Return to Gilead

Out of nowhere comes a great episode from Lori Twichell! Michael and Ryan sing the praises of good storytelling in this review of episode 129 of Beyond Gilead, 10-4, “Good Buddy.” In addition to a genius title, this episode’s comparisons to Season 9 epsiodes, themes of snitching and gossip, and efficient storytelling all contribute to the review. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts:...

Ryan and Michael’s second journey into Beyond Gilead’s old time radio parodies is a bit rocky as the two co-hosts break down episode 128 (10-3), “Coleropolis.” The review of this relatively inconsequential episode touches on its lesson and whether it was warranted, the story structure of the real life scenes, who bears responsibility for the main conflict, and some odd directing for MacKenzie Sega...

The review of the Season 10 premiere continues as Michael and Ryan discuss the overarching themes of these two episodes. Pointless eminent domain, John’s reaction to the bulldozer, emphasizing plot and forgetting character, and the sanctity of Gilead Lane all factor into part two of this discussion. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing: Micha...

Drama on Gilead Lane! Dreams! Premonitions! Bulldozers! And... a discussion once again on how to write appropriate messages from God. Ryan and Michael get into the nitty-gritty of the discussion on the theology of the Season 10 premiere of Beyond Gilead, episodes 126 and 127 (10-1 and 10-2), “An Approaching Shadow” and “Choice Morsels.” Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael L...

It’s Gilead’s only split episode! Michael and Ryan return to Return to Gilead for a review of episode 125 (S-15) of Beyond Gilead, “The Greatest of These.” The first split, “Sir Plungealot,” serves as a source of laughs and surface-level themes, while the second split, “Flower Day,” prompts some interesting discussion on Valentine’s Day and how Lori Twichell handled it with the Morrisons. Our site...

Zach is here! Return to Gilead welcomes Phil Ayres, the voice of Gilead’s prolific host Zach, to talk about how he got started on the show, his experiences working with Steve O’Dell, recording everything three times, interacting with fans of Gilead, his job as a pastor and thoughts on modern issues in the church, and what he sees as the lasting impact of Gilead. Our site: https://returntogilead.co...

Is this the best Christmas episode? Ryan and Michael take some time at the start of this review to rehash their objective standards for episode reviews before diving into the great character development in episode 124 (S-14) of Beyond Gilead, “Putting the Christmas Back in Hope.” The two hosts highlight Justin’s return and his interactions with Hope, some odd lines from Tiffany Richter, stuff that...

The fourth longest episode of Gilead sparked a little bit of controversy between Michael and Ryan... but we’ve edited down the highlights for an insightful review of episode 123 (S-13) of Beyond Gilead, “Table Talk.” Up for debate in this review of Gilead’s third Thanksgiving special are the sheer runtime of this episode, Hope’s side plot, Tim’s heartwarming scenes, the random war trauma flashback...

The season finale is here, bringing a character-driven episode for Tim to shine. Ryan and Michael pick apart episode 122 (9-12) of Beyond Gilead, “Letting Go,” John Fornof’s poignant conclusion to Season 9. The two returned hosts discuss the episode’s short length, Hope’s inconsistencies, Tim’s specific lesson, and ever-excellent acting. Plus, a voice message from Bren! Our site: https://returntog...

John Fornof finally joins Return to Gilead for a long-awaited end-of-Season 8 interview! The prolific audio drama master chats with Michael and Ryan about his experience working with Steve O’Dell and the Gilead team, how he respects Beth Culp’s source material, good ways to write salvation scenes, his perspective on hearing God’s voice, and talking about his latest project. Our site: https://retur...

We’ve reached the conclusion of John Fornof’s take on “Stolen Secrets”... so how was it? On this episode of the Return to Gilead Sunday Special, Ryan and Michael are here to analyze the decisions taken by the audio drama and how they compare to what could have been done. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing and music arrangement: Michael LaFa...

Michael has a new top episode of Beyond Gilead! ...Ryan not so much. The two avid Gilead fans break down the Morrison-lacking penultimate episode of Season 9, episode 121 (9-11), “It’s a Richterful Life,” and its compelling theme, strange story structure, genuine characters, and iffy dialogue. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing: Michael LaF...

It’s back to Michael and Ryan and normal episodes of Gilead in this review of episode 120 (9-10) of Beyond Gilead, “Knock Knock, Who’s There?” Mary’s possible hypocrisy, uncontrollable characteristics, differences between praying for and against, a two-act structure, Bill Mincer, and how houses are bought all factor into this thorough review. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Mic...

It’s a bit of a shorter episode of the Return to Gilead Sunday Special, but still a thorough one! Michael and Ryan are back to break down the continuing storylines, character arcs, and shoddy cliffhangers in Keys for Kids’ Red Rock Mysteries episode 7, “Stolen Secrets, Part 3.” Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing and music arrangement: Micha...

Austin Peachey and Jack Cashion jump back on the podcast to join Michael and Ryan in reviewing episode 119 (9-9) of Beyond Gilead, “The Showdown.” While Austin loves the old-time radio spoof from John Fornof, the other hosts aren’t too keen on Tim’s persistent eisegesis, how Tim learns his lesson, and the theme in the episode’s climax. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael La...

Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing: Michael LaFaver Listen now to find out! The two co-hosts discuss whether the gimmick really works and how the theme is or isn’t properly shown through character decisions. Plus, a voice message from Noah! We have a mixed-up episode as Ryan and Michael piece together episode 118 (9-8) of Beyond Gilead, “Sh...

We’ve reached another crossroads. John Fornof’s next episode of Beyond Gilead, 117 (9-7), “The Locked Door,” sparks a fair bit of controversy between Michael and Ryan in how Grace Andrews deals with a memory of her parents, considering how Beth Culp created, wrote, and intended for her to be. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing: Michael LaFa...

Anna Townsend is back... and Michael’s opinions on her return may have changed. As Ryan and Michael explore the plot and characters of episode 116 (9-6) of Beyond Gilead, “Much Ado About Something,” the two reviewers discuss the conflict between Maya and Anna, Lori Twichell’s depiction of the theater, Michael Morrison’s place in the middle of the conflict, and the issues with writing a two-act str...

The negativity unfortunately continues with Michael and Ryan’s review of Lori Twichell’s next episode in Season 9 of Beyond Gilead, 115 (9-5), “School Graze.” Why has Hope started a clique? Why didn’t John stand up to Monica right away? Why doesn’t Hope’s school give her any boundaries? How didn’t John and Mary see this coming? And why did a five-year-old girl go without sandwiches for a week whil...

No words. In this review, Ryan and Michael utterly obliterate episode 114 (9-4) of Beyond Gilead, “The Heart of the Treasure.” Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing: Michael LaFaver Music: John Lewis Cover artwork: Allie Barrett and Bethany Burnett Return to Gilead is a review podcast based on episodes, logos and artwork, and music produced fo...

John Fornof’s debut in Season 9 of Beyond Gilead is... a little shaky at best, and Michael and Ryan are here to break down exactly why in this review of episode 113 (9-3), “A Story of Grace and Hope.” The two analytical audio drama enthusiasts talk about the issue with writing a theme into a Bible story (again), whether the biblical Jonah actually complained, some great performaces from Rodney TeS...

The series continues as Ryan and Michael discuss the next episode of the new season of Beyond Gilead, episode 112 (9-2), “Misrudderstandings.” What do model ships, classic Gilead, hearing-impaired five-year-olds, guinea pigs, Audacity, Elizabeth, and LYNDI have to do with each other? Listen to find out! Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing: M...

A new season is here! Michael and Ryan kick off Return to Gilead’s review series of Season 9 of Beyond Gilead with the “split” episode 111 (9-1), “Memories and Milestones.” The two reviewers talk about clip shows in audio drama and the returning questions of where trials come from... along with some examples of Michael Morrison’s misunderstood humor. Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Ho...

There’s a reason why Return to Gilead has only two regular hosts. We present, for your consideration, a bonus episode of outtakes from the five-person recording of our review of “The Hope That Heals.” Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver, Ryan Matlock, Jack Cashion, Rayah Smith, and Allie Barrett Editing and music arrangement: Michael LaFaver Music post-production: R...

The next episode covered on the Return to Gilead Sunday Special brings a little controversy! Ryan and Michael go back and forth quite a bit on John Fornof’s loose adaptation for Keys for Kids’ Red Rock Mysteries episode 6, “Stolen Secrets, Part 2.” Our site: https://returntogilead.com Credits Hosts: Michael LaFaver and Ryan Matlock Editing and music arrangement: Michael LaFaver Cover artwork: Beth...