#carnivalgate

Part Nineteen: The Evil Wizard No One Some Saw Coming

PART 1 HERE | PART 2 HERE | PART 3 HERE | PART 4 HERE PART 5 HERE | PART 6 HERE | PART 7 HERE | PART 8 HERE PART 9 HERE | PART 10 HERE | PART 11 HERE | PART 12 HERE PART 13 HERE | PART 14 HERE | PART 15 HERE | PART 16 HERE PART 17 HERE | PART 18 HERE | PART 20 HERE | PART 21 HERE PART 22 HERE | PART 23 HERE | PART 24 HERE | PART 25 HERE PART 26 HERE | PART 27 HERE | PART 28 HERE | PART 29 HERE PART 30 HERE | PART 31 HERE

Like the title implies, some of you may be SHOCKED by this photo, and others may have long been on the "Mr. Clarke is the traitor/connected to Tharizdun" train....

Well, guess who just hopped on?

Between the rumblings on social media and the Puzzled clues (which I'll be going over in a minute), it was this part of the Tristan and Isolde story (Part Seventeen) that really crystallized it for me:

[...] Day breaks, and [Tristan and Isolde] are caught by King Mark, who got the heads up from Tristan's own best friend, Melot (I have my theories on who this is in ST, but I'll keep them to myself). A fight ensues between Tristan and Melot, which ends with Tristan allowing Melot to stab him.

You can say I'm not keeping my theories to myself anymore.

Melot is Tristan's best friend in Wagner's opera, but in Arthurian legend, Melot was the dwarf knight who accused Lancelot and Guinevere of adultery due to his own jealousy (toward Lancelot or Guinevere, I wonder?). He then fought Lancelot in a trial by combat, with the assistance of King Arthur's nephews Agravain and Mordred.

Similarly, you have Tonio in Pagliacci (Part Ten), a fellow actor whose lust for Nedda drives him to betray her (leading to her death), as well as the character Marvin Hudgens from Dark of the Moon (the play within the play in TFS).

Throughout the play, Marvin lusts after Barbara Allen (despite her devotion to John) and it's through his embrace that Barbara succumbs to the church's religious fervor and breaks her vow to John, turning him back into a witch.

So, going back to Tristan und Isolde's Melot: If Bob = Tristan, Henry = Isolde, and King Marke = the MF/Tharizdun (aka Mother Goose)...

Then I suspected there had to be a Melot too* -- a traitor (disguised as a friend) who sold out Bob/Henry during the timeline of The First Shadow, and prompted Bob to deny his feelings for Henry and/or betray him by other means.

*My assumption is based on the fact that the Thessalhydra campaign from the end of S1 was clearly inspired by the Tristan and Isolde legend (on top of the fact that the ST writers are confirmed to use operas as inspiration).

Why do I think "Melot" is Mr. Clarke?

Per Mike, not only did Mr. Clarke mention Bob's founding of the Hawkins Middle AV Club to him, but --

This 'photo' of Bob and Scott is from The Tomb of Ybwen comics.

This gives room to interpret that Bob Newby and Scott Clarke not only went to school together, but that they were close friends...

And yet, he's completely absent from TFS -- even though his appearance would've been a fun addition for fans.

@aemiron-main, as always, is way ahead of the curve in noticing shit others don't. I'm just now learning about Creelarke and damn, Bobgate and Creelarke are not so different. We followed a lot of the same breadcrumbs, but clearly came to different conclusions.

However, @aemiron-main found that, in the TFS audition tapes, Bob was speaking to someone who could've been Scott Clarke. However, those lines (and presumably that character) were erased entirely in the current version of the play. Likely because they didn't want the implications of Scott's presence out there.

Not only that, but OP also found it suspicious that Alan Munson/Allen Munson, who plays the Conjur Man (the "King Triton" of Dark of the Moon), had his name spelling glitch out on the TFS website in 2023 (though that's not the case anymore).

Per the play, Alan's known to be a hardcore method actor. So much so, Hopper thinks he may be the one behind the animal deaths...

Excerpt from TFS transcript:

Hopper: "All right, Conjur Man. I read the play. I know who you are. The Conjur Man is the king of witches. He kills with his death magic. You got so lost in the role that you actually believed that you were the devil. That's why you killed all those animals. Because you never break character!"

We the audience know that Hopper has come to the wrong conclusion... but did he?

In his son Eddie's spinoff novel Flight of Icarus, Alan is depicted as a hardened criminal. But, realistically, does that sound like the life path of a thespian to you?

What if "Alan" was so method that not only was he playing a convincing Conjur Man, he was playing a convincing Alan Munson?

What if, like Patty is an illusion to distract Henry/the audience from Creelby, "Alan" was an illusion to keep the audience from discovering who the real "Conjur Man" was --

CLARKE -- a name that appropriately means 'scholar', but also means --

CLERIC.

Per the Forgotten Realms Wiki:

This affirms not all clerics are necessarily *good.*

In Part Twelve, I posited that the "god" Henry served (against his will), was the MF.

Who is Scott Clarke's?

Mother Goose herself -- Tharizdun.

Netflix Puzzled has not only been teasing Tharizdun (spirals, Mother Goose references), but they've also been teasing a weasel, a snake in the Party's midst. But the latest one caught my eye:

UMPS was a cheeky answer for "authority on diamonds" -- referring to baseball umpires ("the person charged with officiating the game, including beginning and ending the game, enforcing the rules of the game and the grounds, making judgment calls on plays, and handling disciplinary actions"). Sounds a lot like a Dungeon Master in DND. Now is this referring to our usual DM Mike, or another ump who's taken over the game (Mother Goose)?

I ran with this, having recently realized that part of Mike's Hunt for the Thessalhydra campaign was directly taken from "Sing a Song of Sixpence" by Mother Goose. Implying that the campaign was just as much her design as it was Mike's.

But is it possible she was able to act, to officiate her campaign and enforce its rules through her devoted servant, Mr. Clarke?

From Tomb of Ybwen:

"She likes it cold."

Not to mention Mr. Clarke is literally the one who gives Will the map that starts him on that quest. Speaking of --

Who was there right from the beginning to help the Party?

Finding the scrap of fabric that led Hopper to Hawkins Lab

Explaining how the Upside Down worked via "the Flea and the Acrobat" metaphor (tightrope was another Puzzled clue from 1/22!)

Showing the Party how to make the sensory deprivation tank, allowing them to find Will and bring him back to Hawkins (filled with demodog larvae -- creatures that would later build the tunnels)

Getting Joyce to realize there was an AC transformer messing with the magnets, leading her to the Russians

Teaching Erica about wormholes, which would get the Party to 'realize' that the UD was one

Tracking Dustin's telemetry tag in the UD using balloons (bdaygate AND clowngate imagery)

And finally, actually getting to join the Party on "one last" quest to the UD/Abyss (although he seems to disappear at points without explanation)

Like the best of DMs, Mr. Clarke explained the rules of the world to the Party, gently steering them along their way without interfering too much, but always making sure they ended up in the right place every time.

Or at least making them think they were.

Again, if Mike was Vecna'd and the events of Ep 8 were all an illusion, it's very possible Mr. Clarke's planting of the wormhole theory was all part of Mother Goose's plan.

What that plan is? Still in the air (but I have a feeling E.T. may have something to do with it...)

Why did Mr. Clarke turn to Mother Goose?

The 'how' is still a mystery to me (though I assume it must be similar to how Henry got tethered to the MF), but if Tonio, Marvin Hudgens, and Melot are any indication --

Scott Clarke's motive was jealousy.

@aemiron-main's page has many proofs showing Scott Clarke's queer-coding. And, despite being depicted as somewhat of a ladies' man, in the Conformity!Ending we saw that maybe in Scott Clarke's perfect ending, he'd be with a dude:

Peep that rainbow tie that seems to fade in and out of grey *in the scene*.

There's also a lot of similarities between Scott and Mike (more so now with the DM stuff). So much so, people think Mr. Clarke could be Mike from the future:

Now, I'm not here to shut down that theory, but let's say I don't think that's the exact direction they're going in.

Again, Mike is the Bob/Tristan/Silvio/Barbara of the "love triangle" -- he's no Melot.

Scott, we can assume, had a close friendship with Bob and/or romantic intentions of his own, when in swooped the new kid, Henry Creel, and started taking up Bob's time and attention.

It could also be the other way around, with Scott wanting Henry, but my guess is Bob's Tonio was Scott/Mother Goose, while Henry's was Patty/MF.

Of course, this being the American Midwest in the 1950s, none of these boys could openly act on their feelings. Open queerness/queer relationships between schoolchildren was (and continues to be) a huge taboo.

But what if Scott Clarke could use that to his advantage by outing Bob and Henry? Or snitching on them in such a way that Principal Newby, the Creels, and/or Dr. Brenner got involved?

What if, by putting his friend Bob in such a tight spot, Scott forced Bob to betray Henry by either denying his queerness and/or throwing all the blame on poor Henry?

A betrayal that would truly turn Henry Creel into a monster.

This scene from Luca comes to mind (starring Jack Dylan Glazer aka the Eddie to Finn Wolfhard's Richie. Oh God, will the layers never cease?)

Perhaps Scott hoped that with Henry out of the way, he'd have Bob for himself again and they could become finally something.

But, with Bob's memories wiped and/or shoved deep in the closet with the rest of him --

Perhaps this fruitless endeavor turned Scott Clarke into something of a monster too (under MG's influence).

What if Scott "leveled up" from being a mere cleric?

After all, who is Mike the Brave said to fight on dungeon crawls?

If Henry is the monster (along with the rest of Mr. Baldo aka the Thessalahydra), and Will (theoretically) is the sorcerer...

...Then who is the evil wizard?

I rest my case.

However, this new parallel of Melot/Scott Clarke raises another question...

If the "sad song" was about Sir Tristan and Isolde/Silvio and Nedda/Barbara and John/Bob and Henry being betrayed by their "friend" Melot/Tonio/Marvin/Scott --

Then who is the "Melot" in Mike and Will's song?

Who has (intentionally or unintentionally) been keeping Mike and Will apart?

I think @anotherjlynn may know who. || I'm linking it rather than elaborating because it's their theory that I just stumbled on by chance, but it makes so much sense in the context of Byler/Creelby and the parallels established (also check out Part Eight again). I'm still reeling from it and I think it's best you sit down when you read this one.

Again, @aemiron-main found an interesting TFS parallel* between Patty and Scott:

"So, I was rewatching the TFS scene where Patty makes Henry say he loves her, and there’s a line that Patty says right before the “I love you,” line:

And I sat here like. Gee. That’s an eerily familiar line- WAIT A MINUTE:

Scott says the EXACT SAME THING."

We already know Patty isn't quite what she seems... and it seems, neither is Scott Clarke (and another "best friend").

Hey, if Bob Newby and Henry Creel could fall in love, then --

"ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE."

One final thing to mention re: Mr. Clarke:

There's been talk of clowns lately in relation, not only to El, but to Hopper's daughter Sara (@persistentmimicgrail + @columbinairlgirl).

Notice that Sara isn't only wearing clowns on her hospital gown. She's holding a Conformity Orange Tiger too. Not to mention what is said to have killed her was Hopper's exposure to AGENT ORANGE in 'Nam (which was referenced again in S5, Ep 8).

Of course, you know I have a strong opinion on what clowns mean in the world of ST (if you don't, check Parts Four and Ten). And, in Part Seventeen, I tacked on another head to the thessalhydra that I dubbed Mr. Baldo -- Mother Goose.

Who was the first person who mentioned Sara* on ST? Again, Mr. Clarke is at the scene of the crime.

*Also, how weird that Mr. Clarke, who lives in a small town and supposedly went to school with Hopper (since he was also in school with Bob) knew nothing about Sara... Nor did Hopper seem to know Scott.

Now, I can do more digging, but I'm interested in seeing what other people have thought on the subject.

If more mind-wiping/illusion-making nonsense was involved re: Sara, it makes you wonder what details were changed, who could've been replaced in those memories... and who did the replacing.

Much to think about... the puzzle has many more pieces that haven't quite slotted in yet, but I have a feeling they'll keep revealing themselves as we get closer to the Lunar New Year...

Until then --

Stay tuned.

It's also the date of Mardi Gras, the last day of Carnival, a festivity that predates Christianity and has its roots in Greco-Roman festivals, but eventually blended into the Christian timeline. Carnival is a time of public celebrations, parades, entertainment and street parties, often blending elements of a circus. It is a time of role-reversal, as common folks wear masks to hide their identity and behave in ways they wouldn't normally be allowed, erasing social boundaries. It is a time of satire, to mock and highlight society's contradictions and promote change.

The Carnival of Venice is tied to Commedia dell'Arte, a form of theatre that utilises standardised archetypical characters, shared across all productions and identified via their names, costumes, and functions in the comedy. The characters are masked and usually represent fixed social types and stock characters. These archetypal characters are common in carnivals and street games to this day.