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This article contains canon information corresponding to the Tales of Arcadia franchise. That means all information in this article is true and has appeared/been validated officially on-screen. |
- “Arcadia is a hotbed for supernatural activity. Some confirmed, some I've yet to scratch the surface of. Yes. Right now, I've got more questions than answers. But now that we have proof, so many possibilities are open to us. There's a whole other world that we don't know anything about. Creatures living in the shadows...monsters living amongst us. But what do they want? Are they friends...or not? Whatever they are, someone or something in Arcadia is at the center of this, covering it up. Why does no one know? Who's hiding the creepers from the world?”
- ―Eli to Steve in "Creepslayerz"
Elijah "Eli" Pepperjack is one of the main stars in the Tales of Arcadia franchise. He appears as a major character in Trollhunters, 3Below, and Wizards.
History
Backstory
Not much is known about Eli's background, but it would seem that he has been bullied and suspicious about the other realms for quite for some time.
One day, Eli spotted Bular and Kanjigar battling on the bridge and decided to go tell everyone about it, believing it to be some sort of elaborate conspiracy.
Part One (Trollhunters)
Discovering the Trolls
When Eli claims tells everyone what he saw last night, Steve shoves him into a locker, believing him to be making it up. When Jim comes to Eli's defense, Steve challenges him to a fight, which Coach Lawrence breaks up, but Steve is still willing to fight later.
That night, Eli sees Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!!!, and Bular running right by his window, which proves that he did see the trolls outside of his house, so he sets out to stop them from taking over the world, apparently as part of some sort of alien invasion that he has been looking into recently.
One night, a mailman arrives at Eli's house, delivering a package of spy gear to him (possibly to use for helping him prove he was right about the trolls), but Eli wasn't present, so the driver left a sticky note promising to deliver again the following night. He then sees a smashed goblin outside of his house and takes a photo of it on his phone. When he shows it to the kids on a field trip the next day, Toby takes the phone, sees the photo and quickly deletes it, destroying Eli's evidence. He also becomes the narrator for the school play.
Later that night, Eli finally receives his package and gives it a shake, assuming it to be unassembled, unaware that the driver had dropped it several times. The driver then quickly asked if he could use Eli's restroom, leading both of them to miss the swarm of goblins devouring the delivery truck.
Spring Fling
Sometime after Jim, Claire, and their friends defeat Bular, the spring dance starts coming up and Jim, Eli, and Steve are nominated for prom king. They compete for a theme for the dance. Steve comes up with a luau theme, Eli comes up with an 80s theme, and Jim accidentally comes up with the idea of moles. Jim's theme is the winner.
A couple of days later, Eli competes against the other nominees in a contest on who can hold their hand onto a truck the longest. A couple of hours later, when Señor Uhl leaves, Eli is put in charge of keeping the peace between Jim and Steve, who start fighting. Eli wins the competition since he never took his hand off of the truck.
Eli later participates in the book stacking challenge. Just as another bully was about to slap down his stack to allow Steve to win, Jim used the Kairosect to freeze time, during which he moved the bully to knock down Steve's stack, allowing Eli to win again.
During the Spring Fling dance, Eli gets disappointed when Steve miraculously wins the title of prom king (despite Eli being the true winner).
Part Two (Trollhunters)
Jim Lake Disease
When Jim goes into the Darklands to get Enrique back, Claire and Toby cover up Jim’s absence by saying that he has a terminal illness. Eli is the only person who is actually concerned for Jim and asks everyone for donations. When Jim comes back to Earth, Eli instantly runs up to Jim and hugs him, with tears of joy in his eyes. Toby then tells Eli to get off of Jim.
Forming the Creepslayerz
In class, Eli is paired with Steve to carry out the project of taking care of a baby made from a sack of flour to the discontent of both. That night, Steve captures a Goblin in his garage. He goes to Eli for help, but Eli assumes he is going to hurt him again. Steve assures Eli that this is not the case, and he shows him the goblin. He reveals the investigations he has been doing about the "paranormal events" that take place in Arcadia. Deducing that there is someone who conceals the monsters, the Goblin reveals them through a talking toy that is Jim and tells them to kill him. Both decide to take the Goblin to the police. but due to a car accident, they end up letting him escape. There, Eli and Steve decide to work together to eliminate Jim themselves, forming the “Creepslayerz”, a team that rids Arcadia of "creeps."
After discovering what would happen in the museum by spying and listening half to Jim and his companions in his house, the two go there with the intention of preventing it. Eli meets the Gruesome while Steven discovers that Jim is not a monster and that he is in fact, a hero. Eli and Steve end up being the ones who destroy the Gruesome by sacrificing their baby of flour, without anyone noticing their actions. Upon returning home, both decide to keep the secret to help Jim if they need it, and become friends, although Steve decides to continue bothering Eli to "manage appearances."
Saturday Detention
Steve and Eli purposely get Saturday detention, when they discover that the Trollhunters have been sent to detention as well, which actually helps them investigate what’s been going on with them and then the supernatural realm.
When Toby throws something at Eli for being so nosy, Steve throws it back in defense, but pushes Eli down afterward to hide their newfound friendship. When Señor Uhl goes to the bathroom, the kids start to have fun together and bond throughout the school.
Later, when the possessed Draal shows up to kill Jim, Steve secretly eavesdrops on the battle, not knowing that Jim has also found out about the eavesdropping.
Saving the Trolls
Eli and Steve later receive a call for help from Jim, having them bring a series of umbrellas to help the trolls fleeing Heartstone Trollmarket shield themselves from the sun after Gunnar took over. Later, come nightfall, after the Trollhunters successfully teleport the remaining trolls, the Creepslayerz, and the Trollhunters celebrate, before asking Jim for explanations. Eli and Steve officially become the newest allies of the Trollhunters.
Part Three (Trollhunters)
Bad Coffee
When Jim accidentally feeds the teacher’s a can of Gumm-Gumm ashes called Gravesand, they become feral and start to act more troll-like, aggressive, and cruel towards the students. Eli and Steve confront Jim about it and demand him to find a way to fix this mess. Jim calls Strickler (who gave him the ashes in the first place) for some advice. Strickler informs Jim that the only way to calm the teacher’s down is to look into their hearts and emotionally connect with them before their altered states become permanent.
First, to protect the students from the "spiked" teachers, Toby tricks them into evacuating the premises by telling them a food truck is outside. When Strickler has been force-fed the powder, Jim decides to cure him while Toby takes Uhl, Steve (naturally) takes Lawrence, and Eli takes Janeth.
Eli goes to the auditorium, where he finds Ms. Janeth doing some sort of soliloquy. When she sees Eli, she begins trying to drop things on him. Eli tries to defend himself with a cardboard sword, but it doesn't work. When she recites another play quote, Eli decides to recite with her and tells her how great a teacher she is, causing the effects to wear off.
The Eternal Night War
At the end of the school year, Eli and Steve attend the Battle of the Bands, watching Aja and Krel performing on stage. When Claire arrives on stage, she tries to inform every one of the Eternal Night, but nobody takes it seriously except for Eli, Steve, Aja, and Krel. Just then, Morgana arises from the center of the town and the Gumm-Gumms start attacking the town, ready to start their reign of terror.
Eli and Steve use their Creepslayer weapons and teamwork to help fight off the Gumm-Gumms. Just when one of them is about attacking them, Nomura jumps in front of the Gumm-Gumm and defends them. Steve and Eli are awestruck by Nomura's beauty. When Morgana and Angor are defeated, Eli and Steve introduce the Trolls to those present at the front of the school entrance.
Part One (3Below)
Suspicious of Aja and Krel
As soon as Aja and Krel's spaceship crashes into Arcadia, it disguises itself as a regular house. Eli becomes interested and decides to deliver a newspaper to their door. As soon as their door opens, Eli lets himself in and begins looking at all of their stuff, leading to Vex throwing him out on the curb.
Later that day, Krel and Aja order Eli to take them to the science lab (in hopes that they will find a Daxial Array there). This only leads to them getting in trouble with the principal and Eli becoming suspicious of the newcomers. That night, Eli secretly follows the royals home and sees them in their true forms.
The next day, Eli goes to Aja and Krel's house to further investigate their true alien forms. He notices the Momblank sweeping up the front of the house, leading the Momblank chasing him and the boy running away in fear. Aja and Krel believe that he may pose a threat to their mission, so they create a pair of mind reading glasses to see what he plans to do.
On a field trip to the science museum, Eli tells Steve about what he saw, but Steve doesn't believe him. While Aja distracts Steve, Krel uses his mind-reading glasses to cover up his true identity by saying that his alien form was just a costume.
Driver's ED
Eli joins Aja, Krel, and Shannon at their Driver's Ed class to get a driver's license. He asks Aja and Krel if they drive on the right side of the road in "Cantaloupia", which they clearly misunderstand and also causes Eli to become more suspicious of them again. While Eli begs Coach Lawrence if he could "Tokyo Drift", he instead tells him to practice his parallel parking (much to Eli's dismay).
Science Fair and Time Loop
Steve tells Eli to do his volcano project, but Eli refuses.
Hunting the Billycraggle
Eli tells Steve of an old urban legend called, "The Billycraggle", which apparently comes once every century and asks Steve to help him find it, but Steve refuses because of his reputation and he has a date with Aja. During their shared Algebra class, Eli decides to invite Krel to hang out instead, to which Krel begrudgingly agrees.
That night, Eli and Krel go to the woods to look for the Billycraggle, although Krel keeps questioning the legend (such as how anyone could possibly know it only comes out every century). Just then, Zeron Omega emerges from the bushes and Eli foolishly tries to talk to her, despite Krel's warnings. When Omega strikes Eli and he goes crashing deeper into the forest, Krel fights Omega off long enough to let the two of them escape to the bonfire, where Aja and Steve were on their date. Eli tries to tell the other teenagers there of the Billycraggle attack but they laugh at him and dismiss it as a campfire story.
When Eli and the teens at the bonfire notice loud noises coming from the forest, courtesy of Aja and Krel fighting the Zeron Brotherhood, they all run away fearfully. Eli reassures a worried Steve that Aja is safely away from the site before following the others while riding Steve's vespa (Steve himself being too panicked to drive).
Area 49-B Conspiracy
Eli gives an oral report on some sort of alleged alien sighting from the 1950s and took the flying saucer to one of the government's most top-secret facilities that deals with extraterrestrial research: Area 49-B. While Uhl dismisses it as a bunk, Aja and Krel were inspired to find this secret base to help find a part for the Daxial Array and repair their ship.
The Earthquakes
With Steve taken hostage by the Zeron Brotherhood, along with Aja and Krel, Eli investigates the canals as the earthquakes become more frequent (due to the manifestation of the Eternal Night). When Steve tries to call for help, Eli accidentally drops his phone as it falls through a hole created in the canals.
Battle of the Bands and Discovering Aliens
Sometime after the Eternal Night ends, Eli sees Aja and Krel in their alien forms and takes a picture of them. It is quite possible that after this, Eli shows the photo to Toby as he reveals Arcadia's supernatural activity to him, including wizards. However, it's still unknown what he really intends to use the photo for.
Part Two (3Below)
TBA...
Physical Appearance
Eli is a very petite teenage boy, with black and messy hair parted to the left and shorter on the sides. He wears a green v-neck shirt, light brown cargo shorts, a black belt with a silver buckle, white socks, dark teal square glasses, and black trainers. He happens to be scrawny as he is not very athletic, and he is rather short, though not as much as Toby.
In 3Below, Eli's hair appears to be more brown than black. He now wears dark blue shorts instead of light brown, and his green shirt is slightly darker than in Trollhunters. He has also become more fit and somewhat muscled, presumably because of Steve's influence.
Personality
Eli is seen to be an awkward and disliked person at school, despite his best efforts. He seems to be somewhat of a mama's boy, since he is remorseful whenever he talks back at his mother or disobeys her. He also seems to have a knack for acting and theater, since he was the narrator for the school play.
Although naturally kind and well-meaning, Eli is very nosy and is almost always sticking his nose in where it shouldn't belong, no matter how annoyed his target of suspicion becomes or if the target's situation doesn't concern him. His overdetermination and overeagerness to prove the existence of supernatural creatures often puts him and the "real" protectors of Arcadia in harms way. He also has a tendency to jump into conclusions far too quickly, as he immediately suspected that Jim was a bad guy and was helping the "creepers" take over the world, but later learns that he's a Trollhunter and helping good trolls. He fearfully tries to run away from Aja and Krel, thinking they are hostile aliens trying to kidnap him, but they only wanted to convince him that they were just cosplaying. He even thought that Zeron Omega was a good guy, despite the obvious fact that she was not, and ignored Krel's warnings.
These traits most likely reveal that Eli is (quite possibly) diagnosed with paranoid personality disorder. He tends to act initially suspicious towards almost anyone he talks to (including his own friends, like Jim and Krel), is completely eager when it comes to exposing the supernatural to the whole world, and he generally thinks that he and everyone in Arcadia is in constant danger (which, in a way, is true).
In Trollhunters, Eli became aware of the existence of troll life after he saw Blinky, AAARRRGGHH!!!, and Bular run by his window, but no one believes him when he tries to tell them. He tries to get more proof of the supernatural worlds' existence, but he usually ends up losing all his evidence or gets beat up. In Part Two, Eli starts to get more focus than he did in the previous chapter. When Steve captures a goblin, Eli explains how he’s been documenting the supernatural conspiracy for years. Since he and Steve became best friends and started investigating the paranormal activity, he seems to have grown a bit of a spine.
In 3Below, Eli becomes a lot more nosy than he was in Trollhunters when he first witnessed the Mothership appear in the sky. He begins to spy on Aja and Krel after he saw them in their alien forms, but somewhat holds back after Krel manages to convince him that they were only cosplaying. However, after realizing that he saw a spaceship (the reprogramed Mothership) and that Aja and Krel's house is gone, he immediately rushes to the scene and snaps some clean pictures of them in their true forms, now more determined to show proof that there are aliens in Arcadia. He then decides to let go of this, since he now knows that Aja and Krel don't mean any harm to the planet.
Abilities
Above-Average Physiology
Eli has shown to be able to withstand a whack from Zeron Omega, who is far beyond human levels of strength. Not only that, but he also rolled down a steep hill. This circumstance will easily cut or break a human's bones. He is able to kill several goblins in the Eternal Night War. Prior to Trollhunters he is shown to take bullying from Steve Palchuk, a strong jock, with no visible injuries. Despite that, he is weak and mentioned that his ankles are frail.
Observance
Eli is pretty observant of what goes on in Arcadia and often does research on the paranormal worlds of the trolls, aliens, and wizards. He uses a bulletin board to put his clues together and tries to come to the best conclusion possible.
In 3Below, he was constantly interested and suspicious of Aja and Krel and noticed that there was something "alien" about them (how they looked different, the way they spoke, and how Krel remarked about [Earth's] technology being beyond primitive). He later discovers that they really are actual aliens from space, taking a clear photo of them.
Driving
Despite no prior training, Eli is able to stunt-drive pretty well, even Tokyo Drifting perfectly for the first time.
Amateur Combatant
Eli showns that his combat skill are less than Toby, much less any trained warrior like Aja and Jim, but he knows how to use his weapons and fight minor enemies for a short time.
Equipment
Mace
Eli uses mace to fend for himself against his foes, in the same vein that cops use pepper spray to blind criminals.
Shurikens
Eli keeps shurikens in his toy chest, so he can use them someday. He uses them to throw at the enemies and trap them up against the wall.
Umbrellas
Eli and Steve used the umbrellas from the upcoming school play to help protect the trolls from sunlight.
Baseball bat
Eli is shown using a baseball bat to fend off goblins with Steve during the Eternal Night.
Creepslayer Uniform
Eli has protection from the black helmet and shirt, as well as being able to sneak around at night easier.
Relationships
Steve Palchuk
Initially, Steve always made Eli’s life at school a living hell, such as violently shoving him into a locker, making him do his homework, forcing Eli to put money in his bank account, or knocking down his books when he's carrying them.
Eventually, when Steve captured a goblin, he turned to Eli for some help and Eli told him of the information he has gathered on the supernatural activity in Arcadia. The two decided to work together to fight the supernatural activity by becoming "The Creepslayerz", a ragtag group of paranormal heroes. After their first night of investigating, Steve and Eli become friends, but Steve decides to hide the fact that they're friends for the sake of Steve's reputation, and Eli complies. At the end of the series, after the world is saved from Gunmar and Morgana, Steve and Eli reveal to the teachers and students that they are best pals.
In 3Below, Steve is the first person Eli would go to when he tries to explain that there are aliens in Arcadia. However, Steve maintains an understandably skeptic attitude towards Eli's accusations (unless he has truth-worthy evidence). After Eli discovers that Steve has known about Aja and Krel being aliens before he did, he was clearly hurt and disappointed that he never told him. In Part Two, they both remain close, but Steve was happy yet sad that Eli left Arcadia to join Aja on Akiridion-5.
Jim Lake Jr.
Jim is the only person that has stood up for Eli against Steve's bullying and locker-stuffing. Due to this, Eli has always idolized and admired him. When Jim was in the Darklands and Toby and Claire covered up for his absence by claiming he had a terminal illness, Eli was completely concerned for his well-being and starting collecting donations to try finding a cure for him. When Jim finally returned to school, Eli rushed up to him with a hug, overjoyed that he was alive. He even tells Steve that he thinks of Jim as the greatest guy in the world.
However, he begins to have second thoughts when he and Steve start investigating some of the strange events happening in Arcadia, in which Jim is connected. The duo initially believes that Jim is evil and planning to take over the town and try to stop him, but are soon proven that whatever Jim is involved in, he's not an enemy(much to Eli's relief). Eventually, Steve and Eli are called to help the trolls of Heartstone Trollmarket escape from their former home. In the aftermath of the escape, Eli requests for Jim to eventually answer his many questions about the trolls and Jim agrees. It is presumed that they have a mutual friendship by then.
It is unknown if Eli is aware of Jim's departure from Arcadia and his transformation, though given that he reveals Aja and Krel's true forms to Toby, it is likely that he knows that Jim's unavailable.
Toby Domzalski
Eli and Toby don't have much interaction over the series, but they have a fairly decent relationship, though not as close as the latter's friendship with Jim, and later on, Claire. In a promotional video for the Tales of Arcadia trilogy, it is seen that of all people, Eli phones Toby to show him the pressing information of the monsters and supernatural creatures living in Arcadia (most likely due to Jim leaving town with Claire and the trolls).
Krel Tarron
Eli was instantly suspicious of Krel when he first spied on him and witnessed his and Aja's true forms. Krel was instantly against the idea of causing any harm to Eli. So, he instead uses a mind reader to convince Eli that he and his sister were just cosplaying.
It's unknown how they feel about each other, but Krel has shown some annoyance towards Eli's conspiracies and how he almost always spies on him and his sister, but holds no animosity towards him. Eli then asked Krel if he would help him track a Billycraggle and mistakes Zeron Omega as a creeper, despite Krel's warnings. At the end of Part One, Eli takes a picture of Krel and Aja in their aliens forms, unaware to them.
In Part Two, Eli confronts Krel and his sister and accuses them as alien invaders (just as their transduction effects wear off). Steve then defends the siblings from Eli and explains that they mean no harm. Both Eli and Toby agree to help Krel create a fan film "Kleb or Alive" featuring Krel and tells him that they are friends, to his delight.
Aja Tarron
Aja and Eli have had little interactions throughout Part One of 3Below, but it's clear that, despite Eli constant suspicions, they view each as mutual friends. At the end of Part One, he takes a clean picture of her and Krel in their alien forms.
In Part Two, Eli confronts Aja and Krel and mistakes them as "dirty aliens". When Eli tries to attack them, Steve stops him and explains that they're good Akiridions. Aja and Eli become good friends in the end. At the end of "A Glorious End, Part Two", Eli excitedly decides to join Aja on Akiridion-5 as an "earth ambassador".
Quotes
Main article: Eli Pepperjack/Quotes
Episode Appearances
| Trollhunters Part 1 | ||
| "Becoming: Part 1" Appears |
"Becoming: Part 2" Appears | |
| "Wherefore Art Thou, Trollhunter?" Appears |
"Gnome Your Enemy" Appears | |
| "Waka Chaka!" Appears |
"Win Lose or Draal" Appears | |
| "To Catch a Changeling" Appears |
"Adventures in Trollsitting" Absent | |
| "Bittersweet Sixteen" Absent |
"Young Atlas" Appears | |
| "Recipe for Disaster" Absent |
"Claire and Present Danger" Appears | |
| "The Battle of Two Bridges" Appears |
"Return of the Trollhunter" Appears | |
| "Mudslinging" Appears |
"Roaming Fees May Apply" Absent | |
| "Blinky's Day Out" Absent |
"The Shattered King" Absent | |
| "Airheads" Appears |
"Where Is My Mind?" Appears | |
| "Party Monster" Absent |
"It's About Time" Appears | |
| "Wingmen" Absent |
"Angor Management" Absent | |
| "A Night to Remember" Appears |
"Something Rotten This Way Comes" Absent | |
| Trollhunters Part 2 | ||
| "Escape from the Darklands" Absent |
"Skullcrusher" Appears | |
| "Grand Theft Otto" Appears |
"KanjigAAARRRGGHH!!!" Absent | |
| "Homecoming" Absent |
"Hiss Hiss, Bang Bang" Appears | |
| "Hero with a Thousand Faces" Absent |
"Just Add Water" Appears | |
| "Creepslayerz" Appears |
"The Reckless Club" Appears | |
| "Unbecoming" Appears |
"Mistrial and Error" Absent | |
| "In the Hall of the Gumm-Gumm King" Appears | ||
| Trollhunters Part 3 | ||
| "Night Patroll" Absent |
"Arcadia's Most Wanted" Absent | |
| "Bad Coffee" Appears |
"So I'm Dating a Sorceress" Absent | |
| "The Exorcism of Claire Nunez" Absent |
"Parental Guidance" Absent | |
| "The Oath" Absent |
"For the Glory of Merlin" Absent | |
| "In Good Hands" Absent |
"A House Divided" Absent | |
| "Jimhunters" Absent |
"The Eternal Knight: Part 1" Appears | |
| "The Eternal Knight: Part 2" Appears | ||
| 3Below Part 1 | ||
| "Terra Incognita Part One" Appears |
"Terra Incognita Part Two" Appears | |
| "Mind Over Matter" Appears |
"Beetle Mania" Absent | |
| "Collision Course" Appears |
"D'aja Vu" Appears | |
| "Flying the Coop" Cameo |
"Party Crashers" Appears | |
| "Lightning in a Bottle" Absent |
"The Arcadian Job" Appears | |
| "Truth Be Told" Appears |
"Last Night on Earth" Appears | |
| "Bad Omen" Appears | ||
| 3Below Part 2 | ||
| "Moving Day" Appears |
"Moonlight Run" Appears | |
| "Dogfight Days of Summer" Appears |
"Mother's Day" Absent | |
| "Ill Gotten Gains" Appears |
"There's Something About Gwen (of Gorbon)" Appears | |
| "Asteroid Rage" Appears |
"Luug's Day Out" Appears | |
| "The Fall of House Tarron" Appears |
"The Big Sleep" Appears | |
| "Race to Trollmarket" Appears |
"A Glorious End, Part One" Appears | |
| "A Glorious End, Part Two" Appears | ||
Trivia
Eli's Conspiracy Wall
- Eli's design is reminiscent of Jim's from the original books and his personality is reminiscent of Jim’s father.
- His favorite teacher is Lenora Janeth.
- Eli is allergic to gluten, as he states in "Just Add Water". He's also allergic to avacados, as he admits in "Dogfight Days of Summer".
- In "Party Crashers," Eli tells Krel that he wet his bed until he was in 8th grade. However, it's unknown if he just made this up to make Krel reveal his true identity.
- In an interview for Part Two of Trollhunters, Guillermo Del Toro and Marc Guggenheim said that Eli and Steve were their favorite side characters to flesh out and develop.
- In "Where is my Mind?", Eli's worst nightmare is revealed to be no one believing him.
- Eli and Steve will become major characters in 3Below and Wizards.[1] [2]
- Since Eli and Steve are going to gain bigger roles in the franchise and are the ones investigating the supernatural problems, it would make them among the stars of the franchise (in a sense of perspective).
- In 3Below, Eli's voice becomes more deep, due to Cole Sand's aging. This was lampshaded in "Party Crashers."
- Along with Krel, Eli is one of the only main characters of the franchise who doesn't have a love interest.
Gallery
References
- ↑ Trumbore, D. (2017). ‘Trollhunters’: Marc Guggenheim on Season 2 Surprises & the Future of ‘Tales of Arcadia’. http://collider.com/trollhunters-season-3-marc-guggenheim-interview/
- ↑ http://www.animationscoop.com/trollhunters-interview-marc-guggenheim-from-epic-to-epic-mas-grande/