Juno Steel and the Man in Glass (Part 2) is the second episode of The Penumbra Podcast Season 3. It was released on November 5, 2019.
Overview[]
Reduce all to what is most essential. A debutante's ball. A Gilded Globe. A ballroom floor, approximately 3000 square feet. An auction gone awry, An ex-detective shouting his cover at the top of his lungs, spitting it on the floor for all to see, an ingrate, an immature...
And my debts, mounting. Even now, with every second.
File it away. Reduce all to what is most essential. A debutante's ball. A Gilded Globe...
Trigger Warnings[]
- Sudden loud noises
- Pursuit
- Violence and threats of violence
- Deception
- Paranoia and fear of being watched
- Blackmail
- Kidnapping
Episode Summary[]
Peter Nureyev and Juno Steel quarrel after the auction over whether there had ever been a chance Nova Zolotovna would sell The Golden Globe of Reaches Far. Nureyev, as narrator, resolves to win the argument no matter how petty it is. Even when Juno apologizes, Nureyev continues to snip at him. Nova calls out to Juno, so Peter suggests Juno distract her while, once again, he himself does the work of actually stealing the Globe. He revels in moving smoothly through the crowd like a dancer, tricking guests into destroying hidden cameras until he reaches the Globe itself. Juno's voice breaks distantly into the narration, trying to get Nureyev to pay attention to him, finally tackling Nureyev before he can grab the Globe, lying that he thought he'd seen a bee on his "husband." To Nureyev's shock, Juno has spotted a security camera he had overlooked. He retreats dismally into his thoughts of age and debt as Juno pulls him to a safer place to talk.
Juno walks him through just how he identified Nova as their host, and how her security system is set up, to begin with. He emphasizes that her security measures are more big and showy than effective--she's surrounded by "yes-men" who never stop her from making dangerous choices or disgusting cocktails alike. Nureyev is embarrassed for the first time in a long time to have been, as Buddy warned the crew in Juno Steel and the Man in Glass (Part 1), not as good as he thinks he is. He at last realizes two things that should have been obvious. First that Juno is not interested in Nova; he's morally outraged by her. Second, Nureyev likes Juno himself as much as he always has.
The ball portion of the event begins, and the pair dance together as they plot their approach. Juno agrees that his sleight-of-hand is decent, have shoplifted "about half" his childhood lunches, before telling Peter to "dip me" so he has an excuse to look in Nova's direction. The duo split again, Nureyev at last trusting Juno to hold up his half of the job.
Nova approaches Nureyev to propose they elope. He knows he could scam her for years to free himself from debt, but finds himself thinking about Juno. Nureyev has been startled to find Juno has changed and grown since their last meeting, while Nureyev stagnated. He has allowed himself to behave coldly and cruelly to him, caught wrong-footed and uncomfortable, but realizes he would rather not deny he has feelings for Juno after all. He and Nova exchange dramatic, hammy compliments, Nureyev improvising that their love is "forbidden" because his "wife" is organized crime and "he terrifies me utterly!" He laments his lack of funds, inspiring Nova to press some of her jewelry into his hands on the understanding he'll return to her as soon as he can safely escape his marriage. He returns to the side of a bemused Juno, who confirms with Buddy that they're on their way back to the ship. Nova attempts to derail "Monsieur Dauphin's" exit with a dramatic confession of love, just as a member of her staff discovers the Globe has vanished. The two thieves break into a run.
Back on the Carte Blanche, Buddy Aurinko and Nureyev discuss the events of the day. He reflects on his approach to theft, his relationship with his old mentor Mag, and long-standing admiration of Buddy. It becomes apparent that Peter has been purposefully ignoring information about the Aurinko Crime Family's ultimate goal, which Buddy informs him is to steal the a medical legend, the Curemother Prime and free those (such as their teammate Vespa) burdened with the debtor's tags the Cerberus Board of Fresh Starts force those infected with radiation poisoning to wear in exchange for treatment. Nureyev, to his great surprise, is so excited by the prospect that he finds his hands shaking. Before leaving him, Buddy gives her blessing for him to use jewelry conned from Nova towards repayment of his debts and encourages him to speak to Juno. Still, she warns him that "the nameless thief" has nonetheless made quite a name for himself. He is not untraceable, nor without "calling cards." He should not, she warns, allow who he has been to dictate who he is now. His core, she says, is having a moral core he seems to be trying to make up for with "con-bono work...as if having a heart embarrasses you." That heart is, she closes, why he has a job on her crew.
Juno knocks on his door, asking to talk things over. Nureyev asks him to call him Nureyev, rather than the alias Ransom he has given the rest of the crew, and asks him to sit down. Nureyev listens to Juno's apology for leaving him, but he fixates mostly on the sound of his voice and the ways Juno has changed since their last meeting. Juno "no longer bites when you examine his wounds." He likes and admires Juno's growth, and realizes that there is nothing he wants more than to stay aboard the Carte Blanche with him.
Cast and Crew[]
Cast[]
Starring
- Noah Simes as Peter Ransom
- Joshua Ilon as Juno Steel
- Alexander Muñoz as Nova Zolotovna
- Sarah Gazdowicz as Buddy
- Chloé Cunha as Vespa [Note: credited, but does not appear in Part 2.]
- Alexander Stravinski as Jet [Note: credited, but does not appear in Part 2.]
- Kate Jones as Rita [Note: credited, but does not appear in Part 2.]
- 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[]
Trivia[]
- The episode transcript indicated the story was originally called "Juno Steel and the Gilded Globe."[1]
- This episode reveals that bees are extinct.