But there's no need for Draven to step in. He offers to, but Elspeth takes the responsibility on herself, and it's ultimately the Thistle Grove community who step in and save the family.
00:49:53
Speaker
It's lovely sentiment for a cozy romantic, but the resolution was very quick and it was a low stakes conclusion to a villain who had been built up all book. I do actually like that this Wickham adaptation is not romantic.
00:50:05
Speaker
It's actually really fresh. It's still emotionally manipulative. It draws a clearer comparison between the plight of Georgie and Augie. We discussed in our episode on the secret confessions of Lydia Bennet Witch that there are parallels between Georgiana and Lydia's situations. And it's the strength of Georgiana's privilege and family that stop her reputation being ruined. Lydia doesn't have that protection.
00:50:26
Speaker
And in a similar way, Georgie gets help because she realizes what's going on and talks to her brother. But Augie keeps her actions a secret because she's trying to prove that she can be helpful to her family. And I really liked that.
00:50:39
Speaker
Yeah, that's an excellent point. Those parallels are really clear in this story. And like you said, this is a really fresh read on Wickham and very cool. Bring the emotional manipulation to the fore without the romantic aspect to it. Really cool, like amazing read on Wickham.
00:50:58
Speaker
I liked it a lot. And now it's time for our ratings. Potions and Prejudice is not actually Austen, something we enjoyed but doesn't really resemble Pride and Prejudice. This was a quick magical read.
00:51:11
Speaker
If this is a genre you like, I'm sure you'll love this one. I think this book thrived the most when it steered away from the Pride and Prejudice references and towards the magical world that the authored. created. How the Moonflowers created a home from nothing and through hospitality and food created a cozy space for the community to hang out and reconnect. That is a key part of many romanticy novels.
00:51:33
Speaker
But in terms of adaptation elements, the character adaptations were great. I really love the setup why the Moonflower girls have to marry and Mama Moonflower being obsessed. And we get a truly absent father with Mr Moonflower, which is on point.
00:51:45
Speaker
We get an enemies to lovers arc with Elspeth and Draven, sort of. We get a solid Wickham arc and a brief Jane is sick at Netherfield adaptation, but there's no first proposal, no letter, no Pemberley section. I just don't think there's enough Pride and Prejudice plot in here to give the book anything other than not actually Austen.
00:52:02
Speaker
We hope you enjoyed this episode of Jane Austen Remixed. We love exploring this wonderful corner of the literary world with you. Please share the podcast with your friends, family, literary fans and other Janeites. And we would love it if you could leave us a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you are listening. This helps us reach other fans of Pride and Prejudice and build our community. You can also follow us on Instagram at janeaustenremixed.
00:52:25
Speaker
And if you have a question or a suggestion for a book, movie, or something you'd like us to review, drop us a line. You can email us at janeaustenremixed at gmail.com. And join us in two weeks when we examine the movie Bride and Prejudice, directed by Gurinder Chudder.
00:52:43
Speaker
And now, Melinda, the most important question of the podcast. Does this Darcy dive into a lake? So no diving, but there is that first hookup that takes place in a natural spring.
00:52:57
Speaker
so no shirts involved, but there was water, so I think that counts. And abs, I assume. Look, probably. i think I just blocked it out. See you next episode.
00:53:21
Speaker
Thank you.