Rabbits episode 3

It takes me a while to get to these Rabbits posts because I usually have to listen to each episode twice to really catch what's going on.  So, although episode 4 is out already, today's post will be about episode 3.  Anyway, spoilers ahead and let's dive in.

So, in this episode, Carly plumbs the depths of pirate radio while pursuing a lead on an older iteration of Rabbits in an attempt to understand what kind of game it is.  She also recovers a mysterious, impossible photograph from her friend Yumiko's password-locked laptop that holds a secret message encoded within.  And if that's not enough, Concernicus gives Carly some information about her parents' death that....well, let's just say that things haven't been as cut and dried as she once thought.  The episode ends with a dramatic in-person meeting with Concernicus Jones and a cliffhanger (argh!).

All right, so let's look at this impossible photograph first.  The photograph is considered impossible because it shows Carly and Yumiko in a Starbucks that had only been in a specific location for a year, and yet Carly is wearing a distinctive t-shirt that she lost three years ago.  Now, you could argue that the picture is doctored, but then doesn't that make it even creepier?  I mean, sure, you could splice a couple of individual photos together, but unless you were a photo editing software genius, I doubt that you could get the lighting and everything just right to make it look right.  Why that specific, distinctive shirt in that specific place?

But the weirdest part of this impossible photo isn't the subject matter, but the extra information encoded within.  Someone has created a "version" of a painting called Christina's World, a painting that Carly has a deep, personal love for, and hidden it within the "impossible picture" of Carly and Yumiko.  Now, like the impossible photograph, this picture of Christina's World is also subtly wrong, but unless you really  knew the painting the way Carly did, you probably wouldn't even notice.  Carly seems to think that these pictures were sent to Yumiko, but, what if someone is trying to get Carly's attention?  Could these pictures be from Yumiko?  Or is someone else trying to draw Carly into something?

Then there are the death certificates that Concernicus sent Carly.  They're extremely suspicious, not just because of the obvious discrepancies, but because of his implication that her parents were involved in some kind of "mysterious underground plot" of some kind.  This, combined with the dramatic cliff-hanger ending, makes me really suspect Concernicus of suspicious shenanigans.  I mean, he's the one who sent Carly the pictures of Yumiko from that escort site in the first place, and he's been her primary source of information about the Rabbits game.  He knows way too much to be trusted at this point.

As for the pirate radio station - I am hoping that there will be more about the connection between Marigold and the game aside from one transmission.  Maybe episode 4 will have more to offer.

So, does anyone have any thoughts about episode 3?  Theories?  Corrections?  Leave me a comment.