Saltrot's Shanty

**Saltrot's Shanty** is the seventh episode of Ginger Orphan Playhouse.

## Synopsis

Saltrot Joe sings a sea shanty about Madame Trinkett's past, mostly in regards to her late husband.

## Plot

In the middle of the night, Cooper is awoken by a terrifying nightmare, which features flashbacks to traumatic incidents from every significant moment from the day he was first imprisoned, to the present. The Salesman consults Cooper after he wakes up and asks if his nightmare involved a parrot, which Cooper says it did, at the very end. The Salesman explains to him that what he just experienced was a "basement terror". He says that he used to have them, himself and that after 23 years, he started having them every night on a perfectly persistent schedule. To stop these basement terrors from happening anymore, The Salesman wears an extremely uncomfortable blanket covered in itchy beard trimmings just to keep him awake. He has in seldom fallen asleep since and doesn't plan to nod off again any time soon. The parrots start making ship noises, which, as The Salesman explains, happens every full moon, as their way of telling everyone that it's time for Saltrot Joe to lament the tale of Madame Trinkett's past in the form of his sea shanty, "Madame, Oh Madame". The shanty elaborates on how Madame Trinkett wasn't always a sociopathic villain. She used to be a normal human being when she was married to Sir Trinkett. Sir Trinkett was a sailor, who's profession was sailing out to sea and going to different islands and continents, where he would collect artifacts from the exotic places and bring them back home to his lovely wife. One fateful night, Sir Trinkett went out to sea and collected a bunch of parrots as well as a grandfather clock and on his way back home, a huge storm approached and a large ocean wave destroyed the ship and caused it to sink, taking down all the sailors and drowning them all. Sir Trinkett grabbed one of the parrots and used it as a messenger, to say his last words to and then direct back home, so he could send his last goodbye to his wife. He sent the messenger parrot home and thus was the origin story of the Messenger Parrot as well as a bit of insight into the dark and troubled past of Madame Trinkett. After the shanty ended, Cooper profanely demanded to get out of the basement. One more glimpse into the flashback revealed that along with the messenger parrot, came a huge flock of other parrots, carrying the grandfather clock on strings back to The Trinkett House as well, which explained the origin and significance of Madame Trinkett's grandfather clock.

## Characters

### Major Roles

* Saltrot Joe
* Parrots
* Madame Trinkett
* Sir Trinkett
* Messenger Parrot
* Cooper
* The Salesman

### Minor Roles

* Bully
* Clinton
* Clayton
* Couper
* Parrotsites
* King Parrot (Dream Cameo)
* Black Ginger (Dream Cameo)
* Vanessa (Non-Speaking Cameo; Silhouette)

## Songs

* Living Life Underground
* Madame, Oh Madame

## Trivia

* Vanessa's silhouette can be seen in the grandfather clock at the beginning of the episode.
* Madame Trinkett had a shrine to Sir Trinkett with all of the candles lit and she left the candles burning, even while she went to sleep, which is a dangerous fire hazard.
* The Salesman warns Cooper that before long, he might be having regular nightmares, which he calls "basement terrors".
* The Salesman explains that he never sleeps because he wants to avoid having basement terrors of his own. To help keep him awake, he wears an uncomfortable blanket covered in his beard trimmings and also drinks something from a mug.
	+ It was never mentioned what this drink is but if it was coffee, it's unknown how he was able to obtain it.
* Every full moon, the parrots make ship noises, signifying that it's time for Saltrot Joe to once again sing the shanty of Madame Trickett's past.
* Much of Madame Trinkett's past is revealed, via Saltrot Joe's sea shanty.
	+ Madame Trinkett's husband, Sir Trinkett was a sailor, who sailed the seas a went to different places around the world and brought back souvenirs or "trinkets" for her.
	+ One fateful night, a massive storm came by and Sir Trinkett's ship sun, leading to his death, making Madame Trinkett a widow from then on.
	+ Sir Trinkett used a parrot to copy his last words, and sent her home to Madame Trinkett, to deliver the message. This reveals the origin story of the Messenger Parrot.
	+ Madame Trinkett was a ginger, herself back when her hair still had color. This still doesn't entirely explain her oddly specific fixation on imprisoning gingers, however.
	+ A flock of parrots carried the grandfather clock back to the Trinkett House after the ship sank, explaining the origin and sentimental value of Madame Trinkett's grandfather clock.
* This episode marks the first time in the series profanity has been used, with Cooper shouting "Seriously. Get. Me. The. **FUCK**! Out. Of. Here!".

### Continuity

* Vanessa's presence in the house implies that when the second league of ginger orphans were set free in "Lost Love", Vanessa chose to stay behind.
* Cooper dreams about several brief moments from his recent past, including Madame Trinkett telling him that his "parrots" are in the basement from "Welcome to Madame Trinkett's", the King Parrot cawing in "Like Father, Like Son", the Black Ginger singing a blip of the eponymous song from "Living Life Underground", The Salesman scolding him for interrupting him from "Tunnel Vision", and Vanessa from "Lost Love".
	+ The only episode not to be referenced to in this dream is "It's a Ginger Christmas, Cooper Orphan!".
* Saltrot Joe makes his official debut, after being previously foreshadowed in "Like Father, Like Son".