We’re nothing if not creatures of habit, so it’s only fitting that we cap off Season 2 of Ships Ahoy! by revisiting our most-frequently-discussed cinematic universe (Marvel) and asking our most-frequently-raised question (“Is this a ship?”). The focus here is Bob/Yelena from Thunderbolts* (2025), followed by Johnny/Shalla-Bal from The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025).

Timestamps:

4:39 - brief SamBucky interlude

6:51 - Bob/Yelena (Thunderbolts*)

55:00 - Johnny/Shalla-Bal (The Fantastic Four: First Steps)

🎥Shownotes:

14:50 - Yelena's first shame room (and waking up beside Bob)

36:30 - Yelena and Bob have a heart-to-heart.

43:30 - The iconic "I'm here" group hug scene.

46:40 - The Collider interview where the director of Thunderbolts* addresses the relationship between Yelena and Bob...

1:46:49 - A wonderful fanfic story that imagines a post-movie conversation between Sue and Johnny.

***Disclaimer: this episode was actually recorded a whopping six months ago(…), and for a handful of frankly nonsensical reasons, we haven’t released it until now… after three out of the four ships have already had their onscreen follow-ups (it’s fine — don’t worry about it 😅). Even though this episode is almost entirely out-of-date, we had a really fun time with it, so we decided to still share it with the world.***

This week, we’re putting our crystal balls to the test as we try predicting the outcome of four (or maybe five…) ships all with follow-up scheduled for sometime in 2025. We’re focusing on Steven and Taylor (The Summer I Turned Pretty Season 3), Sam and Bucky (MCU), Steve and Nancy and/or Nancy and Jonathan (Stranger Things Season 5), and Buck and Eddie (9-1-1 Season 8). Admittedly, the last time we made predictions on-air they didn’t work out so well (#sylkiforever), but that hasn’t stopped us from once again hoping for the best (but also expecting the worst).

Timestamps:

0:00 - Steven/Taylor (The Summer I Turned Pretty)

21:21 - Sam/Bucky (Captain America: Brave New World)

49:22 - Steve/Nancy, Nancy/Jonathan (Stranger Things)

1:20:49 - Buck/Eddie (9-1-1)

🎥Shownotes:

18:38 - Steven & Taylor’s romantic dance to Moon River.

24:43 - Jill’s op-ed on the value of SamBucky in the MCU.

31:37 - Bucky visiting Sam in the hospital in Brave New World.

39:01 - An excellent SamBucky fic that presents Bucky’s POV in the aforementioned hospital scene.

57:08 - Jonathan searching for Nancy while she’s trapped in the Upside Down.

1:00:37 - Nancy and Jonathan’s sleepover.

1:02:55 - Nancy’s post-sleepover epiphany.

1:05:15 - Steve, Jonathan, and Nancy killing the Demogorgon.

1:42:03 - Buck offering to sublet Eddie’s house.

As we always say, we're constantly on the lookout for new romantic subplots. In this episode, Christina brings on (her very first!) guest podcaster to discuss the Academy Award-nominated movie, The Wrestler. Join us as we reflect on the budding, but ultimately tragic, romance between Randy and Pam.

🎥Shownotes:

0:00 - The trailer for The Wrestler.

6:10 - The opening scene where you can see the highlights of Randy's career as "The Ram".

14:40 - The final scene between Randy/"The Ram" and Pam.

17:20 - ⁠The moment in the bar⁠ where Randy and Pam first realize that they have feelings for each other.

19:51 - ⁠The heartbreaking ending credits song⁠ (by Bruce Springsteen) that fits perfectly with the theme of the movie.