Christian Ashley and Kevin Schaeffer dive into the latest happenings in pop culture with a focus on the newest movie trailers, the much-anticipated Peacemaker Season 2, and the surprising return of Jimmy Kimmel. They kick things off by dissecting the freshly unveiled teaser for the Mandalorian and Grogu movie, stirring up a mix of excitement and skepticism about its narrative direction. As they hop from topic to topic, they unpack the wild twists in Peacemaker, exploring themes of identity and consequence that resonate deeply with their audience. The episode takes a serious turn as they address the recent controversy surrounding Kimmel's suspension and the implications it has on free speech, all while maintaining a light-hearted vibe. It’s a rollercoaster of insights and witty banter, making it a must-listen for any geek or pop culture enthusiast looking to stay in the loop.

Takeaways:

• This episode emphasizes the constant evolution of pop culture, especially with the recent buzz around movie trailers, Peacemaker season 2, and the return of Jimmy Kimmel, showcasing how these elements reflect contemporary societal themes.
• Kevin and Christian delve into the implications of new movie trailers, particularly the teaser for the upcoming Mandalorian film, sparking discussions about nostalgia and expectations from the franchise.
• They explore the darker themes presented in Peacemaker season 2, highlighting the character development and conflicts that arise as Chris Smith grapples with his identity and past actions.
• The hosts discuss the significance of Weapons, a film that intertwines horror with social commentary, emphasizing the importance of unique storytelling in today's cinematic landscape.
• In the wake of Jimmy Kimmel's controversial suspension, the episode addresses the intersections of free speech and corporate responsibility, emphasizing the need for thoughtful discourse in today's polarized environment.
• Overall, the episode demonstrates how geek culture and mainstream media intersect, providing a platform for deeper reflections on faith, identity, and societal challenges.

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Systematic Geekology

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This is systematic geekology. We are the priest of the geeks.

And you get a special week this week because we already did a what's news episode the other day. You get two new what's news episodes in the same week. So I am Kevin Schaefer, one of your geekologists. I am here with Christian Ashley.

Christian, how are you today, man?

I'm doing fine, Kevin. That was in that last episode too. So it just shows how much I'm actually in that. I can talk about other stuff. As soon as we just did the other one.

I mean, there it's the geek world. There's always new stuff to discuss. It. It never stops. So I, you know, if you haven't watched that one, go check it out, come to this one.

But it's all different topics on this one. So we're very excited. We're gonna be talking peacemaker. We'll be talking the kibble situation. We'll be talking some new trailers.

Bunch of other stuff we're very excited for. But. But before we do, again, if you're watching on YouTube, please give us a like a subscribe.

If you're listening on audio when this episode goes out, please like rate review wherever you are. Really helps us out. We also want to plug that. We have new merchandise on our store.

So you can, you know, follow us on our website and our social media and you can check out some really cool T shirts there. Some really cool Merc. You get, you get. I know Will Rose loves his coffee mugs there. We've got some of those. So.

So that really helps support the show as well. And if you are a Patreon subscriber, you are awesome. This really helps the show out. So, you know, keep that up. We really appreciate it.

Tell your friends about the show. Hey, we were. We always appreciate the support and with that we will get into it.

So, Christian, it is time for our lightning round before we get into main topics.

Oh, yes.

So, Christian, what is your lightning round pick for today?

Yeah, Alien Earth. I am not completely caught up, but I am loving what they're doing with this series. They are building the world in a fantastic way.

Not just using the xenomorphs, but also proposing, hey, what if there were other creatures out there that aren't exactly what you would want in your background, your backyard. Loving this show.

I need to catch up. I did enjoy the pilot. I was a little like, I mean, it's extremely well done. I was a little like, okay, what's. I mean, I love the world building here.

The effects are great. It ties very well into that universe.

I was just trying, from the pilot, I was trying to think of, like, what's the main hook with, like, the main narrative, you know, you know, that's going to keep me invested, you know, whether it's like, because typically with someone, something like this, there's going to be like a murder mystery or something like that to kind of help you in. I was a little, like, waiting for that, you know, really, you know, narrative poll, but.

But I've heard it's excellent throughout, so I do need to catch up. And again, I was really impressed by it. I just, you know, it was. It was also.

It hit a little too close to home watching, like, corporations, like, fight over control of the world. I was like, maybe. I don't know if I want to watch this right now, but. But Noah Holly is a wonderful creator, so I definitely will catch up.

But, yes, great. Pick mine. I actually want to plug a podcast here. It's actually an NPR show called Wild Card.

And this is really cool because what it is, is Rachel Martin hosts, and she interviews different celebrities and some lesser known. But. But she has a lot of big names on there.

And basically she has a list of questions she pulls from a card, but she doesn't know what she's going to ask. And the per. The person obviously being interviewed doesn't know what their. What question is going to be either.

And so it can be something like what's a favorite memory to what's a belief you had? That changed over time. So it leads to really fascinating conversations. I actually discovered this podcast because we did it through our church.

We did like a. A Sunday faith formation thing where we had the youth interview different people, and I was one of them. So I did it one week and it was really fun.

And, you know, it was a. It's a really cool way to get to know each other better. And, you know, again, obviously this is celebrities being interviewed, but it does.

I like any kind of podcast like that that really humanizes the person, even a big public figure, where it really gets deep into who they are. So that's been great. I especially recommend the Lavar Burton episode because who doesn't love Lamar Burton?

So, yeah, that's one to check out that you can, you know. Yes, he's wonderful, but yeah, awesome. Any other picks before we get on to the main subjects here?

No, that's good for me.

Okay, sounds good. Awesome. Well, we. So this was a big week. This is one, you know, we were anticipating for a while.

You know, I I do have theories about why they dropped it on that day in particular, maybe to distract from another situation that we'll talk about later, but, you know, you know, Mando and Grogo are back. We got the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Mandalorian and Grogu movie, set to come out May of next year, I believe.

But, Christian, what did you think? Or what do you want to, like, a recap? The T. I know the teaser is.

Doesn't really give a whole lot, story wise, but you want to recap a little bit about what you saw and your initial thoughts on it.

Yeah, yeah.

Like Kevin said, we're not entirely sure what exactly the plot of this film is, other than there's like a brief tagline of Mandalorian, Dinjard and Grogu going after Imperial remnants led by Sigourney Weaver's character, who's working with the New Republic. So we get to see them meeting her. And I knew she was in it, but I somehow also got surprised when I saw her in the trailer. It's like, oh, I know her.

Yeah, Sci Fi favorite Sigourney Weaver. So seeing her dad is fun.

So we don't know who exactly her character is outside of working, I think, with their public intelligence or something like that. We see some at. Ats. Ats, however you want to pronounce it.

I've always said AD ATS on a incline, going down a mountainside and being destroyed by the Mandalorian and Grogu. Some other action scenes. I think we saw Zeb from Rebels again, or he's on the poster.

Yes.

Yeah, either one.

Yeah. Huh.

I want this, don't get me wrong, but I don't know why it had to be a movie. I'm waiting for the justification for why this has to be a movie instead of a whole Season where we could have gotten more time with them.

And we have already raged about how I dislike modern television as far as, like, episode numbers and the weight in between. I'll say that for another day. But, yeah, I'm still hyped for it. I still want to see it. I. These are characters I love. I want to see them succeed.

I want to see how they flesh out this world that unfortunately leads to the events of, you know, the sequel trilogy. But that's its own scenario. How about you, Kevin? You feel a little bit.

I'm like, yeah. So, I mean, I also have mixed feelings.

I think, like, on the one hand, what excites me the most is that I think this will be the first Star wars movie I can take my niece and nephews, too.

And they can see on the big screen because they're at that age where, like, they're really into it, and this looks pretty family friendly, and it doesn't. I don't think, you know, they'll necessarily need to watch all of Mandalorian to catch that. Like.

Like, my nephew hasn't really seen any of Mandalorian, but, like, you know, I've got a Mando figure on my desk, and he loves it, and so, like, you know, he's upset. I mean, what kid isn't obsessed with Grogu, you know, like, even if they haven't actually seen the show?

So on that hand, I'm excited for, but I also feel like it's similar to your thoughts on, like, the justification for this movie existing. For me, the story of the Mandalorian, I think, really came to a good conclusion at the end of season two.

I think they had a great ending there with, you know, Luke coming on. And, I mean, I know a lot of people have different thoughts on there. I was really disappointed by season three.

I thought it just kind of, you know, they did that whole emotional farewell between them, only to reverse it immediately. And even while I know that there's a big gap. Yes, exactly, exactly. In a different series.

And also, even though there's a different time, there's a time gap there of, like, how much time Grogu is with Luke and, you know, him and Mando are apart still, it's the. What we see as the audience, it's all resolved so quickly.

Even if you're watching Book of Boba Fett and then Mandalorian, it just all wraps up so quickly. And that, to me, undermines the emotional weight of that season two finale. So I. To me, then this trailer especially, I know it's just a teaser, but.

But it all really felt like a toy commercial. I mean it was just like, hey, look, they're bad. Mando and Grogu are back and this is it.

And I'm like, again, I, that's cool that I can bring my niece and nephews to this, but am I really that excited about what the narrative could be? I mean, I don't want to, you know, immediately pronounce judgment on it because again, we still don't know much about. And I do love Jon Favreau.

I mean he's one of my favorites. But. But yeah, I'm just hoping that I'll be wrong in that regard, that there will be, you know, an interesting story here.

But my concern is that it will just be a big cash grab and it's way commercial.

And like, you know, they, I mean I, because personally I think they should have ended Mandalorian with just the two seasons and then had the characters show up in other stories after that. So even if they have a reunion, I think it would have been more fitting for Grogu continue along the Jedi path. And you know, for.

And to have that, you know, that would have been really interesting.

And then to have there have been time spent with Mando, whether it's in his own series or whether it's in a different story where he's away from Grogu and he gets to kind of find out more about who he is away from that fatherly, mentorly role. And yeah, so that's kind of my. So that's where my concern lies. Again, I mean. Oh, of course. Sigourney Weaver coming to Star Wars. Heck yeah.

I mean that's awesome. But, and yeah, the, the act. Yeah, I always called him at too. I don't, you know, people have different ways of pronunciating.

But, but yeah, that, I mean that shot was awesome. But again, I'm just. This doesn't. This teaser doesn't really tell me much about what the movie is about other than oh cool, big fit.

You know, there he's going on another adventure. But yeah, I mean and I actually, I am excited about see it seeing on the big screen.

I think that would still be cool and hopefully it is more, you know, self contained. But again, I just think they're stretching out the material a little too much. And you know what made season one especially so special?

What it was, was it was that, you know, a lot of standalone stories with these characters and you got to really expand the world and you know, it didn't have to tie into every aspect of the Star wars universe. It got to let allow these characters really do their own thing. And then it's like, oh, they're really popular.

Let's merge them into the big overarching narrative that we have going on. And let's bring in Thrawn and bring in Ahsoka and everything. And I love those characters.

But you know, that again, that's what made season one special was it was more self contained. So that's kind of where I'm at right now. Of course I'll see it, but.

But I just hope it will be, you know, there's a little more substance to what I think it we have from this trailer.

Okay, yeah, I'm with you there. I wish that they had just done the thing of recasting for Luke Leia and you already have a haunt. And I know there's.

There's some stigma behind Solo as a film. Is it a perfect film? No, but it was still enjoyable. So I think. What is it? Aiden. Aiden something or other.

Yeah, yeah.

I think he did a fine job as Hans. You already have one. You just need the other two and just tell their stories now.

Which was a huge part of why I like certain parts of the old legends was seeing them and new stories and going after, you know, whatever the writers had for them. So I think they're still afraid to do that post Solo, which to an extent I understand.

But at the end of the day, just like you're Disney, you know, you have the money, you have the capability go out and do it. Not say, I don't want these other characters to show up again because I love them, I've enjoyed their stories, I want to see them a little more.

But can't we have both? And then as well, we've got. They released some teaser images from the newest movie after this, Starfighter, which looks.

I'm hesitant as well because it's post sequel trilogy and it looks like they're doing Lone Wolf and Cub again. But that's just from promo images that hasn't been like confirmed synopsis wise.

But there's this part of me was like, oh gosh, are they going to tell the same story again just with Star Fighters instead? So, yeah, no, I think we're just cynical for different reasons.

It's very. It's hard not to be. I mean, when you love Star wars so much, it's hard not to have reservations. But I know.

I totally agree with you about the recasting. I remember watching that, the season two finale, which again I did really enjoy.

But when Luke is taking the cloak off, I was so hoping we would see Sebastian Stan right there because I was just like, come on, this is the moment. This is the moment. Do it, do it, do it. And then it was just like, no, they CGI and I mean, and again, of course I love Mark Campbell.

Of course it's great, you know, but it's still that. And, and especially at that time, they hadn't really perfected the aging technology. I think it has gotten better.

But it was, that was the only moment that really undermined the episode because I get like, I like that Luke comes in. I like, you know, that story. But. Oh, I 100 agree that just. It's not sacrilegious to just recast the role to better fit that era. It's.

I mean, I think Mark Campbell would have supported Mark Campbell has even he's posted those images of him and Sebastian Stan where they do the like side by side comparison there. Yeah, no, I mean there's great, you know, and you know, and like, what Isn't it like Carrie Fisher's daughter maybe could have been great.

Leia, I can't remember. But like, yeah. Yes. Yeah. Billy Lord would be great there. I'm sure there are other actors as well. Yeah.

I also think Alden, Eric, Aaron, Rick did a great job too. And I think a lot of, you know, Disney, you know, reacted to the reception of Solo saying, oh, we can't recast Han Solo.

That was not the lesson they should have learned from that. That was just like. There were a number of reasons, I think, why Solo didn't perform as well.

One was, you know, there was the divisiveness over Last Jedi. Solo only came out six months later instead of a year later. There was all the behind the scenes drama of Phil Lord and Chris Miller leaving. Right.

And all that. So there was a number of reasons, but I get. But I agree it's. It's a perfectly enjoyable movie. I thought he did a great job. And. And so, yeah, that.

There's nothing wrong with recasting legacy characters to. When, you know, it's a specific era. It just. To me, that works much better than the d aging cg. So. Totally agree there. And then, yeah. Starf Fighter.

I'm like, yeah, I'm also. I mean, it's hard to say because we don't know a lot about it. I'm. I'm excited that it's going forward.

I like Shawn Levy and I also like the screenwriter too. He created the Jon Hamm series earlier this year called your Friends and Neighbors and that was a very enjoyable show.

So I mean I, you know, I, but I agree there too. If it is another lone wolf and cub, I'm like, really?

Okay, you know, we don't know that for sure, but there is that, you know, that image teaser of like Ryan Gosling and then the kid and it's like, oh, is this gonna be a bit. But it may completely surprise us be something totally different.

And I hope so because I also don't want to just, you know, recharge the same material. But, but I, I, what I do like about that one is seemingly from what they said is it's going to be more self contained.

Like yes, it is taking place after the events of the sequel trilogy, but it's new characters. It's not really tying any to any like big storylines that we know of and I hope they stick to that.

I'm sure there will be Easter eggs maybe, you know, who knows, we may get a reappearance, I don't know. But, but you know, at least that I like that it's new characters and a new storyline.

Hopefully a new storyline and then it's not, you know, Mando and Grogu over it again. So we'll see.

Yeah, but yeah, I mean I, yeah, I'm not, I'm definitely one of the Star wars fans who, I still love Star wars and I'm not one of the like, oh, Disney ruined everything. I think there has been great stuff come out of the Disney era. Other stuff I didn't like.

It's just, it's, I try to look at each project individually and not cast judgment as a whole. Those are just my initial thoughts on like this trailer itself. Again, I hope there's more to offer and I hope it'll be good regardless.

Of course I'm going to be there seeing it on the big screen. So that's kind of, yeah, that's my thoughts there.

I also, while we're doing trailer talk, I have to shout out that they just dropped the new Wicked trailer, I think earlier today and it. Oh, it looks fantastic.

Christian, I know you said you're not unless you are either like forced to watch it or you end up dating someone who makes you watch it. You know, like they, it's not your thing. Totally respect that. But yeah, it's.

Oh, I, I, that, that's one of the biggest things I'm looking forward to the rest of the year.

And it was, you know, I, I actually the only thing I will say to that is if you are a fan of the movie and you've not seen the musical, I almost hesitate to recommend watching the trailer because it did give quite a bit away is story wise that I know well and I'm really excited for and how it ties into wizard of Oz. But if you want to go in really fresh and you haven't seen the musical, I might hold off on watching this trailer. But it is a great trailer.

I cannot wait for that movie. So I will definitely be talk. We gotta find another wicked fan on systematic ecology so I can talk about. There's got to be at least.

I mean, I know, I know Andy's daughter is a theater kid, so he's like seen it. I don't know if he's like a huge fan, but.

But I need to ask around the other hosts and see who would be willing to do a big deep dive because I also just. I mean we could even do a deep dive of wizard of Oz as a whole and the mythology there and different spin off stories. So I would be down. Yeah, but.

But yeah, we can forget. So. Well, any other thoughts on that trailer before we move on to D.C. talk?

I know my sister will enjoy it. I'm glad that she has a movie for her.

Sounds good. Awesome. Sweet. Awesome. Well, let us get into a lot of D.C. talk here.

So first off, we have an announcement that James Gunn has officially announced the release date of the next Superman movie with a title with a script called man of Tomorrow. And I. Did you see the, the, the, the picture of the screenplay? He posted Christian on socials.

I have not.

So he posted the like the COVID page and it has a brain right above the title. So pretty much like all but confirming Brainiac is the villain. Yes. Yeah.

Because the tagline was that Lex and Superman would have to team up against someone. Who would that be? They're not going to do Dark side this early on.

It's probably gonna have to be like someone like Brainiac, which is perfect because he's never been in film live action before we got the technology to make him. Yeah, yeah, I'm all for that.

And they've been trying to get Brainiac to the big screen for decades. But I'm kind of. I like that. Like I. Likewise.

I'm kind of glad that we haven't had him yet because it would have looked way too campy in the 80s and 90s. I don't think they would have had the technology to do it.

And then, you know, with the like recent iteration of dc, I don't really Want to know what kind of like he would have looked like there? I just, you know, so I'm kind of glad that the first live action interpretation of Brainiac will be in the James Gunn dcu. I'm very excited.

But, yeah, I mean, so we don't know a ton about the movie yet, other than. Yeah, yeah, He.

He officially announced it a couple weeks ago, and he posted an image drawn by Jam Lee of Superman with Lex in the mech suit and again indicating that they're going to team up.

And, you know, the Brainiac speculation was all over the place because even before that, he had considered putting him in the first movie and just didn't have room for it. But I think this is perfect. I mean, we've got.

We've already had the Superman and Lex kind of rivalry established, and, you know, we've got to know Superman, the supporting cast, and this is, I think, the perfect time to bring in Brainiac. Like you said, I think, you know, Dark side is too early. They'll want to save that for a more big event movie.

But what are your other thoughts about just what we know about this movie and kind of the trajectory of D.C. right now?

I'm far more positive here. Gunn has earned my trust multiple times over on the Marvel side of things. And dc, I'm ready to see what they do.

Maybe Dark Horse pick, if it's not Brainiac, Mongol War World be a fun one, but I think Brainiac is pretty much sealed the deal as far as who they're going for.

But, yeah, to go beyond the first film, where obviously they weren't in these before, but Lex and Superman, after their confrontation there, where you take them, you know, put them up against a bigger threat, where more than likely Lex is gonna, like, backstab him at some point in time. But maybe it's part of the plan to backstab Superman, or maybe he just goes full evil. Like, who knows? I. I'm ready to see what they cook.

And I think it could be something like, you know, he's reluctant to team up with them, but, yeah, he's scheming behind the scenes and is possibly in cahoots with Amanda Waller, because where does he get sent at the end of pursuing to Belle Reeve, which Amanda Waller is overseeing. You know, there's so many directions they could go There. But that seems kind of the likelihood is like they're going to.

He's going to develop technology to help because at this point, when Brainiac shows up, Superman's not going to be able to rely on his strength alone and, you know, his goodness to be, you know, he needs someone who is extremely smart to counteract a giant alien AI entity. And so that's going to force him into an alliance here.

But yeah, I think then Lex will take advantage of that and then, you know, scheme behind the scenes and that could set the stage for Legion of Doom. There's all kinds of directions that could go in. But like you said, I, I really trust GUN right now. He has not let me down. And you know, he's.

He has not only an understanding of these characters, but he's very intent on crafting a good story, not green lighting a production until he's content with the screenplay. And yeah, I'm just very excited for this. And. And again, they didn't waste any time.

You know, I, I know Superman didn't break a billion dollars and it wasn't, you know, like a. And bought, you know, box office criteria these days is very weird and shifted so much.

But I'm just happy, hey, it made enough to be successful enough to get a sequel and that's what. And to continue this universe. That's all I needed. I'm happy people embraced it, you know, if it didn't make a billion dollars, that's okay, you know.

And hey, it's still. Even now. Like, I mean, it just hit HBO max and it's on blu ray and 4k, so people.

I've seen a lot of people buying that and you know, so it's still getting support even, you know, post its theatrical release. So I, I'm very content there and I'm very excited for what, you know, gun and company have in store for D.C. going forward.

Oh yeah, Michael real quick too. Do you have any fan casting for Brainiac? If we. Definitely.

Oh, I'm terrible at actors knowing who would be perfect for what. It's like I never would in a million years. Said a Sebastian stand for Mark Hamill and Luke. Until someone else says it. My.

I'm gonna trust the casting director. I don't know better than they.

I know he's already. Well, I know he's already technically played a role in these. You. But Chuck, Woody, Ouija, I think that's.

I, I apologize if I'm butchering the name, but he played Murn in Peacemaker Season 1 and then he was the Eradicator in Guardians 3, Phenomenal Actor. And like, I mean, he.

Yes, he could be kind of typecast into villain role, I suppose, after Eradicator, but he's a brilliant actor, and I think he could really bring that gravitas. Charisma to the role. And, you know, I'm really just interested, too, in whatever actor they pick for. There's.

I think there's a number of, you know, really charismatic actors who could play this role. But I'm really interested in seeing what kind of design they'll do costuming wise.

Because, I mean, you know, Gun's drawn a lot of inspiration from Superman, the Animated Series. And, you know, we know what he looks like there. If it'll be more like that aesthetic or if it'll be something really original.

But that would be my pick, actor wise. But, I mean, there are others too, you know, and. And I also think this could tie in.

They could bring back Bradley Cooper's jell here and expand on that storyline too. I know you had, like, reservations about that one, but, you know, and. And that's okay, but.

But I think, you know, it does provide an opportunity, too, to explore more of Krypton's history. If they're bringing in Brainiac.

Oh, yeah, that'd be perfect for that. Depending on which continuity we're dealing with here. He is tied to, you know, Krypton and certain. Like I said, certain continuities.

So we can get more backstory in the. Well, was that message actually true, that.

Right.

Lex sent out, or was it deep fakes? Or is there something else involved here? Like, I like to see where they go with it.

Like I said, the last one we talked about, I'm not big on the twist. I think it kind of undermines part of their message. They were trying to say, but no, it's canon, so I'm going to deal with it.

Yeah. Yeah. Hey, if you could. Yeah. And I think.

Well, I Honestly, I think, like, when Gun was developing the movie and, you know, I mean, he said in multiple interviews that, you know, if Superman didn't work, you know, it just. The rest of the universe wouldn't work. And I think that was one of the biggest decisions he did struggle with.

He knew, you know, like, are people gonna respond to this? Well, you know. You know, and, you know, and they're fans of it. There are others who aren't, but I think.

But someone like you who isn't a fan of that decision in particular, still like the movie as a whole. So it's a good Sign that like it overall worked, but yeah, yeah, yeah. So Savannah, tomorrow is coming.

We get more of this universe, more of these characters. I could not be more excited. And that leads to our next D.C. topic, Peacemaker Season 2.

You know, I, I, I know we're gonna be talking about this a lot because we'll do probably, I think, a full look at season two once it's done. And I know on the one of the other recent what's News episodes, you, Evan and Herbie talked about it a little bit there after it had just premiered.

Now we are five episodes in. Am I correct? I think so, yes. I think that sounds right.

Yeah.

Yeah. And so, so we've got three more this season. Yeah, I know. Well, I know you shared your thoughts later in the premiere. A little.

I'll go and share my initial thoughts and we can talk. You know, what we think of this season so far. I mean, it's no secret. I Love Peacemaker Season 1. I thought that is a blast of a show.

And what I think is really bold about this season is that it goes in a really different direction because season one is this action comedy, sci fi spectacle. It is a, you know, like the Suicide Squad. It's a ragtag group of outcasts saving the world.

And, and you know, it takes the most unlikely character from the Suicide Squad to lead his own show and you know, the one you would think you would hate the most. And it makes the center of a spin off series and it does it phenomenal.

You actually fall in love with the character in a weird way and you want, you come to actually root for him and you come to really love this team and their dynamics and, you know, you love them because of all their flaws, not in spite of them. You're really invested. You know, it makes you care about someone who you never thought you would, and it has a really great arc.

But at the end of Peacemaker Season 1, okay, Chris Smith, John Cena's character has changed. He decides that he doesn't. He's wrestled with the, everything that made him who he was.

And this character who said in the Suicide Squad, I cherish peace with all my heart. I don't care how many men, women and children, I have to kill to achieve it.

And, you know, he has now come full circle and I recognize that, oh, maybe he doesn't want to be that. Maybe he actually wants to do good in this world and be a hero.

And, and with that, it changes the show, the trajectory of the show completely because, okay, if Peacemaker is not really going to be that, you know, douchey, misogynistic character anymore who doesn't care about or really care about human lives because he's only focused on his mission then. Who is he now? And so this season is really wrestling with that and exploring that dynamic. And, you know, he.

At the beginning, he auditions for the Justice Gang and gets quickly rejected, but he's trying to find his identity.

Likewise, the other characters here, because of the events at the end of season one where Adebayo sold out her mother, Mattawala, and exposed her corruption, while that was, you know, I think the right thing to do, it also put this whole team in trouble because they were working for Amanda Waller. And so now they're trying to reestablish themselves and figure out what to do next.

And, you know, particularly with Amelia Harcourt, who has only ever worked for federal agencies and been this super spy and agent, now she can't find employment, and she wrestles with, oh, what is my identity? You know, what am I going to do? And she's in a state of complete crisis here. And so that's what I really like about this season, when it's exploring.

There's also the aspects of what it's doing with the pocket universes that we saw set up in Superman and in season one of Peacemaker, because Chris's father, the villain of season one, played by Robert Patrick, had all this, you know, interdimensional technology in his base bet. And we have to learn, like we're going to learn, you know, how did he come to acquire that? How does it tie into the larger DC universe? And I.

What I really like about all that is that unlike what Marvel has been doing in the mcu, where Multiverse saga has been mainly an excuse for nostalgia and, you know, and, you know, bringing back the Fox X Men and doing these alternate versions of the characters and not really having a clear narrative, I really like what the use of the Multiverse and the pocket universes are here, where it's very much narrative focused here, because here it's really around this story of Chris gets to visit this alternate dimension where it's this utopia for him. He's like, in this world where he's embraced. He's the superhero he always wanted to be. Amelia Harcourt is in love with him.

He wants to be in this world. And, you know, this is where we're going into spoilers here, but I'll go ahead and say I think it's.

That whole storyline is setting up something extremely dark here, because I don't Know if you've seen different theories or if you've caught on to it here, but. So when he's in that world, that again, seems so utopian and everything he always wanted.

When you look closely, it's actually, I think, going to be like a Truman show kind of like narrative where when you pull back one of the big things that I. I didn't initially notice, but then I watched it on screen crash and they pointed it out when they're in that universe, there is not a single non white character. And it. So which leads people to think that this may actually be Earth X, where. Which is a universe in D.C. where the Nazis won World War II.

They explored that story in the Arrowverse. And this actually makes complete sense because, okay, yes, he celebrated in this universe. His brother's alive and his father is happy.

But it doesn't actually say exactly. It doesn't actually say his father is not the racist, horrible person that we saw in season one. It's just he's happy. Why is he happy?

Because this is the world that he always wanted. This really dark, white supremacist, fascist state where it is all white people.

And I was like, once I saw that theory, I was like, oh, that makes complete sense. And I think it's more solidified even in the most recent episode when Chris leaves to go live in this world completely.

He says goodbye to his friends, he leaves the note and they're following him into this. This universe. I think it's setting up something for, oh, this is gonna be really dark, you know, when.

And it's gonna pull the curtains back and reveal that, oh, maybe the grass isn't greener on the other side. And this is actually something really messed up. And that's what's gonna put. Like, how.

What's going to set up a really a narrative for the rest of the season. So, yeah, again, I don't claim ownership of that theory, that it's something I saw explored on multiple channels and I agree with it.

But I think the more I'm watching this season play out, I think it makes total sense. So, sorry, I know that was a lot of rambling, but I want to hear your thoughts too.

If that is true, you've opened my eyes. I like that a lot because I knew when he was fighting those terrorists in was the third or fourth episode, I was kind of going, okay. I don't know.

I kind of feel like maybe he's on the wrong side of this. And he. I'm not saying that they're going to be Perfect because they're still trying to kill people and all that.

But something tells me he's not 100% there. And for him to be a hero, what does that say about the society of this universe here? I didn't think a lot deeper as far as what they did.

And I really like the idea because, yeah, it would make perfect sense for why he would be appreciated more there than he is, you know, as opposed to not saying his home universe is perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but at least it wouldn't be that far gone. And I don't pay attention. I'm not trying to be that guy. What I'm saying is I don't pay attention to people's skin color.

So I didn't notice that there wasn't any, you know, non white actors in those scenes. I'd have to go and relook at that.

I mean, I trust you, obviously, but I mean, that would be very telling, a very subtle hint that could point to something like that. Because his dad, as Dave, changed for the series, is not the nicest man in the world, is in fact a very evil man.

And for him to be appreciated and his sons to be appreciated, that tells me there's something screwy. And I hadn't gone that far. So I'm grateful to hear that.

And I also liked how you mentioned that juxtaposing this with Marvel, because today Marvel Zombies dropped and it was based off of the what if episode. And I want to say it was Will and Justin talking about it a while back and they were more positive than I on it.

I am not very positive on what if after bits of season one. I think it's wasted potential. I think they went safe.

I think they went too hard on original characters that they were going with instead of showing different scenarios. And the Marvel Zombies episode was fine, but not worthy of what we got.

And I'm still thinking about what happened there because there's a cliffhanger and there's also some questionable choices made as far as, you know, characterizations. And it's dark. I mean, it's going to be. It's a zombie, you know.

Sure.

So, yeah, you're not watching with the kids. And I know this is kind of a side tangent, but like comparing, contrasting the two.

I think as of this point in time, DC is handling multiverse shenanigans better. And that's easy to say because they're only really doing it right now, comparatively speaking.

So I'm interested to see where they go from here and how everyone else is going to react to being in this new reality and how it's going to be exposed to us.

Because now the more I think about it, the more I like that idea that it could be like an Earth X kind of scenario or even Earth 3, I think was where the evil. Oh, gosh, what's the evil? Justice League, the crime Society or something like that?

The Justice Lords.

No, no, Justice Lords is the cartoon. It's like the Ultraman and Ultraman.

Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I forget what they called it, but I mean, there's like Legion of Doom is like the main villains, but I forget what they named.

I know what you're talking about, but yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

So it could be that. That would be a lot of fun because he's out of his depth if that's the case. And what does it mean? Well, your life is perfect here, but at what cost?

What are you willing? Are you willing to come back to a world that, you know, despises you, but at the end of the day, they're not this oppressive stuff?

Assuming that that's what's happening in the other universe? Like, yeah, I like where Gun's going with that. If that is. And if it's not, he's cooking, we'll see what he does.

We will. But. But yeah, it just once I heard that theory. It makes more and more sense going along. So I'm. Yeah.

Now, as with the last week's episode ending with him going into that universe and then his friends following him, the 11th street kids going in there too. Yeah, I think it's about to get really bonkers. And then. And I also liked all the, you know, the other elements of the season too.

So I, I put as my, my tagline here, put Tim Meadows in everything. Because I mean, Tim Meadows just makes every show and movie he's in better. This is already a great show, but when he popped up, I was just in tears.

That scene with him and Economos he can take because I want. I was listening to the podcast here that James Gunn and Jennifer Holland and DV host breaking down each episode.

And you know, because of Christmas evolution here, Tim Matters character kind of fulfills that.

You know, the douchey, unfiltered Persona that Chris was in season one and you know, just saying off the wall stuff, but his delivery is just absolutely perfect. One of the all time great comedic legends of our time. But yeah, but there's that, there's the story with Rick Flack Jr.

I also really love Frank Gillo's performance And, you know, seeing how that's gonna, you know, we got to see him and Chris finally come face to face in last week's episode. And. Yes, and Rick Flag Senior. I can't. I may have said Junior earlier, but. Met Senior. But Rick Senior. Yes. Yeah, yeah, exactly.

But Senior absolutely beats a Peacemaker to a pulp in the interrogation scene. And it was brutal. But I, Yeah, I love how. Because, well, and it's also.

It's a perfect, like, I love how it ties into the Pocket universe stuff because, you know, Rick, like, Senior has wanted to prosecute and take down Peacemaker for years at this point, ever since Rick Flag Jr. Is killed. But he couldn't just do it, you know, because he had a personal vendetta. He needed an excuse. And now.

Oh, Peacemaker is harboring interdimensional technology. Yes, I got it in. Let's go. You know, and then, of course, you know, the.

The bird blindness stuff and the Michael Rooker character, it's just only James Gunn can write that, and only Michael Rooker can bring a character like that to life. It's just. It is still a very delightful show. Obviously not for kids, but. But there is something that goes without saying. But I will. I will say yes.

Well, but I will say to that, too, you know, yes, it very much ties into Superman, and James Gunn has even said that this is gonna set up man of Tomorrow.

But at the same time, just from a, you know, trying to be an objective viewer here and, you know, as someone who watches all this stuff, but thinking about it from the perspective of, like, okay, families who took their kids to Superman and aren't, you know, aren't gonna be able to watch this or watch Lanterns, but, you know, can watch the Superman movies. I think it's at least. I mean, we'll see how it plays out with Bana tomorrow. But it's. It. Look, it seems like with dc, it's unlike Marvel.

It's like you can just kind of pick and choose what you want to. What. You don't have to consume everything. There are going to be people like you and me who are going to follow every bit of news. But.

But it's like in the comics where you could be picking up one or two titles, you don't have to read everything. And even when there's a big crossover, you can still gather enough context to figure out what's going on.

So I, you know, that's at least my perspective of, like, he set it up so that, yes, it's interconnected, but you're, you can still watch Superman independently from Peacemaker. And he's designed it that way so that kids can, you know, watch the stuff that's kid friendly.

Because, again, Marvel, I think, has just tried for a while there, you know, made it so interconnected so you would have to be watching this TV show in order to understand this movie. And, you know, that was really backfiring on them for a while.

So I like that here we have stories with different tones and different characters and, you know, you can consume it all, but you don't have to.

Yeah, I agree. I mean, but the good thing about kids is eventually they grow up so they don't have to watch something immediately. You can.

There's this thing called patience and discernment that you can use instead of saying, oh, this is dc. It's all comics and good for kids. It's like, no, that's not how everything works. I'm not giving little Jimmy at 5 years old.

Here's your first graphic novel, and it's Watchmen. You know, it's like has. Has some discernment, some wisdom, and not. I'm going to tell you how to raise your kids. Yes, do that.

Because it's a smart and responsible thing to do as a parent.

Now, I'm not a parent, but I work with children all the time, and there are things I would let some of them watch and some of them I wouldn't because this one's more mature. That one's not. This one is read. This one isn't ready. So tell your kids, just be smart.

Parental advice from Christian Ashley. No, but I love. Yeah, but I. But, yeah, no, I mean, this is still, you know, great show.

I mean, again, I think with season one, I would have to say overall, more entertaining so far as all, like, I mean, it was just. And I rewatched it right before this season came out, and it was a blast rewatch.

But I'm still, again, very invested and I like the boldness of this season and the way it's doing something radically different from right down to the theme song. You know, that was one thing that, you know, do you want to taste? It has this, like, immediately hooks you. It's this, like, rock anthem.

And then the theme song they chose for this season is oh, Lord by Foxy Shazam, which when I first heard it, I was like, okay, this is going to take some getting used to. It's more melancholy. It's, you know, feels like a different tone here now. I absolutely love that song.

It's, you know, I've got It on playlists and everything. And it really captures. Now, having seen more of the season, it really does capture the tone of the season really well.

And again, it's that, you know, contrast to season one. I like that. It's not because I think, you know, I feel like a lesser filmmaker could have just made a duplicate of season one. You know, had enough.

They give them another alien threat or another creature or something like that and just do the same thing, but. And reunite the team. I really like that, you know, Games Gun said no, we're going to naturally evolve the story.

You know, we're going to, like, take what happened in season one and make sure that that has consequences and that there's going to be a progression for the characters and we're going to see that play out here.

So I really have a lot of respect for that because it is, you know, it's a risky move because for people who really, really like season one and wanted it to remain exactly that way, well, they're going to, you know, this is a different tone and this is a different storyline, but I think that's a good thing. It's, you know, storytelling evolves and the characters evolve. I don't want it to see the same thing over and over again.

Yeah, I'm liking the direction they're going here because you got to wonder, okay, that start season one with what they do.

Alien invasion, like you said, now we're in a whole new direction with alternate universes and, you know, Peacemaker's worth and figuring out where he was. Well, pretty much everyone is trying to figure out where they fit in, and I'm liking what they're doing. So, yeah, he's doing a great job here.

And once again, content warnings, they have these fun little things that says TV Ma or whatever. So. Sorry. I'm tired of seeing people complain about. About something that's their own fault.

Like, I was not very happy seeing some of the scenes in the very couple opening episodes, but I also knew what I was getting into, so I have no one to blame.

It lays it out in the rating there. I mean, it's. It's not trying to hide it. And if you watch season one, it's like you think you were gonna get.

But you think it was gonna get lighter and fluffier. Yeah, right. I also quick shout out, too, because.

Because James Gunn only directed the first episode of this season, and then because he was shooting Superman when this was being made.

I don't know if he's directed any others this season, but for most Part they had other directors and one of my favorites, who I think he may have done some in season one, but regardless, Greg Motola, who. He directed Super Bad and he did Paul, which is like one of my favorite action comedies. Man, he knows how to direct an action sequence.

Like he did the episode when Chris first goes into the alternate dimension for the whole and fights the Sons of Liberty. That is just, I, I think some great filmmaking there. So I, I really like the collaborators that James Gunn also worked with.

Like, yes, you see his style all over the place, even in the episodes he doesn't direct. But I really like the filmmakers that he worked with on this season and in season one.

Yes, they're doing a great job.

Yeah. Awesome. Excellent. Well, that is, you know, I know plenty of DC talk. Okay, now we're gonna shifting gears here.

So, you know, Christian and I are big horror fans. This movie has been out for a minute now, but it's still really doing well and it's still in theaters, so it's really exciting.

But Weapons Direct, written and directed by Zach Kreger, came out again about a little over a month ago, I believe from the same director as Barbarian, which I really loved as well. Yeah. Well, so Christian, if you want to start off on this one, because you, you just saw this recently.

Yeah. So what we see here, we have different vignettes as it were, focusing on separate characters. There's this town, I want to say, in Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania, where one night at exactly 2:17 in the morning, an entire third grade class, except for one student, disappeared. So there were 18 kids in the class. There's one kid left. And that kid, Alex, has been questioned by police.

The teacher of that class, I believe her name's Justine in the film, is interrogated by the police. They're trying to do what they can do to figure things out, but they have like ring camera footage of the kids suddenly just leaving the house.

And I couldn't help but laugh because what they're doing is essentially the Naruto run all the way out with their hands sp. And then you see adults doing it too.

And like, there's some comedy here that's like done intentionally and some definitely some black comedy later on in the film that's done intentionally. So you got to keep yourself. This isn't 100% horror.

There are moments where you're going to be laughing uncomfortably and it's intentional, I'm fairly certain.

So it goes with watching through different lives of the teacher trying to figure out what happened to the class, going to the to Alex's house sees us all boarded up and newspapers all over the place. And his parents are just kind of sitting there and her trying to figure out what's going on.

Then we also have the father of one of the kids, his name is Archer, trying to find out what happened to his son Matthew. And he's doing his own kind of like investigation. It's like trying to line up exactly where someone would have left.

And then using conceives, a construction worker or a contractor or something like that. He has a map of the city, so he's triangulating positions of where they could have ended up.

And he doesn't like her because he thinks she has something to do with it. She's dealing with alcoholism from past experiences in life. And obviously you lost your entire elementary school class.

That's gotta weigh on you immensely. As someone who loves children. I couldn't imagine if I was in that position, how I would feel, what I would do.

And I think that what this film does great is it puts people and what a typical C grade horror film would have done. That would have been the antagonistic father asking questions and that would have been his entire character.

That would have been the teacher who's like, oh, this is wrong. I've got to do something. Right. No, that makes them a little more juicy as characters, give them a little more flavor.

We've also got our policeman who makes very questionable choices all across the entire film, trying to solve the case. And we also have the principal who has attempted to figure out what's going on as far as, like, talking to the parents of the last student.

And there's also some stuff that like, hey, everyone, there's a mandatory. Responsible. Mandatory. Goodness gracious. Why cannot think of the word responder. No, not responder. Reporter. Gosh dang. Yeah, like, yeah, she's.

She's acting like it's only him, but like, as a teacher, that's also her job. So that's one thing I kind of have a little bit of a gripe with.

But because they're wondering, like, because his parents haven't shown up, say, oh, his father suffered a stroke.

Well, okay, well, that means we have to do some legal documentation here because we find out that Alex, as he's going back home, his home has been taken over by this woman who claims to be his aunt. And you learn along the way. Yes.

Spoilers for the film, by the way, that she is a witch and she is working some kind of arcane ritual where she is potentially stealing the life force from These children to grow younger. It's never explicitly stated. It's a very fairy tale logic to the movie.

So if you're more familiar with stuff like that, it's easy to kind of put the pieces together, but they don't explicitly spell everything out for you. And to an extent, I like that because there's enough evidence to support a lot of this. It's not one of those, oh, was it. Did it really happen?

Or everything's ambiguous. Like, no, there's enough. If you actually put the work in, fine. So everyone kind of converges together, finds that the witch is real.

And then we get to see a great scene where the Alex has figured out how to use the magic the same way that she does. And what she has done is she can turn people into weapons.

Since the title of the film as like a autonomous murderous people, their only will is to do whatever she do wants them to do. It's like she steals hair from the teacher and sends the principal after her.

Happens to multiple people across the film, but he's learning how to do it from watching her. And he breaks the. The magic stick or whatever that would be used here.

And the children then turn against her and we get a hilariously dark and horrific scene and funny scene of them, 17 kids chasing down an old woman, breaking into various houses and destroying stuff along the way. And a very gruesome scene of her death that is extremely well deserved.

And eventually we find out that, you know, they're starting to show signs of recovery and that's where the film kind of ends. On the hope that maybe they can get past what happened to them.

Excellent summary. I love it because. Yeah, I'm glad because I. I saw it opening weekend, so.

I mean, I still remember the overall story, but I knew it was fresh in your mind, but. But yeah, I, you know, I. Well, I'll just go and say that it's been a great year for horror.

We've had some really good, you know, I mean, I know we, we pretty much all love Sinners. There was the new Final Destination, I thought was Excellent Companion, which was also produced by Zach Kreger.

There's been some really great in and particularly theatrical experiences. This one was a great one to see in theaters with a crowd on a Friday night. It just had that, you know, it had a really, you know, just.

It really sucks you in. Everyone was invested and I think what I really liked about this film the most was like you said, the characters, they.

They never felt flat or one dimensional. You got really different tones to Them particularly Julia Gardner's character is the lead.

You know, you see this like, okay, she's this teacher who, you know, she's being blamed by this small town, but you know, she's not. You know what I like is the way it plays, it reveals more of her story is you're kind of like, wait, maybe did she have something to do with it?

Because she's not. You know, she has a lot of flaws too and you know, she can be deceptive and you know, she has an affair with her friend play played by Alden Aaron.

Rick, we mentioned earlier. And you know, these are not, you know, you know, none of the people are inherently good. They all have their flaws.

And so, you know, I like that there's layers to these characters. It has really great performances. Also side note too, like, so the character Josh Brolin plays was originally going to be played by guess what? Who?

Pedro Pascal. Because he's an end.

This was one of the only roles, yes, this was the only, one of the only roles he had to back out from because of scheduling conflicts because you know, believe it or not, he can't actually be everywhere at once. So he did that. But he very much supported the movie. But he did have to back out of this one.

But I just, yeah, I love that, that we almost got another Pedro performance this summer, but. But alas, Josh Brolins was able to step in when he couldn't do it.

But yeah, there's the layer of the characters and what I really like too is just the execution here.

So like you said, it's broken up into vignettes here, similar to how Barbarian is told with this three act structure from different character perspectives. And you learn more about this world and about the setting and the story as you go along. And that really kept me invested.

You know, there's criticism as to, you know, from this movie saying like, oh well, you know, that wasn't that, you know, big a reveal about the Aunt Gladus and everything. For me, it, whether that's a big twist or not, you know, I mean, I thought it worked really well.

But even if you don't like that is all, again, I just think the execution here is so good. It's really immersive storytelling.

It's, you know, you get to see different points of view and the same events from different perspectives and then it all culminate and it's just, I just, you know, like I said, with seeing this movie on opening weekend with a big crowd, I was just so invested the whole time. I was really wanting to know what was going to happen next. And the visual style is excellent. It's just, you know, really smart filmmaking.

That poster alone, you know, with the, you know, it's just something that. It's unsettling and it's really captivating and, you know, it sticks out to you.

So many movie posters today just feel really artificial and photoshopped. That one feels unique, and it has. And it's just the image that really sticks in your mind. So that's really what I love about it.

And I love the ending. I thought, you know, him and the actor who played at Gladys was fantastic. I just love how creepy it is and. And you know, that. Oh, my gosh. And then.

And like you said, too, yes, there are plenty of moments here where you're meant to laugh in an uncomfortable way.

It's similar to watching a Coen Brothers film or anything like that where it's, you know, drawing from black comedy and, you know, but, you know, even with horrific stuff going on, horrific stuff going on, you're still meant to have some fun here. And it's. It can be really funny and. And dark. And I think it ties all of those elements together really well. So, yeah, I mean, Zach Cracker is quick.

I mean, even with just the two features out right now, he's definitely a filmmaker who. Yeah, I'm going to pretty much. I think right now, it's safe to say I'm going to see anything with his name on it.

I'm gonna go out because I know he's making a Resident Evil. Resident Evil movie next. That's what he's working on right now. I don't. I haven't even played Resident Evil.

I mean, I know it's very popular, but I'm not like a gamer. And I'm gonna see that movie, you know, when that comes out.

And I'd be really fascinated to see what he does after that, you know, and I listened to an interview with him after this movie. Yeah, I really like his style. I love his storytelling, the surprises, the cast here.

And I like, too, how, you know that there is the, you know, allegories here to school shootings and the trauma. But, you know, as Zach Gregory said in interviews and I read earlier about this is, you can kind of take away from this movie what you want to.

It doesn't have a definitive meaning or a definitive allegory. And I think that's one thing I feel like in modern film culture.

There's an essay about this in Hollywood Reporter where people feel like they have to immediately diagnose a film and determine what its message is. And really, that's not the point of art. Art is meant to be interpreted in different ways. And Zach Riker is very much about that.

And he wants, you know, that image where you see, like, a. An assault rifle pop up in the sky there. You know, it's. It's. You know, again, there's definitely a connection, but it's.

He also said it's not meant to be overly allegorical. He wants you to kind of like, take different things from this movie. And I really appreciate that.

I think horror especially, there's different messages you can interpret, and it's not, you know, linear in that respect.

Yeah, I think what he does a great job is like building off of old fairy tales, like, you know, Hansel and Gretel and Pied Piper of Hamlin, amongst others. Like the children brought into circumstances beyond their control or controlled by someone else.

That should be an authority figure or someone you would. Should have been fine with them being around to an extent. And then, yeah, there's plenty of things.

You go to school shooting one, or abuse of various sorts. Yeah, it's a really fun film. Like, I was thinking, like, what would I rate it? And I think I'm gonna go nine, five.

And I could even be convinced after time to give it a 10. I'm trying to. I'm trying to avoid recency bias because I really enjoyed this film. Yeah, I've got some minor gripes with it.

Just because you have gripes of something doesn't make it unable to attain a 10 in my eye. Because there's no such thing as a perfect film. They're made by imperfect people.

So, yeah, I say if you can watch this film, have at it, or just wait till it releases. Wherever it releases, watch it then.

Absolutely. It's just I. I'm all for original films like this and, you know, and if you get to see it in theaters, great.

If you can't, you know, definitely still check it out. I think if you're a horror fan, you'll really like it. And even if not, it's just. It's really good storytelling here. And I agree, too.

It draws on those. The fairy tale aspects. Put them. Puts them in a modern context. Great cast. Oh, is it Ben Wong? Like the guy who plays Wong in Doctor Strange? Avengers?

Benedict Wong? Yeah. Yes, yes, yes. He plays the principal. He's great. Yeah. Josh Brolin, Julia Gardner. Phenomenal cast. Yeah, definitely. Really good movie.

Go check it out. I. I also would give it a very high rating, probably Yeah, I would also say probably 995.

You know, it's, I, I too, it's a, it's hard to give a full 10. I haven't only seen it once, but I did thoroughly enjoy it. Oh yeah, awesome. Sweet.

Well, I know we are going, we're running low on time here and we just have one more topic cover if you're still sticking around on YouTube. Thank you, we appreciate it. But, but yeah, as I alluded to earlier, I thought it was a little convenient that Disney dropped like said.

Hey, here's a Mando and Grogu trailer to try to distract for some recent controversy with canceling Kimbo, which now has been brought back. But yeah, Kimball situation and free speech. I know there's only so much we can say about this in a short amount of time. I know there's a lot here.

But the gist of this is this all happened in the last week. But under pressure from the Trump administration, the FCC pressured Disney and Associated Networks to take Jimmy Kimmel off the air.

They announced, I think it was last Wednesday. I want to say that he was indefinitely suspended and so he was off the air for a few days. He just returned to air last night.

And I was able to watch the monologue.

I don't even watch Kimmel regularly, but, but I, you know, this was like one of the highest rated late night episodes in years because people had followed it. But yeah, after the decision to cancel them, there was immediate backlash from both the public and from celebrities.

Petition signed, there was boycotts of Disney. You know, there is a ton of cancellations of Disney plus subscriptions.

And you know, that quickly put pressure on the company to reverse the decision and bring it back in the air. The reason for a cancellation was in the wake of the Charlie Kirk murder.

There were, Jimmy Kimmel was doing a monologue, I believe early last week and he said something to the effect of, you know, the MAGA coalition is trying so hard to pretend that the shooter was anything, anyone but one of their own. And that was enough to anger Trump administration, the, the, the president of the fcc, Brendan Carr, who is an ardent Trump supporter.

There was enough backlash there. They took him off. And then again, people retaliated saying this is a, you know, direct opposition to free speech.

So it's been an eventful few days in late night tv.

This also comes only a couple months after Colbert's cancellation, which thankfully he still has a year before he was able to like, they'll get a new season. But, but that show is completely going away too so yeah, a lot to say here.

Again, I know we like this could be almost a whole episode in its own and we want to be respectful to different viewpoints here. But. But yeah, Christian, I'll go ahead and ask what your, your thoughts are on this whole situation. Yeah.

If the sake of time, I'm not going to go everything. But if you want to hear more of what I have to say, check out the Foreign Saints podcast.

I went on there with host Karai Roh and his wife Meredith and discussed the issue and how we came from different points of view in that. But yeah, this is one of those things that do I agree with everything that he said. No, we still don't know exactly why the shooter did.

Why what he did. We're still figuring that out. If it turns out that he was maga, then he was maga.

If it turns out that he was the most radical leftist ever who ever existed, he was a radical leftist. The point is a man was murdered, assassinated. And there's a family left behind in the tragedy of that.

There's a conversation that needs to happen around how he was able to gain access to the weapon that, you know, murdered a man and what the security was doing and all that. That didn't prevent something like this from happening. And it says a lot about our country. It's like how divided we are.

Regardless of the political beliefs of the shooter, the response has been abysmal on all sides of the equation. I'm not saying every single person has said something evil. I'm not very happy about what certain people have said.

We've had people lose their jobs over this. Kimmel lost his job. I don't think he went far enough to where he deserved to lose his job. I think he was doing as he always does responding to this.

And I think what happened is that he threw in that comment as well about how Trump this is not how you mourn a friend. This is more like losing a goldfish or something like that. And Mr. Big Ego himself couldn't take any criticism whatsoever.

And I'm fairly certain pressured. And yes, as far as the show is concerned, I am on the more right side of things. But I don't like the man he doesn't represent.

He does represent me and as he was elected president, but I didn't vote for him. I would not vote for anyone who'd say they're Republican and was like him.

Right.

So then they get to the other side of things where many people on the left were extremely vehement in their vitriol against Charlie Kirk. And I knew he existed before this, but I'd never, like, listened to anything that he'd done.

So I had to do my research after this to learn about who he was, what he said. And I think going on the geeky side of things, kind of putting this back. We had someone lose their job.

The main writer of the Red Hood lost their job because they said some very offensive things. And this one I'm actually fine about. And this started with hope the bullet's okay.

After touching Charlie Kirk thoughts and prayers you not see in the word euphemism for female dog is used. Not exactly what I would expect an adult to say.

And what freedom of speech doesn't do is prevent us from suffering the repercussions of what we do and say. And that's why I think some of these, yeah, sure, I think firing is probably the response. Others, like Kimmel, like, no, like, that's what he does.

I haven't watched late shows in forever. But, like, it's part and parcel of what they do. They're allowed to say what he said there. And you can get offended, but that's fine.

Yeah.

And for me, I've had to talk a lot of people, a lot of friends and on the more right side of the conversation, more left side of the conversation and just help calm them down because there's a lot of fear growing and some of that fear. Yeah, I get. But maybe it's just me. And my theology is like, look, if this all burns down tomorrow, God is still sovereign.

If it's still around tomorrow, God is still sovereign. So if you're out there and fearful, well, if you don't have trust in God and what he can do, and you think he's limited in power.

So let's have that conversation. But if, you know, you think that God is sovereign, that he does what he does, he's in charge, not to say we have nothing to worry about.

I don't think we need to worry as much.

And I think it's a very valid perspective. I know, again, there's a line. Well said. I know there's a lot to tackle here too. I guess just going back to. I mean, obviously. Well, Charlie Kirk's up.

I mean, just to throw in my two cents. I mean, same kind of thing. Obviously, I condemn any kind of political violence. I condemn any kind of. And like you said, to the victory.

All that is stemmed from. All this is really concerning. I don't really can.

I don't really condone, you know, his actions And a lot of things he said, of course I condemn the violence there and you know that. And I think we just need to be able to have more authentic conversations. I, I totally agree there with this situation specifically.

And looking at, you know, does this violate free speech for Kimball do I've been, you know, fired and then rehired also, just, just to make a quick light joke, I, I, I'm surprised I didn't see the meme going around of J. Jonah Jameson being like, parker, you're fired. Oh, you're on fired. Like I, where was that? Because we needed some levity this week.

But, but you know, the, I think with what made this situation different from, you know, like, I mean, Disney has fired, you know, big names in the past. Other companies have had, have for things you said.

I think, you know, companies have a right to determine based on a person's actions or, you know, stuff they post publicly what to do with them.

You know, if they want to let them go for something they posted that, you know, is either, you know, offensive or not in line with their own guidelines, that's up to a company. I think what separates this situation is that this was clearly not Disney's. This was, they came. Yes.

This was no administration should have an FCC should have any influence over what a company does with its employees, whether it's a big name like Nitro Host or a creator. That should be it a bit. And this was 100. I don't think Disney was in it.

It would have done this at all if that had been no pressure from the administration. So that's where I think this is where it's really dangerous. And that's why it's a scary time we're living in.

And I am very, you know, opposed to the actions of this administration and its imposition on free speech.

And, and you know, if, because, I mean, I mean, heck, in V for Vendetta, there's the, the scene when the, the comedian late night show host, like, gets, you know, after doing a satirical show about the, the villain and that I'm dying. I'm just doing the general terms because it's been a minute since I've read the book and watch the movie, but literally the same thing happens.

And of course it's much darker there, but still, like, yeah, when you have an administration who is so opposed to criticism that it's going to punish and silence voices, that should terrify people. And I think we need to all resist that, whether you're on the right or left end of the political spectrum.

I think that's something we should be opposed to. So I am glad that you was reinstated.

I did watch the monologue he did last night this morning, and it was really heartfelt and I thought he had some like, I mean he thanked both, you know, political opponents that supported him during this and he had a really nice message for Charlie Kirk's wife, you know, so it was, that was well worth watching.

But, but yeah, it's, you know, again, there's a, there's a lot to tackle with everything that's gone on in the last couple weeks alone in our country. And I was just in Washington last week for. Because I was doing some advocacy work there with non profit. I wrote a care SMA that I do work with.

And so, and it was a little like kind of a scary time to be there. I still had a good time and I thought it was productive. But yeah, it's just a scary time. I think the, it's.

I hope that more of us can come together and a.

Oppose any kind of political violence and any kind of violence together and work towards solutions there and have more respect for each other that we can oppose fascism together. And I'm, I'm not. And again, when I say that, I am not saying, I know I'm more progressive here, but I am not saying all right, wingers are fascists.

I'm not going to like put that as a legacy. I'm saying there. And there is clearly, you know, this is an example of fascism. And there is.

That's something that as a nation we should stand up against. So obviously that I think we should learn to love and respect each other more. And yeah, and I think like prayers are certainly needed right now.

Action is also needed in conjunction with that. So yeah, that's kind of where I'm at.

But I hope I can add more to like, I think, and I think there is a difference too between, you know, like, because I've been accused too of, like, because of my criticism of the administration. People I grew up with have said, you're being too divisive. You're being choosing. And I'm like, you know, I'm sorry, but Jesus flipped tables.

And I am not like, I can still be critical of administration to be that without and, and take a hard stance on issues. That doesn't mean I'm not loving toward people and that I'm not, you know, wanting more unified nation. If anything, that's what I'm.

I'm hoping for, you know. So. Yeah, that's.

Yeah, then. But yeah, and I would say to anyone out there is like, why are you even talking about this on the show?

I come here to listen to geeky topics and whatnot. There's a reason we brought this up. Kevin presented the idea to me. I said, sure, let's talk about it.

It's because if this is where something like this starts, where would people continue to go? What would they censor next? Yeah, I believe there should be certain amounts of censorship out there. I believe in the rating systems for movies.

We already talked about that. Because I don't want little kids walking into weapons or watching Peacemaker or what have you.

But that doesn't mean that those movies need to be censored so that all audiences can watch the movie or we can only promote material that is wholesome and good. I love my wholesome good things. But I also like to see people depicting the world as it is and what needs to change.

And if there are people who are against that, well, that tells me they're on the wrong side of things.

And if we're trying to censor those things, maybe I should be speaking out against censorship when it's done incorrectly, when it's done for the purposes of breaking stuff down. So that's why on this show where we talk about geeky stuff, we don't want that to happen to the things we love. So we're going to mention it.

So I hope that's convinced you. Like, we're not just doing this for the sake of virtue signaling or what have you. It's.

It's done with the purpose of we care about these things and we don't want it to happen to them and we want to let you know how we feel.

Okay. I could not have said it better. I agreed. 100 and it's just, you know, I mean, geek culture, like, I mean, that's why we have this show. It.

There are so many prominent themes and things about the stories we love and that we, we geek out on that are reflective of real world and spiritual issues. And yeah, we're going to talk about those.

And I, again, this is like, because I, I tend to just do the more like, oh, let's just talk about the geeky issues episode two. But yeah, I was of the mind of like, we can't really avoid this one. This is superniate right now our time.

So I really appreciate you discussing this, man. I hope you know, and we, you know, we welcome discussion on this too. Like, we would love to hear people's thoughts here.

Of course, do it in a respectful manner. Wherever, you know, you're kind of at on this. But we want to have these conversations in a healthy way.

The conversations, the comments are unlocked for a reason. Yeah. Just like Kevin said, be respectful. But we can argue about this.

Well, yeah, absolutely. Awesome. Well, I know that was a heavy one to end the episode on, but an important one nonetheless. But with that do.

Before we go, do you have any recommendations you want to share either from this episode or something totally different?

Yeah. As far as what I'd recommend from what we've done today, oh, man. I think my highest would actually be Weapons. I really enjoyed that film.

It's nice to have something original. And I like my friend. I love my franchises and stuff like that, but.

But I also love when people are out there and they're making new things for people to experience and not based off of anything else. So I'm going to throw out weapons.

Excellent choice. I also supplement that. I'll recommend Barbarian as I like. If you haven't seen that yet, definitely go check that one out.

And then also, I mean, of course I recommend Peacemaker. I also want to recommend another excellent DC show that isn't a part of this canon. But yeah.

Although with what James Gunn is doing, who knows if he may ever want to, like, bring these characters back. But if you watch Do Patrol, that. But especially that first season is absolutely phenomenal. Did you watch it, Christian?

That's on my list.

Okay.

Yeah, Titans are on my list, too. I just never got around to watching it.

Titans was like. I mean, I. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. That first season kind of went off the rails after that. But.

But Doom Patrol, I. I mean, especially that first season is just spectacular storytelling. I've got it on Blu Ray and, yeah, you can watch it on Mac. So if you want to dive into some of that, you know, a little, slightly older D.C. that was.

That was back in the. The D.C. universe had its own streaming service separate from HBO. It was a time I. I knew it wouldn't last.

But I tell you, I enjoyed that app so much. It literally comforted me.

Comforted me during COVID because it was like it had all the shows and the animated shows and the comics all in one place again. I knew it was destined to go away, but it was good while it lasted, so.

But I'm glad Doom Patrol was able to be converted over to hbo and it lives there now. Awesome. Well, Christian, this has been fantastic, and thank you so much for. But I'm like, always enjoy our geek geeky conversation.

And also our more reflective, philosophical ones as well. We had it all here. So, you know, again, if you're watching on YouTube, hit that, like, button.

If Will Rose gets, you know, 50 likes on that episode, he'll, you know, frolic through a field of flowers. Or maybe it's getting to fall. Maybe he'll go through the pumpkin patch.

He'll kill his alternate counterpart after going into his father's basement.

Who doesn't want to see that? You know, that's. That, like, I. I mean, sorry, Will. We'll. We'll film it. That was beautiful. I love it. But, yeah, awesome.

Well, everyone, thank you again. Please, like, rate review. Thank you so much for watching. And remember, we are all a chosen people, A Deom of peace. Take care, everyone. Sat.