Once Upon A Red Flag

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode we’re judging Imogen Cardulo and Liam Mairi from Fourth Wing, the first book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean Series. The questions: is Imogen the asshole for trying to get revenge for her family’s murder at the first opportunity? And is Liam the asshole for being Violet’s bodyguard against he...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging Amber Mavis from Fourth Wing, the first book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series. The question: is Amber Mavis the asshole for aiding the unbonded cadets in an attempted murder? Amber rapidly descends from codex-lover to codex-breaker, but what’s the reason? Is she jealous o...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this bonus episode, we have a lot of Threshing Day questions and theories. This book has changed the way we view the entire Empyrean series. The question: what on earth can we even trust anymore? So the dragons are lying about their names, their ages, their very identities. And that leaves us with a l...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging Dain Aetos from Fourth Wing, the first book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series. The question: is Dain Aetos the asshole for making his best friend feel weak and unsupported, when he just wants to protect her and keep her alive? Dain says he only wants Violet to survive, but...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging Jack Barlowe from Fourth Wing, the first book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series. The question: is Jack Barlowe the asshole for being a “violent bully” to everyone and everything he deems beneath him? Jack argues that is just “thinning the herd”, doing what is expected of h...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging General Sorrengail from Fourth Wing, the first book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series. The question: is General Lilith Sorrengail the asshole for making her unprepared daughter enter the Riders Quadrant when she is already physically disadvantaged? The General sends her yo...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging Violet Sorrengail from Fourth Wing, the first book in Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series. The question: Is Violet Sorrengail the asshole for immediately thinking the worst of the man she claims to love? Violet has spent months falling for Xaden Riorson, even though she started...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this bonus episode, we’re theorising about Threshing Day, the short story collecting from Rebecca Yarros’ Empyrean series, before it releases next week. The question: Whose Threshing Day story do we want to read the most? Xaden Riorson is confirmed, but we have a lot of thoughts about who else should...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging President Snow from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for targeting a tribute over my beef with one family 40 years later? Forty years after Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, Snow is still punishing the Covey family throu...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Wyatt Callow from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for telling people their exact mathematical odds of dying in a literal death match? Wyatt's family runs a gambling ring that takes bets on which kids will die in the H...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Maysilee Donner from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for refusing to lower my standards, even when stuck in a literal death match where everything should purely be about survival? Maysilee eats sandwiches with a knife...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Plutarch Heavensbee from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for exploiting trauma for television views, while secretly planning to overthrow the very thing I work for? Plutarch films Haymitch's grieving family for reacti...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Beetee Latier from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for recruiting a minor into my rebel plan? Beetee is a former victor forced to mentor his own son into the arena to die — and somewhere along the way, he pulls 16-yea...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Haymitch Abernathy from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for trying to sabotage the arena and putting my family at risk by doing so? Haymitch survives the arena, but the Capitol makes sure he pays for it — his mother,...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Haymitch Abernathy from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for trying to sabotage the arena and putting my family at risk by doing so? Haymitch teams up with Beetee's son Ampert to try and blow up the arena from the insi...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Haymitch Abernathy from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for trying to sabotage the arena and putting my family at risk by doing so? Haymitch promised to protect Louella. Then a chariot crash and a mob of drunk Capitol...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this bonus episode, we're breaking down every tribute from the Second Quarter Quell in Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. With 48 tributes across 12 districts, keeping track of who's who is a challenge — so here's your cheat sheet. District colours, key deaths, and t...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we're judging Haymitch Abernathy from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins' newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for trying to sabotage the arena and putting my family at risk by doing so? It’s time to talk about our favourite Quarter Quell tribute: Haymitch. And before we...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging Lenore Dove from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’ newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for getting my boyfriend shipped off to the Hunger Games? We all knew Haymitch’s girlfriend isn’t around in the original trilogy, but we didn’t know she was a rebel wit...

Once Upon a Red Flag is an AITA-style book podcast where we put fictional characters on trial. In this episode, we’re judging Drusilla Sickle from Sunrise on the Reaping, Suzanne Collins’ newest Hunger Games prequel. The question: AITA for treating my tributes like the ‘district scum’ they are? Drusilla is such a big (and toxic) personality, with questionable fashion sense and, honestly, who lets...

It is finally time to decide on our verdict for Dr. Gaul in Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. She is asking: AITA for proving that humans are naturally monsters? In this episode, we will be talking about the lasting impact she has on one particular Hunger Games monster, and whether the future President owes everything to his sick and twisted mentor. Just exactly how far do Gaul’s screwed up ideas af...

Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes’s Dr. Gaul has been busy during the 10th Hunger Games, doing all sorts of things I’m sure she would rather us not question. She’s back asking: AITA for proving that humans are naturally monsters, while she pits children against each other in a fight to death. We think she might be purposely ignoring some pretty important facts in this experiment of hers. Full length...

Our final A-Hole of Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is Dr. Gaul. She is asking: AITA for proving that humans are naturally monsters? We say this a lot, but this woman may be the most twisted character in the entirety of the Hunger Games franchise, even beating Future President Snow. She has a questionable history even before we get into the events of the 10th Hunger Games, and that is exactly where...

It’s time to decide if Sejanus Plinth is a walking red flag. We’re focusing on his actions in District 12, where it seems his impulsivity has finally caught up with him. Turns out Sejanus didn’t think about the consequences of signing up for the Peacekeepers , the reality of involving himself in a rebel plot and the truth about his friendship with Corio. Sejanus is asking: AITA for letting my mora...

So Sejanus Plinth finds himself in an active Hunger Games arena. No one can honestly think this is a good idea, but from the second he was given an tribute, was this always going to happen? Sejanus has the right (or wrong!) combination of opportunity and morality and it is all going downhill from here. Sejanus is asking: AITA for letting my morals put everyone else in danger? And this is the turni...