#lethal white episode 3

[alatismeni-theitsa]

The glaring absence of Greeks in Greek mythology productions is seriously pissing me off. "But there are no Greek actors to cast from-" shhh shut up. Since you all "can't find us" for some reason in foreign entertainment industries, let me help you by showing a fraction of the Greek talent pool that could easily partake in English productions, and already had famous parts in known productions. And all that with a few minutes on the internet - apparently a research too hard for the likes of Christopher Nolan.

You may already know Jennifer Aniston, John Aniston, Zach Galifianakis, and Maria Menounos:

There's also:

Melina Kanakaredes Constantinides

You will know her from roles in television such as in NYPD Blue, CSI: Miami, CSI: NY, NCIS, Hawaii Five-0. Even better, for playing the Greek goddess Athena in Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief. She also voiced Ariana in Blood of Zeus. She got nominated for two Emmys and won an award in TV Guide Awards.

Billy Zane

Besides the fact he has been getting roles in at least three productions for the last ten years, you may know him from playing Marc Antony in Cleopatra (1999), may have seen him for 3 episodes in Charmed (2005), or know him as John Justice Wheeler in the second season of Twin Peaks, or seen him as Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando (2025). Fun fact: He voiced Ansem in Kingdom Hearts (2002-2017).

His sister, Lisa Zane, had roles in many films and series, and also worked as a voice actress. She is a singer, and songwriter, too.

Michael Chiklis

Known for: Fantastic Four (2005, 2007), Gotham (2015–2017), Coyote (2021). Fun fact: he has a credit in the Simpsons for one episode. With multiple roles in film and television, he got many nominations and won four Awards (Emmy, Golden Globes etc).

Marie Avgeropoulos

She's most known for her role in The 100 (2014–2020), Tracers (2011), Supernatural series (2009). Nominated - Leo Awards for Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Motion Picture for the thriller Numb (2015).

Chris Diamantopoulos

Known for his roles in Silicon Valley, The Three Stooges, and Mickey Mouse. He has also appeared in Broadway, film, and TV shows such as The Office, Arrested Development, and The Middle.

Costas Mandylor (Kostas Theodosopoulos)

Some of his more notable roles: Frank Costello in the crime drama film Mobsters (1991). Alphonse Royo in Players (1991), Detective Lieutenant Mark Hoffman in the Saw franchise, Hondshew in Beowulf, and Jeriho in Gunslingers (2025). He appeared in Sex and the City, Charmed, Once Upon a Time, NCIS, The Last Ship, Lethal Weapon. Fun fact: In 1991 He was voted one of the most 50 most beautiful people on earth (in the 26th place :D) by the People Magazine and age has only made him better. If he can co-star with Jenna Ortega, he is relevant enough.

His brother Louis Mandylor (Elias Theodosopoulos) is also an actor. He's been appearing in multiple English television shows mainly in he US and AU. He played in My Big Fat Greek Wedding (1-2-3), he appeared twice on CSI: Miami. He and his brother Costas have acted alongside each other in the Charmed episode "Saving Private Leo" (2002). He was the Sherriff in Rambo: Last Blood and Chaplain Glover in Doom: Annihilation.

John Stamos

He's known for roles in Grey’s Anatomy, NCIS, Criminal Minds, and films such as Cabaret (2002) and Hairspray (2011). Beyond that, he's had a long career with five awards and many nominations.

Theo James (Theodore Taptiklis)

You may remember him as Four in the Divergent trilogy, Henry DeTamble in The Time Traveler's Wife, and Cameron Sullivan in The White Lotus. He also lended his voice to Hector in the Castlevania series for seasons 2–4. His career is long, and he's gotten four awards so far.

Natasia Demetriou + Jamie Demetriou

Natasia has appeared in various minor roles before starring as Nadja, a Greek Romani vampire, in the critically acclaimed series What We Do in the Shadows. For her role in What We Do in the Shadows she won one of her two awards.

Jamie, her brother, is a comedian, actor and screenwriter. He is known for his role as Bus Rodent in Fleabag and for creating, co-writing, and starring in Stath Lets Flats. Among his numerous appearances we can mention the one in Barbie as the CFO of Mattel and played “Nigel” in the Netflix movie “Back in action”. He has three Bafta TV Awards, and even more nominations.

More (gorgeous!) international actors of Greek descent along with some notable roles:

Theo Rossi: Sons of Anarchy (89 episodes)

Christos Vassilopoulos: The Last Ship (2017), Banshee (2013-2016), The Enforcer (2022)

Daphne Alexander: BBC's "Casualty" (2006-8). "House of Saddam" (HBO/BBC), "The Amazing Mrs Pritchard" (BBC), "The Sandman" (Netflix).

Melissanthi Mahut: Calliope in "The Sandman" (Netflix). She voiced and acted as Kassandra in Assassin's Creed Odyssey, and voiced the character of Athena in Immortals Fenyx Rising.

Stavroula Logothettis: The X-Files, La Femme Nikita

Antonia Gentry: Ginny & Georgia (Netflix)

Vassilis Koukalani: With multiple credits in Greek and foreign cinema, you may have seen him in Kandahar (2023) and Tehran series (12 episodes)

Stefania LaVie Owen: Sweet Tooth, Krampus, The Carrie Diaries

Elena Kampouris: Sacred Lies, My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2, Before I Fall

Yorgos Karamihos: The Infiltrator (2016), Murphy’s Law (2022)

Yorgos Pirpassopoulos: Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery (2022)

Evangelia Andreadaki: Poor Things (2023)

Ariane Labed: The Lobster by Lanthimos (2015), Assassin’s Creed (2016), Mary Magdalene (2018)

You're telling me NONE of them is suitable to play a Greek person/hero/god in a Greek mythology production? NONE of them is famous enough, or a good enough actor/actress? Really??

What about international directors who could offer insight into the Greek culture and coordinate the production so it can actually look Greek? You can't find them either?

Yorgos Lanthimos: The Lobster (2015), The Favourite (2018), Poor Things (2023). One of the most critically acclaimed directors today, leading the “Greek Weird Wave” movement.

Costa-Gavras: Missing (1982), Z (1969), Amen. (2002). Legendary political thriller director, worked in Hollywood and Europe. His son, Romain Gavras directed the critically acclaimed Athena (Netflix).

Alexander Payne: Sideways (2004), The Descendants (2011), Nebraska (2013). He's known for indie and Oscar-winning dramas.

Nick Cassavetes: The Notebook (2004) and other films. Son of Greek-American director John Cassavetes and actress Gena Rowlands.

Athina Rachel Tsangari: The Slow Business of Going, Attenberg and Chevalier. Co-production of Yorgos Lanthimos' films: Kinetta, Dogtooth, and Alps.

Sarah Naftalis: A television writer and script coordinator with two Emmy Awards. She has worked in What We Do in the Shadows series, They came together, the Snarky Sidekick TV series and the Adults TV series.

After all that, I hope you can suddenly "find" us ☺️

[eemolu]

umm.. which d20 season should i watch (to start or next)??

in honor of brennan releasing basically the exact same video on dropout literally today, here's an unhinged list i've been working on for longer than i'd like to admit.

IF YOU’VE NEVER SEEN D&D BEFORE OR ARE LOOKING TO GET INTO TTRPGS • Fantasy High ⁃ I mean obviously. The cast is learning 5e right alongside the players, but also, they’re learning about each other. They’ve never played before. You’ve never watched them play before. There aren’t any inside jokes that you’re missing out on because you haven’t made them yet ⁃ The setting and characters are a great mixture of dnd tropes and familiar media tropes, so even the jokes you don’t get you kind of do also get ⁃ 3 seasons and a movie (counting the liveshows) • Unsleeping City s1 ⁃ Oh, you don’t like fantasy stuff. You find elves annoying. You’ve never seen Lord of the Rings and you don’t care to. Great! This season is urban fantasy and the fairies are all parodies of characters from the Godfather. ⁃ Still early enough that the cast is still fairly new and you’re not missing much. Also it’s incredible ⁃ 1.75 seasons and a stage production (one season, one covid zoom season that’s incredible but takes a sec to get used to, and a madison square garden liveshow complete with pyrotechnics) • Dungeons and Drag Queens ⁃ Learn with the queens. Love with the queens. Cry with the queens ⁃ Brennan is being a Nice Guy DM so generally things go how you want ⁃ It’s kind of like watching a bunch of people remember what it’s like to be in third grade and invent an entire world at recess and decide who has storm powers and who has seventeen imaginary cats and who has a sword that’s also a gun

I DON’T LIKE D&D BUT I STILL WANT TO WATCH!! • Mismag ⁃ They’re not playing dnd they’re playing kids on brooms and Aabria mostly eschews combat, so don’t worry ⁃ First season is a misdirect to get you to the second season ⁃ Smaller cast of characters and only one (haunted) white man. Sick. • A Court of Fey and Flowers ⁃ Technically still dnd but only for the purposes of letting these high drama idiots pretend to kill each other ⁃ They spend most of the air time sending letters, flirting autistically, and massaging butts ⁃ Emily Axford & Lou Wilson spend the whole season serving cunt and invoking jeremy renner • Never Stop Blowing Up ⁃ They made up their own action movie game system ⁃ “The universe was created by a big bang. And in that case, is not all of existence a bullet? You catch the cannonball and throw it at the helicopter” ⁃ Practical fart effects

THEY DON’T DO ENOUGH COMBAT, I THINK. I WANT MORE KILLING. • Coffin Run ⁃ Jasmine Bhullar loves combat. Every time you think she’s done there’s another mini ⁃ Complex train calculations have real world battle implications ⁃ Instead of hit points they drink blood • The Seven ⁃ A bunch of women gather together to kick the shit out of Brennan specifically ⁃ Combat flow charts! Rolling thirty d20 with advantage for your attack geese! Etc!! • A Crown of Candy ⁃ IH season most focused on combat. It’s also the most lethal. Brennan is actively trying to kill them the entire time ⁃ The roleplay episodes WILL make you cry so keep that in mind. This is the season that made Lou start smoking cigarettes again to cope ⁃ There are also the covid zoom adventuring parties which are great

I WANT THERE TO BE A MYSTERY I CAN SOLVE • Neverafter ⁃ This season is the perfect blend of mystery and all the other stuff that makes DnD a great game. Sick combats. Complex yet familiar world building. The line “the smile of a devil you never believed in.” ⁃ Players really at their best and fully dialed into all the various factions which is good bc the lore is HEAVY ⁃ Beardsley is the grandpa with the plot important prop and Murph is a silly divorcée so there are plenty of shenanigans still • Fantasy High ⁃ Every single season of this has a great mystery at the heart with enough clues that you could figure it out ahead of time, maybe. I never did but that’s a me thing ⁃ Brennan kept a secret for 5 years of his real adult life for the sickest reveal of all time. Sam Reich torturing Gamechanger contestants coded. ⁃ Riz Gukgak is there • Mentopolis ⁃ If Inside Out was a 1930s noir ⁃ Large part of the mystery requires them to contemplate what’s going on with their big guy’s junk… there’s buzzing down there! It’s narratively important! ⁃ Hank Green is there • Of Mice and Murder ⁃ I’ve never seen this one but it’s The Mystery Season so. I assume it fits well into this category

WATCHED A FEW SEASONS AND NEED TO KNOW WHAT’S NEXT • Starstruck ⁃ DON’T ask questions just watch NOW ⁃ The funniest season hands down and immediately post covid so the vibes are joyous. Stupid. Perfect. The first major battle includes an exploding MLM sex goo factory and it only goes up from there ⁃ Brennan’s mom is there • Burrow’s End ⁃ IMO one of the perfect ways to get into the d20 sidequests, especially if you’re like “ugh but I’m going to miss the intrepid heroes though…” ⁃ Every PC is related. Specifically Izzy Rolland (my beloved) and Siobhan Thompson (my beloved 2) are playing Brennan’s children and they are having a GOOD time ⁃ Three gross battle sets and a lightning gun

I’M TIRED OF LORE I WANT TO SEE THE GIRLS GO CRAZY • Time Quangle ⁃ The whole point of the tour was to go hm… what would happen if all the characters got smushed together and nothing made sense? ⁃ Does require some knowledge of previous seasons and has minor spoilers ⁃ Also has a Beardsley nat 20 so spectacular the PCs beat Brennan up right there on the stage in front of God and everybody • NSBU ⁃ The directive of the season from Brennan was “what if I never said no? What if I just yes anded everything that got thrown my way?” and YEAH dude he DELIVERED ⁃ Looked right at camera and said “Let me out baby!! It’s time for Daddy to have fun!!!” ⁃ Basically Beardsley is playing the straight man if you can believe it

[hotdaemondtargaryen]

EWAN MITCHELL INTERVIEWED BY POLYGON MAGAZINE.

YOU'VE SPOKEN BEFORE ABOUT THE INFLUENCES YOU TOOK IN WHEN CRAFTING YOUR APPROACH TO AEMOND — YOU HAVE PROMETHEUS; YOU HAVE HEAT; HALLOWEEN; LAWRENCE OF ARABIA. I'M CURIOUS WHAT YOU WERE SEEKING AS YOU WERE RESEARCHING TO PLAY AEMOND IN SEASON 2.

"Characters who possess a tremendous amount of power, and see it as a means to do things no one else can do."

Similar with Lawrence of Arabia — something in Lawrence of Arabia that I like, he says 'The trick, William Potter, is not minding that it hurts.'

"You know, the idea that he kind of tempers himself — very similar to Aemond — to pain."

"He puts duty over love."

"And [similarly,] the idea that Aemond can be loved, but he also knows that he can achieve more if he’s willing to be feared, and do the necessary kind of evil."

"[I sought] characters who were kind of marginalized, and they maybe start off their story on their back foot, and over time become the hero of their story."

"There are setbacks, but they bounce back even stronger."

"Those kinds of characters."

DID YOU FEEL LIKE YOU WERE LIFTING THE ENERGY OF THESE PERFORMANCES, THE PHILOSOPHY, OR JUST THEIR PHYSICALITY?

"Anything — I mean, I try to watch a film a day."

"Although recently, with press, I’ve sometimes had to do two a day, because I miss a day."

"But anything, anything: Inspiration can come at any time."

"I’m always watching for it."

"I was watching Split the other day, M. Night Shyamalan’s Split, and it kind of raises the idea that the broken are the more evolved."

"And that’s certainly true with Aemond; from the moment he had his eye taken from him, he’s used it as motivation to develop himself and manufacture himself into this lethal weapon."

"I was speaking to a reporter earlier, and he had a Rutger Hauer T-shirt from Blade Runner."

"That’s also something that I might use as inspiration going into season 3."

"Just kind of leave my arms open, take anything."

DO YOU FIND YOU HAVE DIFFERENT INFLUENCES FOR DIFFERENT MOMENTS IN AEMOND'S LIFE, OR EVEN JUST DIFFERENT RELATIONSHIPS, LIKE ALICENT VERSUS HELAENA?

"Yeah, ultimately, after the raising of the dragonseeds in 'The Red Sowing,' it’s definitely made Aemond a lot more desperate going into episode 8, and he’s losing that composure that he’s known for [in] the previous episodes."

"And so there was always something really fascinating in exploring that kind of fractured Aemond, seeing that scared boy rise to the surface again, that he’s tried to keep a lid on for so many years."

"It’s the sort of relationship that makes total sense even when you don’t see them together."

"Of course she’s the person who sees him and puts him in his place."

"And he just has nothing to say to that."

"Her words just cut him in half."

"He always has this idea of where and how things will pan out."

"She just challenges that, and it breaks him a little bit."

IN A SHOW THAT'S SO MUCH ABOUT INTERROGATING PEOPLE'S QUEST FOR A POWER, THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO IT, AND HOW IT CAN BE BOTH WIELDED AND CORRUPTING AS A FORCE, HOW DO YOU SEE AEMOND FITTING INTO THAT? WHAT'S HIS MINDSET?

"I think he raises that question of whether Aemond is inherently evil, or whether power does corrupt, whether it was nurture versus nature."

"Was it the upbringing that [he] received from Otto Hightower and his mother, or was it just being in the Red Keep and being a product of his environment there?"

"I think Aemond — he’s always had that quest for power."

"He’s always wanted to be known as that war hero."

"And here at the council table, for the first half of the series, he’s very much serving in the war from one end."

"And then when he gets into power and becomes prince regent, he goes to the other end."

All of these people, he now has a completely new perspective on, and it’s like, 'OK, so how can each of you serve me? And if you can’t serve me, you’re gone.'

"It’s that kind of very black-and-white pursuit that Aemond has in his quest for power, which I think is quite scary."

"It’s formidable."

It doesn’t really take anybody else’s perspective into account. 'It’s what I want.'

"So what’s his relationship with power? It’s not a pretty one."

DO YOU SEE HIS QUEST FOR POWER AS COMING FROM THAT SCARED LITTLE BOY WHO JUST WANTS SOME PROTECTION AND INSULATION, AND TO BE ABOVE REPROACH? OR DO YOU SEE IT AS HIM THINKING I HONESTLY BELIEVE I CAN DO THIS BETTER THAN ANYONE ELSE HERE?

"I mean around the council table, all these other characters, they’re losing their composure, they’re raising their voices, they’re arguing."

"Aemond’s just sitting back."

"He’s calculated, he’s cool."

"He strikes when the moment arises."

"He needs to be seen as someone who can wield that power effectively."

"He needs to be seen as someone who can lead."

"He can become that war hero."

"Whether or not he wants to sit the Iron Throne — I don’t know; I don’t want to answer that! But he definitely wants a similar kind of reputation as Daemon Targaryen."

"He wants to be like Daemon Targaryen, but he also wants to better him."

"He wants to be known as that rogue prince, who you know all of the realm respects."

"Or maybe he doesn’t really care what anyone thinks — that’s kind of what I love about the character."

"He could be many things."

TELL ME ABOUT HOW YOU APPROACHED THE ARC FOR HIM OVER THE SEASON — TO RETURN TO INFLUENCES FOR A SEC, I WAS THINKING A LOT ABOUT STREETCAR NAMED DESIRED, AND HAVING A CHARACTER WHO DOESN'T KNOW THEY'RE THAT CLOSE TO A BREAKDOWN, BASICALLY, AND DOESN'T KNOW THEY'RE ONE BAD DAY AWAY FROM THAT. THEY'RE JUST HOLDING THEMSELVES TOGETHER EVEN WHEN PEOPLE AROUNG YOU CAN SEE THIS IS BAD NEWS.

"Aemond… if he has a breaking point, I don’t think he’s found it yet."

"It’s interesting."

"Maybe he found it there, when Helaena challenged everything he thought his life would amount to, and how things would pan out."

"I think Aemond always thought of himself as the captain of his own fate and his own destiny."

"And so when Helaena shares that knowledge — on one hand, it could make an enemy out of him."

"But on the other hand, it could also make Helaena a tremendously valuable ally."

"If you’re able to harness that kind of foresight and that power that Helaena possesses, you could see a blow coming before it lands."

I think that would certainly be something interesting to explore: 'Where is Aemond’s breaking point?'

"I mean we’ve seen everything he’s done so far."

"He kind of had to abandon humanity in season 2, with what he did to his brother."

Helaena raises that: 'Was it worth the price, and what did he lose in that moment?'

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT WHERE HE ENDS UP THIS SEASON? IN MANY WAYS, IT FEELS LIKE AND OTHERWISE TRIUMPHANT SEASON PUTS HIM IN EXACTLY THE RIGHT PLACE TO HAVE HER POP THAT BALLON FOR HIM.

"Yeah, that’s a good way of looking at it."

"I think he’s got to sit with that information now, and sit with that realization."

"But as we know for Aemond, he can’t sit still for long."

"He’s going to be on the back of that dragon."

"Up to no good, you know."

"And yeah, I can’t wait to see where it goes in season 3."

"I think he’s got to change again."

"I think similar to when he had his eye taken out as a kid, it served as this motivation to become something else entirely."

"And then with this new realization at the end of season 2, he’s gonna have to evolve again, or otherwise risk being broken again."

[mulders-too-large-shirt]

my favorite scully moments from s6

finding gibson in episode 1 and doing her best to comfort him- holding him, calling him "sweetheart", and saying that his scars from surgery don’t look that bad

(all while he can hear her thinking that he looks like frankenstein🥲she KNEW he could read minds and still tried to lie and make him feel better!!!!!! because she is so kind!!!)

(and then she loses her mind when gibson is taken from the hospital!!!)

when she yells at the intern for breaking quarantine protocol in episode 2, and then demands the CDC show up in level 2 OR BETTER anti-contamination suits! 

her terrible lying skills being put to the test when some guy thinks she’s from the FCC... she goes along with it as best as she can and with minimal stuttering

hallucination and/or time warp scully translating german for mulder in episode 3 (the hair… the dress… her telling him to get his nazi paws off of her… yeah💗)

the gunmen showing up at the office to get her help finding mulder: “the walls have ears” “i have ears, will you tell me what’s going on?” (<- i love when she is snippy, bahaha)

yelling at skinner when he refuses to help (“no, sir, YOU’RE out of line!”) and threatening to kill spender to figure out where tf mulder ended up (“i want you to do me a favor. it’s not negotiable. either you do it, or i kill you. you understand?”) (and then mumbling “oh god, oh god” “what am i thinking? what am i thinking?” “stupid, stupid”... i love impulsive and reckless scully so much <3)

(and her apology on the elevator for accidentally smacking that lady as she nervously fidgets... she is still trying to be kind despite the circumstances!!)

she is so overcome with relief when skinner finds out where mulder is that she KISSES HIM ON THE LIPS- and then skinner, who has to pretend to be mad at her when others are around, doesn’t miss a beat and starts yelling at her as SOON as he steps off the elevator… yeah. shoutout to her for being unhinged and him for having the improv skills needed to pull off such a situation

she did NOT want to explore a haunted house in episode 6 because she had holiday cheer to spread!!!! and it might even be a white christmas!!!

a few minutes later, she does an amazing monologue about her fears while investigating- she admits to being afraid, even if she know it is irrational. the best way to fight off fear is by infodumping on human nature!

scully refusing to take lyra’s attempts at analysis at face value- including that barb about their “intimacy through codependency”, yelling that she doesn’t know her!! (a very interesting contrast to mulder, who mostly just accepts the claims)

holding actual ghosts at gunpoint like a badass... and then proceeding to pass out when she sees their very lethal bullet wounds

this interaction with cindy the secretary in episode 8: “i don’t understand… has he… don’t y’all need a warrant or subpoena or something like that?” “we usually just say please” <- LMAO, that is the queen of efficiency!!

confessing her romantic philosophy to a woman she just met, saying that “one day you look at the person, and you see something more than you did the night before. like a switch has been flicked somewhere. and the person who was just a friend is… suddenly the only person you can ever imagine yourself with” (mind you, all this takes place immediately AFTER she denies having any feelings for mulder, lmao)

she didn’t have permission to test skinner’s blood in episode 9, but she took it anyway because she needed to save him, and i deeply respect that about her... rules are mostly to be followed, but there are some very important exceptions!

and then she runs into the operating room and DEMANDS that the doctors listen to her!! therefore saving his life!!! even as the head doctor yells "who is this woman?" <- that's special agent medical doctor motherfucking scully!!!!!

when skinner comes back to, she tells him that she promises they will take good care of him and do absolutely everything they can, even though she knows he is dying 🙁 (and it is only her idea to filter his blood that keeps him alive until krycek strikes with the cure)

kersh tries to make her work with this random agent ritter in episode 10, and she initially INSISTS that she will only take the case with mulder (she is shot down, but the rage in her voice was awe-inspiring)

and then she has so much righteous fury against agent ritter for trying to convict an innocent party (“i thought we were looking for the truth”)

AND when he starts going off, talking bad about mulder and her, saying he'll tell kersh if she messes up "his" case, and calling her “dana”, she declares that she is SCULLY... “and we’re done with this conversation” (not sure if i ever loved her more than at this moment)

leaving the stakeout on felig to just... knock on his door and tell him to explain what the hell is going on. and then joining him for a car ride.

and while doing so, she intervenes when she sees a woman on the street being harassed, because she cannot stand injustice in any capacity (said guy doing the harassment calls her "red", and she smacks him in the face)

going to felig’s apartment- playing hardball and asking why he shouldn’t go to prison, and then listening to his tale of trying to see death’s face. she claims she doesn’t believe him, but he says she does, or why else would she be here?

“how can you have too much life? there’s too much to learn, to experience” she says, having recently come back from death's door. and then she asks felig about love, trying to understand his point of view which is so different from her own

getting in his face insisting that she is NOT going to die when he says she will- she wants to live, she wants a LIFE- and when she is shot, she follows his instructions, looking away from death when it arrives for her

visiting cassandra in episode 11, telling the nurse that she is an old friend and looking for a wheelchair so they can head outside; cassandra is so excited to see her and tell her that she can walk again!

a very angry and wet scully figuring out that her and mulder were probably brought to fort marlene in episode 12, because she knows her secret facilities based on travel time, even as she is locked in a cell with no clean clothes!!!

AND THEN telling diana that her idea of cassandra having a contagious disease that makes you blow up is the most ridiculous thing she has ever heard- before getting so mad she gets up and walks away!!! that is amazing self-control!!

every DIY doctor moment scully had in episode 13: wearing a bandana in lieu of a mask to investigate greer’s wounds; holding tongs over a candle to disinfect them; demanding they get him in the tub NOW; wearing yellow rubber gloves and a chef’s apron as she delivers a baby at gunpoint AND figures out that the octopus beast can be defeated with the power of freshwater… unparalleled!!!!!!

(and her little smile when dales says she is amazing for doing all of that 💗 “if agent scully had not been there with you, i shudder to think what would have happened to you. i’d say you owe her your life” + “if i had someone as savvy as her by my side all those years ago in the x files, i might not have retired” she is so used to not receiving acknowledgement!)

holding mulder’s dying body in her arms over and over again in episode 14, and trying to convince the robber that shot him that he can still do the right thing and let everyone escape... even though it never works 💔

recording their search for clues on a little camcorder as they went undercover in episode 15 (and later she asks if she can pick the names next time, implying that they'll pretend to be married again)

she notices the caduceus on mike <3

JEALOUS scully in episode 16 as mulder explains how he knows karin the canine expert- “oh, so you two are chummy?”- and taking a disliking to her right away (“i don’t think the wolfwoman is here to speak to me on this”, she says, walking away)

telling mulder that karin CLEARLY has a crush on him, which he laughs off...

then sitting her down to diagnose her and accuse her of manipulating mulder, warning karin that she is watching her (and she was right on all counts) (protective scully ❤️❤️❤️)

going detective mode in episode 17- analyzing the placement of bullet shells yet the lack of bullet holes; tracking down the location of june’s missing sister- AND she also knows the hospital code for a c-section, which she finds on a bill and cracks the case open for them

she arrives to meet the gunmen in las vegas in episode 20, the first words she says to them are “where’s agent mulder?” and they scramble to come up with a story as to why he isn’t there

scully snapping on her mask to do her autopsy, cutting the dead guy's ribs open, and then the poor woman getting drugged- she's barely able to form a sentence afterwards (“hi, cutie!” “what killed him?” “my medical opinion? beeeeeeeeeeeep. that’s all i know”)

declaring that she “likes hickey”, petting his face before he drags her away from the 50 men trying to light her cigarette (her laugh…. <3)

despite having a very sad and hurt face when she gets injected with the cure, she sleeps it off in time to go participate in the gunmen’s latest scheme to save the day (and then promises to kick their asses when she learns mulder wasn’t the one who invited her there)

while hallucinating mulder’s funeral in episode 21, she loses control, screaming in skinner’s face “where is mulder? what have you done with him?” (yeah, that is the GOOD angst i signed up for!)

when mulder's in the hospital in episode 22, screaming inconsolably and acting violent, she tries to have the doctor let her speak with him because she is convinced that he would still never be a threat to her, even when he is no longer himself

and then when she realizes something is up with diana and skinner, she calls them both liars right to their faces and heads out to find a cure for him on her own (!!!!!)

[denmark-street]

Strengths and weaknesses are mostly the same as the previous seasons: the actors are great (although Burke is definitely too skinny for the role, especially this season) and it's too short.

Now, and even though the show has found its footing, I think, with Lethal White and the 4 episodes/book, it's my least favourite adaptation of the last 3. Pacing-wise it's OK, and the investigation is comprehensible (something he adaptation of TCC and TS we'rent always).

But the show misses the point by not showing everyone's 'online personas' : all Anomie has is multiple accounts, Tumblr and Kea, etc. And it makes the Paperwhite = Anomie lame - and robs Robin of a cool moment (maybe why she got to punch Jago?).

And last nitpick, while the design is 10/10, the game doesn't look like a game at all lol (were the automated voices in the book? I can't remember).

[naddpod-encounter-tourney]

Option 1:

Enemy: The Barbarians in the Hungry Trout (Triplets' Edition)

Episodes: Trinyvale X Bahumia Mini-Arc: Ep. 01: The Triplets Take Moonstone

Time: 23:09-28:02

Finish: Onyx (Kruk and 2 minions), Jens (last minion)

Notes: Nyack throws drinks in their face to start a fight over their room in the Inn and doesn't even get a turn in combat. Onyx smites and obliterates people in one hit. She doesn't even take her second attack. (Jake: We're doing cleave rules, right?) Jens then takes his three attacks. They haven't even agreed to help Denny yet.

Propaganda: (anonymous) they are SO over powered it’s funny. onyx takes out most of the barbarians in one hit. just makes it so clear that these characters are so overleveled for the setting and that this is fun time play time not serious peril play time

Option 2:

Enemy: Chosen Airship (15 people of various strength)

Episode: C1 E19: The Purge

Time: (ads) 30:03-53:55 (Cobb's last death save: 1:31:45-1:33:33)

Finish: it's a lot of scrubs so a lot of cleave and NPCs get most of the kills. Matty Big Crits finishes the Captain though.

Notes: Splitting the party couldn't possibly go wrong! Cobb and Hardwon face off against 15 people with 3 White Nights. They're immediately so fucked. Hardwon goes down so fast and most of the encounter is Murph fighting himself. Matty Big Crits makes his mark. Death's door is where Cobb is most comfortable.

Propaganda: (anonymous) Matthias of House Crit! An early instance of Murph refusing to tone down an unexpectedly lethal fight. Jake’s nat 20 death save for Cobb was spectacular

[tuttle-did-it]

Murder, She Wrote, 'Murder in White' guest stars

Robin Sachs - you may recognise him from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Babylon 5: In the Beginning, Ocean’s Eleven (2001), Upstairs Downstairs, Diagnosis Murder, ST:VOY, Torchwood

Norman Lloyd - primarily a producer and director, but does have some acting credits, including ST:TNG, Dead Poet’s Society, St Elsewhere, Twilight Zone (1980s), Quincy ME, Kojak, Night Gallery, Alfred Hitchcock Presents. His 3rd of 3 appearances.

Jean Marsh - often lays villains, like Momby on Return to Oz. Also seen in Upstairs Downstairs, Classic Doctor Who, Twilight Zone (1950s-60s), Cleopatra.

Jim Piddock - Max Headroom, Angel, Twilight Zone (1980s), Coach, Get him to the Greek, Multiplicity, Independence Day, Lethal Weapon 2, Best in Show, The Prestige, Mad About You, The Drew Carey Show, Castle

10.10 Episode aired Dec 19, 1993

[megan-loves-surveys]

#33.

Do you think you could handle a job in the medical field? Why or why not? No, not my thing.

What is one electronic device you own that you have not used in a long time? My iPad. It's super old and it ran out of space a long time ago, I didn't have enough room on it for iOS updates lol.

Do you prefer to play chess or checkers? Checkers I guess, I don't get chess.

If you had to go an entire week without using any technology, what do you think you would spend most of your time doing instead? Reading, writing, sleeping, cleaning and decluttering my room etc.

Would you rather travel to Asia or France? Asia if it's Japan, otherwise France.

Do you prefer dark, brown or white chocolate? Milk, but I'll eat them all.

Would you rather visit Australia, Germany, Croatia, or Jamaica? Germany cos I've been to Australia loads already, and the other two don't really interest me.

Would you prefer a pet rat, mouse, snake, lizard or spider? Rat or mouse! I love those little guys.

Have you ever fallen into a hole or crevice whilst hiking? No.

A romantic meal, a trip to a theme park, or go to a concert? Depends what concert xD If it's someone I like then the choice is a no brainer. Otherwise I pick a theme park.

How often do you wear necklaces? Never.

Would you rather wear a bracelet or a necklace? Bracelets, I own loads! My fave is my Pandora charm bracelet.

When was the last time you had a donut? Ooooh... a few months ago.

What’s your favorite song by Miley Cyrus? Liberty Walk or Bottom Of The Ocean.

Who do you absolutely adore? My parents, my boyfriends, my friends and Jon Moxley :P

Have you ever had a crush on a kinda-country boy? No.

Do you care about any of your exes at all? No, but I do hope they're doing well.

Who last slapped your butt? My boyfriend for sure haha.

Where have you lived throughout your life? Auckland, but all different parts of it. I grew up in central, but now I live out east.

What kind of cake did you have for your last birthday? I've not had a cake for years. My Mum teased getting me one this year though xD

Have you ever had a panic attack? Yep.

Anyone’s birthday coming up soon? Today is my boyfriend's birthday actually!! <3 We're celebrating on Friday though cos it's Wednesday. Fun fact, until my birthday in July, he's 19 years older than me, not 18 xD

When at a restaurant, do you put your napkin on your lap? Yep, I do with that every napkin at any time lol. I did it earlier today when I had lunch.

Do you prefer electric or manual pencil sharpeners? Dunno, I never use them haha.

Are your biceps at all noticeable? No.

When are you moving next? No clue. I don't think we're moving anytime soon unless I decide to move in with my boyfriend, but it wouldn't be much of a change cos he lives on the same street as me xD

Have you ever had a bad concert experience? No.

Have you ever carried a concealed weapon? No.

Do you call your boyfriend “Monkey”? No, why would I?

Would you rather go to Greece or France? France, I've always wanted to go to Paris.

How would you spend a day at the beach? I don't really like the beach tbh.

Have you ever experienced altitude sickness? Don't think so.

Was the last show you watched a re-run? No, it was a new episode of my local soap opera, and right now I'm watching the new weekly ep of WWE Raw.

What’s your biggest priority right now? The people in my life.

What does it feel like to fall asleep in someone’s arms? Depends on how comfortable I am and what the temperature is.

Do you recall the first time that you learned the truth about sex? Dunno, maybe sex ed class?

Do you need the opinion of others to make yourself feel worthwhile? Nah. I don't care what people think of me, they can like me or not.

Have you ever rubbed anyone’s feet? Yes.

What is one thing you fantasize or daydream about doing? Attending the Royal Rumble or Eurovision. Probably will never happen cos I don't have the money but I can dream xD

What would you rather: lethal injection, electric chair, or hanging? Ugh... I guess the injection.

Have you taken someone’s virginity? No.

What would you say if the person you love/like kissed another girl/boy? Be like WTF? Out of character for him, he's very loyal.

Does the person you have feelings for right now, know you do? Yes. Haha, we're in a relationship xD

Why did you kiss the last person you kissed? Cos I was leaving his house.

Did you hug/kiss one of your parents today? Yes, my Dad!

Who would you like to see in concert? Ayumi Hamasaki. It'll never happen unless I go to Japan when she's touring lol. I love her so much though, I'd be so happy if I got to see her in person!

Who was the first person to ever ask you out? A boy at school. I said no xD

What’s one thing your partner must be able to accept about you? My love of wrestling xD You gotta accept that I have a big Jon Moxley standee in my room and posters of The Shield guys all over my walls lol.

Are there any videos of yourself on YouTube? Yes.

What’s one thing that’s annoying you about the book you’re reading now? It's almost over, lol.

Do you have trouble letting friends go when you need to? I dunno.

If you had a daughter, would you allow sleepovers? Of course. I had hundreds of sleepovers growing up, some of the most fun times of my life. I don't get the paranoia about them these days, they're an important part of growing up - bonding with your girlfriends!

Which do you like better, your first name or your middle name? Middle name, my first name has been ruined by certain things.

Where is your brother? I don't have any brothers.

Do you like using terms of endearment? Oh yeah, I love them being used on me and using them on other people.

Do you have any plans for tomorrow? It's Mother's Day, and we're watching the Eurovision final! Can't wait.

What’s the longest movie you’ve ever seen? One of the LOTR ones?

What was the last thing you wrote down in the notes app on your phone? I added to my Converse list cos I bought a new pair.

Would you ever want to visit South Korea? Yes, that'd be cool.

Do you own anything from Victoria’s Secret “Pink” line? Do you really think the clothes are worth the price? No, and I don't really know cos I don't go to their store lol.

Who would you say is the overall best person you know, and why? So hard to pick cos my parents are great and so is my boyfriend, so is my friends etc.

Do you have a specific gas station you usually go to? Or do you stop wherever? I don't have a car, but if I did, I'd probably go to the BP that's like 2 mins away.

What is your opinion on dating someone who already had a child/children from a previous relationship? My boyfriend has 2 adult sons (one of them is only 4 years younger than me lol), I'm fine with that. I don't think I'd date a guy with young kids though.

Have you recently accomplished anything that you are proud of yourself for? Not really, but that's ok.

Are you still friends with any of your exes? Do you still communicate with any of them at all? No, I don't talk to any of them.

Is there anyone that you text on a regular basis that you do not have saved in your phone? If so, why don’t you have their number saved? Not that I can think of.

What’s the color of your front door? It's frosted glass with a black outline.

How many people have you been really in love with? One.

How frequently are you inclined to read, and how much? It really depends. Sometimes I read loads, sometimes not at all.

How do you feel after spending a great quantity of time online? Again, it depends on what I've been doing online.

What is something you hope you never have to do again? Surgery of any kind.

Have you ever seen a leech in person? No?

What are two things you’d tell your child self that you wish you would’ve known then? Don't go to university for what you did, study law or computers of some kind instead!!! Trust me on this.

Did you used to play hopscotch? Oh, all kids did lol.

Do you have anything monogrammed? No.

Have you ever joined a mosh pit? No. The concerts I go to don't usually have them :P

Have you ever been hurt by a narcissist? No.

Have you forgiven everyone who’s wronged you? Oh yeah. I forgive, but I don't forget.

What’s your favourite thing to do at sunrise? Sleep xD

What does Notre Dame Cathedral mean to you, and how has its fire affected you? It's sad, but it doesn't affect me that much.

Are you prophetic? Dunno?

Have you ever smoked weed, and if yes, did you like it? I've never done it, and I don't think I ever will. The smell of it is gross.

Does your town’s hospital have a good reputation? Yes.

Have you ever read a Bible verse and thought, “this isn’t true”? If so, what do you do when that happens? I'm atheist, so no.

What is your favorite shade of brown? Hmm, a nice chocolatey one.

Do you prefer kale, lettuce, or spinach? Lettuce.

Can you usually tell when someone has feelings for you? Mostly.

Do you know what things your pet(s) prefers to eat? -

Would you ever consider visiting Texas? I've already been there, I went to Dallas in 2016. Dallas was great, I enjoyed it.

Did you ever want a pony for a gift as a kid? No.

Do you know who your mom’s favourite singer is? The Beatles and this singer named Christie.

Have you ever tried to surf? No.

Do you want to learn? Sure.

Honestly, have you ever mooned anybody? Yes LOL. Before I moved out of my childhood house, my friend and I mooned the street xD No idea why we did it, but we did.

Which one of your family members do you wish you could see more often? My stepmum, I love her but I don't see her much.

What room in your house is the messiest? My room, but not like overly so, it's just got a lot of stuff in it.

Are you proud of your parents? Yes.

Have you ever used a “puppy face” to get your way? Haha yes, I use it on my boyfriend xD

Do you have dimples when you smile? No.

Have you ever carved anything into a tree? No.

Who will you be with Saturday night? I'll go see my boyfriend, so him.

What woke you up this morning? My alarm. I usually wake up before it, so it's surprising actually.

Did you kiss or hug anyone today? Yes.

When were you the saddest in your life? Mid 2017 when I broke my shoulder, then 2 weeks after my surgery, my Grandma died. Worst time.

Do you ever get groceries delivered to your house? Never.

What was the last job interview you went to where you didn’t get the job? Do you think the interview went well or not? That's most interviews except the one for my current job. And I thought it went well, but then they ghosted me and never got back to me. Guess I dodged a bullet.

What’s your favorite pasta shape? Dunno, any of them lol.

What’s one of the saddest movies you’ve ever seen? Hmm.

What was the last physical pain you experienced? Migraine, last night.

Do you know anyone who is terminally ill? No, thank god.

[twh-news]

Loki Season 2 Episode 3 Review: A Major Problem

★★★☆☆

[Article contains spoilers]

There's a big TVA reunion afoot in the third episode of Loki season two.

A headache-inducing episode of Loki gets underway in the 1800s this week, as Ravonna Renslayer finally pops up on the Sacred Timeline with Miss Minutes in tow. He Who Remains’ promise in the season one finale – that if Sylvie killed him he’d just end up right back on top – seems to hinge on a plan to kickstart a kind of causal loop, where a past variant receives a copy of OB’s TVA guidebook and is inspired to create all manner of technological inventions, including a rough version of the temporal loom.

There are positives and negatives to this trip back in time. It’s great to have Gugu Mbatha-Raw and Tara Strong back as the ruthless Renslayer and Miss Minutes respectively. The pair are dynamite together here, and I’m still fully able to suspend my disbelief and buy into the talking animated clock on screen as a real presence. Miss Minutes’ old timey black and white look is an incredible visual flourish.

The Balder the Brave chatter between Loki and Mobius is also a really fun Easter egg for fans who have been charting the character’s failure to launch in the MCU since Kenneth Branagh’s first Thor movie, and it looks like Daniel Craig will never get to throw on Balder’s costume now. Loki’s “I don’t know her” attitude got a real good laugh out of me regardless.

The 1893 World’s Fair is a fascinating setting for the introduction of Victor Timely (Jonathan Majors). As Mobius alludes, so many key historical events were happening around this time, including many of the horrific crimes committed by serial killer H. H. Holmes. A lot of visual effects work has clearly been put in to recreate the vibes of the era, but depending on which shot we’re dealing with it’s hit and miss. The Ferris Wheel sequence is perhaps the most engaging of them all, as Sylvie and Loki call back to the season one finale, battling it out for Timely’s soul while he’s thrown around the passenger car.

Timely himself is the real problem. Setting aside his troubling legal problems for a moment, Majors’ performance as Victor is just awful, though I fear this is another “your mileage may vary” situation. I admittedly really enjoyed the acting choices Majors made as both He Who Remains and Kang the Conqueror, but his execution here took me right out. It’s just way too pantomime, making Oscar Isaac’s turn as Steven Grant in Moon Knight seem almost reserved in comparison. It actually reminds me of Kiefer Sutherland in Dark City a bit. I love that movie, but I can understand why people hated his performance in it. For what it’s worth, my colleagues at Den of Geek didn’t have a problem with Majors’ Doctor Who guest star-esque Timely at all. This one may just be divisive!

Much more entertaining is Miss Minutes’ continuing transition from helpful AI to unhinged cartoon bunny boiler. Miss Minutes’ romantic (and clearly erotic) obsession with her maker is sincerely touching and troubling; her love for He Who Remains/Victor teetering into pure rage at moments. Strong is able to fully flex her notable voice talents in these scenes. It’s a real rollercoaster to hear her despairing monologue descend into fury and panic. I applaud this arc for Miss Minutes, personally. Sci-fi writers will often create fictional AI that gets mad and kills us, but hardly any of them are brave enough to ask “what if it was also really horny?”

Along with Strong’s nightmarish performance, Di Martino gets more to do as Sylvie in episode three, and the character’s inner conflict over killing Timely is palpable. It’s interesting that she decides not to slay him again, and that the punishment she dishes out to her violent pruner Ravonna is non-lethal. Sylvie always seems destined to wrestle with whether or not to play God, which is clearly a work-in-progress when you’re a God!

As the episode comes to a close, we leave Victor joining our TVA good guys and Ravonna and Miss Minutes stranded at the end of time, with Miss Minutes about to drop one hell of a truth bomb on Ravonna. I guess we’ll have to wait and see how angry she gets about it next week.

[laresearchette]

Friday, May 09, 2025 Canadian TV Listings (Times Eastern)

WHERE CAN I FIND THOSE PREMIERES?: LONG WAY HOME (Apple TV+) ATOMIC BLONDE (Paramount + Canada) THE PROTÉGÉ (Paramount + Canada) RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE: ALL STARS (Out TV) 8:00pm/9:30pm (Crave) 9:00pm GOLD RUSH: MINE RESCUE WITH FREDDY & JUAN (Discovery Channel Canada) 9:00pm

NEW TO AMAZON PRIME CANADA/CBC GEM/CRAVE TV/DISNEY + STAR/NETFLIX CANADA:

AMAZON PRIME CANADA MOLLY-MAE: BEING IT ALL PART 2 SEXIEST MAN IN WINNIPEG

CBC GEM ASD BAND: THE MOVIE CRY WOLF THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL (Season 5)

CRAVE TV HANNAH SWENSEN: ONE BAD APPLE THE INVISIBLES MEMORY THE OUTRUN SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD STEEL MAGNOLIAS (1989) TRIANGLE OF SADNESS TRUE ROMANCE FORGETTING SARAH MARSHALL WHITE BIRD: A WONDER STORY RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE ALL STARS (Season 10 Premiere)

NETFLIX CANADA BAD INFLUENCE (Spain) A DEADLY AMERICAN MARRIAGE (U.K.) NONNAS THE ROYALS (India)

MLB BASEBALL (Apple TV+) 6:00pm: Cardinals vs. Nationals (SN Now) 7:00pm: Cubs vs. Mets (Apple TV+) 7:30pm: Giants vs. Twins (SN1) 9:00pm: Jays vs. Mariners

NHL HOCKEY (CBC/SN) 6:30pm: Leafs vs. Panthers - Game 3 (CBC/SN) 9:30pm: Stars vs. Jets - Game 2

NBA BASKETBALL (TSN3/TSN4/TSN5) 7:30pm: Cavaliers vs. Pacers - Game 3 (TSN5) 10:00pm: Thunder vs. Nuggets - Game 3

THE MOVIE STAR AND THE COWBOY (Super Channel Heart & Home) 7:59pm: When city girl and actress, Isabella, lands a dream role as a rancher, the studio sends her to live on a ranch to learn the ropes, but she soon discovers the rancher, Hunter, is too busy trying to save his ranch from ruin.

GEM HUNTERS DOWN UNDER (CTV Wild) 8:00pm/9:00pm (SERIES PREMIERE): A lack of water sends Max and Glenn out into the wilderness to hunt sapphires; Anthony and Jodie Mifsud take a costly wrong turn. In Episode Two, Todd and Brianna struggle mixing parenthood and sapphire hunting; Old Timers Ray and Paul might be digging in the wrong spot while Max and Glenn bring in the drillers.

WHL HOCKEY (TSN) 9:00pm: Playoffs: Spokane Chiefs vs. Medicine Hat Tigers - Game 1

MEMORY (Crave) 9:00pm: Social worker Sylvia's structured life is blown apart when Saul follows her home from their high school reunion. Their surprise encounter profoundly impacts both of them as they open the door to the past.

MILLION DOLLAR LETHAL LISTING (Super Channel Fuse) 9:00pm: After buying the perfect suburban home, a couple encounter a stranger who claims to be the real owner of the house. They soon find themselves in a living nightmare as they try to unravel the secrets and lies.

NWSL SOCCER (TSN3) 10:30pm: Angel City FC vs. Utah Royals

[spaciousreasoning]

Filling Up the Tank

It did get down to 37 degrees overnight, and today’s high reached 56. No rain fell, at least that we noticed.

My blood sugar dropped to 162. After our coffee and brain games, Nancy and I had oatmeal for breakfast.

Then we bought tickets for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival for Friday at 1:30 p.m.

Kathleen came over for a treatment. I helped Nancy set up the massage table before I went back to Tsunami Books to get “Lethal Prey.”

I also shopped at Market of Choice and Safeway for oatmeal, coffee, laundry sheets, and nightlights.

When I got home, I visited with Kathleen while Nancy and I had a lunch of sandwiches and potato chips. After Kathleen left, we put away the massage table and other things.

Then we napped. After which we went for a walk of 1.15 miles, in just under 30 minutes, a total of 2,900 steps. Nancy took a walking stick along for some help with her ailing hip.

Around 3:30 p.m. we drove over to Costco for gas so we have a full tank for tomorrow’s drive up to Woodburn for the Wooden Shoe Tulip Festival. The gas price was up another 10¢ per gallon, now $3.49.

We showered when we got home to save more time tomorrow morning.

It slipped my mind that I sent my final invoice to St. Matthew in Tucson yesterday for the web work I have been doing. I did let them know I would be happy to answer any more questions they might have about maintaining the site. I also sent out an invoice to ABRS for the first quarter work.

I started reading the new Sandford novel that I brought home. It started with a murder twenty-odd years in the past, then Davenport and Flowers get brought into an investigation taking place in the present, spurred by the twin sister of the victim.

Nancy and I had a bacon and cheese omelet with toast and jam for dinner. Then we settled in to do our streaming for the evening.

First on the list was Wednesday night’s Colbert. Guest Pierce Brosnan discussed the new series he stars in, “Mobland,” on CBS. Then Hannah Einbinder, one of the stars of “Hacks” on HBO, talked about the new season of that program, which debuts next week.

Next up, we watched the sixth episode of “The Residence,” which found the detective off in some jungle doing her bird-watching while the Senate hearing into the investigation of the murder in the White House stirred up more clues. We think.

Finally, we saw the second episode in the new “Bosch: Legacy” series. Harry is under investigation for his possible involvement in the murder of a prison inmate, the fellow responsible for Maddie’s kidnapping in a previous series. Meanwhile, he takes on a new case, looking for a missing family of four at the bequest of the wife’s mother.

Tomorrow’s clear skies turn cloudy before noon, according to the forecast showing at bedtime. But no rain, we hope. The low tonight will hit 35 degrees, with tomorrow’s high reaching 64.

We leave for the tulip festival right after Nancy’s chiropractic appointment at 11 a.m. The drive up there will take about an hour and a half, which might give us a little time to grab some more Mexican food in Woodburn before we go see the tulips.

[cannoli-reader]

Watching the Wheel of Time show, Season 2, episode 3

Originally posted on readandfindout.com on9/3/2023

3:00 We are this deep into a Wheel of Time episode, and I am stunned to report that the dialogue is not stupid, there are no ridiculous visual effects, and no canon rape so far. What a promising beginning. I am looking forward to the rest of this episode.

3:30 Okay, I should not be complaining because this IS canon, but a book saying someone is getting undressed is not the same as making a real person, i.e. Zoe Robbins, get undressed.

3:58 So she’s not actually getting naked. What is the point of taking off the dress in the first place? There was symbolism about being naked, which is lost when you strip her down to her undergarments. If she does not need to be bare-ass naked, why bother taking off the dress in the first place? Just have her change into an Accepted dress when she comes out of the third one, you can work the symbolic cleansing into the undressing part.

This feels entirely like they did not understand the work they are adapting at all.

5:46 I thought Nynaeve was brought to the Two Rivers as a baby by the Old Wisdom They Never Bothered To Name. Since when does she have a dad?

Book!Nynaeve had a father who raised her and taught her to hunt and track. But that’s a whole other story that has no relevance to this one unless you are a white supremacist or something.

6:18 I guess Nynaeve’s test is going to be that she can use her badass Warder swordswomanship to defend her “father” but the arch will appear.

I wonder if the lesson there is to leave behind hand-to-hand combat, or to put men out of her mind.

6:58 Of course Nynaeve’s mother was a badass archer (who needs to shoot from point blank range – do they realize bows are not pistols? ).

7:12 Okay, what’s the plan here? Trick the pursuers into thinking that the people they just saw run into the house are not in there?

7:38 Actually, I remember now, this is where she learned that stupid, mistranslated prayer – her parents hid her in a cellar during an attack on their village, so the conflict is actually in the first season, where we were told both this version of events and that she was brought to Emond’s Field as a baby and raised by the Old Wisdom They Never Bothered To Name.

8:00 Is the temptation to forget your real life and remain in the fake world supposed to be the chance to die pointlessly, or worse? Without stipulating that in Current Day Media no one is more effective in combat than minority girls, she can’t actually make a difference here. There is a reason that in every test we are shown of the White Tower, the participants are adults in every alt scenario.

8:48 Okay, that’s a bit of a dick move. It was a chalice, not a bucket, in the books.

9:24 Won’t that undercut any peril Nynaeve encounters in there, to know that even if she gets a lethal wound, it’s possible she’ll come out unscathed?

10:59 I like the recurrence of the crimsonthorn in the scenarios. This is also very close to her ITB second test (the first one could not be plausibly adapted, since it related to an incident that was cut).

15:54 I’ve actually wondered what would happen if a candidate came out of the last arch and refused to complete the ceremony. Would they actually be put out of the Tower or is it just that you can’t refuse until you have gone through the third arch?

17:27 That’s an extraordinary change. I can’t wait to see what they have in mind that they think is so much better than Nynaeve’s struggles as an initiate of the White Tower.

17:42 Fuck, this IS the test, isn’t it? Nynaeve’s happiest of happy places is one where she is with Lan and free of the White Tower forever and Egwene is going to be fine (note the lack of Elayne, who was hanging out with Egwene while this was going on, but whom Nynaeve has never met and does not know exists), so she is free to do her thing, and then the arch.

17:56 I keep forgetting they’ve already boned on this show.

18:43 Is all that bullshit fighting with Moiraine just there to make the audience believe Lan would not feel any compunction against going away with Nynaeve?

19:13 To paraphrase Jay Landsman as Lt. Mello on “The Wire”: ‘…this is clever. I mean, it isn’t clever if you went to college or, I don’t know, your mothers actually stopped drinking for a minute while they was pregnant. But for the Wheel of Time writing staff, this is clever.’

25:44 I bet they are so proud of themselves for being so daring as to off a recurring character.

25:53 If Suroth is going to finally speak, it should be for something important or significant, not to reiterate what has already been said, and what has just been graphically emphasized by a brutal execution. This is only fitting from a Doylist standpoint, as the end of a scene. It does not make sense from a Watsonian perspective, because the characters are not leaving the scene, they are going to still be here as the Seanchan go on with the ceremony.

27:47 Logain being allowed to use a metal spoon, for his own safety, doesn’t make a lot of sense on a show that just last episode featured a guy digging through a stone wall with a spoon.

28:40 Confirmed what I only speculated back when they showed the incident to which Logain is referring. That Logain was not laughing randomly, but at something he saw about Rand, as in the books. In the books, Logain could see Rand’s ta’veren nature. It’s possible that he might have retained this talent somehow, that it is, like Dreamwalking or Min’s thing, not necessarily connected to the Power. But the show has gone the extra step of stupidity, by showing that he was sensing Rand’s ability to channel. They might have been able to wriggle their way out of it with a bullshit excuse or redefinition of not-clarified rules, but they actually went all the way.

See, the problem here is, unlike in the books, where Logain retained the ability to channel and was being guarded and visibly watched for precisely that reason at the time when he spotted Rand, on the show he was already gentled! By the implied rules of the Power, his ta’veren spotting ability should not have been functioning, but his ability to sense a channeler should absolutely not exist at all. Setalle Anan, for instance, could not sense the ability in Nynaeve and Elayne.

31:19 Lanfear knows an awful lot about the current practices of the world.

31:27 I got the impression that she would have had trouble identifying Ghealdan at all, unless she had some specific interest in it.

31:45 She’s actually a business owner? She has been awfully busy since she got free. She actually set up and operated a shop in Cairhien on the off-chance Rand would go there, of all places?

32:10 Nope. Nynaeve. Never a nickname. Nicknames are familiar and diminutive and thus only applied to men, or are adopted by women who hate their birth names.

33:37 An Aes Sedai must be tough and not let grief bring her down, she must learn to cope with people dying on her. Okay. Oh, and Sheriam gives Egwene a bereavement day! :facepalm: Those two attitudes do not mesh.

34:05 Okay, fine! I tried to be your friend, but if that’s how you want to play, I’ll just go steal your boyfriend, get knocked up with twins and leave you to take responsibility for my retarded brother!

34:19 Suddenly, Egwene’s weeping was interrupted the a scraping chunk sound of a stone being pushed out of the wall, with Mat, Min and a half a dozen other White Tower prisoners crawling through the aperture into the room.

34:58 I honestly think I like this performance better than Barney Harris’.

35:04 She’s saying all this to draw Mat into making a disrespectful comment, so she can hammer him with the news that it’s Nynaeve.

35:58 The Accepted test is the greatest challenge a woman can face in the Tower? Not the test for full sisterhood? Not an actual Aes Sedai career?

36:67 I was actually surprised she did not end the speech with the name “Rafe Judkins.”

37:16 Are they NOT going to ever reveal that Liandrin is a Darkfriend, and thus, regardless of her Red Ajah issues, knows Mat is somewhat important for entirely different reasons, namely, that her homicidal bosses have an interest in him and she really shouldn’t be letting him run loose…

39:21 I suppose it’s futile to point out just how amazingly tolerant this iteration of Liandrin is, and how Egwene should be envying hemorrhoid patients their ease in sitting after the consequences of her words and attitude toward an Aes Sedai in this scene alone. That being said, I kind of like her more than any other Aes Sedai I’ve seen so far. I’d say she’s a closer match to Tarna than any of Book!Liandrin’s traits.

40:25 Is that Lindsey Duncan!? First Ray "Titus Pullo" Stevenson in the latest Star Wars crap show and now Servilia, from “Rome”!

42:20 It’s always hilarious when socialistic propaganda demonstrates the ignorance of the writers when it comes to economic and social matters. A disproportionate number of the Hunters for the Horn in the books were noble or claimed to be, because you need money to fund your search, to outfit yourself for the quest and to live off of while you are not doing anything productive. The cost of sponsoring a significant number of poor people on an undertaking like this would be comparable to the cost of a war, which was one of the financial disasters that afflicted kings in the medieval and subsequent periods. Furthermore, the sort of people who would embark on something like the Hunt would be fit and healthy folk in their prime. These were the type of people that kings and nobles did not want to get rid of, and in history, actually passed laws prohibiting them from leaving their lands, because they wanted to keep the labor market low. Nobles had rents and taxes that were set by charters and contracts and holy oaths. They could not raise their taxes and rents to cover their expenses, such as the rising cost of labor due to thousands of healthy young people heading off to foreign parts on legendary quests. If a real life queen was looking to relieve herself of the burden of feeding and supporting a mass of migrant poor, she’d be foisting the expense onto the nobles somehow.

43:53 Logain says Rand must be desperate because he’s back so soon. Dude. He’s asking for help controlling the One Power! Who would NOT be desperate in that circumstance? Would it be too much to ask the writers to recall the context in which they have characters say this kind of line.

47:02 Min’s sitting there with an expression on her face like “I could hear everything through that dresser. Took you long enough to let me out.” With that in mind, however, why could she not push it aside and escape herself once she could hear Mat leaving? Also, if they are leaving the hole open, A. what did they do with the blocks they took out and B. now someone in one room can clearly hear noises from the other room, and you might not be able to keep silent when someone is coming in to talk to Mat or Min. What if she was sleeping and unaware of a need for caution and woke up noisily while Liandrin was just standing in Mat’s room?

47:54 I knew this would happen! The writers have already forgotten about the very young sisters Mat has back home, for whom he is the sole means of reliable support, as opposed to the adolescent girls who are close to adulthood in the books. Mat in the books doesn’t worry much about his sisters, because his very competent and reliable parents are taking care of them and they in turn are old enough to take care of themselves if the worst happens. But on the show, they are little kids with a drunk mother and neglectful father, and much of the responsibility for their care devolves on to Mat. They even made a point that he wanted to get home ASAP to take care of them!

But after five months in a comfortable cell, Mat has no motivation anymore.

51:12 I could talk about how wrong this is compared to the established details of the setting, but you know what? The dumber portions of the fandom, to whom this show definitely caters, have trouble grasping the issues Perrin’s connection to the wolves raises with his sense of identity and his hold on his values. As with Mat, they want him to embrace his abilities and be a badass. Regardless of the truth of the matter, at least if Perrin has a reason to believe that embracing the wolf stuff will give Ishamael a hold on him, it should be very comprehensible why he would now be reluctant to dive into wolfbrotherhood.

53:14 What on earth kind of hold could Moiraine have on Min that requires going along with whatever plan of Liandrin’s is going on here? And how could Min and Mat possibly help with whatever she has on Liandrin? And what was the plan if Mat had decided to work on the bricks under his bed, instead of the wall shared with Min's cell?

Also, what exactly is the status of Mat with regard to the Tower? Is Liandrin allowed to just keep someone in a cell with no oversight? If the Tower authorities agree he should be locked up, how can Liandrin allow him to escape and arrange for him not to meet anyone in the corridors, all in aid of concealing whatever Moiraine can blackmail her with? What is the interest of the Tower as a whole here, either in letting sisters use the place as a private prison, or in letting them pull these shenanigans?

57:19 Okay, Elayne is smart, but this is an uncanny amount of knowledge for her to have and infer about someone she has never laid eyes on.

57:55 Book!Nynaeve’s fantasy world was one where she didn’t have to work, I would just like to point out.

58:43 A person who knows Lan and Nynaeve very well was unaware there was a blademaster in the Two Rivers? Or do the show writers not realize that Lan is, in fact, a blademaster, despite his family sword lacking the heron mark?

1:03:03 This test makes no sense. The scenario turned really, really unappealing before she was given the chance to leave. Now this happened in the ITB scenarios, but they went bad in a way that the subject of the test felt like they could fix but they had to turn their backs on loved ones in need of their help in order to return through the arch.

In her first test, Nynaeve’s choices had deteriorated to staying to face the bandits in a world where her parents were dead. Even the second, where they did a better job of emphasizing the personal betrayal of abandoning Tam in his suffering, it was still an awful situation, where an epidemic was hurting the village and there was nothing she could do. She came out demanding the Tower go to the aid of the Two Rivers, so the implication is that there was no temptation to stay at all, and Nynaeve felt in the moment that returning through the arch was her best chance of helping her people. And now she is in a world where her friends & husband are dead, Egwene is facing a serious threat, and as with the second scenario, believes she can help by going through the arch and taking her daughter to safety!

If these scenarios were supposed to tempt Nynaeve to stay, the first one should have been one where her parents are looking for Nynaeve or refusing to go without her, even though the bandits are closing in on the house, and they don’t hear her calling that she’s okay and they have to run, and finally she has to go through the arch, believing her parents are in danger out of love for her. The second one, her channeling should work on her first patient, and everyone should get excited and relieved at their imminent deliverance, and they’re all begging her to hurry up and Heal everyone, and that’s when the arch appears. Then in the third, the kid runs away, with Trollocs chasing, Lan and the guys are wounded, and everyone needs her help, but arch.

1:03:09 At least they did not have Egwene save Nynaeve from yet another certain death, three episodes after the last time she did so with a feat of channeling beyond her capabilities.

And can we just marvel at the fact of the Aes Sedai prematurely calling off the Accepted test with no way of knowing what is actually going on, and whoops, the arches simply had not opened for their candidate yet? Clearly they did not know this was possible, but is the show ever going to address why Nynaeve’s test had such aberrant timing? This is not even like her book test, where she missed the arch the first time, but somehow channeled herself another way out. The arch just aborted before it ever formed and came back after several years. Also, in the normal course of events, all the Aes Sedai are going to assume Egwene and Elayne activated the Arches.

1:03:22 Also, this is really fucked up. These are not some fake memories implanted of a life with a family, this was a whole alternate reality she lived through for years with a kid. She was not tantalized with a convincing lie, she was actually made to live through it and honestly, never really given a choice about accepting or rejecting it, it was just yanked away from her.

This is a hilarious introduction of Nynaeve and Elayne, and it would be equally hilariously in character for Elayne to dot the I’s and cross the T’s by dumping a bucket on her and reciting the words.

Now, recalling that the Amyrlin is supposed to show up when the new Accepted comes out of the third arch, I wonder if they did it this way because Sophie Okonedo was unavailable?

1:03:53 Liars!

So, what actually happened in that episode that matters? One extended and elongated Accepted test. A fake jailbreak from the Tower and a real one via wolves, and now I am thinking they might have cast a black guy as Elyas and focused on Perrin while ignoring the Shienaran captives, in order to have the so-satisfying imagery of a black guy freeing another one from chains. Rand, after spending all of last episode getting in to see Logain, spent this one getting a bottle of wine to bribe him, for no real return that I can see. And Lanfear probably tricked him into burning down her home as part of her genius plan to get him on her side. We are three eighths of the way through the season, and I have no idea what the arcs are for it.

[gift-theft]

Movies watched in 2024, chronologically

Crash Julien Donkey-Boy Earth Mad Max Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu Final Marks: The Art of the Carved Letter Anatomy of a Fall Songs for Earth & Folk Slow Shift Last Things Monster Kiki’s Delivery Service My Neighbor Totoro Fallen Leaves Infiltrators Foragers Inside the Yellow Cocoon Shell Saltburn Memoria The Zone of Interest XCTRY Even the Wind Is Afraid The Match Factory Girl Lost in Translation Rope Pandora and the Flying Dutchman Desperate Living Mädchen in Uniform Havoc Brighton Beach Sudden Fear The Taste of Things Support the Girls The Bedroom Window Mildred Pierce Conversations in Vermont Suzanne, Suzanne The Piano Teacher Ken Jacobs - from Orchard Street to the Museum of Modern Art Rebels of the Neon God The Road to Palestine Jerusalem: The Flower of All Cities Off Frame AKA Revolution Until Victory Taxi Driver Bright Lights, Big City Autotrofia Hiroshima Mon Amour Tomorrow’s Promise Once I Loved a Woman Nazarbazi Mast-Del Once Upon a Time in the West Whispering Pines Zero, 1, 2, 5, 10 Repetitive Stress Injuries The Galactic Pot Healer Every Angle is an Angel Paper Moon Dune 2 Cries and Whispers film by Michał Libera sound projection by Eugeniusz Rudnik The Adjuster Maps to the Stars The Beast F for Fake Al Hal [Trances] Angel’s Egg Fertile Memory A Stone’s Throw Capital Just a Soul Responding arc (expanded cinema performance) Wolves Camera Test (King Cadbury) Entrance Wounds Us and the Night Polyester various shorts, incl. “Fan Fiction” As close as your voice can call In the Fishtank UNDR Familiar Phantoms Possessed **** How Many Nights Flower Names The Ocean View Resort Entire Days in the Trees Time of the Heathen Out 1 (parts 1, 2, 3, 4) Out 1 (parts 5, 6, 7, 8) Very Nice, Very Nice 21-87 Free Fall A Trip Down Memory Lane Fluxes India Song L’Amour Fou The Great White Way Wind Saute Ma Ville Twilight Zone: The Trade Ins Irma Vep Happy-Go-Lucky The Koumiko Mystery Tokyo Days An Owl Is an Owl Cat Listening to Music Pátio Paddington Paddington 2 Sans Soleil La Chimera The Telephone Book Carriage Trade Dark Passage In a Lonely Place Bread and Alley Evil Does Not Exist Dirty Like an Angel Double Indemnity Television and the World Scarface Water Lilies Atlantics The Third Body The Pudic Relation Between Machine and Plant Longlegs Bicycle Thieves Beau Travail Cigarettes and Coffee Traffic Police, Adjective The Big Sleep Shivers 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days The Conversation Angel Face Office Space Contempt Eastern Promises Cosmopolis [unfinished] History of Violence In Praise of Love Rock My Religion In Praise of Love Saving Private Ryan STOP We Imitate; We Break Up Beauty and the Beast The Stuart Hall Project Ciao Bella Baby Doll Cake and Steak Doppelganger London Suite (Getting Sucked In) Four Minute Cut Episode Aliens Lumumba Sarraounia Toute Une Nuit Remind me to Remember to Forget Via Dolorosa Mnemonics of Shape and Reason 15 Palestinian Minutes in Palestine Lydda Airport Libretto-o-o Specular Fiction Capital The Spy Who Loved Me View from a Body: Australian video program Twilight Zone: 16-mm Shrine Dahomey The Hitch-Hiker Detour Hard Times Oh, Canada Caught by the Tides Chinatown Film as Curatorial Tool: CCA Films Voyage of Jeanette A Coin from Thin Air The Cruise Meteors 29 Palms The Watchman Afire Anora Mirror Philadelphia Story The Sacrifice The Postman Always Rings Twice Pickpocket A Man Escaped Karishika Wild at Heart Farocki: Against War program The Maltese Falcon World for Ransom Slightly Scarlet Cry of the Hunted Cry Vengeance Key Largo Lethal Weapon In girum imus nocte et consumimur igni Showgirls Can Dialectics Break Bricks? Critique of Separation Stop for Bud So Ein Ding Muss Ich Auch Haben Group Cinéthique films Blue Velvet A Traveler’s Needs Out of the Blue Transparencies, Animali Criminali, Images d’Orient The Marshal’s Two Executions Lethal Weapon 2 Bona Killing of a Chinese Bookie All We Imagine as Light Suspicion A Short Film About Killing In Our Day

[thesketchyheartist]

02/07

PSYCHO-PASS Episodes 1-3 and 9 (season 1)

Today's Choice Week 1 Day 2 anime is Psycho-Pass. Unlike the past anime, this one was made in modern times in 2012, with the latest episodes from 2019. The animation reminds me of Moriarty the Patriot art style, though I only have seen a few iconic clips of the show.

I actually enjoyed this so much (a good break from the weekend's Perfect Blue). I'm adding this to my list to watch later. It takes place in a postmodern dystopian society where technology and AI have become commonplace in Japanese society, much like how AI is integrating into ours right now. During the apprehension of criminals and victims, the special Dominators (basically super high-tech guns that can switch between lethal and non-lethal attacks) are biometric activated and can only attack and switch modes based on their system's code. So even if an authorized individual wanted to kill an innocent bystander, the gun would immediately lock itself and deactivate. On one hand, it protects people, but imagine how if it senses its target is suddenly a killer, how dependent the person holding the trigger just follow the order, making the gun more dangerous than the person who wields it.

The first 3 episodes cover the hierarchy of the Public Safety Bureau our MC Akane begins working at. In episode 9, we continue to learn more about the other characters. I find it surprising one of the Enforcers (think of them like people on Suicide Squad) used to be a colleague of Akane's coworker. Akane and her coworker are Inspectors (like the actual government people in charge of the Enforcers; the anime refers to Enforcers as "hunting dogs" who hunt beasts just like them, and the Inspectors are like the owners holding their leash and collars.). There are 3 seasons, and I'm sure this anime will go deeper into Akane's morals as she tries to treat the Enforcers like people, despite their criminal backgrounds, while keeping her sanity so she doesn't let them become someone else's victims to play with. I like how in episode 9 when she tells off her coworker because they made sure as a young woman she wouldn't be easily manipulated (because she's a girl, iykyk), nor does not listen to her more experienced colleague. It shows how she is smart and not top of her class for nothing, that she's patient and listens to others, and she is independent as she does have to "control" her Enforcers (like in Ep 1 she shot an Enforcer to stop him) and to stand up for her values.

I didn't watch episodes 4-8, so I'm wondering if they go into what a Hue is and how they calculate it, and what determines a Psycho Pass and Crime Coefficient.

They always make those white-haired boys like ______, and for what? I probably should censor that because I don't know how to use Tumblr.

-02/06/2024

[naddpod-encounter-tourney]

Option 1:

Enemy: Chosen Airship (15 people of various strength)

Episode: C1 E19: The Purge

Time: (ads) 30:03-53:55 (Cobb's last death save: 1:31:45-1:33:33)

Finish: it's a lot of scrubs so a lot of cleave and NPCs get most of the kills. Matty Big Crits finishes the Captain though.

Notes: Splitting the party couldn't possibly go wrong! Cobb and Hardwon face off against 15 people with 3 White Nights. They're immediately so fucked. Hardwon goes down so fast and most of the encounter is Murph fighting himself. Matty Big Crits makes his mark. Death's door is where Cobb is most comfortable.

Propaganda: (anonymous) Matthias of House Crit! An early instance of Murph refusing to tone down an unexpectedly lethal fight. Jake’s nat 20 death save for Cobb was spectacular

Option 2:

Enemy: Undead Dragon, Wilhelm Bronzebeard, Pale Prince, Akarot, Rust Bronzebeard

Episodes: C1 E45: Kingshammer

Time: (ads) 38:36 - 1:45:58 (but don't stop there. fr)

Finish: Bev (Wilhelm* (*Technically killed by gravity but Bev did trip with him on his back), Dragon), Hardwon (Rust* (*given the option of catching him, refused), Pale Prince)

Notes: Hardwon faces his childhood bullies in the snow. Wilhelm casts Earthquake and turns things into a fall/chase encounter as everyone races for the Kingshammer. Moonshine jumps down immediately to play defense. Bev tries to kill Akarot, who just leaves, and then has to keep saving everyone. He ends up being the only one with decent HP at the end, and this fight is so close to a TPK. Hardwon gets the Kingshammer. Paw Paw has to do CPR on Balnor.

Propaganda: (anonymous) The fact that Murph was able to design this sheer number of factors and have it be balanced perfectly as a dire, near-deadly, but winnable fight, is so impressive. And those factors were so creative. There was the kingshammer falling 2d100 every round, and players able to run or fall to get to it, a complicated goal that invited gambling, sacrifice, and creative use of spells. There was major bad guy Akarot in his prime body, the pale prince, and a fucking white dragon. There was Wilhelm Bronzebeard and his shit nephew-son who wouldn’t pick a side. There was Toma and her wolf slowly steadily running down the mountain in the background lol. There was escalation that made the battle start before Wilhelm’s avalanche, navigated flexibly by Murph. He was not fucking around, throwing Bev’s amulet into the snow, and keeping track of so many enemies and their conflicting motivations as well as their mechanics. The imagery in my mind of the chaotic tumbling snow is so real, and the scene of the last conscious pc exchanging blows with a dragon was so fucking epic. And the terror at the end of genuinely not knowing whether they were going to have won the battle only to freeze to death. Such a thick sode, a chunky battle, an incredible narrative, such a cool encounter for an arc finale.