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    Why Are People Obsessed With TV Finales ‘Sticking the Landing’?

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    As “Curb Your Enthusiasm” gets ready to exit, it’s time to let go of the idea that a story’s ending determines its final score.Larry David is just fine with how “Seinfeld” ended. OK, I can’t read his mind — but “Larry David,” the version of himself he plays on “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” is cool with that much-maligned finale. He insisted on it, vehemently, during a season of “Curb” that was almost entirely about a fictional do-over of the landmark sitcom he created with Jerry Seinfeld.“We didn’t screw up a finale!” he insisted. “That was a good finale!”The actual Larry David may be sanguine about repeating the experience of “Seinfeld.” The 12th and final season of “Curb” has even been steering toward a similar scenario, with TV Larry facing a trial, much as his earlier series ended.But the rest of the viewership is more likely to look at the final episode the way we have become conditioned to view a series finale: as a high-stakes, legacy-defining challenge. Will we laugh with it or at it? Will it cement the series’s place in history or tarnish it? Will it — say it with me now — stick the landing?Ugh. There are plenty of clichés in TV criticism, and I am not immune to using them. But “stick the landing” is one that awakens my cantankerous inner Larry David — not just because it is an overused phrase, but because of what it says about art and endings and what matters in both.The term, of course, comes from gymnastics, part of a creeping sportsification of pop-culture criticism that has also given us assorted TV power rankings and myriad March Madness-style brackets. (Didn’t arts nerds spend enough time getting stuffed into lockers by jocks without having to live inside their language, too?)Applied to TV, sticking the landing suggests that a finale is the equivalent of a vaulter’s dismount. The concentrated force of narrative momentum is channeled into a moment of impact, and the series either hits the mat firmly or shatters a leg. It’s the difference between the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Game of Thrones’ Star Liam Cunningham Is Now in ‘3 Body Problem’

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      Born and raised in Dublin, Liam Cunningham speaks in Joycean streams of consciousness that often have no discernible beginning, middle or end. He talks with his hands and taps his feet, salting his anecdotes with friendly F-bombs, catching his breath only long enough to take a puff of his distinctively scented e-cigarettes. They aren’t very popular on the set.“They smell like if you took the cardboard that comes with a dry cleaned shirt and held it over a burner,” said D.B. Weiss, who, with his production partner David Benioff, has given Cunningham choice roles in “Game of Thrones” and now “3 Body Problem.” A heady new science-fiction series, based on a trilogy of novels by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, “3 Body Problem” premieres Thursday on Netflix.In it, Cunningham plays Thomas Wade, the no-nonsense spy master who leads a team of physicists chosen to save the world from a very slow-moving but ominous alien invasion. Unlike Davos Seaworth, the emotionally vulnerable knight Cunningham played in “Thrones,” Wade is gruff, bellicose and secretive, an enigmatic authority figure whose back story left even Cunningham with questions.With Benedict Wong, right, on “3 Body Problem,” Cunningham plays a no-nonsense spy master who leads a team of physicists.Ed Miller/Netflix“So little about him is known, and everybody you talk to that’s seen this thing is like, ‘What’s his story?’” Cunningham said on an Austin hotel patio during the South by Southwest Film Festival, where the series had its world premiere. “He’s got the U.N. Secretary General on the end of the phone, and people do what he tells them to, and you go, ‘Who’s giving him this authority?’ And the funny thing is, I never felt the need to talk to the boys” — Weiss and Benioff, that is — “they never offered, and I never asked, which probably is not a good thing to say, I should probably say to everybody, ‘Oh, I know everything about him, but I’m not telling you.’”Breath. Puff.Cunningham, 62 with salt-and-pepper hair and bright blue eyes, came to acting relatively late in life. He worked as an electrician until he was 29, spending a chunk of his 20s in Zimbabwe bringing electricity to rural communities. “You know the song ‘Wichita Lineman’?” he asks, referring to the ’60s country hit by Glen Campbell. “That was me, except I was the Zimbabwe lineman. For an Irish, pale-skinned elf from Dublin, it was mind-blowing.” For a time he worked in a national park, “the size of Belgium and with 16,000 elephants.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      ‘Game of Thrones’ Creators on Their New Show, ‘3 Body Problem’

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      In an interview, David Benioff, D.B. Weiss and Alexander Woo discuss their latest fantastical epic, the alien space saga “3 Body Problem” for Netflix.The “Game of Thrones” creators David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were finishing off their hit HBO series after an eight-season run and wondering what was next. That was when the Netflix executive Peter Friedlander approached them with a trilogy of science-fiction books by the Chinese novelist Liu Cixin called “Remembrance of Earth’s Past.”“We knew that it won the Hugo Award, which is a big deal for us since we grew up as nerds,” Benioff said of the literary prize for science fiction. Barack Obama was also on record as a fan.Benioff and Weiss dipped in and were intrigued by what they found: a sweeping space invasion saga that begins in 1960s China, amid the turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, and involves a superior alien race that has built a rabid cultlike following on Earth. A heady mix of science and skulduggery, featuring investigations both scientific and criminal, it felt utterly unique. “So much content right now feels like, ‘Oh, here’s another forensic show, here’s another legal thriller,’ it just feels like it’s a version of something you’ve seen,” Benioff said. “This universe is a different one.”Or, as Weiss added, “This is the universe.”Those novels are now the core of “3 Body Problem,” a new series that Benioff and Weiss created with Alexander Woo (“True Blood”). It premiered on opening night at the South by Southwest Film Festival and arrives Thursday on Netflix. The setting has changed along the way, with most of the action unfolding in London rather than China (although the Cultural Revolution is still a key element), and the characters, most of them young and pretty, now represent several countries. But the central themes remain the same: belief, fear, discovery and an Earth imperiled by superior beings. Among the heroes are the gruff intelligence chief Thomas Wade, played by the “Thrones” veteran Liam Cunningham, and a team of five young, reluctant, Oxford-trained physicists played by John Bradley — another “Thrones” star — Jovan Adepo, Eiza Gonzáles, Jess Hong and Alex Sharp. Can they save the world for their descendants?In an interview in Austin the day of the SXSW premiere, the series creators discussed life after “Thrones,” their personal ties to “3 Body Problem” and the trick to making physics sexy. These are edited excerpts from the conversation.The series is quite different from the books, particularly the settings and characters, both of which are a lot less Chinese. How did this come about?We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Sophie Turner’s Custody Lawsuit Against Joe Jonas is Dismissed

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      The English actress sued the American musician weeks after they announced their split, saying he had prevented their two children from returning to Britain.A judge in New York on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit that the English actress Sophie Turner filed last year against her husband, Joe Jonas, in which she requested that their two young children be returned to England from the United States.The lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York was dismissed with both parties’ consent, according to a court filing.Turner, a star on the television show “Game of Thrones,” sued Jonas, an American musician who plays in a boy band with his brothers, in September, weeks after the couple said publicly that they planned to divorce.That summer, the children had traveled to the U.S. with Jonas because he was on tour there and Turner had a busy filming schedule in Britain, according to the lawsuit. The couple agreed that Turner would pick up the children in September and return with them to England, it said.Instead, the lawsuit said, Jonas filed for divorce in September and later refused to give Turner the children’s passports, preventing them from returning to England, their “habitual residence.”A representative for Jonas said at the time that giving Turner the children’s passports would have violated a court order in Florida — where the couple’s divorce proceedings had been initiated — that restricted both parents from relocating the children.In the court filing on Wednesday, known as a consent order, Judge Katherine Polk Failla noted that Turner and Jonas had signed a memorandum of understanding and a “parenting plan” related to their children in October. They also filed a consent order with a court in Britain that was approved on Jan. 11, she wrote.Attorneys and publicists for Turner and Jonas did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Wednesday.The couple’s children, who were born in the United States in 2020 and 2022, have American and British citizenship. They have been identified in court documents by only their initials.Turner and Jonas began dating in 2016, when he was touring in Britain, and married in Las Vegas three years later.After living a “very peripatetic lifestyle” for a few years, Turner’s lawsuit said, they relocated to England in April 2023 and had planned to buy a home there later in the year.But in early September, after a succession of negative news stories about Turner, they said in a joint statement on Instagram that they had “mutually decided to amicably end our marriage.”Seamus Hughes More

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      Dark Hedges: 6 ‘Game of Thrones’ Trees Will Be Cut Down

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      Six of the Dark Hedges beech trees, a tourist destination in Northern Ireland for fans of the HBO fantasy series, will be cut down because they are in poor condition, officials said.Six trees with long branches that twist up to the sky that were made famous by the series “Game of Thrones” will be cut down in the coming weeks, officials in Northern Ireland said on Monday.The trees are part of the Dark Hedges, an international tourist attraction for fans of the HBO fantasy series. As many as hundreds of tourists visit each day. The beech trees, which form an arch over a road, have become one of the most photographed spots in Northern Ireland.Northern Ireland’s Department for Infrastructure said that the six trees, in bucolic County Antrim, needed to be cut down because they were in poor condition and posed a risk to the public. An additional four trees will require remedial work and a fifth will be assessed, the statement said. The work will begin on Nov. 20.Essential public safety works, including removal and remedial works, to a number of trees at The Dark Hedges on Bregagh Road, Armoy will start on Monday 20 November 2023.More details: https://t.co/DLvlOTHzMQ pic.twitter.com/Vl4sjT3SOb— Department for Infrastructure (@deptinfra) November 13, 2023
      “This decision has not been made lightly and whilst the amenity value afforded by the corridor of trees is acknowledged, the safety of road users is paramount,” the Infrastructure Department said. The government said it would engage with the landowner and others to determine a strategy for protecting the other trees.“Game of Thrones” is based on the first five novels in George R.R. Martin’s series “A Song of Ice and Fire.” The Dark Hedges appear in the first episode of Season 2, when Arya Stark, disguised as a boy, escapes from her enemies in a cart, traveling north on the Kingsroad.“Game of Thrones” was filmed in locations around Northern Ireland, including at Titanic Studios in Belfast. Popular tourist locations for fans include Cushendun Caves, the beach where the priestess Melisandre gives birth in a cave to a supernatural assassin, and Ballintoy Harbour, built in the 1700s. There were more than 20 “Game of Thrones” filming locations in Northern Ireland, including medieval castles, harbors and coastlines, according to the country’s tourism board, which advertises of “Game of Thrones” tours.The Dark Hedges were also featured in “Transformers: The Last Knight.” There were originally about 150 trees, but today just 86 remain, with some having been damaged in storms or by rot.The trees that make up the Dark Hedges, which sit on privately owned land on Bregagh Road, were planted by the Stuart family in the 18th century. They were arranged to impress visitors as they approached the entrance to a Georgian mansion, Gracehill House. According to local lore, the area is haunted by a ghost known as the Grey Lady.A line from one of Martin’s books, “A Storm of Swords,” gives readers a sense of how foreboding the Kingsroad could be: “I’d stay well clear of that kingsroad, if I were you,” a peasant says. “It’s worse than bad, I hear. Wolves and lions both, and bands of broken men preying on anyone they can catch.” More

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      ‘House of the Dragon’ Season 1, Episode 9 Recap: A Convenient Mistake

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      This week’s episode focused on the immediate aftermath of the king’s death and on the misunderstanding that helped shape the consequences.Season 1, Episode 9: ‘The Green Council’Before we get started this week, let us have a moment of silence for Lord Beesbury.The ancient master of coin and his meandering financial reports had mostly been a source of light humor on the Small Council until Sunday, when he stood in defiance as one of the few people in the Red Keep with any sense of honor or loyalty. Then Ser Criston killed him for it.Adding insult to injury, the council left his corpse lying on the table while they plotted. But all in all, Lord Beesbury (Bill Paterson) was one of the lucky ones. His early exit meant that he didn’t have to stick around for an episode that, while it had its good points, was mostly a mess.As expected, the hour focused on the immediate aftermath of Viserys’s death, specifically the scramble undertaken by Otto and Alicent to install Aegon as king in defiance of Viserys’s stated wish that Rhaenyra succeed him. The episode title, “The Green Council,” signaled that we would be getting the Hightower show this week, and that was more or less how it turned out. (The season finale is called “The Black Queen,” suggesting that we’ll get the other side next Sunday.)The title also referred specifically to the non-Beesbury faction of the Small Council that, unbeknown to Queen Alicent, us or anyone else, has been working with Otto on a succession scheme for some time. The conspirators kicked these “long-laid plans,” as Tyland Lannister described them, into motion before the king’s body was even covered up.The plot, which amounted to a kind of palace coup, received serendipitous assistance in the form of Alicent’s bogus claim about the king’s deathbed reversal. (More on that in a minute.) It all led to a mad dash to implement Operation Usurp and Awe, which included securing the treasury, locking Rhaenys in her room, compelling bent knees from former Rhaenyra supporters (and seizing dissenters), searching out Aegon from his presumed whereabouts within the dicier precincts of King’s Landing and then, finally, crowning him in front of everybody to make it official. (I suppose Lord Beesbury’s death counts as the first casualty in the coming conflict to be known as the Dance of the Dragons.)However, a more fitting episode title would have been “Wait, What?” Because that’s what I kept muttering over and over in response to all the confusing details and jarring detours along the way.As in, wait, what? The White Worm found and “tucked away” Aegon beneath the altar in the sept, of all places? And she was motivated to do so partly because she wants to end the underground urchin fight club? Which we found out about only 40 seconds ago? And are Aegon’s bastards participating in it? Or just languishing outside the octagon?Return to Westeros in ‘House of the Dragon’HBO’s long-awaited “Game of Thrones” prequel series is here.Playing Kingmaker: Fabien Frankel plays Ser Criston Cole, who got to place the crown on the new King of Westeros’s head. He is still not sure how he landed the role.The Princess and the Queen: Emma D’Arcy and Olivia Cooke, who portray the grown-up versions of Rhaenyra Targaryen and Alicent Hightower, talked about the forces that drive their characters apart — and pull them together.A Man’s Decline: By the eighth episode of the season, Viserys no longer looks like a proud Targaryen king. The actor Paddy Considine discussed the character’s transformation and its meaning.A Rogue Prince: Daemon Targaryen is an agent of chaos. But “he’s got a strange moral compass of his own,” Matt Smith, who portrays him, said.And wait, what? Larys does the bidding of the queen because she indulges his foot fetish? And the coronation is in the Dragonpit? And the Cargyll twins, those conflicted Kingsguard brothers who found Aegon before losing him to Criston and Aemond, are actually named Arryk and Erryk? (I guess that explains why I never knew which one was which. And why I still don’t.)I ID’d the Cargylls by consulting various online resources after I watched the episode screener. That was also how I confirmed that the Dragonpit was where Aegon was crowned, after cross-referencing its imposing exterior with HBO’s King’s Landing map. Were we supposed to understand that was the Dragonpit from the jump? Or was that part of the surprise of Rhaenys crashing up through the floor on her dragon? And why have a coronation in a Dragonpit anyway? Was that the only venue available on such short notice?I guess Rhaenys’s smile amid the scrum in the streets, as the plebes were herded toward the ceremony, happened because she, at least, realized where they were being herded, which would allow her to reunite with her precious Meleys. You might recall from earlier in the episode that Alicent did not want her to do that, because it would influence Rhaenyra’s willingness to negotiate for peace rather than declare war. (At least Rhaenys’s big entrance gave the great Eve Best something to do beyond tête-à-têtes in gloomy chambers.)Which is the good one and which is the bad one? Luke, left, and Elliott Tittensor in “House of the Dragon.”Ollie Upton/HBOThe upshot of all of the above was that I found myself constantly trying to sort out what I was seeing, at the expense of enjoying the story, or even following it at times. You shouldn’t have to do online research or remember details from the novel or watch after-show segments in order to understand an episode of television. I doubt I was the only confused viewer out there, but in case I was, feel free to let me know all the obvious cues I missed. (For the record, episode screeners don’t have a subtitles option, but those shouldn’t be required to understand the story either.)And all of this is before we even get to the thing that happened that was also the thing that I was most afraid would happen.Last week, I held out hope that Viserys’s addled prophecy sharing with Alicent would not amount to a big misunderstanding, à la Criston’s admission to the queen that he had slept with Rhaenyra. But no such luck.My main objection — besides the fact that, again, they already used this gimmick just a few weeks ago — is that the crazy misunderstanding is one of the lowest forms of sitcom writing, the kind of transparent plot contrivance you might forgive within a half-hour of yuk-yuks but don’t expect to see on a Sunday night on HBO.Then there is the abundance of Aegons in this story, which is slightly ridiculous on its own and consequently feels even more so when it is the source of a “Who’s on first?” deathbed routine. George R.R. Martin has explained that he patterned all his saga’s name-repeating after real-life royal dynasties — consider how many times England has had a King George or Charles.But such parallels are more legible within the context of a novel than when coming out of the mouths of characters in a TV show. (See also: Arryk and Erryk, the latter of which my spell-checker keeps changing to “Erik,” which is what they both sound like.) It is within the producers’ power to change the occasional name from the book.The most meaningful question posed by Alicent’s misunderstanding, from a character standpoint: Did she actually believe that after backing Rhaenyra for decades, Viserys changed his mind at the last minute? Or did she hear what she wanted to hear? Or just lie?For what it’s worth, in an interview with The New York Times, Olivia Cooke said she thought Alicent’s mishearing of Viserys happened in good faith and was not the product of the queen’s having created her own preferred reality. (“I genuinely think she thinks he’s talking about Aegon, her son,” Cooke said.) Conversely, when I clung to hope last week that they wouldn’t take this silly path, I think I knew they probably would but was projecting my own desire that they not. So perhaps I’m taking it harder than most people will — it definitely contributed to my general annoyance with this disjointed episode.Ultimately, because Otto’s scheme was already in place, the Greens’ power grab didn’t hinge on Alicent’s misunderstanding. But it certainly helped to sell the plan, and also, perhaps, to convince Alicent to go along with it. (I think she probably would have anyway, despite the support she expressed for Rhaenyra last week.) I guess we’ll see if Rhaenyra ever gets a chance to clear things up for her.As I said in the beginning, there were some nice moments this week. The dynamic between Aemond and Criston felt lived-in and affectionate, a reminder that, with the general lack of interest Viserys had in his second batch of children — Paddy Considine discussed this last week in an interview with The Times — Criston the sword-trainer likely functioned as a kind of mentor figure.I also enjoyed the promise of a growing rivalry between Alicent and Otto, based partly on their differing sympathies for Rhaenyra. It could complicate the Hightowers’ attempt to consolidate and hold onto their power.But overall … not my favorite episode. Here’s hoping next week’s season finale brings more enjoying and less Googling.Look out behind you. Bill Paterson, right, in “House of the Dragon.”Ollie Upton/HBOA few thoughts while we renew our license to killApparently Ser Criston can just murder anyone without consequences, including the longstanding lord of a noble house? I guess we’ll see next week or next season if killing Lord Beesbury comes back on him.In “Fire & Blood,” the Martin novel, Larys is also known as Larys Clubfoot. While the character has limped throughout the show, I believe this is the first time it has been explicit about both his twisted foot and his twisted foot obsession. (Update: As several readers have pointed out, the show briefly highlighted Larys’s disability during the royal hunt, in Episode 3.) His and Alicent’s arrangement was clearly well-established. You might recall that after Larys had his father burned up to make room for Otto’s return as Hand, he told Alicent, “I feel certain you will reward me when the time is right.” I guess this is what he was talking about?And here Otto thought he had the upper hand when what he really needed was a nice pair of feet. Mysaria, the White Worm, has been a reliable source of intel for him — even he was shocked that she knew the king was dead. (I assume Alicent’s handmaiden, part of the Red Keep spy network Larys mentioned, notified her when she lit those candles in the window.) But it looks as if Mysaria will need to find a new wormhole, if she survived the fire. (She probably did.)“You look so much like your mother in certain lights,” Otto told Alicent, dusting off his old manipulation standby. Her rolled-eyes response suggests that it doesn’t work anymore.Aegon was briefly one of the clearest thinkers in the episode. The king could have made me heir anytime in the past 20 years, he told his mother, but he didn’t because he didn’t like me, so why would he now? But then the magical dagger somehow convinced him it was all real, and by the end Aegon — whom nobody likes, for good reason — was basking in the crowd’s adulation.I guess either Arryk (Luke Tittensor) or Erryk (Elliott Tittensor), whichever one we saw letting his brother fight Ser Cristen and then walking away, did so because he somehow sold out to Alicent? (This was probably what Otto was referring to later with his line about Alicent’s reward of “a pouch of silver.”) Presumably it was the other brother who then freed Rhaenys before losing her in the streets of King’s Landing.With one puff, Rhaenys and Meleys could have ended the Dance of Dragons before it began. Rhaenys’s restraint called back to Alicent’s comments about the women’s inclinations toward peace, even as Meleys foreshadowed the pain the realm is about to endure, by wiping out a few dozen civilians with its arrival.What did you think? Will Rhaenys join Rhaenyra’s cause? Am I making too much of the Dragonpit? Which other sitcom cliché would you like to see “House of the Dragon” incorporate? A Very Special Comments Section awaits your input. More

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      6 TV Recap Podcasts for Better Binge Viewing

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      These shows will help you go deeper on your favorite small-screen series, whether cult classics or current staples.TV recap shows are among the oldest of podcast genres, and they’ve become even more plentiful during a Golden Age of television.As podcasts have exploded in popularity, actors from numerous series have started their own recap shows, in which they share behind-the-scenes anecdotes and nostalgic reflections. The quality of those star-led offerings can vary wildly, however, and the most rewarding episode-by-episode discussions are often hosted by die-hard fans who know a series inside out.Here are six of the best episodic recap podcasts — of both those types — to help you go deeper on your favorite small-screen shows, whether cult classics or current staples.‘Buffering the Vampire Slayer’There’s no shortage of podcasts about “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” the beloved series that followed Sarah Michelle Gellar as a teenage girl tasked with facing down the forces of evil. But this savvy, creative show, hosted by Jenny Owen Youngs, a musician, and Kristin Russo, an L.G.B.T.Q. activist, is special — not least because each installment ends with an original song inspired by the episode. Both Owen Youngs and Russo are queer women, and they approach “Buffering the Vampire Slayer” with an eye for marginalized viewpoints and systemic injustice. That often makes for frank discussions about the aspects of the series that haven’t aged well — particularly given recent accusations of misogyny against its creator, Joss Whedon — but that never takes away from the hosts’ clear love for “Buffy” as a flawed but powerful feminist text.Starter episode: “Welcome to the Hellmouth”‘The West Wing Weekly’An early example of a recap podcast co-hosted by one of the show’s stars, “The West Wing Weekly” avoids the pitfalls that can come with that setup. But Joshua Malina’s tenure on the NBC drama was an unusual one: His inscrutable character, Will Bailey, joined at a tricky moment midway through the series, shortly before the contentious departure of its creator, Aaron Sorkin. As the actor still wryly notes in his Twitter bio, he’s considered by some fans to be among the elements that “ruined The West Wing.” Malina, with that self-deprecating tone, and his co-host, the “West Wing” superfan Hrishikesh Hirway (known to many podcast fans as the creator of “Song Exploder”), make for a winning combination. Guests since the show’s debut in 2016 have included Sorkin, nearly all of the main cast members, and political figures who were fans of the show, like Pete Buttigieg and Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau. “The West Wing” has became a popular comfort watch for viewers seeking to escape into a more noble version of Washington, D.C., and the hosts’ rapport is a soothing side order, striking a tone that’s irreverent yet heartfelt.Starter episode: “Special Interim Session (With Aaron Sorkin)”‘Too Long; Didn’t Watch’Have you ever watched the pilot of a show, followed immediately by the finale? The answer is probably no, because it’s an ill-advised (not to mention ridiculous) way to actually experience a show. But it does make for an entertaining podcast. Putting a comedic spin on the traditional recap format, Alan Sepinwall, the chief TV critic for Rolling Stone, invites a different actor onto the show each week for a crash course in a classic series they’ve never seen. Much of the fun comes from the deliberate dissonance between guest and subject — Jon Hamm of “Mad Men” shows up to deconstruct “Gossip Girl,” and the comedic actress Eliza Coupe (“Happy Endings,” “Scrubs”) gets to grapple with “Breaking Bad” — as well as the guests’ bemused attempts to figure out the arc of a show having seen only the beginning and end.Starter episode: “Jon Hamm Watches Gossip Girl”‘A Cast of Kings’HBO’s fantasy behemoth “Game of Thrones” is tailor-made for intensive recapping, thanks to the dense mythology of its fictional world, its twist-filled storytelling, and its endless controversies. So unsurprisingly, there’s a dizzying array of “Thrones” recap shows to choose from — even one meant to send you to sleep — but this is one of the most consistent and sharp. Hosted by David Chen, a veteran podcaster, and Joanna Robinson, a cultural critic who is one of the internet’s most well-known “Thrones” commentators, “A Cast of Kings” provides detailed insight into every episode, and doesn’t shy away from critiquing the show’s blind spots when it comes to gender, race and sexual violence. It’s also spoiler-free, making it an ideal companion for those who are belatedly catching up on the show. And for those who’ve made it through all eight seasons of “Game of Thrones,” the podcast recently returned to cover the new prequel series, “House of the Dragon,” with the entertainment writer Kim Renfro replacing Robinson.Starter episode: “A Cast of Kings — Series Retrospective”‘Breaking Good’Bald Move was one of the earliest players in the fan-hosted TV podcast game, and has been producing recap shows for buzzy dramas and genre shows like “Justified” and “The Walking Dead” since 2010. The company’s “Breaking Bad” series might be the best showcase for the affable dynamic between the co-hosts Jim Jones and A. Ron Hubbard, who deliver analytical run-throughs of each episode that hold up just as well today. Although the podcast began during the fourth season of “Breaking Bad,” Jones and Hubbard have since gone back to recap the earlier seasons. With palpable enthusiasm, the duo delve into the psychologically nuanced story of Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned meth king, unpacking the deeper meanings of the show’s characters, visuals and even some of the misogynistic elements of its fandom.Starter episode: “Pilot”‘Gilmore Guys’The cozy dramedy “Gilmore Girls,” which followed the quirky lives of a fast-talking mother and daughter in small-town Connecticut from 2000 to 2007, found legions of new fans once Netflix began streaming episodes seven years after the finale. “Gilmore Guys,” hosted by Kevin T. Porter and Demi Adejuyigbe, took off that same day in October 2014. Porter grew up watching the show, while Adejuyigbe comes to each episode fresh, which makes for a more layered conversation than might have been had between two devotees. Over more than 200 episodes, Porter and Adejuyigbe have built up a following almost as dedicated as the one for the series itself, thanks in part to the reliably hilarious and insightful riffs from guests like the comedian Jason Mantzoukas and the writer Sarah Heyward.Starter episode: “They Shoot Gilmores, Don’t They? (with Jason Mantzoukas)” More

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      Fantasy Face-Off: ‘The Rings of Power’ vs. ‘House of the Dragon’

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      Which has the better dragons? Which has the better swords? Now that we’ve seen a few episodes of each, here’s an early comparison.Comparisons between HBO’s “House of the Dragon” and Amazon’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” — both new epic fantasies, both prequel series, both with huge budgets and ready-made fan bases — were probably inevitable. And indeed the internet has already been more than happy to oblige.But should we compare them? Possibly not.The “Thrones” author, George R.R. Martin — whose work was heavily influenced by the original “Rings” author, J.R.R. Tolkien — wants only peace in the realm. “It’s not a death match or anything,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “We don’t have to be bracketed together.”Still, few seem able to resist the urge. And what are we made of, Valyrian stone?Instead of comparing industry stats, though — ratings, budgets, and so on — let’s look at where the two shows overlap. Which one has the coolest swords? The best dragons? The most formidable heroine? Granted, initial observations are based on only the first few episodes (three so far for “Dragon”; two for “Rings,” which premiered on Thursday). But we’ve seen enough to get the discussion started. (Some spoilers lie ahead.)Pop culture cred  It’s not entirely fair to compare J.R.R. Tolkien to George R.R. Martin, who is often referred to as “the American Tolkien.” The two authors are not in competition. Martin takes inspiration from much of what Tolkien did, especially in the areas of magic and world-building; but he has also expanded on Tolkien’s achievements. Tolkien has sold more books than Martin (they’ve both sold tens of millions), but Tolkien’s have been around much longer.A better comparison might be the previous adaptations of their work: HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” to which “Dragon” is a prequel, versus Peter Jackson’s film versions of “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Hobbit.”It could be said that the early seasons of “Game of Thrones” were in some ways comparable to the first three (and much-loved) Jackson films, while the derided later seasons of “Thrones” resembled more the polarizing “Hobbit” movies. Each series got off to a great start, but each tested viewers’ patience. Tolkien fans are already finding things to gripe about with the new series, but they’ve have had much more time to get over the “Hobbit” movies. If the monster ratings seen thus far for “Dragon” are any indication, “Thrones” fans seem prepared to forgive (if not forget) for now. But it’s still early, fan reaction to the end of “Thrones” was truly bitter, and the franchise still has a lot of ground to make up.Edge: “The Rings of Power” Heroes As prequels go, “Rings of Power” has another advantage because some of its characters are immortal. The trick, of course, is that new actors have to measure up to those playing previous incarnations, some of whom were widely beloved. Morfydd Clark, as an adventurous young Galadriel in “Rings” (played by Cate Blanchett in the movies) manages this quite nicely.“Dragon” might have taken a similar route if the showrunners had been willing to revisit such long-living “Thrones” characters as Melisandre (Carice van Houten) or the Children of the Forest. But that would have required wedging those characters into the story in places where they didn’t really fit.Instead, “Dragon” implicitly asks viewers to identify Rhaenyra (Milly Alcock) with Daenerys (Emilia Clarke) and therefore support her claim for the throne. As causes go, that’s not as noble as Galadriel’s quest to extinguish the ultimate evil, or even Dany’s early fight against oppression. Rhaenyra wants only her birthright; and perhaps there’s something heroic in fighting the patriarchy to get it, but so far she’s no Galadriel, even if the blonde wigs make the Targaryens resemble elves.Edge: “The Rings of Power” Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), wielder of Dark Sister, in “House of the Dragon.”HBOSwords’Tis said the sword makes the man — or the woman, or the elf. And sometimes a legendary sword can do more to fuel fear and awe than the individual wielding it.In “The Rings of Power,” we will presumably get to see some of these storied blades — the sword of Isildur (Maxim Baldry), for example, which is known as Narsil and is weighted with destiny. Meanwhile, what about the broken black hilt that Theo (Tyroe Muhafidin) secretly keeps? It’s a weapon that seems capable of reforging itself and of drinking in blood as well. It resembles the sword Anglachel, also called Gurthang, and that’s not a good thing.In “House of the Dragon,” we’re in a Golden Age of legendary Valyrian weaponry. King Viserys (Paddy Considine) grips the mighty sword of kings, Blackfyre, when he wants to exert authority, and he holds a familiar dagger when he wants to impart prophecy. (Given the special properties of that dagger’s Valyrian steel, it also has destiny written all over it.) Daemon (Matt Smith), meanwhile, uses the slimmer Dark Sister to cut his way to glory.Then there’s the Iron Throne, which is made of countless swords and could easily bring down a king with a well-placed nick. Legend has it that this is the way the throne “rejects” those not fit to rule.  A parallel to Valyrian steel in Tolkien’s world is mithril, the rare and precious metal found only in Khazad-dûm and Númenor — both places visited in “Rings of Power.” Mithril is said to be stronger than steel but also lighter — which raises the obvious question: Why has no one thought to make a mithril sword?    Edge: “House of the Dragon” Magic treesIn the beginning — in “The Rings of Power,” at least — there were the Two Trees of Valinor, growing side by side in a mingled glow, until the Dark Lord Morgoth poisoned them. Then, making things worse, Morgoth stole the Silmarils, three jewels containing the unsullied light of those two now-vanished trees. We have also learned that a gift of a sapling continues to blossom even in the deep underground of Khazad-dûm. How? Love? Magic? (Is there a difference?) There are other significant trees, as well, some of them symbolizing the friendship between different species. (Look for one of these if we go to Númenor’s capital.)So far, the white weirwoods in “House of the Dragon” are little more than a backdrop, a source of soothing shade in the godswood. But it seems likely that these trees are being utilized by someone as some kind of Westerosi surveillance system. (We know there has been a series of Three-Eyed Ravens and greenseers keeping watch.) We probably won’t learn much about that in this season.Edge: “The Rings of Power”DragonsDragons are the ultimate weapons of war. In the prologue to “The Rings of Power,” we see the evil Morgoth make pioneering use of the winged beasts in battle.One of his mounts appears to be Ancalagon the Black, an obvious model for another familiar behemoth, Balerion the Black Dread, whose preserved skull is an object of reverence in “House of the Dragon.” Tolkien’s dragons are not pets; taking them out for joy rides would be inadvisable. And they’ll have a more serious role to play in the story once the dwarves get their power jewelry.But to settle the core issue between the two franchises, which dragons are better? We know from the loquacious Smaug, in the 2013 movie “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” that Tolkien’s dragons are sentient and thoughtful. One on one, they have serious intellectual assets; but as a group, their meager numbers in Middle-earth during this Second Age are no match for the fire-breathing horde in “House of the Dragon.”Rhaenyra’s Syrax and Daemon’s Caraxes are just the first of those beasts to be introduced on the show — there’s a whole dragonpit more of them we still haven’t seen.  Edge: “House of the Dragon” Invented languagesGiven that Tolkien was an actual linguist who created his own Elvish language (Quenya, it’s called), “The Rings of Power” starts off with a distinct advantage over “House of the Dragon” in this category.In the “The Rings of Power,” Owain Arthur plays Prince Durin, who leads a clan of dwarves.Amazon Studios, via Associated PressMartin (for the books) and the language creator David J. Peterson (for “Dragon”) made valiant effort to achieve something close to what Tolkien did, most notably with High Valyrian, the mother tongue of the Targaryen rulers. If we were to judge each show solely by the artistry of its languages, Tolkien’s Quenya would surely win.But “Rings of Power” squanders that advantage by barely using Quenya when the elves speak to one another, or Khuzdul among the dwarves, at least in the first two episodes. We hear Elrond (Robert Aramayo) mutter a few words of Elvish to himself when he is writing something, but he switches to the common tongue seconds later.By contrast, “House of the Dragon” uses High Valyrian to establish a relationship between a Targaryen uncle and niece, and the actors speak it so fluently that the bond feels real.Edge: “House of the Dragon”Language, periodBoth shows are based on pre-existing material. For “House of the Dragon,” it is Martin’s imaginary history, the book “Fire & Blood.” For “The Rings of Power,” it is mostly appendices to “The Lord of the Rings,” which are essentially story outlines.Both shows have had to invent quite a bit in order to fill narrative gaps, and here “House of the Dragon” benefits from Martin’s direct involvement as one of the show’s creators. Also, the “House of the Dragon” writers seem much more aware of how to use lines and scenes to stir watercooler discussion and to crank up the old “Thrones” meme factory again. Rhaenyra’s “I never jest about cake” was a bit strained, but people are still talking about the C-section murder from Episode 1.“The Rings of Power,” so far, is not putting meat back on the menu, boys — and it’s not serving second breakfast, either. But we know Daemon Targaryen will always give us the GIFs.Edge: “House of the Dragon” More

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      ‘House of the Dragon’: Steve Toussaint on Playing Lord Corlys

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      One of the most powerful people in Westeros made his reputation as a fearless sailor. The actor who plays him does better on land.This interview includes spoilers for the first two episodes of “House of the Dragon.”Legendary explorer, naval commander, lord of a noble house that has long earned its living from the sea: Corlys Velaryon, a.k.a. the Sea Snake, is a boat guy, through and through. Steve Toussaint, the British actor who plays him on “House of the Dragon,” is not.“It’s a weird thing,” he said, laughing. “The last couple of times I’ve been on a boat, I suddenly started getting seasick. I’ve never had that in my life, but just recently it started happening.”Whatever Toussaint’s shortcomings as a sailor, Lord Corlys’s prowess on the sea is so formidable that even the dragon-riding scions of the ruling monarchy, House Targaryen, must show him deference. In the show’s second episode, he even rage-quits the Small Council led by King Viserys (Paddy Considine) — he’s one of the few people in the Seven Kingdoms who can turn his back on the ruling monarch and live to tell the tale.Corlys’s in-world untouchability makes for a salutary counterpoint to the racist reactions Toussaint has faced in some quarters. The actor, who is Black, portrays a character of direct descent from the fallen empire of Valyria who is assumed to be white in the source material by George R.R. Martin, the book “Fire & Blood.” In the world of the show, created by Martin with Ryan Condal, Corlys’s power and prowess are presented unapologetically, without caveat.“I guess some people live in a different world,” Toussaint said of the controversy. “I’m very lucky that I have friends who are of all persuasions. I’ve got Caucasian friends, East Asian friends, South Asian friends, Black friends. That’s my world, and I want to be in programs that reflect that world.”In a phone conversation last week, Toussaint spoke from London about the forces that drive Corlys and knowing which rules to follow and which ones to break. These are edited excerpts from that conversation.Corlys has a cool factor that even some of the most charismatic characters lack. He just seems comfortable in his own skin in a way that many others aren’t.That’s one of the things I like about Corlys. Of the people he’s around, he’s the guy who went out and made his fortune by himself, with his own bare hands, as he says late in the episode. That gives him a sense of self. It’s one of the things that’s key to who he is.Funny enough, when I had the initial meeting with Ryan and Miguel, the co-showrunners, all we talked about, really, was fatherhood and his feelings about his family. He’s got this desire to cement the Velaryon name in history. He feels the slights to his wife [Princess Rhaenys, played by Eve Best], the fact that she was passed over [for the Iron Throne], more than she does.And when he’s realized he can’t get her back on the throne, the next thing for him is get the family as close to power as possible, i.e. marry off the kids in some way or other.Return to Westeros in ‘House of the Dragon’HBO’s long-awaited “Game of Thrones” prequel series is here.The Sea Snake: Lord Corlys Velaryon, one of the most powerful people in the Seven Kingdoms, is a fearless sailor. Steve Toussaint, the actor who plays him, does better on land.A Rogue Prince: Daemon Targaryen, portrayed by Matt Smith, is an agent of chaos. But “he’s got a strange moral compass of his own,” the actor said.A Violent Birth Scene: Was the gory C-section in the show’s premiere the representation of a grim historical reality, an urgent political statement or a worn cultural cliché?The King’s Hand: Otto Hightower is a major player in the prequel. Here is what to know about the character and the history of House Hightower.How does Corlys feel about going through with this ritual of having his 12-year-old daughter, Laena [Nova Fouellis-Mosé], court the king? Does he have second thoughts about this system at all?The thing about Corlys is he is a stickler for the rules. Despite the fact that he felt that his wife is the more capable person to be on the throne as opposed to Viserys, that is what [the Great Council] chose. He thinks they made a mistake, but: “These are the rules that I’ve been given. This is how we have decided power dynamics work in that world. OK, well in that case, I will do this.”So in Episode 1, when Otto Hightower [Rhys Ifans] says to Viserys, “We’ve got to talk about your succession,” it is Corlys, despite the fact that he wants his wife to be on the throne, who says: “No, no, we have an heir. It’s Daemon [the king’s younger brother, played by Matt Smith].” Now, it may not be to everyone’s liking, but that’s what the rules are. When there is a dispute about [the king’s daughter] Rhaenyra’s position, he again is like, “Well, her father chose her, and so we have to go with that.”I think he’s like, “I don’t like these rules, but these are the rules. What can I do to thrive in them?”Corlys and his wife, Lady Rhaenys (Toussaint and Eve Best), offered their 12-year-old daughter to King Viserys (Paddy Considine, left) in hopes of cementing an alliance with the throne.Ollie Upton/HBOIt’s not just that Corlys built his family’s fortune — he did so by making nine legendary voyages to distant lands, putting himself in great danger. Is that in the back of your mind as you play him?Yes. I remember saying to Ryan at one point, “It would be great to have some sort of write-up so that I’ve got a memory of them,” basically. Ryan was good enough to come back with a whole dossier of stuff, because Ryan is a supergeek. [Laughs.] It’s a huge part of Corlys’s very being, what he did.It’s interesting that you said he put himself in great danger. I don’t know if, at the time, he would have thought of it that way. He just had an adventurous spirit. He wanted to get out there and see what was beyond the known world at that time. Certainly when I was in my teens and early 20s, there was no fear — I was going to live forever.Obviously, being an older man and sitting around these people who like to talk so cavalierly about war, there’s a part of him that’s like, “No, I’ve seen it, you haven’t. If you’d seen it, you wouldn’t be talking this way.”The thing about battle is you either succeed or you don’t — there’s no gray area. He likes that. He’d like it if life were like that, generally. That’s one of the reasons he’s not always entirely comfortable in the Small Council with diplomacy and so forth. “If something is right, it’s right. Let’s just do it.”Did that make it difficult to play those Small Council scenes?In terms of the character, the resentment that Corlys has for what he considers these privileged people helps me a lot. In fact, there were some points where Ryan would have to rein me in and go: “If you spoke to the king like that, you’d have your head cut off. You’ve gone too far.” It would be more difficult for someone like — and I didn’t have this discussion with them, so I don’t know — Paddy or maybe Gavin Spokes [who plays the Small Council member Lord Lyonel Strong], whose characters have to be mindful of not upsetting people and trying to keep the balance. I never felt that way with my character.There is a side to him that is, as far as he’s concerned, above the rules. Also, he knows just how valuable he is for the realm, because he controls the majority of the navy. So he knows he’s got a little bit more leeway.You’ve talked about the racist backlash that you initially faced from some segments of the fandom when you were cast. Has that improved?There are still trickles coming through, but generally, it’s been great. The overwhelming majority of people have been very welcoming and supportive.Some people have gone out of their way to find my timeline so they can explain to me that “It’s all about the books” and so forth. My view is this: There are shows on TV that I don’t like — I just don’t watch them. There are actors that I don’t find interesting — I just never feel the need to broadcast I don’t like them. There are some people who don’t like my appearance and don’t think someone like me should be playing that particular role because when they read the book, they saw it a different way. All of that is natural. My objection is to people who have racially abused me.For some reason, the responses that I’ve been getting recently seem to have overlooked that, as if I’m just going, “You don’t like me, and therefore you’re racist.” That’s not what I’m saying. I don’t know what people’s motivations are. But I do know the motivations of somebody who calls me the n-word. I know what that means.Were you a “Game of Thrones” guy before you got this part?Yes, I was. It had been going for about three or four seasons before I actually watched it because fantasy is not really my genre. I was staying with a friend in L.A., and he said to me, “Have you seen this ‘Game of Thrones’?” And I was like: “No. It’s got dragons, why the hell would I watch that?” [Laughs.] He said, “Just watch one episode.” And it was so much more gritty and, for want of a better word, realistic than I was expecting. I was hooked. More