| “ | Years ago a man told me that the “first rule of thieving” was to rely on those more skillful than yourself... and he was right. But he forgot the essential corollary to that advice: that if you attain enough skill, you need rely on no one. And why take that risk if you don’t have to? I forgot that for a moment. But today I return to the fundamentals that made my criminal career so successful. I am alone. I will not forget that again. |
” |
Juno Steel and the Man in Glass (Part 1) is the first episode of The Penumbra Podcast Season 3. Its title was announced via the official Twitter on October 6, 2019, as a reward for the show's Patreon passing $5000 per episode.[1] It was released on October 22, 2019. It is the first episode to feature a corresponding poster by Sharon Oh.
Overview[]
A family is formed. A journey begins. A new era dawns.
And out here, past the boundaries of City or government or law? Nothing stays guaranteed for long. Everything can change — so you'd better hope you can keep up, or you might just get left behind.
It's crime time, baby. Let's go.
Trigger Warnings[]
- Sudden loud noises
- Pursuit
- Violence and threats of violence
- Deception
- Paranoia and fear of being watched
Episode Summary[]
Now a member of the Aurinko Crime Family, Juno embarks on his first assignment. Posing as newlyweds with Peter Nureyev, the pair attend a red-carpet gala auction to steal a precious map.
Juno begins the episode with an eloquent speech, trying to engage Nureyev in conversation about their shared history. Nureyev cuts him off and takes over narration of the episode. As narrator, he grumbles about Juno's personality and declares his desire to work and function as an independent individual.
The listener is presented with two brief flashbacks, one of Buddy assigning the present mission to Juno and Peter; the second a family meeting in which the team discusses their values and goals, focusing on Buddy's belief, taught to her by her mother, that none of them is as good at their jobs as they think they are. She does not, she stresses, need to recruit the best people, but a family that can trust and cooperate with each other. She reviews the crew's personal connections, noting in particular that Juno has worked with everyone on the team except Vespa. She also reveals that Jet inspired many fictional streams Rita counts as particular favorites, to Rita's delight. The team briefly discusses Peter's secrecy about his name--everyone knows "Peter Ransom"--is an alias. Nureyev, narrating, admits that he listed Juno as his only reference on the resume he gave Buddy. Vespa is suspicious that they aren't more relaxed with each other, given this.
Buddy introduces their first targets and long-term goal, but Nureyev's narration interrupts and her voice fades out before the listener can hear more than basics. He returns to the present, waiting in line with Juno to be admitted to a charity auction hosted by "Nova Zolotov," a trillionaire art collector. Nureyev and Juno are posing as newlyweds (Buddy's idea) named Monsieur and Madame Dauphin (Nureyev's choice).
Peter muses that Juno is exasperatingly hard to predict. Juno twirls as they enter the party, but trips over his voluminous dress, prompting Nureyev to linger on his smile, to his own frustration. He complains that Juno isn't behaving like a thief, being too charming, too naive, talking too loudly about "stealing." Nureyev insists they split up, telling Juno he can "look for the man with the terrible haircut," their host, while Peter does the real work of casing the room.
The party-goers are indulging heavily in alcohol and recreational drugs, making Nureyev more confident they will overlook him as he searches for, and finds, The Golden Globe of Reaches Far. He contemplates how easy it would be to steal it for himself and disappear, but sighs, saying it would not alone allow him to pay off unspecified "debts." Mood darkened, he considers how aging has begun to make it harder for him to ingratiate himself and distract others in the ways he has become accustomed as a young, handsome man.
When his attention returns to the party, he realizes that Juno has exactly opposed his instructions and made himself the sparkling center of attention, trading jokes and compliments with a woman unknown to Nureyev. Peter, "livid," announces in his narration that "Juno is flirting!" Nureyev joins them, emphasizing their feigned marriage, but the woman gushes over his attractiveness and says, with an unclear level of seriousness, that she'd gladly pay Juno to have Nureyev for herself.
Peter continues to fume over Juno's behavior, refusing to let Juno explain that the woman he was talking to is their host. As she makes a speech to open the auction, he realizes at last what Juno realized already: Nova Zolotovna has transitioned and gotten a dramatic new haircut since the photograph they have was taken, as well as changing her surname to contain a feminine suffix. She waxes poetic about her hope to find a husband soon, before beginning the auction. Juno, according to the plan, bids their falsified creds on the Globe, but Nova is swept away with the thrill of "Madame Dauphin's" daring bid and bids ten figures to buy it from herself. Juno attempts to call Rita for more money, but the auction moves on before she can help. Nureyev blames Juno for having bid all their resources at once, grumbling as narrator that he'll have to steal it out from under Nova's nose after all, and suppress his outrage at Juno's behavior by "filing it away, for future consideration."
Cast and Crew[]
Cast[]
Starring
- Noah Simes as Peter Ransom
- Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel
- Alexander Muñoz as Nova Zolotovna
- Sarah Gazdowicz as Buddy Aurinko
- Chloé Cunha as Vespa
- Alexander Stravinski as Jet Sikuliaq
- Kate Jones as Rita
- Harley Takagi Kaner as Doorman (uncredited)
Crew[]
- Kevin Vibert, Co-creator, Head of Operations, Lead writer
- Harley Takagi Kaner, Co-creator, Head of Episode Development, Director, Sound designer
- Kat Buckingham, Head of Merchandise and Outreach
- Alice Chuang, Head of Design
- Noah Simes, Production manager
- Ryan Vibert, Composer and performer of original music
- Promotional art by Sharon Oh
Quotes[]
BUDDY: My criminal strategy needs a small and tight-knit crew, and so we will eat together, meet together, celebrate together — just like one big illegal family. RITA: A family! That’s so sweet!! Captain A can be the mom, and Mista Jet can be the uncle, and Miss Vespa can be the angry mom, and— JET: Question: in this scenario, am I the brother of Buddy or Vespa? The correct answer is neither. NUREYEV: Well, aren’t we all brothers in crime aboard the Carte Blanche, Jet? JET: No, because some of us are not men, and also we are not related.
BUDDY: In addition: Jet has followed your hacking portfolio for years now, Rita, and several of your most-watched stream specials are based on his criminal history. You two are already great fans of one another. RITA: No! Way! Like, like... Gone in a Laser-Flash? Was that about you?? JET: Yes. RITA: Saturnian Safecrackers?? Black Hole Bandits?! JET: Indeed. RITA: Just Dragons: The Story of One Hundred Dragons but Not Any People?? JET: I'm afraid I don't recall.
RITA: Oh wow, Captain A, that’s such a cool system! You should name it somethin’ like... like... JUNO: The Buddy System?
NUREYEV: We’ll have to blend in if we want a clean escape from this place. JUNO: Do I look like I’m blending in to you? I’ve seen suns less bright than the gown Buddy threw at me! BUDDY: All camouflage, darling. If you need to hide something dark, you do it in the shadows; if you need to hide a parrot, you do it in a clown. JUNO: I never said I looked like a clown.
Trivia[]
- The episode transcript indicated the story was originally called "Juno Steel and the Gilded Globe."[2]
- Narrated by Peter Nureyev, this was the first full Juno Steel episode to be told from the perspective of someone other than Juno, a device that continued until Juno Steel and What Lies Beyond (Part 1).
- Among the streams on Jet's criminal career are titles such as Gone in a Laser-Flash, Saturnian Safecrackers, and Black Hole Bandits.