Whale Song

September 21, 2022·27 min·2 clips

Esther Ellis introduces her most ambitious work, a psychedelic whaler journey with warnings for translation and killing.

The episode opens with a framing narrator, the Lorekeeper, describing the mythic properties of whale oil, including the power to reshape a person's flesh into the form they know it was always meant to take. This establishes the whale oil as a metaphor for gender-affirming medical care. In the historical narrative strand, sirens begin pursuing the whaling ship. A crew member confesses to a shipmate and then to the captain that she is not a man, believes the sirens are pursuing the ship because of her, and offers to go to them. The captain sentences her through a proxy speaker, declaring she is no longer one of the crew. She delivers a prayer asking to be remembered not as she is but as she will be. After the sirens take her, the captain orders a course set for Wanting Shores to replace the crew member. A contemporary scene follows in a doctor's office, where a young person learns that HRT injections and confirmation surgeries are not covered by their insurance. The character states they have prepared thoroughly: years of research, talking to people at all stages of transition, joining theater for vocal training. They cannot wait until their financial position is more stable. The doctor suggests therapy instead, which the character rejects. They leave without help. A phone call with a friend breaks into fragments as the character appears to be transitioning between timelines. They arrive on the deck of the Agony, the last true whaling ship, just as a whale approaches. They are assigned to assist the First harpooner. The captain delivers an exhortation against being charmed by the whale's beauty, calling the crew to pursue the oil at any cost. The whale is hunted and harpooned in a chaotic sequence. The character looks into the whale's eye despite a warning not to, loses consciousness, and wakes to Old Caspian's care. Caspian tells them they made an error and will not be going home. They are now a crew member of the Agony.

As heard by us

A feverish whaler tale that turns myth and omen into a curse.

Whalesong, from Station Blue creator Esther Ellis, follows a psychedelic whaler story that settles into myth before it ever becomes adventure.

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Why you'd press play

Press play for a cursed whaler voyage that turns reverence into dread.

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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