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The Ballad of Bonaduke—
Episode 21: Turn Around

by R.T. Slaywood

DETAILS:
Series: The Ballad of Bonaduke, #21
Format: Kindle Vella Story
Read Date: April 20, 2023

The Story So Far…

A drunken Michael Bonaduke decides to use a grift (with maybe some sort of magic/magic-like “help”) to win on a scratch-off lottery ticket so he has money to buy more to drink. He pulls off whatever he did, gets his money and some booze and stumbles off into the darkness to drink himself into oblivion so he can start again the next day. He’s hit by dark memories (probably what’s driving him to the drinking) of fire, pleading, and screaming. There’s going to be a price to pay for his grift, and he’s trying to be ready.

Before then, he gets himself drunk and we get some of his tragic backstory. As he ponders this, he decides to use some of his ill-gotten-gains to buy more booze and walks into a liquor store robbery. He foils it in some sort of magical fashion, gets some more to drink, and heads off to the park to drink until he’s arrested (probably for the failed robbery). At least that’s his plan, but it gets interrupted by being hit by a car. He wakes up on some sort of short, metal bed and is unsure what’s going on. It turns out that some group is subjecting him to a test—if he passes, everything will be explained to him (and hopefully the reader, too). He passes—and is brought somewhere for answers, or maybe training, or maybe another test. Time will tell (or things are going to get really annoying). Answers aren’t quick to come—but the mysteries and questions keep piling up.

Things get hairy and Bonaduke leaves and finds himself back in the neighborhood he started from. Taking refuge in a homeless encampment, Bonaduke has to make some decisions. He starts to get his thoughts in order when the police begin a raid at the camp. During the raid, he’s apprehended by…well, we need to find out. But first, the interrogation kicks off—Bonaduke tries to work his grift to get him out, and while that effort starts off promisingly…it didn’t quite go the way he’d intended.

What’s Turn Around About?

The effects of his grift were a bit more than Bonaduke was prepared for, but he’s able to push through the carnage and escape from the interrogation room—now he just has to get out of the police station. Which turns out to be more difficult than he’d bargained for.

Trying to move surreptitiously around while looking for an exit, Bonaduke thinks about what he left in that interrogation room and what the ramifications will be for someone other than himself. This bit of reflection leads him to a decision—which we’ll probably get to see in Episode 22.

So, what did I think about Turn Around?

I was both eager and nervous after the last episode. Will we get some more water-treading or will he keep things moving in the same vein? Thankfully, the answer was pretty much the latter.

My initial reaction was that there was something missing from this episode, just a little something that would’ve really helped it come together. But I have no idea what that could be—the more I ponder, the less I can think of that’d be missing. I guess maybe knowing exactly what his plan is at the end would’ve helped, but that’s supposed to propel us into Ep. 22, so I can understand the choice to keep it from us.

Other than that, this really clicked—we get to see his reaction to the events of Room 5 and his scrambling to make the most of it. There’s a lot of tension from the anticipation of action—and Slayton executes it this time in a way that moves things forward, we’re not standing still with indecision here.

A great touch was Bonaduke thinking of others—and not just in a “how can I avoid or get something from them” kind of way. We haven’t really gotten a lot of that kind of thing in the previous 20 episodes, it’s been all about him. Slow character development, but noticeable. That’s always good to see.

I’m really looking forward to the next episode.