What happened to Knight_Peculier?

IF YOU HAVEN'T SEEN PART 38: THE HAND, DO NOT CONTINUE. THIS WILL SPOIL THE EPISODE FOR YOU. :)

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        As anyone who has seen Part 38 knows, Knight_Peculier (also known as Old_Peculier, KP and Verigan Antioch II) plunged into the radioactive slime after being separated from the heroes on the mine cart ride. Although it seemed like the end for the brave adventurer, it is still debatable if he is gone for good. Since he hasn't returned yet (as of Part 42: The Oasis) there is no telling, but there is evidence to support either side of the argument.

        To support the claim that he is indeed dead for good, it is clear that falling into radioactive slime wouldn't keep you alive. Also in the beginning of the episode, Verigan mentioned to the heroes that if for some reason he should fall ill, they need to continue on with out him. I think his foreshadowing is a little obvious, and that he didn't make it. Also, the minecraft death message "Knight_Peculier tried to swim in lava" appeared after he fell in. If that doesn't make you believe that someone has bitten the dust in Minecraft I don't know what does.

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        Now if you think that he somehow resurrected, there is information to support that as well. First, you never actually see KP leave the game. After deaths in the series (for example Granny_Bacon), the dead player left the game and "passed on." In episode 38, KP never leaves. Although the episode ends shortly after his death, there was plenty of time for him to leave the game. Also, there has not been a funeral for him yet. Although not a significant sign of his life, a funeral would provide a concrete closure to his journey. Finally, his character is frankly too important to the story. Everything associated with the story revolves around him or his family. He needs to find Daisy, his father, and his mother, he has been plagued by Israphel his whole life, it is his family that had been at the front of the fight against Israphel before, and it is Karpath's map and the Antioch tomb that they still need to reach. Without Knight_Peculier, there is really no connection with the heroes to the goal other than to save Minecraftia and to be heroes. *Update* I was just watching the part again, and I noticed that the part of the lava where KP fell looked like a drain or a whirlpool type shape. It may be stretching the meaning behind the build, but it could be a good explanation to having him survive the plunge.

        Personally, I don't think KP is dead. I don't know why, but I think it was just too sudden, or that whole foreshadowing thing in the beginning was trying to hard to reinforce that he is "dead," trying to make a bigger surprise later in the series when he returns. But there is no way to know right now... take what you want, and we will just have to wait and see. If you have any other evidence you can think of for either side, fee free to post it in the comments. :)

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Shadow of Israphel Movie... or not

        To mark the milestone of 2.5 million subscribers this past October, the Yogscast posted a would-be trailer for the Shadow of Israphel Movie. Although they have no plans to actually execute a film version of the series, it would be interesting to see. I would pay money to see that in theaters or buy it on DVD. lol Wonder what they will do for their recently obtained 3 million mark?

        If you haven't already seen the video, here it is from YouTube:

*Also in the description, they said that SoI would come back next month (November 2012) which sadly didn't happen. :( But I translate that to meaning that the next part will be extra special :)

Yogscast 3 Million Subscribers!

With as much as I watch the Yogscast, I should have noticed this milestone from their channel, but I was informed from facebook. They Yogscast has reached 3 million subscribers. Right now they are at 3,015,926 subs to be exact. Just want to say congrats to the group for working so hard to get that many followers. I think a celebratory video is in order.

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When Will the Next Episode of SoI Come Out? :P

        So I was sitting around on YouTube watching the latest installment of the Shadow of Israphel series, and after watching it so many times I decided to just listen and read some of the comments posted. I found the usual - an abundance of comments praising the Yogscast for the job they've done, the occasional bash of the YouTube group followed by a long string of counterattacks filled with profanity, and the age-old question: "When will Shadow of Israphel be back?" I know personally I asked that question a few times back when they were producing their original minecraft videos. It is completely natural. Many people are in love with the series, and they are eager to figure out what happens after they return to Prof_Webley and they are clinging to the hope that Knight_ Peculier will rise from the radioactive lava and help save the world.

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        Long story short, I came across a comment on one of these questions saying that the Shadow of Israphel "season" was over for the year. And I wondered, what did she mean by "season"? I never really looked to see if the series followed some scheduled time frame. This information, if true, would be beneficial for others to know when they are waiting, and help settle the restlessness if a firm date was in sight. So I set out looking through their playlist of the SoI season. The first part was released 23 months ago today, on January 27, 2011. The last part released in 2011 was part 35: Lastwatch Hold in mid November. In the 11 months, 2011 brought about 35 parts, and 7 specials including Granny Bacon's Funeral, The Verigan special for Child's Play, and 2 videos of outtakes. So 42 videos total. 2012 however, was in my opinion a little more disappointing. Although the quality of the videos was by far a huge step up from the previous year, 2012 brought about 7 additional parts to the plot in a 10 month time period. So to follow up on this woman's comment, there is no "season" for SoI and although it would be nice, there is no knowing when the next installment will be out.

        But if it is any reassurance, the Yogscast is working to make the best quality of videos, no matter the time. Hannah posted on the Yogscast forums back a year ago  that they will not release episodes until a quality standard is met, and editing takes a lot of time. And with the rising quality of the episodes, they will no doubt take a lot of time to edit. Not only do they need to get everything built, but they need to create the next stage of plot, play and record all of it, and then edit the footage and add music.

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        I think that a compromise could be made though. I know the Yogscast posts at least one minecraft video a day, so we do not miss seeing Honeydew's dwarf beard too much. But I also think that more communication on the part of the Yogscast would make things easier. Part of the reason people keep asking about the return of the series is because there is no information about anything. I honestly believe if there are video updates, or even facebook/twitter messages giving viewers some idea of the progress, Less people would be spamming comments and wall posts. I know it is hard to juggle everything with the exponential expansion of their channels, but putting viewers in the dark will only cause the mob to react. And I think viewers and supporters need to understand they are still putting out videos every day, and they can not focus every waking minute just to produce SoI videos. And what would you rather have: high quality well planned and edited videos a few times a year, or sloppy videos every week?

        I miss SoI as much as any Yognaut/Yognaught, and I will be the first to admit that I wish they would put tekkit on hold and put out more SoI. But I know that complaining will not solve anything.

If you want to see Hannah's forum post, follow the link here: Yogscast Forum

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First Post! :)

I am starting this blog for something to do. I have watched the Yogscast from their first Minecraft videos, and I have been very interested in the Shadow of Israphel (SoI) series. I have watched all the episodes currently available numerous times (they are up to episode 42 now), and I know the plot and details like the back of my hand. I also have a New Year's resolution to start a blog, and while watching "Part 38: The Hand," it came into my mind that this is what I should write about. I see numerous comments on the SoI videos and on the Yogscast facebook page about the return of the series, and this will help me with the wait and maybe eliminate some of the anticipation for those that view this. I am planning on not only talking about the episodes but also things related to the series, and I want to get a weekly quiz question set up about he series. As long as my resolution doesn't fall by the wayside, I will probably post at least once a day. I am in college, so once the spring semester starts up it may be harder to post. As I said in my description, this is not affiliated with the Yogscast. Hope you keep reading :)

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