The Orphans · The Light and Tragic Company

The Orphans Presents: Last Line. Rewind.

October 27, 2025·1 hr 42 min·9 clips

A host invites you into a dark room on a hot summer's night, promising a story about a place that lives forever at the edge of your mind.

The episode is framed by an atmospheric narrator — 'my little video nasties' — who introduces Solemn Vale as a place you know even if you have never been: isolated by cliffs and dense woodland, scarred by mining, populated by old ways and pagan sects. The RPG system used is described as weird pool mechanics where failed rolls accumulate supernatural weight. The story opens sixty minutes into a match between Red Roofs Ladies U-18 and Solemn Vale Youth FC in the spring of the early 1970s, following England's 1966 World Cup win and the brief flourishing of women's football. Hannah is the team's best player, exhausted and distracted, her father's parting words — 'don't screw up' — running through her mind. She collides with a Solemn Vale player due to the opponent coach Raymond's distracting shouting, losing possession at a critical moment. Leah plays from defense throughout, eager to prove herself but frustrated at not receiving passes; her attempted tackle comes too late and is easily bypassed. Jenny enters as the team's most volatile player, her mother's voice in her head, channeling anger into a deliberate and injurious slide tackle on Kelly, the opposing player. The tackle tears skin on Kelly's ankle. Jenny is sent off with a red card and walks off the pitch spitting on the opposing coach Raymond's shoes. Down to ten players with a nil-nil score threatened by a penalty, goalkeeper Fionn must face the shot. Fionn has been in goal but mentally elsewhere — she is looking for anyone who might have known her brother Kaelin, who came to Solemn Vale on a football trip three years ago and never returned. She spots an older man with a cane watching her specifically, not the game. The penalty is scored. Hannah leads the team back to a 1-1 draw in the final minutes. After the match, Fionn searches the dispersing crowd for the older man but cannot find him. She approaches a group of young men who dismiss her, and she walks away. Hannah checks on the injured Kelly in the first aid tent. The episode ends with the team planning a meal in town, setting up their night in Solemn Vale.

As heard by us

A school football match that ends in a hard-earned 1-1 draw.

Last Line Rewind treats a school football match like it matters, and that is what gives it shape. Leah's late burst, the crowd's reaction, and Mr Ward's come back stronger ethos keep the episode moving with real purpose.

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Why you'd press play

A school-football match that turns one late surge into the whole emotional payoff.

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