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      On ‘Andor,’ All Is Fair in Love and ‘Star Wars’

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      What attracts two people to each other? Are they drawn together by a mutual need for companionship, affection and emotional support?Or are they united by their individual yearnings to advance their own positions and consolidate power in a tyrannical empire that is building a moon-size superweapon?In the Disney+ series “Andor,” the answer turns out to be a little from Column A and a little from Column B, at least in the case of one of the stranger — yet undeniably compelling — relationships to emerge in the “Star Wars” fantasy franchise: the frustrated pencil pusher Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) and the ruthless security officer Dedra Meero (Denise Gough).Syril Karn (Kyle Soller) and Dedra Meero (Denise Gough) had an unusual and often awkward relationship in “Andor” Season 1. At the start of Season 2, that relationship has evolved.Des Willie/Lucasfilm and Disney+Their pursuits are often nefarious — against their perceived enemies and also against each other. And although their give-and-take may have lacked the smoldering looks and snappy banter of, say, Princess Leia and Han Solo, Meero and Karn became a subject of fascination for viewers of Season 1, who watched the power dynamics ebb and flow in the characters’ often awkward relationship.As their story continues to unfold in Season 2, the first three episodes of which debuted on Tuesday, the actors portraying them and the show’s creator, Tony Gilroy, are taking stock of the characters’ journeys — what it says about the underlying themes of the series, the nature of couplehood and the possibility that there might be someone out there in the universe for everyone.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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      Jimmy Kimmel Praises Pope Francis for Going Out With a Mic Drop

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      “Is there anything more Catholic than waiting until Monday to die so you don’t upstage Jesus Christ?” Kimmel said.Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the 50 best movies on Netflix right now.‘The Pope Version of a Mic Drop’Pope Francis died on Monday, just one day after meeting with Vice President JD Vance at the Vatican on Easter Sunday and leading Mass in St. Peter’s Square.“Is there anything more Catholic than waiting until Monday to die so you don’t upstage Jesus Christ?” Jimmy Kimmel said.“I mean, I don’t think there is. It’s the Pope version of a mic drop, really.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Oh, man, what a way to go, huh? I mean, ‘Holy Father, do you have any last wishes?’ ‘Well, not this. Not this. Not a meet and greet with Vice President Maybelline, no thank you.’” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Shortly after his visit, Vance tweeted, ‘Today I met with the Holy Father Pope Francis. I am grateful for his invitation to meet, and I pray for his good health. Happy Easter!’ So now we know JD Vance is bad at praying, too.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Then Trump announced that he will be attending the Pope’s funeral. He said they’re ‘looking forward to being there!’ like he got tickets to Coachella or something. What are the chances Trump declares himself Pope? They’re not zero.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Punchiest Punchlines (Easter Messaging Edition)“On Easter Sunday, President Trump wrote, ‘Happy Easter to all, including the radical left lunatics bringing murderers, drug lords, dangerous prisoners, the mentally insane, and MS-13 gang members and wife beaters back into our country.’ He then deported the Easter Bunny to El Salvador.” — GREG GUTFELD“We have a president who addresses the nation like the Zodiac Killer on Easter Sunday.” — JIMMY KIMMEL“Oh, my gosh, my favorite holiday on the Christian calendar: the day when we celebrate Jesus being resurrected from the dead. Or, as Elon Musk sees it, an elaborate scheme to defraud Social Security.” — BILL MAHER“Trump is honoring the day by locking up guys named Jesus, and he pardoned Pontius Pilate.” — BILL MAHER“We see Melania and the Easter Bunny on the same schedule — once a year at this time.” — JIMMY KIMMELThe Bits Worth WatchingThe comedian George Wallace and the political commentator Alyssa Farah Griffin weighed in on Bernie Sanders’s surprise appearance at Coachella on Saturday’s “Have I Got News For You.”What We’re Excited About on Tuesday NightRepresentative Jasmine Crockett will appear on Tuesday’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live.”Also, Check This OutSome of the biggest names in American culture have skated, danced or nervously shimmied their way down this corridor.Bethany Mollenkof for The New York Times“The Jennifer Hudson Show” has taken over TikTok with its “spirit tunnel” video clips. More

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      ‘The Last of Us’ Season 2, Episode 2 Recap: Revenge

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      The major twist in this week’s episode is sure to have all kinds of fallout. One consequence is certain: The show will never be the same.Season 2, Episode 2: ‘Through the Valley’In most postapocalyptic stories — “The Last of Us” included — one big idea that comes around repeatedly is that when death is omnipresent and inescapable, life becomes more precious. Just think of all the small twists of fate and fortune that kept Joel Miller alive for so long. It’s a miracle, really, that he lived deep into middle age — let alone that in this week’s episode of “The Last of Us,” he is in the right place at the right time to save the life of Abby, a woman who spent years looking for him.The problem is that Abby wants Joel dead. And so, in one of the most horrifying moments in this horror-filled series, she obliterates this great miracle of life — the great miracle of Joel — with a several swings of a golf club and one deadly thrust. It’s a damned shame.Were it not for Joel’s death, the episode “Through the Valley” would likely be remembered for the stunning battle sequence, in which Jackson holds it own — barely — against hundreds of the savage, relentless zombies. The action here, set against a snowy landscape, recalls the spectacle of “Game of Thrones” at its best.But we have to deal with Joel first, don’t we? The shock of his murder is going to be hard for a lot of this show’s fans to bear.Granted, if those fans have also played the video game “The Last of Us Part II,” they may not be so shocked. Abby kills Joel there, too, early in the story. But if you’ve experienced “The Last of Us” only as a television show, Joel’s death is a gut punch. It’s just the second episode of Season 2. Who kills the hero when a new season is just starting?Also, the murder is so, so ugly. It’s bloody, ferocious … hard to watch. It feels like a punishment. But aimed at whom? And why? Prestige TV dramas do have a history of cranking up the violence whenever viewers get too comfortable with an antihero’s bad behavior. But what did Joel ever do to deserve this?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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      ‘Andor’ Is Coming Back to Disney+. Here’s a Recap of Season 1.

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      The sophisticated and moody “Star Wars” prequel to “Rogue One” is returning for its second and final season. There’s a lot to remember.It is totally fine that “Star Wars” series like “The Book of Boba Fett” and “Ahsoka” are aimed at deep-lore fans who collect the action figures, play the video games, watch the cartoons and know the difference between a Twi’lek and a Togruta.But it is also OK to think that “Andor,” which returns to Disney+ on Tuesday at 9 p.m., stands apart. This show appeals to the kind of fan who also likes Lucas’s arty pre-“Star Wars” science fiction film “THX 1138” and has read the “Star Wars” novels written by esteemed fantasy writers like Alan Dean Foster and Elizabeth Hand. Created by the Oscar-nominated screenwriter Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”), “Andor” foregrounds the political intrigue and guerrilla warfare elements that have always been a part of “Star Wars,” with a heightened level of storytelling sophistication and moody style.Ostensibly a story about who put the “war” in “Star Wars,” “Andor” is a densely packed study of dictators and dissidents, set across multiple planets, with a colorful cast of characters who each have very different opinions about how this galaxy far, far away should be run. And because Season 1 aired in 2022, even devotees may need a reminder of who all these major players are and what they are up to. Here is a quick refresher ahead of the second and final season.The series is a prequel to a prequelThe original 1977 movie “Star Wars” (or “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope” for the pedantic) begins with the rebellious diplomat Leia Organa (Carrie Fisher) loading the blueprints for a planet-killing mega-weapon onto the droid R2-D2, who then carries those plans to the hermetic Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guinness) and the starry-eyed farm boy Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) — thus setting a whole saga in motion. Nearly 40 years later, in 2016, Lucasfilm and Walt Disney Studios released “Rogue One,” a prequel film about the courageous guerrilla warriors who stole those blueprints.“Rogue One” was directed by Gareth Edwards from a screenplay originally by Chris Weitz. Gilroy was brought in after the initial shoot to write and direct additional scenes. Collectively, this team made a different kind of “Star Wars” movie, with less whiz-bang fantasy and more gritty military action, emphasizing the hard personal toll of a rebellion against a powerful authoritarian state.“Andor” Season 1 begins five years before “Rogue One” and covers the origins of the Rebel Alliance that, by the time of the 1977 “Star Wars,” had already become organized enough to have a defined hierarchy, long-range strategies and fleets of fighter ships. In “Andor,” by contrast, the rebellion is more scattered, manifesting mostly on poorer planets, where the excessive demands of the Galactic Empire can push a frustrated populace to respond with violence.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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      10 TV Character Deaths That Shocked Fans Through History

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      The big twist in “The Last of Us” this week wasn’t the first to completely upend a TV show and its fandom. Here’s a look at some other notable exits.[This article contains major spoilers for Season 2, Episode 2 of “The Last of Us” and for 10 older shows dating back to 1975.]Shocking TV viewers these days is harder for a variety of reasons, and that is true of even major character deaths. Audiences may be tipped off by internet leaks and rumors — or, in this I.P.-driven age, by source material. Millions of “Game of Thrones” watchers were floored when the Red Wedding episode aired on HBO in 2013; millions of George R.R. Martin readers were not.But for the many viewers of the HBO series “The Last of Us” who haven’t played the video games, Sunday’s episode most likely came as an immense shock. (The episode, the second of Season 2, is drawn from events in the video game sequel The Last of Us Part II, from 2020.) As when Rosalind (Diana Muldaur) fell down the elevator shaft in “L.A. Law,” or when Omar (Michael K. Williams) was murdered by a child in “The Wire,” the death of Joel (Pedro Pascal) was jaw-dropping. It felt in some ways like a throwback.It remains to be seen how Joel’s death will change the complexion of the show, but it will be fundamentally different without him. As we ponder how that might take shape, we look back at some shocking character deaths that changed everything.‘M*A*S*H’Season 3, Episode 24 (Airdate: March 18, 1975)McLean Stevenson in a scene from “M*A*S*H.” His character got on a plane and never came back. CBSIn retrospect, it shouldn’t be that shocking for someone in the Army to die during wartime. But audiences in 1975 were unprepared for news that the former commanding officer of the 4077th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital didn’t make it home alive. Sure, it had been announced that McLean Stevenson (who played Lt. Colonel Henry Blake) was leaving the series, but the expectation was that his character would be simply discharged, given some fond farewells, and that would be that. But then suddenly, in the last scene of the third season finale, Radar (Gary Burghoff) announced that Blake’s plane had been shot down: “There were no survivors,” he said. With that, the mood of the show shifted from sitcom to dramedy.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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      ‘Étoile,’ Plus 8 Things to Watch on TV This Week

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      Amy Sherman-Palladino’s new dramedy, about ballet companies in New York and Paris, comes to Prime Video. And two sports documentaries air.Between streaming and cable, there is a seemingly endless variety of things to watch. Here is a selection of TV shows and specials that air or stream this week, April 21-26. Details and times are subject to change.On point.First with “Gilmore Girls,” then “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” the showrunner Amy Sherman-Palladino has given us hyper-verbal heroines and their on-again-off-again love interests. Her new show, “Étoile,” is going back to one of her favorite topics, ballet, which she briefly touched on in her show “Bunheads,” before it was canceled in 2013 after the first season. This new show stars Luke Kirby and Charlotte Gainsbourg as the directors of two ballet companies, one in Paris, the other New York, who must work together to restore their beloved art form to world-renowned stature. “My whole life, I’ve known [that] without ballet, the world is a lesser place. And a place that I don’t think a lot of people want to be in, even if they don’t realize it,” Sherman-Palladino said in an interview with Vanity Fair. Streaming on Thursday on Prime Video.On a track, a courtor a battlefield.I grew up going to Saratoga Race Course in upstate New York, so I understood at a young age the seriousness that comes with horseracing. The new documentary series “Race for the Crown” delves into that world, following horses, jockeys, trainers and owners as they make their way through the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes — better known as the Triple Crown circuit. Just because horses are cute doesn’t mean that the sport is all fun and games. Streaming Tuesday on Netflix.The new documentary series “Race for the Crown” delves into the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes and Belmont Stakes — better known as the Triple Crown circuit.Courtesy of NetflixAt just 19 years old, the tennis player Carlos Alcaraz became the youngest man and first male teenager in the Open Era to top the single rankings, after he took home the 2022 US Open title. The next year, he defeated Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon, then took home the silver medal during the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Now the documentary series “Carlos Alcaraz: My Way” follows the Spanish champion throughout his 2024 season as he focuses on keeping up his winning ways while trying to let loose like a normal 20-something. Streaming on Wednesday on Netflix.If there’s one thing Netflix loves to do, it’s to take cast members of various reality shows and have them mix and mingle in different scenarios. That is the premise for “Battle Camp,” which puts personalities from “Love is Blind,” “Too Hot to Handle,” “Cheer” and many more into physical and mental competitions with the ultimate goal of winning the $250,000 prize pot. If you’re a young millennial, you’ll probably agree it sounds a lot like “Disney Channel Games.” Streaming on Wednesday on Netflix.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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      ‘Black Mirror’ Showed Us a Future. Some of It Is Here Now.

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      The long-running tech drama always felt as if it took place in a dystopian near future. How much of that future has come to pass?Since “Black Mirror” debuted in 2011, the dystopian sci-fi anthology series has taken seeds of nascent technology and expanded them to absurd and disturbing proportions.In doing so, it has become a commentary on defining issues of the 21st-century: surveillance, consumerism, artificial intelligence, social media, data privacy, virtual reality and more. Every episode serves in part as a warning about how technological advancement run rampant will lead us, often willingly, toward a lonely, disorienting and dangerous future.Season 7, newly available on Netflix (the streamer acquired the show from Britain’s Channel 4 after its first two seasons), explores ideas around memory alteration, the fickleness of subscription services and, per usual, the validity of A.I. consciousness.Here’s a look back at a few themes from past episodes that seemed futuristic at the time but are now upon us, in some form or another. Down the rabbit hole we go:‘Be Right Back’Season 2, Episode 1Not long after “Be Right Back” came out, services that digitally resurrect people via recordings and social feeds began to be introduced.NetflixA.I. imitations, companion chatbots and humanoid robotsWhen Martha’s partner, Ash, dies in a car accident, she’s plunged into grief. At his funeral, she hears about an online service that can help soften the blow by essentially creating an A.I. imitation of him built from his social media posts, online communications, videos and voice messages.At first she’s skeptical, but when she finds out she’s pregnant, she goes through with it. She enjoys the companionship she finds by talking with “him” on the phone and starts neglecting her real-life relationships. She soon decides to take the next step: having a physical android of Ash created in his likeness. But as she gets to know “him,” a sense of uncanny valley quickly sets in.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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      ‘The Interview’: Nate Bargatze Doesn’t Mind if You Think He’s an Idiot

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      It’s often the case that when stand-up comedians seize the public’s attention, it’s because they exude a sense of danger. They say what others don’t have the nerve to say, about topics others won’t raise, in language others never use. There’s an aura of transgressive truth-telling around this type of comedy star, best exemplified by the likes of Richard Pryor, Chris Rock and Hannah Gadsby — people who met the moment fearlessly.In this moment, though, one so sorely in need of fearless truth-telling, Nate Bargatze has rocketed to stardom by doing pretty much the opposite. Low-key and G-rated, his comedy traffics in comfortably relatable stories about the foibles of family life, his confusion with modern living and being a bit of a dim bulb. He is hardly the first clean stand-up to achieve tremendous success (though stylistic antecedents like Jerry Seinfeld and Ray Romano were able to ride a bygone wave of smash network sitcoms), but he has done it with no hits to his comedic credibility. It’s instructive, I think, that both my mother-in-law, hardly an aficionado of stand-up, and my best friend, a snob when it comes to the form, were excited to learn I was interviewing Bargatze.The gentle and inclusive approach of Bargatze, a 46-year-old Tennessee native, helped make his tour last year the highest-grossing one by a comedian. Two widely praised turns hosting “Saturday Night Live” (you may have seen his viral sketch “Washington’s Dream”) raised his profile outside the world of stand-up. Just this week, CBS announced that he has been tapped to host the Emmy Awards in September. And he is also branching out with a book, the self-deprecatingly titled “Big Dumb Eyes: Stories From a Simpler Mind,” which will be published on May 6. Such self-deprecation is a Bargatze trademark, but, as I learned, it also conceals some bold ambitions.The stand-up comic discusses having a magician for a father, the challenge of mainstream comedy and his aspirations to build the next Disneyland.Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | YouTube | Amazon | iHeart | NYT Audio AppIt’s interesting to read articles about you since your career has really taken off. The writers always try to explain why you’ve gotten so big. What’s your hunch about that? Talking about relatable things and authenticity. Not that I’m going out for authenticity. But you’re in a world where you have the “Wicked”s and these “Avengers” movies — and that’s great, but there’s not a regular person on a screen anymore. Movies used to be like “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” and “Home Alone”: That’s a regular guy in this movie that you enjoy watching. It’s easier to take in. And you don’t always want to be thought-provoked. That’s something I’ve tried to stay clear of because I’m trying to sell you something. I need you to be able to come and trust that you’re going to get the entertainment that I am showing you that I am selling you.You said you’re selling something, which is an interesting thing to hear. That’s true for just about everyone in the entertainment business, but usually people aren’t explicit in saying it. Why do you think there’s hesitation on the part of some entertainers to say, “I’m selling something”? It’s got this weird self-importance: “I have a platform, so I need to say something.” I’m anti-platform. If I want to give you my opinion and tell you what I think, that’s about me. When I go onstage, I try to remind myself this night’s not about me. If it becomes about me, it’s too much. I can’t handle it. But if I can make it for other people, now I’m an employee and I’m working. It’s not about my self-importance. More