DEEP CUTS Episode 63: What Makes a Compelling Villain

The gang got the dormantus that will let Dante blackmail Callista to get Lincoln’s son out of purgatory, but there’s a problem. Anyone can have the dormantus… the trick is to leave with it, and there is a mob of angry pus cultists who don’t want that to happen, and a passel of polyps dead set on turning Billy into an anemone bush. Billy tried to solve things peacefully, but the cultists wouldn’t let him. He’s killed and will have to kill again if he’s to escape the fate the polyps have in mind. The polyps tried to paralyze Billy, but missed him and instead paralyzed Mercutio. With Merc draped over Lincoln’s shoulders, Linc, Billy, Armor-Magda, Faceless/Callista, and Cray Cray Bray have to get past the cultists blocking the way to the transit chamber and the totem that will get them the hell out of there. Can the gang beat the odds and make it out alive? Created by Scott Sigler and Rob Otto Written and performed by Scott Sigler Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Theme music is the song “They’re Watching Me” by SUPERWEAPON. Surround yourself with the GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 to save 99% off the first year of a new dot-com domain registration. Get your business crunkin’, fool! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As summer 2025 winds down, Scott & A chat about the movies they saw and loved this summer, and at least one they’re looking forward to before summer’s end! Deep Cuts is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs Produced by Steve Riekeberg Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  I’d love to see what Ryan Coogler or Jordan Peele would talk about if they snagged a 3-year .com domain and saved 99% on the first year with GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG. I know it would scare the pants off me and be spectacular! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Linc and the gang have Callista’s dormantus, but can they escape through the cultists and the… um… “happy to see you” polyps? A mob of cultists, polyps that want Billy, Alarm Mushrooms, and more–It’s wall-to-wall carnage as Callista’s defenses dig in to stop the theft.  Created by Scott Sigler and Rob Otto Written and performed by Scott Sigler Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Theme music is the song “They’re Watching Me” by SUPERWEAPON. Is that the GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3 in your pants, or are you just happy to see a 99% discount on your new domain registration? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scott started podcasting in March of 2005, and Evo Terra was already an expert in the space even then. Two decades later, they sat down to chat about friendship,  podcasting, how podcasts have changed, and where it’s going. Deep Cuts is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs Produced by Steve Riekeberg Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Even way back then, GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG would have been awesome and could save ninety-nine percent  on a new  dot com domain registration! Blogging goes great with everything! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Thanks to a resurgent Cray-Cray Bray, Linc and the gang got past the Alarm Mushrooms and have just entered the polyp chamber. It’s time to meet the cultists, see the evil Callista has wrought, and experience the moving trauma that are the free-ranging polyps. Mercutio wants out of this nightmare, Dante wants Callista’s dormantus, Lincoln wants his son back, Cray-Cray and Faceless want their gold, Magda wants to help Linc, and wants to protect Billy. And Billy? He wants his booty left alone. Created by Scott Sigler and Rob Otto Written and performed by Scott Sigler Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Theme music is the song “They’re Watching Me” by SUPERWEAPON. Bungs are best protected by the GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3, which removed 99% from the first-year cost of a new three-year dot-com domain registration. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The FDØ ramps up for Dragon*Con in Atlanta. How does a creative get ready for a big shindig like this?  We cover the stuff you should bring, how to take care of yourself while there, how to interact with fans, how to not get bubonic plague, etc. Deep Cuts is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs Produced by Steve Riekeberg Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Forget the hero, I’m holding out for GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG, so I can save 99% on my new .com domain registration! It’s easy, and you all should be doing it too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Magda, who controls the Cursed Armor of Sir Arnault the Pure, continues to carry the comatose Cray-Cray Bray. Lincoln realized he’s using those around him in a way not that different from how Callista uses him—without kidnapping their children and putting them in purgatory, guarded by a huge Naga, of course—but still. Billy knows he must control his fire-that-is-not fire if the quest is to succeed. Dante and Faceless, who is posing as Callista herself, lead the way. Created by Scott Sigler and Rob Otto Written and performed by Scott Sigler Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Theme music is the song “They’re Watching Me” by SUPERWEAPON. He ain’t heavy, he’s my GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3, which takes the weight off a new dot-com registration by saving 99% off the first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone’s the hero of their own story, but what makes a truly great fictional hero? Better yet, what makes an exceptional Sigler hero? We deep dive into what attributes make Scott’s protagonists truly compelling and memorable. Deep Cuts is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs Produced by Steve Riekeberg Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Forget the hero, I’m holding out for GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG, so I can save 99% on my new .com domain registration! It’s easy, and you all should be doing it too! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Dante Oganov, the Adidas tracksuit-wearing goblin drug lord, is closer than ever to getting the goods on Callista. He’s about to learn why no one has ever before penetrated her booby-trapped catacombs located deep beneath the Anwick Poison Gardens. With Cray-Cray Bray still in a coma, the gang heads toward the next trap—the gravity chamber.  Linc needs to keep his mind on the job, yet his thoughts drift toward his son, trapped on the Shelf, and the dressing down he got from Faceless in the last episode. Created by Scott Sigler and Rob Otto Written and performed by Scott Sigler Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  Theme music is the song “They’re Watching Me” by SUPERWEAPON. He ain’t heavy, he’s my GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG3, which takes the weight off a new dot-com registration by saving 99% off the first year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every great hero needs a villain. Even more essential? For every protagonist to have a compelling antagonist.  What does it take to have an antagonist that readers hate, but also hate to love?  Scott & A talk compelling villains and why we love them. Deep Cuts is created by Scott Sigler and A B Kovacs Produced by Steve Riekeberg Production Assistance by Allie Press Copyright 2025 by Empty Set Entertainment  All I wanna do is love to hate the bad guy, and if I want to blog about it all day I’d use  GoDaddy Promo Code CJCFOSSIG, to save ninety-nine percent on a new dot-com registration. You should, too. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices