The character portrayals in the first season already sparked a little bit of controversy from fans, especially since Ramsey wasn’t exactly what most fans had in mind for Ellie, and it looks like that trend will continue with season 2. For starters, there are already comments that Ellie’s new arm tattoo placement isn’t accurate to the game, and neither is her bob and tied back hair.

While I’m not exactly particular about the look of the character — it’s near impossible to make a real-life actor look exactly like a video game character after all — I’ll admit the tattoo placement is a little jarring. It’s important to remember that the reason why Ellie got a huge arm tattoo in the first place (aside from looking badass as hell) is that she needed to cover up the bite mark on her arm.

While Joel and Tommy are already aware of her immunity to the cordyceps virus, no one else is, and it’s important to get that plot device right at least.

Still, it’s exciting to see the actors back on set for season 2, especially since The Last of Us Part II takes the story in some pretty fun (and very controversial) directions going forward. We already relived the whole “Was Joel wrong?” discourse with the season 1 finale, and I’m especially looking forward to the dumpster fire that will surely be the season 2 (or 3) finale discourse.

HBO’s The Last of Us season 2 doesn’t have a release date just yet, but be sure to keep it locked to The Escapist for more information and updates on the show, including my diss on the adaptation after having watched Fallout.

What exactly is Hundreds of Beavers though? A quick search will tell you it is a black-and-white, slapstick comedy about a fur trapper who must trap the titular hundreds of beavers in order to win the hand of the girl he loves. That, however, is only the film’s very loose plot, which is mostly just an excuse for an ever-escalating series of slapstick comedy set-ups featuring animation, people in animal costumes, pratfalls, and the kind of comedic violence found in Looney Tunes cartoons. It is, in short, a hilarious comedy the likes of which haven’t been seen on screen since the age of silent film.

That is, in fact, part of the point. The movie is without speech, though not entirely silent thanks to human and animal noises and an incredibly keyed-in score, and is clearly trying to be a silent film. Think a Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton film meets Looney Tunes meets Monty Python all spinning off into an almost surreal David Lynch-esque conclusion as it spirals out of control into an action-packed finale. I know that sentence had so many descriptive contradictions in it you can’t quite conceptualize how this film could even function, and I’m not sure how either, to be honest, but it does, and it only gets funnier as it goes along.

Almost none of the humor in the movie is anything new in terms of slapstick comedy. Our intrepid hunter, played by Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, falls into hidden holes, triggers his own hunting traps, and gets hit in the balls (the ultimate form of comedy), but it all works wonderfully. I’m chagrined I had to watch the movie on my own as seeing it in a theater probably would have had me laughing even harder. Part of the reason for that is Tews’ performance as he contorts his face into a cartoon itself — half the humor comes from his own reaction shots, cued up like a silent film actor overplaying every moment perfectly. There is something akin to Cary Grant’s classic mugging in Arsenic and Old Lace to his performance, a comedic style of performance long gone in cinema that’s still hilarious.

However, what ties the film together — what ties any comedy together — is timing, and Hundreds of Beavers‘ comedic timing is nearly flawless. Director Mike Cheslik stitches together what is basically a collection of slapstick sketches into a spiraling, cohesive whole that builds comedy wonderfully. Not just hilarious for some prolific gag timing but constructed so the comedy builds on top of itself, the movie hardly loses a step despite being non-stop slapstick comedy and visual gags. Thanks to the movie getting more and more cartoonish, like a Looney Tunes cartoon taken to eleven, Cheslik is able to increase the comedic visual punchlines to ever more humorous levels.

If there is one complaint about the movie, it may be that the premise can wear a bit thin every now and again, but there is nothing like Hundreds of Beavers in cinemas right now, and there hasn’t been something like it in a very long time. Hell, there probably won’t be something like it in theaters for the foreseeable future either. So now is your chance to see a truly hilarious bit of cinematic uniqueness. Go do it.

Hundreds of Beavers is in limited theaters in the U.S. and will land in the UK on July 9. It is also available to stream On Demand.

Until Dawn’s Original Cinematic Inspirations Are The Shining and Psycho

David F. Sandberg, director of Shazam! and Annabelle: Creation, will direct the Until Dawn movie. Screenwriter Gary Dauberman, known for his horror work on It, The Nun, and Anabelle, will also partake in the project. But what about the original game’s horror influences? What inspired the original storyline?

 The 2015 version of the Until Dawn game came with behind-the-scenes footage. The creators discussed the cast, production design, musical score, and more. But the idea behind a group of teens in a cabin far up in the mountains didn’t come out of nowhere. 

The storyline was written by filmmaker and writer Graham Reznick along with Larry Fessenden (filmmaker and owner of Glass Eye Pix). Both had already worked together on several projects; Graham had worked with Ti West on sound production and Larry on different indie horror films. 

“The production design for Until Dawn started with the great teen horror script that sets the characters in a Canadian winter mountain lodge. Being a contemporary setting with visual clues derived from classic films of that genre. Such as Hitchcock’s ‘Psycho’ and Stanley Kubrick’s ‘Shining’,” Lee Robinson, Production Designer of Until Dawn stated in the footage.

Both The Shining and Psycho plots take place in pretty deserted places. In The Shining, Jack Nicholson’s character takes his family to a resort high up in the Colorado mountains. As the plot gets thicker and more snow begins to fall, he goes crazier, and it becomes clear there’s no way Nicholson and his family are coming out of the Overlook Hotel untouched.

As for Psycho, it’s clear this isn’t a Bates Motel, but there’s an underlying feeling that something unwelcoming is lurking. And it’s only a matter of time before one of the characters goes insane.

In Until Dawn’s case, the story unfolds at one of the characters’ ski lodges in Canada. As one of them puts it, “for their annual Blackwood winter getaway.” The premise is similar: it’s freezing outside, and characters are bound to stay inside and fight their fatal destiny. This makes the characters more vulnerable to their surroundings in their quest to survive.

Of course, these aren’t the game’s only cinematic references. Other horror classics that resemble the game’s plot are Sam Raimi’s The Evil Dead and the original Friday the 13th saga. On a side note, actress Hayden Panettiere, who plays final girl Samantha “Sam” Giddings, also played Kirby Reeds in Scream 4. 

The movie adaptation of Until Dawn is set to release later in 2024. 

The trailer opens with a series of flashbacks, revealing that this is indeed a sequel to the first film, though, interestingly, those flashbacks don’t have much of Russell Crowe’s Maximus character. The new film takes place long after the original, with a grown-up Lucius (Paul Mescal) fighting in the arena. Much like his father, Lucius is living a peaceful farm life when General Marcus Acacius (Pedro Pascal) invades his home under the command of some really evil emperors. It looks like the nuance of Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus is going right out the window with these guys, and instead, the complex villain role will be handed off to Pascal’s character.

It also looks like there were plenty of prolific battles in the Colosseum, including a sea battle. That may seem ridiculous, but the Romans could actually flood the Coloseum and have ship battles on it. Things are definitely getting cranked up to the extreme this time around, judging from not just that battle but the one with the rhino as well. All of this plays out as Macinus (Denzel Washington) uses Lucius to ignite his own revolution, though his reasons seem less virtuous than Proximo’s in the original film.

Related: House of the Dragon: What Potion Does Grand Maester Orwyle Give Alicent Hightower?

The highly anticipated film also stars Connie Nielsen, Joseph Quinn, Fred Hechinger, Rory McCann, Lee Charles, Lior Raz, and Derek Jacobi. It is directed by Scott from a screenplay by David Scarpa based on a story by Scarpa and Peter Craig.

Gladiator II will hit theaters on November 22, 2024.

Back when Disney+’s MCU television shows were still fresh and exciting, WandaVision kicked everything off with a show that gave us one of the MCU’s best villains, Agatha Harkness. Played perfectly by Kathryn Hahn, the character became quite the hit, and Marvel Studios jumped on board to do something more with Hahn, announcing Agatha All Along a few years ago (though it was called something different). It’s taken a while, but we now have our first look at the series, which will see Agatha team up with some other witches to get her powers back after Wanda defeated her and trapped her.

Related: Deadpool & Wolverine Teaser Features a Long-Awaited Mutant Battle

Pivoting Agatha into an anti-hero shouldn’t be too hard as Hahn has enough charm to make anything work, but it definitely looks like this story will play into both the dark side of Agatha’s character and Hahn’s comedic ability. That seems to be in full force as she’s knocked out of the pocket reality that Wanda trapped her in by Rio Vidal (Aubrey Plaza), which is probably an easier feat given the conclusion of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Once free, she goes on a quest to retrieve her powers, partnering with a collection of characters played by Joe Locke, Patti LuPone, Sasheer Zamata, Ali Ahn, Debra Jo Rupp, and Miles Gutierrez-Riley. Emma Caulfield Ford is also returning from WandaVision.

Agatha All Along will drop its first two episodes on September 18 and air weekly after that.

Nothing in House of the Dragon pulls on your heartstrings quite as much as hearing one of its dragons in agony, and with the battle that concludes Episode 4, this has never been more apparent. Watching Meleys take on Sunfyre, and later Vhagar was unexpected, but the best dragon-on-dragon fight we’ve seen yet. It is so well executed you begin to feel more for the dragons than the riders themselves.

While there are many dragons in House of the Dragon, we don’t see them often. Despite this, the show does an excellent job of building our relationship with them through the riders, and how they feel connected to the beasts, which makes them heading to battle special. In fact, before this episode, we’d never seen Sunfyre, but that doesn’t make the impact of its pain any less effective.

Entering combat in such a fluid and graceful way, these beasts quickly descend into mayhem. Using their claws to open up lacerations on the body, or chomping down to sever flesh with their teeth, there’s nothing graceful or magical about these battles, they’re truly a gritty, bloody mess, and it only gets worse when Dracarys is uttered.

Dragon combat is always considered a last resort, and the way that it is shown on the battlefield echoes this sentiment further. Whether it’s dragons torching soldiers, castles, or each other, these attacks are violent, messy, and bad news for everybody involved. But that’s where the visual and audio teams behind House of the Dragon shine. 

Dragons in this series look about as real as a fantasy creature could, even during the more complex battle moments. The way the team has captured emotion in the eyes of dragons without making it them cartoony, or comical is an impressive feat, and we see that on full display in the latest episode. Be honest, who didn’t hold back tears seeing Meleys and Rhaenys say their final goodbyes?

Complimenting the visuals, those screeching cries from the beasts when in pain will have shivers sent down your spine. It’s truly heartbreaking to see one of these dragons fall in combat, and when that’s combined with the major stakes at play, it is exactly what makes Episode 4 one of the best to date.

On the front of dragon combat, it remains to be seen how House of the Dragon will top this going forward, but with many more episodes set for Season 2, we’re more eager than ever to find out.

It’s no secret that Game of Thrones and its prequel House of the Dragon draw inspiration from real-life history, particularly the Middle Ages. Yet one of the shows’ biggest nods to true events – dragons as a metaphor for Weapons of Mass Destruction – is decidedly more contemporary.

Related: All Dragons & Their Riders in House of the Dragon

George R.R. Martin, author of the A Song of Ice and Fire series on which Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are based, highlighted the dragons/WMD subtext in a 2011 Vulture interview. “Dragons are the nuclear deterrent… But is that sufficient?” he said. “These are the kind of issues I’m trying to explore. The United States right now has the ability to destroy the world with our nuclear arsenal, but that doesn’t mean we can achieve specific geopolitical goals. Power is more subtle than that. You can have the power to destroy, but it doesn’t give you the power to reform, or improve, or build.”

It’s fascinating stuff, however, we’ve never seen it fully realized on the small screen – until now. Indeed, with its last four episodes, House of the Dragon has finally delivered on Martin’s WMD metaphor in ways that Game of Thrones Seasons 1-8 didn’t.

How Game of Thrones’ Approached the Dragons/WMD Metaphor

In fairness to Game of Thrones, its ability to engage with Martin’s WMD metaphor was limited by its scarcity of dragons. In keeping with the A Song of Ice and Fire canon, the show’s eight-season run featured just three of the winged beasties, all (almost) exclusively under Daenerys Targaryen’s command. As such, there’s not much scope to get into the “nuclear arms” race of it all. Even so, there’s at least some commentary in Game of Thrones about the power imbalance created when only one side in a conflict has warhead-level weapons. Daenerys using her dragons to flatten King’s Landing in Season 8 touches on Martin’s “creation versus destruction” point, too.

Related: House of the Dragon: Mysaria’s Neck Scar, Explained

So, if nothing else, Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D. B. Weiss leave us in no doubt that, whether it’s firebreathers or nukes, might doesn’t make right. But the deterrent aspect of Martin’s metaphor is almost completely absent. We never truly get the sense that Daenerys will rule unopposed thanks to her dragons, because we barely see her ruling. Sure, she’s technically the boss of Slaver’s Bay in Seasons 4 to 6. Yet she’s constantly challenged by the uncowed locals. As Martin rightly observed, so much of nuclear weapons’ effectiveness comes from the fear they evoke; Daenerys’ dragons don’t quite have the same effect.

House of the Dragon Season 1 Built on Game of Thrones’ Dragon/WMD Metaphor

Fortunately, House of the Dragon Season 1 edges the franchise closer to what Martin had in mind. From the jump, we appreciate that dragons have devastating, history-altering potential, even though we never see it firsthand. In Episode 1, King Viserys I Targaryen provides a handy recap of Westeros’ backstory: the dragons are what allowed his house to conquer Westeros and maintain its hold over the realm. After all, nobody wants to go toe-to-toe with a dragon and its rider.

Related: Is Daemon Targaryen Really Responsible for the Blood and Cheese Scene?

Throughout the rest of Season 1, this “dragons as a nuclear deterrent” is baked into the subtext. Viserys even has an Oppenheimer-esque moment of reflection, questioning the Targaryen dynasty’s decision to unleash dragons on the world. At the same time, he can’t exactly give them up. Otherwise, what’s to stop the other Great Houses from mounting a rebellion? So, the WMD metaphor is definitely there – but even so, you could conceivably miss it.

House of the Dragon Season 2 Runs Back the Cold War

That’s not the case in House of the Dragon Season 2, though. Unless you know nothing about world history post-1945, you’re not missing the dragon/WMD overlap here. Indeed, Episodes 1-3 play out as Westeros’ answer to the Cold War. There’s a tangible sense that the likes of Rhaenyra and Rhaenys Targaryen and Otto and Alicent Hightower know all too well that letting their dragons loose (like launching warheads) is a point of no return. Heck, Rhaenyra says as much in Episode 3.

It’s why House of the Dragon Season 2 starts slowly with saber rattling and proxy conflicts, not full-scale war. The realm’s cooler heads appreciate that dragon-on-dragon combat could result in the same mutually assured destruction that kept the US and Soviets in check back in the day. If the nukes-on-wings run riot, chances are there’ll be hardly anything left (and nobody left to rule it).

Related: Who Is Daeron Targaryen in House of the Dragon?

That’s also why, when the Green and Black Targaryen camps at long last “fire” their living arsenals in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4, it’s suitably apocalyptic. Daenerys torching King’s Landing was one thing, a multi-dragon aerial slugfest is another entirely. Soldiers crumble to ash. The earth is scorched black. True, there’s no radiation, but the visuals are clearly meant to evoke what happens when you split the atom. What’s more, it’s evident there’s no going back. The fiery holocaust we’ve dodged in our world (for now) is coming to Westeros.

And that’s arguably showrunner Ryan Condal and his team’s biggest achievement with House of the Dragon Season 2’s first four episodes: dragon fighting is now more than just about spectacle. they’re a fully realized WMD metaphor. Yes, seeing these overgrown lizards mix it up is awesome. However, it’s forever tainted by our knowledge that each fight will bring the Targaryens (and Westeros itself) closer to annihilation. In effect, it blows up House of the Dragon‘s blockbuster appeal – but then, what do you expect from a WMD metaphor?

House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently airing on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.

House of the Dragon Season 2’s latest episode, “A Dance of Dragons,” seemingly kills off two major characters – but did they really die? Or was it a fake-out?

Related: Are Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs in House of the Dragon Season 2?

House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4’s Big Deaths, Explained

House of the Dragon Season 2’s first dragon versus dragon showdown — and it’s a sight to behold. First up are Princess Rhaenys’ Meleys and King Aegon II’s Sunfyre, with the former proving more than a match for the latter. After the battle-hardened Rhaenys and Meleys are through with relative noobs Aegon and Sunfyre, they’re in bad shape. Rhaenys and Meleys don’t have the upper hand for long, though.

Prince Aemond and his super-sized mount Vhagar soon launch a sneaky counter-attack, and the much smaller Meleys is visibly outgunned. Rhaenys and her dragon aren’t the first to go down, though. Instead, that dubious honor goes to Aegon and Sunfyre, who are quickly caught in the crossfire and plummet from the sky. Meleys lasts much longer, however, she’s ultimately no match for Vhagar, who kills her with a vicious chomp to the neck.

Related: Is Balerion in House of the Dragon?

Meleys’ demise spells disaster for Rhaenys, too. Miles in the air and strapped to the back of a rapidly descending dragon, the so-called “Queen Who Never Was” can only close her eyes and wait for impact. It arrives soon enough — and there’s no way Rhaenys survives. Not only do she and Meleys collide with Rook’s Rest castle’s battlements, but Meleys bursts into flames immediately after.

By contrast, Aegon II’s fate is slightly less clear. True, when Aemond and Ser Criston Cole come upon the king and his dragon, both are in pretty bad shape. Yet Sunfyre is still breathing and Aegon — while he’s definitely unconscious — isn’t necessarily dead. Does this mean Aegon’s fall wasn’t as fatal as it looked? Only time (and House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 5) will say for certain!

Do Rhaenys and Aegon II Die in George R.R. Martin’s Book?

Yes and no. Yes, Rhaenys dies during Battle of Rook’s Rest in House of the Dragon Season 2’s source text, Fire & Blood. No, Aegon II doesn’t go out with her. That said, Fire & Blood author (and House of the Dragon co-creator) George R.R. Martin makes it clear that Aegon almost didn’t make it. The monarch’s injuries include broken bones and serious and extensive burns — his armor even melted into his left arm (ewwww).

Related: House of the Dragon Season 2: Who Is Alys Rivers?

Fortunately for the live-action Aegon, his condition looks less serious (or less graphic, at any rate) in House of the Dragon Season 2. Notably, he doesn’t have any noticeable burns. Presumably, this is because House of the Dragon‘s parent series, Game of Thrones, established that in TV continuity, Targaryens are more resistant to fire than other folk.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently airing on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.

Hallucinations and Headaches at Harrenhal

House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4 opens in maybe cursed/definitely creepy castle Harrenhal. Prince Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith) dreams of young Rhaenyra Targaryen (Milly Alcock) perched on the Iron Throne. Rhaenyra accuses Daemon of undermining her rule. She also declares that her father (and Daemon’s brother), King Viserys I Targaryen, loved her more. In response, Daemon lops off Rhaenyra’s head, but the taunting doesn’t stop.

Daemon is woken from his nightmare by Ser Simon Strong (Simon Russell Beale), but not before hallucinating blood on his hands. Ser Simon brings news that Houses Rosby and Stokeworth have raised their banners for King Aegon II Targaryen (Tom Glynn-Carney). Aegon’s army, headed up by Ser Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), is now three times as big — and it’s partly Daemon’s fault. The Blood and Cheese scandal (which Daemon set in motion) helped sway both houses to side with Aegon.

Related: Are Daenerys’ Dragon Eggs in House of the Dragon Season 2?

Ser Simon warns Daemon that Ser Criston and his troops will likely make a beeline for Harrenhal. If they do, the odds of Daemon coming out on top don’t look great, as there’s no time for him to raise a big enough army of his own (plus, the castle is still busted). Hoping to improve his chances, Daemon meets with Ser Oscar Tully (Archie Barnes), the tween heir to the powerful House Tully.

Ser Oscar confirms that his grandfather (and current House Tully head), Grover Tully, is seriously ill but still very much alive. Daemon’s less than thrilled to hear this, as it means Ser Oscar can’t hand him control of House Tully’s forces. The rogue prince disparages House Tully and storms out of the meeting. As he goes, he orders Ser Simon to summon House Blackwood, as they (unlike the Tullys) proved they’re “men of action” in House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 3.

Off-the-Books Offspring on Both Sides of the Divide

From here, House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4 shifts its focus to Driftmark. Princess Rhaenys Targaryen (Eve Best) encounters Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) and observes that — based on his looks — his mother must have been a beautiful woman. It’s a slightly awkward moment that makes more sense once Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint) shows up and sends Alyn away.

The conversation between husband and wife that follows heavily implies that Alyn is Corlys’ illegitimate son. Rhaenys also announces that she’s heading back to Dragonstone to support Lady Baela Targaryen (Bethany Antonia) and Prince Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) in Queen Rhaenyra’s (Emma D’Arcy) absence. When Corlys grumbles about Rhaenyra going AWOL, Rhaenys retorts that the queen is the only Black Targaryen trying to avert all-out war.

Related: House of the Dragon: Who Is The Prince That Was Promised?

Meanwhile, in King’s Landing, Grand Maester Orwyle (Kurt Egyiawan) brings Dowager Queen Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke) a dose of moon tea. Alicent pretends the birth control potion is for another unnamed member of the royal household, but it’s clearly for her. Before Orwyle exits, Alicent asks him whether he believes Viserys truly wanted Aegon as his successor. He can’t say one way or the other, leaving Alicent to mull over the subject (and quaff her moon tea).

Cut to: Dragonstone. The Black Targaryen Small Council members are their usual ornery selves, lamenting their lack of concrete intel, resources, and leadership. Rhaenys, Baela, and Jacaerys try keeping the session on the rails, but it’s no use. However, just as things reach rock bottom, Coryls swaggers in and gets everyone back in line. With order restored, Rhaenys implores the council to trust Rhaenyra to do whatever it takes to end the Targaryen civil war.

Aegon Learns Who’s Really Steering the War Effort

In the Crownlands, Ser Criston’s army has defeated Rhaenyra loyalists House Darklyn. As Ser Gwayne Hightower (Freddie Fox) watches on, Cole invites the defeated soldiers to throw in with the Green Targaryen camp. Lord Darklyn himself refuses to bend the knee and Cole removes his head from his shoulders for his troubles. Cole then receives a raven and tells Gwayne they’re headed northeast next. When Gwayne points out that Harrenhal lies to the west, Cole agrees without altering his orders.

Back in King’s Landing, Aegon is throwing one of his now-standard tantrums during a Small Council session. The king is a bit miffed that Daemon has control of Harrenhal. The castle’s official owner, Lord Larys Strong (Matthew Needham), assures Aegon there’s nothing to worry about. Not only is Harrenhal in bad shape without any cash flow but, while Daemon focuses his energies there, Ser Criston’s forces roll through the Crownlands virtually unopposed.

Related: House of the Dragon: How Does Rhaenyra Targaryen Die in the Book?

Aegon’s partly mollified; however, he still wants to take back Harrenhal for appearance’s sake. That’s when Prince Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) pipes up. He’s already sent Ser Criston’s army (via the raven seen earlier) to Rook’s Rest. Despite its seeming insignificance, taking the small castle would have big strategic benefits for the Green Targaryen campaign. Aegon’s not convinced, nor is he happy that Aemond and Criston are effectively waging the war without him. But after a pitifully one-sided debate between the siblings in High Valyrian, Aegon submits to Aemond’s plan.

A brief interlude follows, during which Larys pays the unwell Alicent a visit in her chambers. Larys seemingly deduces that Alicent has taken moon tea and hints that he’s aware of her affair with Criston. He also probes Alicent’s role in Aegon’s ascent to the throne, before both agree that Viserys I’s true intentions are now meaningless.

The Haunting of Prince Daemon Continues

House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4’s next stop is Harrenhal. As in Episode 3, an unseen figure lurks behind Daemon’s bed chamber door. Rattled, Daemon grabs a sword and sets off in his pajamas after this ethereal interloper. He finally tracks them down, and they turn out to be … Daemon in an eyepatch? It’s more of the trippy goings-on we’ve come to expect from this plot thread.

Rounding a corner, Daemon comes across Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin), who shares her backstory. It turns out she’s Harrenhal’s unofficial maester, after the legit maester fled one night. She also touches on the castle’s supposed curse, recalling how a forest of ancient Weirwood trees was chopped down during its construction. Daemon’s bed is made from the same trees, and Alys puts forward the theory that this is responsible for the rogue prince’s night terrors.

Related: Who Is Alyrie Florent in House of the Dragon?

Her potted history lesson concluded, Alys then sets about psychoanalyzing Daemon. She cuts close to the bone, playing on Daemon’s fears that his actions at Harrenhal are designed to elevate him and undercut Rhaenyra. This comes with a sleeping potion to wash it down, which Daemon drains. This seems like a rash move on his part, especially given Daemon’s erratic performance at the meeting with House Blackwood the following day. Still, Daemon makes a tentative deal with the Blackwoods despite being haunted by a vision of his late wife, Lady Laena Velaryon (Nanna Blondell), throughout.

Back in King’s Landing, Aegon gets fed up with reports of Ser Criston and Aemond’s successes and huffs out of the Small Council meeting. He heads for his chambers, where he finds Alicent looking for Viserys I’s old history books. Aegon bitches to his mother about nobody taking him seriously. However, Alicent isn’t in a coddling mood and hits Aegon with some hard truths about his inadequacies as king. Her final counsel? Sit there, shut up, and do nothing.

The Battle at Rook’s Rest

This brings us to House of the Dragon Season 2, Episode 4’s final third, which is devoted to the second season’s first big set piece: the Battle at Rook’s Rest. Cole orders his troops to attack the castle, over Gwayne’s objections that a daytime assault leaves them vulnerable to nearby Dragonstone’s dragons. He’s not wrong, either. When Rhaenyra returns to Dragonstone, she (eventually) dispatches Rhaenys and her mount, Meleys, to Rook’s Rest.

A montage of action across Westeros follows, accompanied by Rhaenyra’s narration about a Targaryen monarch’s purpose and duties. Aegon defies Alicent and saddles up on his dragon, Sunfyre. Rhaenys and Meleys share a tender moment (foreshadowing, anyone?). Capping it all off, Rhaenyra prepares to share the Song of Ice and Fire — the prophecy foretelling the events of Game of Thrones — with Jacaerys.

Related: Who Did Viserys Want to Succeed Him in House of the Dragon?

And then it’s go-time at Rook’s Rest. Rhaenys and Meleys arrive with the battle underway and start roasting the Green Targaryens’ ranks. Yet Ser Criston isn’t phased — because Aemond and his dragon, Vhagar, are playing possum in the forest. But before Criston and Aemond can spring their surprise attack, Aegon arrives. He and Sunfyre are no match for Rhaenys and Meleys, although Aemond and Vhagar’s intervention looks set to tip the scales.

Unfortunately for Aegon, Aemond fires (literally) indiscriminately, sending the already badly injured Sunfyre tumbling to the ground. Rhaenys, Aemond, and their respective mounts go head-to-head next, wreaking havoc on the battlefield below. Aemond and Vhagar ultimately defeat Rhaenys and Meleys, killing both. What about Aegon? When a distraught Cole locates him, he’s badly — maybe even fatally — injured. It’s a victory for the Greens, but at what cost?

House of the Dragon Season 2 is currently airing on HBO and Max, with new episodes dropping Sundays.

We followed two criteria when compiling this list: audio-visual quality plus the quality of the film itself. After all, what’s the point of owning a 4K Blu-ray you don’t enjoy watching? And remember: this is just a “starter pack” (so don’t get too upset if your fave flick didn’t make the cut).

10. Apocalypse Now: Final Cut

Francis Ford Coppola’s 1979 Vietnam War fever dream, Apocalypse Now, has never looked or sounded better than it does on 4K Blu-ray. HDR10 and Dolby Vision do justice to the movie’s lush colors and rich blacks, and the Dolby Atmos audio is equally kind to its Oscar-winning sound design. What’s more, Coppola and his restoration team have subtly enhanced both for home media set-ups. You won’t believe you’re watching a 45-year-old movie! Oh, and if you buy the Apocalypse Now: Final Cut Collector’s Edition, you also get the theatrical and Redux versions of the film (so everybody’s happy).

9. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy

This is a controversial pick. While Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy is rightly regarded as a three-part cinematic masterpiece, the Kiwi director’s decision to re-grade the Ultra HD Blu-ray release polarized cinephiles. The color timing across The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King is far more consistent now — but also noticeably different from the theatrical versions. That said, the movies still look and sound terrific (the Balrog’s roar in Dolby Atmos is spine-tingling stuff). Plus, Jackson mercifully avoided the urge to do any Star Wars: Special Edition-style tinkering, so The Lord of the Rings movies’ real magic — its story — remains intact.

Related: How Many Lord of the Rings Movies Are There?

8. 2001: A Space Odyssey

The late Stanley Kubrick’s films rank among the most visually striking ever. So, it’s hardly surprising that three of his most acclaimed flicks — 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange, and The Shining — are up there with the best 4K Blu-rays available today. But if we had to choose just one, we’d go with 2001. Warner Bros.’s restoration team scanned the 1969 film’s original 65mm negative, lending depth and crispness to 2001‘s iconic sci-fi visuals. The legendary “Star Gate” sequence is trippier than ever in HDR, too. About the only knock on the 2001: A Space Odyssey 4K UHD Blu-ray is that there’s no Dolby Atmos to augment its classical soundtrack. It’s a must-own, just the same.

7. The Revenant

The Revenant is a heavy hang — but also an undeniably great movie. And once you’ve seen the 4K Blu-ray version of Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s 2015 Western drama, you’ll find revisiting it a whole lot easier. Iñárritu and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki played a hands-on role in The Revenant‘s 4K UHD release, optimizing its visuals for the format. The overall result is more naturalistic than previous home media versions. From Leonardo DiCaprio’s grimy skin tones to the delicate interplay between light and dark, you’ll think you’re peering through a window into the frontier-era Dakotas.

Related: Indiana Jones Movies Ranked

6. Blade Runner: The Final Cut

The definitive version of one of the greatest sci-fi films of all time, Blade Runner: The Final Cut is as visually and aurally dazzling as you’d expect in 4K Blu-ray. Director Ridley Scott supervised a 4K remaster of Blade Runner in 2007, which HDR brings to life even better than the standard Blu-ray release. Everything looks richer and sharper. Blade Runner: The Final Cut sounds superior on 4K Blu-ray too, courtesy of its Dolby Atmos track. The belated sequel, Blade Runner 2049, also deserves a place in your collection, however, the original movie is the more essential purchase.

5. My Fair Lady

There’s room for lighter fare in every 4K Blu-ray collection — especially when the UHD version of My Fair Lady is such a feast for the eyes. Produced from an 8K scan of the 1964 musical comedy-drama’s 65mm/Super Panavision 70 negative, the My Fair Lady 4K Blu-ray looks as crisp as any 2024 release. From the vibrant hues of Audrey Hepburn’s hats to the subtle details of the Covent Garden market, every frame is straight-up sumptuous in HDR. My Fair Lady‘s depth-of-field effects are more pronounced in the UHD format, as well. If only all classic films received the same amount of care when making the jump to 4K!

Related: All Mad Max Movies, Ranked From Worst to Best

4. Mad Max: Fury Road

The bombastic visuals of George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road wowed audiences in 2015, and they’re just as spectacular on 4K Blu-ray. Like several other entries on this list, Fury Road underwent a re-grading process for its HDR release, and its striking palette pops as a result. Fire effects and explosions are more vivid in Fury Road‘s 4K Blu-ray version, although the night scenes arguably benefit the most from the re-grade. Mad Max: Fury Road‘s Dolby Atmos audio track is outstanding as well, especially during the chaotic sandstorm sequence.

3. The Dark Knight Trilogy

Like his idol Stanley Kubrick, Christopher Nolan has cranked out multiple worthy candidates for this best 4K Blu-rays list. Interstellar, Dunkirk, Oppenheimer, and, yes, even Tenet, all belong on your shelf. But none of these titles are a match for the combined bravura brilliance of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy. This is particularly true of The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight Rises, in which Wally Pfister’s IMAX cinematography — expertly calibrated for HDR — shines. Unfortunately, there’s no Dolby Atmos with this set, however, The Dark Knight trilogy’s DTS:HD Master Audio still sounds pretty good.

Related: Ranking Christopher Nolan Movies

2. Jaws

C’mon: it’s Jaws — one of the most iconic movies of all time. It’s also one of the most masterful 4K Blu-ray remasters of all time, too. Universal scanned Jaws‘ original 35mm negative for the 1975 thriller’s UHD release, and everything — the colors, the fine details, even the film grain — sparkles in HDR. Better still, the restoration team clearly worked overtime to preserve the aesthetic that director Steven Spielberg and cinematographer Bill Butler had in mind. The Jaws 4K Blu-ray’s Dolby Atmos audio is also best-in-class, elevating John Williams’ classic score and the ambient sound effects.

1. John Wick: Chapters 1-4

Rounding out this list of the best 4K Blu-rays is John Wick: Chapters 1-4: the full set (for now at least) of the Keanu Reeves-led, neo-noir action flicks. All four movies scrub up great in 4K UHD, thanks in no small part to their stylish use of color and lighting. That said, of the bunch, John Wick: Chapter 2 arguably boasts the best HDR-enhanced visuals (although Chapter 4 gives it a run for its money!). What about the audio? Let’s just say John Wick’s punches land twice as hard in Dolby Atmos!

And there you have it: the best 4K Blu-rays on the market today!

What Are the Best A24 Horror Movies?

Horror is an entirely subjective genre, filled with plenty of different niches and methods to scare audiences. But when put through the lens of A24’s auteur-focused lens of production, they seemingly elevate each genre into something more. A24 has made a lot of horror movies in the past decade, and while some of them have been less than amazing, plenty are worth your time.

This past weekend, A24 released MaXXXine, the conclusion to Ti West’s X trilogy, which has found commercial and critical success since its release in 2022. With people eager to see the conclusion of this horror series, some people may be itching to see more horror movies like MaXXXine after they see the credits roll. Consider taking a look at these five other excellent horror movies made by A24. While I can’t guarantee they’ll scare you, I can guarantee that you won’t forget them.

1) Hereditary (2018)

Considered by many to be one of the scariest movies of the past decade, Hereditary is an unnerving look at a family that is slowly falling apart. To say any more would spoil the numerous twists and revelations in the film, but Ari Aster’s debut horror feature shows an eye for cinematography that most other directors lack. He would go on to make Midsommar, another excellent A24 horror movie, but Hereditary manages to leave a long-lasting impression, mostly thanks to Toni Collette’s amazing performance. It’s a slow-burn horror movie, not dissimilar from something like Rosemary’s Baby, and thanks to the myriad of shots that will leave you disturbed, it’s going to be one that the viewer won’t forget anytime soon.

2) I Saw The TV Glow (2024)

It may be a bit presumptuous putting a movie like I Saw The TV Glow on this list so soon after its release, but the technicolor nightmare that it brings is hard to ignore. The film follows Justice Smith and Brigette Lundy-Paine as socially awkward teenagers who bond over a supernatural show called The Pink Opaque. At first, what seems like a 90s-inspired coming-of-age story slowly descends into an amalgamation of Buffy, Twin Peak, and a whole host of mid-90s Nickelodeon shows. That may seem like a weird combination, but the show’s unnerving blend of surrealism and horror creates an experience that, by the end, will leave you questioning everything you saw and saddened by the conclusion. This is a depressing movie that will leave you nostalgic for an era of popular culture that we’ll never get back, yet hollow thanks to the fate of its cast.

3) The Killing Of A Sacred Deer (2017)

If you saw Poor Things last year and thought that the director, Yorgos Lathimos, was weird, then The Killing Of A Sacred Deer is just for you. It’s the story of a doctor, played by Colin Farrell, as he becomes more and more familiar with a young man played by Barry Keoghan. Like most of Yorgos’s films, it’s an odd watch at first, but you can’t deny the terror that begins to overtake everything as the movie begins to pick up speed. It’s a movie that will leave you asking a lot of questions, but the ideas it has about evil and the nature of the devil are wonderfully handled, mostly thanks to a breakout performance by Barry Keoghan. More than any other movie on this list, The Killing of a Sacred Deer is not for everyone, but for those who can vibe with its weirdness, you’ll find a lot to admire.

4) The Lighthouse (2019)

Much like Ari Aster, Robert Eggers is a director who got his start making horror movies with A24 and has found critical success ever since. However, while Aster has more modern sensibilities surrounding horror, Eggers uses a lot of classical imagery and mythology to make his horror movies pop. Take The Lighthouse for example. The film follows Robert Pattinson and Willem Dafoe as two lighthouse keepers who can hardly stand each other, forced to live with one another on a stormy island for an unknown amount of time. Between the abuse that Dafoe puts on Pattinson and the tight cinematography, sometimes literally, it makes a film that makes you feel almost as deranged as the two men themselves. Add in some truly bizarre moments and an ending that will sear itself into your brain, and you too will be spilling your beans and regretting ever criticizing Dafoe’s lobster.

5) X (2022)

It stands to reason that if this list is in celebration of MaXXXine’s release, we should probably talk about X and its homage to 70s low-budget horror movies. Taking influence from exploitation films of the era and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, the film follows a group of adult filmmakers as they rent out a barn on the property of ultra-religious geriatrics as they try to secretly make their movie without alerting their hosts of what they’re doing. What follows is a gory look at religious fundamentalism, the allure of fame and regret, all propelled by the performances of Mia Goth, who does double duty as both the film’s protagonist and antagonist. Mia Goth owns this movie and elevates what should normally be a middle-of-the-road slasher into something special. It’s funny how Mia Goth’s characters want to be a star and this is the film that put this scream queen on the map and into the hearts of so many horror fans. If you watch X, you’re coming for the slasher bits, but you’re staying for Mia Goth.

What Happened At the End of The Bear Season 3?

For the majority of the season, Carmy and the rest of the staff at The Bear were trying to figure out what direction the restaurant should take and what they should do in their individual lives. Almost as a reflection of the show’s theme, the third season of The Bear was a confusing, meandering, and at times dull look into the restaurant’s future now that it’s actually opened. All of this should have been building to something, yet the end result was ambiguous and unclear.

The two major plot threads that the season focused on were how Carmy was putting too much pressure on himself to succeed, thereby pushing everyone else away in the process. He forces unrealistic demands on his staff and quickly spirals into debt due to buying extravagant ingredients, only for the menu to change every night. To add to that, he becomes absolutely obsessed with an upcoming review of his restaurant that may sink the entire enterprise if it’s bad.

The other major plot thread focuses on Sydney, who has become increasingly disillusioned working with Carmy. She was promised to be Carmy’s partner in the restaurant, but she has no say in the menu or any of the decisions, with Carmy treating her more like an employee than a partner. She drags her heels on signing a contract solidifying her as a partner in The Bear, but what conflicts her even further is how she’s offered to join a new start-up restaurant as their Chef De Cuisine, or CDC. Before the ending of The Bear Season 3, she even finds out that the terms of the position are better than the ones that Carmy is offering her as a partner.

This all comes to a head in the season finale, where Carmy and Sydney attend the funeral service of one of the most respected fine dining restaurants in Chicago, Ever. While there, Syndey hears from other world-renowned chefs how to best enjoy their craft, good business decisions, and how they make positive work environments, all of which are counter to her experiences working with Carmy this season. Meanwhile, Carmy confronts David Fields, his abusive former boss, and tries to chastise him, only for Fields to say that Carmy wouldn’t be as good as a chef if it wasn’t for his abuse. Carmy can’t really counter his claim and begins to cry.

Related: Bradley Cooper’s Character from Burnt Is Canon in The Bear

After the service, Sydney invites the staff from The Bear and Ever to her apartment for a party and has a panic attack, thinking about all of the good times she’s had with them and how devastated they would be if she left. Because of this, she’s unable to make a decision on whether to go or not. Carmy, who doesn’t attend the party, instead heads home and checks his phone to see several calls from Cicero, who told him earlier that if the review is bad, he would have to pull out and stop funding The Bear. All of those calls are because The Bear’s first review got published, and it appears to be a mixed one. Then, without any closure on any of the main character’s arcs, the words “To Be Continued” pop up on the screen, ending the season.

It’s a frustrating finale, one that doesn’t really tie up any of the major loose threads from the season and instead serves as set-up for the fourth season. Neither Sydney nor Carmy have resolved either of their issues, and most of the supporting cast hardly factored into any of the events of the season. When Season 4 starts up, it’s gonna have to work extra hard to justify the glacial and meandering pace of the third season.

And that’s the ending of The Bear Season 3, explained.

The Bear is streaming now on Hulu.