#mcneil point

[slolane]

mcneil point, part twelve (hikes of 2023) by Danielle Nelson Via Flickr: The bear grass at McNeil Point was... well, on point. Image made with my Hasselblad 500 C/M.

[kamiishiiros]

many kantabas bc they make me feel so severely ill and i need to do something about it

[kuiperoid]

Optical Illusion: Perceptions of Race and Sexuality with Right-Wing Internet Personality Nick Fuentes, Part 3

[originally posted here]

Part 1, Part 2

The Gospel of Judas

There have been multiple references throughout this article to Fuentes’s former associate Jaden McNeil, but to understand the true depth of that situation, one must know who Jaden McNeil is and what he meant to both Fuentes and the America First movement. Simply referring to him as “Fuentes’s ex-associate” is greatly underplaying the role he played in Fuentes’s movement and life in general. The two were a veritable right-wing version of Maximilien Robespierre and Camille Desmoulins and, as with that political friendship, it was not made to last. It ended, however, not at the guillotine, but in an ongoing online battle of insults and accusations.

Jaden Patrick McNeil was born to a modest background in a small town in Nebraska on May 17, 1999. He would go on to be a student at Kansas State University with the intention of one day becoming a lawyer. He proved quite effective as a conservative activist as the president of Kansas State’s Turning Point USA chapter, which would become one of the largest in the country. McNeil’s success with Turning Point led to invites to conservative conferences, including to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort.

For all of his success with Turning Point, McNeil found himself becoming disillusioned with the movement. In initial interviews, McNeil would say that it was because the stated views of Turning Point did not align with his own, such as being accepting of nonwhite immigrants so long as they arrived via legal routes. Later, he would state that he was disturbed by the number of older men at these events who appeared to be there to sexually prey on the college and high school-aged boys they knew would be present. At an event in 2019, Canadian white nationalist activist Faith Goldy introduced him to Nick Fuentes. The two began talking and McNeil felt he finally found someone he could see eye-to-eye with and be open with politically and, he would later say, a movement that he hoped would be less infested with predators than Turning Point. The connection was mutual as Fuentes would describe the meeting as “divine intervention,” saying that God intended for them to meet. McNeil’s fellow Turning Point associates were not as enthusiastic about their president’s new friendship and warned him that Fuentes was a “Neo-Nazi.” McNeil did not heed their warnings and stayed in contact with Fuentes. The two participated in some events together, such as when Fuentes publicly accosted Ben Shapiro, eventually culminating in McNeil founding America First Students, an extension of Fuentes’s organization aimed at college students, after McNeil resigned as president to Kansas State’s Turning Point chapter. 

McNeil’s continued association with Fuentes and statements online perceived as racially charged drew ire from some of the less conservative Kansas State student body. For example, he complained about Kansas State’s Ethnic Studies GE requirement and said that the Jennifer Lopez and Shakira halftime show at the Super Bowl displayed everything that he hated about immigration. This came to a head in June of 2020 when McNeil made a tweet “congratulating” George Floyd on being “drug free an entire month,” followed by a reference to the widely debunked claim popularized by conservative commentator Tucker Carlson, of whom McNeil is a fan, that George Floyd’s death was the result of a drug overdose rather than being asphyxiation by the cop kneeling on his neck. This caused immediate public backlash, including calls for McNeil’s expulsion and a boycott by the Kansas State football team. McNeil was unapologetic and remained enrolled at Kansas State even as the outrage reached outside of the student body.

It is unclear what the final straw was, but McNeil was eventually expelled from Kansas State. Fuentes offered to let McNeil live in the basement of a building he had recently bought in Chicago free of charge while he acted as treasurer to America First. There were even discussions of him possibly moving forward to produce the show and act as a co-host in the future. In addition to his new position as America First’s treasurer, he became a gaming streamer to make ends meet.  McNeil would continue to participate in events with Fuentes for the next few years, even serving as a featured speaker at a few of them, such as anti-vaccine rallies, the next few AFPACs, the events  that preceded the January 6th storming of the capital, and even serving as Fuentes’s travel partner and videographer during the White Boy Summer Tour of 2021.

The image of the bond between Fuentes and McNeil was shattered in April of 2022 when McNeil made a post on Telegram announcing that he was resigning as treasurer to America First. He said that his political views had not changed but that it was not what he wanted in life at that moment, wishing everyone well. However, this would continue to unravel in the coming weeks as Fuentes’s associates began bitterly speaking about McNeil. His streaming channel was removed from Cozy without warning. Shortly afterward, McNeil appeared on Kino Casino, an Internet show that had often been critical of Nick Fuentes, along with fellow America First defector Simon Dickerman to discuss what led to their eventual departure. McNeil’s friendship with Fuentes was revealed to be far more fraught than previously presented. Issues arose between the two of them soon after McNeil moved to Chicago. Fuentes was painted as a controlling, paranoid narcissist who wanted more from McNeil as a friend than he was offering. He claimed that Fuentes became jealous of his relationships with girls and would feel hurt when McNeil would invite him to play video games with him as part of a group chat rather than reaching out to him individually. Many allegations arose, such as that Fuentes was using a multiplier to increase the number of views on his shows and building on the claims that he was a federal informant, but the most often-cited moment to Fuentes’s critics across the aisle seemed to be the allegation that he had posted in a group chat about searching McNeil’s apartment with a blacklight for traces of his semen on the bed and couch. This startling image portrayed of Fuentes was not invalidated by the May 10th, 2022 episode of his show in which he addressed McNeil’s appearance on Kino Casino, something he felt was explicitly done to hurt him. While he insisted that the story about him searching for semen was based on a joke he made about how unavoidable the stains on the furniture were when he went in to clean out the basement apartment out for the next tenant, he did not deny and in fact built upon the image of the demanding, co-dependent friendship he had attempted to forge with McNeil. The two hour stream included a monologue in which Fuentes he described all he did for McNeil - doxxing Kansas State students who had threatened him, moving him out to Chicago to get him away from a girlfriend he could not bring himself to break up with, cleaning his room when he was depressed, buying him soup and tea when he was sick with COVID, and more - while feeling he had received an insufficient reciprocity, something he had brought up with McNeil near the end of their friendship. It appears that he had expected more, alleging that McNeil frequently got in phone arguments with his mom with regards to his friendship with Fuentes. He portrayed the dissolution of their friendship as starting in December the year before due to how much time McNeil was spending with his new girlfriend. Fuentes appeared to be holding back tears multiple times during the stream as he described how devastated he was over the perceived betrayal and the love he still felt for his former best friend, holding out hope that they could someday make amends. It would have been easy to feel sorry for Fuentes; losing a friend is difficult for anyone, moreso when trapped in the right-wing emotional prison in which men cannot express emotions, certainly not love and heartbreak over platonic friends. That is, it would have been if not for what happened next.

As the weeks went by, the love and sadness were replaced with bitterness. Fuentes went on a trenchant spiel about how McNeil lacked intellectual depth when it came to media consumption compared to himself and wrote him off as “[his] former bitch.” It was clear the intentions to make amends with McNeil were gone as the accusations against him became increasingly bizarre and personal such as saying that he was a sugar baby to a high paying super chatter, was secretly transgender or intersex, and had attempted to nonconsensually kiss Fuentes while drunk. In keeping with Fuentes’s alleged grandiose self-perception, he took to thereafter referring to McNeil as “Judas” or sometimes “Judy” to allude at the gender ambiguity he was now accusing him of. In yet another unexpected turn, followers of Fuentes began publicly posting various unflattering photos of McNeil, purportedly meant to paint McNeil as an irresponsible alcoholic libertine. While he was drinking or smoking in a handful, in most, he was simply sleeping and did not necessarily appear to be passed out from alcohol consumption. Most of the photos appeared to be taken by Fuentes himself, namely one being a literal selfie he took with McNeil sleeping on a couch behind him. McNeil stated that he had no clue any of them existed and that they appeared to have been taken over the course of the three years that he and Fuentes knew each other. McNeil confessed that, while he knew saying so was “kind of gay,” that seeing these pictures made him deeply uncomfortable and made his “skin crawl.” In keeping with the response to Fuentes’s monologue about his loss of McNeil’s friendship, naturally McNeil was not going to permit himself to be seen as a man showing vulnerable feelings or other times when he likened Fuentes’s need for emotional validation as being “like a girl,” but even he could not help himself here and his viewers expressed sympathy, remarking that he had every right to “feel violated.” He questioned why Fuentes had taken them to begin with and what purpose they had served him in the years that he kept them before leaking them to the public, speculating that his intentions had been sexual in nature. Whatever the reason, one can generally consider nonconsensually photographing someone in their sleep and then posting those pictures publicly to be inappropriate, regardless of the nature of their relationship. With all the debates about whether or not Fuentes’s actions were “gay,” the subject of whether or not these actions would be appropriate in any situation has been overlooked.

McNeil had previously stated an intention to move on with his life and “get a blue collar job,” should his work with America First come to an end. However, Fuentes vowed to keep him from ever having a normal life or getting a normal job. This led McNeil to carry on as a streamer, primarily focused on conservative critiques of America First and Fuentes, such as his ideological inconsistencies, the federal informant rumors, and protecting alleged sexual predators connected to the movement, namely Ali Alexander whose antics McNeil says Fuentes was aware of. There are of course less refined critiques as well, such as vulgar references to Fuentes’s speculated sexual orientation, his supposed excessive pornography usage, and comments about Fuentes’s conception as the child of in-vitro fertilization, something McNeil views as unnatural and the cause for all of Fuentes’s bizarre personality traits. Fuentes would continue to directly or subtly reference McNeil in the months to come, making references of his own to McNeil’s lack of adequate masculinity and being the child of divorce. Both examples highlight a rightwing fixation on having been brought into the world from a proper beginning in an almost Calvinist view of predetermination. 

The two would not directly interact again until July of 2023 when McNeil called in to a discussion with LeafyIsHere to both defend his honor and bring to light the situation with Ali Alexander. Before the discussion even began, groypers poisoned the well for LeafyIsHere by leading him to the dox of the netizen whom they claimed was McNeil’s sugar daddy. During the call, Fuentes joined in, repeatedly questioning McNeil about his super chatter, taunting him about sexual acts the two presumably engaged in, and went on to repeat the claim that McNeil had attempted to kiss him once, this time adding a story about how it happened after the two of them saw Spiderman: No Way Home together in theaters. McNeil essentially broke down in frustration and left the call. Both on his show and on Kino Casino later, he claimed that LeafyIsHere had repeatedly muted him and denied having attempted to kiss Fuentes ever, let alone in the story he told. Perception by their respective supporters colors how these incidents were perceived. Unsurprisingly, groypers took Fuentes’s word at face value and McNeil fans did not. How they discuss these alleged interactions is obviously painted by these opinions and end up portraying them in entirely different lights. Over time, the respective supporters of these men have developed rather specific images of their alleged attraction to the other for being something denied on both sides. Once again, images of race and sexuality are at the center. McNeil fans present Fuentes as this evil, conniving gay Mexican attempting to sexually manipulate their pure, white heterosexual hero. Even left-wing Fuentes critics have fallen victim to this mindset that infantalizes McNeil, with more than one having referred to him as “the teenage boy [Fuentes] tried to groom,” as if he was not less than a year younger than Fuentes and a legal adult for the entirety of their knowing each other. Groypers emphasize McNeil’s lack of traditional masculinity in appearance, calling him a “twink,” and suggest he was attempting to seduce their dear leader, sometimes leaning into the sugar baby angle. A more confusing claim they cling to to is Fuentes’s allegation that one of McNeil’s grade school friends came out as came as gay as an adult, meaning that McNeil is likely gay by association; why someone who claimed he was his best friend as an adult and has been unnerved by gay rumors about himself would use this argument is unclear. Some take a third approach. Inevitably, the fact that Fuentes portrays one of McNeil’s fans as offering him an exorbitant amount of financial support as driven by sexual desire has caused some detractors to assume he is speaking from his own experience as his former employer and the provider of his home. The canard developed here is that McNeil was attempting to lead Fuentes on or even acquiesced to his supposed desires for financial gain before moving on to an older, more financially and emotionally stable sugar daddy. This still portrays Fuentes as a sniveling, pathetic  imp of a man driven by unnatural lust, while McNeil is portrayed as a monetarily predatory manipulator who cannot rely on his own means to take care of himself.

It is curious that both Fuentes and McNeil would bring up traits that they were clearly aware of from near the beginning of them knowing each other in their critiques of each other. In both instances, there is an attempt to rewrite their history. Fuentes has referenced being disappointed to learn that McNeil was not a celibate virgin like himself after he moved in, but he still remained friends with him after that, even continuing to provide him with a job and free housing. For all of McNeil’s jokes about Fuentes being Mexican, there is minimal chance he did not consider someone with the last name of “Fuentes” might be partially Latino, even if he somehow missed the streams where Fuentes actively referenced having a Mexican grandfather. His own jokes about Fuentes’s possible homosexuality are not only in reference to incidents that occurred while they lived in the same building or spent time together, but events that have become part of the general Nick Fuentes lore. Certainly, some of the cited events, such as Fuentes’s monologue about sex with women being “gay” happened after he and McNeil had parted ways, but McNeil’s references to the infamous “CatboyKami date” as if it was a shocking new revelation are rather confusing. The event in question happened at the end of 2019, the year McNeil and Fuentes got to know each other; in fact, the viewers of the entire stream can confirm that Fuentes made multiple references to his “friend Jaden” throughout the night, presumably referring to McNeil. It is difficult to imagine that McNeil did not hear about the stream, given he was getting involved with America First at the time and both right and left-wing detractors replied to nearly everything online related to Fuentes or his organization with taunting images and references to the stream, especially during the first few months of 2020. All of that and McNeil apparently did not consider it suspicious at the time, considering he moved into the building that Fuentes owned and became a more involved member of America First all after that happened.

One recalls him mentioning in the past that Turning Point members warned him about Fuentes and cannot help but consider that speculation about his sexuality was a part of that. Speculation about McNeil’s own sexuality was rampant during his association with America First, despite all of his confirmed relationships at the point of writing this being with women. Most of it was based on very little, some just remarking on his appearance and calling him a “twink.” One can find an older rumor spread around attaching a Freudian explanation to McNeil’s racial animus, saying he was sexually assaulted - ranging from a pantsing to a more violent tale - by a pair of black male students in the restroom while in high school, further adding to this image of him as on the receiving end of predatory sexual attention from men of color. Considering McNeil has stated that the town he grew up in was fairly homogenous and that he did not develop his ideologies until college, all versions of this tale seem deeply unlikely, but that did not stop it from gaining traction in the gutters of KiwiFarms and such. The exact birth of this rumor is unclear, but it did not appear to take hold until after McNeil was associated with Fuentes, further emphasizing how it was likely based more on the perception of him during that time than actual fact. Many rightwing detractors of Fuentes who have since become supporters of McNeil admit to having previously assumed he was his boyfriend. It is not difficult to find older posts on KiwiFarms and similar websites with lurid posts joking about what sort of sexual acts the two were speculated to have engaged in together. Even the hosts of Kino Casino had initially reported on the split between Fuentes and McNeil as a “break up” and made crude sexual remarks about the two of them prior to McNeil’s appearance on their show. Perhaps McNeil’s reaction now is a mix of regret that he did not listen to detractors sooner and a need to overcompensate for the rumors that spread about him as a result of his association with Fuentes. On that topic, Fuentes has himself appeared to attempt to change history as well. He has since tried to claim that he lost interest in McNeil as a friend after incidents of him trying to pressure him to drink and ultimately culminating in the alleged incident of him trying to kiss him after seeing a movie, despite them being not only publicly associated for four months after the fact, but Fuentes’s infamous sorrowful monologue was after all of that and complaints about the time McNeil spent with his girlfriend. One would think that he would respond to someone expressing unwanted romantic advances towards him proceeding to get a significant other would be met with relief and, if the alleged attempted kiss was so off-putting that it put an irreparable dent in their friendship, he would not mind the friendship formally ending, let alone be nearly brought to tears lamenting that end. 

It is difficult not to feel a semblance of sympathy for McNeil. Regardless of the reasons behind some of Fuentes’s antics, whether it was attraction, an attempt at control, or undiagnosed  neurodivergence-related social awkwardness, one thing that is for certain is that the way he treated him was professionally inappropriate at best and abusive at worst. When looking at McNeil’s older posts or listening to his stream to this day, between the provocative references to race and gender, there are some genuine frustrations about not having the opportunity to grow up in the same world generations before did, not unlike those of other young people of quite different political leanings. This is compounded when one remembers his working class upbringing, preventing him from accessing what positives remain. It is true that many of the most obvious scholarships and other assistive programs are focused on aspects of identity like race and gender, one can see how a young white man that still has all of the struggles of someone lacking resources would interpret this. As despicable as many viewed America First, it is easy to see how a desperate nineteen-year-old was drawn in. One cannot help but speculate, had events occurred a bit differently, that he would have instead been pulled into the Center for Political Innovation, a group that espouses left-wing, class-based politics with a strong criticism of identity politics, though declaring them capitalist constructions to divide the working class rather than a Jewish conspiracy to take down the white man. Of course, rather than addressing the antics of Nick Fuentes, he would instead have to reconcile with accusations of that group’s leader, Caleb Maupin, who would face questionable allegations of his own and a mass exodus from his movement in the middle of 2022. Finding an extreme political movement without members accused of inappropriate actions towards their underlings is becoming increasingly difficult. 

Class remains at the center of the struggle between these two. McNeil joined the movement so young and is now being kept from moving on with life by someone whose upbringing was far more comfortable than his own. McNeil criticizes Fuentes for his “unnatural” IVF conception, something that requires a great deal of money to undergo. Fuentes criticizes McNeil for having divorced parents when working class families are far more likely to experience divorce than wealthier ones. It is also undeniable that the dynamic between the two, even if it lacked the context of attraction that some allege was there, was deeply unbalanced and controlling. The two were attempting to navigate a friendship while Fuentes was also McNeil’s employer and provided his housing. Hearing McNeil’s voice crack as Fuentes went after him in that phone call, it is clear that imbalance remains. McNeil has jokingly talked about how odd it is that Fuentes continues to go after him, calling himself a “nobody.” For all of the criticisms McNeil has launched against his former boss and friend, one wonders if, at the end of the day, Fuentes convinced him that he was nothing without him and he still believes it. From an optical perspective, it certainly appears that way.

Conclusion

How to precisely define Nick Fuentes’s race and sexuality is a mystery to anyone aside from himself and even that may be up for debate. More important than whatever may actually be true is what is seen as true to his critics, something that varies by person and situation. In the end, Fuentes was correct in identifying optics as the most important factor of a movement. What is really there does not matter. All that matters is what people perceive. 

Sources

The initial pieces of research on Fuentes and his associates was discovered in articles by the SPLC, ADL, Mother Jones, and the Kansas Star. Much of the rest of the personal information was found from much less official sources, namely an Illinois-based Facebook group dedicated to outing the personal lives of the Chicco-Fuentes family to keep them from profiting financially on account of the son’s political involvement. Most of the information was from watching episodes of Fuentes and McNeil’s shows, both live and uploads on Bitchute, Odyssee, Rumble, YouTube, and the Internet Archive, as well as following their social media accounts on Twitter, Telegram, and Gab. The episode of Kino Casino that McNeil and Dickerman appeared on was helpful in assessing their views. Additionally, their interviews with others, as well as reaction videos by leftist streamers critical of them - including Shark3ozero, Vaush, and Creationist Cat - were also utilized. As for the commentary on the response by fans and critics, much was obtained from KiwiFarms and other websites dedicated to mocking Internet personalities. The anecdote about Martin Luther was based on the teachings of a deeply-influential, now-retired high school AP European History teacher. Everything else is based on the author’s own observations and opinions.

Bonus: The playlist I made to accompany this essay.

[flyingiseasy-landingnotsomuch]

Trail views from McNeil Point Trail from last September. If you have hiked this trail, you know the amazing views you get of Mt. Hood after you exit the forest here.

I did shoot a 4k cinematic video from this hike. Best viewed on a high def TV. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vn_MUTNZoAY&t

Blessings on your weekend. I leave Y'all with this.

"What is the good of your stars and trees, your sunrise and the wind, if they do not enter into our daily lives?" –E.M. Forster

[warlordfelwinter]

my literal only complaint about resident alien is harry's true form could really look more... bestial. like its cool dont get me wrong i love the four arms and the legs but give that man a muzzle and some spikes or something. maybe a tail

[hale-of-stiles-heart]

Jesus Christ, watching a documentary and its making me so MAD

[maswartz]

My ideas for voices for the 13 Primes if they ever get a series of their own.

Prima, the first Prime- Peter Cullen/Garry Chalk (because duh)

Vector Prime, The guardian of time- Richard Newman/David Tennant (because doctor who)

Alpha Trion, keeper of knowledge- Chris McFeely/George Takei

Solus Prime, forger of artifacts- Marlene Aragon/Susan Blu (who better to voice the first female transformer than the voice of the first female transformer)

Micronus Prime, the first Minicon- Johnny Yong Bosch

Alchemist Prime, master of the elements- Thew Adams/Jack Black

Nexus Prime, the first combiner- Scott McNeil (especially if his components get into arguments)

Onyx Prime, the first beast form transformer- David Kaye

Amalgamous Prime, the first to transform- Frank Welker (who better for the bot with a thousand modes than the man with a thousand voices)

Quintus Prime, seeder of life- Clancy Brown

Liege Maximo, the manipulator- Tom Hiddleston (again because duh)

Megatronus, The Fallen- Keith David

The Thirteenth, The Arisen- Judd Nelson (a twist on the theory that they reincarnated as Optimus, this time they reincarnate as Hot Rod/Rodimus) Primus, The life giver- Morgan Freeman/Peter Cullen (I honestly want Peter to voice Primus at some point) Unicron, the chaos bringer- Lee Tockar

[drconstellation]

I Know Where I'm Going

Aziraphale's Edinburgh Journey: Part 5

Episode 3 of S2 is named after a black-and-white 1945 Powell and Pressburger film, which is in turn named after an old Scottish folk song. It's a delightful film, which I'll discuss further below the cut, that strides headlong into the theme of fate vs free will, among other things.

This is the last major piece we need to tie things together, after starting this journey with The Clue in Episode 2, which lead Aziraphale to make the journey to Edinburgh in the first place.

Fate vs Free Will

I Know Where I'm Going, both the film and S2E3, is about not ending up where you expected to be, so this how Aziraphale went expecting to find the answer to one question, but found the answer to an unexpected question instead. So part of the problem we have is that while we end up getting the answers to two questions, one expected and one unexpected, I feel people really aren't recognizing the questions that raise them in the first place.

Not making sense? Let me describe the film.

Joan is a confident young (25yo) lady on her way to the (fictitious) Ilse of Kiloran to marry a rich older industrialist. This involves a journey by train then several ferries to the ultimate destination. However she gets stuck on the Isle of Mull, the penultimate stop, as the weather turns, and has to stay the night, then several days, as a bad gale blows.

She meets a fellow traveller, Torquill McNeil, a naval officer home on leave, who invites her up to one of the local mansions. Joan meets some of the delightful and slightly eccentric locals (the pack of goofy, soft wolf hounds of the Lady of the house, Catriona Potts, are a highlight of the film, imo) including a retired colonel who's into falconry who keeps going on about a lost golden eagle that he's training. (The eagle is a metaphor for Torquill, it turns out.)

We find out Torquill is actually the Laird of Kiloran, and he is renting out Kiloran to Joan's husband-to-be for money while he's off in the navy seeing the world. Torquill knows all the locals, and the locals know him, and they are all kind of bound together as one big happy family, in a way.

The next morning Torquill takes Joan to the hotel in another village to talk to her fiance via radio, as they still can't get to the other island. The fiance (who we never see) recommends visiting another house nearby. She does, and we find out they are also rich from new money, and care nothing about the locals and the local environment. And this is where we start learning there is a bit of divide between the old and the new, the rural out door life that is connected to the land, and the new wealth that cuts itself off from its surroundings and other people. And Joan is going to be a part of that - in her dream on the train, the same dream that gives us the tartan clad hills, she marries a corporation, not a person - so impersonal!

Joan is desperate to get across to Kiloran (she knows where she's going! She thinks...) After repeatedly bumping into Torquill over the next couple of days and it becoming evident there are feelings growing between them, she bribes a young local boatman to take her across to her fiance and expected marriage on Kiloran to escape this, even though the gale is still blowing strong. Torquill finds out at the last minute, and jumps into the boat with them. They get caught in a squall, and the motor cuts out. The tide drags them towards the infamous local whirlpool, and they only just escape due to Torquill's expertise.

Joan is chastened when they return to safety. That was the point of not risking the crossing in the gale in the first place, explains Torquill. They could have sent a rescue boat out if they got into trouble, but it puts more than just the rescuers at risk, it puts their families at risk, and then that extends to the whole island. Doesn't she see how the whole island is interconnected? She finally realizes how selfish she has been.

The next day dawns brightly, and the gale has finally blown out - the sea is a calm and a ferry crossing will be no trouble today. The colonel finally catches up with his golden eagle, and brings it home to roost.

Joan and Torquill say their farewells on the road, and there's a Great Big Kiss before they part and go their separate ways.

Torquill walks past the ruined castle that he is fated to be cursed if he enters as Laird of Kiloran. But he decides to risk it, and he goes in and explores the ruins, and we hear the whole story of the curse and finds that it isn't such a bad curse after all - in a metaphorical way! The next thing he hears is bagpipes - it's Joan returning up the road with the pipers that were supposed to be at her wedding. She has decided she wasn't going where she thought she was going after all and has come back to be with Torquill, her new love.

That's the basics of the story, but if you would like to watch it, I would recommend you do, as there is a lot more in it than that.

(I did watch "A Matter of Life and Death/Stairway to Heaven" before finishing this post, seeing as the book that features in it also appears in S2xE3, which is the main episode around the trip to Edinburgh, but more in relation to Gabriel's situation I think. It also deals with a character trying to escape their intended fate, but they do so by attending a formal trial and pleading their case. Other ops have reviewed the film here and here if you want to find out a bit more. I wasn't as impressed with that film, sorry to say, but I will probably watch it again to reflect on certain features and points in it relevant to GO, there is a lot. And to work out which minor character a very young Sir Richard Attenborough was playing!)

Lunatic Behaviour and Lethal Traps

Some ops have pointed out that Elspeth and Wee Morag act as parallel characters to Crowley and Aziraphale. While some would argue there are various ways to interpret this, the music indicates that Elspeth aligns with Crowley and Wee Morag with Aziraphale.

Elspeth is the one trying hard to engineer the pair's escape from the poverty trap they are in, even if it is by nefarious means. Wee Morag is the one scandalised by Elspeth's illicit actions, and concerned about doing right by Heaven. Crowley takes up Elspeth's side of the argument against Aziraphale, that its not as easy to escape poverty as one thinks (i.e. just working hard will fix things) but he also tries to warn Wee Morag that things don't work the way she thinks they do in the afterlife either.

So what's the price one pays for going down the path of body snatching as an escape from poverty? You have to get past the lethal traps of the grave guns that have been set, by not tripping the wires. And again, its the wealthy privileged ones that have the advantage.

Acting in haste was a disaster. They got split up, never to see one another again. One more body may have got them out of short term trouble, but what about the long term?

Escape is a nice dream, but a harsh reality.

Elspeth was going to use the laudanum as another form of easy escape, until Crowley prevented it, then acted as a daemonium ex machina to assist her in escaping properly good, using Aziraphale's money, as that was really the only way she was going to escape for good.*

Joan tried to escape Torquill in I Know Where I'm Going, but only cast herself and her companions into danger. If she had been more patient and less selfish, she might have had everything she wanted without suffering on the way. But that wouldn't have made as good a story then, would it? And she wouldn't have gotten to know Torquill and fallen for him, either.

If Aziraphale ran away to Alpha Centauri with Crowley, like Crowley had been urging in the present, would they be free? The inference is its unlikely, that they wouldn't be able to escape their own "poverty trap," the alarms would be raised, and the trouble they caused would be too deep to pull themselves out of. Luck hasn't been on their side so far.

The View from Above

By now we should be alert to characters trying to avoid their fate, or perhaps ending up in places they weren't intending to. Fate has a weird way of biting you on the backside, as the trope goes.

Giant Crowley did end up somewhere he wasn't intending to be, and perhaps accidentally ended up playing God and deciding Elspeth's fate. There are mentions of angels as tall as mountains, or tall as the sky in the Bible, so him ordering Aziraphale to give all his money to Elspeth while looking down at them shouldn't really be out of place for those familiar with the book. Crowley also took Elspeth's fate into his own hands when he snatched the laudanum away from her and drank it down, an action akin to absolving her of her sins.

Aziraphale also tried to change Elspeth's and Wee Morag's fate, by changing his mind about the morality of the body snatching. That didn't end up the way he hoped or expected, either.

Mr Dalrymple was of aware of two fates he could meet, he just didn't know which one it would be at the time he was s talking to Aziraphale and Crowley.

DALRYMPLE: I either end up with a knighthood or condemned as a resurrectionist and hanging from a rope.

Sadly, we find out through Aziraphale reading the pamphlet he picked up outside the pub that it was along the lines of the second one - he might not have been actually condemned for a crime, but he condemned his own conscience and then his soul.

If you would like a contrast to this, come back to S1xE2, where we approach a young Newton Pulsifer in his bedroom, about to short out the electrical works for his whole neighbourhood yet again. God is narrating at this point, and the camera view pans down from the sky...and bumps with a visible jolt and audible noise into the window frame of his bedroom. (I wasn't able to find a GIF for this.)

Newt is a Crowley-parallel, they are both on the side of free will and choosing one's destiny. This is not a place for God, the decider of Fate, to trespass. There will be no crossing of this threshold, Frances!

I would just like to take a step back here to Part 4: Judgement Day, if I may, and reconsider this view of the missing cross in the statue of Gabriel's arms:

This is the only point of view that we don't see the cross from. It's still seen from between Gabriel's and Beelzebub's shoulders, and Crowley stills see it in 1826, so it's not invisible to demons.

So I would like to ask, could the missing cross view be God's point of view?

The viewpoint is similar to the one in the Job minisode, as seen from where Aziraphale and Crowley are witnessing Job listen to the Almighty speak to him.

So, perhaps if God isn't seeing the cross, they aren't the one who has so-called Ineffable Plans for the Second Coming in mind.

Yeah, so there's the Great Plan, and the Ineffable Plan, but are they the same plan...and who is pushing so hard for the Great Plan to come to completion, then? Not Gabriel or Beelzebub, that's for sure.

66 Goat Gate

Just before we attempt to wrap things up, we should have a look at the address on the Clue, but it doesn't really tell us anything we don't already know.

We know the address of the pub in Edinburgh appears in two places, once on the record single Maggie gives to Aziraphale and once on the matchbox that held the fly. There is a difference in the way they are written, with an comma on the record, and also Goat Gate written as two words, whereas it is one word on the matchbox.

Gate was old name for a road, so one interpretation could be that it was hinting at a demon road, or an underground road (demons live in Hell, which is underground, and demons are also associated with goats) and that ties in with the resurrection and Judgement Day theme we have going on, and perhaps should alert us to the presence of at least one demon being involved with Gabriel. On the other side, a goatgate is a relatively modern term for someone who talks a load of shite, so to speak. If we use Strong's Concordance to add the 66 to it, it becomes a wild or fierce mouth. Which kind of suits the Leviathan referenced in the verse from the Book of Job. The first version then looks like a wild underground road to Hell on the way to the Second Coming (the Harrowing of Hell in the Passion, anyone?) Don't forget the number 6 is associated with Hell as well.

Piecing the Elephant Together

There is a famous parable about a group of blind men meeting an elephant for the first time. They each go up and touch a different part of the huge beast, and subsequently give a different description for each part of it, but collectively they can't describe it properly as a whole.

That's kind of how we tend to look at Good Omens - its such a huge, complicated beast of a story, with each of us picking out one strand to analyze that might be our specialty, but we don't necessarily have all the other pieces nearby to aid our understanding as to why it was placed there or what it is doing and how that aids the purpose of the story.

To sum things up:

Aziraphale's trip to Edinburgh in the Bentley is a parallel to Crowley and Muriel going to Heaven together to find out about Gabriel, but Aziraphale is actually going to Edinburgh to find out about Beelzebub (he just doesn't realize it.)

Gabriel was there in the pub, and met with a "Mason" in a regular black-coloured suit that the barman was used to seeing Masons dressed in, because he noted that Gabriel's light grey suit was different.

We are shown many clues to the looming Second Coming

We see parallel scenes to S1, which at the same time sets upparallels for S3, which are about starting Armageddon. Again.

We also gain a lot of interlinked information for other parts of S2, and parts that link up with S1 and maybe S3, such as:

Aziraphale's main parallel in S2 is Beelzebub, with Maggie a parallel blend of the two of them.

Mr Dalrymple shows us that something needs to be cut out to save the innocent, but we also need to learn what it is before we can do that.

Elspeth and Wee Morag show us that running away is not as simple an option as it seems, its more a fatal trap than anything.

The Masonic symbols appearing in S2 remind us that life and death is a cycle, but also sometimes thoughts need to be turned around.

Aziraphale thought he knew where he was going, but he didn't really; fate gave him answers that he wasn't expecting. Did he ask the right questions?

There is not just a single purpose for Aziraphale to go to Edinburgh, there were several.

I also think Aziraphale didn't have enough time to stop and think about it, or talk it through with Crowley. They both had to leap from one thing to another until it was too late.

I was going to finish this off with that quote about history repeating itself until you learn from your mistakes or something, but then I found this one:

*Slaps this beast on the backside to move it along so it can go roam free in the wilderness.*

*This is actually something that is well researched but not well known, and is called the Success Paradox. You can watch a good explanation of it by one of my favourite science vloggers Veratisium here. Women are probably most aware of it intuitively, because of inherit sexism in our patriarchal society, but it also exists in the attitude "if you work hard you can make anything happen." What most people don't realize is how much luck factors into their success. Lucky they were born into a wealthy family. Lucky they met the right person on the right day. Lucky they were chosen over another etc. Before you argue otherwise, do stop and think about it.

The other posts in this series can be found here:

Part 1: Detective Aziraphale Part 2: Aziraphale-Beelzebub Parallels Part 3: Stocktaking in the Basement Part 4: Judgement Day

[ironworked]

60 Sec Rec: Resident Alien

"An alien on a mission to kill all humans crashes on Earth and hides in a remote mountain town. After assuming the identity of the town doctor, Harry Vanderspeigle, he's roped into solving a murder and realizes he needs to assimilate into his new world" [adapted from Rotten Tomatoes]

This show is hilarious. A lot of it does hinge on Alan Tudyk's charm so ymmv of course, but he, along with the rest of the cast, just lend themselves to the story with zero self-consciousness and a lot of joy. They have fun with their characters and the show is a delight to watch as a result.

The high points for me are firstly, the relationships, because they show different versions of 'family' and friendships where the people involved actually like and respect each other! (which shouldn't be rare but it somehow is). Secondly, its female characters; the guys are great too, but most shows have a male to female ratio of about 5:1 and the women are way too often afterthoughts to the male character's storylines. Not here, though: Out of the 18 actors with eps in the double digits, only 7 are men (Harry is the main character, but the others don't get sidelined). They're all different, they look different. And they're all awesome.

Created by Chris Sheridan (Family Guy). Written by Sheridan, Emily Slami and Jeffrey Nieves (Wolf Pack), Sarah Beckett (61st Street), Tommy Pico (Reservation Dogs)... Directed by Robert Duncan McNeil (Chuck, a bit of everything), Shannon Kohli (The Magicians), Kabi Akhtar (Never Have I Ever)... Starring Alan Tudyk, Sara Tomko, Corey Reynolds, Alice Wetterlund, Levi Fiehler, Elizabeth Bowen, Meredith Garretson, Gary Farmer, Kaylayla Raine, Diana Bang, Jenna Lamia...

(Judy, I love you)

60 sec rec: Deadloch - Dead Boy Detectives - The Tick - This Close - Kung Fu - Nancy Drew - Kevin Can Fuck Himself - Silo - The Flight Attendant - Severance - Hacks - Hit The Floor - Black Sails - 12 Monkeys - T@gged - The Diplomat - The Mick - Timeless - UnReal - Kings - All Rise - Barry - Halt and Catch Fire

New shows: Brilliant Minds

[baconcolacan]

fine ... u win this round McNeil .... (I should draw bacondonut and paulneil double date at some point)

DO YOU PROMISE??,, Hbsbzbzdjsk

[disappointingcake]

“Bat or Wayne“

One scene in a recent WFA (when Duke grapnels up the staircase and the witnesses only response is��“Rich people are wild”) got me thinking: how many identity shenanigans do the Bats get away with not because they’re ~so amazing~ at being discrete, but because the Waynes do something completely ridiculous everyone shrugs and goes “yeah, that tracks”.

Then THAT got me thinking: what if people do it all the time? To the point where it’s become an in-universe meme?

Bat or Wayne: Once base jumped from the top of Wayne Tower.

Dick Grayson-Wayne. (It was a charity thing. The Bats regularly grapnel from the top of Wayne Tower, but that’s different.)

Bat or Wayne: Has a library card for the Gotham City Library branch in Park Row.

Red Hood. (And he posted a pic on Twitter proving it.)

Bat or Wayne: Has a "the usual” order at the Diamond District Batburger.

Tim and Cassandra (Going to Batburger together every Friday is their weekly tradition.)

Bat or Wayne: Has a “the usual” order at the Dairy King on McNeil.

Batman and Robin (Though it’s been a different order for each Robin.)

Bat or Wayne: Is regularly called a “dickhead” by their siblings.

Nightwing. (The Wayne kids are actually very defensive of their eldest brother’s preferred nickname. [In public. Calling Dick a dick is a family-only privilege.])

Bat or Wayne: Every member can drive a motor cycle.

Trick question, it’s both. (Yes, even Damian Wayne, though he’s only allowed to drive on private property until he’s 17.)

Bat or Wayne: Is banned from every Red Robin in New Jersey.

Red Robin. (There was this one villain who tried to- look, it’s a long story.)

Bat or Wayne: Is banned from every Red Robin in California.

Tim Drake-Wayne. (He was there for a conference and- look, it’s a long story.)

Bat or Wayne: Is banned from every Waffle House in the United States.

Spoiler. (They even have a picture of her posted in every location with “DO NOT SERVE” on it. No explanation has ever been given, by either side.)

Bat or Wayne: Can do a quadruple sommersault.

Dick Grayson-Wayne again. It was the signature move of the Flying Graysons, and is an acrobatic feat that can be achieved by only a few people in the world. No Bat has ever been documented performing one. [*cough Tim cough*]

Bat or Wayne: It’s a running joke for their siblings to put on sunglasses when they show up.

Duke Thomas. (He is, quote: “The sunshine child.”)

Bat or Wayne: Got caught by mobsters trying to smuggle exotic animals out of a bad situation.

Ironically, the Signal and Damian Wayne. (Apparently, Damian had snuck away during a field trip to an animal shelter to “liberate” some neglected parrots. The Signal was investigating that particular shelter for exotic animal smuggling, and Damian got caught up in the commotion.)

Bat or Wayne: Calls their adopted father figure “B”.

It’s both again. (And yes, it’s as adorable as it sounds.)

10/23/23 edited for clarity

[seeinghcsts]

closed starter: @havntedhouses !!

" raf, " elodie hissed, seeming to appear out of nowhere as she stalked down his driveway where she had been waiting, emerging from the shadows, fire burning in her eyes and in her heart as her pulse beat in syncopation with the rhythm of her steps. it was a miracle she was still standing because her vision was so clouded she could hardly see past the black dots speckling it ( or was that scarlet she was imagining ?? ) . . .

the evening summer air clung to her like a second skin, making it tacky with both perspiration from the heat and adrenaline coursing through her. " i need to talk to you. " talk or interrogate?? admire or criticize?? she wasn't sure, but all she knew was her displaced rage was being hurled in his direction and the only thing that would stop it would be to feel the warmth of his essence on her palms or hear his confession ringing in her ears. then again; at this point . . . neither outcome felt satisfactory. neither outcome would stop the festering upset that was making her blood feel like magma. " did you know about this ?? " she asked, holding up the business card that had been in the bottom of her little present, showing no intention of letting him slip past her without answers. she had brought more than taser this time; and elodie mcneil was not just out for answers. she was out for blood.

[fredbydawn]

So, I finally finished reading the book, so here's my updated thoughts on that theory I kinda made as a joke but oops kinda like it.

So, I know Merrin says that there's only one demon, but I disagree.

Basically, I think Pazuzu did start to contact Regan as a form of protection. I think he is probably the original Captain Howdy, and he talks to her to elevate the stress of her parents' divorce and the stress of being the child of a famous actress.

I’m not totally sure if Dennings is already acting predatorily towards Regan before or after she starts contacting Pazuzu, but I think that some of the initial, like, strong paranormal stuff is the result in of an escalation of abuse. I also think it’s important to note that the book repeatedly mentions that some of the weird things going on (noises in the attic for example) might be due to Regan having a form of telekinesis due to extreme emotional duress.

I know there are people who’ve analyzed the film and explored the idea that Regan was being abused by Dennings due to things like what could he possibly have been doing in her bedroom to begin with or his voice being prominent in the crucifix scene, so I won’t go too much into that. What I will say is that Dennings is more queer coded in the book, using Polari phrases like “Ducky” for instance. And considering when the book was released many straight audience members would have been under the homophobic impression that queer people were dangerous to have around children, I wonder if that may have been a deliberate decision to get readers to wonder if the possession stuff, which is often of a sexual nature, is actually just a troubled girl experiencing and reliving trauma even after killing her abuser. I also want to point out one moment in the book when he comes over to the McNeil house while Regan is sleeping and Chris says his facial expressions and demeanor remind her of a time she saw him skulking around while looking for a prostitute.

So I think Pazuzu starts to possess Regan in order to protect her from Dennings, but this leaves her open to possession by other, more malevolent forces. I don’t know if I 100% believe the spirit is The Devil, but I do think that the spirit is the one who engineered Regan and Pazuzu first coming into contact. I think this malevolent spirit traps Pazuzu as the backwards talking entity. Like I noticed in the book it mentions that in the backward portion of the tapes, it sounds like there are multiple people arguing and one of them is afraid of Merrin. Considering Pazuzu and Merrin are linked in the opening scenes, I think Pazuzu is the one who’s afraid of being cast out of Regan and into the void. I’m not really sure why the entity wants Pazuzu inside Regan, but maybe that’s so it can leach off of his power or because if he was outside he’d be able to ward the evil way, idk.

So while he’s stuck only talking backwards, I think Pazuzu does have enough power to leave if he wanted, so the malevolent spirit does things to make Pazuzu want to remain in Regan to protect her, like keeping the threat of Dennings around as a spirit (cuz I do think Exorcist III rules apply where if you kill someone while possessed, their soul gets trapped in you). Like I think Pazuzu was probably the one who killed Dennings, but it worked out for the malevolent spirit because now Pazuzu would be spending most of his energy trying to stop Dennings from taking control instead of being able to challenge the malevolent spirit.

The more Regan suffers at the hands of doctors, psychologists, and priests, the more Pazuzu clings into Regan, wanting to keep her safe even if that means lashing out violently. But I think in the end he realizes that Regan will die if the possession doesn’t end, and I think that one shot in the movie of Regan and Pazuzu is of him allowing himself to be pushed out in order to save her. I think this then leaves the other spirits vulnerable to being thrown out and that’s one of the reasons why Karras is able to force the malevolent spirit into himself.

So, yeah, it not perfect, but that’s kinda my way of justifying the presence of Pazuzu, cuz tbh I’m super not sure why he was picked as the icon of the devil

And no I will not count the lore of the second movie cuz I don’t feel like it :)

[spacetimewithstuartgary]

Alaska’s Iconic Columbia Glacier Still Retreats

The Columbia Glacier in southern Alaska has long been an archetype of the world’s most rapidly changing glaciers. Today, additional tidewater glaciers across the planet have garnered attention from scientists for their collective potential to contribute to sea level rise. In the meantime, the remainder of Columbia Glacier has continued its decades-long course of retreat and thinning.

The ice of a tidewater glacier originates on land and flows downslope into seawater, where the glacier loses mass through the calving of icebergs. Columbia’s ice descends from an icefield 3,050 meters (10,000 feet) above sea level, down the flanks of the Chugach Mountains, and into a fjord that leads into Prince William Sound. The glacier once reached south across Columbia Bay to Heather Island. But since the 1980s, it has lost more than half of its total thickness and volume, and its front has retreated more than 20 kilometers (12 miles) north into the bay.

These images (above) reveal some of the more recent changes, showing the glacier’s position during the summers of 2019 (TOP) and 2024 (LOWER). Both images were acquired with the OLI (Operational Land Imager) on Landsat 8.

Notable changes persist on the glacier’s Main Branch and West Branch. (The glacier split into these two branches around 2011.) The Main Branch was constricted for several years by the rocky outcrop north of the Great Nunatak, visible in 2016 in the photograph below. Christopher McNeil, a geophysicist at the U.S. Geological Survey, pointed out that the Main Branch has since pulled away from this pinning point.

“That peninsula represented a constriction point for the glacier in the 2019 image,” McNeil said. “Since retreating back, the calving face has less constraint and thus a more unstable configuration.”

The West Branch appears to have already lost its tidewater terminus by 2019, as suggested that year by Shad O’Neel, a glaciologist at the Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory. That means it no longer reaches fjord waters where it once spawned icebergs, as the Main Branch continues to do. “The fjord size looks relatively constant through the past few years, but you can see a lot of terrestrial retreat now,” O’Neel said. “It looks like a lot of new gravelly real estate.”

The rapid retreat of glaciers like Columbia can leave the surrounding land unstable. “Entire mountainsides once held back by a glacier’s ice can start to move, increasing the risk of landslides and subsequent tsunamis for coastal communities, local fishers, and shipping lanes,” McNeil said.

Tidewater glaciers tend to cycle between periods of advance and retreat. The position of a glacier’s terminus and its rate of retreat are influenced by factors such as fjord shape, sea level change, iceberg calving, and water and air temperature. These dynamics can mitigate or reinforce the effects of climate, making tidewater glaciers highly variable in how rapidly they respond to climate change.

Mauri Pelto, a glaciologist at Nichols College, noted that increases in melt-accelerating feedbacks have contributed to the rapid losses observed at Columbia Glacier. A similar scenario is unfolding elsewhere in Alaska, including at Taku Glacier and Muir Inlet’s East Arm. And roughly 15,000 kilometers away, tidewater glaciers in West Antarctica have come under scientific focus for the changes occurring there.

“The wider implication of tidewater glaciers like Columbia is that they have the ability to rapidly contribute to sea level rise—much faster than their land terminating counterparts,” McNeil said. “However, not all tidewater glaciers have the same configuration as Columbia Glacier, so improving our understanding of the forcings of tidewater glaciers could help further constrain sea level rise projections from these glacier changes globally.”

View the related World of Change story to see these images in context with changes at Columbia Glacier since 1986.

NASA Earth Observatory images by Wanmei Liang, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey. Photo “Glaciar de marea (Tidewater) - Columbia Glacier, Alaska,” by Banco de Imágenes Geológicas, is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Story by Kathryn Hansen.

[flyingiseasy-landingnotsomuch]

Cinematic 4K Trail Views of the McNeil Point Trail at Mt. Hood, Oregon

Discover the beauty of Mt. Hood, Oregon in the PNW with these breathtaking 4K trail views from McNeil Point Trail.

[videogamesincolor]

"You're crazy, Hammond. You're gonna get us all killed!"

I was watching TheRadBrad's playthrough of the Dead Space cashgrab Remake, and as it approached the end, I think the biggest problem I had with it by far was how they handled Zach Hammond.

The big draw of the game is the fact that Isaac has a voice in the remake. Gunner Wright does an okay job. It's pretty much on par with his other two performances in DS2 and DS3. I'm so accustomed to Silent Isaac, though, that a lot of the dialog for him (in the beginning) feels like "self-insert" dialog. It gets better towards the end (like there's a genuine sense that they were finding Isaac's voice as they figured out how to make him a proactive character).

But, regarding Hammond: I don't quite know how to put it into words, but Remake Hammond's characterization lacks any charisma. He's bland as hell. Anthony Alabi's performance isn't bad, but the direction and writing doesn't hide his 'okay-ness' as an actor. The story really makes Remake Hammond feel like an inexperienced commanding officer. There's no sense of wisdom or situational control.

The caustic the dynamic between him and Kendra Daniels is erased entirely, and I hate that. It played a big part in how Hammond and Kendra were characterized.

In the absence of it, it makes Kendra cop-jacketing Hammond more suspicious than in the original, because it's lacking that conflict (and the implication that these two people don't like each other before being stuck on a ship full of undead monsters).

Even with as little you got to see him in the 2008 original outside of transmission cinematics, it was how Peter Mensah characterized him that seemed to make him extremely present in the story. How he talks about helping Isaac find Nicole, how he tries to keep his cool when dealing with Kendra and the Necromorphs. There's also that sense of arrogance that comes with a position like his, that you see in his clash with Kendra (who also has an arrogance about her).

You don't really get that dynamic with either Kendra or Isaac in the remake. DSR minimizes Hammond's role in the game, by, I guess 'mid-point', when Isaac has to deal with hydroponics and the USM Valor. This appears largely in favor of the Elizabeth Cross and Jacob Temple subplot, and more back-and-forth dialog between Isaac and Kendra.

One thing I actually liked about OG Hammond was how little the Marker appeared to influence him. If anything poised a risk to Hammond's life, it was the deadly environment of the ship and the Necromorphs. The latter literally rips him apart, but he's of sound mind when it's happening. It hurts to watch him die so violently, even with Silent Isaac's exaggerated grief (or non-reaction IIRC).

The remake tries to insert this relationship with red shirts named Chen and Johnston to flesh Hammond out as a character. This is a change I would've appreciated if Chen and Johnston survived beyond the opening gambit to actually earn the ending they give Hammond. But they don't.

Hammond basically speed runs Marker Madness toward the end of the game, and gets a silly sacrificial death scene that leans hard on a relationship type that was better established in Dead Space: Extraction with Nathan McNeil and Gabe Weller.

I think Peter Mensah did a lot with the little he was afforded. As one of the two primary speakers in the game outside of Tonantzin Carmelo (OG Kendra's actor), he communicated the tension created by the no-win scenario that was the USG Ishimura outbreak.

And about Kendra Daniels, I personally loved how abrasive she was in the original, but this iteration of Kendra isn't bad (Brigitte Kali Canales is definitely the strongest performer in the game). I actually enjoyed the dimensionality they gave her (particularly in her dynamic with Isaac), even if they made her the "Evil Lesbian". I just wish they hadn't removed the beef between herself and Hammond.

(As far as remakes go, DSR isn't bad. It's a different take on the Visceral Games franchise. Some of its ideas land better than others. It just has the shitty luck of being a EA property still.)