Be Careful What You Fish For

"Be Careful What You Fish For" is the seventh episode of the first season of The Unexpected Podcast. It aired on May 4th, 2018 and was the debut episode for recurring cast member, Sarah Palm.

Andrew Soucek returned to scriptwriting for the first time since "Truth or Dare...or Death!", basing the story off an original idea for a film he wrote and directed in college. Though the title shares the same name as that short film, the plot is entirely new.

The show was released in the month of May to coincide with fishing openers across the country. Despite this marketing strategy, "Be Careful What You Fish For" showed a marked drop in fan and critic reception after the rousing success of the previous month's episode, "The Terrifying Tale of Tom Foolery". It's since gone on to claim cult status among the show's most die-hard fans.

Plot
Original Description: Leon goes out to catch the big one and prove he's a real man, against the warnings of someone who believes the lake to be cursed.

Ronda and Leon arrive at Ronda's old family cabin on the lake for a weekend getaway—much to Leon's dismay. It's revealed that he had a troubled relationship with Ronda's father, Marv, when he was still alive, and being back at the cabin gives Leon mixed feelings. However, aiming to prove to his strong-willed wife that he's worthy of her, Leon's decided to go along with the trip to work on their relationship after selling his Fortune 500 company.

Right after arriving, Leon meets a local named Tim Oldman, otherwise regarded simply as "The Crazy Old Man". Mr. Oldman can't help but to regale Leon with an array of old stories that have given the lake its "cursed" reputation, including a few in which The Crazy Old Man witnessed himself; stories that include a drowned troop of children and the mayor's son mysteriously disappearing in the lake's depths. His last story is about a large fish, known as Admiral Earl, who Marv had tried to catch. The Crazy Old Man drops a hint that it was the fish who lead to Marv's death. Using this as a case to prove his manhood to Ronda, Leon sets out to do something his father-in-law never could: catch Admiral Earl.

That night, Leon has a dream where he pulls Admiral Earl into the boat. The fish speaks to him, remarking that he'll need a "special kind of bait" in order to be caught. He reveals this to be human flesh. The following morning, Ronda and Leon visit a popular diner for breakfast, where Ronda runs into an old townie friend and current sheriff, Larry. Leon grows increasingly jealous of Larry after he proves to be every bit of the ideal man Ronda wants him to be. Against Leon's wishes, Ronda agrees for the couple to take a ride in Larry's speedboat. As they're about to depart, The Crazy Old Man reappears to provide Leon with one final warning..."Be careful what you fish for!"...before falling dead of an unspecified cause.

While out on the lake, Larry finds out about Leon's desire to do some fishing. His use of the word "special" multiple times reminds Leon of his dream, and so he agrees to meet up with Larry later that night with the hidden aim of using Larry as the "special bait" to catch Admiral Earl. That evening, Leon confronts Larry with a gun, revealing his plot. Larry is carrying a gun as well, but is unable to defend himself in time. Leon guns him down, then tosses his body overboard on a fishing line to catch Admiral Earl. To his surprise, he catches the body of Marv instead, and is summarily dragged back into the lake by his undead father-in-law. Meanwhile, back on shore, Ronda witnesses the entire event, and in a private monologue reveals that it was her plan all along to rid herself of her husband and collect the money from his Fortune 500 company.

Commercial
The episode features a commercial for the fictional show, "Fishin' Up a Bite", where an unnamed host offers a preview for multiple segments. These include two fisherman down on their luck while crappie fishing, a man named Cousin Curtis offering tips on fish frying, and the final confession of legendary fisherman Harmon E. Fishyagot.

The commercial was inspired by a local public television show, "Minnesota Bound".

Production
For an upcoming episode release in May, producers Andrew Soucek and Erik Bergstrom decided for the first time to capitalize on a theme for marketing purposes. With May being a popular month for fishing season openers, Soucek dug out an old script for a short film called "Be Careful What You Fish For". The original story had a man catching a body part and taking care of it, to which Soucek decided wouldn't work for the audio format. As a result, he chose to mine a deep well of classic fishing story tropes, such as "the big one getting away".

Bergstrom helped to flesh out the story for a more character-driven focus of a man wanting to prove himself to his wife. With the script demanding a strong female presence as a result, Soucek turned to an old confidante from film school, Sarah Epic Palm, who was just finishing up acting courses. The result was a blockbuster signing, bringing in an established talent and the show's second woman actor to play the role of Ronda. After eschewing a role in the previous episode due to medical concerns, Soucek returned to play the lead male part, Leon, upon being cleared by his doctors. Zach Marion returned for his fourth consecutive appearance to carry three roles: Larry, Marv, and Admiral Earl, while Bergstrom took on the role of Tim Oldman, using his love of the Crazy Ralph character in the Friday the 13th franchise for inspiration.

For his episode's artwork, Soucek requested in-house visual artist Dustin Riccio to create a more serene landscape than previous episodes, with the horrors of the episode only hinted at in subtle design elements. Despite the clever inclusion of an old man's face in the poster (and a skull in the alternate artwork), the artwork only hurt the show's already dismal chances for success in not bringing the "expected" in-your-face, brazen design elements of previous posters.

In-Universe References
For the first time in the show's history, the name "Tony" is unexpectedly disregarded, though "Tim" returns as a major role as The Crazy Old Man's first name.

The legendary Dongarud's Creek is invoked by The Crazy Old Man when discussing Admiral Earl's possible origin, believing the massive fish to have swam up from the ocean into the lake. This is the first time the creek is described as a link between two bodies of water, giving a possible clue to the Unexpected universe's home location.

In the opening scene, Leon hints at his inner conflict (and likely part of his conflict with Ronda) when he begins a confession about his fears for having children with "If I'm being honest with myself..."

For the first time since "Field of Screams", a character describes the scene as "spooky"—occurring when Leon is searching through his car for supplies while a storm approaches.

Leon selling his Fortune 500 company reappears as a major plot point for the second time, having originally been used in "Truth or Dare...or Death!".

While there's no actual use for Mustard as a prop, Ronda does mention it in one line of dialogue while looking through the refrigerator to cure her pregnancy cravings.

In one of Leon's few monologues, he envisions what might happen should he catch Admiral Earl and become the town's local hero. Not only does he expect a parade, but he also hopes there'll be a huckleberry pie named after him.

Another popular phrase, "If you can recall..." reappears when Leon has a candid discussion with Ronda about her father's treatment of him.

Larry uses the "gone bananas" line after Leon points a gun at him on their fishing trip.

A new prop appears for the first time in this episode, though not in physical form. Larry mentions his meal at the diner being a "salisbury steak", which Leon uses later, describing Larry eyeing up his wife "like a salisbury steak".

Memorable Quotes
"There’s just nothing like being out on the lake. So many beautiful trees, the fresh air, the glistening water. Birds singing, children laughing as they play. A slight breeze carrying the scents from the nearby meadows. Soft, pillowy clouds floating overhead. Oh, I’ve missed this so much!" - Ronda

"He said the moment I was born, the doctor and my mom should have had a knife fight and the winner would get strangle me to death. Can you imagine? My own mother strangling me to death? I shudder to think..." - Leon, describing Marv

"But...Leon, daddy is gone. He was cremated and his ashes were dumped in the lake. You were there. Remember? And now he left this place to me….to us. We’ll make our own memories here, along with...our son." - Ronda

"Name’s Tim Oldman. Though most people in town just call me the Crazy Old Man instead. Hurts my feelings, it does. Of course, I did once try and marry a squirrel. Besides that, though, I have a clean record." - The Crazy Old Man

"A fish they say is 15 feet long, if you can even call him a fish. Some say he’s hundreds of years old, coming from the sea and swimming up Dongarud Creek, and that he may have even started the lake’s curse. Oh, he pops up now and then. School children around here sing songs about him. The old folks around here always know someone who knows someone who swears they saw him. Nobody can ever catch him though. No photos either. But Marv sure did try. For decades, in fact. Ended up being the last thing he ever did…" - The Crazy Old Man

"Ugh. Just how I remember it. Dusty, smells like a mean old man, and there’s a bunch of dead animals on the wall. A Deer. A goose. Wow, when did he kill a dolphin? And a baby seal?" - Leon, describing Marv's study

"I crave human flesh. It keeps me alive. That’s why I’m immortal. So many innocents have perished at my hands...I mean fins. And now, I will feast on your flesh!" - Admiral Earl, in Leon's dream

"And hey, who is this? You’re Rod, right? That kid from our grade who got shingles real bad?" - Larry

"Why is it always like this with you? He’s just a friend who I happened to sleep with a few times. And yes, I innocently called you his name once or twice on accident. But you and I are married. Remember?" - Ronda

"I’ve seen the way you look at her. You eye her up as if she was a salisbury steak. But she’s not yours anymore. She’s mine and she always will be. And you know why? Because I’m a man. A real man. And you? You’re a dead man." - Leon, in the boat with Larry

"Where are those guys? I’m starting to get a little worried. Out there all alone on the lake. So misty and cold. On such a quiet night, where you can hear the crickets and loons as if they were right beside you. And it’s dark too, dark as ink, or a black hole, maybe. Well, I guess I’ll maybe make a sandwich to make these pregnancy cravings go away." - Ronda

"Hook. Line. Sinker. And by that, I mean I’m going to attach this hook to your mouth with a line, and toss you overboard so you’ll sink!" - Leon

"You worthless pile of worms! You aren’t good enough for my daughter. You never were. You’re no man. I bet Ronda’s child isn’t even yours!" - Marv