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Spoiler warning! This article contains plot details up to and including the latest episode, as well as the novels and live shows. Browse at your own risk. |
| There is no purer pursuit, no sweeter reward, than an explanation for everything. Everything in Night Vale can be explained, and it will be. |
| — Dr. Lubelle |
Dr. Janet Lubelle was Interim dean of the University of What It Is, East Night Vale campus. She is described as a medium woman with a medium smile who "is also single minded", being able to see a goal and stop at nothing to reach it.[1] She is the lead when it comes to finding odd phenomena around Night Vale and researching as to why it all exists, as well as speaks out on the University's findings.
Janet was first introduced in "The Campus", where she declares the University has arrived to answer all of the questions Night Vale poses. She is adamant that everything will be answered and nothing will be left in Night Vale without "an exhaustive, perhaps even tedious, explanation".
After a year in Night Vale, Janet was ultimately defeated when the Glow Cloud's child dropped a dead cow on her. As of August 1st, no one has checked on her and it is unknown whether she somehow got out, though Cecil speculates that she is probably "a pile of flesh on the outside of town."
Relationships[]
As stated by Carlos himself, Janet and him were grad students together decades prior. He sees her as someone to admire and fear, due to her stubborn nature, and is unknowing on whether or not she has the correct ethical code to have such a trait. He is extremely worried she and the University are in town, and believes none of it will end well.
Cecil is very vocal in his distaste for Janet. At first, he is neutral and slightly distrusting of Janet, being unsure as to what her work will entail. However, as it begins to show that her work is to explain all of the mysteries within Night Vale, and subsequently removing the unknown nature of each entity and location, he begins to speak out against her and her work. He warns citizens to "plug their ears" to not hear her explanations[2] and claims that she is lying on more than one occasion. She doesn't care for what he says and actively dislikes his tone, but is happy her work is being spoken about on the radio at all as "most media just isn't covering science these days".[3]
Sheriff Sam seems to be neutral on their opinion of Janet, tagging along when going to interrogate Cecil about Dana's whereabouts[4].
The rest of Night Vale as a whole despise her and her work, going as far as booing and throwing rotten fruit[5], forming an attack (which failed)[6], and creating a group called "Citizens Against Rock Murdering Academics" (or CARMA) and a play titled "The Doctor Must Go"[4]. The community college, in retaliation of Janet taking Sarah to study, advanced to attack Janet with pitchforks, which did not prove to be effective[5].
There are also several other scientists that work under Janet, Dr. Blake Jones being named in "Makarov the Magical" as well as an archaeology staff that went to help the officers locate Dana or Dana's double's body and a sociology team that helps explain why Night Vale continually chanted in the presence of the Glow Cloud (all hail).
The University of What It Is[]
The University of What It Is is an institution that recently built a new campus within Night Vale, due to Kareem Nazari contacting the University about Night Vale[7]. It houses several academic fields all pertaining to science. Janet has been employed to the University for what seems to be a long period of time, given she was appointed the dean of this newfound campus.
With her work in association with the University, she has been able to explain the following:
- The Pit of Lost Souls: What was originally described as "an interdimensional portal between our world and the Land of the Dead" was explained to be a standard sinkhole that is deep enough to have cold air settle towards the bottom and shoot up when a gust of wind hits it[2].
- Sarah Sultan: Originally the Dean of Night Vale Community College, and simple fist-sized river rock, was told to be just a fist-sized river rock with "no miraculous properties"[5].
- Doppelgangers: While not having seen the alleged double of Dana, Janet is able to explain to both Intern Joseph Fink and Kareem Nazari that doppelgangers do not exist and people sometimes have the same name and similar features. Joseph is explained to have simply just read an article about someone else who is also named Joseph Fink, and Kareem is told that he kidnapped the parents of someone who is also named Kareem Nazari[4].
- The Glow Cloud: Once a cloud of amazing power, dropping dead animal corpses in its wake, Janet and the University were able to determine that it was just a cloud. A cloud with water vapor that diffused in the light that shined through it. The dead animals that fell through it turned out to be "a known meteorological phenomenon in which objects, such as dead animals, are drawn into the air by dust devils or water spouts...and then dropped back to the Earth again". As well as the chanting of hailing the almighty Glow Cloud, it was determined to be "collective hysteria" and for the citizens of Night Vale to be "speaking in tongues."[3]
- Station Management [8]
- The Weather: After being explained by Dr. Lubelle [9], the Weather is acknowledged to be nothing more than a random song. [10]
- Invisible Corn [10]
- The Brown Stone Spire: Once a powerful malevolent entity, the Brown Stone Spire is explained as "an unusual rock formation that someone wedged a Bluetooth speaker into". [10]
- A Chupacabra: Explained as a rabid coyote. [10]
- A UFO: Explained as "a single engine Cessna that forgot to file a flight plan". [10]
Episode Mentions[]
- Episode 210 "Ten Years Later" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 212 "The Campus" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 213 "Murals"
- Episode 215 "Sarah Sultan, Explained"
- Episode 218 "The Sitter Cancelled"
- Episode 219 "The Traveling Tarot Reader"
- Episode 221 "The Glow Cloud, Explained" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 222 "Makarov the Magical"
- Episode 225 "Renegotiations"
- Episode 227 "A Word with Dr. Jones" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 228 "Diplomacy"
- Episode 229 "The Accused"
- Episode 230 "Carlos, Explained" (vocal appearance)
- Episode 231 "The Terminal"
References[]
- ↑ Episode 212: "The Campus"
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Episode 213 "Murals"
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Episode 221 "The Glow Cloud, Explained"
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Episode 219 "The Traveling Tarot Reader"
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Episode 215 "Sarah Sultan, Explained"
- ↑ Episode 218 "The Sitter Cancelled"
- ↑ Episode 210 "Ten Years Later" (Post Credits Scene)
- ↑ Episode 225 "Renegotiations"
- ↑ Episode 227 "A Word with Dr. Jones"
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 10.4 Episode 228 "Diplomacy"