Yes, this episode has an Armitage monologue, but there are still only 2 ½ minutes of him in #7… well, other than some claws and snarling in the background of one other scene. Thinking back, I’d be surprised if we had even 15 minutes total of Armitage scenes in the whole seven episodes to date. And it’s not bothering me just because I’m a fan. I really think that the podcast would be more effective and well-rounded if we could experience more of the story from title character’s point of view, rather than just that of one of the investigators, victims, or observers.

I’m finding that the story, which I felt had promise at the beginning of the series as a police procedural, is missing some ingredient. It is just not compelling. There is no real urgency to solving mysteries or crimes and nothing that makes me care what happens to the characters. Yes, the sound is great, but the newness of that wears off after a while. I’d be curious whether Marvel and/or comic aficionados are still enjoying it. (I haven’t seen any reviews other than early in the series.)

The Marvel After Show‘s guest this time is Chaske Spencer, who plays Sherman, an Inuit man. Spencer is a native American actor, who memorably played Sam Uley, the alpha of the La Push werewolf pack in The Twilight Saga. And now here he is opposite a Wolverine!

Spencer says that at first he “was nervous, really nervous, after finding out who else was cast. [He] was like wow we’ve got some really cool people in it. But everyone was in the same boat. It was like a cold reading, almost like when you rehearse in a theatre or a play.”

This week’s is the second episode with the Sherman character. Spencer describes how scenes in both episodes were recorded outdoors at a ravine in Westchester, incorporating the sounds of walking on a dock and rolling around in the woods for realism. He believes that, “”It definitely enhanced our performance.” He also mentions that he was given only his own scripts in advance and so coming in to do the podcast, he didn’t really know how the story would go. As he says, “You sort of just jump off that waterfall and see and hope it all turns out.” In the end, he “had a blast” and enjoyed being able to move around in the space really doing the action.

As noted in the title of this post, Spencer has a scene with Armitage in episode 7. “What was interesting in doing that scene with Richard, was that I got so caught up in his monologue. There were times I just forgot to look down at the page — oh yeah, I’m in this thing! I’m actually working! It was fun watching him do it.”

Again, I am hoping for the story to pick up and to have more Wolverine in the last three episodes — and maybe even an interview with Richard Armitage on The Marvel After Show.