Not as in romantic or abusive stalking, but the dads are low-key hunted down by the bad guys later on in the podcast and they also find out at one point that an NPC was following them to exact revenge on them
In episode 34, a guest star plays a new dad accompanying the group (Dennis Anderson). Everyone (both in and out of character) acts like he has been with them the whole time except for Ron, who seems to be the only one who remembers that he's not supposed to be there. This is not a particularly dark episode, but it could still be triggering for people with issues with gaslighting or unreality. While this character does make a return in episodes 54 and 55, I still believe this episode can be skipped with no issues. (Reading Dennis Andersons Wikipedia page can help if you want a quick summary of what happened)
glenn makes a cocaine joke in E2 talking to ron around 1:09:00
when the dads go to rescue nick in E7 there's magic drug flowers that they eat for different magical effects and that's a large plot point (they're non-addictive)
there's a city called Meth Bay they visit in ep 33 and is mentioned regularly after that. it's described the first time as a den of iniquity with a lot of people doing drugs and fucking but you don't actually *see* anything
monsters die. way less than you'd expect for a D&D podcast
you probably want to skip the Witch is Dead interlude (20.5) because there's a lot of animal death (it's very plot-relavent to the main story though, so you can just skip the last 15 minutes if you want. all you need to know is they successfully bring the witch back to life)
Henry's dad fact in episode 24 is about how his pet parrot was killed. 3 minutes long
more about the parrot in E31 when henry transforms into a bird, and then immediately afterward bird!Henry drops a frog accidentally and it dies
e32/33 a snake gets badly hurt and eventually dies, and the part where they try to heal it is kind of unpleasant
in episode 44 Glenn shoots an attacking squirrel in order to level up (it's comical and not sad)
episode 68 part one, a dragon that is fighting the players dies. the dragon had previously been rendered 2D, and his death is described as being like in a video game
in episode 4 there's a prison inmate NPC who's a literal snake wearing a robe. the snake slithers all over Darryl in ep 5. he comes back at the end of episode 32 to save them
E25 on the ride, darryl has to stick his arm in a hole and get bitten by snakes to retrieve a magic item
in season 2 episode 10 a teenage character has his nipple squeezed by an adult who is interrogating him. the teenager seems unphased and unharmed by this happening and appears to shrug it off
MINOR SPOILERS but in episodes 2 and 47 people cut the palms of their hands in order to make a blood pact. No self-harm cutting. Shaving maybe, but I don't remember any mention of it.
Darryl puts one of his fingers inside a hatch which causes rapid aging. Results in the named finger shrivelling up and dying. He then pokes his finger and describes it as having essentially crumbled into nothing
episode 61 we see a main character's memory of surviving an attack where his head is held underwater, the scene is viewed from a third person perspective, but it is still a very heavy moment.
At the end of episode 12 the dads decapitate a vampire, from what I remember it's not graphic as they do so with a bag of holding and thus the head is sent to the void. This is done in front of his "son" though, who believes the vampire to be his dad and it does affect him pretty bad for the next two episodes so be ware of that.
There's a long-running joke because Darryl is in a blood pact that says he has to eat his son's face when he finds him or else they die. Obviously this does not happen.
Episode 16, skip 1:23:00 to 1:28:30. The Library removes one of Darryl's hands. It's very bad and graphic. You see it coming well in advance but here's a TL;DR for the plot-importatn stuff:
They check out 2 books from the Library (one about how to get out of a blood pact, and one about how to get out of your library fees) and he asks for Darryl's hand as collateral, because they already have library books checked out. They get the information they need from the books and he gives Darryl his hand back and reattaches it magically. If you want to skip the part where he reattaches it, skip to 1:32:30 instead.
E21 it almost happens again, around 44 minutes in. you might want to skip a few minutes
E51 halfway in, someone almost gets a hand cut off but doesn't
no, but a bad guy is shot in the head with a shotgun in episode 17. you see it coming well in advance but skip 1:01:00 to 1:04:30 if you want to skip the gross bit.
TLDR they argue over whether they should leave him trapped or kill him so that he doesn't pose a threat to them, they argue over who's gonna do it, Grant looks away and Darryl shoots him but Henry takes credit for it so Grant doesn't think his dad killed him. they talk about how to get rid of the body for a while after that
episode 21 1:12:30 the Library's head gets smashed (he's made of play-doh but anthony makes gross sound effects)
episode 41 Darryl's pinky finger ages 100 years and withers, and he removes it painlessly
in episode 50 a character escapes their handcuffs and they break a couple fingers in the process. it's not gross or graphic but it's mentioned a couple times
I'm very sensitive about torture and there was nothing bad enough to set me off, but once or twice someone has a lot of pain inflicted on them while restrained or in otherwise gross ways
SPOILERS BELOW (timestamps approximate because the ads change)
Episode 16: Darryl lets the Library cut off one of his hands. it's really gross and unpleasant and unnecessarily long. See notes on "is there amputation"
in episode 50, a prison guard blinds someone in one eye for removing his blindfold. Everyone is very jokey about it but it's described graphically. It's about 1:21:00 - 1:22:30 and then they talk about how it affects his character sheet for another minute after that
In the first episode of At The Mountains of Dadness, a main character is gorily blinded, and there are semi-frequent references to this incident for the rest of the miniseries.
In s2 ep 28 there is a character that is told that he was taken as a baby by his second father, but there is no long scene about it and it is played off as more of an annoyance than any actual concern.
If child / sibling death triggers you, SKIP episode 2 entirely. It's very intense and also a standalone which is almost completely irrelavent to the plot. important parts in the description at the end of this box
besides episode 2:
None of the main kids die but there are a LOT of mentions and jokes about kids dying. Children in bloodsport is a running gag. There are several recurring NPCs who are dads that lost their children, and there's a lot of lingering on trauma.
it's mentioned that the library kills kids that don't return their library books
Paeden goes into death saving throws in episode 29 but he's fine, Henry heals him before he gets to 3.
at the end of E42 Barry falco-punches a clay homunculus of Sparrow across the room (but he's fine)
in 43 Barry deals a ton of damage to Lark with a poison gas attack (he passes out but he's fine)
Anthony almost kills a baby Hutt in the star wars special episode but its rescued
episode 2: They rescue a fairy dragon named Gartok from a bigoted mob of villagers, and he asks them to help him track his kids down who ran away from home. One of them dies because the dads accidentally broke a magic bracelet that kept him alive. While the dads are sleeping at a local inn, they all have the same dream of a mysterious, almost familiar purple-robed figure pointing at them and saying something they can't make out. They drive to Neverwinter, where Lark and Sparrow are, and on the city walls there's a giant flag of the Doodler, the mascot of their soccer team.
(Minor spoilers for Season 2) In season 2 the players play teenagers attending high school and sometimes express romantic/sexual interest in other teenagers or make sex-related jokes within their age group. There’s a vice principal character who talks about wanting teenagers to get together during a school dance and wanting them to kiss
MAJOR SPOILERS:
In season 1 one of the main four dads die, but due to reasons he is brought back pretty quickly as a demon, and the whole thing is played for laughs.
In season 2 though, it gets rough for a minute. In episode 36 a major character is shot through the head by his friend in front of his daughter, this death is the first major death to stick.
Not as relevant, but one of the dads is supposedly dead in season 2
there are a lot of mentions and jokes about parental death
it's mentioned that ron's and darryl's dads died
in episode 12 the dads kill a vampire who is impersonating Terry Junior's dead father. he sees this and the body of his real father. they deal with the emotional fallout of that for the next few episodes and it comes up again periodically afterward.
in episode 13 one of the ex-vampire children realizes his dad died
ep 15 around 41 minutes aforementioned child mourns his father (it's a joke and it'w less than a minute)
if you listen to Talking Dads on patreon, beth talks about almost losing her dad to covid during Glenn's trial around episode 46-47-48, one of those
end of episode 25, the mummies turn out to be their wives from the future. there's a long very sad scene where they read the notes their wives left them, and the next episode is about them dealing with their shock and grief
mention in beth's dad fact in ep 29
ron tells the full story of his dad's death in E30 around 1:00:00 in the form of a "scary story", but it's very lacking in detail. about 1 minute long
the podcast is about them rescuing their kidnapped kids (they're kidnapped by slavers in the first episode and then later by the mysterious villains) but there's no trauma, the kids aren't actually in slavery and they're all having a great time
when they go to Rockport there's a vampire who abducted and turned all the kids in town into vampires (they all get rescued)
There are no traditional jumpscares, but beware whenever Willy is around; Anthony doesn't hold much back when it comes to him, and it's a big jump from the overall comedy of the show. His shouting definitely startled me. Be especially wary if abusive parents are a trigger
whenever the dads rescue one of their kids the kid is possessed by an unknown villain who speaks through them and taunts the dads and then makes the kid disappear, but they're unharmed
Towards the end of s1 ep56 there is a minor character who is a demon temporarily possessing the body of a mannequin. It is not played as creepy, and nothing creepy happens.
when they go to rescue nick in episode 7 there are drug flowers that cause different magical effects when you eat them including nausea. there's a lot of that in the next few episodes and it's a significant plot point
episode 16, skip five minutes around 1:23:00 the Library cuts off one of Darryl's hands and he v*s
skip the Witch is Dead interlude episode (20.5) or at least the last 20 minutes (it's very plot-relavent, but all you need to know is they successfully bring the witch back to life)
episode 21 the library vomits books as an attack in battle
skip darryl's dad fact in E25 (1:30 long) and there are jokes at 13:30 and 31:00 and there's a couple other nausea jokes
mention in E30 around 1:00:00 during Ron's "scary story"
E31 26:00 brief jokes when Lark eats the egg
E32 53:00-54:00 the orcs all die of poison just as they all jump from the cage to the ledge
E33 skip the cold open
E36 is very bad and practically all scat humor (Willy gives Darryl eldritch food poisoning). skip everything between the dad facts and when they come onto the field (around 42:00) and when ron goes back inside (1:11:00-1:16:00)
Guest episode 41.5 Flight Risk - Lime LaCroix when the dragon crashes 1:13:00
E46 the drug flowers are briefly discussed
Talking Dad #49 39:00
episode 51 (really bad): SKIP anthony's description of the prison yard (16:30 - 17:30) SKIP lunch (27:00 to 31:00)
ron shits himself in episode 6 (skip 35:30 - 40:20 but they keep talking about it after)
also E6 they all spit in the gas tank in order to power the car and it's gross (51:00 - 52:20)
in E18 they spend a long time looking for magic items in a giant toilet and spend the next few episodes dirty. very gross.
E20 there's a really long extremely gross fart joke from 1:03:30 - 1:06:15 (important plot stuff happens immediately after)
skip the last 15 minutes of the Witch is Dead interlude (20.5) there's a lot of really really gross spit jokes and scat humor (it's a very plot-relavent episode, but all you need to know is they successfully bring the witch back to life)
skip the first 60 secs of E21 + anthony's dad fact in E22
gross spit joke in the AirDND bit in E31 and then spit jokes abt the bartender from 15:00-24:00
E31 scatalogical humor in the dad facts and first minute or two
E36 is practically all scat humor (Willy gives Darryl eldritch food poisoning), skip everything between the dad facts and when they come onto the field (around 42:00) and when ron goes back inside (1:11:00-1:16:00)
41 ends with a fart joke when the old woman whispers in henry's ear
in 42 the food poisoning is mentioned again in the dm monologue
Kind of. The dads have occasional flirty moments that are played for laughs (Darryl and Henry kissing, Darryl and Glenn kissing, etc). !!Spoilers: Toward the end, Darryl falls in love with a barmaid allied with the dads but chooses not to cheat on his wife with her.
A character isn't "outed" per say or maliciously, in season 1 episode 17 a characters crush is revealed before they have a "coming out" moment, but there's nothing but support and love.
episode 14: a character sits on a chair and feels the pain of a needle pulling a memory out from him.
season 2 episode 10: a character uses needles an syringes to remove and store his memories, and removes and transfers those memories with another character
not really ? I do think the way they play one of the characters is like a person with mental illness, said person is like supported and praised for dealing with things are clearly hard for them but should be "normal".
one of the main antagonists is an incredibly abusive person and physically attacks the main characters. in the second season, they say that they probably have a mental illness
In s1 ep 55 the crew fight against a character who has two different "versions" of him possessing the same body and fighting over who gets control. The crew want only one of the versions (Scam Likely) to be in control and are trying to preform a spell that will remove the other version of himself (Well Actually). When the episode ends, Scam Likely has regained control (can't quite remember what happens to Well Actually) and he leaves.
Not sure how to answer this because Ron is kind of autistic-coded and his father was manipulative and abusive. He's not canonically autistic though and there's nothing to imply the abuse was because he is, it's just Willy being cruel.
Also, a lot of the humor in Ron's character is about him not getting stuff or missing social cues.
Edit- it actually occurs in s1 ep2. The character does not succeed or harm himself. He is magically forced to try to do it. I'm not sure of the timestamps but the scene doesn't last more than a minute. The episode isn't really plot relevant however so if you need to skip it you can.
the plot is around them being kidnaped to another world. The timeline is unstable (in a very well handled way). They had like "flatland" (the demotions of the universe, in very mathematical sense are questioned) scene in episode i think 61
In episode 56 (around 57:30) something really emotional happens to a character the actor playing him says that "he starts to have a panic attack". He does act slightly scared/paniced, but the panic attack isn't described further than that.
It’s implied but not said directly — after Cern loses his kids, he wants to use the entire deck of many things to try to get them back, and after being reminded that the deck could get him killed he explains how he’s okay with that because he has nothing else to live for
In episode 3 there's a lot about Darryl's body image issues, when he tries to fit into the soccer jersey and later when he loses it. It isn't really addressed after that, though
in episode 14 there are suicide jokes, there's a talking door in the vampire's tower that says "only walk through me if you want to end it all" and it turns out to be just a room that tells you how to kill a vampire
E24 one of the attacking bluecoats jumps out of the car and falls to their death
E39 around 56:00 Canary demonstrates the magic spell that prevents people from dying by trying to stab herself
some of the sound editing comes out of nowhere, anthony (as willy) will also start shouting mid sentence. nothing you shouldn't be able to see coming though.
in season 2 episode 2, some character are in a simulator version of their own lives which replays their experiences starting from inside the womb. the birth isn't described, but a character does roll to try to stay in the safety of the womb
Not sure how to answer this because they're generally pretty good about this, but Ron is kind of autistic-coded and a lot of his jokes are about him not getting stuff or missing social cues.
kind of. a character wears a skirt made out of paper for a while and it's kinda played for comedy, but it's less about him wearing feminine clothing and more about him not wearing underwear
a very minor side character early on who is spoken to once could be seen as homeless, he is described as the bleeding elf, and referred to as a landmark, and the party asks him for further directions.
In the last episode of season one there is a very important one that determines the fate of the next season, but the only end credit scenes before that are just things they cut out of the episode like a bad joke.
episode 28 the sound effect of a car horn is specifically used at the end of the episode.
much of season 1 takes place in a van, and characters/ the dm do describe honking the horn or tyres screeching on several occasions
when they fight the Library they make the minivan he's wearing on his back tip over and crash into the ground (it's empty)
besides actual crashes, Glenn's wife died in a car crash and Glenn gets to talk to her and relive that pain at the end of episode 28
E30 after they see the bird following them lark and sparrow try to commandeer the steering wheel and almost crash, including VFX of car tires screeching
episode 61 we see a memory where one character attempts to drown a second (holding his head underwater for some time), before the assailant accidentally falls in and hits his head and drowns. this is played very seriously.
SPOILER episode 68 (parts 1&2) there is a nuclear bomb that is set to go off, and placed into a magical space to explode away from the main characters and where the explosion is contained to the space, which is described in a comedic way.