The Art of Conveyance and Round-Trippery

"The Art of Conveyance and Round-Trippery" is the fifth episode of the Disney+ streaming television series The Mysterious Benedict Society, and the third episode of the series overall. It was released on July 16, 2021.
==Synopsis==
Reynie and Sticky investigate secret transmissions. Constance and Kate explore the island.
==Plot==
As Reynie and Sticky are indoctrinated as Messengers, they find the promotion somewhat overwhelming for them. They converse with Kate and Constance during lunch and are informed of a message that Mr. Benedict sent them. As they try to figure out what it means, Reynie and Sticky are called over by fellow Messenger Martina who informs the two that they are to sit with the other Messengers for lunch. She tries to probe them about how they manage to achieve their ranking so fast, but are interrupted by Jackson and Jillson who ask if they recognize a blinking light at night.
The kids inform Mr. Benedict and his associates that their method of communication has been compromised and that they must find a new way to send messages. Number Two insists on using a falcon due to its speed. The next day, Jackson and Jillson force Reynie and Sticky to wear blinding goggles as they lead them through the woods to a hidden underground lab. They meet with Dr. Curtain who has them use a machine called The Whisperer. Taking turns, both boys sit on one end while Dr. Curtain sits on the other side while they wear helmets and answer personal questions from a soft voice. Both Reynie and Sticky separately admit that they are afraid of being alone and losing others. Afterwards, the boys admit that it was a comforting experience, but renounce it as it is the cause of the Emergency.
Kate and Constance figure out that they need to check by a statue, but are forced away when Martina asks that the former join her tetherball practice. Martina asks that Kate lose her bucket and Constance hangs onto it; somewhat mocking her as she sits through Martina's lecture. While sitting and waiting, Constance suddenly has an epiphany and heads back to the statue before locating a boulder, that she learns is fake, and a foot pad that does not seem to do anything when pressed. Kate eventually catches up and scolds her for leaving the bucket behind, but soon helps Constance open the boulder entrance and enter into an underground lab.
As the girls move about, Constance's telepathy picks up the voices which are coming from the Whisperer. She hears Sticky and admits this to Kate. They are soon forced to hide inside a cabinet from Dr. Curtain's assistant Dr. Garrison who is using the brain sweeper on a victim. Soon, Dr. Curtain arrives to tell her that they need to speed up the project, or as he puts it "farm and forest", for a trial run tomorrow. Dr. Garrison is reluctant, but Dr. Curtain forces her to say yes. It is implied that his project involves having everyone think in unison.
At the cabin, Mr. Benedict, Number Two and Milligan are hard at work training a falcon, except for Rhonda who finds training said bird pointless. As they fail to get it to land safely, they are suddenly found by Ms. Perumal, who had put together a series of clues, following the revelation that Reynie was not at Boatwright Academy, and managed to notice minor details that lead to her finding them there. Mr. Benedict finally informs her of Reynie's mission and what they know so far. Ms. Perumal has trouble believing his story and tells him that she will be calling the department of juvenile well-being on him, though he informs her that Dr. Curtain has dismantled them. As soon as she leaves, Mr. Benedict tells the others that he will be ending the mission.
The kids gather to tell each other what they have learned and agree that they are on their own now and must find a way to end Dr. Curtain's plans without Mr. Benedict's help. Ms. Perumal calls the department of juvenile well-being, but gets an invalid dial tone; confusing her. Dr. Curtain speaks with his son, S.Q., who is oblivious to what he is doing and tells him that tomorrow will be a great day.
==Cast==
*Tony Hale as Nicholas Benedict/L.D. Curtain
*Kristen Schaal as Number Two
*MaameYaa Boafo as Rhonda Kazembe
*Ryan Hurst as Milligan
*Gia Sandhu as Ms. Perumal
*Mystic Inscho as Reynie Muldoon
*Seth Carr as Sticky Washington
*Emmy DeOliveira as Kate Wetherall
*Marta Kessler as Constance Contraire
===Guest-starring===
*Ricardo Ortiz as S.Q.
*Saara Chaudry as Martina Crowe
*Katherine Evans as Jillson
*Ben Cockell as Jackson
*Trenna Keating as Dr. Garrison
*Ben Daon as Isaac
===Co-starring===
*Ever Mainard as The Whisperer
*Kevin Derksen as Alphonse the Tailor
*Stephanie Lavigne as Helper (Hildegard Billingsley)
*Emily Delahunty as Lindsay
*Chandni Appadurai as Ms. Perumal's Mom
*Dumi Owane as Tailor #1
*Dave Santana as Barber
*Skovensky Valeus as Contestant
==Song==
*"Shilo" by Neil Diamond
==Trivia==
*The title refers to Mr. Benedict asking if the falcon is well trained in the listed tactic.
*This episode covers the second half of chapter 25 to the first half of chapter 28 in the first book.
==Book comparisons==
*Reynie and Sticky are promoted to Messengers at 10:01 PM after SQ brings them straight to Mr. Curtain. They immediately return to their room where Kate and Constance had sent a message to Mr. Benedict who gives them a new message, but they are unable to finish it. In the series, they are promoted while they are in class after being informed by one of the teachers and are given their sashes the same day. Reynie and Sticky meet with Kate and Constance at breakfast where they managed to get the full message for them.
*Reynie and Sticky are lead by Jackson and Jillson to the hidden elevator to the tower while wearing beer goggles. In the book, only Jackson leads them, with blindfolds, and has to walk them up a flight of stairs.
*In the book, the Whisperer resembles a simple chair with blue and red helmet devices sticking out of it for a Messenger and Mr. Curtain. There is no equipment visible, save for the chair itself, which is in a brick lined room with cushions. In the series, the Whisperer is a giant white room with a small room off to the side containing important equipment. There are two simple metal chairs with white helmet devices lowered from the ceiling.
*In the book, Mr. Curtain is very clear about the purpose of the machine to Reynie and Sticky. In the series, he remains vague and simply tells them that it is a good machine.
*Kate's entire tetherball training with Martina is invented for the series.
*Reynie and Sticky's time in the Whisperer and the adventure in the hidden lab happen exactly after the other in the book. In the series, they happen simultaneously with Kate and Constance going into the lab alone.
*In the book, it is revealed that Dr. Curtain records what the Messengers say in the Whisperer and plays them at a later time. In the series they happen live. Additionally, this means that Constance hears the Whisperer in different; in the book, she hears it at breakfast and in the series, she hears it in the lab.
*In the book, all four children navigate past the traps on the island before kicking open a boulder and finding the hidden entrance. In the series, Constance discovers the fake boulder by herself and the footpad, before Kate comes and helps her open it.
*The entire keypad trick left by S.Q., wherein they have to "turn over" a note for a new code, is completely removed from the series.
*What the kids discover in the underground lab is radically different. In the book, the kids learn that Mr. Curtain is making periodicals with future headlines that talk about his greatness as well as a new government position called Minister And Secretary of all Earth's Regions (MASTER). His plan is to use the Whisperer to make everyone afraid and then make them feel happy by making everyone think he is great. He would have covered this with a fake disease called Sudden Amnesia Disease (SAD). In the series, Dr. Curtain's plan simply involves using the Whisperer so that everyone can think alike like him. They also overhear him talk with Dr. Garrison about a "farm and forest" which are conducive to his plans.
*In the book, all four children hide in a crate from Mr. Curtain. Sticky drops his glasses and Kate uses a magnet to retrieve it. In the series, Kate and Constance hide from Dr. Curtain and Dr. Garrison in a metal cupboard and the latter loses a button, forcing Kate to use her acrobatics to get it back.
*The entire subplot of Ms. Perumal discovering Mr. Benedict's cabin and her meeting his team is made up for the show.
==External links==
*The Art of Conveyance and Round-Trippery at The Mysterious Benedict Society Wiki
Category:The Mysterious Benedict Society episodes