Consider what's said and not said in episode 2 of S-town. How does what's not said speak to what is said? OR how does what is said, speak to what is NOT said?
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Introduction to English Studies
Instructor: Mat Wenzel, MFA, M.Ed.
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The ending of course is a massive massive massive part as to what is not said. I have so many questions about certain things concerning John's suicide and I feel as if I should. Especially considering how the episode ended directly after his suicide had been announced I believe that I will get those answers and more. If his suicide had been as cut and dry as an overwhelming amount of sadness I feel as if maybe their wouldn't have been any more episodes.
Although episode 2 of S Town gives John B. and the people of Woodstock more exposure, it leaves listeners with more questions than answers about the town and the events that have taken place there. Some of the mystery comes from John's style of storytelling. At times he only gives his opinion on a situation which causes Brian Reed to explore the town for more information. This example of what is unsaid reveals how much more there is to this little county in Alabama. At first it seemed that Brian Reed would have had every right to give up on John B.'s story once he found out that the murder did not actually take place, but the mystery of what…
In episode two of Shit Town, it concludes with the awful phone call where Skylar notifies Brian that John has killed himself. Obviously the podcast leaves its audience with a cliffhanger, but it seems odd when someone loses their life. I prematurely listened to episode three so I know what happened. Although, if I hadn't I'd be wondering who he last contacted and how he killed himself. The episode also begins with the investigation and how it could be coming to a conclusion, but the entire story changes with the ending of episode two.
A major insight gained from episode 2 of S-Town is how the rest of the town viewed John McElmore, our introductory citizen to Woodstock and our primary source up to this point. Throughout episode 1 we learned of John's disgust with his hometown, but in episode 2 we get some insight into the town's perspective of him. What remains unsaid is the effects of such a town have taken on John's emotional state and the severity of them. Throughout all of John's disgust and his neighbors depiction of his inane ramblings, we are left listening to the simmering breakdown days before John's passing, but not expecting anything because we never want to assume one is capable of such tragedy. For…
At the end of Episode 2, Brian reveals that John has killed himself. This information is kept until the end of the episode and told in the last line of the podcast. Revealing this information in this manner leaves it as a shocking discovery for the audience to consider until the next episode. Brian is left speechless, a feeling which is replicated throughout the audience. The conscious choice to display John's suicide in this manner gives a sense of unease and confusion, which will be held until the start of Episode 3.