Welcome to my first attempt to ramp up my blogging in late 2021! A new weekly series called Township Tuesdays, which will explore different story elements of the various seasons in greater detail, a chance for me to muse and do a little world building in the process! Today I wanted to talk about the major location for many episodes of Township, and then work out from there! So without too much of an intro, let’s talk about Town.
Origins
The town.
The citizens haven’t really called it anything else. It’s always just been Town. I dare say at this point, Town is the literal name of the town.
The main strip of buildings in town weren’t built by any of the citizens living there now. They were discovered, fully constructed, as detailed briefly by Oliver Lafayette in S1E5: Monetized Menus. At the time of the town’s discovery, there were roughly twelve citizens that had arrived from the Core.
The main strip had buildings that covered most of the needs of the citizens, including a Town Hall for governing, a bank for supplies and commerce, a restaurant where food could be cooked in large quantities, small shops for trading goods, and even a doctor’s office! In addition, there were plenty of apartments throughout the buildings that citizens could take up as their residences.
Expansion
By the time of S1E3: Town Life, citizens were having to figure out living arrangements for new arrivals from the Core. The “Main Six”, the acting quorum of citizens that guided policy in Town, were well aware that the numbers were growing beyond the scope of the main street, and they soon started ironing out plans to introduce a currency, a real government, and expand their current borders.
In S1E7: Cinema Dilemma, an unused movie theater is claimed for the Explorer Group to use as their own Mission Control.
In S1E9: The Architect, we learn that William Everett, a relatively new arrival from the Core, is also an architect. Rayland Walsh, the de facto leader of the “Main Six” wants to use William’s talent to spearhead new construction projects and grow the town, promoting himself as the instigator and securing his place at the head of the developing government. We learn during this episode that the World Ship has a large area known as the Warehouse, full of raw materials that can be crafted into a variety of building supplies as needed.
In S2E3: Opportunities, Rayland Walsh contacts William Everett, making a deal to let him build a new diner in town as a way to distract citizens from other news.
By S2E6: The Everett Family, we see that William has become a very powerful figure in Town. He oversees the construction of new homes, some in Town and some beyond main street. As he continues to focus on building homes away from Town, more citizens begin to talk about the Frontier.
Competition
Over time, Rayland grows concerned that citizens are spreading out across the Frontier, which makes it harder to keep tabs on everyone if there’s ever a dangerous situation. After the climactic events of S2E12 and S2E13: All Downhill from Here, it’s more imperative than ever to Rayland that people be gathered together.
It isn’t until S3E13 and S2E14: Holiday Special – Mount Machina that we see William again, and we learn that he has been busy building his own festive village in the mountains. The wintery settlement has snow year-round, and because of William’s own flashes of holiday cheer, he is driven to create and spread good will toward all of the citizens to give them a distraction from the other chaos of the World Ship.
Likewise, in S3E10: The Hub, we learn that an entire city exists in a part of the World Ship known as the Upper Level. As more population centers start to emerge, Rayland Walsh and his burgeoning government find they have some competition around them.
In S5E4: Everett’s Lament, Rayland discovers that William Everett has taken to calling himself the Mayor of Winter Village. While Rayland sees this as a personal attack on his authority, the rest of the town council is mostly unaffected.
At the conclusion of the fifth season of Township, it is clear that Town is the controlling settlement of the Lower Level. Despite the size of the Hub, its location tucked away in the Upper Level keeps it from direct involvement in many of the stories, and Winter Village continues to be a place of escape rather than trying to force itself into the spotlight.
Leadership
Rayland Walsh serves as the town’s mayor. His administration is as follows:
- Food and Drug Oversight: Oliver Lafayette (S1-S3), Nancy Rizzo (S4-Present)
- Center for Citizen Health and Safety: Caleb Vann (S1-S4), Nima Patel (S5-Present)
- Banking and Commerce Administration: Bryan Steeles (S1-Present)
- Housing and Urban Development: William Everett (S2-Present)
- Explorer’s Group: Olivia Sun (S1-S3), Elsie Lamarr (S4-Present)
- Press Secretary: Jonathan Davis (S5)
Conclusion
The story of Town is both simple and complex. The mysteries of who built the initial settlement remain elusive, but since moving in, the citizens of the World Ship have made Town a central part of their story.
You can check out all of the exciting adventures by reading Township right now for free!
TechnicoolDad 