Episode 393 – “Dante’s Cove” Recap: Season 3, Episode 1

Aug 1, 2022

Jeff and Will’s deep dive discussions on the sexy supernatural series Dante’s Cove continue as they talk about season 3, episode 1, “Sex and Death (And Rock and Roll).”

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Show Notes

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Transcript 

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Intro

Jeff: Coming up on this episode, our super sexy paranormal summer continues and it’s time to find out what happened on “Dante’s Cove” in the aftermath of that Libra Solstice.

Will: Welcome to episode 393 of the Big Gay Fiction Podcast, the show for avid readers and passionate fans of gay romance fiction. I’m Will, and with me as always is my cohost and husband, Jeff.

Jeff: Hello, rainbow romance reader. It’s great to have you back here with us.

And just a quick reminder, before we get into the “Dante’s Cove” craziness. If you’d like to keep up to date with the show and recent releases in our genre, you should check out the Rainbow Romance Reader Report. It’s our weekly dispatch that delivers the latest news right into your inbox every Friday. There are so many great books that come out every week. It’s far more that we could ever talk about here. So, the newsletter is a great way to get more recommendations from us. Go to biggayfictionpodcast.com/report for more information and to subscribe.

Dante’s Cove: Season 3, Episode 1 – “Sex and Death (And Rock and Roll)”

Will: All right, let’s get down to it. You wanna talk about some “Dante’s Cove?”

Jeff: Oh, my. I will admit upfront that apparently, I’ve forgotten season three. As we’ve done season one and season two, I’ve been like, “Oh, I remember that. I remember that. Ooh, I know this is about to happen.” Watching this first episode of season three, I actually wonder if in the years, since “Dante’s Cove,” if I’ve actually looked at any of season three, because I was like, “Oh, oh, oh. Oh.” Just like…

Will: No, I actually totally agree with you, it’s almost like watching it for the very first time. It’s essentially been 15 years since I’ve seen any of these episodes. Because of all the seasons, I think, unfortunately, season three is the one that I haven’t really re-watched in any capacity. So I was surprised and delighted by some of the things that are going on in this premiere of season three.

Jeff: It was bonkers folks. It was bonkers. And I know we say bonkers every time about these episodes, but this one was really a little bit like, okay, that’s how they’re gonna take care of that problem that they created. So, yes, please guide us through the first episode of season three.

Will: It’s called “Sex and Death.” Very apropos, we will soon learn. And the episode opens with a very helpful, “Previously on,” where we recap the season finale of season two. The main focus, of course, is the Libra Solstice, and what went down there. Diana essentially triple-crossed everybody during the ceremony. And she used her particular brand of magic sparkly fingers to puff Ambrosius away, and she puffed Grace away. Van received the powers of Tresum. She was able to turn back time and bring Michelle back from the dead. But all does not end happily because Ambrosius returns. And because of a previous magical deal, he takes Kevin away to be his sex slave.

So six months later, we see Kevin and Ambrosius, they’re all wet and sexy in an outdoor shower. And frankly, Kevin doesn’t seem to mind being a sex slave, but unfortunately, he’s still wearing that fugly bewitched bracelet from Ambrosius. And although the two of them are getting hot and heavy, we’re still not 100% sure that Kevin is there, like, 100% of his own free will.

So, no discussion of season three of Dante’s Cove would be complete without mentioning the tsunami.

Jeff: Indeed.

Will: Now, apparently, a lot has happened off-screen in the intervening six months, one of which was a massive storm that swept away half of the island. This I feel was a pretty nifty trick that the writers came up with. It solves a couple of different plot problems and also some production issues that they have as well. Everyone returned to Hawaii for season three, but obviously, most of the locations that they previously used were no longer available. So they needed to find a bunch of new houses and locations to use for established settings in the series. And they explained that all away with a massive tsunami that wiped away the previous homes. So now we’re all living in new ones.

Jeff: Yeah. Whatever they couldn’t use again, washed it away. Makes a lot more sense to what they did between season one and season two, which was discussed, none of the location changes at all. Went from that, you know, creepy Gothic house to the new fancy house in Hawaii. For The Dante, everybody, you know, the lighthouse from season one gone. Tsunamis make much more sense. Some people upgraded. I think the Hotel Dante upgraded significantly in its look and appearance. H2Eau on the other hand, became a veranda, essentially. I’m sure we’ll talk more about that when we get there.

Will: Well, everyone’s favorite bar H2Eau is reopening. And Marco is obviously rethinking taking on Ambrosius as a silent partner. The problem is he is not so silent. And in this one scene at the club, he has incredibly strong opinions about the music that the DJ is playing.

Jeff: Which I thought was a perfectly, lovely tune.

Will: It’s very funny and very strange.

Jeff: And we find that Ambrosius has his own set of fugly jewelry. Because he’s wearing a necklace with a giant pendant that could pair really well with Kevin’s, not-so-attractive, bracelet.

Will: So, while Bro was bitching about the music, Brit is at the bar making out with her brand new girlfriend. Now you may be asking, “Brit, who the hell is that?” Well, let’s go into the way back machine. Brit was a character who was introduced at the beginning of season two but eventually fell off the radar because she wasn’t directly a part of the Libra Solstice. But now Brit is back and her new girlfriend Elena is played by lesbian supermodel, Jenny Shimizu. And the two of them are hanging out, being all hot and sexy, and Elena wants Brit to go with her back to the mainland. Her extended vacation seems to be over, but Brit isn’t sure if she wants to take their relationship to that next level, besides she is a Marine biologist.

Jeff: Did we know that before or is that something new for Brit? I don’t remember.

Will: Brit is expanding her horizons. Brit wants to stay on the island and discover some of the weirdness that has been going on. Quickly before we move on, I wanna ask you a question. I just mentioned Jenny Shimizu’s character’s name, as you were watching that episode, did you know what her name was?

Jeff: I don’t recall getting her name until later when Brit’s introducing her to someone that we’ll talk about I’m sure later, “This is my girlfriend Elena.” I don’t think that was actually said up until, like, that point which happens…

Will: Till further into the episode.

Jeff: …much further into the episode.

Will: Yeah. As character introductions go, it wasn’t stellar.

Jeff: She was just macking on somebody at the bar and like, “Okay.” And then they were talking about things, so it was clear that they’d had a longer history on the island together.

Will: Yes, at least we have a clear idea of the relationship between Brit and Elena. So, I mean, the fact that we don’t know Elena’s name until further into the episode, we can kind of write off as, maybe, an oversight. Another new character, who’s also introduced in this season premiere, doesn’t fare nearly as well. Let’s quickly talk about Reichen Lehmkuhl, who joins the cast as one of the denizens at the Hotel Dante. Do you know his character’s name?

Jeff: I think he might have said his name also towards the end of the episode when he’s making his deal to stay on at the Dante.

Will: I think you’re being far too generous.

Jeff: But maybe not because…

Will: I don’t think anybody mentions his name in the entire episode and is not until the end credits crawl. It’s like, “Oh, apparently, his name is Trevor.”

Jeff: Oh, now that you say, Trevor, I don’t know that he ever said Trevor to anybody.

Will: I don’t think so either. And we don’t understand anything of what Trevor is going on. He’s just kind of standing around and being a generic hot guy at the Hotel Dante. We don’t know why he’s there or how he ended up there. He’s just a dudebro, who’s hanging out with Adam.

Jeff: And Toby.

Will: It’s very odd. Those of you who may not remember, Reichen Lehmkuhl, appeared on one of the seasons of “The Amazing Race.” I looked it up on IMDB and this was back in 2003. And he was one of, if not, the first, one of the first gay couples to appear as a team on that show. And he kind of rode that 15 minutes of fame into a career in broadcasting and acting. He was on the logo reality show, “The A-List.” And he got to stand around and look hot, playing a guy named apparently, Trevor, on “Dante’s Cove.”

Jeff: Yeah. Maybe he washed in with the tsunami? I mean, who knows? Because…yeah…

Will: That’s hilarious.

Jeff: It is never covered how he came to be at the Dante, who he knew to get in at Dante because maybe it is Adam and Toby. So he’s like, “I’m just here, I’m here, and I have no backstory.” Although, we do know he’s been in the military, and he might be able to help fix things up at the house. Because apparently, maybe Kai washed out with the tsunami because we never see Kai in this episode.

Will: Yeah. So those are our thoughts on two of the new characters. Let’s get back to our main cast. Toby is working the evening shift at H2Eau and he runs into Kevin, and he wants to know if Kevin is happy. And he kind of pastes on a smile and he’s like, “Yes, yes, I am very happy, thank you for asking.” And then…

Jeff: I am a Stepford wife.

Will: …and Bro kind of saunters over making sure everybody knows that Kevin is his. No one better be sniffing around his man. And I just wanna briefly mention, as much as I love Charlie David, for some reason, this season, his choice for Toby was frosted tips. He’s colored his hair and I don’t think it’s a good look.

Jeff: And it’s short.

Will: He cut it. It’s like this kind of reddish-brown color, and it’s just…

Jeff: It made me wonder if he had done something previous to Dante’s where he had to adopt a look and didn’t have time to undo it. I mean, maybe the frosted tips you probably could have gotten rid of for the shoot. But I wondered if he had to have taken on a look for something he had done or if he needed to maintain a look? I don’t know. I gave him a bit of the benefit of the doubt on the hair.

Will: So the story takes us to the next day and what might be one of the most unique…I’m struggling to come up with another word. There really is no other way to describe how Grace makes her return to Dante’s Cove. She comes back via a flaming meteor.

Jeff: It made me remember Superman’s arrival.

Will: Oh, God. A blue bottle of fire comes streaking across the sky and Grace lands face down on the beach, played for maximum comedic impact…

Jeff: She was brilliant.

Will: …no pun intended there.

Jeff: Tracy is always good…

Will: Oh, my God.

Jeff: …for hitting the right moments. It’s brilliant.

Will: And she stumbles away with, like, sand in her mouth and seaweed in her hair.

Jeff: I don’t know where she got the seaweed from because she did not land in the water.

Will: It’s so strange and wonderful.

Jeff: And I have questions about this because she lands on the part of the beach that they used all of season two. We have not seen that stretch of beach in this episode to this point, nor do we see it again. And it made me wonder if they actually shot that as part of season two and hung onto it. I’ve no idea. I don’t know if you got anything in the commentary about that, but like, okay. My other question to this is it’s six months later, Diana managed to send Grace far, far away, and yet, Bro was back by the end of the episode at the end of season two. Why did she not send him far away also? I have questions that you’re not gonna be able to answer, but I have questions.

Will: So Grace is busy hoofing it across the island when a hot guy in a convertible pulls up. It is another new arrival in the Cove, a guy named Griff. And he is played by this smooth-talking Jensen Atwood, formerly of “Noah’s Arc.” Really happy to see that he joined the cast.

Jeff: Yeah, I was super excited to see him in the credits. I was like, “Oh, I forgot about that, yay.” Because love him in “Noah’s Arc.” I mean, that’s one of our very favorite shows. And to have him show up to “Dante’s Cove” was a lot like getting the Thea Gill in season two, bringing in some really good actors to round out the cast and play some of these important roles amongst the craziness of Tresum.

Will: So Griff already knows who Grace is. He introduces himself. He, it turns out, is part of the Tresum Council and he is on the island doing business. And he’s the one who tells her all about the tsunami and everything that’s gone on.

Jeff: She only thought she was gone for a minute.

Will: I know. He’s like, “It’s been six months.” And she’s like, “What?” Meanwhile, back at the new Dante, Adam is busy giving Toby a friendly massage, and Toby makes it abundantly clear he is only interested in being friends.

Jeff: So much happened with Adam in those six months. When we left off in season two, he was essentially being brought into the world of the Lair, which apparently has been swept away in the tsunami because we don’t see them at all in the season premiere. But he’s become clean. There’s, like, a throwaway line to the fact that he’s trying to be in rehab from his Saint addiction, and from being the “I’m very straight.” But he’s apparently, at least, into maybe becoming Toby’s boyfriend now that Kevin’s off the table. So it’s very interesting, some of the things that aren’t explained all that well with the transformation of Adam in these six months.

Will: Elena tells Brit that she had decided not to go back to the mainland, and they celebrate by fucking in the kitchen.

Jeff: Of the new Dante. I didn’t realize they were in the new Dante until a few minutes later. It’s nice though that the new Dante kitchen gets just as much action as the other Dante kitchen.

Will: Exactly. Oh, my goodness.

Jeff: It’s not nearly as nice though. There’s no island there to help, you know, with your positioning.

Will: So Griff is sweet-talking Grace in that flirty way that only Jensen Atwood can, and he drops her off at her Windward home. And she goes inside to find lesbians hooking up in the kitchen, and she’s like, “What is going on here?” And she tries to cast a protection spell, but it turns out her powers are not what they used to be.

Jeff: That was hilarious because the spell was something around getting rid of the intruders or something, and all that happened is she broke a bowl of fruit. The fruit might be the intruder. Her wavelength isn’t quite right having come back.

Will: So, Grace gathers all the unwashed masters, who are staying at her house, and has them explain what is going on. All the former tenants of the Hotel Dante decided, when the hotel washed away, that they would simply go stay at Grace’s other palatial home and wait to see if she ever returns. Makes complete sense. She’s like, “Er, I’m not sure I’m completely into this.” But Toby explains that they have been collecting rent, and she’s like, “Okay, I’ll be nice. You can all stay until the end of the month.”

Jeff: She implied that the pocket money was nice, which was cute. That envelope also made me wonder how much they’re paying for rent because that was not a particularly large envelope for what should have been six months of rent from, like, six or seven people.

Will: So, after dropping off Grace, Griff goes and pays a call to Diana at her surf shop.

Jeff: Diana’s been a very, very naughty girl. And clearly, the surf shop’s on the leeward side of the island because it is just fine.

Will: So, when he kind of struts in, she’s kind of intrigued because, duh, it’s Jensen Atwood, but she’s also a little pissed off because he’s part of the council, and she doesn’t wanna deal with what she calls a baby bureaucrat. And he demands that she stop trying to correct the mistakes that she made during the Libra Solstice ceremony. It seems that all of the various disasters, that have befallen the island in the last six months, are all a result of Diana using magic and casting spells, and her attempts to fix things have continually gone wrong.

Meanwhile, Kevin is cuddling Bro in bed. And once he is sure that Ambrosius has fallen asleep, he sneaks away, grabs his copy of the book of Tresum, and quickly casts a teleportation spell, and he puffs over to The Dante. And he tells Toby that he is, of course, still in love with him and he’s working on getting out of Ambrosius’s clutches. Toby just needs to be patient while he is figuring it all out.

Jeff: “Please wait for me.” Proving once again, this particular scene, that anyone can practice Tresum. Kevin was reading from that book. That book was not written in English. There’s no explanation of why he could read this book. I mean, at least, when Van was working with the book, there was that evolution of her being able to read more and more of it, and we’d see the words transform. None of that here. Kevin could just read it. Just do it.

Will: You’re so cute. You’re really overthinking this. I think it could probably be explained away that Kevin is technically bewitched at this point. He’s wearing that crappy magic bracelet, and there’s all sorts of, you know, spells and stuff going on. I think we’re going to actually learn, in later episodes, that in the ensuing six months that we haven’t seen, Kevin has been exploring Tresum all by himself.

Jeff: Or it’s just the proximity to Bro, like you said, all this magic swirling about. I just want an internal logic, that’s all I ask.

Will: So grace visits Diana at the surf shop. She’s like, “Hey, I’m back.” And she attempts to do some magic. It does not work.

Jeff: Not even breaking a fruit bowl this time. So what does she do? She throws something instead, which is hilarious.

Will: Yeah. She throws this coconut that’s carved like a monkey. It’s just like, tacky tourist tchotchke. It’s really, really funny. And since she can’t use her magic, she does the next best thing, she gets into a sisterly bitch witch catfight with Diana.

Jeff: It was brilliant.

Will: Okay. And truly as fights go, the choreography is a little bit, meh, but it’s still, like, super campy and totally awesome.

Jeff: Oh, my God.

Will: I loved watching these two go at one another.

Jeff: Because I don’t think there are stunt doubles here.

Will: Oh, for this, no.

Jeff: The production probably can’t…

Will: In this, no.

Jeff: So you’ve got Thea Gill and Tracy Scoggins trying to make this look good while not seriously hurting each other, which could also happen.

Will: They’re, like, going, “Ur, er,” and rolling around on the floor.

Jeff: Oh, my God.

Will: And it’s just…oh, it’s the best. It’s totally the best.

Jeff: And it’s cute that outside Griff is hanging out with two random people and totally manages to ignore what’s happening, you know, 20 feet away in the surf shop. And just If he knows that they’re fighting in there, he totally ignores it. So it’s cute watching him in the background totally ignoring it.

Will: Yeah. While the two sisters are fighting, Griff is flirting with two tourists in the background. On the DVD extras of this particular season, there is a cut scene that came later in the episode, where, in an attempt to introduce Griff’s bisexuality in a sexy way, we’re shown him kind of hanging out with these two naked, hot people, one guy, and one girl. And as the director, Sam Irvin explains, that scene didn’t quite work. And there were other moments in a future episode that much more concretely explored Griff’s bisexuality. So, in this particular case, Griff’s flirtation with these extras doesn’t really go particularly anywhere.

Anyhow, meanwhile, Michelle has returned to the Cove. And she tells Toby the whole story of what she’s been doing the last six months. She went back home to the farm or something, I guess, and was hanging out with her parents until they were brutally murdered.

Jeff: Oh, no.

Will: And she suspects some of the evil energy from the Cove followed her back home. And she has returned to the Cove to investigate what exactly may have been the cause of her parent’s death.

Jeff: She also got a major makeover.

Will: Yes. There’s a lot to unpack. We haven’t mentioned up until this point that Van died in the tsunami. It’s at this point that Toby breaks the news to Michelle. She’s like, “Where’s Van?” And Toby’s like, “Oh, she’s dead.” Toby helpfully mentions a couple of times to a couple of different people in this episode…

Jeff: And somebody tells Grace, I can’t remember who tells Grace, who’s like, “That’s unfortunate.”

Will: Yeah. Actress Nadine Heimann did not return for season three. So she was essentially written off. And though everyone is sad, we’re all moving on without Van, apparently.

Jeff: Even though there’s that wackadoodle scene, the very first scene, with her painting on the apocalyptic beach, and it’s like…

Will: Okay, now before you go any further, we need to explain. As sort of a bridge to the death of a main character, Sam Irvin used unused footage of the actress from season one.

Jeff: Oh.

Will: This episode opens with Toby. He’s having a nightmare and he’s dreaming about Van’s death. So they use that footage to ease us into the idea that one of our main characters, a genuinely important trio in season two, that one of them is now gone. But things have changed for Michelle too. Erin Cummings did not return for season three as well, so Michelle is now played by actress, Jill Bennet. Now, I understand all the comings and goings as we’re describing them here might be a little bit confusing. I actually think this show does a pretty good job of laying the groundwork of what’s going to be happening during this season and explaining all of the changes in a straightforward way that isn’t as confusing as we’re making them sound.

Jeff: Yeah, I would agree. Like, they do all the right things of like, “Hey Michelle,” they say her name, unlike some people who never get a name. They very explicitly every time, “Hey, Michelle.” And I think it’s even Marco, who’s like, “You look a little different, a little better…”

Will: Exactly, right?

Jeff “…or something.” I think it’s interesting that somebody as important as Van exits the show and they don’t recast her like they did with Michelle. They must have had some interesting ideas on where to take season three to allow such a major character to not return while bringing back a minor character and just recasting. Not the first time they’ve recast because, obviously, you know, Adam got recast from season one to season two. So there’s history for that in the show already.

Will: Adam is bummed out that he’s been permanently sidelined to the friend zone by Toby. So Trevor helpfully tells him that they don’t even have to be friends if they wanna hook up. So they do. It’s super fast and dirty.

Jeff: Indeed.

Will: It gets the job done.

Jeff: More showing how Adam has changed since his time at, what we assumed happened in The Lair for him before this tsunami happened.

Will: Grace amusingly asks Toby for some dating advice. She’s interested in courting Griff, so she has an awkward conversation with Toby. And then later, to prove just how desperate she really is, she even asked Trevor for some advice. She interrupts his naked, hot tub party to do so. Another really cute and funny moment that Tracy Scoggins knows how to play just right. I think she, out of everyone on the show, understands the tone of season three. It’s not like a blatant wink at the audience, but I think she gets it. And she’s willing to go there to play some of the more ridiculous and comedic aspects of what’s happening to Grace.

Jeff: She had all this power now she’s got none. And she’s played that transition beautifully.

Will: One night after Marco closes up H2Eau, he’s walking home, and he comes across Brit and he goes with her to the place that she’s using as a lab, where she does her ocean science.

Jeff: She’s got a master’s or is working towards the master’s. She’s got stuff going on there.

Will: So the scene between these two characters lays a little bit of the groundwork that’s going to be important later in the season. Brit is able to talk about some of the oceanographic anomalies that have been happening in the Cove. And meanwhile, Marco is actually able to explain his interest in Tresum, something we’ve never really explored up until this point.

Jeff: Nope.

Will: He’s, like, down with all the history. And he even has a magical mood ring, that was, apparently, passed down from his grandmother. The next day at H2Eau, Michelle visits Marco.

Jeff: “Wow, you look different. Welcome back.”

Will: She explains why she’s returned. She’s looking for someone who has an in with Tresum. He suggests she maybe check out Grace or Ambrosius. And she’s like, “No, no, no, I don’t wanna talk to them. Help me find someone else.” But his mood ring turns black. Something is not good going down on the Cove.

Meanwhile, Toby and Adam are bro-ing out on the beach, and Toby mentions that he saw Kevin and Bro seeming really damn happy together. So he declares that he and Kevin are officially over.

Jeff: I found this to be very disconnected.

Will: Well, it was just like, it wouldn’t be an episode of “Dante’s Cove” if Toby and Kevin didn’t break up. It’s a bit… Admittedly, no, I totally see where you’re coming from, but it’s just like, “Ugh, not this again, come on.”

Jeff: It’s like, “Did you put that scene in the right place in the episode?” Because in the fake massage scene, they were talking about that, “Yeah, it’s really over, and I’m kinda, you know, moving on,” and I’m over-coupled them, and then, puff, Kevin makes his appearance going, “Please wait for me.” And then he saw them, like, preparing to surf or something because he was spying on them. And like, “Oh, Kevin looks really happy. So, yeah, I’m over that.” But, like, you saw this. It’s like, did somebody shuffle the scenes wrong? But you’re right, it wouldn’t be an episode if they didn’t break up. So now they’ve broken up from their sort of like, wait for me moment. It’s one of those scenes you’re gonna tell me not to overthink it.

Will: Yep, just go with it. So, the newly reopened H2Eau is proving to be remarkably popular, because Griff shows up and Marco. Because, suddenly, this is his thing. He will not shut up about Tresum. And Griff is all like, “You wanna know about Tresum? I’ll show you what’s up.” He does that flirty thing that he does. And they go back into Marco’s office, where he shows Griff just how good he is when it comes to the oral history of Tresum on the island. They get down to it. And here’s what I have to say about this particular scene. How have we gotten all the way to season three and we have not yet explored magical orgasms?

Jeff: Right?

Will: How is this just showing up now?

Jeff: Because not even Bro’s done that to anybody.

Will: So here’s the thing, Marco is down on his knees for Griff, and Griff places his magic hands on him, and he has this intense, magical orgasm. So, once Griff is finished off, Marco continues, and Griff places his hands on him, and he comes to a completely, unsettle earth-shattering…

Jeff: Indeed.

Will: …completion, if you will. Anyway, I think it was just really interesting that it’s taken us this long to get to this place.

Jeff: Maybe Bro hasn’t read that chapter of the book.

Will: Right?

Jeff: He’s too busy making, like, ugly jewelry and stuff.

Will: So Marco’s afterglow is ruined when his mood ring turns black again, and he’s haunted by the graphic images of the murder of Michelle’s parents.

Jeff: At least, we assume that’s who they are because we don’t know for sure. But it’s a good assumption, and it is the right graphic.

Will: Michelle is continuing her return to the Cove, “Hi, I’m back tour,” and she runs into Brit and Elena on the beach.

Jeff: That’s where we get to hear Elena’s name.

Will: Yeah, we finally hear Elena’s name. And this is our first opportunity to see all of our lesbian main characters, like, hanging off, going saying, “Hey, hi, what’s up?” And the scene itself isn’t really much more than that. But it’s a remarkable opportunity to see three gorgeous women hanging out on the gorgeous beach in Hawaii, proving once again that, while this show itself may not have a ton of money, it does have a gorgeous cast and in the gorgeous Hawaiian scenery, and they know how to make the most of what they’ve got.

That night under a full moon, Diana, it seems just cannot leave well enough alone. And she’s trying to cast a spell at the location of the magical spring. That was part of the season two finale.

Jeff: It was nice to know that they kept that around so they could use it again. It did not wash away.

Will: Griff catches her and warns her to stop. And when she doesn’t, he uses his extra, super sparkly fingers, and he takes all of her powers away.

Jeff: Thea Gill, appropriately, became a mess, riding on the ground, crying, upset, sad. Whatever will she do now?

Will: You know, I hadn’t really thought about it till just now. I believe Griff’s magic sparkly fingers are the color of the bisexual flag. Those of you who are watching this episode, correct me if I’m wrong, but…

Jeff: Maybe.

Will: …I’m pretty sure.

Jeff: Maybe. We’ll see if we can validate that before we talk about episode two.

Will: So, poor Diana she’s having a really rough night, but not rough as Marco. As the episode races towards its conclusion, Marco tries to tell Grace about the dark force in the Cove, but she’s, like, super bored by it. She’s like, “Ugh, whatevs.”

Jeff: She came to H2Eau. We don’t know why she came to H2Eau.

Will: Well, okay, here’s the thing, Tracy Scoggins is doing her Tracy Scoggins thing, and she kinda struts into H2Eau. I believe she’s looking for Griff. She wants to court him.

Jeah: Yeah, yeah, yeah, maybe that’s…Yeah.

Will: I think that’s why she’s there and she cannot be bothered with Marco.

Jeff: And then she leaves.

Will: So, Marco decides that he’s going to go find Ambrosius and tell him what is going on about these visions, about the darkness, all that stuff. But as he’s heading over to Ambrosius’s place, he is brutally attacked on the beach. We get this creepy stalker cam viewpoint of Marco being attacked, being torn to shreds, and all bloody. And when the camera finally turns around, we realize that the dark force that has arrived in the Cove is none other than Michelle.

Jeff: It’s a very “Pet Sematary” turn.

Will: She’s all possessed and wild. And that, unfortunately, is the last that we see of Marco.

Jeff: You don’t bring bad people from the dead. It’s a very bad idea, always is. Is that truly Marco’s last moment in the Cove?

Will: Yeah. Sad to see him go.

Jeff: I guess that means Bro owns the H2Eau full out now. I wonder if he wants to run a bar.

Will: He can bitch at the DJ all he wants from now on. Whew, that was a lot of ground to cover, a lot of changes, a lot of dramatic goings-on. But that was season three, episode one of “Dante’s Cove.”

Wrap-Up

Jeff: If you’d like to check out “Dante’s Cove” for the first time, or maybe revisit it, you know where those episodes are. You can find them all streaming on Amazon Prime Video.

Will: This episode’s transcript has been brought to you by our community on Patreon. Awww, thank you, Patreon peeps. If you like to read our conversation for yourself, simply head on over to the show notes page for this episode at biggayfictionpodcast.com.

Jeff: And if you’ve watched “Dante’s Cove” in the past, or maybe you’re checking it out now for the first time and really getting into that whole super sexy paranormal summer vibe, we’d love to know what you think of it. You could leave us a comment on the show notes page.

Will: All right, I think that’ll do it for now. Coming up next in episode 394, we returned to Toby and Kevin and the gang as supernatural summer continues.

Jeff: There is so much to talk about as Michelle is gonna cost some more chaos and Griffin’s gonna get up to some serious flirting.

Will: I’m blushing right now. Oh, swoon. Griffin, you make me swoon.

On behalf of Jeff and myself, we want to thank you so much for listening and we hope that you’ll join us again soon for more discussions about the kinds of stories we all love, the big gay fiction kind. Until then keep turning those pages and keep reading.

Big Gay Fiction Podcast is part of the Frolic Podcast Network. Find more shows you’ll love at frolic.media/podcasts. Production assistance by Tyson Greenan. Original theme music by Daryl Banner.

 

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