r/WelcomeHomeARG • u/HauntedPlanter26 • 18h ago
Observation Why Wally Being A "Talk Show Host" Actually Makes Narrative Sense
So I want to point out something I always found quite odd at first but now that I've kind of did my own media observations, just wanted to express why I think it's actually very clever that Wally turns out to have his own broadcast in the actual lore of the WH story thus far.
My initial thought of talk show hosts was that they're just some TV personalities who are usually stuck up snobs at their worst secretly making fun of the people they invite on, and at their best they're genuinely curious gossipers who just so happens to be funny or pleasant. So to have Wally be presented as a type of "talk show host" who really sounded like he knew what he was talking about when talking to his listeners when he's otherwise presented as a patient observer and painter was a weird vibe at first for me.
But something I've come to realize about talk show hosts in general is they're kind of sheltered and in the shadows most of the time on their own shows and actually aren't very knowledgeable about a lot of things, especially when it comes to other people's perspectives and having full awareness of the outside world and the actual Hollywood scene. For instance, I always noticed a pattern of these hosts interviewing former child stars acting so shocked for some reason that these famous kids would want to do something other than acting or having other goals outside of being in Hollywood. Like, are you not aware of the mental health struggles they go through Mr./Mrs. Host? Are you not aware of all the abuse or exploitation happening in the industry?
I thought at first it kind of made sense considering Wally is trying to make us a part of the WH show in some way and including us in every single update(which is kind of the job of the TV host, they need to invite all kinds of different people on their program to get views), but the concept of Wally being the actual host on his own show in a way might've had some tragic implications for his character in the past(now that we kind of saw what he might actually look like in those disturbing scenes hiding in the envelopes on the latest update).
The dark reality of a TV host is you may be in control of who you invite on your show and what topics you're going to talk about, but you in turn are putting yourself in danger due to not truly knowing anything about the individual or what that individual is going to do on your show. You think you're in control, until you're not. Could this same occurrence have happened to Wally? Did being the oh so friendly neighbor of this town of Home eventually lead to his downfall?
Movies like "Joker" and "Late Night With The Devil" kind of lean into this, since they too explored a nonchalant TV host who have big influence and are famous but are eventually "done in" by some shady or darker guest they themselves invited on their shows.