Web Video / Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye

Wayward Guide for the Untrained Eye is a 2020 web series and narrative podcast created by Tin Can Brothers.

Twin podcasting team Artemis and Paul Schue-Horyn, trying to prove themselves as hosts at the American Podcasting Network, follow a corporate corruption story pitched to them by Ryan Reynolds (not that Ryan Reynolds) to the small California mining town of Connor Creek. There they find a cast of eccentric townsfolk, divided by the upcoming town council elections and the presence of a big mining corporation attempting to take over the town's silver. But as town folks begin dropping like flies, the twins come across something stranger than a corruption scandal:

Werewolves.

The series premiered on October 13, 2020, running for 10 episodes, with an accompanying podcast of the In-Universe show Artemis and Paul create for APN based on the events of the series. Tropes that apply to the podcast are assumed to apply here as well except where noted, since they take place in the same universe.

You can see the full episode playlist here.

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This work contains examples of the following tropes:

• Absurdly Powerful Student Council: Played with - because the mayor is a literal dog, the town council makes most of the decisions. An election for a seat on said town council is the driving force of the series.
• All Elections Are Serious Business: Played straight - what should be just an election for a single town council seat in a small town ends up being a bitterly divisive issue and cover for a corruption scandal that may (or may not) be the cause of multiple murders.
• All There in the Manual: The companion podcast provides more background on a number of major players in the story, including Connor Creek, Miner Mole, Madison Reynolds, Silas Torsen, Truman Hensley, and the twins themselves. It also fills in events that happened between scenes, such as the trip to Connor Creek and the election.
• Ambiguous Ending: Even after all their hard work and success, the twins aren't guaranteed another season on Wayward Guide. However, Paul hopes to do a follow-up in Connor Creek (which they do, in the podcast) and Artemis pitches some ideas with a supernatural bent to Paul, opening the door for future adventures.
• Animated Credits Opening
• Armor-Piercing Response: Silas gives one to Artemis in Episode 8. After being the one to dismiss Ryan as crazy in the beginning of the series, her accusations towards Silas lead him to say, "Damn. Do you hear yourself? You sound even crazier than the Reynolds boy."
• As You Know: Paul tries to do this with Artemis in Episode 7 as he lists all the signs pointing to him being a werewolf, only one of which was previously shown onscreen (eating raw meat). Subverted, as Artemis has no idea what he's talking about, since she's been too caught up in the case to notice.
• Awesome McCoolname: Sybilus Silver II. Enforced by Paul:
  Paul: Wait, that's your name? That's the coolest name I've ever heard in my life, do you want to be my friend?
• Battle Aura: The werewolves have one when they first transform. Also Colour-Coded for Your Convenience: While the Connor wolves have magenta-purple auras, McMahon wolves have red auras.
• Beat Still, My Heart: As if Silas's bloody heart in Truman's hand wasn't creepy enough, it can clearly be heard beating.
• Betrayal Insurance: Olivia gives Madison a silver bullet as a way to prove the werewolves trust her.
• Black Comedy: The photograph of Odie's taxidermied body at the In Memoriam.
• Blunt "Yes": In the trailer and in Episode 9.
  Artemis: What, am I in a god damn monster movie?
  Madison: (shrugs) Yeah. yeah.
• Broken Masquerade: Zig-Zagged. While the town discovers the existence of werewolves in Episode 5, Episode 6 reveals that Connor Creek has had werewolf scares at least 10... dozen times before, according to Aubrey, and each has been "disproven". Then Played Straight after the death of Barney Fletcher, but averted in the finale with a Gas Leak Cover Up.
• Caligula's Horse: Connor Creek's mayor is revealed to be a chihuahua. Justified and Downplayed, as the town council makes... most of the decisions.
  Artemis: You elected a dog as your mayor?
  Odie Doty: It started out as a pretty funny joke, but then we took it too far.
• The Cameo:
  • Jacqueline Emerson from The Hunger Games appears in Episode 1 as one of the twins's coworkers.
  • Sarah Grace Hart of Shipwrecked Comedy appears as The Mayor's caretaker in Episode 4.
• Chekhov's Gun:
  • The silver animal balloon figure on Silas's desk helps Artemis defend herself from Truman in Episode 9.
  • The silver bullet given to Madison in Episode 8 as Betrayal Insurance becomes crucial in Episode 9 as the only way to defeat Truman.
• The Cuckoolander Was Right:
  • Ryan Reynolds was right for believing someone was plotting against him.
  • Paul and Aubrey's ancestor were right about the werewolves being real.
• Dead Star Walking: Played straight with Darren Criss's Ryan Reynolds, but averted with Sean Astin's Lesly Stone.
• Death by Irony:
  • Barney Fletcher spends his last words begging that someone protect his "dinosaur egg." Upon his death, he himself is the one to break the egg.
  • The heartless Silas Torsen dies by having his heart ripped out.
• Decided by One Vote: A variation, where it's not a citizen vote at stake. Once Truman is elected to town council, the decision to let Miner Mole operate in Connor Creek becomes this.
• Does This Remind You of Anything?: Becoming a werewolf is basically like going through puberty a second time.
  Rita: As a scientific professional, I feel I should advise you on some of the things you're going through. More body hair, increased appetite, raging hormones, these are all part of the transformation process.
• Easily Forgiven: Madison quickly forgives Desmond and the other wolves for lying to her, and the other townspeople let Artemis and Paul off easily after all the suspicion (though aren't exactly unhappy to see them go).
• Eccentric Townsfolk: The citizens of Connor Creek are very much this.
• Fantastic Slur: When Paul calls the werewolves "wolfies," they react as if it were this.
  Helen: [angrily] What you call us?
  Rita: No.
  Sybilus: Nobody says that anymore.
• Fascists' Bed Time: Episode 7 has Truman institute a curfew in Connor Creek, supposedly to prevent more nighttime werewolf attacks.
• Feuding Families: The Connor-McMahon feuds are a big part of the history of Connor Creek, and set the groundwork for the divisions the town experiences to this day. Also plays out more literally in the Final Battle, with Desmond Connor battling Truman McMahon.
• Final Battle: Episode 9 features an epic werewolf fight between Desmond and Truman.
• Food Slap: Artemis and Madison throw their drinks in Silas's face after he's rude to both of them.
• From New York to Nowhere: Artemis and Paul, coming from Los Angeles, have a hard time fitting in to Connor Creek, which hasn't really integrated any tech or pop culture trends past 1989. Silas complains about missing the city in his first appearance as well.
• Funny Background Event:
  • Everything in the Town Council freakout in Episode 7.
  • Audrey asleep in the background while the true history of Connor Creek is revealed in Episode 10.
• Game Face: The werewolves have one.
• Gas Leak Cover Up: Madison claims the werewolf sightings were caused by Truman lacing the town water supply with LSD, in order to allow the werewolves to live in peace again. Artemis and Paul back it up in their podcast.
• I Knew It!: In-Universe, Paul says this when he finds out he was right about the werewolves being real.
• Inexplicably Identical Individuals: Olivia Tompkins and Riley Kirkland, despite both being played by Tara Perry and running a gun-related shop, are seemingly unrelated and don't notice any resemblance to each other.
  Riley: (about Olivia) See, people often get us confused because we own two different businesses that should be one business, but we could not be more different in both opinions and appearance.
• Internal Reveal: Olivia, Helen, and Paul reveal they're werewolves to Madison and Aubrey in Episode 8.
• Killed Offscreen:
  • Ryan Reynolds
  • Prism
  • Odie Doty
  • The Irons family
• Masquerade: Humans have been living alongside werewolves since Connor Creek's founding, even waging wars against each other right under the humans' noses.
• Mass "Oh, Crap!": Everyone at the town hall meeting in Episode 7 after Barney's death.
• Medium Blending: The animated backstory sequence in Episode 10.
• Mistaken for Incest: A Running Gag sees fraternal twins Artemis and Paul mistaken for a married couple by the Connor Creek townsfolk. When they correct them, saying they're siblings, the townsfolk are disgusted.
• Mythology Gag: Certain characters appear to line up with roles players can take in One Night Ultimate Werewolf —
  • Crispin Lynch's costume is a reference to the Tanner character.
  • Artemis is the Paranormal Investigator
  • Prism is The Seer (though not a particularly good one)
  • Dr. Edwards is The Drunk
  • Desmond is the Alpha Wolf
  • Paul is the Dream Wolf, who is disconnected from the other Werewolves — other werewolves can tell he is a werewolf, but he can't tell who the werewolves are. He also called himself The Minion when trying to trick Truman.
  • Others fall into either the Villager or Werewolf camps, as in the game, though this is subverted by Truman being the lone werewolf on her own team, and the one actually killing people.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Ryan Reynolds and his father, Burt Reynolds (who, as an added bonus, was an actor who played a sheriff on TV). Becomes a plot point since Lesly only got excited about the story because he thought Artemis and Paul had been talking to the actor Ryan Reynolds.
• Nightmare Sequence: Paul has one in Episode 4, complete with Epileptic Flashing Lights.
• Noble Wolf: The Connor wolves, particularly Desmond as town protector, who have decided to live alongside the humans in peace. Historically, they also fought off the McMahons, who wanted to intimidate and kill the humans for dominance.
• "Not So Different" Remark: A surprisingly non-villainous example. Madison gets this verbatim from Desmond after the werewolf reveal, telling her that other than his "genetic abnormality," he's not so different from her. Considering they are both dedicated to protecting Connor Creek, he's not wrong.
• One Bullet Left: Madison has a single silver bullet to kill Truman. Even after being established multiple times in the series as a bad shot, Madison manages to make the kill. Lampshaded by Artemis and Madison.
• Only Shop in Town: Played straight with most of the businesses in Connor Creek, but averted with the 2nd Bank of Connor Creek (implying there's a first bank) and subverted with the two gun-related businesses (see Inexplicably Identical Individuals above).
• Our Werewolves Are Different: Connor and McMahon werewolves are actually dependent on the trace amounts of silver from the mines that leaks into the reservoir in order to help them to transform at will. Too little, they're controlled by the moon. Too much, they get burned or die. They can also speak while in bipedal wolf form, and tend to be born rather than made (though Paul is the exception). Their half-wolf forms include deeper voices, fur around the collar and arms, neon eyes, fangs, and claws, and manifest with a glowing aura, which differs in color depending on clan. They can only be killed by silver bullets or the claw of another werewolf.
• Paranormal Investigation: While Artemis and Paul don't specialize in this, their investigation essentially turns into this. And Artemis hints at the end of Season 1 that the twins might move more in this direction from now on.
• Polar Opposite Twins: While Artemis is very serious, punctual, and well-prepared, Paul is more goofy, laidback and willing to go off on wild tangents.
• Precision F-Strike: Crispin breaks his silence to say "Oh FUCK!" after witnessing Barney's death.
• Pungeon Master: Paul and Vern. While Vern's are specific to meat and butchers, Paul is happy to make puns about anything and everything.
• Punny Name: Lampshaded by Silas, who says practically everyone in Connor Creek has an aptonym name (a name amusingly related to their occupation).
  • The Schue-Horyns have been shoe-horned into Connor Creek.
  • Desmond Brewer runs a bar.
  • Vern Marrow is a butcher, which sells bone marrow.
  • Ags Florentine is a travel agent - a "florentine" is another word for an inhabitant of Florence, Italy, appropriate for a travel agent. It also sounds like the dish eggs florentine.
  • Cliff, Rocky, and Jewel Irons are all miners.
  • Sybilus Silver II is a banker who works with silver deposits.
  • Garmin Patrick Saget (G.P.S.) gives directions.
  • Barney Fletcher is The Barnum, and owns what he believes is a dinosaur egg.
• Quirky Town: Connor Creek is basically a Trope Codifier.
• Relative Error: The townspeople constantly mistake the twins for a married couple.
• Rewatch Bonus:
  • Each title sequence features a tarot card that hints to the events of the next episode (see Fridge Brilliance).
  • The town hall scene at the beginning of Episode 7, since all the actors are improvising different things.
• Rule of Three:
  • Discussed by Dr. Henry in Episode 5.
    Henry: It's like I'm always telling you, Desmond. Rule of threes, baby! [laughs] Rule of threes! It all comes in threes. Deaths, tiny pigs, and uh... comedy bits.
  • There are three people in the Irons family who all die at the same time.
  • Three anti-mining deaths - Ryan, Prism, and Odie.
  • Three pro-mining deaths, outside the Irons family - Barney, Silas, and Truman.
  • In Episode 7, Truman proposes three actions: Institute the curfew, organize a task force, and put Madison in charge of said task force. In addition, three werewolves reveal themselves to Artemis and Paul.
  • In Episode 9, it takes Artemis three tries to finally convince Madison to take the shot.
• The Scapegoat: Madison, the twins, and the Connor Creek werewolves are all blamed at some point or another for the murders.
• Secret-Keeper: By the end of the series, Artemis, Paul, and Madison all agree to keep the Connor werewolves a secret. Aubrey is also now aware of the Masquerade, though it isn't confirmed if he later bought the LSD excuse or not.
• Sequel Hook: Artemis pitches some ideas to Paul for a potential next season of the Wayward Guide podcast, all with a supernatural bent. That plus a tarot card in the title sequence featuring a mermaid tail hints at a potential Season 2 plot line.
• Set Behind the Scenes: The Web Video series is telling the "true story" of what Artemis and Paul see in Connor Creek as they produce their podcast. The companion podcast has its own page, and presents the final edited and filtered version Artemis and Paul chose to present to the public.
• Silver Has Mystic Powers: Instead of acting as a Supernatural Repellant, Connor Creek werewolves have come to rely on the silver in the mines under the town as a way to control their transformations at will. While it can still burn their bare skin and too much of it will still kill them, too little of it is also bad of them, as it makes them reliant on the full moon.
• Tarot Motifs: Tarot cards show up quite a bit in the marketing, title sequence, and plot.
• Tarot Troubles: Aside from tarot cards featuring heavily in the title sequence, Prism, the town mystic, mainly uses tarot in her sessions, drawing "Apollo" and "Artemis" cards from her deck during their first meeting.
  • In Episode 3, when Paul goes to get a reading, Prism initially lays down a Death card, which she assures him can also mean rebirth. But then she lays down another... and another... and another, until the whole deck is revealed to be Death cards, forming the image of a wolf. It does not end well for either of them.
• Time Skip: The end of Episode 10 skips from Artemis and Paul leaving Connor Creek to an unspecified number of months later, after the podcast has aired its final episode.
• Town with a Dark Secret: Connor Creek was founded by werewolves, who were able to control their transformations using the silver mines beneath the town. Humans have been settling and living alongside them unknowingly for over 150 years.
• Trojan Prisoner: Paul, who was turned by Truman, pretends to offer Desmond as a prisoner to appease her as his master/sire.
• Unexplained Accent: Despite being a California mining town, many of the townspeople of Connor Creek have Southern or Midwestern accents, including those who grew up there. Silas Torsen is a notable exception, as he is explicitly stated to be from the suburbs of Nashville.
  • In addition, the Irons family, despite being miners for generations, have "Noo Yawk" accents.
• Vague Age:
  • While most of the actors are around the same age (early-late 30s), it is less clear if their characters are meant to be the same ages as their actors.
  • The werewolves in particular are prone to this, since it is implied but never confirmed if they are Long-Lived or not. Lampshaded by Paul in Episode 8 when he asks Helen and Olivia how old they are, only to get a Disapproving Look.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: The werewolves of Connor Creek can retain this ability through exposure to small amounts of silver.
• Wandering Culture: Desmond explains that the Connor and McMahon werewolves used to be this until they found Connor Creek in the 1800s, due to the need to stay hidden from humans. After the McMahon wolves were defeated, they became this again.
• Wham Episode:
  • Episode 5 reveals there are at least two werewolves in Connor Creek, they are being set up, and they're suspicious of Artemis and Paul. One wolf chases Artemis down, revealing itself to Madison and Riley. By the next morning, Truman has won the election, the council has voted to let Miner Mole take over, Odie Doty is dead, and the whole town is going crazy over the werewolf reveal. Yikes.
  • Episode 7 has three of the werewolves reveal themselves to Artemis and Paul, reveals one of the victims as a werewolf, confirms Paul is half-werewolf, and sees Artie and Paul split up.
  • In Episode 8, Madison and Aubrey are let in on the Masquerade, and Truman rips Silas's heart out of his chest in front of Artemis, revealing herself to be a McMahon.
  • Episode 9 reveals Truman's motivations, reveals Desmond as "Connor" the werewolf, and ramps up to a Final Battle between Desmond and Truman, ending on a Cliffhanger with Madison's One Bullet Left shot ringing out.
• Wham Line:
  • Episode 4: "Werewolves."
  • Episode 6: "Oh FUCK!"
  • Episode 8: "Oh, Miss Schue-Horyn! I don't actually think we've been properly introduced. The name's Truman McMahon."
• Wham Shot:
  • The end of Episode 1: Ryan Reynolds's dead body.
  • The end of Episode 3: Prism lays out an entire deck of Death cards for Paul, forming the image of a wolf, right before the silhouette of a wolf appears. Cut to black.
  • The end of Episode 4: Artemis spots the silhouettes of two werewolves out in the woods.
  • Barney breaking his egg as he falls down dead at the end of Episode 6, particularly since he's the first onscreen death and pro-mining death, breaking the previous pattern.
  • Helen's Game Face reveal in Episode 7.
  • Truman holding Silas's still-beating heart at the end of Episode 8.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: While this isn't abnormal in such a large cast, considering the "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue it's surprising that Sybillus and Helen aren't mentioned or heard from again after Episode 7. To a lesser extent, this also applies to Crispin, Wallis, and Garmin (though they had smaller roles to begin with).
• White Shirt of Death: Silas in Episode 8 and Truman in Episode 10. Downplayed, since they both wore white throughout the entire series, but significant since they are the last two deaths in the show.
• Witch Hunt: Or, in this case, a wolf hunt, as people start to point fingers trying to figure out who's a werewolf.
• Working-Class Werewolves: Zig-zagged. While Desmond, Helen Unger, and Odie Doty are confirmed to be this, Sybilus Silver, Rita Waldeburg, Olivia Tompkins, and Truman McMahon avert it. Additionally, a number of the working class citizens of town are actually against the wolves, also averting this trope.
• You Meddling Kids: Truman acknowledges that Paul and Artemis forced her to accelerate her plans.