#pandemic legacy season 1 spoilers

[patricia-taxxon]

I'm playing Pandemic Legacy Season 1 with my owner cus he finally has someone who'll play all twelve months with him, got through april, I want to vent abt the story but it's a one of a kind box that can only be experienced once like a cardboard outer wilds or something so spoilers are even more taboo than normal. so like, pandemic legacy season 1 players ONLY beyond the line, im serious.

why zombies. why are there just zombies now. i was into it, i got hooked, why would they do this. it was clean, it was grounded, the mortal danger was trauma and societal collapse not a literal monster. i'm so disappointed.

[theindoorsman]

Board Game 30-Day Challenge

Day 28: What is your most memorable gaming memory?

Sigh. Here we go again...

When playing Pandemic Legacy Season 1 and my character (whom we really had been relying on and had given a lot of perks and upgrades) [SPOILER]!!! We were shocked and dumbfounded. Like I said, we had been relying on their special ability and had been basing our plays around it and had been, I think, cleverly manipulated into using upgrades on them because they expected everyone to do just that. (I've talked to just 2 other people who played separately from us and both had the same experience with the same character class so my opinion is totally scientific!) We immediately had to play the next session to see how it would work out. We had to rethink our entire strategy and it made the next game our first loss and reset of the campaign.

This was all 6 years ago and I remember it.

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[SPOILER] turned out to be a traitor working to spread the fade and was eliminated as a playable character!!!

[whateverthedragonswant]

15x20 - it took me two months but I think I finally get it

Edit 2/16/22: This theory has been unfortunately debunked due to the recent explanations/discussions by both Jensen and Jared about 15x20

I’ve been thinking a lot since yesterday since Jared’s VF interview popped up. I ended up rewatching 13x21 and 13x22, and once again, Dabb’s writing style made sense with the story they were telling and the framing they were showing, but something wasn’t sitting right. I wracked my brains and it finally hit me. I just need to get this out, throw these thoughts out into the void, so please don’t mind me.

This legitimately took me on a ride so of course it’s super long. Like novel length long.

Below there be spoilers for The Originals, GoT & of course SPN:

The Supernatural series finale - here’s what we already know:

Wayward Sisters was not picked up by the CW in 2018

These are the shows the CW chose to go with/ordered/picked up in 2018 instead of Wayward Sisters: Legacies [spinoff of a spinoff], Charmed [reboot], Roswell New Mexico [reboot], In the Dark [from Ben Stiller’s production company] & All-American [from Greg Berlanti’s production company]; Legacies is from Julie Plec (Vampire Diaries/Originals); Charmed is from Jennie Snyder-Urman (Jane the Virgin) & Brad Silberling (Jane the Virgin) is involved; Roswell New Mexico is from Julie Plec; In the Dark is from Ben Stiller; All-American is from Greg Berlanti (Flash, Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Black Lightning, Supergirl, Batwoman)

The Originals ending had high ratings - both brothers go out in a blaze of glory, there is a hint of romance but ultimately, it’s about the brothers and the family (as it should have been tbf) - this is what the CW saw when they got such high ratings for that finale

We know how successful The Vampire Diaries, the Originals, Jane the Virgin, Charmed (on its original run on the WB), and the DC show-verse have been for the CW & Ben Stiller is Ben Stiller = one spinoff making it through, two new content shows, and two reboots ordered

Dabb & Berens react to Wayward Sisters not being picked up, Dabb almost as if he expected it possibly (or at least that’s how I read it) & Berens is a little more candid; Kim, Briana & Kat tweet reactions to Dabb’s tweet (x) -- Dabb, the co-showrunner (Singer was the other) from seasons 12-15 & Berens, the writer of such episodes like 15x09 & 15x18

Jensen states 15x19 will feel like the season finale & 15x20 will feel like the series finale and Misha nods in agreement - this panel takes place while J2 is quarantining to shoot the last two episodes I believe he says  (2:51 - x)

Two things Jensen says in the video link above: 1) “I will say and I don’t think this is any secret but that there have been some adjustments made from the scripts that we were going to shoot in March to the scripts that we’re shooting now” (3:04) & 2) “Eventually once it all comes out, we can probably share what those adjustments were but it’s, you know, we’ve had to accommodate a pandemic. So, it’s unfortunate but I still think it’s gonna hit a home run, I hope, and then, you know, we’ll see.” (3:18) -- basically paraphrasing (or how I interpreted it): “some things have changed due to COVID, I’m sure we’ll be able to talk about what changed to explain, but please remember COVID, I hope it’s still resonates with the audience but we’ll see”

Dabb joked at Comic Con 2019: “If you thought Game of Thrones was bad, just wait” (x)

Mark Pedowitz talks about SPN ending with season 15 & about possible spin-offs - “I’ve been involved in two spin-offs that did not connect. We have had no further discussions with [Supernatural EP]Bobby Singer. We have had no further discussions whatsoever in terms of Supernatural spin-offs. I tend to believe, at this point, [that] the show’s essence and blood is Jared and Jensen.” (x)

Dabb gives an interview to Syfy Wire before the last 7 episodes start airing (x)

Brad Buckner talks about why the spinoff attempts haven’t worked out, chalking it up the magic SPN is that has to do with J2, then adding Misha, then adding Alex/Jack: “You know, they keep talking potentially doing a spinoff. I think part of the reason that some of the spinoff attempts haven't succeeded, even the ones that never got shot, but just never got off the ground is that this show just struck gold. The boys, and then Misha [Collins], added Misha, worked out tremendously. Adding Jack. That just almost never happens. You screw with the tried-and-true formula and there really is no formula for the show. That's what the odd thing is. It's not CSI.” (x) - basically paraphrasing: “we know how important the dynamic is between the brothers, then with Cas & then Jack added in, we know & we can’t replicate it in other projects”

Jensen tells EW: "I read through the original draft [of the finale] when it first came out just as a fan, because I was like, 'How did they put it together?' I knew the end result but I didn't know how exactly they were going to get there, so I quickly read through the script. That was back in early March. And then I put it down. Then COVID hit and we all went on break and I was like, okay well I assume it's going to change so I'll just wait until the new draft comes out. To be honest, it didn't really change. How we got there involved a little bit of changing but we still get to the same place." Dabb also says: “We did a rewrite once we knew what our COVID rules were going to be for episodes 19 and 20, and it changed some things, it did. Particularly in episode 20, there were things planned that just aren't feasible anymore.What it did not change was the story or the emotions, or anything else. It changed some of the set dressing, it changed some of the circumstances, but it didn't change where we were going or, honestly, in a large way, how we got there. So, in that way, I feel very lucky." (x)

Dabb says to EW: "Everything is pretty mythology-focused up until the finale. [The finale] is a little bit more of an old-school episode. It seemed like a lot to land all of our myth and a satisfying farewell. Doing it all in 42 minutes would have been really difficult. So, better for us to treat it almost like a two-parter, where a lot of the myth stuff, not all of it, but a lot it gets dealt with in episode 19 and then 20 can focus more on the characters and their journeys. We wanted it to, in some ways, hearken back to where the show began, which was two guys on the road saving people, hunting things. When we were going to shoot the episodes, I did a final re-read and made some final tweaks. Jared [Padalecki] weighed in and Jensen [Ackles] weighed in, and [co-showrunner] Bob Singer. We just wanted to really make sure it was landing the right way. We believe it feels like a fitting end to the show. We're happy with it and the hope is that the fans will be too." (x)

Jensen gives an interview to Glamour (x)

Jensen does Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast: “The ship has already sailed on this being the last season. Jared’s already got another show lined up, and I’ve got a few stokers in the fire. So we’re gonna knock this out and try to do it justice. I’ve always thought that there’s a possibility of, you know five years down the road, getting the call saying ‘Hey let’s do a little short order action for a streaming network’ and bringing it back for six episodes…and I do feel like this isn’t the long goodbye right now. I feel like this is, let’s hang this in the closet for now, and we’ll dust her off down the road a bit.” (x) (x)

Sam & Dean ending confirmed (x) (x)

Walker is very heavily promoted during the last few episodes of SPN and the finale

Misha after the finale aired: “There was supposed to be a different ending originally that COVID restrictions made impossible to shoot”, “But it involved bringing back lots and lots of cast members from over the years”, “I don’t think we’re supposed to talk about what that ending was gonna be”, “So in the original iteration of the ending, Cas hadn’t gone to rebuild Heaven. He had had a...there was a different conclusion for him” (x) 

Plots are dropped like this one that the GA caught from 15x15 (x)

Dabb before the finale aired  (x) - basically paraphrased: “nothing has changed, we’re still going to the same conclusion”

Dabb tweets out a thank you the day the finale is airing (x)

Dabb after the finale (x) - basically paraphrased: “nothing had changed, we were always going to that conclusion”

Variety after the finale aired, echoing the 30%, how they viewed the ending as well as Cas’ & Jack’s sacrifices (x)

the day the finale was airing, Kripke shared his original pitch notes & promises fans that they’ll love the ending because what he would have written would have been much darker - "I knew that we were closing this chapter and opening a new one. It felt like it was the right time to take a step back and focus on new projects, but still, keep my grubby little mitts in the show." (x) "I had a long talk with Jensen [Ackles] about it and I had a long talk with [co-showrunners] Andrew [Dabb] and Bob [Singer] about it and I think it's the best possible ending for the show. It was interesting, they pitched it to me and I went off to think about it for a couple days, and admittedly, me being me, I spent some time thinking, 'Okay, is there any other ending I would pitch back that I think is better?' And I spent a couple days trying to chase down a couple avenues and couldn't come up with anything better. So I went back and I was like, 'Guys I think it's the right one.' There's some substance to it but there's something emotional, I think there's a positive energy around it." (x)

funnily enough, on an unrelated note but sort of related showing how the CW operates with backdoor pilots/spinoffs & how differently certain creatives are treated over there as well as what they consider will generate more $ (the backdoor pilot had high ratings) - the Arrow spinoff, Green Arrow & The Canaries was not picked up but they considered moving it to HBO Max before scrapping it altogether, which took them forever to decide (x) (x)

Jared loves the finale, thinks it’s the right ending

Jensen has not said a word about the finale or Dean’s ending since it aired (except that one instagram pic we all know about)

Misha loved Cas’ ending in that it was right for the character, sacrificing himself nobly and that his words led to the boys & Jack saving the world

I know there’s many more things I didn’t include in this list like: Samantha Ferris confirming that pre-COVID & post-COVID they were not asked to come back, that Jensen initially didn’t like the ending when it was pitched to him & Jared (though as of this moment, he has not said explicitly what he didn’t like about it), that Jared’s VF interview just came out where he stated he thought Sam had the right ending, Dabb has not said a word, Singer has also not said a word (that I know of anyway), the CW has not said a word (again, not that I know of), Jim Michaels is an ass, so is Adam Williams, Misha posted a video to try to stop the conspiracy theory about the spanish dubbing of 15x18 & attributed it to a rogue translator, he then apologized and listened to fans since he realized fans were upset about way more than that particular piece of it, and everyone else has stayed virtually silent about the finale and what happened.

I do want to mention this: 

Jensen said up above that they could probably talk about what the changes were -> Misha says he doesn’t think they’re supposed to talk about it & Jensen has not said a word since the finale aired

Jared & Misha have talked openly about liking their endings for their characters & Jensen has not said a word other than previously stating that he expects there might possibly be a limited series run or reboot a few years down the line 

No one involved with the show, past or present, has said anything resembling negative or critical (or really, at this point, logical) in any way, shape or form about the finale

Pedowitz & the network have not said a word (that I’m aware of)

So, before this post, I personally would have loved to find out:

why they thought Dean dying that way was a good ending & a true one for the character -- from a rando bad guy & on a milk run hunt

why they thought Sam would want to honor Dean by living a miserable and depressed life in a way that he thinks (note that Dean never said) would make Dean happy but obviously not himself

why they thought the line “Cas helped” & Dean’s little smile would be enough to close out the Castiel part of the Dean arc (despite Misha not being there due to COVID restrictions) if they were focusing on closing up the emotional aspect of the boys’ journey

why they thought Jack rebuilding Heaven before Dean got there & it’s implied he got Cas out of the Empty would be enough to close out the Jack-being-their-kid arc (despite Alex not being there due to COVID restrictions) if they were focusing on closing up the emotional aspect of the boys’ journey 

why they dropped Eileen and Sam’s acknowledgement of her existence never mind the importance she had in his life if they were focusing on closing up the emotional aspect of the boys’ journey

why they thought Lucifer mentioning Chuck had sprung him from the Empty in 15x19 would be enough to close out The Empty arc (despite COVID restrictions) if they were focusing on closing up the lore aspect of the boys’ journey

why they thought that Chuck was the ultimate Big Bad when they mentioned back in season 13 that Chuck and Amara did not have power over the Empty, then in the same season proceeded to show The Empty overtaking Heaven, then Death’s Library in 15x17 while killing reapers left and right, then “you made it loud” in 15x18 after Jack explodes but The Empty is still powerful enough to be summoned to take Billie and Castiel later in the same episode

why a random monster would be the one to take out Dean Winchester when he has taken on God, Lucifer, archangels, angels, demons, the King of Hell, a 300 year old witch, werewolves, Alphas, vampires, witches, ghosts, & many other monsters - when he has taken out vampire nests on his own (think season 6, despite the vampire blood in his system at the time), the Stine family & their mansion full of guards (despite having the MOC on his arm, it didn’t make him more powerful or a better fighter, it only made him more bloodthirsty and more enraged, increasing the desire to kill)

why Sam would not call for help when Dean was hurt and then confirms he’s dying - did they not bring their phones in with them?

why they thought Dean’s injury would be fatal when it clearly wasn’t 

why they thought Dean shouldn’t die to protect his brother or the kids or even a cow in that barn but to a senseless movement (I do sideye that a vampmime unable to speak was the one to kill Dean who infamously hasn’t been able to speak on other certain matters rather than Jenny herself)

why they brought back Eileen into the narrative if her presence was not going to have some lasting impact on Sam’s journey - how did it affect his growth or his character, influence his actions? Does he decide to fight harder to get her back along with everyone else? What does his experience Does he feel better for having known her? Did he leave the life to not only honor Dean but Eileen as well since maybe she never came back? Does he ever use ASL again after learning it from her?

why they decided to make Sam and Eileen’s relationship romantic that late in the story if there was not going to be any follow through

why Sam stuck to texting Eileen as they sped towards her home if Billie Chuck was Thanos snapping people - why did he not call her since it was so urgent?

why they decided to have Castiel confess his love to Dean - outside of The Empty part of this arc, why have his confession be the factor that summons The Empty, that his “just saying it” would be what makes him happiest enough when he was already saving Dean and sacrificing himself for him?

why they decided to bring Jack back, have him excommunicated from the family be Dean in dialogue, never have the conflict between them resolved by Dean assuring him he is indeed family, when he’s said he is family before & that Jack is their kid, if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ emotional journey

why they never showed Dean & Sam discussing Cas’ confession or the words he said to Dean about himself if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ emotional journey

why Dean & Sam never discussed Eileen again after 15x18 when we were given the approval talks from Dean to Sam in 15x07 & 15x08 if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ emotional journey

why Dean & Sam don’t ask Jack to bring back the people they’ve lost, to eradicate the monsters from the world, or to even help Kevin if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ lore and emotional journeys

why they showed the crossroads demon taking the girl away in 15x15

why they never had Sam or Dean talking to Jody or Claire ever again if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ emotional journey

why they never had Dean asking where anyone else was like Ellen or Jo when seeing the Road House in Heaven if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ emotional journey

why they never had Sam asking “wait, this is Heaven?” since he never knew about the changes Jack & Cas made when seeing Dean again if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ narrative soundly

why Dabb tweeted out his thank you’s hours before the finale aired but not right before it did, while it was airing, or right after

why Kripke tweeted the day of the finale’s airing that fans would love this ending since his would have been darker

why Jensen thought they would be able to talk about the changes COVID forced them to make after the finale aired

why Misha says after the finale aired that they’re not really supposed to talk about it

why Jared thinks this is a sound ending to his character’s journey

why Jared thinks that Sam was honoring what Dean would have wanted by not settling down with someone in the life when both boys have mentioned quite a few times in dialogue, for themselves and each other

why Kripke/Singer/Dabb thinks this was a fitting ending for the boys’ journey

why the 30% think this is a true ending despite the obvious plot holes, the dropped character development, and the ending not making sense to the narrative/story they’ve been telling the last few years

why if Chuck is a stand-in for the network and Dabb knew the ending they would have to give due to network demands, did he not only write the ending this way but also talk about it in multiple interviews saying they were always moving towards this ending, it’s always been about the brothers, and this is a true ending

why they had Dean question his ending at all if that is his true ending

why Jensen thought Dean’s ending had changed from going out in a blaze of glory to something else

why Jared said before he & Jensen knew what the ending would be that he thought Sam should “keep fighting”

why they strongly hinted at a leader arc for Sam the last few seasons

why they strongly hinted at Dean being strongly affected by Cas’ death/absence starting with season 13

why Jensen, Misha, and other cast members were instructed to “eye fuck”

why they chose to keep the ending ambiguous for both boys if they were focusing on closing up the boys’ lore and emotional journeys and making it a finality as Dabb said

why people are surprised that some fans are still upset to this day over the finale/ending and how bad it was considering the show ran for 15 years and had a very loyal fan base that the show not only knew existed but interacted & engaged with for many of those years

why no one other than Jared & Kripke that was officially involved with the show is talking about it 

why Jensen still has not said a word about the finale if he thought fans were going to love it after having Kripke tell him the same thing (I suspect because he knows no matter what he says, agreement or disagreement, it will make some people pissed off so he stays quiet, he said all he needed to before the finale aired, and he’s moving on - at least that’s my take on it anyways) 

why the network has not said a word despite the reactions after the finale aired & the ensuing movements/trends

why they aimed to only please 30% of their known audience, why that number was not a little higher

why the big secret of everything that was changed, why Cas’ ending changed, who was meant to be in the finale & how it was supposed to end if the show is over & has finality, that the boys’ lore and emotional journeys are concluded & it was a true ending

why the silence? even D&D have spoken on the GoT ending by now, it’s only been a couple of months since the airing of the SPN finale but fans’ passionate responses and dislike of that finale does not show any sign of dying out or slowing down - so why the silence?

why (again) that ending? that true ending where both boys’ character & story development are dropped? where important characters are missing? where some points of the plot have not been closed, if they were focusing on closing out the boys’ lore & emotional journeys? if again it’s a true ending & there is finality? 

I had so many questions and I had a pretty good idea what the answer was to most of them (as you guys do, too, I’m sure) but until someone comes out and says this happened because of this, this, and this, we won’t ever really know.

Until I saw something that I just cannot get out of my head and totally turned every thought I had about Dabb, the show, the network, Jared’s comments, Dean’s ending -- all of it right on its head.

COVID: We all know that COVID has been to blame for what happened, why certain characters weren’t in the finale. Welp, here’s what I think about that:

I suspect that COVID did affect the ending but not in the way you’re thinking. Not to discount the new restrictions which did prevent certain cast members from being able to film but it also affected the production in other ways as well.

Let’s pretend COVID hadn’t happened at all (God don’t we all wish). What would be different? The finale would have been shot as intended, it would have aired in May (I think), and live cons & panels would still be going on. Cast members wouldn’t have had to quarantine for 2 weeks prior to shooting, no adjustments would have needed to be made to the scripts at all, and Walker would have remained on its natural trajectory.

But as we know, COVID did happen. The world shut down, all productions were put on pause as well as all other businesses and occupations. That means anything that wasn’t shot for these productions or was in the middle of production would be affected. Some things that were already shot were affected in the post-production phase (take The Walking Dead season 10 finale for example) and got delayed. The movie release dates kept getting pushed back, some films had no choice but to move their releases to streaming networks just in order to survive. We know that COVID has hit everyone financially, individually, their families, their jobs, and their businesses, not just big corporations and production studios. In that video link above, Jensen is asked about the brewery during COVID and he even mentions that thankfully, they had just gotten canning machines right before COVID hit. 

From a production aspect, we know how COVID affected it. But for SPN and then Walker, it hit especially hard. They now had these factors to contend with:

Jared had a new show he was moving onto (I’m not sure if January 2021 was the initial premiere date they had shot for but I’m sure production must have gotten pushed back)

Jensen was joining The Boys (not sure when this decision was made, I know he announced it in August 2020, but not sure how long the talks were before then)

Filming resumed (but with restrictions) in August 2020, with J2 doing the mandatory 2 week quarantine (video link above)

Production on other CW shows (& all shows, lbr) were slowly coming back but premiere dates for new seasons were being pushed back so they could get the actual productions done - think season 3 of Legacies which is supposed to air this month

No one knew how long COVID would be around or if there would be a vaccine soon that would be available to the public

Actors still had to be paid for the 2 week quarantine (as one would expect)

Since there is no real new content to speak of, not many people are tuning in - a lot of people heavily relied on streaming services while the world was on pause

The 100, another fan favorite show on the CW, was ending its 7 year run at the end of September (I’m sure the network knew by this point what JRoth’s planned ending would be and what would happen in that episode before it & that they might lose some viewers for that show) - and funnily enough that Jared’s new costar had been a part of

new seasons of Flash, Legends Of Tomorrow & Supergirl have not come back yet since their productions were delayed; Arrow is no longer on the table or even the spinoff (link above)

Ruby Rose had announced in May 2020 that she was not returning to Batwoman, meaning the role had to be recast or the story had to be rebooted (they chose to do the latter)

SPN, one of their fan favorite shows & an OG crossover from the WB (last of a dying breed so to speak), is ending after a successful 15 year run - though one of the stars is staying with the network and headlining one of their new shows

due to the change in demand as a result of the pandemic, other networks are now moving into the streaming game as survival (think Discovery +, NBC, CBS, etc - tho tbf the battle for content was already going this way thanks to AppleTV & Disney+, but don’t be surprised when more mainstream networks start changing to this, expecting you to pay for monthly access to their content outside of your cable bill)

A lot of people talk about the CW using the downtime during the pandemic to look at SPN’s actual ending and going “nope, get rid of the gay, Dean has to die, play ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’, twice, got me?” I’m not saying they’re wrong (I actually think the network did interfere with some of these) but some of these other factors definitely contributed to what the hell happened with that finale and why it feels so different compared to season 15, the last few seasons, even 15x19 itself. Especially when we see Dabb’s writing style for the last 12 years, and Singer’s visual style when he directs. Not to mention they were the showrunners since season 12 and where they took the show in that time frame.

If Walker was always set to premiere in January 2021 (or let’s say earlier, like for the Fall 2020 lineup), had COVID not happened, they would have had time to promote the show like normal and do their usual PR, production would have resumed like normal, none of their other shows would have delayed productions either, and their dates and numbers wouldn’t be skewed in any way. There would be no pressure of Jensen or any of the other talent moving onto other projects/studios/networks/production companies that have their own production issues due to COVID (again, I don’t know when The Boys decision was made but I’m sure it wasn’t a discussion that suddenly happened the day before Jensen announced it). The guys did interviews still from home but that’s not the same as doing a press junket or attending a premiere or getting out in the public eye to promote, promote, promote (though the cast did do this before season 15 aired but due to COVID, the length of time that delayed production, they could not do this for the last block of episodes when they returned & keep fresh in viewer’s minds like maybe they would have been able to pre-COVID, watch they won’t be able to for any of their returning shows either).

Now seeing it through that lens, how can they fix this? How can they make sure to get a guaranteed viewership that they haven’t had time to go and promote for? Social media/the internet is a given and would have been used regardless of COVID but now they also don’t have the cons the guys go out and usually do, they can’t connect with viewers that way either (though the guys did do panels, M & G’s from home). They don’t have anything else on the docket really that they can use as a vehicle to get Walker and any other new shows ramping up in the promotion department to get viewers away from streaming services (that aren’t theirs) & other networks, to keep them watching not only what will be coming back on the air (eventually) but also any new content they are trying to put in front of you.

So we get this for SPN’s series ending:

What does this achieve (what it puts into the heads of the viewers):

A strong relationship between brothers is being viewed

While Dean is having the emotional death monologue, we get to see Jared’s acting shining through as much as Jensen’s

“Let me look at you” “There he is” “My baby brother” “I’m so proud of you, Sam” “I’ve always looked up to you” “It was always been you and me. It’s always been you and me” (x)

They talk about the pilot episode where Dean goes to get Sam from school, Sam mentions the Woman In White from that episode, they talk about John and how Sam stood up to him circa what the dynamic was between John and Sam in the first season - notice how Dean mentions “I don’t know you did that” which brings his dynamic with both John & Sam circa back to the 1st season - the pilot started Sam-centric - they use dialogue from the 1st season: “I don’t want to do this alone” “Yes, you can” “Well, I don’t want to”

Sam is about to deal with the death of the other main character in his life & it will affect how his life continues - “Hey, I’m not leaving you. I will be with you right here. Every day. Every day you’re out there and living and you’re fighting. You always keep fighting. You hear me? I’ll always be there. I’ll be there every step. I love you so much. My baby brother.”

After this, we get Dean’s hunter funeral, Sam shutting down the bunker, leaving, & we see the life montage Sam has before he ultimately dies and joins Dean in Heaven. Interspersed with it is the conversation Dean has with Bobby once he gets to Heaven and then his 40 year drive. And what plays during Sam’s life montage? “Carry On My Wayward Son”, the theme for SPN itself.

It has become a Sam-centric episode again featuring a little Dean, just like the pilot.

Bonus:

Now that it aired and the show is over, almost two months down the road, what do we see in the first official promos from Walker? What do we already know about the show before it’s even premiered?:

Walker has lost his wife because he “didn’t protect her” - he’s left behind

He still sees his wife (we know Gen will most likely be in flashbacks outside of the premiere episode) - she’s still with him

“You’re chasing ghosts! She is gone and there is nothing you can do about it.” (x) - title of this promo “Moving On” & title cards “Moving on takes letting go” interspersed with Cordell talking about him missing his wife & shots of his wife - this was promo premiered 12/16/20 

Another brother relationship

his brother is grabbing him like he & Dean used to do to each other, they are having a broment

the series is about Cordell Walker, he’s the center of the story, played by Jared

See anything similar to the list above? 

Now compare the promo that premiered last week to the December promo linked above (x) - has a completely different feel to it, doesn’t it? His wife & loss are barely mentioned

Why the difference? One, because they knew SPN viewers (regardless of the backlash from the finale) were still feeling the loss of that show due to how they saw fans reacted to the announcement of season 15 being their last, they did not have any heavy hitters airing at that moment plus the holidays, they knew viewers are inside due to the cold & COVID which was rising again, they knew viewers would be watching more cable programming due to the holidays (think Hallmark Christmas movies, Freeform, etc) & the backlash for the show from some of the viewership (30% isn’t enough, no matter what that 30% itself tries to tell you) that they needed to regain to get Walker to hit the ground running. 

One part of Dean’s death I’d like to focus on are these lines & this one factor:

“I’m fading pretty quick. There’s some things I need for you to hear so come here.” - he’s not fading, he has time for a monologue

“Oh man, I did not think this would be the day. But it is. It is and...that’s okay.”

“I need you to... I need you to promise me. I need you to tell me that it’s okay. I need you to tell me that it’s okay. Look at me. Look at me. I need, I need... I need you to tell me that it’s okay. You tell me that it’s okay.” “Dean...it’s okay. You can go now.”

Dean’s theme does not start until after Dean says “that’s okay” - it gets close plenty of times in the beginning of the scene but never actually starts until after that line

Remember Dabb joked “If you thought Game of Thrones was bad, just wait”? (link above) We know that Misha and Jensen have watched GoT. The show itself has made quite a few GoT references. And what happened in the series finale of GoT? This scene (x)

If you watched GoT, remember how out of place this part felt? How the dialogue didn’t seem to match what the hell had happened? How Jon seemed to be defending Dany’s actions when his character would never have done so before that moment? How Tyrion says this line above? 

They were breaking the fourth wall, enacting Tyrion as the writers’ mouthpiece and Jon as the audience’s mouthpiece. Because they knew fans of Dany (namely the GA) would be shocked at what Dany had one, and what was still to come. Bryan Cogman confirms what the aim of the show was, to make people think (x) & that the writers were going to challenge the audience for rooting Dany on before this, as confirmed by Kit Harington (x).

You know what other show is infamous for breaking the fourth wall sometimes?

So now look at those lines again, look at how Dean’s theme starts up, look at the scene (linked above) and notice Dean looking away from Sam, behind the camera at 3:12. Singer is directing the episode, the editors left it in, and this aired. Now notice what he says as he does this: “Oh man, I did not think this would be the day. But it is.” - then what does he do, he goes back to talking to Sam, but looking down. “It is and...that’s okay.” Then we see Sam’s face again.

This them breaking the fourth wall (why else is Dean looking in that direction during his death scene? How does that add emotionally to the scene or help tell the story? No other characters or events are back there).

This is the writers saying to you: “We didn’t think it would end like this. But it’s happening and it is what it is, we’re going to do it.” Maybe they planned for Dean to die all along (I still don’t think they did but I don’t know that definitively, other than what the show’s story told us) but they didn’t plan for it to go like this.

Then Dean says this after we see Sam’s face: ““I need you to... I need you to promise me. I need you to tell me that it’s okay. I need you to tell me that it’s okay. Look at me. Look at me. I need, I need... I need you to tell me that it’s okay. You tell me that it’s okay.” - this is Dean talking to the writers

The writers back to Dean: “Dean...it’s okay. You can go now.”

This is why the forehead touch. This is why the hands shots. This is why Sam is that emotional (besides losing his brother). This is why Dean has that little smile before he covers Sam’s hand with his. This is why Dean’s theme doesn’t start until after what the writers say to the audience, the “that’s okay” because after that was their goodbye to Dean.

“Goodbye, Sam”  

Now think, if Dean was your character that you wrote for and you truly loved him (or even say if he was real and right there in front of you), how would you send him off if you and he could talk directly? What would be the truest thing you could do for him? If you couldn’t let him live or give him anything he wanted or deserved in the end? 

Baby is there, Baby makes him happy. He has the Road House. He gets to see Bobby again. His parents are happy and live down the road. Jack rebuilt Heaven for him. “Cas helped” implying that Cas is out of The Empty. They chose to purposely play Kansas’ version of the theme here and have Dean say “I love this song” right after the lyric “There will be peace when you are done” (this may not have happened while they shot it, but they purposely edited it this way).

The hunter funeral shot isn’t just meant to be a transition to Heaven or even a transition to POV shot. It’s also indicating that something is shifting here. We know how long it takes them to burn bodies in the show (see Mary’s and Cas’ funerals for reference) - look at how it becomes an overhead shot and how quickfully (and almost artfully if that’s the right word) the flames engulf Dean’s body. Then we get a sort of white fade if you will. 

Then: “Well, at least I made it to Heaven.”

And who did they choose to greet him in Heaven? 

Who was named after Robert Singer as we know. And who directed the episode? That’s right, this guy. And how long has Singer been with the show? Since the beginning. 

“Yep.” “What memory is this?” “It ain’t you, idjit.” “Yeah it is, ‘cause last I heard you were in Heaven’s lockup.” “I was. Now I’m not. That kid of yours, before he went wherever, he made some changes here. Busted my ass out. And then he, well...he set some things right. Tore down all the walls up here. Heaven just ain’t reliving your golden oldies anymore. It’s what it always should’ve been. Everyone happy. Everyone together.” “It ain’t just Heaven, Dean. It’s the Heaven you deserve.” - look at this dialogue, this is once again the writers/Singer talking to Dean directly 

And who’s that in the shot in the background during the pie festival scene in the beginning of the episode?

Singer himself (x). These scenes parallel. Dean is having his favorite dessert: pie. Instead of Bobby handing it to him, it’s Sam. They sit on a bench outside of a restaurant (it looks like?) They included Singer in this shot for a reason, behind Dean to his left. Then in Heaven we have Bobby handing Dean one of his favorite drinks: beer. They’re sitting in chairs outside of Harvelle’s roadhouse. You know what else parallels?:

“I just... I think about Cas, you know? Jack... If they could be here.” “Yeah. Yeah, I know, I think about ‘em, too. You know what, that pain’s not gonna go away. Right? But if we don’t keep living, then all that sacrifice is gonna be for nothing. So quit being a freaking Eeyore, alright? Get into this.” “Yeah, you’re right.” *Dean has Sam smushing pie into his face*

“So Jack did all that?” “Well, Cas helped.” *cue Dean’s little smile*

The pie in the face moment isn’t just meant to be comedic. Not with Singer still in the shot. Not right after they talk about Jack & Cas. On the surface, it is: “I’ve wanted to do that for a very long time” & then Dean takes the fork and gets some pie off his face to eat it, Singer laughing in the background. But notice how Singer walks out of the shot right after and they show this on camera. Singer could have been an extra, he could have been some random guy saying some random line behind them or interacting with them in some way, maybe handing Dean the pie for instance, or someone who accidentally knocks into them for more comedic moments. But instead they kept him in the shot, watching the boys, but staying his distance.

And whose name is on the pie truck at the pie festival? Dabb’s. His name isn’t there just to be there before the end of the show like we’ve seen all along with other names.  

And note the dialogue in the beginning of the pie scene, when Dean & Sam arrive:

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” “Oh, I don’t have a choice. This is my destiny.” And what does the camera pan to? The pie festival with Dabb’s truck in the background.

Dean has two different reactions to the mention of Cas & Jack, and why? Because Heaven was the Heaven that Dean deserved. Where everyone was together and happy. Singer was in the Heaven shot, too, but as Bobby Singer. Heaven is where they were able to speak candidly with Dean after his death. Where they could let Dean be Dean. Where Dean could get the ending he deserved which was everyone together and happy with Cas and Jack somewhere out there in the same Heaven, his mom and dad down the road, and his Baby there to drive anytime he wants, complete with beer.

“It’s a new big world out there. You’ll see.” “Oh wow. This tastes like the first drink I ever shared with my dad.” “Quality stuff?” “No, it’s crap.” *they both chuckle* “But it was fantastic.” “Just like this.” “It’s almost perfect.” “He’ll be along.” - who is the one member of Dean’s family, including Cas & Jack, who the writers haven’t been able to give Dean in his perfect Heaven yet? Sam

“So I guess the question is, what are you gonna do now, Dean?” “I think I’ll go for a drive” “Have fun.” - notice Bobby’s fond smile as he watches Dean approach Baby with a big grin - and once again, Bobby is in the background, watching

Then what comes after Dean starts driving & Kansas’ song is done playing?

Neoni’s cover of “Carry On My Wayward Son” starts playing after Dean tells Sam: “You can go now” (3:28 - x) - and what does Sam do? He smiles and looks down at Original Dean’s watch that he’s wearing & again we get the hands shot - this scene was meant to parallel Dean’s death scene - Dean being present in the form of his nephew who shares the same name, who tells him he can go now & watches Sam die, the cover song being Sam’s version of that song so to speak, and notice the zoom out shot as Sam dies - what do we see? The infamous mantle with the infamous Winchester-only photographs that then fades over to Dean arriving on the bridge in Heaven. Sam is being released from the narrative to go to Dean’s heaven and we know he’s Dean’s Sam again because of the callback costume to season 1. 

The Sam that mourned Dean during that whole montage of his life was only partly Sam the character we’ve come to know and love for 15 years. It was also the CW’s Sam. Not just the Sam the writers loved. Once he moves into Dean’s Heaven, he belongs solely to the writers again, so to speak.

“Hey, Sammy.” “Dean.” And then the hug, the looking over the bridge, the zoom out (showing the big world Bobby talked about that the boys are literally facing), and the credits. And what plays in the background? Dean’s theme, by guitar. And what credits do they show before the crew shot? Andrew Dabb & Robert Singer

This is why the cover version is played right after Kansas’ version. This is why Dean 2.0 looks like someone who could be on Legacies or one of those shows. This is why the Winchester-only mantle. This is why Blurry Wife. This is why “very, very purposely ambiguously”. This is why “you’ll love the ending, mine would have been so much darker!” This is why “it’s a true ending.” This is why “If you thought Game of Thrones was bad, just wait.” This is why “Supernatural will never get the credit it deserves. Most people who are looking at it from the outside are going to focus on why it ran fifteen seasons, and ignore why it lasted so long.” This is why Jared is happy with his ending and why Misha is satisfied with his. This is why the vampmimes, the rando Jenny callback, the milk run hunt death, that Cas & Jack weren’t in it more than a couple of mentions, why Dean never talked about what Cas confessed or responded to it in any way, shape or form. It was all about Walker.

Had Jensen been cast as Walker instead, you almost have to wonder if it would have been Sam impaled on the rusty nail, a shirtless shot for Jensen, and a Dean-centric ending while Sam waited for him up in Heaven. Everything else would have remained the same, though. The network would still use it.

15x20 was not a bibro episode (or Wincest engame or a pure brothers ending circa season 1-5). 15x20 was a vehicle, almost a backdoor pilot if you will (though not technically) for the new show. There’s a reason why they kept explaining that 15x19 would wrap up the lore/the season and 15x20 would wrap up the boys’ journey/emotional arcs/wrap up the finale, why it would be a 2-parter and it would feel different. Why it didn’t sit right with Jensen. Why Jared sounds like hes parroting what CW execs would be saying about the finale & Sam and Dean. Why Dabb hasn’t said a word since the finale aired. This is why “take it or leave it”. This is how COVID affected this show (I’m not saying it’s only this, they did start the Chuck/network arc earlier than COVID after all). And you know what Dabb & Co’s response was?

But even more so this:

Jack becoming God. That is why Alex mirrors some of Rob’s movements from Rob’s performance as Chuck, not just to indicate he is now God. Not only could Jack (aka the writers) break Cas out of the Empty, he completely remade Heaven so Dean and Sam could be safe in the end, given the ending they deserved, where everyone was together and happy. How it always should have been.

15x19 was the best finale they could give us and they tried their hardest. You know why?

Jack becomes God who doesn’t insert himself in the story anymore - his “I’ll be in everything” monologue: “What do we call you?” “Who cares what we call him? Look, all that matters is he got us back on line” “Dean, I”m not coming back home. In a way I’m already there” - “What if we wanna see you? Have a beer or whatever?” “I’m around” (when I first heard this line I thought it was an odd line for Sam to say but now it makes total sense) - “I’ll be in every drop of falling rain, every speck of dust that the wind blows, and in the sand, and in the rocks, and in the sea” “This is a hell of a time to bail. You have a lot of people counting on you. They’re gonna have a lot of questions that need answers” “And those answers will be in each of them. Maybe not today, but someday” “They just need to know that I’m a part of them and to trust in that” “I won’t be hands on. Chuck put himself in the story. That was his mistake.” (notice after this line Jack talks about how he’s learned from everyone and when he mentions Cas’ name, they show a shot of the brothers - that is who is missing from this family moment) - notice when Jack talks about people being their best, they can be that Jack looks to Dean and the camera focuses on Dean’s reaction - “Well, I’m really as close as this” *puts hand over heart* - then Jack disappears, we see Sam’s & Dean’s reactions & then the next shot is beers in the boys’ hands (x)

Lucifer is broken out of the Empty by Chuck to indicate that the Empty could be broken into

We find out what happened to Adam

We get a new Death for a few minutes named Billie Betty and Death is killed with no new Death

Chuck gets his ending - through Lucifer and Michael themselves

All humans were restored in the end (& had COVID not happened, we would have seen familiar faces return as well)

Dean never got to respond to Cas’ confession one way or the other but we see him tell Chuck to bring him back and get the whole Lucifer scene - think they could have had Lucifer get in another way or call Sam since he lost Eileen but no they chose Dean for this, to show Dean running up the stairs - because while they couldn’t have Dean respond, they could show this, and Eileen? It was never going to happen because the CW didn’t want any romance in the end for Sam (and that’s why Blurry Wife btw) - this is also why Sam & Dean don’t ask Jack to bring anyone back

Dean reaches the end of his emotional arc as far as he himself goes by the end of the episode with “That’s not who I am”

Dean and Sam get a goodbye with Jack

The intials on the table with Cas’ & Jack’s name added

The brothers shot on the table in the end where Sam looks sad and Dean claps him on the shoulder before they stand and leave

Dean and Sam driving down the road in the Impala (open ending that doesn’t end in death)

the song being played “Running On Empty” - everyone thought that meant Cas or The Empty somehow but look at the lyrics (x)

15x19 was their finale and they weren’t able to give us more than that (except for releasing Dean & Sam from the narrative & having them back in the same place as their family and loved ones)

You know what cements all of this?

Where Jared & Jensen are looking right into the camera and thank us (the audience) & the zoom out to show the crew on the bridge, then the thank you message to all of the fans. They purposely broke the fourth wall to show you this (even though it happened after the fade out from the shot of Sam hugging Dean). This also explains why they kept Jared and Jensen in costume, and why they literally shoot from the same stretch of bridge they just ended the scene on, why the zoom out shot is similar but this time it’s facing the cast and crew. The show (the world) is now behind them but they want you to know how much they appreciated your support this whole time.

“We felt you guys here with us all the time.”

And who is on Jensen’s left? Singer

And who is on Jared’s right? Jim

Though this isn’t a shot for the show per se and it’s not a blocked scene, it’s not telling the SPN story anymore or any story really, they purposely chose to craft this shot this way, to have Jensen and Jared walk out of frame to lead to this shot, and zoom out this way

And then what do we hear? “And cut” and it cuts to black - why was this line added? why does the ending shot for the crew mirror for Sam & Dean’s ending shot? because this is breaking the 4th wall for the episode & they’re showing you that

And what were we left with for the actual episode?

the episode focused on the brother relationship

Sam not having any visible love interest/wife that is in one scene, in the distance, indistinguishable but we are able to see she’s brunette (brunette like Gen & Shoshannah)

Dean out of the way & driving in Heaven - leaving for Sam to be the focus the rest of the episode (though they keep Dean’s presence through Sam’s son & the impala scene), only when he dies do we see Dean stop the car and wait for him

And again what does all of this remind us of based on the promos we’ve seen so far?

It’s unfuckingcanny.

This was never about pleasing the 30%, not for the writers and the show. This was never about pleasing original fans of the show (from earlier seasons) or a certain section of the fans. It was always about viewership, about gaining ratings & making sure their new show that Jared was cast in did well, that a smooth transition happened. 

This is why Dean’s character and story development went out the window. Why Sam’s did. Why no Cas, no Jack, no Eileen. Why Cas and Jack are barely mentioned and why Eileen is never mentioned again. Saileen and Destiel were too heavily paralleled all of season 15. Think, if one had happened as endgame (say Sam signing back to Blurry Wife or Dean hears “Hello, Dean” in Heaven since Shoshannah and Misha couldn’t be on set), even the GA (that goddamn 30%) would have went: wait, huh? But the network couldn’t erase Cas from the narrative like Eileen. Misha had been a regular, Cas’ role was essential to the show by the end of it, to the boys’ arcs, he was too important to the story. Plus they saw what happened when the show tried to kill Cas off in season 7. This is why the market research in 2016. This is why Jim Beaver intimated that we should have been happy with what we were able to get. He wasn’t being an ass or unsympathetic, he was just being blunt and stating facts. This is why we got the character montage at the end of 15x19 and no big series recap with “Carry On My Wayward Son” at the beginning of 15x20 which was essential to every season premiere episode, every season finale episode, and mid season-premiere episode of this show. The show wasn’t theirs anymore by that point, not really. This is why the cast & crew aren’t supposed to talk about what the original planned ending was. This is why:

Holy hell, it has taken me almost two months to try to make some sense of this whole goddman shitshow and why they ended Dean’s story like that as well as Cas’, Jack’s, Eileen’s, and Sam’s. We knew there was network interference (and this post doesn’t take away from the fact that the network has been interfering long before 15x19, long before COVID even) but this is...wow. It all makes so much more sense, at least to me. Who knew that it would take me going back to GoT, rewatching SPN episodes so many damn times, trying to see exactly what they were showing through framing, music cues, the performances, the narrative itself about Dean and Cas as well as Sam and Eileen and the found family narrative and Dean wanting a different ending and the whole leader!Sam thing and why it was all dropped...to finally get to this point. Wow.

Dabb, I am so sorry. I sincerely apologize. I have been so incredibly angry with you and Singer but now, I get it, especially after seeing what happened with Wayward Sisters and how the nerwork operates with other shows. I felt so much pain watching Dean’s death happen, with that dialogue, but I can’t imagine how painful it also must have been for those who wrote the character, who loved him and knew him the way you guys did, the way Jensen did, to have to do it that way. Especially, “Dean...it’s okay. You can go now.” I am so, so sorry. I feel like I should have seen this from the beginning but I didn’t. Ngl, I couldn’t watch that scene before this past week and I still can’t watch it, but now for a completely different reason. I have a pit in the bottom of my stomach just thinking about it.

Like Chuck said: “A headstone with the name: Winchester” - they were set on a death happening. Because what could have happened (and did sometimes though it didn’t take) during Kripke’s era? One of the boys dying. It makes me sick honestly. The CW execs saw GoT, too, but they took something else entirely different from it.

If nothing else, at least I can make some semblance of peace with this now for myself. With the show, the writers, even Jared’s remarks (though tbh I was never mad at him for those, that’s pure PR and parroting/towing the company line). I totally get why this show needs to succeed from Jared’s vantage point and for his sake alone (as well as Gen and their family’s), I hope it does (it makes me sick to say it but I only do so for Jared) or there’s another better project he can land and still be close to his family. Out of all of the main cast for SPN, he talked the most about missing them. So, either way, I only hope the best for him on that front. 

The CW on the other hand:

tldr; I’m tired and Dean, Sam, Cas, Jack, Eileen, and the whole show were done so fucking dirty - fuck that network

[aion-rsa]

Foundation: Why Isaac Asimov’s Estate Approved Modernizing the Sci-Fi Classic

https://ift.tt/3EKbwIq

This article contains no spoilers for Foundation.

We live in an era when classic works of literature that were once thought to be “unfilmable” — particularly in the realms of sci-fi and fantasy — are now actually coming to the screen. Chief among those, and certainly a crown jewel in the annals of science fiction, is Foundation, an epic series of stories and novels by legendary writer Isaac Asimov that spans thousands of years of future galactic history.

Premiering on Apple TV+ with a 10-episode first season, Foundation begins with the story of Hari Seldon (played by Jared Harris), a mathematician who develops a science called psychohistory, with which he can predict large-scale patterns in history and human behavior. Not surprisingly, Seldon’s prediction that the vast Galactic Empire will collapse into a 30,000-year period of barbarism doesn’t sit well with the Cleons, clones of the original emperor, Cleon 1, who have ruled the galaxy for more than 400 years.

Seldon’s plan is to establish the Foundation, a repository of knowledge that can help cut the coming dark ages down to 1,000 years. The Cleons allow him to proceed, but banish him and his followers to a distant planet called Terminus where they will set up the Foundation. Key to Seldon’s plan are a brilliant young woman named Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobel), his adopted son Raych (Alfred Enoch) and, years later, Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), the warden and protector of the colony on Terminus.

Series creator/showrunner David S. Goyer — known to fans for writing the original Blade trilogy, co-writing the screenplays or stories for the Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, creating Da Vinci’s Demons for TV and much more — tells Den of Geek that he had been approached in the past about adapting Foundation as a feature film, but finally jumped at the opportunity to develop it in the present era of long-form streaming. But that doesn’t mean Foundation wasn’t difficult to adapt anyway.

“The original novel or series of short stories was written in the late ‘40s, early ‘50s,” he says. “So the key was identifying the core themes and figuring out, okay, that was what Asimov was writing about in a post-World War II environment. What’s the world like today and how can we apply what’s happening today to the metaphors of Foundation now?”

Other roadblocks to adapting Foundation in the past (which has defeated filmmakers such as Roland Emmerich and Jonathan Nolan, who were developing it for Columbia Pictures and HBO respectively at different points) were the vast leaps in time that the books make as well as their generally cerebral, complex nature. But Goyer had other concerns.

“I thought the harder aspect was making it emotional,” he explains. “The books aren’t known, per se, for being emotional, but with television, people tune in for emotion and characters. So I had to figure out ways of taking Asimov’s themes and embodying them into characters that could express those themes, through love, through their relationships with their parents and children, and so forth.”

One solution to that — and to updating Foundation for audiences in the 21st century — was to make alterations to a number of the major characters, like Salvor, Gaal and the Cleons’ android right hand person Eto Demerzel (Laura Birn), almost all of whom are male in Asimov’s books. But Goyer says he first wanted to make sure his proposed changes met with the approval of the late Asimov’s daughter Robyn and the Asimov literary estate.

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“The first question that I posed to the Asimov estate was, given that this was written in a post-World War II environment, where there were virtually no speaking female characters in the first book, where very few members of the science fiction community or readers were women, was, ‘We’re going to be doing this for an audience of today and I want the characters in the show to reflect our audience. How do you feel about gender swapping some of the characters?’” he recalls. “Robyn Asimov and the estate completely embraced it. They said that Asimov himself would have embraced that and they were absolutely comfortable with that.”

Goyer also made other, extensive changes to the narrative, such as creating the Cleons (who are played at various ages by Lee Pace, Terrence Mann and Cassian Bilton) and developing storylines that would add the kind of action, intrigue and space opera necessary to keep audiences involved for 10 hours. Goyer says that every step of the way the Asimov estate was on board.

“Look, I grew up on these books, I revered the books,” says Goyer, whose introduction to Foundation and sci-fi came at a young age through his estranged father. “Like a lot of people, Asimov meant a lot to me. A lot of people have a very personal relationship to the original Foundation trilogy — it’s kind of this hallowed piece of work. It was important to me that Robyn and the estate felt like we were doing Asimov’s work justice and that we understood what the themes were about.”

He adds that the estate and Robyn Asimov were “very happy” after reading the first two scripts and seeing the first two episodes: “We felt that we had embraced everything that was important about Foundation and changed the things that, they felt as well, had to be updated for the time.”

The irony of this, even some 60 years after the first Foundation novel was published, is that Goyer sees the overall story, subject matter and themes as more relevant and prescient than ever.

Apple TV+

“I started on this project three years ago,” he says. “Certainly climate change was something that people were talking about, but it hadn’t reached this critical juncture where we’re at now. We weren’t involved in a global pandemic and we weren’t involved in this crazy factionalism and this rise of nationalism that we’re seeing.”

Goyer says that it took him several readings over the years for the books to finally grab hold of him, and that he also passed on adapting it for the big screen twice before. So what made this the right time? “Now that I’m a father, I find myself thinking a lot more about what the world of tomorrow will be like, what the legacy that we leave our children and grandchildren will be,” he responds.

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“That’s a lot more important to me now than it was before I was a father,” Goyer continues. “A lot of those themes carry through in the books, but also in our show. It’s kind of about, what are you willing to sacrifice now, so that future generations, our children and grandchildren, will be able to live in a world that’s as amazing as the world we live today? What is today willing to give up for tomorrow?”

The first two episodes of Foundation premiere Friday (September 24) on Apple TV+, with future episodes debuting weekly.

The post Foundation: Why Isaac Asimov’s Estate Approved Modernizing the Sci-Fi Classic appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[metalgearkong]

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier - TV Review

5/1/21 ***spoilers***

Created by Malcomb Spellman, directed by Kari Skogland

Out of all the announced Disney+ MCU shows, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier seemed to be the most out of left field. Two sidekicks from the later 2 Captain America movies pair up and get their own show? What made their bormance so special? I mean, I like them well enough, but what is it that warrants a show? With all of it now said and done, this show is not what I expected, in a good way, but I can't say it lived up to its own potential. It brings up a lot of controversial subjects--stuff I really found interesting and progressive, but it doesn't fully commit. That being said, I'm glad it exists, and it takes many steps in the right direction.

6 months after Avengers Endgame, Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) and Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan) are returning to every day life, and the problems that come along with it. Bucky in particular is attending strict therapy to repair mental damage from decades of being Hydra's Winter Soldier. Sam is working with his sister and her boating shrimp business. As it turns out, the Avengers didn't technically receive a salary. Strange beings who they worked with, and i assumed Tony Stark or government funding supported the Avengers. Who built their base, made their suits, equipment, and how have the Avengers gotten by so far? The idea is brought up, but the show never comes around and fully explores this interesting point.

The Falcon the the Winter Soldier is only 6 episodes long, compared to WandaVision at 8. I feel like this show needed to be as longer for the numerous ideas it brings up and doesn't have time to flesh out. The main conflict of this series is the fight against the Flag Smashers. A revolutionary group, they want to return the world to what it was during the "blip." They want a worldwide policy of nations without borders. This is a really cool concept and something I could get behind, but yet again it's an interesting idea that is never sufficiently fleshed out. What (according to the Flash Smashers) was so great about the state of the world during the blip? What did nations do around the world that makes the Flag Smashers want to return to the way of life? Did people receive more finances and property? Did socialism thrive? None of this is ever expanded upon.

I also didn't care much for Karli Morgenthau, the leader of the Flag Smashers. Apparently their whole side story had to be changed last minute due to the covid-19 pandemic, and their inconsistent dialog and motivation shows this fact. I never bought actress Erin Kellyman as a revolutionary which thousands of people would follow and kill for, nor did I buy her as a juiced-up super soldier. The best character to come out of this show is John Walker as the government approved new Captain America. Wyatt Russell plays the character extremely well, and it's engaging to see a villain which so easily could have been one-dimensional develop into a more rounded person. He did however get a stupid small redemption in the final episode, but this "good guy" moment is wedged between him brutally killing an unarmed person in public, and joining what looks to be a "Dark Avengers" squad. For a show with progressive ideas, John Walker killing a civilian in a fit of rage should have been a point of no return.

My favorite aspect of The Falcon & the Winter Solider are the racial aspects it brings up. Finally we have a big mainstream company and mainstream show directly making light of the unfair bias and poorer treatment of minorities, especially black men. To see it happen even to an Avenger (Sam) was really cool, and fourth-wall breaking. Sam also discovers a man named Izayah who was a test subject, along with other black men, for the original super soldier serum in WWII. Izayah's mistreatment and his disenfranchised view of the United States is some of the best stuff in the entire show. Everything is all about living up to the legacy of Steve Rogers, but Izayah thinks no black man should even want to bear the stars and stripes. I hope this trend continues as it hangs a lampshade on something broad entertainment should address.

The action and cinematography also evoke my favorite corner of the MCU: everything directed by the Russo Brothers. The fight choreography is visceral without having to be flashy or larger than life (until the end). It was also great to see Sam Wilson reject the shield at the beginning of the show, thinking he would never live up to the mantle. His humility and growth throughout the show is also some of the best stuff to see. He truly is a man of the people, and the next best person besides Steve Rogers who truly can be and deserves to be the new Captain America. Zemo (Daniel Bruhl) also reemerges from Captain America: Civil War, but his character is totally retconned into being a Baron (comics accurate) with huge amounts of wealth and resources. I didn't like his character as much as I did in Civil War, as an everyday soldier tearing the Avengers apart is more compelling than a rich and powerful supervillain doing the same thing. He also had a dumb moment where he wore his purple ski mask for literally one action scene (less than a minute or two) and took it off never to be seen again.

Sharon Carter also makes an appearance, but I don't think the character, nor her twist being the Power Broker meant anything to me. It could be this show going a bit too far with its story threads. Carter has never been a charismatic character to me, and I'm wondering how they'll keep her interesting in the MCU going forward. She is the icing on the cake for too numerous and too weak of villains in this series. I also didn't think it was consistent of honorable of her character to go down a bad path especially knowing the lineage of Peggy Carter. I'm curious where this aspect of the story will go, but I'm not holding my breath. I wish this show cut out some of its threads in order to focus on some of its very good core ideas, especially only at 6 episodes.

The Falcon & The Winter Soldier has a lot of interesting ideas and brings up a lot of important ideas. I didn't expect this show to be critical of racial treatment, police brutality, and government overreach. To eventually see Sam evolve into the new Captain America and believing it down to the atom is the best thing to witness about this story. Bucky gets the short end of the stick, and while he does go through healing, I wish he had more great action or dialog scenes. The Falcon & the Winter soldier sets up future stuff, as the MCU does best. Sharon Carter might be some kind of bad guy going forward, the Dark Avengers seem to be forming, and Sam Wilson as Captain America may go on to lead a new generation of Avengers. The show is far from perfect, and sadly doesn't commit to some of its best ideas. I would watch another season, but hope it would have a slightly sharper script.

7/10

[prozd]

pandemic legacy season 1 details (spoilers)

This post is about Pandemic Legacy Season 1, a board game, that Alex, Anne Marie, and I have been playing that takes place over 12 in-game months (and for us, 14 different play sessions).  There are SPOILERS for the game if you intend to play it, so watch out, otherwise, here are all the details about our characters’ names, the diseases, and more:

We did it.  We saved the world.  Bangkok got fucked, and Essen’s in pretty bad shape, but the Faded really only managed to spread a little bit into the black region.

Our final score was 778/1000, so DISASTER AVERTED.  We were only 23 measly points from Legendary, but what can ya do (we could’ve destroyed all the Military Bases to snag the best ending, but that’s okay)

Blue ended up being our COdA, meanwhile we named our diseases

Yellow: Snot a Good Time

Red: Bloody Buddy

Black: Ack! Black Plaque Attack!

and finally our cast of characters (we only used 6 of them)

Researcher Bonnibell Linguini: Anne Marie’s original character, she ducked out when we got better characters, but swooped in for the final game

Medic Boris Zankin: Alex’s original character, brother of Quarantina, another reliable member who was most active in the early parts of the game, but joined us at the very end for the final showdown

Quarantine Specialist Quarantina “Tina” Quirrell (”please, call me Tina”): Anne Marie’s most used character and sister of Boris, her remote quarantine skill was an essential part of our disease defense (quarantina, huh.....sounds a lot like quarantine....maybe that’s why she became a quarantine specialist)

Immunologist Tim “Timmunologist” Jimmunologist IV: A late game character I played that became ESSENTIAL to the team with his vaccines.  He’s fourth in a long line of immunologists, although he wanted to be a banker.  He retired from the team after getting attacked by Faded twice in Milan.  He also has his own theme song (��T-TIMMUNOLOGIST THE IMMUNOLOGIST”) that made him a millionaire after the team disbanded.

Scientist Emilia Skyshot: My original character that I played for almost the entire game, Quarantina’s FIERCEST RIVAL except Quarantina doesn’t know who she is, Emilia’s ability to cure quickly was extremely useful especially after she joined the military

Operations Expert “Crazy” Billiam Durr: Alex’s most used character, he just LOVES BUILDIN’ BUILDINGS.  He felt pretty bad after building all those military bases, but what the hell are you gonna do, he fuckin loves buildin’ buildings.  He made transportation so much easier.

and i guess there was some military guy we never met who was just a CRAZY ZODIAC SPY, anyways, they, uh, they left, i guess

We lost twice in January (because of a misunderstanding of the rules) and once in November.

This game was absolutely incredible.

[wsmith215]

LeBron James ready to rescue the NBA – and vice versa | NBA News

The July 31 season restart may represent 35-year-old LeBron James’ best chance to win an NBA championship with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The desire to return to basketball in July was fed by a cocktail of motivation and incentive, guzzled by a league that would much rather ratchet up the endangered 2019-20 season than wrap it up.

And while there are obvious and multiple reasons for the willingness to cope with the complex chore of saving the season here in the rubble of coronavirus, here is the most meaningful one: LeBron James.

3:19

Take a look at the best plays from LeBron James from the 2019-20 NBA season so far

The sport’s box office king is healthy, hyper and, last we saw, still serving up quality basketball. Therefore, this is the tonic for a league and its network partners looking to recoup staggering losses from a four-month delay, and for legions of fans starved for live basketball drama instead of a documentary from a foregone era. And it is a tonic for a 35-year-old legend who knows this could be his best or only chance to win a title with his third team.

Yes, LeBron is ready to rescue the NBA, and vice versa.

Would the league be so hell-bent on moving mountains to resume play if, say, LeBron was hurt and unable to suit up? Perhaps so. But with LeBron having a reasonably strong chance of reaching the finish line with the Los Angeles Lakers, and maybe raising his arms in celebration if he breaks the tape, there’s a bit more urgency by all parties to see this through.

With all due respect to the Milwaukee Bucks and the defending champions Toronto Raptors and the Clippers rising up on the other side of LA, they aren’t the engine that’s powering this undertaking. If LeBron and the Lakers are just as good over the next several weeks as they were the first several months, the intrigue and the ratings will be worth the wait.

Image: Anthony Davis and LeBron James celebrate a play during the Lakers’ win over the Clippers

It won’t matter that there won’t be any collective gasps coming from the empty stands, or that this will take place in a disinfectant-filled basketball bubble in Orlando, or that these games will be devoid of a postseason-charged atmosphere. Stripped of all that, the basketball world will still get what it wants: LeBron and his big-market team in the championship hunt. Folks will either root for LeBron to get his fourth championship or be fascinated to see how he fails. And that translates into a bonanza for the league, because only LeBron is capable of selling tickets to an event that literally isn’t selling any.

March may seem like a decade ago, but your hazy memory might recall that the last time we saw LeBron, he had just finished buzz-sawing through his two biggest threats, the Bucks and Clippers. He was epic in those consecutive games, crushing their souls and spirits and coming through in the moments of truth. Essentially, he abruptly changed two major conversations – MVP and title favourite – in just three rapid-fire days.

1:58

LeBron James put in a dominant performance against the Clippers, scoring 28 points, nine assists and seven rebounds

And he is anxious to change another buzz, too. While ‘The Last Dance’ stole the basketball audience during the national lockdown, LeBron was busy hibernating and therefore powerless to give a rebuttal to the ‘greatest of all time’ debate that raged after the documentary series.

It’s quite possible, then, that LeBron is more desperate for basketball than you or anyone else on the planet.

When the league was forced to pull the plug on March 11, the season was swaying in LeBron’s direction. Unlike in 2018-19, he was the picture of health and stamina, playing 60 of 63 games, burning through 35 minutes a night and barely breaking a sweat. Even better, he was playing with freedom, leading the NBA in assists, meshing with co-star Anthony Davis and helping the Lakers take regular-season ownership of the West. His vital numbers: 25.7 points, 7.9 rebounds and 10.6 assists per game.

He dropped performances we don’t normally see from players with this much career-tread wear on their limbs: 40 points against the Pelicans, 32-14-12 against the Nuggets, 35-16-7 against Dallas, and near triple-doubles against the Bucks and Clippers. He was a more active and willing defender, improved three-point shooter in volume and efficiency, and still capable of entertaining with signature dunks, passes and finishes. The closing chapters to his career were being written in boldface.

0:10

Anthony Davis collected a bounce pass from LeBron James and threw down a powerful reverse slam as the Lakers beat city rivals the Clippers

There’s certainly a chance that LeBron and others might emerge rusty or out of rhythm from the four-month layoff. The flip side is the ample rest will refresh and reinvigorate him, and only help maintain, if not enhance, the pace he had already set for himself and the Lakers.

Surely, LeBron didn’t waste his time during the layoff binging on Netflix. There’s far too much at stake for him to waste an opportunity, so a player who annually spends almost $1m on his body certainly took care of business in ways others couldn’t.

Without question, the incentive for LeBron only rose during the layoff. He knows the historical ramifications of doing for the Lakers what he did for the Heat and Cavaliers. How many players have won three titles with three different teams and were the best players on those teams? Do a documentary on that; it’ll be about four seconds long.

An appropriate way to label this, his 17th season, might be to call it ‘The Last Chance’ because there’s no guarantee he’ll ever get this close to the Larry O’Brien Trophy with the Lakers again. Next season, the Golden State Warriors will emerge from their one-year reset feeling restless and reloaded. The Brooklyn Nets will bring a healthy Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. And the Clippers and Bucks aren’t going south anytime soon. Plus, the 2020-21 Denver Nuggets, Houston Rockets and Utah Jazz should lurk as spoilers in the West, too.

4:09

Ro Parrish, Earl Watson, and Wes Wilcox react to LeBron James passing Kobe Bryant for third place on the all-time scoring list

Thankfully, a pandemic didn’t cost LeBron at least a try at another championship. That would have been ranked high on the NBA’s list of what-ifs in the history of great players with legacy gaps, right behind Jordan tossing away roughly two years of championship hoops so he could satisfy an itch to hit fly balls in the minors.

LeBron’s basketball clock is indeed ticking. Yes, he is still bringing ‘A’ games most nights, but his health and his high standard of play aren’t automatically transferred from one season to the next – not here in the sunset years. Besides, Davis is rarely the picture of perfect health himself and he might stumble physically next year. The rest of James’ team-mates, given their ages and short contracts, are transient. Sports have taught us time and time again that nothing can be taken for granted.

LeBron can still crown a superb season. He can save the NBA, and by restoring the basketball season, the NBA can save him. As the sporting country creeps ever so slowly toward a sense of normality, fans need basketball strictly from a diversionary standpoint.

But make no mistake: Now more than ever, a league and a superstar need each other even more.

Want to watch even more of the NBA but don’t have Sky Sports? Get the Sky Sports Action and Arena pack, click here

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[gameandparty]

Ep 26: Pandemic Legacy Season 1 & 2 Deep Dive Review

We do a deep dive review on Pandemic Legacy Season 1 & 2. No spoilers in the first half of the show. 

Check out this episode!

[primeideal]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Pandemic Legacy: Season One Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Undisclosed Character(s) Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, E-mail, Scientific Method Summary:

What happened the winter before. ____

Very spoilery for the game (which is best played without spoilers), but if you happen to be familiar with it, now there’s fic! For New Year’s Resolutions and Apocalypse Bingo.

[aion-rsa]

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 2 Review: Vestiges

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This My Hero Academia review contains spoilers.

My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 2

“Have you ever thought about the feelings of those they left behind?” “I’ve thought so much about it that I’ve gone crazy.”

My Hero Academia season 5 technically started last week with “All Hands on Deck! Class 1-A” and it’s become an unofficial tradition for each season to begin with an episode that functions as a recap or primer for new audiences, but this premiere was especially superfluous. Sometimes there’s enough of a fresh perspective that can analyze past events critically, but “All Hands on Deck!” Class 1-A” merely covers the characters’ hero names and Quirks as they work through yet another mock battle. 

It’s a slow start that feels more like a tease, but what that premiere does effectively establish is the larger roster of characters that this season will balance. It’s clear that a lot of Class 1-B is on the way, but episode 2 “Vestiges” takes a very focused look at three characters in comparable situations before it embraces the chaos of Class 1-B.

“Vestiges” is an episode that shouldn’t work as well as it does and structurally it’s kind of a mess. The episode is largely stuck in the past and consumed by major passages of exposition that aren’t the most elegant way to explore this material. It’s a very dense installment that bombards the audience with important information, yet the revelations are satisfying enough and are surrounded with gorgeous visuals so that “Vestiges” is still a successful episode, almost despite itself. 

The title “Vestiges” explicitly refers to the former One For All relics that visit Midoriya, but it’s a term that’s applicable to all of this episode’s major characters. This is an episode that’s about the future, but it depends upon the past. Midoriya and Endeavor are completely separated throughout this episode, but “Vestiges” unifies them over how they both just want to do All Might justice, whether it’s as the new Number One Hero or the current bearer of One For All. Endeavor and Midoriya experience the same anxiety, but in totally different ways. 

This episode also draws exciting parallels between Midoriya and Hawks. The first half of “Vestiges” could just as easily be called “Keigo Takami: Origins” and it’s kind of beautiful to see how Hawks’ admiration towards Endeavor mirrors Midoriya’s own obsession towards All Might. It’s honestly comforting to see that Hawks is not in fact a traitor and is just playing the long game with his infiltration of the League of Villains. It’s great to see that the Number Two Hero isn’t actually a Number One Asshole, but it also seems unlikely that this scenario is as clear cut as it seems. 

It’s possible that Hawks is actually aligned with the League of Villains and there’s an extra level of double crossing that’s afoot, but what seems like the more likely development is that Hawks has now opened himself up to some very big dangers in this new, vulnerable position. This is bound to intensify in some big ways and hopefully this injection of The Departed into My Hero Academia blurs the lines between heroes and villains. Hawks might not actually be a traitor, but that doesn’t mean that every other hero is still on the level.

Hawks sees the good in Endeavor and he’s one of the few people that’s actively excited for the “Age of Endeavor”to begin. The end of My Hero Academia season 4 worked hard to begin Endeavor’s redemption arc and it’s encouraging that this is still a slow work in progress for the hero. “Vestiges” really leans into the Todoroki family and they’re far from reaching a healthy place, but it’s a valuable change of pace to spend so much time with a hero’s family. 

The campus nature of My Hero Academia often segregates the students and so this brief moment where the Todorokis attempt normalcy really stands out. Endeavor’s family still has put up a lot of barriers, but Shoto genuinely wants to give his father the benefit of the doubt, which exhibits tremendous growth from where he was at during the first two seasons. “Vestiges” chronicles the emotional connection between Shoto and his father, but it also actively creates more physical similarities between them now that Endeavor has a scar on his face that matches his son’s. Shoto’s matter-of-factly, “That’s a bad scar” is a subtle and perfect response for the situation. This relationship is one of My Hero Academia’s longest running arcs and it makes the payoff here all the greater.

Fractured families continue to be a strong throughline to “Vestiges” and even play a major role with the very nature of two of My Hero Academia’s most important Quirks. There’s an extended sequence spent in Midoriya’s subconscious that’s one of the more surreal moments from the series. The animation is fantastic through all of this and there’s an operatic quality to this dream where every element just screams that what’s going on is vitally important. A fascinating detail that comes forward is that All For One is the older brother of the original One For All bearer, which brings so much of the anime full circle and likely means that a major return of All For One is imminent. 

Read more

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It’d have seemed contrived if All Might and All For One were brothers, but this variation on that theme and how All Might and Midoriya are just fragments of this original sibling rivalry is an unexpectedly poetic turn for My Hero Academia’s war between good and evil. My Hero Academia has always looked towards the future and pushes a message about how important it is to value and empower the next generation. However, this glimpse into the origins of these two fundamental Quirks is such an elegant extrapolation of this premise. 

Every action that Midoriya takes has been in service of doing All Might justice and being the best successor imaginable, yet now Midoriya has the collective expectations and legacies of seven other heroes placed on him. His mission remains the same, but it’s now substantially magnified. It’s no coincidence that the original One For All bearer is also an individual who was born Quirk-less, just like Midoriya.

The most exciting detail from this stylized flashback that plays out in Midoriya’s subconscious is that All For One might have had altruistic intentions at one point. There have been comparisons made between My Hero Academia and X-Men in the past, especially in regards to how Quirks manifest across the planet. This influence has always been present on some level, but it now evolves from beyond subtext. It may be a glib oversimplification, but there are definite shades of Erik Lehnsherr and Charles Xavier in the early relationship between All For One and his brother as a rift forms between them over the right application for Quirks as well as society’s perception of these “special” individuals. 

“Vestiges” gets a little too expository during these segments and the same sequences would be just as effective if All For One’s actions could just speak for themselves. It still opens up a rewarding new chapter of the series that feels like it’s the start of My Hero Academia approaching its endgame or final conflict. To the episode’s credit, these developments feel organic and baked into the anime’s DNA even though it’s a major piece of information that gets dropped out of nowhere. It’s also impressive how this sequence retroactively makes All For One even more frightening and succeeds in building anticipation over a possible return of the major villain.

“Vestiges” does an excellent job with how it establishes the larger themes of this new season and the major conflicts that will overwhelm the characters. There’s two episodes’ worth of information in “Vestiges” and this does make up for the disposable nature of last week’s premiere. This is still an entry that functions as an introduction to the new season and technically characters spend the bulk of “Vestiges” in bed and in various states of recovery. My Hero Academia can begin to indulge in pure action and entertainment now that it’s got some of this season’s heavy lifting out of the way. There’s already a grandiose feeling that’s not typically present right when a new season begins. 

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Much like what All For One’s brother tells him about his comic book-esque plan to radicalize the future: There’s more to this story.

The post My Hero Academia Season 5 Episode 2 Review: Vestiges appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[aion-rsa]

Shameless Season 11 Episode 1 Review: This is Chicago!

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This Shameless review contains spoilers.

Shameless Season 11 Episode 1

“The Gallaghers built Chicago single-handedly…”

The final season of Shameless begins with an introduction that’s the most stylized that the show’s ever been and it almost feels out of place for the this series. Frank narrates over austere newsreel footage of Chicago’s history, which gradually devolves into the slovenly nature that is more Shameless’ speed. Frank’s Zelig-like revisionist take on the city illustrates how Gallaghers have been involved with every important event that shaped Chicago, whether it’s the takedown of Capone or the Trial of the Chicago Seven (which would have been the Chicago Eight if Frank were also apprehended, he contends). It’s a fun and harmless sequence that’s the most playful that Shameless has been in years. 

The premiere’s flashy introduction is justified through the flimsy conceit of a documentary that’s being made on Chicago’s changes, but it speaks to the larger theme of this premiere—and likely this season—that the Gallaghers are the embodiment of Chicago. A reasonable question to ask as Shameless starts to come to a close is what sort of legacy have these characters left behind in their city and if they’re able to survive if the Southside collapses. The Gallaghers are a versatile bunch, but “This is Chicago!” is just as much a celebration of Chicago’s ability to endure as it is about the Gallaghers’.

2020 will be looked back on as a perplexing year for television as many series incorporate the events of the COVID-19 pandemic into storylines to contrasting degrees of success. Most of these efforts have been very awkward and manage to distract from what’s actually important in these shows. It’s bittersweet that Shameless’ final season is so heavily influenced by the current changes in the world, but it also oddly feels appropriate.

Shameless has constantly been interested in the disenfranchised and the people that have been not only ignored, but also consciously erased from society. This season’s focus on COVID may hit too close to home for some in what’s supposed to be escapist entertainment, but it’d honestly feel disingenuous if it weren’t touched on in Shameless. It also only exacerbates the existing stresses that were present for these characters and they’d reach these places even without the presence of a pandemic, it just might have taken longer. 

Shameless is typically at its best when the Gallaghers are all together and last season’s finale embraced that energy. The circumstances around the pandemic could naturally produce opportunities for this cast to be around each other, but “This is Chicago!” takes the opposite approach. The entire cast is basically segregated to their own islands as they handle their individual stresses. The premiere feels a little chaotic as it bounces around from one socially distanced storyline to another. Despite how most of the Gallaghers still live in the same house, there’s barely any overlap between the characters. The one exception is the episode’s ending, but that only accentuates how much more alive the series is when everyone’s together.

It may also seem a little pedantic to complain over Fiona after she’s left the series, but considering this premiere has baked COVID into its premise it wouldn’t have been ridiculous for some Gallagher to at least reference how she’s been doing during all of this. Just a snide aside about how she didn’t return to Chicago would have sufficed. Shameless has always made family its priority. During a time when many families have been strained, either through proximity or distance, it doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect some update on Fiona. Maybe she’ll get mentioned later in the season.

“This is Chicago!” jumps all over the place with its many disparate storylines, but they all do become unified in the sense that everyone’s actions are a response to how COVID has affected different pillars of Chicago. Shameless likes to maintain a broad tone, but it’s still often guilty of manipulative melodrama and leaving its characters in pain. Last season’s finale has Ian and Mickey at their absolute happiest, but now that luster has already worn off. Their biggest issue is that Mickey doesn’t understand how to think as a unit or put an equal amount into their marriage as Ian, which feels appropriate for their characters. However, it’s also interesting to see how Shameless depicts the effects of the pandemic on a newlywed couple and how it can suck out that honeymoon phase. 

It’s already interesting to see how this season juxtaposes Ian and Mickey’s relationship with Lip and Tami’s stresses. On that note, Lip and Tami are also on shaky ground as they struggle to find emotional equality. Lip makes repeated concessions that may seem innocuous, but are definitely building to a larger problem. Shameless often has the Gallaghers suffer in silence, which is why it makes such a big difference that Lip and Ian are able to briefly get together and open up about their relationships. These two are going through such similar problems and they’ve been able to lean on each other in the past for advice. It’s not a long scene, but it’s invaluable and hopefully these two will turn to each other more this year. 

Shameless has tackled mature and prescient topics in the past and the show’s most recent seasons have featured the military and police in a larger capacity thanks to Carl’s trajectory. That being said, I wasn’t expecting Shameless to engage in a conversation about defunding the police and excessive brutality, but it’s another development that feels natural based on what the show has previously explored. 

Carl’s growth into a competent and productive member of society has been one of the most satisfying arcs of Shameless’ recent seasons. Carl continues to thrive in the police force, but it’s the force itself that becomes the problem as they try to mold Carl into a corrupt and problematic cop. This is handled with zero subtlety and whenever Carl pushes back with proper values he’s greeted with more egregious protocol. Carl’s repeatedly done the right thing in the past when placed in a similar moral quandary, so it’s difficult to watch him get pushed down the wrong path here. Whether he fights the system from within, leaves it behind entirely, or ends up with compromised values could all lead to powerful material for Carl if properly handled.   

Carl ascends with the police force, but Debbie struggles with being on the opposite end of the law when her new status as a sex offender impedes her work. This is the storyline that I was least excited for Shameless to resume this season and within the span of one episode it’s already turned statutory rape into a frequent punchline and taboo bedroom fodder. Debbie weaponizing all of this to gain an advantage with her new business is super gross, but it’s far from the worst thing that she’s ever done. This story may hurt the season, but at least the image of Frannie bedazzling Debbie’s ankle monitor is 100% pure Shameless.

The rest of the premiere continues to provide an open discourse on citywide topics like the perpetual closing and opening of schools and bars as well as trends like socially distanced weddings. It’s no different than the usual banter that fills the Alibi and it helps flesh out some of the episode’s weaker material, like how V and Kevin have shifted their priorities into Chicago’s legal marijuana scene (along with the help of their children). The moment where Kermit and Tommy get so high that they hook up also makes zero sense, but the Alibi Room has never been an Algonquin Round Table of logic.

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“This is Chicago!” starts the final season of Shameless on a busy note that’s bogged down just by how much ground that it has to cover. The presence of COVID is heavy in this premiere, but this still feels like standard Shameless, for both better and for worse. Many American dramas don’t last for eleven seasons and even then it’s rare that the later seasons can recapture the magic of the glory years.

Shameless isn’t on life support and it still has a lot of love for these characters. Most importantly, it feels like this final season wants to do them all justice rather than just have them hobble past the finish line. COVID-19 has taken both the world and Shameless by surprise, but it’s pushed the Gallaghers to grow, become stronger, and prove that they’re the Southside’s most persistent cockroaches, which is exactly what this show’s swan song should be about.

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Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Episode 1 Review: That Hope is You, Part 1

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This Star Trek: Discovery review contains spoilers for the Season 3 premiere.

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3, Episode 1

Star Trek: Discovery has taken a long time to find its footing. What started as a show about the Federation-Klingon war quickly became a show about the Mirror Universe quickly became a show about legacy TOS characters quickly became a show about an evil A.I. set on wiping out all living things in the universe. The Season 2 finale, which saw the Discovery jumping almost a millennia into the future, was more than just a cliffhanger—it was a much-needed narrative reset, a way to keep the characters we have grown to know and love while wiping the slate clean of the muddled worldbuilding of the first two seasons. Was it a smart choice? Judging by this first episode, it was a brilliant one.

In “That Hope is You, Part 1,” we are introduced to a strange future where anything is possible. No longer burdened by the weight of canon and continuity, Discovery finally feels like it can tell its own story—and, best of all, it doesn’t feel the pressure to rush through it. This season is taking its time. The series gives its premiere to its protagonist in a way it has rarely been willing to do before, allowing Sonequa Martin-Green the space to show her acting chops. So much of this episode relies on Martin-Green’s performance, as she is our audience surrogate to this strange new world, and she absolutely nails it. She is overjoyed (when she realizes she has saved life in the universe). She is terrified (when it first hits her she is truly alone). She is silly (when she is high on the Mercantile agents’ truth powder). She is devastated (when she cannot contact her ship). She is hopeful (when she meets Mr. Sahil). Somehow, she is able to portray these emotions all in the course of one episode (sometimes, in the course of one scene), and make it feel true.

Of course Michael isn’t the only character carrying this episode. Really, it is a two-man story, centered around the burgeoning relationship between Michael, a stranger in a strange future, and Cleveland Book (David Ajala), a courier with a special connection to animal species who is working to save as many endangered species as he can in an indifferent universe. In a way, they are very similar—both have dedicated their lives to helping those who in need. In other ways, they are very different, and that difference seems related to environment. Book has grown up in a universe without the Federation, which is to say in a world without a just institutional authority that has the power and resources to protect the innocent. This hasn’t made him cruel, but it has made him pragmatic. When he meets Michael, he really doesn’t want to help her—not because he thinks she doesn’t deserve it or he doesn’t think it’s important to help those in need, but because “everybody has a story,” and he has already chosen his specific path of positive change-making. If he chooses to help Michael, it could mean failing the trance worm he has hidden in his cargo bay.

Of course, Michael doesn’t give Book much of a choice. She demonstrates, in action, how they can help one another. When Book is at his wit’s end, he chooses the safe path: betrayal. When Michael is at her wit’s end, she chooses the brave path: hope. She hopes placing her faith in Book will pay off and, even when it doesn’t, she does it again (although not without a punch or two to his pretty face). She hopes that Discovery has made it or will make it through the temporal wormhole, even if there’s no precedent for that outcome. She hopes that the ember that is the Federation could be stirred into something bright and alive again, even if everyone in this time is telling her this hope is foolish.

Then, she meets Aditya Sahil (Adil Hussain), a man who has woken up every morning for 40 years to serve in an institution he isn’t even officially a part of, and she sees her hope mirrored in someone else’s hope. “Hope is a powerful thing,” Mr. Sahil tells Michael. “Sometimes, it is the only thing,” she replies, and there are perhaps some contexts where this exchange would be too much, but in 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic and weeks from the presidential election that has revealed the open wounds on our nation’s soul, they are words to grab onto and hold tight. Watching Star Trek has never solved any real-world problems, but it has reflected hope back at us and the value of that experience cannot be underestimated. Popular culture has power and far too few of our contemporary stories value hope in any honest way. Star Trek has always represented hope as the brave choice, as the strong one, and more than anything, this Season 3 premiere doubles down on that legacy. And, perhaps because this is a story set in a world in which there is no utopian institution that will uphold justice for all and because this is an episode that features no visibly white characters, it feels honest.

In a strange future where the Federation is no more, a red angel falls from the sky. The third season of Star Trek: Discovery has begun, and this show has never been better.

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Additional thoughts.

This is a real Mad Max: Fury Road moment…

You may have noticed that, while the title for this first episode is “That Hope is You, Part 1,” next week’s episode is not “Part 2.” Perhaps that will be the season finale?

Olatunde Osunsanmi continues to be one of the go-to directors for this show. Discovery should hold onto him for as long as they can. In this premiere, Osunsanmi makes ample use of the Icelandic countryside, playing up its desolate, alien-like tundras in some scenes and its lush natural landscapes in others. This show has never looks better and that’s saying a lot because it has always looked good.

I do wonder what Book thinks of the Michael/Aditya exchange. Has it made him believe in the Federation just a little bit more? Or does hope take a different form for him?

OK, what is up with Grudge? “She’s a queen” is not something you say about a cat—well, some people might say it, but it’s still weird. Is Grudge literally a queen? Captain Marvel has trained me to expect anything.

While I wouldn’t call this episode particularly Battlestar Galactica-esque, Michael’s crash landing on an alien planet reminded me of Starbuck’s dilemma in “You Can’t Go Home Again” and Aditya’s setup on the old Federation relay station reminded me of dude waiting for the Cylons at the beginning of the BSG miniseries. (It doesn’t go as well for him as it does for Aditya.)

Speaking of references, tell me you didn’t think of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Book told Michael to close her eyes.

I love that Michael has absolutely no chill about being a time traveler. She barely tries to hide it.

“Dilithium… one day it all just went boom.” This feels like the kind of description someone who had shitty science classes in school might use. I know this because I am in fact one of those people. But, really, what is The Burn?

When Aditya is searching for Discovery, he mentions that there are two Federation ships currently in flight within range of his sensors. Whether this means they are active Federation ships of some kind or they are simply Federation ships that have been commandeered by other people remains to be seen…

Who had Andorians and Orions on their Alien Bingo Card for Season 3?

I love how David Ajala says “tricorder.”

“It’s temperature sensitive and really valuable so it’s probably ice cream.” I have never related to Michael Burnham more.

Programmable matter and portable transporters, but few subspace channels and a scarcity of dilithium creates a future that, in some ways, is technologically leaps and bounds beyond what Michael has known, yet, in other ways, is burdened with massive limitations compared to her life in the 23rd century.

“Were you praying?” “Something like.” Michael and Burnham discuss Book’s ability to communicate with different kinds of living creatures, from a plant with medicinal properties on Hima, to the trance worm who, um, swallows Michael momentarily.

Book thanks Michael for saving the world. She deserves a thank you.

What did you think of the Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 premiere? Are you into the time jump? What is up with Grudge? And how long do you think it will be before Michael finds Discovery again? Let us know in the comments below…

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