| What’s past is prologue; what’s future is epilogue. This, right here, is maybe Chapter Four or Five. |
| — Cecil |
"Triptych" is the 73rd episode of Welcome to Night Vale. It was released on September 1, 2015.
Synopsis[]
There seems to be something wrong with the broadcast signal. Do you hear that?
Summary[]
Cecil begins his broadcast by introducing the news that a Screaming Vortex has appeared in the mall, destroying several stores. He then starts getting strange feedback in his headphones and fiddles with the wires, which causes both him and us to begin hearing Kevin, who sounds significantly younger and more "actual-humanly happy".[1] Initially, Cecil believes that Kevin is the Kevin from the current day, however when Cecil brings up the topic of Strex-Corp, it is revealed that Kevin is from the past, before Strex-Corp took over Desert Bluffs. After a brief conversation, Cecil loses the signal, but then reconnects with Kevin during the time where Strex-Corp had influenced him.
Cecil thinks this is still Kevin from further back at first, but Kevin talks about Strex in a much more positive light than he did before, saying that he was stupid to try resist Strex in the past, and describing how he tried to physically stop Strex from taking over the Desert Bluffs Community Radio station, but they "forced their way past him using ethically brutal methods that left [him] forever changed."[1] After some more discussion, Cecil accidentally tells Kevin about the planned rebellion against Strex-Corp, and once Kevin starts talking to Lauren about this, Cecil intentionally disconnects them.
Cecil then continues to try to talk about the Screaming Vortex in the mall, however he gets connected to a much older, more tired Kevin. Cecil asks Kevin how the future is, and Kevin answers that it is desolate, that he and Desert Bluffs have been destroyed by Strex-Corp, and how even his name sounds unfamiliar to him.
After a brief conversation, Kevin is disconnected, and Cecil begins The Weather.
After The Weather, Cecil is connected to the same young Kevin he spoke to at the beginning of the broadcast. Kevin describes their plans to fight against Strex, and asks Cecil if they win. Cecil lies and says yes and then is disconnected.
At the end, he talks to the listeners directly and talks about how he wishes for a future involving Kevin that never existed as well as mentioning the entire food court in the mall has disappeared. He then announces the next broadcast of "a feeling in your chest that will never sit right with you again"[1] and signs off with his usual ending.
Plot Development[]
- Kevin: Kevin's origins are more thoroughly explored.
- The Other Empty Desert: Cecil is aware that Kevin has named his new settlement Desert Bluffs.
Recurring Segments[]
N/A
Proverb
| Candles lit, runes drawn upon the floor, sacrifice prepared. Everything is ready for the summoning. I begin the incantation: "Shakira, Shakira!" |
| — Proverb |
Notes[]
- A "triptych" is defined as three parts come together; a trilogy. In this episode, there are three versions of Kevin: past, present (recent past), and future.