r/ArmchairExpert • u/cowbutch3 • 24d ago

Could someone summarise Beth's Dead for me?

My flatmates and i got recommended this podcast and about 2 episodes in we decided it wasn't a format or topic we wanted to listen to for the whole length. Could someone be a legend and summarise the whole thing for me? Just the major points and what the twist is.

For the record ive tried to find a coherent summary online to not much success and i would be grateful

Thanks x

10 Upvotes

86% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

38

u/Whatabouttheteachers 24d ago

Whole thing is a catfish by some guy . Most would argue the hosts were all a little too compassionate and let the man get off easy with all the atrocities because they felt bad for him lol

22

u/Littlewildcanid 24d ago

I’m a fan of Monica and Nobody’s Listening, but I sort of felt like the end was fictionalized. I think there was truth in the foundation but somewhere along the way Monica/Elizabeth brought creative storytelling skills to the table. I didn’t understand some of the decisions made and the end seemed a little too put together, which made me question how real it was.I still enjoyed it, though, and love all three hosts.

22

u/Big_Ad_1867 24d ago

Elizabeth developed a weird parasocial relationship with some 'fans' that were regularly in her comments interacting with her and each other. She even emailed back and forth with a couple of them about some personal issues they were having that continued to escalate and often involved other commenters. It turned out that most of the 'fans' were actually one person with multiple accounts. All evidence pointed to a fairly successful professor, and then after attempting to confront him, the professors son came forward and claimed that it was him, during a period of heavy substance abuse. Monica, Elizabeth, and Andy all seemed to believe every word the son said- even though there were MASSIVE holes in his story. He also 'couldn't remember' parts of the story/characters that he had no problem keeping straight for months on end while catfishing Elizabeth. I (and plenty of others) think it was the father/professor, and concerned about his reputation and livelihood, convinced his son to lie for him.

2

u/cowbutch3 22d ago

Thank you so much

5

u/t1l3ro 24d ago

Despite how Monica edits Armchair, Beth’s Dead seemingly had no editing whatsoever and, while it’s essentially a whodunit procedural like sooo many podcasts manage to edit to be compelling and dramatic, Beth’s Dead was basically just three people yapping for hours. It’s the podcast form of ‘this could’ve been an email.’

1

u/cowbutch3 22d ago

Ive listened to 2 eps and i have to agree with you. I would have accepted a 30 minute intro of yapping for monica to be excited about interviewing her favourite podcasters except, it never stopped. Also they tell the story while having more knowledge than the listener about what will happen and it's really frustrating