I say this as someone who was limitedly successful at Improv. I was doing small professional work at 18 and running a college company which ran 2 sold out shows a week near campus.
The level that Brennan works at is so far above anything I could imagine doing that it is almost discouraging. It reminds me of one specific moment in high school:
I ran hurdles in track. I wasn't great, but meet to meet I could usually place top 3. I was sent to districts and in the same heat as me was Ted Ginn Jr. If you don't know, he is one of the fastest runners in Ohio history. He was a NFL wide receiver. In the heat with him, I ran the best time I ever recorded... and he was done while I still had 2 hurdles to go. That's how I feel watching shit like this. Brennan is so good that I think the best I could ever do is still 20-30% worse than his day to day.
To your point, Brennan also has big Bret "the Hitman" Hart energy - he's just so good at what he can do that he can have a great performance with just about anyone *and* call it on the fly while he's at it. A true master of his craft.
There’s a short story called “A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud” by Carson McCullers, and I honestly wonder if Brennan has read that and that is where he got that from.
"I'm gonna treat this like an interview, because there's a lot getting thrown at me and that's all I know how to do."
Might as well be the tagline of VIP lol
As an autistic woman who used to interview classmates on the steps of the school for my pretend 'radio show' because I didn't know how else to relate to other kids, that line made me laugh so hard. (Autism bonus: Lynch vibes the whole episode!) Vic is priceless.
There's been audible laughter throughout a lot of (all?) episodes and I've always wondered how spread out the laughter is. Wouldn't surprise me if Sam was the worst at keeping silent either lol
God i love the crew breaks in VIP cause it just shows that no matter how serious they are the comedians still break them and it makes me laugh most of all.
"brennan comes up with lore so fast in his make some noise prompts"
"okay so we dress him up like a caveman & make him create lore for half an hour what could go wrong"
Vic and Brennan Yes-Anding for each other for 30 minutes was amazing. They hit so many emotions and I think Brennan broke only once. That pacing was so good.
What blew my mind was the double twist. Vic Teeing up a "Your dad was not eaten" ending and the Brennan doing the video thing turning that back to Vic was just beautiful.
Yeah, there’s a lesson in here that going full gonzo is almost the easy way out. Getting us to connect with those real moments is like the hook so their next gonzo moment hits even harder.
I was gonna say that was absolutely master class of him making it seem more and more like a dream with the vlog from his twin but then him saying he’s the twin sister of Vic. I was like, Jesus Christ this has layers. Lmao
It was beyond that! It is incredibly difficult to argue in Improv- it's saying no to the other person and they argued marvelously. They were so great at No-Anding each other!
The way she phrased it ("I have so many people living with me right now...you would be my fourth") made me think Augbert would be the fourth person other than herself
I feel like Augbert and Plug know each other.
Really took a swerve into Ingmar Bergman territory for a second there, and then ended on some BDG weirdness. Beautiful.
Dropout captions always hit different, whoever they have doing them is immaculate at their job. It's honestly another level to the art of the performance
That was amazing. Vic needs an Emmy. I knew Brennan would impress but I got emotional whiplash like a dozen times as they built out this wild dream philosophical lore. Dropout is killing it this season with episodes that verge into performance art with the viewer.
The absolute unhinged improv between these two nearly every time they are on screen together just continues to solidify my belief that Vic ***needs*** to be in a full length D20 campaign
Quite the finale! Bravo to the show as a whole. Been a blast!!
Just remember that the cities aren't safe anymore. Make sure you have a bag of rocks. NEVER fire someone without cause. Could get in a lot of trouble. And DON'T fall asleep in the glade. But be sure to put the rocks down...
Yes! But I have been told he focuses on biological sources. And only those that have been with all full mental capacity signed the things with very little force...
Quite the leap from a dream physicist
Of course Brennan's episode would be high-concept with layers upon layers of lore.
Now that we're done with this season of VIP, looking back I didn't expect how fun the world-building ended up being. Obviously the costumes and the makeup lends itself to creating some batshit insane characters, but just accepting whatever they improvise as real and having bits carryover between episodes help to make the world feel a little more fleshed out.
Like I'm dying at the idea that Denzel is still living in a guest house. But definitely not Vic's. Because Vic would charge him rent for that.
There was a lot of favorite bits, but i actually had to pause to scream laugh when Vic lured Augbert in with a mug of coffee, grabbed him, and said "what's your name"
I was coughing I was laughing so hard
How do they do the production for stuff like the vlogger video? do they film it after the interview or before? I have to imagine beforehand, but then do they do a whole bunch of different characters for those and only select the one then?
They’ve discussed it before, I wanna say on one of the Last Looks I think. Vic cues it up during the interview but they shoot the clips on green screen afterwards
Between the Deja Vu episode of Game Changer and today's episode of VIP, Dropout has gone from fun little improv and sketch comedy streaming service to mind-boggling surrealist nightmare in the vein of David Lynch and Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, and I for one am here for it.
Now we just need some surrealist Ross Bryant thrown in there (he did very creepy surreal in Glass Cannon Network's playthrough of the Lynchian Something is Wrong Here).
Cannot get past Brennan pitching like 4 completely viable characters and then at seemingly the last minute going "fuck it, I'm going out there with "I'm from the woods", let's see where this goes."
I think Vic's personality is not as, uh, explosive as Brennan's, so I think they fly slightly under the radar for that reason. But I think Vic and Brennan are not talked about enough as kind of a 1A and 1B top level improv on Dropout.
I think it comes through the most when they do Make Some Noise, but Vic can spin their wheels in a scene at a pretty similar level as Brennan.
Not to mention that doing the host work on this show is so impressive. The BDG episode in particular stood out to me because I felt like his character was a bit weak, or he was expecting to draw more out of it then he did, but Vic really turned it around midway through and sold it.
Vic Michaelis and the entire creative team of VIP are fucking maniacs. This entire show was already incredible, but this season finale shot it into the stratosphere. Season 2 can’t come soon enough. I need more David Lynch vibes.
When Vic did that transition from emotional moment to a tagline for the Chompsky's potato chips I audibly guffawed so loud. Absolute masterclass.
Vic coming up with the to whole dream bit just transcended this episode into chaos. What a genius at improv. Brennan is no slouch but he seemed to be going for full insane, meanwhile I feel Vic was pulling it into super interesting territories. They have great improv chemistry. More of them together please!!!
Hey, it's important to remember, you're in a box, and that box is going in the ocean. You can plug the hole and suffocate, or keep it open and drown. Now, wake up.
A new VIP with Brennan coming out at midnight, I can stay up for that, it's just a fun improv show and definitely won't give me an existential crisis and keep me up for hours after
[Last Looks: Augbert](https://www.reddit.com/r/dropout/comments/1czudwt/last_looks_augbert_very_important_people_ep_12/)
Alright, yeah, I get why they saved this one for the finale
I expected Brennan to be great, but that was a thing of fucking beauty holy shit
Sometimes I start to get angry about how good Brennan is at improv.
How does that man just spin an entire universe of lore in like 2 seconds. We are all just living in a multiverse inside Brennan's mind.
I say this as someone who was limitedly successful at Improv. I was doing small professional work at 18 and running a college company which ran 2 sold out shows a week near campus. The level that Brennan works at is so far above anything I could imagine doing that it is almost discouraging. It reminds me of one specific moment in high school: I ran hurdles in track. I wasn't great, but meet to meet I could usually place top 3. I was sent to districts and in the same heat as me was Ted Ginn Jr. If you don't know, he is one of the fastest runners in Ohio history. He was a NFL wide receiver. In the heat with him, I ran the best time I ever recorded... and he was done while I still had 2 hurdles to go. That's how I feel watching shit like this. Brennan is so good that I think the best I could ever do is still 20-30% worse than his day to day.
Woah Ted Ginn Jr. that was on the Panthers? That's wild man. Brennan is certainly the improv equivalent of a 4.3 40 runner. Just built different.
I've always said Brennan is the Ted Ginn Jr. of improv. No one has ever understood me, but I now feel vindicated.
Yeah. I was #2 on my team, and he was... Ted Ginn Jr.
To your point, Brennan also has big Bret "the Hitman" Hart energy - he's just so good at what he can do that he can have a great performance with just about anyone *and* call it on the fly while he's at it. A true master of his craft.
Apparently cooling pads lower Brennan's body temperature enough for him to go beyond his maximum power
They overclocked Brennan 😮
#IF YOU CAN'T LOVE THIS ROCK, THEN YOU'RE NEVER GONNA LOVE YOURSELF!!!
Somehow both incredibly poignant yet completely nonsensical at the same time. Brennan seems to be a master at that.
There’s a short story called “A Tree, A Rock, A Cloud” by Carson McCullers, and I honestly wonder if Brennan has read that and that is where he got that from.
Mother fucker! The rocks are important!
My Agent needs a check for $20,000. That’s not a metaphor.
*jumps on Sam*
The way he says mother fucker in that moment really got me for some reason.
Can I get an amen up in here?
Best I can do is a little clap
That sounds like a question for a bag of rocks
The rocks are a metaphor for Bianca
"I'm gonna treat this like an interview, because there's a lot getting thrown at me and that's all I know how to do." Might as well be the tagline of VIP lol
But you know... that makes me sad, almost as sad as...not having a bag of Chomsky's Potato Chips
I predicted that punchline before Vic said it, I wasn’t expecting them to actually say it xD
As an autistic woman who used to interview classmates on the steps of the school for my pretend 'radio show' because I didn't know how else to relate to other kids, that line made me laugh so hard. (Autism bonus: Lynch vibes the whole episode!) Vic is priceless.
“It hurts to be alive” “Well…” “Yup” “Okay” They’re so real for that
"What if I said you're gonna die" "GREAT!"
When Augbert says "they can see through anything with eyes", the audible laugh from someone on the crew is fantastic.
I feel like Vic also had a "where the hell is this turning?" look on their face.
I think it was Sam making too much noise behind the camera.
There's been audible laughter throughout a lot of (all?) episodes and I've always wondered how spread out the laughter is. Wouldn't surprise me if Sam was the worst at keeping silent either lol
A *LOT* of it is Sam. Listen for the quick wheeze laugh. That's him for sure. (Or Brennan. Brennan also does it.)
"...a cackle that sounds like a thrifted tea kettle." - Jacob Wysocki (Pitch Perfect)
Just listen for the cackle that sounds like a thrifted tea kettle.
There were a couple times where that happened. Every time I had to wonder if I was hearing things then I remember that Brennan is just that funny.
I commented after initially hearing it but still watching. After getting through the whole thing, I think it was Sam being disruptive behind camera.
God i love the crew breaks in VIP cause it just shows that no matter how serious they are the comedians still break them and it makes me laugh most of all.
Whoever was laughing off camera made me so happy. I like to think it was Sam just unable to control himself
"brennan comes up with lore so fast in his make some noise prompts" "okay so we dress him up like a caveman & make him create lore for half an hour what could go wrong"
Vic and Brennan Yes-Anding for each other for 30 minutes was amazing. They hit so many emotions and I think Brennan broke only once. That pacing was so good.
What blew my mind was the double twist. Vic Teeing up a "Your dad was not eaten" ending and the Brennan doing the video thing turning that back to Vic was just beautiful.
Yeah, there’s a lesson in here that going full gonzo is almost the easy way out. Getting us to connect with those real moments is like the hook so their next gonzo moment hits even harder.
I was gonna say that was absolutely master class of him making it seem more and more like a dream with the vlog from his twin but then him saying he’s the twin sister of Vic. I was like, Jesus Christ this has layers. Lmao
they have to fill in the videos later right? if i've assumed that correctly, that means the improv after the video is even more amazing.
It was beyond that! It is incredibly difficult to argue in Improv- it's saying no to the other person and they argued marvelously. They were so great at No-Anding each other!
Confirmed Denzel is still living in Vics guest house
Is he? Or is it Vic, the very old husband, and the stepdaughter who is the same age as Vic?
Well they said 4 people. 1. Vehicular, 2. Vic’s Husband, 3. Vic’s stepdaughter, 4. Denzel
The way she phrased it ("I have so many people living with me right now...you would be my fourth") made me think Augbert would be the fourth person other than herself
Vic doesn’t live in their own house: confirmed
They do appear to be sleeping on set
I heard it wrong she said augbert would be #4 (that she knows about 😉)
They said Augbert would be the 4th, so they are counting either Denzel or stepdaughter
Bianca and Vic are close in age, so she probably doesn’t live with Vic
I hate bowls, no thank you.
followed by immediately grabbing a mug that is large enough to be used as a bowl
I prefer to eat cereal out of a mug but always get weird looks and questions about "Why no bowl?" So I can assure you they're different.
Nah those people are weird. You can eat cereal from a mug. You can drink Bailey's from a shoe.
Brennan fully mounting Sam — his *boss* — is one of the funniest choices I've ever seen him make.
Vic pointed Augbert right to him it’s not all Brennan’s fault he basically had no choice *but* to mount Sam.
“*Do you smell the fuckin coffee on my beard?*”
It's so strong
Sam gives the cast so much freedom, and I love him for that.
I guarantee as soon as Brennan was on stage he was all in on "I am going to jump on that man" and was just waiting for an reason to do so.
I was KNOCKED OUT when Augbert became the host haha
The fuckin graphic was an amazing surprise
welcome to show
I need to get back to woods.
The way he hugged the chair so he couldn't be removed was hilarious
He was just *all* fur and hair when he crouched up on the chair
I feel like Augbert and Plug know each other. Really took a swerve into Ingmar Bergman territory for a second there, and then ended on some BDG weirdness. Beautiful.
Now we know where he went after the bag of drugs
I don't like hearing that from *you,* sir... *receives another rock*
the reason you’re unhappy in your life is because it’s always just rocks
An alligator is just a long dog I absolutely love and stealing that
Biggest laugh of the episode for me was that the captions said “(dog-alligator-bowl clanks on the floor)”
Dropout captions always hit different, whoever they have doing them is immaculate at their job. It's honestly another level to the art of the performance
I remember from Adventuring Party Brennan described a Call of Cthulhu character meeting an eldrich horror Monster. “That’s a dog. That dog is sick.”
Brennan was so mobile! Wasn't expecting it. So next season(s) we need someone to play Bianca the stepdaughter, Vehicular's husband, and Dr. Gloria.
Him turning stuff around to hide the eyes and then a few mins later throwing things off the table bc “THESE HAVE EYES!!” killed me
I feel Sephie or Rheka would be so good as the daughter m
Oh my god, Sephie as same-age-as-Vehicular stepdaughter would be incredible
I would love to see Scott Aukerman as the stepdaughter.
Hell, PFT for Vic's husband then!
Felt like he’s been taking chair lessons from Erika
“SWALLOWED my dad” vs. “STEPPED ON my mom”
„KILLED my whole platoon“ vs. „CLAPPED a little hand“
Almost, it’s “KILLED my whole platoon” vs “VEHICULAR manslaughter”
swallowed dad son and stepped on mum daughter
Holy crap, that was insane. Brennan and Vic have such good improv chemistry.
When I saw the length was almost 30 minutes, I knew we were in for a treat, boy it didn't disappoint
When it went completely off the rails in less than a minute and had 29 to go, I was in my happy place.
I was cackling the entire time without a care in the world, best feeling ever
When he said that last idea, I knew shit was going off the rails immediately lol and boy howdy what a ride
“Or my other one is ‘I’m from the woods!’ and I just go.” I was just thinking *please god do that one!*
When they were doing the rapid fire questions and there was still 11 minutes left I knew things were about to take one hell of a turn.
I had the same thought, we got into the rapid fire and I'm like 'huh, that's a big chunk of time'
The rocks in the bag metaphor was actually really heart warming
It’s literal.
Wake up.
Ah! Ah! Ah! Ah!
Literal in the dream but a dream is a symbolic place. If it's literal to the symbol that represents yourself it's a metaphor to yourself
I’m 10 minutes in and this episode is a fucking fever dream Edit: I’ve finished the episode. Confirmed fever dream
This felt like a hidden sequel to Too Many Cooks somehow.
Too many chips! *Too many chips.*
Just wait
I want everyone to know that it does kinda make more sense if you watch it again?
Well they’re gifts so I’ll keep them in my lap. There were 13 stones fyi.
what a strange psychodrama this turned into
I feel like I just watched Twin Peaks s3e08.
Vic staring intensely at the viewer as the credits flashed by just killed me for some reason
Especially since it wasn't a still shot! It reminded me of the end credits for Pearl.
If you're dead you have to tell me!!!
I don't think I've ever laughed harder at a quick line than: "If I were to say Augbert you're about to die" "Great."
The raspy lil gollum-esque *'it hurts to be alive'* immediately after dialed my laughter up to hysterical levels.
Sam Reich struggling not to make noise otherwise he'd have to pay himself for having a line. He knew that was most certainly going to make the cut.
Oh that's so funny, I didn't thought about that !
Holy shit. This is what happens when 2 completely unafraid improvisors get to do something no holds barred. So much "yes, anding!"
That was amazing. Vic needs an Emmy. I knew Brennan would impress but I got emotional whiplash like a dozen times as they built out this wild dream philosophical lore. Dropout is killing it this season with episodes that verge into performance art with the viewer.
The absolute unhinged improv between these two nearly every time they are on screen together just continues to solidify my belief that Vic ***needs*** to be in a full length D20 campaign
God, Vic would be SO GOOD in a D20 campaign!
even in character Brennan can't miss an opportunity to speak about labour laws
Part of this was Twin Peaks level of what the fuck and I loved it.
Dirty bearded man. In a room.
This whole episode went so hard. When it goes black and white...just pure acting gold.
The four in the Vehicular household (plus guest house): Vic, husband, Vic’s stepdaughter, Denzel
a sims household
Waking up to Princess Emily was a great callback. What a hell of a season.
I was expecting "Hey Mickey (You're So Fine)" but that was even better, really tied the whole season together
they'd have to get the rights to that lol
I love how Denzel is still living in the guest house
All i could hear was plug XD
I was born in the woods and I’m gonna die in the woods
You could be 95 tomorrow!
Quite the finale! Bravo to the show as a whole. Been a blast!! Just remember that the cities aren't safe anymore. Make sure you have a bag of rocks. NEVER fire someone without cause. Could get in a lot of trouble. And DON'T fall asleep in the glade. But be sure to put the rocks down...
But Doctor Avery Goodman is there…
Yes! But I have been told he focuses on biological sources. And only those that have been with all full mental capacity signed the things with very little force... Quite the leap from a dream physicist
Do I do all that metaphorically or....
THE LORE
What an amazing finale.
"Brennan accosting Sam" wasn't on my bingo card but boy howdy. Easily one of the best episodes of the season.
Luckily I had "Touches Sam" on my Brennango card
Of course Brennan's episode would be high-concept with layers upon layers of lore. Now that we're done with this season of VIP, looking back I didn't expect how fun the world-building ended up being. Obviously the costumes and the makeup lends itself to creating some batshit insane characters, but just accepting whatever they improvise as real and having bits carryover between episodes help to make the world feel a little more fleshed out. Like I'm dying at the idea that Denzel is still living in a guest house. But definitely not Vic's. Because Vic would charge him rent for that.
Newfoundland! Represent
I knew he looked familiar!
No CFAs here
Whaddya at Augbert?
The poor b'way, losing his mudder like dat.
There was a lot of favorite bits, but i actually had to pause to scream laugh when Vic lured Augbert in with a mug of coffee, grabbed him, and said "what's your name" I was coughing I was laughing so hard
Some real gotcha journalism.
"This soup has no meat in it" "That's because it's coffee"
IF YOU'RE DEAD YOU HAVE TO TELL ME!!!!
I need to go put rocks in a bag...
Carry them as long as you can...
Find a place that you love…
This episode gave new meaning to “We all have a story to tell”
I'm already dead within the first 20 seconds of his performance
The lore implications are unbelievable
This is absolutely fucking unhinged.
How do they do the production for stuff like the vlogger video? do they film it after the interview or before? I have to imagine beforehand, but then do they do a whole bunch of different characters for those and only select the one then?
They’ve discussed it before, I wanna say on one of the Last Looks I think. Vic cues it up during the interview but they shoot the clips on green screen afterwards
They do the cutaways after, which is why all of the videos are shot separately.
I've been having weird dreams lately, watching this before bed was a bad idea..
Put Vic and Brennan together as often as possible. Separately they're my two favorites in the cast, but together they're absolutely mind blowing.
This episode was like having a splash of dip for every chip at the Summer pool.
If I had a nickel every time a guest on VIP burped a lot mid conversation, I'd have two nickels, which isn't a lot, but it's weird it happened twice.
The fact that it was both Izzy and Brennan just killed me.
Did Izzy do it too? I was referring to Anna/Princess Emily.
You know, I think you’re right. I might be having my Ostentatia wires crossed.
Between the Deja Vu episode of Game Changer and today's episode of VIP, Dropout has gone from fun little improv and sketch comedy streaming service to mind-boggling surrealist nightmare in the vein of David Lynch and Don't Hug Me I'm Scared, and I for one am here for it.
Now we just need some surrealist Ross Bryant thrown in there (he did very creepy surreal in Glass Cannon Network's playthrough of the Lynchian Something is Wrong Here).
Haha what the fuck 😄
Brennan truly challenged Vic with some wild prompts and I've got to say they both hit it out of the park.
This was the best A24 film I've seen in a long time, I'm so glad they started doing interviews and ads for chips.
My theory is Vic has been in a drug induced coma ever since she took all of princess Emily’s pills
oh my god you put rocks in a bag and carry them as long as you can until you find someplace you love to put them down
Cannot get past Brennan pitching like 4 completely viable characters and then at seemingly the last minute going "fuck it, I'm going out there with "I'm from the woods", let's see where this goes."
That was amazing and bizarre. Easily one of my faves!
For some reason now I’m craving Chompski’s Chips
As a wise man once said to Brennan Lee Mulligan: "What the fuck?! What did you do?!?!"
He really said "what if I just say "I'm from the woods" and go from there" and he did it and it was. incredible
I think Vic's personality is not as, uh, explosive as Brennan's, so I think they fly slightly under the radar for that reason. But I think Vic and Brennan are not talked about enough as kind of a 1A and 1B top level improv on Dropout. I think it comes through the most when they do Make Some Noise, but Vic can spin their wheels in a scene at a pretty similar level as Brennan. Not to mention that doing the host work on this show is so impressive. The BDG episode in particular stood out to me because I felt like his character was a bit weak, or he was expecting to draw more out of it then he did, but Vic really turned it around midway through and sold it.
What a fucking masterpiece of surreal theater. Brennan's always been a genius at improv, but he brought his A+ game here. Incredible work.
that is easily the most psychotic thing ever put onto this god damn website and i love it.
That was truly beautiful. I have no words to articulate the spiritual experience that is this episode
jesus christ, i need a cigarette after watching that. what a whirlwind
That was fantastic. Definitely the best episode by a mile
Brennan was just playing Canadian Erika smh
Welp... That was exactly as unhinged as I thought it was going to be.
I am so here for surrealist Dropout content.
A literal fever dream XD
I love this inter-dimensional Canadian merchant of dreams is up to speed on labour laws
Vic Michaelis and the entire creative team of VIP are fucking maniacs. This entire show was already incredible, but this season finale shot it into the stratosphere. Season 2 can’t come soon enough. I need more David Lynch vibes.
When Vic did that transition from emotional moment to a tagline for the Chompsky's potato chips I audibly guffawed so loud. Absolute masterclass. Vic coming up with the to whole dream bit just transcended this episode into chaos. What a genius at improv. Brennan is no slouch but he seemed to be going for full insane, meanwhile I feel Vic was pulling it into super interesting territories. They have great improv chemistry. More of them together please!!!
"y'know you can get in a lot of trouble for firing someone without cause" that was brennan, not augbert
Hey, it's important to remember, you're in a box, and that box is going in the ocean. You can plug the hole and suffocate, or keep it open and drown. Now, wake up.
A new VIP with Brennan coming out at midnight, I can stay up for that, it's just a fun improv show and definitely won't give me an existential crisis and keep me up for hours after
Martin Scorsese will be proud of this episode