Johan prematurely apologises to Trausti
Johan asks Trausti to describe his still life in one sentence. Trausti’s response is not shown, but he presumably mentions the fact that his still life contains “tuttugu svín” ‘twenty pigs’), because Johan then attempts to clarify if Trausti is talking about two pigs, before asking if ‘tuttugu’ refers to a specific number. Johan gathers as many pig figurines as he can find from around the room, and places them on a nearby table.
Johan then tells Trausti to describe the middle part of the still life, using as few words as possible. Trausti presumably responds with “mörgæs í miðjunni” (‘penguin in the middle’), as he does with the other contestants, as Johan then asks if ‘mörgæs’ is something edible. Trausti responds to this question with the answer “ef þú vilt” (‘if you want’).
Johan then digresses, apologising in advance to Trausti if he yells at him, and assuring him that it is the task making him do so, and not Trausti himself.
Johan then asks if a ‘mörgæs’ is something that a human would shoot and eat. When Trausti shrugs in response, Johan picks up a taxidermy owl and places it on the table, reasoning that someone somewhere must have shot and eaten an owl at some point. He then adds a taxidermy hawk, which he refers to as a “lousy seagull” (“måsjävel”, which sounds vaguely like ‘mörgæs’). Eventually, he realises that ‘mörgæs’ refers to a penguin, and then finds the stuffed penguin in the hallway.
Trausti tells Johan that, along with the ‘mörgæs’, there is a “fíll” (‘elephant’) in the still life. Johan believes that this must be another bird. When Trausti then uses his hands to indicate that there is a “fuglinn” (‘bird’) on top of the elephant, Johan decides to duct-tape a rubber chicken onto the taxidermy owl.
Trausti tells Johan that the still life also includes “diskur með goðgaeti” (‘a plate of goðgaeti’; ‘goðgaeti’ means ‘delicacy’, but Trausti is referring specifically to fermented herring). Through a series of questions that does not make the edit, Johan figures out that Trausti is referring to a dish that has something to do with aquatic life. He then asks if there is some sort of tradition to the dish in Iceland. When Trausti nods in response, Johan asks if it’s rotted food. Trausti hesitantly nods and shakes his head (the dish is fermented, not rotted), and Johan excitedly reasons that it’s some sort of fish that Icelanders allow to rot for a bit, then cut up and eat – like fermented herring. Johan searches the fridge and finds a plate of exactly what he needs, before bringing the herring back to Trausti for confirmation.
Johan asks Trausti to look over his recreation of the still life, and asks him if anything is missing. Trausti indicates that there is no “fuglinn” (‘bird’) on the “fíll” (‘elephant’). Since ‘fíll’ sounds very similar to the Swedish word ‘fil’ (‘sour milk’), Johan fetches a carton of that from the fridge, and places it underneath the penguin. Trausti attempts to correct Johan on this error, but Johan has apparently reached his tolerance level for the task, and decides that his recreation is close enough.
In the studio, Johan’s recreation is penalised for using an owl instead of an elephant, and only having seven pigs, and Johan earns last place.
(Written by Jenny R and proofread by Karl Craven)
(Illustrations collected by Jenny R and adjusted by Karl Craven)
