Da Vinci and Salai
The existence of a student of Leanardo Da Vinci named Salai isn’t as widely known as the famous Renaissance painter and scientist himself. The first episode did a good job of showing who Salai was without going full encyclopedia on the listener. The writer showed us both his backstory and character all within one scene. Add in the fact it was a lecture and the writer could’ve easily fallen into info dump territory, but keeps it interesting throughout the entire nine-episode arc. There was never a dull moment, especially on a conceptual level.
Past, Present, Renaissance
After doing double duty on characterization the story incepts the idea that maybe Salai is, in fact, a time traveler. As the series progresses, information is given to both contradict and reinforce the validity of his claims. By the end, you’re left with an ambiguous ending that works. No spoilers, but the acting and context from the Searching for Salai website blurs the line between reality and science fiction in a way that hasn’t been seen since the 2011 film “Limitless,” starring Bradley Cooper. Add in the fact Searching for Salai is entirely audible and the story is even more amazing. It’s easy to make a person feel like they’re on drugs in a movie. Doing something similar in an audio drama is transcendent.
Marketing and Reality
Part of the reason the inception works comes from the marketing team behind this story. Last Monday, a press release posted on the site on some behind the scenes of the production (BTS). However, it wasn’t your typical BTS content where the creators talk about how they made their product. When this was first submitted to the requests line, the immediate red flag it raised was whether this was fiction or non-fiction. Framing each episode like a true crime podcast blurred the lines even further to the point where you don’t know which is fact, fiction or something in between. The result is, even if for a brief moment, you believe time travel is possible.
If there was one flaw it’s in regards to marketing and not story. What real-world product were the creative team at SAP trying to promote? Having to wonder about how time travel related back to the marketing tactic of using a fictional podcast to sell a product made the enjoyment factor go down slightly.
4.5/5 Stars
Next Time
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