# "Frankenstein" And The Craft Category Juggernauts with Bilge Ebiri

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/frankenstein-and-the-craft-category-juggernauts-with-bilge-ebiri
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/frankenstein-and-the-craft-category-juggernauts-with-bilge-ebiri.md
Podcast: [Critical Darlings](https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666)
Published: 2026-02-12T05:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI7490883803.mp3?updated=1774620230
Audio file: https://traffic.megaphone.fm/THI7490883803.mp3?updated=1774620230
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/frankenstein-and-the-craft-category-juggernauts-with-bilge-ebiri
Duration seconds: 5259

## Resource

This week we’re brooding, Victorian style, with Vulture’s Bilge Ebiri! Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein is a Best Picture nominee and is well represented in the craft categories, but it has only one acting nomination, for Jacob Elordi’s hulking monster. It’s of a piece with past craft-heavy Oscar contenders like Dune or The Lord of the Rings, but does Frankenstein actually stand a chance? We discuss the film itself, its lavish sets and costumes, del Toro’s choice to center the monster as the hero, and how that decision reshapes the monster’s opposite, Victor, played by Oscar Isaac. We also touch on the new Wuthering Heights, also starring Jacob Elordi, the history of Wuthering Heights adaptations, the shameless state of celebrity Super Bowl ads, and finally atone for our past sins, as Bilge defends previous subjects Train Dreams and Hamnet against our critiques. As it turns out, we were the monster all along. Subscribe to Richard's newsletter, ⁠Premiere Party,⁠ and read Alison's work ⁠at Vulture. ⁠Follow Critical Darlings on Instagram⁠⁠ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/critical-darlings-7771666/episodes/frankenstein-and-the-craft-category-juggernauts-with-bilge-ebiri/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/critical-darlings-7771666/frankenstein-and-the-craft-category-juggernauts-with-bilge-ebiri.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.