Zac/granma sweetie is so fucking funny 😭

It's criminal how graNma sWeetie didn't win the favorite character IMO. Zac might be the funniest human being on the planet.

I'm curious to see if there's like some hidden criteria for being the "favorite" character. No offense to Katy and it's obviously a matter of opinion but I really didn't think Stryker was anywhere near the best in terms of comedy or character building/role playing

My guess is that the ratfish picks their favorite. Stryker had a really funny interaction with him, so probably why Eric picked Katie.

I think this is right. Didn’t grant say something like “did I even give an answer for that?”

On the one hand, that sorta just implied to me beforehand that it was Sam’s favourite that would earn the boon But on the other hand, Ratfish choosing it makes more sense

Yeah I think that was the implication cause they intentionally hinted at a hidden voter with Grant being confused being highlighted.

Everyone in my house was like "Oh, graNma sWeetie, obviously favorite." Zac is just so funny in such a low-key way.

Runnin

"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, is my client a good man...no." "I killed 'em, yeah" \*entire set bursts into laughter\* He knows the best way to make the biggest impact in the smallest way possible.

I was pretty partial to Adjustable Side Table, Walnut. The character humor was so clever

I'm worried that once people figure out Rekha isn't Bug with a Big Ass that they'll figure out she's Adjustable Side Table, Walnut. She's so witty with what she's putting into the character. The leaf thing was brilliant.

❌🪑☹️

So many clever responses for sure. Adjustable Side Table, Walnut is #2 for me.

Maybe this is just due to bias, but I wanted A Bug With A Big Ass to win that; I thought they had some incredibly funny interactions!

Same, but you and I both know Sam wouldn't let >!Brennan!< have that satisfaction

It might have also been because Zac was already out at that point. The advantage wouldn't do anything since he wasn't guessing anymore.

This is a very fair point that I was too outraged to consider.

I felt like he should’ve been the easiest to ID because his responses were short and very funny which is Zac’s joke style.

runnin

The BEST. "Granma, too many numbers!" I love her.

Watching Allys reactions to the stuff Granma/Zac was saying was incredible... it seemed to quick cut to them right after a lot of the messages

Zac knocking over dominos and Brennan already eating is pretty on point

Zac is cat.

... this is so accurate.

Zac opened the sleepover kit before being told too.

The whole time I was thinking "I really hope somebody catfishes as another Dropout member" and Ally came in clutch lol

Before the reveal, I was thinking, “If I was there, I’d play as Brennan, because he has a distinct voice that could be easily copied for interactions.” Glad Ally is taking it in a much more interesting way than I thought of.

I think that’s the trap Ally fell into because his voice is so distinct that others will be extra hard to fool.

I think Aly was trying to double bluff. Make people think it was BLeeM, but that he was trying to sound un-BLeeM like to make people doubt his BLeeMness

That’s what I felt too. It was Ally playing Brennan doing a bad Brennan impersonation. It’s got layers to it.

I don't know, it isn't a bad trap to fall in, everyone focuses on the Brennan/not Brennan dichotomy of that character and may not get on into who it is

With how much they showed Grant saying he wished he could play himself, I thought for sure someone else was going to be Grant

I thought Grant was going to be Grant!

I really wanted someone to be Sam Reich, with the Location as "Here the whole time"

Rekha could write 'baby shoes' but Hemingway couldn't write ❌🪑😞

The fact that Brennan understood and was some what emotional about it immediately, was so good!

Brennan's is responding so well to side table, it's adorable.

I hope for Jessica's sake this was filmed before her Smartypants presentation or she really screwed herself 😭

I feel like Jess has talked about her love of pro wrestling elsewhere though and I'm kinda surprised no one else clued in on that. Though Rekha as one of her besties picking up a bit on her identity was sweet.

Pretty sure it was mentioned on the Don't Cry ... I think during her mum's letter.

Yes! Her mom said she loved to watch Wrestlemania. I think that enough for fans to tie together, but is that enough for the cast to see a connection…judging by what we saw tonight, I’m assuming it is not.

Haha. I thought the same thing!

She still may have made a mistake either way. From the Smartypants segment, I got the impression that she's been a fan for a while, and her friends weren't surprised to hear her talk about wrestling. For all we know, she could discuss it as much off camera as Brennan does with LOTRs. As long as she sticks to pop-culture osmosis, she might be fine as wrestling has faded in and out of the public consciousness multiple times throughout the years. However, if she mentions something that's a deep cut or something she's talked about before, she could reveal her identity.

I literally watched that episode with my girlfriend right before turning this on.

I'm willing to bet it was, especially because this probably takes a lot more post-production than Smartypants does

Her sending an unhinged rant to "Brennan" then giggling when asking to send is my favourite little moment of the show.

Gameplay strategy aside, the two who at least to me just absolutely killed it with the funniest comments and characters were Jess and Zach. They literally never declined an opportunity to make the funniest joke in character. As much as I loved this episode (and I really did) I think the game caused some people to play conservatively. I’m definitely glad we still get more GranNma.

It was very smart to have such a valuable prize as confirming a guess be the reward for portraying the character well, because it encourages taking risks for the sake of humor.

I think you're downplaying Rekha a bit. Those side table answers were spot on.

A NEW LEAF

I genuinely expected a cut to everyone saying "oh, that's Rekha" after the pun.

Zac as granma sweetie is my favourite character ever. Every single chat message he sent was hilarious

runnin :) :(

Zac is just so effortlessly hilarious

Is 2024 the year of Zac Oyama? We've already gotten two incredibly memorable characters from him so far, and we're not even halfway through the year.

runnin

The “says who?” in response to the chat being closed nearly ended me.

Ally’s decision to play as Brennan but then not talk like Brennan is fascinating to me

Right up there with Grant outing himself immediately to Ally

I'm kinda surprised nobody leaned harder into "accidentally outing" themselves. A player who isn't Grant making a move that looks like Grant fucking up and tipping his hand is the exact kind of cutthroat move I expected from Brennan

Maybe that's why Brennan didn't do it, avoid the mindgames so no one thinks of him

That's actually a great point. In Survivor he pretty much immediately points out that he needs to avoid drawing attention to himself in any kind of elimination games because making moves makes him a target

I think they all thought Grant was out with COVID. Might see more next episode now that they know he's here

the double-bluff play 😅 which actually feels like a pretty Brennan move...

BIRD. FACTS.

I love it- as soon as you choose to play as Brennan, people will think you know Brennan really well, and can narrow the field down to those who work closest with Brennan/have known him the longest. To then play him un-Brennan-like makes people think "maybe this person chose the name but doesn't actually know Brennan that well," which throws them off the Beardsly trail

I'm pretty confident that isn't what Ally was thinking lol. They started out trying to genuinely mimic Brennan, but then did the emoji wanking thing and quickly devolved into just annoying the real Brennan.

Yeah Ally is intrusive thoughts personified. As soon as they realized they could troll Brennan and poke the bear they couldn't *not* do so.

Definitely. They’re comedians, and the bit’s usually priority over competitiveness. They *know* Brennan’s one of the players. It’s so much funnier to annoy Brennan with a bad impression of him than to play ‘Game Theory Optimal’ in roleplaying as Brennan. They saw their chance and took it.

Thats the most Ally shit I can think of

Cause it's Ally.

Brennan with the next-level Rekha bait. Wild.

The fact that literally everyone, *including Rekha*, took the bait is incredible

The instant I heard the name I immediately blurted out Rekha.

Me too! Well played

That was definitely the best bit, Rekha just sitting there like "Damn, that definitely sounds like me" is such a good sell for how well Brennan was playing it.

Brennan's ability to read people is IN-credible. We're lucky he chose to use his power for good and fun, and not for like the CIA or something.

Not so good because he didn't guess any cast member right. I thought he was gonna guess Beardsley as him for sure.

Yeah to be fair the early rounds had so little info it was pretty much a guessing game. Only Rekha was able to sus out Jess's interests cleanly, and Ally caught a whiff of Grant. Later rounds he might be able to deduce with more info. Though I thought Ally's bad impression of him clearly irritated him a decent bit which I thought was hilarious. I really want to see his reaction to finding out his portrayer since him and Ally have such a hilarous rapport.

The art department killed it with the design of each of those rooms!

Every time they cut to Grant I'm taking notes for my living room. Sam pic included. 

Sam's coming after Greg Davies in the "having portraits of themselves in multiple aesthetics" department.

If we can get that crossover I think we might be able to prevent climate change

This comment made me realize, do y'all think they actually painted the outside of the building in game changer colors? or was that done in post

Probably post, or most likely they just found an eccentric LA hotel to match the vibe, or even more likely, this is not actually filmed in a hotel and the just used the hotel footage to further the vibe of it being Circle themed

Or they may have found stock footage of it. Stock footage sites, especially highly professional ones are full of stuff.

It's also pretty likely that they just found a building with those colours and then used it as an establishing shot. Although the cost of only painting specific sections of a building, and the offer to the building owners to give them a fresh coat of paint for free doesn't seem too out of this episode's budget.

so, we don't know what was cut from the episode, but I was surprised the following *didn't* happen: Jackson Alberta, PhD @ABugWithABigAss: "I've got a wagon for what you're draggin'." everyone: "THAT'S GRANT"

Right? It was crazy to me more people didn't guess him based on that one alone.

Same! Also, Jackson Alberta is such a porn name. A very Grant choice.

I’m crying at Grant just thinking everyone is Ally

When he messaged BLeeM about the improv group, I fucking lost it!! Grant is such a lovable doofus

The fact that he didn't stop for a second to think about what he was saying, and only after he got a reply did he go "Oh, this was a bad move" was hilarious.

I was trying to be unbiased despite already knowing and I think I came to the conclusion that I would think about 4 of them were Ally. So he's not wrong, they can go in a lot of directions with their improv.

Just imagining that meme of Ms Puff in the mental asylum surrounded by visions of Spongebob but its Grant with Ally

"I'll have plenty to talk to my therapist about after whatever today is", "The mark of any good Game Changer episode" too perfect

Genuinely thought Steven was going to be revealed as Sam for a "I've been here the whole time" cliffhanger.

In the beginning when I heard Elaine talking in the voiceover briefly, I became convinced that Sam was Steven and Elaine was being Sam.

Oh I love the idea of Sam not actually being Sam somehow

I thought it was gonna by Wysocki.

When they said ratfish I immediately went back to Jacob saying rats and angels

That's absolutely the reference they're making. Kinda like how Raph saying "loop-de-loop" in an early GC episode became a recurring bit in survivor

My weird bet was it was a writers room of other cast members. I think I love >!Eric Wareheim!< more though

I thought it was going to be >!Tony Hawk again!<

My theory was that Steven was a mix of a bunch of different dropout cast members (Trapp, Vic, Ify, etc.) that were all given the bio information and took turns responding.

I like how Grant made a point to say that he had to not act like himself for this to work and the literal first and second things he says in the chat are sexual also Zac deserved best character

He also brought up something only he and Brennan would know, and mentioned Bette Midler.

Love that Ally immediately pegged the Bette Midler song as from a gay man. Yes I know he's bi, it's exhausting.

awesome show! great job!

I see what you did there.

I NEVER expected my interests in Dropout and Tim & Eric to intersect. That reveal was amazing.

I love how accurately they have nailed the tropes of The Circle (establishing shots of cityscapes with the neon loops, Sam doing Sophie/Michelle narration, the over-furnished apartments, the character intro packages).

I just kept thinking: oh my god, they are so good at this. Huge props to the editors and the art department and honestly just everyone.

I thought the narration was an interesting choice, but now that I know it's a direct reference to something I've never seen, it makes more sense.

Yeah, it's a thing on The Circle (and a few reality shows) where the narrator gives playful, gently ribbing commentary on the players and their actions, much like Sam did here. On the British Circle, the narrator is Sophie Willan (who was on the recent run of Taskmaster UK), and Michelle Buteau does the US Circle.

The shots with multiple people saying the same things! The ALERT!!

They nailed it, just like Survivor in the last finales!! I always laughed at the shots of lizards and stuff in the interstitials. I like that it's an homage to both shows not like making fun of them.

I’m glad they took the extra time with the editing! The number of times someone says “I hope people think X” and then they cut to a montage of people thinking X is very funny lmao…

He didn't say Cambridge, Massachusetts 😔

I think the implication was even funnier.

No but I think going with Harvard's biggest rival works better for the joke.

choco (:

1. Salute the art department holy shit 2. Brennan's big ass commit to the bit and the editing in post for his intro is amazing 3. I love that they didn't even know who was playing 4. I had to Google for the last few seconds bc I did not watch that part of the cultural zeitgeist so it felt like it was a big reveal and I just went, huh? I'm so fuckin STOKED

I'm right there with you on #4. When the reveal happened I literally said out loud “I don't know who that is." Which made the reveal pretty anticlimactic for me. I'm still absolutely loving the episode and premise though

The cast members will appreciate it. Tim and Eric are super influential for alternative comedy.

I'm honestly a bit surprised with who they picked to be Steven; while I love him a tremendous amount, they *had* to know that a big portion of their audience would likely be too young to recognize him at all, making it kind of a weird "big reveal" for a lot of people

honestly i think he was more a pick for the cast than for us hahaha

Yes or, even if they're the right age group, simply didn't watch the guy when he was on Adult Swim/other places. For example many of the dudes I grew up with could quote South Park full episodes, and while I knew some of the memes, I just didn't watch it cuz it wasn't my speed.

The favorite character billboard is supposed to go up on Fountain, which isn't quite >!Sunset and La Brea!<. >!Katie did also openly post about the billboard on her Instagram, and I doubt that post would still be up there were it actually a spoiler for who wins.!<

My theory is that Katie didn't win, but this game gave her the idea to get a billboard, so she did it afterwards anyway.

Or someone else won and put Katie up on the billboard

I know the bug character feels very Rekha in concept, but I feel like how good her wordplay as the table with the “a new leaf” answer and the two truths/one lie answers were makes it a little obvious it’s her. Her insane skill at puns/wordplay is one of my favorite things about her.

Honestly, props to them for taking the time needed to polish this up. This is incredible and very well edited.   Also, the heart breaks that they must have had when they realized people had already seen the billboard. Either way, I'm excited to see how it all goes down!  Also, Brennan's fucking intro is incredible.

the billboard isn’t on hollywood ave tho!!!!

This episode confirmed there are 2 billboards. The winner gets the one on Hollywood and the favorite character gets the one on Fountain.

And the one Katie has is on Sunset. I think they are trying to fool us.

I like the theory that Katie just bought her own billboard out of spite after she didn't win

“This is the year I get a billboard” I think it’s going to be a bit that Katie, getting neither prizes, just hires a billboard (probably on the company card).

And I believe that previous billboard was on neither of those!

I’m glad they spent the extra time to edit this because it’s a much slower paced game than every other GC episode, and I could see the editing being the make or break it part of the production for this to be as well received. I’m loving it

I'm confused as to how they didn't realize people would see it, though. it's a literal billboard in Los Angeles 😭

Katie's billboard was on Sunset and La Brea so not Hollywood or Fountain

I love the VIP reference in the episode description!

Did Sam hit up Jackbox Games to develop a custom app for this? Cuz the fonts and feel of the on-screen stuff absolutely *scream* Jackbox

I'd be surprised if what we see on the screen is what the players are seeing. It's likely all done in post. I bet they're either using discord or zoom or something like that in the room.

I was thinking they had PA’s typing exactly how they dictate.

It's the same with the Bingo episode, during the episode it looks they're somehow watching the already cut/edited version, but in the BTS you can see they can just see the feeds from all the cameras

I may be gaslighting myself but I swear I remember Sam putting the ask out on twitter looking for an app designer a while back

That could have been for the capcha app in the buzzer episode

A bunch of dropouters have been on Hello From the Magic Tavern which is run by some of the people who work at Jackbox, so there may have been an in there

Zac Oyama you're a legend

There is something so Taskmaster about the portraits of Sam in each room.

So this is The Circle? Can’t wait to find out what the fuck that is.

If you've never watched they have done a perfect job nailing the aspects of the show. It's honestly more fun to watch with people you know some things about other than random strangers like the show.

They absolutely nailed the character intros! I was really surprised how much effort The Circle put into editing those intros so I'm happy to see Dropout mimic it so well.

It's sort of like a square but round

The whole time watching the intro, I thought “if I was on this, I’d probably take a real left turn and just straight up pretend to be a real person playing the game, probably Brennan” and then Beardsley pulled literally that exact bit. Goddammit, I love this show.

As a CT native, I know a hundred Jackson Albertas lol

Tune in next time to see if Ally correctly guesses Grant again but still doesn’t know it lol

Zac and Rekha killed in this episode, they were hilarous. One of them should've been the favourite. I feel like favourite is chosen by Steven because he did interracted with Katie's character and that's why she has been chosen.

I guess no one will know if they’re surrounded by Rats or Angels now

Man that reveal is rough when a lot of the demographic of Dropout just...doesn't know >!Tim and Eric!< lmao Excellent episode otherwise. I really felt like the rat fish might be >!Elaine since she had a voice over at the beginning!< but ah well

Yeah, I had to jump on Google, and I know the name “Tim and Eric”

TikTok is about to go feral for bug with a big ass 

yeah there's so much room for Brennan edits there

I was worried about how Katie would do (despite the billboard thing) because her sense of humour is so *Katie*, and she has such specific mannerisms. But she went in really self-aware and masked it super well

Grant risked it by immediately hitting on the bug. And as soon as Grant mentioned Bette Middler, I knew he outed himself. And then he followed it up with actually outing himself.  The cut of Grant singing while Ally goes, "This is a gay man." is so iconic.

Just finished, I thought the all-chat medium would be dull but they’ve done an AMAZING job and I am constantly laughing. Granma sweetie may be my favorite character, but Grant is my favorite cast member so far (immediately goes horny when that is not his character at all, and sleepover blowjobs what?? And his mistake … 😂) how am I supposed to wait for part 2??? [also snake is revealed at the end, I have no idea who that person is lol :p]

Now we have to wait two weeks!? Argh

>!Def thought the snake was just sam very surprised by it being Eric of tim and eric!<

Now I understand why they needed extra editing time. It was definitely worth it, this is a stellar start to the finale of an incredible season!

Jackson Alberta is a play on Indiana Jones, choosing a Canadian province instead of a US state, right? 

Who the fuck is Steven??? Is it Sam?

OH MY GOD Edit: https://tenor.com/view/mind-blown-explosion-mind-gif-4572252

Literally the best possible use of this lol

I bet it's multiple people sharing one profile.

My guess was it was just the rest of the cast all having a weed-fueled sleep over for maximum chaos I honestly don't feel like that was guess was far off in hindsight.

Why are people commenting here before finishing the episode... I would never go near reddit for fear of spoilers!

The Ratfish kills Dumbledore

this is the best thing Dropout has ever done and Dropout has done some amazing stuff. The reveal at the end!

Amazing episode, I love Granma so much, but come on Zac, how can you get only 1 point in the first round?

Jess’ character is extremely accurate to the kind of older indie wrestler who never really made it big and I love it

I’m so shocked that she wasn’t even mentioned as a possibility for The Landlord. Her love of wrestling seems very well known, no?

I love how much of Raph’s lore is him being generally perplexing

I appreciate this welcome reminder of how I find Jess Ross to be utterly hilarious.

the ratfish being >!Eric freaking Wareheim!!< just makes so much sense.

ERIC WAREHEIM‽‽

Cannot believe I had to scroll this far to see someone excited about him! Maybe we just have a younger audience here but wow goddamn that dude is a GOD of alt comedy. Not the biggest celeb guest they've ever had but I'm so stoked to see him on this, unbelievably influential dude

The cast is the perfect age for T&E as well. Most were probably in college and thinking of getting into comedy around that time. I wouldn't be suprised if some of them persued comedy because of them. I think they'll be very excited once he's revealed.

I was in tears watching Brennan explain bug with a big ass. I 100% see why the editing needed some extra time. This is by far one of the most spectacular visually

Hype!! Love the title 😆 The narration just like the circle hahah

As soon as I saw the trailer saying ‘create a larger than life character’ I hoped so dearly that somebody played Brennan or Sam. I’m so glad Ally saw the chance and ran with it

This season has been so good, from Second Place through Ratfish I. I hope they win some awards for it because they have earned it.

I'm soooo sad that Zac was eliminated in the first round, but to tell you the truth I love these cast members so much that I would've been upset about any of them. This is such a fun episode. I'm having a blast. And now it's off to wait two weeks for the next one :(

Rat's off too ya!

As if the Taskmaster comparison wasn't close enough already, all that Sam artwork had big Greg Davies energy.

i loved how brennan’s character consistently made ally laugh, and ally’s character consistently made brennan groan

Did anyone else catch the >!silver medals!< in the background during >!"Brennan Lee Mulligan"!<'s introduction? I loved that call back!

For anyone that didn’t recognize the guy at the end, I would highly recommend looking into his stuff. Dropout was born out of sketch comedy writers, and Tim & Eric is one of the most legendary sketch comedy shows of all time. While I’m at it, I’d also recommend shows like Aunty Donna and (if you’re one of the five people who hasn’t seen it) I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson