GROUP CHAT Episode Four

You thought you were winning but at what cost?

Previously on GROUP CHAT: Ross lands in Japan, a new bombshell enters the chat, and one of its most dynamic participants makes her exit.

This week: Winning but at what cost?

In many cultures, ghosts appear in spirituality and folklore as reminders of past failures or misdeeds. A house is haunted by the specter of someone its residents somehow wronged, a plot of land or nation state by the population from whom it was stolen. Do ghosts haunt digital spaces as well? This week, with the loss of one of their own fresh in their minds, the remaining members of the GROUP CHAT cast find out, and the answer tests them all in more ways than one.

In the wake of Isabel’s sudden departure, the chat is a house divided, unsure whether to pause and reflect or cut its loss and never look back:

Some take it as a reminder of their own precarity, an opportunity to consolidate power and single out common enemies:

Before long, though, Isabel’s exit turns out not to have been as final as it may have seemed. When Van calls James out for his bewildered comment on her recent Substack post about the two French actresses who dominate her writing practice—Isabelle Adjani and Isabelle Huppert—the ensuing debate makes clear that the spirit of Isabel(le) isn’t finished with the chat just yet:

In fact, ghosts of the past seem to be haunting several members of the cast. James apparently has not gotten over his “perfect raw score” on the verbal SAT:

Meanwhile, Nick is still struggling with his college years. Toward the end of a long and spirited debate about the role of the literary agent in the publishing ecosystem, during which he cites the recent findings that over 70% of employees at traditional publishing companies are white women, Nick reveals that his entire approach to publishing his own work emerged as a way to cope with his failure to impress the women at his liberal arts school:

In Japan, however, Ross has been fighting more than just metaphorical demons:

Will Ross’s mystery contact show up? Will Isabel’s spirit ever leave the chat for good? Will the rest of the cast be able to put their own demons to rest? If these questions haunt you over the coming week, make sure you tune back in for the next episode of GROUP CHAT.

GROUP CHAT is a production of Grey Fiction Media. All episodes are written, directed, edited, and produced by Stephen Piccarella. All original music by Sebastian Castillo.