TV
Drag Them to Hell: The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula: Titans Ep 1 “Halloween House Party” Recap
There’s something different in the air this Halloween season. Take a deep breath. Elevate your olfactory palate beyond the musty odor of your local haunt. A whiff of perfume? Excellent. And now…poppers? Yes, you’re getting closer! The stench of rotten corpses and toilet bowl cleaner? You’ve got it! The world’s lost all color, and this putrid mixture of scents intrigues us as we spot a grim manor in the distance. We’ve now borne witness to four seasons of murder and mayhem, and it’s about that time of year for another gauntlet of chaos. So, we venture inside in anticipation, our curiosity getting the better of us.
A familiar cackle guides the way, and before long, we’re face to face with our favorite undead goddesses: The Boulet Brothers. The filthy and fabulous duo informs us that we purchased a one-way ticket to the Underworld upon crossing the threshold. Fortunately, not all is lost because we’re just in time for a new game that’ll rattle heaven and hell. Ten of the most devilish Titans to ever disgrace their stage are about to be unearthed, dragged out of oblivion to compete for the ultimate title of the first-ever Dragula Titan and earn a spot once more among the living. Have these ten ghouls evolved enough during their time in infinite darkness to slit the throats of their competitors once more? Let’s strap in for what is sure to be the most epic season of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula and find out.
Koco Caine: The shadiest titty-shaking icon is back in heart-shaped glasses. Easily the most charismatic Monster of the franchise, Koco’s time was cut short in Season 4, and now she’s ready to prove she’s both easier to work with and more sickening than ever.
Melissa BeFierce: The only OG from Season 1, Melissa is the self-proclaimed queen of the drama and is the longest missing from this earthly realm. With a lot to prove, she’s showing up to read her competition for filth and stomp on their necks. And, of course, she’ll be dripping in all this glamour, hunty.
Evah Destruction: The cuddliest werewolf you’ll ever meet, Evah was a frontrunner on Season 3 who let her inner demons get the upper hand. Done with the tears, this self-assured wolf has shed her skin and is ready to go for the jugular.
Erika Klash: Digital diva and Season 2 extermination queen, Erika is back to show us what’s between her coding. Has she digivolved into the fully formed Titan she claims to be?
Yovska: The shadiest costumed sniper from the side, Yovska has returned with more shade, more creep factor, and more rhinestones. Perhaps we’ll discover what happens when you leave a cursed teddy bear in the Underworld for too long.
Astrud Aurelia: Gone too soon after an infamous Season 4 meltdown, Astrud has matured into a reptilian creature from the gayer side of the black lagoon. One look at their Instagram, and it’s clear we missed out on some exquisite looks last season, so here’s hoping they can bite their forked tongue this go around.
HoSo Terra Toma: A top-four Titan from Season 4 and fresh off the world tour, some question whether HoSo has had enough time for shut-eye between seasons. Drawing from a seemingly endless well of creativity, HoSo insists they now have the necessary experience to match what their horrific mind brings to life on stage.
Abhora: Like a polarizing requel to a beloved franchise, the rewritten Abhora is here, and they’re still a creep! As the only competitor to have ever been simultaneously at the top and bottom of a challenge, Abhora is undoubtedly here to shake up the competition while they claw their way to the crown.
Kendra Onixxx: Having felt like an outsider during her time on Season 2, Kendra has mined her soul and cracked open what is at the heart of her being. She’s back from oblivion and will not take anyone’s BS.
Victoria Black: The formidable queen of prosthetics has returned to annihilate her competition. Having fallen just short of winning Season 2 and Resurrection, Victoria is more willing to express who she is under all that ooze. Could that be all she needs to complete her journey to the throne?
The Challenge: Our ten tremendous Titans have enough time to light the dramatic fuse by questioning whether specific competitors even deserve to be there before being called to the main stage. It’s here that the Titans finally meet their maker – and murderer – and the competition truly begins. The Boulets appear on screen and spill the tea: As ten of the strongest Monsters to ever be featured on The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula, they will compete for a $100,000 grand prize and a headlining spot on the next world tour. The catch – and you knew there’d be one – is that there will be none of the usual Exterminations each week; what this means is TBD, but we love a good surprise. Adding to the agony, the Titans must all participate in each week’s Fright Feat before attempting to defend their spot in the competition. They’ll be immediately cast back into oblivion should they fail or refuse the Feat entirely, and the last soul eliminated will return to the competition. The Boulets didn’t refer to this season as “Gagula” on social media for nothin’.
With formalities out of the way, the season’s first challenge is announced. Our ultimate Uglies must create a terrifying, reinvented drag lewk based on a classic American Halloween costume. They must then execute a choreographed lip sync performance on location at a Spooktacular Halloween House Party. The poor soul who serves more Disney than disaster will find out how exactly a Titan dies. Now, let’s see what these new and improved Fright Feats are.
Per the episode’s Halloween theme, the Titans must bob for apples for their first Fright Feat. And if you think forcing ten queens in big hair and full beat is tragic enough, it gets worse. These apples are submerged in buckets of blood and various animal parts. After watching a grotesque display of gagging ghouls with slicked and bloodied hair, it seems Astrud has won and must assign her fellow Titans their roles for the House Party. The drama doesn’t stop, however, as a crew member enters to inform the cast that a footage recap has revealed Melissa BeFierce as the true winner of the Feat. So, in fierce Melissa style, she immediately undoes all of Astrud’s decisions and casts the roles her way.
The Drama: Baby Gorgeous, this is TITANS, and everyone in the Underworld is seated for the drama. First impressions are over, and these Uglies know each other inside and out – some even know each other’s insides a little too well, it seems. As mentioned earlier, the drama kicks off almost immediately. Evah questions if HoSo has had any time to recoup since the world tour; Yovska wonders if Kendra has what it takes; Abhora reveals they’ve been holding on to years of contempt toward Erika; pretty much everyone agrees that Erika should be sent packing first. The shade and one-liners keep coming, none more so than Kendra’s read of Yovska’s entrance lewk. In a sure-to-be viral moment of absolute ferocity, Kendra compares Yovska to a “Teletubby toilet bowl” and drops the mic. The children are shooketh, and screams have been scrumpt!
Abhora – chaos incarnate – is at the center of much of the episode’s drama. In an interesting choice, they have fully committed to their character and, throughout the entirety of the episode, prove to be an absolute menace. They’re also beak-over-claws in love with HoSo – who may or may not reciprocate the feeling despite idolizing Abhora’s drag – and are at odds with Astrud, who is similarly infatuated with HoSo. Love triangles on day one – isn’t Titans great? Evah also has an issue with her friend Abhora because mere months before starting the show, Abhora intimated that they were quite possibly done with the world of The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula altogether. Yet, here they are, unfazed and very crazed. None of this may bode well for Abhora’s time on the show, but as a viewer, it is pure TV gold.
Competition-wise, the drama is immediately ignited as well. Melissa instantly begins a quest to create an alliance between herself, Kendra, and Koco, which they name the Nightmare Girls (I also personally like Komeldra). Their power quickly materializes when Melissa, the true winner of the Fright Feat, sabotages Astrud’s challenge picks to spite Erika. Koco, realizing the potential of having the legendary Victoria on their side, pushes Melissa to make amends with her (yeah, they’re fighting, too). Abhora and Erika :ahem: clash when they’re chosen to work together as a pair, but the other groups seem to be having a good time creating their floor show performances.
Floor Show & Judgment: The Boulets, sporting chic antennae, enter the stage in person for the first time this season. They introduce guest judges Justin Simien, director of the upcoming Haunted Mansion movie, and Elvira herself, Cassandra Peterson. The floor show begins, and we’re regaled with a campy good time as the cast wiggles and waves to the music in a classic American house party setting. It’s essentially the Spooky Season version of the Nosferatu Beach Party from Season 4, which the Boulets say is one of their favorite challenges from the series.
Astrud (the Creature) hosts the party and bounces from scene to scene with her fellow Titans. Her look is polished, and she does a great job becoming part of each group without feeling forced. Melissa (the Vampire), Koco (the Mummy), and Kendra (Frankenstein) are hit-and-miss while they dance in the living room as the Nightmare Girls. Melissa proves to be the best of the group, while Koco flounders with a messy and basic costume despite making us crack the hell up with her titty-shaking performance, and Kendra has a few cute moments without doing enough to stand out. The trio escapes performing the worst of the evening, though, because Abhora (as ???) and Erika (the Bat) have arrived. Erika does an okay job of camping it up and dancing in her fur lewk but doesn’t necessarily wow. Unfortunately, she bares the weight of their group performance because Abhora is absolutely atrocious. Her costume, which she later explains is meant to be an alien, is entirely indiscernible, and she doesn’t remember the lip sync words half the time. Eek, indeed.
Evah (the Devil) looks stunning in her scenes with HoSo (the Pirate). The duo owns their power over a Ouija board in the bedroom, and Evah especially lets her inner sexpot shine. Yovska (Pumpkinhead) and Victoria (Pumpkinhead II) kill it in the kitchen as two freakish pumpkin queens. Each of their looks is unique and true to themselves. Yovska does excellent work showing off her cartoonish pumpkin breasts and highlighting her facial features despite being in full costume, and Victoria, quite simply, slays the competition. From head to toe, she is high pumpkin couture and her mouth, which genuinely looks like that of a sinister old witch, is nightmare fuel. To top it off, she literally removes the upper crust of her head and displays the icky, gooey guts of a pumpkin. Iconic!
Astrud and Victoria are neck and neck to be the week’s winner, but as Pumpkinhead II, Victoria receives the win. Astrud clearly has a lot to show us, and if she had won this challenge, her Season 4 curse might have reared its ugly head, so perhaps it’s for the best. Unsurprisingly, Abhora and Erika receive the worst critiques, and Koco is not far behind due to her bare-bones toilet paper mummy.
Deliberation: They called it “Gagula” and, ghoulie, they weren’t kidding. Remember when they said there wouldn’t be any typical Exterminations this season? Well, that’s because the Titans must vote on who the bottom two of the week are. Anyone is up for grabs, not simply those with the worst critiques. Alliances, alliances…clearly Melissa was on to something. Abhora is visibly distraught about her placement and pulls an Astrud, self-destructing and making enemies with almost everyone in the room. The voting begins, and the Titans decide their fate. A special shout-out goes to Koco for leaving us in stitches once again as she attempts to write Abhora’s name down with her comically large nails.
The votes are finalized, and Abhora and Erika are the unlucky chosen two. Some would argue that Koco deserved to take Erika’s spot, but it would be blasphemy to send such an entertaining powerhouse home so soon. The duo is made to ascent the Staircase of Souls to the Ghostly Gallery, where they await their fate. With one word, “ABHORA,” Swanthula banishes them back to whence they came, and Abhora falls through a trap door. The ghouls are gagged at the surprising form of elimination, and the camera pans as we see Abhora’s portrait apparate on the wall beside them.
Quote of the Episode: “What do you look like, girl? A moon. A moon with a toilet. Toilet bowl. Toilet bowl. It’s giving me Teletubbies on a toilet bowl. Flush the toilet. Bloopbloopbloopbloop. Done.” – Kendra Onixxx destroying Yovska’s soul.
Honorable Mention: Yovska showed up this week with her tri-pumpkinhead lewk. One critique they’ve had in the past is our inability to see beyond the costume, but her facial work really shone through this week. Overall, a win for the shady Titan.
Rating: The Boulet Brothers’ Dragula Titans is back with a vengeance. Now with an innate appreciation for all the contestants, it’s a joy to watch them return for our viewing pleasure. The heightened drama is there from the jump, fun new segues are peppered throughout the episode, twists and turns await around every corner, and the show introduces even more proper nouns to add to the series’ wiki page. (10/10 Teletubby toilet bowl meme retweets)
Welcome back, fellow ranchers! I genuinely hope you’ve been enjoying our journey through Season 7 of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. Since we’re basically caught up, and I have some interesting news, we can finally take a step into Brendan’s Ufology Corner (name is still being workshopped). Please bare with me while I work through all of this, or you can skip to the first subheader if you want to get right into The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch coverage.
David Grusch and Australia’s 1971 UFO Intelligence Report
On June 9th, 2026, David Grusch and a coterie of politicians, notably Representative Jared Moskowitz, Representative Tim Burchett, and Representative Anna Paulina Looney, ran a press event at the Capitol. They stood in front of a microphoned podium with a “Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets” board on the front. Much was said in that amount of time, but it’s a few specific points and the event’s timing that are of particular note.
David Grusch, whose bombshell 2023 testimony to the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Accountability brought Ufology back into the zeitgeist (along with Ryan Graves and Commander David Fravor), mentioned one thing that struck a specific chord for many people. Grusch’s specific mention of Australia’s 1971 Intelligence UFO Assessment raised a few eyebrows. But why?
The Government’s History of Covering Its Own Ignorance
That assessment is important for many reasons, though proof of aliens doesn’t necessarily rank high at the top of that list. This previously classified document shed light on how intelligence agencies were studying the topic. It basically said that governments were shifting public focus on, then, UFOs to hide the fact that they really didn’t know what this phenomenon really was. So, did the government want to get to the bottom of this? Or was their only goal to save face when they came up short on answers?
Could this be an analog to what David Grusch feels currently? He wasn’t necessarily taken seriously in his 2023 testimony. In fact, claims of alcoholism and pointed character assassinations of Grusch grew as the seconds passed. It feels like a plea from Grusch that the government needs to help protect him from, well, the government.
Grusch’s 60 Day Disclosure Warning
But it goes deeper than that. Ignoring the fact that Tim Burchett said the Chinese spy balloon was used to cover up the fact that Grusch was openly talking about biological entities. And ignore the fact that Leslie Kean said that these biologics happened to be the pilots of recovered UAPs. Grusch claims there are several dozen retrievals that have taken place where non-human biologics were discovered.
Think that’s all? Think again! A little over a month ago, David Grusch made a statement that we should be seeing an escalation regarding ‘D’isclosure in the next 60 to 90 days. But why does that matter?
The Greada Treaty, D-365, and the July 2026 Disclosure Timeline
Roughly 35,000 BC saw the waning civilization that inhabited the Orion constellation, and slowly expanded outwards in search of overcoming potential generational losses. Now, this next part was succinctly put together by a Twitter page Oyagaa-Oomo Network, but it’s the best way to fully understand the importance of the press conference. Basically, visitors from Oomo have confirmed a disclosure strategy and are reducing their stealthiness to validate goodwill, which was agreed upon in the Greada Treaty in 1954 (which was signed between President Eisenhower and The Greys, which was supposedly facilitated by Valiant Thor). An account known as NOAY, which I’m still struggling to understand how it applies, released a clue that states “D-365”. That clue was released by NOAY on July 24, 2025.
All this leads many to believe that D-365 implies July 24, 2026, which would fall directly in line with David Grush’s comment about 60 to 90 days, could be D-Day Two. Could this all be bunk? Sure. Could this be all too real? Definitely. Will July 24, 2026, be the day 500,000 Greys begin their colonization of Earth?
If you’re still reading, thank you! It’s now time for us to head to our second favorite ranch in Utah to see if we get any closer to uncovering The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch.
LIDAR Scans, Underground Arcs, and Dr. Francke’s Return to the Mesa
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center – 9:10 AM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Thomas Winterton, Technologist Pete Kelsey, Kaleb Bench, and Sam Deriso sit around the Command Center table. Pete Kelsey shows the team an image from his terrestrial LIDAR scans, which he took when the drilling started at the top of the Mesa. The image Pete has is taken from the top of the Mesa, looking southwest. What we see is something that isn’t unusual for the team, but is for Pete’s LIDAR scans: displaced data.
Pete reveals an image that shows data that is not just displaced, but underground. Moreover, the data is in an arc pattern. Does this mean signify more proof of The Bubble’s barrier?
Mesa Drill Site – Later That Day – 10:35 AM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Technologist Pete Kelsey, Sam Deriso, Thomas Winterton, Kaleb Bench, Archaeologist Chris Roberts, and Triple A Drilling (Jed Murray and Bo Camp) stand atop the Mesa. They are joined by special guest and GPR expert Dr. Jan Francke, who we last saw on Season 6 Episode 12 of The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. Dr. Francke was the man who found the 400-foot-long object inside the Mesa, which sparked the drilling initiatives.
GPR Inside Borehole One Triggers Mysterious Signals at 33 MHz and Beyond
Dr. Francke is back on The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch to run new GPR scans. But this time, he’ll be inside the Mesa. Using his cutting-edge tools, Dr. Francke will run his GPR through Borehole One. And his new equipment will allow the team to see the depth and distance of the anomalies. He will also be running this scan while Triple A gets back to drilling.
The drilling begins with Dr. Francke, Erik Bard, Sam Deriso, and Thomas Winterton at the top of the Mesa, while Dr. Travis Taylor and Kaleb Bench will run the computers and analyzers at the bottom of the Mesa.
As the experiment kicks off, Sam Deriso notices a 33 MHz signal. Once alerted, Travis notices that he is also seeing that signal on his spectrum analyzer. What’s weird is that 33 MHz is the same signal given off by the drill bit beacon used by Mark Construction in Season 6 Episode 11 “Hard to Handle”. The beacon that was on the tungsten drill bit that was destroyed by the Mesa’s Type A ceramic material. If that wasn’t enough, Travis starts to see both a 1.2 and a 1.6 GHz signal.
This leads Thomas Winterton to question whether or not the drill is stimulating the object(s) within the Mesa.
Gamma Readings Spike as Artemis Testing Lab Weighs In on the Ceramics
Dr. Jan Francke starts to run his GPR device down Borehole One. While that is going on, Chris Roberts begins to inspect the drill core samples with a gamma ray detector. That’s when Chris notices 108 CPM. Then 110 CPM. And then 115 CPM. While that’s not an unsafe count for CPM, it’s highly irregular for a sand mesa. In fact, Travis says that it is about 10 times higher than it should be. It’s also the same count they had from the Type A ceramics when they initially found them.
With the drill one third of the way to its goal, and Dr. Jan’s scanning complete, the team calls it a day.
What Is That? Literally.
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center – 11:16 AM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Jim Royston, Chris Roberts, and Thomas Winterton sit around the Skinwalker Ranch Command Center table. On a video call, they have the team from Artemis Testing Lab. The team consists of Bob Dodge, John Sherman, and Serge Fayeulle PH.D. These are the people Chris Roberts sent the Type A ceramics sample to.
Testing Finds the Type A Material Undatable and Unlike Any Known Ceramic
But, before we learn what they found out, what exactly is thermoluminescence testing? The tl;dr is this: they take a sample from ceramics or pottery and cut through that sample. The dust from that cut is used and put in a special contraption that measures the amount of stored light energy in the object. The sample is then heated up to 500 degrees Celcius. Once heated up, some light will be emitted. That light is then measured, where its intensity and value determine an object’s age.
Rigorous testing of the Type A ceramic material reveals that it is undatable. Bob is also completely sure that the object wasn’t fired (created with heat, as ceramics or pottery usually are). But, to cross their I’s and dot their T’s, Artemis also ran an XRF analysis on the material.
Artemis reveals the object isn’t ceramic, but contains similar properties to plaster. But how could a piece of plaster do that to a tungsten drill bit? This information seems helpful for the Skinwalker Ranch team, and Travis says he wants to take the materials back to the lab at UVU with this new information.
Smoke Machine and High-Speed Cameras Target the Bubble’s Western Boundary
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center – 2:37 PM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Thomas Winterton, Erik Bard, Jim Royston, and Sam Deriso stand outside the Command Center during a wild windstorm. This presents the perfect opportunity for a test they’ve been wanting to run surrounding The Bubble boundary. Erik reveals that they want to see how smoke interacts with The Bubble’s boundary, and this west-to-east wind creates the best conditions. The plan will be to blow smoke from the west side of The Bubble while driving in and out of the boundary.
West Side of The Bubble – 3:32 PM
Thomas Winterton picks up a giant, industrial-grade smoke machine while Travis sets up high-speed cameras.
With Thomas on the back of the pickup truck, the team gets the experiment going. Thomas turns the smoke machine on while Jim starts driving the truck backwards through 33 miles per hour winds.
Smoke Tests Confirm Physical Barriers at The Bubble and Hint at The Blob’s Presence
The smoke acts as you would think, shooting out of the long barrel as smoke does. But as the team approaches The Bubble boundary, the smoke acts as if it’s hitting a wall and dispersing in all directions. Once through the boundary, the smoke goes back to shooting normally. To see if this was a fluke, Jim drives back through The Bubble. And, as expected, the smoke acts as if it’s hitting a wall at the exact spot of The Bubble boundary.
Erik instructs the team to head to the eastern side of The Bubble, and they head over there.
Experiment number two starts with Jim driving out of The Bubble’s eastside boundary. Once the smoke hits the boundary, it acts as if it’s hitting a wall. Every sign points to The Bubble’s boundary being a physical anomaly. It seems to be proven time and time again. And since that’s been all but confirmed, Erik tells the team to head over to The Triangle to test out The Blob.
Once at The Triangle, Travis and Thomas get in a cherry picker and go about 30 feet in the air. Travis sets off the smoke machine and expects the smoke to blow in a straight line. At the 30-foot mark, the smoke seems to maneuver itself around an invisible object. Does this also prove The Blob is a physical anomaly, too?
High-Speed Footage Reveals Smoke Anomalies on The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center – The Next Day – 10:41 AM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Thomas Winterton, Sam Deriso, and Jim Royston sit around the Command Center table. Erik has some fun data to share with the team that only furthers the probability of The Bubble and The Blob being physical anomalies.
The first video comes from one of the high-speed cameras, with a final processing through Erik’s Meta-Frame. Erik overlaid a motion change-detecting filter over the video. The video of the smoke hitting The Bubble boundary shows the smoke fanning out in multiple directions, rather than going straight through.
A second video is from a camera that was shooting at 120 FPS. It’s another filtered video. But this one doesn’t involve smoke. As the team fires off the smoke machine, a UAP appears hundreds of feet in the air. Almost as if it’s monitoring them. The last video we see is from The Triangle test, where the smoke moves around The Blob.
Final Thoughts
As interesting as the smoke experiment was to watch, it was an incredibly weak way to end the episode. This should have been the start of the episode, but the Artemis stuff didn’t have enough of a punch for a stinger. But what really pisses me off is how the smoke experiment didn’t need a data review. We saw all we needed to see during the tests! Sans the singular UAP, of course.
Why does The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch feel the need to CONSTANTLY repeat things over and over again? Do they think we’re stupid? Well, actually, yes, they do. Season 7 Episode 4 “Smoking Guns” is another in a long line of plain, boring episodes. Minus the part where we learned the ceramic is actually plaster-like, we are left with a seemingly nothing episode.
Anyways! Something, something, something, fun little setup, The Secret…of Skinwalker Ranch. (Hey showrunners! See what happens when I phone in my outro? It has little effect on the entire article. I’m underwhelmed by my outro as much as I’m underwhelmed by this episode! Pick it up, do better, and let’s have some fun!)
Welcome back, fellow Ranchers! As much as I’ve been complaining about this season of Skinwalker Ranch in general, it feels so good getting back into it. While I have severe issues with this show, it’s been an absolute blast getting to tune in and watch it become a bastard of what it once was. Their natural flows of talking head interviews have slowly amalgamated into awfully scripted rehashing of things we’ve heard 10 times already, all while they stand in front of an improperly lit green screen.
And maybe that’s why I love this show.
Brandon Fugal’s Villain Era and the Charm of Trash TV
I grew up watching the Sci-Fi Channel B-movies that gave the channel its true namesake. I love trash TV. I love The Curse of Oak Island and The Mystery at Blind Frog Ranch. But those shows handle themselves in a much more respectable manner than this show. At least those two shows don’t hide their greed behind slimy Botox-ed smiles. But it’s fun watching Mormon millionaire Brandon Fugal slip into his Villain Era. The man we came to know and love throughout the first few seasons has Cronenberg-morphed into a greedy shell of a human who wants nothing more than to use his money to gain fame.
That’s enough of that. This is the last Skinwalker Ranch article before I’m all caught up, so hopefully the next article has some fun Ufology news for you all! But, until then, let’s head back to our second favorite ranch in Utah to see if we get any closer to uncovering The Secret…of Skinwalker Ranch.
(Oh, and one rocket launch attempt, will it go off properly? Stay tuned!)
Drilling Resumes on the Mesa: A 4-Foot Vertical Borehole Begins
Mesa Top – 9:10 AM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Thomas Winterton, Kaleb Bench, Erik Bard, Sam Deriso, and archaeologist Chris Roberts are atop the Mesa for something spectacular…the drilling is about to start back up! We’ve come a long way from Thomas wholeheartedly against drilling, to being the one [basically] running the entire drilling operation. Even Brandon Fugal used to be against the drilling.
Jed Murray and Bo Camp of Triple A Drilling arrive to kick things off. Thomas Winterton explains to the drillers that, rather than finishing Borehole Two in the way that Borehole One was completed, they want to do things differently. A 4-foot diameter hole will be dug vertically to connect Borehole Two to the top of the Mesa. There’s only one small caveat: Brandon Fugal wants them to go slow so as not to damage any potential objects within the Mesa. Jed and Bo say it will take a couple of days if they can’t go at full speed. Dr. Travis Taylor and Thomas head to the bottom of the Mesa to monitor data equipment, while Erik Bard and Sam Deriso will stay up top to monitor equipment.
Triple A gets their large drill in place and begins the process. Within seconds of the drill starting, Travis starts to receive the dreaded 1.6 GHz signal. He radios to the team on top of the Mesa, and after a quick check, Erik and Sam confirm that they, too, are receiving the 1.6 GHz signal. Thankfully, the first 8 inches of drilling go off without a hitch.
Sick Calf Inside The Bubble Raises Radiation Concerns
The Corral – Later That Day – 3:15 PM
It wasn’t until now that I realized we haven’t seen Ranch Manager Jim Morse or Ranch Caretakers Kandus Linde and Tom Lewis once this season. Have they departed the show? Or, did they ask for too much money, and the producers just cut them out of the show? Because last time something like this happened, they were front and center.
Thomas Winterton, Erik Bard, Thomas’s sons Kevin and Micah, and Dr. Haleigh Lundgreen meet outside of The Corral. This is Dr. Lundgreen’s first time back on Skinwalker Ranch since Season 5 Episode 9 “Spinning Out”, where she was monitoring a cow who was experiencing extreme distress. But why are Thomas’s kids here, you may ask?
It seems that Kevin and Micah Winterton lend a hand with the ranch’s cow population. Which, unfortunately, are nothing more than grazing test animals.
After the drilling started earlier in the day, the kids realized one of the calves was acting very strange. The calf was sitting in the same spot for a very long time and separated itself from the herd. On top of that, this happened to the cow while it was inside the western side of The Bubble. The same episode that Dr. Lundgreen was previously on brought her to the ranch because a cow had become irradiated.
Dr. Lundgreen Finds Elevated Vitals and Signs of Possible Radiation Poisoning
The good doctor takes some measurements on the calf and finds some distressing results. The calves’ heart and respiratory rate have significantly increased, and it’s showing a high temperature of 103.3. Dr. Lundgreen states these COULD be secondary symptoms of Chronic Radiation Poisoning. (Notice how she made sure to say COULD. I’m surprised Brandon Fugal didn’t fight to get the word ‘could’ out of the final cut.)
They all take the calf back to the Corral, and it basically snaps back to life immediately. But that doesn’t mean all the glitters is gold. Dr. Lundgreen takes some blood samples from the calf in the hopes that we can learn something more. Let’s not keep our fingers crossed that we’ll see a follow-up on it, though.
Mesa Drill Site – 5:43 PM
Triple A ends up making it about four feet down on their first day of drilling. They wrap up, but we can expect to see more developments in the coming episodes. Hopefully.
100 Drones Deployed at The Bubble Boundary
Western Bubble Boundary – 6:18 PM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Jim Royston, Thomas Winterton, Sam Deriso, and Kaleb Bench meet up with Preston Ward and his team from Sky Elements (who we last saw on Skinwalker Ranch in Season 6 Episode 8 “Swarm Weather”). If Preston is at the ranch, that means one thing: DRONES.
Preston says he and his team are going to set up 100 drones and fly them in a 10×10 pattern. That drone pattern will move in and out of The Bubble boundary up to 1000 feet, in horizontal stacks. The plan is to monitor specific data on where and when the drones malfunction. Brian Woodard will also fly his POV drone. What I find most compelling about Preston and his team is Preston and his team. They do drone shows for a living. And if they consistently had errors, there is no way they would be as big an organization as they are. So when issues arise on the ranch, and Preston has these gigantic, show-stopping issues, I find it to be the most compelling evidence we see on the show.
While Preston and his team are setting up the drones, Brian gives his POV drone a test flight. But something happens, and the drone goes wild; Brian loses control, and the drone crashes hard into the ground. The drone had shorted out and fallen out of the sky. This also happens to be the same exact location where the calf got sick.
And, as if on cue, Preston notifies the team that they are having drone connectivity issues.
Drones Lose Connectivity Before the Bubble Boundary Kills 30 More
8:38 PM
All drones have finally connected to the network, and they are preparing to start the night’s experiments. But then things go to hell in a drone basket. 40 drones drop connectivity. And then more, and more. Something starts to suck all of the ranch’s bandwidth from the drones. Preston notifies the team that the bandwidth is currently at a 99% utilization, which is wild because the ranch has its own Wi-Fi towers.
And then out of nowhere, they all come back.
Things seem to be back to normal, so the drones begin their flight. 98 of the drones go off, while two stay firmly planted on the earth. The drones continue their flight plan and approach 250 feet in the air. It’s time for them to make their first pass out of The Bubble boundary. Suddenly, as they pass through, 10 drones go offline. Then 20. Then 30.
Right as the drones go offline, Dr. Travis Taylor reads 1.6 GHz on his spectrum analyzer. But no one else gets that reading, not even Erik.
Preston’s drones continue their flight pattern, losing and gaining connectivity. One drone starts wobbling out of formation, but they’re set to return to the ground, so it doesn’t go too awry.
It’s time for part two of the experiment. Preston and his team send two drones at a time in a sweeping pattern up to 1,000 feet. While that’s going on, Travis does what he does best: fires a rocket. (From Homestead Two.) Right as Travis launches the rocket, something zips across the sky!
Drone Data Reveals The Bubble Boundary Is 120 Feet Wide
Skinwalker Ranch Command Center – 1:15 PM
Dr. Travis Taylor, Erik Bard, Jim Royston, Thomas Winterton, Technologist Pete Kelsey, and Kaleb Bench sit around the table in the Command Center. They’re joined by Preston Ward and Matt Edminster of Sky Elements via video call.
Matt Edminster starts by showing the data he had collected. We are looking at an interesting graph of data; an orange and green line inclines from left to right, the lines overlapping and separating at multiple points. We learn that the green line indicates a long-range wireless signal while the orange line is Wi-Fi. These lines should be overlapping, but this data indicates heavy communications loss–the Wi-Fi loss coincides with each time the drones crossed The Bubble’s boundary. Every time they came back into The Bubble, the Wi-Fi reconnected.
They have similar data points from the secondary formation drone flights, too.
And all of that becomes way more important than anyone could have thought. Some quick math by Dr. Travis Taylor revealed something fascinating. Basically, they are able to measure the data loss of the drones from inside to outside The Bubble. Two feet per second for 60 seconds equals 120. The width of The Bubble’s boundary is 120 feet!
Pete Kelsey’s terrestrial laser scanner shows an interesting anomaly above Homestead Two. Erik Bard thinks it might be displaced data. So they maneuver the image to a more horizontal view, and we can clearly see that the anomaly truly is displaced data from the tree line below. That tree line, which is displaced by 200 feet, is exactly where Travis previously saw the blue orb UAP. Erik even has some fancy Meta-Frame data that shows a distinct light emerging over Homestead Two.
Final Thoughts for The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch S7E3
Maybe it’s my simple lizard brain, but every time this show uses drones, I eat it up. They’re so pretty to watch, even when it all goes awry. And I really can’t get over how Preston and his team always have tech issues on Skinwalker Ranch, which they say are unlike any they have anywhere else. THIS is the stuff I wish the team would focus on. Because of that tech issue, the team was able to [potentially accurately] measure the width of The Bubble’s boundary! That’s great TV!
MORE OF THAT PLEASE.
And all the data-loss stuff astounds me. Whether you’re a believer in this kind of stuff, it’s hard to disagree with missing data. Plus, with the amount of money that Mormon millionaire Brandon Fugal spends on this ranch, you can bet your ass he’s not paying for broken stuff. Anyways, thanks for going on this journey with us, and we look forward to seeing you on the very next episode. Maybe then, just then, we’ll get slightly closer to getting to the bottom of The Secret…of Skinwalker Ranch.
