House of R - Our 10 Favorite Fights of the Century (So Far)

Episode Date: December 13, 2025

Mal and Jo are heading into battle as they go through their favorite fights of the century. They talk about everything from ‘Star Wars’ and ‘Game of Thrones’ to ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Avatar: The Last Airbender.’ (00:00) Intro(18:34) Jo’s no. 10(22:06) Mal 's no. 10(25:58) Jo’s no. 9(29:13) Mal’s no. 9(33:54) Jo’s no. 8(39:09) Mal’s no. 8(43:46) Jo’s no 7(48:44) Mal’s no. 7(55:14) Jo’s no. 6(59:18) Mal’s no. 6(01:05:48) Jo’s no. 5(01:09:00) Mal's no. 5(01:18:56) Jo’s no. 4 and Mal’s no. 3(01:31:02) Mal’s no. 4(01:35:18) Jo’s no. 3(01:39:26) Jo’s no. 2(01:43:15) Mal’s no. 2(01:53:29) Mal and Jo’s no. 1(02:06:53) Honorable mentions Prepare for one last adventure at Target. Visit target.com/StrangerThings Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory RubinProducers: Carlos Chiriboga and Jon JonesSocial: Jomi AdeniranAdditional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopowell Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Greetings and welcome to House of R. I'm Mallory Rubin. I'm Jonah Robinson. And we are here today to continue a series that we have been having a lot of fun with in the back half of this year. It is another installment of the best of the century so far. And today, we are sharing our list for our 10 favorite fights of the century so far in our universe TV and film. What does that mean exactly? how are we determining what a favorite is?

How are we determining what a fight is? Do we know what's on the other person's list? We're going to go through all of that. Shortly, explain all of the eligibility rules. Did you bring a sword? Did you ask me here in person so you could slap me? Do I have some lightsabers waiting? I don't.

I should have brought him. Fucked it up. Tune in and find out after this. This episode of House of R is presented by Target. Stranger Things has returned to Target and it's time to visit Hawkins for the final time. Step back into the 80s with righteous exclusives like a funco pop of Steve and the Squawk van, the epic Squawk satin-bomber jacket, and the Stranger Things You May upside-down capsule shaped like a walkie-talkie. New items are dropping all season long, so prepare for one last adventure at Target.

Okay, Joe, can't wait to do this pod. I think we've both been having a blast with this series. We have also found the prep for each episode to be an act of utter act torment. Self-inflicted arm is a great way to put it. This was the hardest one yet, I thought. Because I had the brilliant idea of adding verbal arguments to something that was already loaded. Fights, we chose battles, duels, skirmishes, whatever you want to call it. And then also verbal arguments were something I was like, let's just add that into the mix.

And you said why, and I said why not. And it just made life pretty hard. I think it's great. Fun and fresh puts a little bit of a new energy into it, a new tweak. Did it make this nearly impossible? I would say yes. Could we have done all three of those categories as separate standalone lists? Easily.

Without question. Easily. At the end of the year, things are getting dicey. Okay, we're going to go through some more of the rules in a second. But some quick programming reminders before we dive into the fights exercise. If you've not yet checked out the Christmas movies draft. or the white girl movies draft over on the Ringiverse.

The Midnight Boys have a couple recent holiday season end of year drafts waiting for you. Poo-Pew. Van really showing up for the Cuspers in the Xenials as we identify. I was just felt really seen by his Christmas movies list. Cuspers is great. For us, here at the House of Our,

we have a lot of pods left. It is nearly Christmas and nearly in New Year's, but we're not done potting. I suggest we add one more And Mallor's like, oh, good. What are we going to do that, Joanna? When you propose we do that, Joanna? Here's what's coming.

Ish. Maybe. This is the plan, the hope. We're definitely going to do next week. Our annual tradition for December, our 10 favorite moments of the year in our universe. But how can I do that having seen Avatar Fire and Ash first? I felt comfortable. I always am like, should we do it?

You know, mid-December should we do it the last week of the year? I felt comfortable with mid-December this year because I felt pretty sure that that would not be a problem for you. Great. You know? You know? We'll see. I've not, I've yet to see Avatar Fire and Ash. Well, we'll get a chance to talk about Pai-Con when we do our gift swap pod, which is also coming. I did learn, however, on the big pick that whale brain juice is involved. Even though that was involved in the second movie, which allegedly I watched last week, I didn't really absorb that. Yeah, but how was your brain juice with the not very fresh? The legal substances, you know, that were your accompaniment. Not very fresh. For that movie experience. We will be doing our gift swap. You were watching

Fire and Ash. I am watching Interview with the Vampire Season 2. Yeah. I'm going to start tonight, I think. Yeah. I can't wait. I'll be texting you. I'm very excited.

That's going to be a fun pod. Last year, we swapped interview with the vampire season one, and you watched Landman. And oddly, we're midway through Landman season two, and I have received not a single text message from you about it. So did the gift swap stick? Guess not. Guess not. Did you think it would? No.

It was a gift to myself sharing that with you. not really a gift to you, something for me to reflect on. At some point, we will also be checking in with Fallout season two. We will be checking in at some point with Percy Jackson season two. And of course, we will be continuing our Stranger Things journey in full. So we'll be covering the volume two and volume three, Christmas and New Year's Eve drops. We will be there across the holidays in the upside down, in Hawkins, with each other. Possibly in pajamas.

Yeah. Who can say. Oh my God, we should do a paj pod. I mean, as you know, I'm in. You don't need to convince me to do a paj pod. But I do think it's like worth me acknowledging that for me that's like very, that's not really all that different from how I normally dress. I think we should do a Jim Jam Pod.

I think that sounds like a really good idea. Like I need to get like like a flannel kind of button up pajama thing. I can't just wear like one of my home car hearts instead of one of my outside car hearts, you know, in a slightly different picture. of loose fitting pants. Oh, we could get... Matching pajamas? Matching Christmas Jim Jams.

Do we have time? It's December 12th. Matching Hanukkah Jim Jams. I'm in for any sort of holiday season. What about like a snowman? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. A non-denominational.

A gnaug? A knog. A flake. Great. I love a flake. I love a nog. Yeah. Do we have time to order something? Yeah.

And for it to arrive. We could also just do like the sort of like red plaid sort of classic. I thought you're going to say we should knit them by hand. We don't have time for that. Do we have time to get into this podcast, though? We're very rarely together, so who knows what? And midday on a Friday at the end of the week? Who knows what's going to happen today?

I suggested we drink. For the first chuckle. We got one. Yeah. Now no matter what. Yeah. We have that validation. I suggested we'd quaff mead through this entire podcast.

You said, no, thank you. But we will do a mead to toast at the end because I brought you. Can't wait to try it. Some homemade moonshine. I can't wait to responsibly try it. At the end of the podcast. I'm excited, truly. Cip, don't swig.

Sit don't swig. Let me ask you this. Yeah. We just, we shared some plans, some programming reminders, some creative intentions, Hope's Dreams ideas. How can the people follow along to see if we did in fact follow through on our pledge to get matching pajamas on a podcast. Jim Jim Jims? How can the people follow along?

Listen, follow us on the social media platform of your choosing. Uh-huh. Yeah. If we do get matching Jim jimms, I promise you, Jomi will clip that for, an Instagram reel or TikTok, et cetera. Follow the pod. Actually, that should have started us off. Let's start with that.

Let's start with follow the pod. Do that first. If you're only going to follow one thing, follow the pod. Yeah. You know? But follow it all. Social smoothing. Follow it all. Follow the pod.

Email us. Please. Hobbs and Dragons at gmail.com. The inbox is always open. We've had some suggestions for best moments of the year that are pretty fascinating to me. Fascinating because you're like, holy shit, that was this year? Or fascinating because you're like, wow, people liked that thing. My brain juice is doing fine.

Thank you so much. Is there a spoiler warning today? Here's the spoiler warning. If it has happened. Yeah. In the last 25 years. And it could be something that you consider to fight, whether that's a battle, a duel, or a verbal argument. And if it happened in a television show or a movie, and if it happened in a genre property that we could have covered, we might talk about it today.

So on the one hand, I suspect that a lot of what will come up today is stuff that people, the bad babies, people who listen to this podcast, will be familiar with and not necessarily consider spoilers. But will there be spoilers. Yeah. There will be. You know, it's a best of the century so far list. Yeah. There's no way to avoid it. It's tune in.

Also, favorite best of the century. This is personal picks. Yes. Want to support your gut health? Take Activia's gut health challenge by enjoying two Activia yogurt to date. for two weeks and see if you feel a difference. With billions of probiotics and 20 years of scientific expertise, Activia is one of the easiest and tastiest ways to start your gut health ritual.

Try Activia today. Enjoying Activia twice a day for two weeks as part of a balanced diet and healthy lifestyle may help reduce the frequency of minor digestive discomfort, which includes gas, bloating, rumbling, and abdominal discomfort. But let's get to the rules. Let's get right to the rules. What is that? It's a crucial difference.

Favorite, not best. Like the goal to exercise. This is not definitive. This is our taste. specifically. Sometimes I was encouraged to pick something because we had talked about it in depth together. Sometimes I was encouraged to pick something because of its legacy. You know, there's like a lot of reasons why to pick something. But this is not the list that I would necessarily submit as like consensus best. Correct. This is Joanna's favorites and Mallory's favorites.

I'll be presenting Mallory's favorites. Yeah. Yeah. We're counting down. Yeah. From 10 to 1. Correct. I do not know what is on your list. Right. You do not know what. is on my list. Only Carlos knows. And he was pretty cagey today. Well, I... You were like, don't tell a shit. I swarmed to silence because in our previous list, we've colluded a little bit. Only on one or two properties.

Yeah, and we did not this time. We didn't even say like, we didn't even hit wink me nudge, what are you doing for this? So we have no idea what's coming. Yeah. In part because you were like, I finished my list. I did. Days ago. And I was like, me too. Definitely. I'm not going to put a ton of all caps. panicked comments into our Google talk to ask why we have done this to ourselves once again.

What's your prediction? What level of overlap will we have today? I think there's at least one. You feel sure there's one. I think the ceiling is three. Okay. But it could be more. There's a couple that I know you don't have one here. Right. Interesting. I am going to go with three as my guess. As your baseline. That's my guess, but I think if, like, Vegas set the over under at three, I honestly would take the under, I think, if I had to. Obviously, as always, I suspect we'll be playing and dabbling in some of the same fictional universes, but have different picks and side of them. I'm part of it, too, is like, we've done several of these lists, and I just feel I'm getting a little tired of myself picking the same properties over and over again, but then I found I could not deny those properties. That was that experience was keen for me, this list most of all, in a real, how do we know in all of the topics we were doing?

doing from the start. Maybe I would not have picked this thing in speeches if I knew I was going to pick it here, et cetera. That actually will come up very specifically with one of my picks to me where I was like, I just can't not pick this. I can't, even though I have picked not just something from this fictional universe and this movie, but from this exact moment. Oh dear. And nonetheless, I just couldn't not do it even though I really wanted to. That just means you really love it. Exactly. And that's what this is about. This is about celebrating things that are meaningful to us. We will talk a little bit more in a second here about what maybe contributes to that lasting impression that something has made on us. Eligibility.

Time frame. Right. January 2000. First day in January. You can define the quarter century however you choose to. We're doing Jan 1, 2000 through this very moment. It could have aired last night. Yeah, that's right. It could have been Heated Rivalry Episode 4. And that would be great. It would have landed on this list. Fucking love that show. It didn't. But it could have. I love that show. Stay tuned for more of Mallory's thoughts on needed rivalry. Oh my God, I can't wait.

Source material can be older. If there's something that's an adaptation. Oh, yes. We've provided this a little bit of clarity on some of these pods. The source material can predate the time frame, but the film, the show has to have aired in the last 25 years. TV and film list only. Did you limit yourself to one per fictional universe yet again?

I did. Yeah. Did you have a harder time with that this time than ever? I did. I got to just say. I don't mind spoiling this at the top. sure I've had a harder time in this entire exercise than only one Star Wars pick for this pod. I knew that would be really, really hard for you. A fucking nightmare for me. And that was actually the one that I almost texted you to collude on because it would have given me some comfort,

I think, to know what you had picked. But I didn't. I didn't ask. And so all I have is my pain and potentially my regret. But I'm going to stand behind my list. I'm going to stand behind it. All right, we already talked about emphasis on favorites. It's not about consensus. It's not about comprehension. It's about what we chose for the reasons that means something to us, which we will explore today. Let's get into that question of what makes a fight. Like, what is a fight? Why did we pick these three buckets? Why did it feel important for the battle, the dual slash individual and smaller scale showdown and the verbal arguments, the barbs, the things you say to each other that wound as deeply as a sword to all be part of this exercise? And, you know,

know, if you get into like the, take that general prompt into like how you started to structure your list, how did you think about how you wanted to balance those three buckets? I, I started to that at the end where I like looked at my final list and I said, do I think everything is represented? And I found that I had sort of like, I think it's, I think it's like two battles, two arguments and then the rest are duels. I think that's what I have. And so I was just sort of like, that's fine. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To at least two of each on the list. Okay. don't start doing your detective work and try and figure out what it is. Don't do it. Don't do it. So, but I think what's true, having covered film and television with you for years,

I know what matters to us a lot as character and emotionality. Yes. And so when we come to be it a large scale battle or a toe-to-to-to duel, we're going to want something that has some emotion to it. And so it's like, that was so sick, bro, is like one consideration. But I don't think you or I are going to pick something that isn't also then. tied dramatically to the arc of a character or revelation for a character or something like that. And so because of that, I thought arguments fits in to this larger idea.

Certainly. I found, without getting into any of the specifics yet, that there ended up being a number of picks on my list that fell into both verbal argument and like dual slash individual showdown. We're often yelling at each other while we're punching. Yeah. A moment that provides both of those is ultimately going to be much more. much more interesting. Are you going to fudge the what's a genre pick, what's eligible at all? Like some of this is just outright, you know, you talk about verbal argument. You think of like marriage story or the white caps episode of soprano.

Like that's not what is in the mix for today. We're not doing succession. We're not doing. Yeah. It's not Tom and Shiv on the balcony. That's a great example of what the Hall of Fame. I'd say there's. I would say there's one property on this list that

perhaps people could quibble with whether or not it would be a house of our, but I am prepared to argue. Oh, interesting. Exciting. Okay. Let's see. Let's see. What pulled the most forcefully in the recency primacy scale this time? Or did you have a nice balance? That's something we've been tracking as we go. I actually had a lot in like the, I think I did okay with balance. I wasn't too fussed about balance. I actually had a lot of stuff in the middle of the time range this time, always been the case. I had a lot in the first decade, actually. A lot of, like, we've had time with these things to marinate and we know that they matter. They still stand out. But I have, I have, like, one from last year and I've, you know, I've got, like, some things. This might be

hard to answer and engage with without spoiling things, but as a general kind of, like, thought experiment and something that was on your mind as you were assessing candidates, you know, we start with, like, dozens and dozens, maybe, like, hundreds of contenders and then have to, whittle down to 10. Did you find yourself drawn more to contentious moments between people who should be aligned? Or between foes?

Or was that also a source of balance across the list? That didn't occur to me. How about you? I found myself really pulled toward moments between people who should be standing on the same side and that that had a really outsized grip on what resonated with me.

I will say, I last minute, I last minute zagged on my Marvel pick. but my initial Marvel pick, which was not the one that was, like, suggested by a lot of people, was because of that very idea. You know what I mean? So, like, there is that pain inside of it. And certainly, you know, the bad babies were, like, just came through with this one. Some of them, you know, just sent full-on lists of their own.

Like a full, like, college-level dissertation thesis. So we had tons of emails to get through on this. And I will say a few people when they're like, this has the edge, especially, I think in the Marvel universe, this has the edge because of the personal connection, the history, the poignancy. Yes. Between seeing these characters fight. You mentioned the emotion. You mentioned the centrality of the characters.

That's obviously top of mind for me as well. But you also mentioned this idea of like, okay, maybe stuff from earlier in the century that's really like it's been in our lives and it's stood the tested time. Some of that might be because of our attachment to the characters and the emotionality of it. maybe some of it is because something has become a part of the shared vernacular, like a touchstone, clearly atop the coaching tree and influence for everything that came after. I have two of those. I have some of that. Yeah, that I was just sort of like, this has to be here and it has to be high because of all the ways which people have tried to imitate it since. Me as well.

I had a lot of my list is driven by, I love these people. It's painful to see them go through this. Oh, my God, what is everybody doing to each other? And then there's just some like, this is a measuring stick undeniably. Sometimes things are iconic for a reason. And if you compare that with an emotional wallop, like frankly, you're at the top of the list. So there you go. All right.

Any other like big picture thoughts, things that were pulling on you as you crafted your top 10? Or should we just get to it? Let's get to it. Let's get to it. It's time for the top 10. Joanna, get us started. Okay, this is actually inspired by the listeners. I often try to, you know, ignore what they write in because I just really want this to be my own. But there was a property that came up several times that we haven't talked about on any of our lists and is, was no doubt influential, especially it's from 2003, the beginning of the quarter century.

Do you have anything from Pirates of the Caribbean? No, I'm so happy you do because that was one of my biggest takeaways in going through the Bad Baby nominee. as well. I think we both approached it similarly. Like, I've got my list set and then I'm like, have I really forgotten anything that's going to like cost me sleepless nights? Not, again, because I'm pursuing consensus, but because I've spent years podcasting saying I love a thing and then can't remember I love it, which is the true, true nightmare scenario. I think Pirates was everywhere in the emails, everywhere. Exactly. And it's, you know, for a generation, you know, people who are a bit younger than us, like, this is a movie they watch over and I watched it a bunch,

obviously. Mine is from the first Pirates of the Caribbean, though we got nominations from multiple movies. Can you roll this clip, please? I'm going to teach you the minute of pain. You like pain? Try wearing a corset. Great stuff. Hell yeah.

Fair and nightly. Incredible quote. Captain Jack and Company versus Barbosa and the Ghost Pirates. Initially, my initial instinct actually was to pick the Will Turner versus Captain Jack at the very beginning fight. But I rewatched that one and I was like, okay, this is good.

And then I rewatched the ghost pirate fight. And just the special effects aren't tip top perfect, but just the idea of the ghost going in and out of the light and sort of like becoming and like, you know, where is the de bloon at any given moment and sort of like the bomb getting embedded inside of a skeletal pirate and then like shoved in it. So like all of that just made me really happy. The stunt coordinator for this fight is George Marshall Rouge, I believe, or Rouge. And I just, I think this is a wonderful thing. and pirates definitely in our wheelhouse. Something that like a franchise that has gotten slightly memory hold, I think, because the ensuing installments were like diminishing returns and also the Johnny Depp of

it all is like not something I really want to deal with. But like that I remember so distinctly going to that first movie and how like my friends and I were just mocking. We're like a movie based on a theme park ride. This is going to be the dumbest thing ever. And we went hoping to make fun of it. And then we sat through it and were like that. whipped. That ruled.

Sometimes IP is good. Yeah. The first Pirates is so good. And like people have fondness for the second and third. I really am just like a first is best and the rest, you know, we'll see. My dad actually for, I don't know if this is still true, had the Pirates theme as my personal ringtone

on his phone. I don't know why. But yeah, when I call my dad, it would be the Pirates theme song on his phone. So. Wow. That's I love it. Here we are. So yeah. Great pick. I'm glad that we have pirates on the... I also think, honestly, it's very buffy-esque for her to quit try wearing a corset.

No question. A very good moment. So I really liked it. Fantastic number 10. Excellent. Thank you. This is not germane right now because I do not have anything coming from pirates. But as always, with the best ofs, if the pick is exactly the same, we'll talk about it in the highest of two spots.

It's from the same franchise because we have our honorable mentions later, but we like to do our smuggles inside of the universes. We'll do that. at the second spot. Okay. My number 10, I think it's possible that you have something from this film. We very recently talked about not only this film and this filmmaker,

but the exact fight that I'm picking. No, I don't haven't. Do you have anything from Scott Pilgrim? I don't. Okay. You'll pay for your crimes against humanity. Didn't you know? Todd's Beacon.

This is great stuff. So good. Scott Pilgrim versus the world, 2010, so that falls into the individual showdown or dual bucket. I don't really know if that was my pick when we talked about Edgar Wright and we hit our favorite Scott Pilgrim. I don't know if it was because I already had been thinking about it and knew I was going to pick it for this or if I ended up picking it for this because I had just like talked about it in the running room. I'm not sure.

But I love that. I love the time of the dog of vegan into vegan police fight in Scott Pilgrim so much. It's just vegan and now you will be gone is incredibly good. incredibly good. It's just, it has, it's like such a good encapsulation, I think, of the specificity and, like, originality of not just Scott Pilgrim, but it felt to me like, okay, I want to have an Edgar Wright fight somewhere on the list of like genre fights from this century. And we, you know, like, when we get the honorable mentions, I tend to bucket them and I did a, like, Tarantino slash Edgar Wright bucket from the Bad Baby nominations because, like, a lot of those came in. Yes. And there's just obviously so much affection and admiration for so many of these. And I think everybody has their individual favorites across various films.

But like, you know, the idea of Edgar Wright is this a maestro of inventive editing. Hyper-specific stylized and structured action. I wanted to get soon on there. I wasn't sure if you would have the Lucas Lee fight given your affection for it. I love it. If you want to hear us talk about like all the Edgar Wright fights, we did that on the Running Man pod. But like, you know, I, it's actually because we just talked about it, like, it's the reason why also supposed to from my list, I don't have you Nolan on this list either.

I do. Just because we've been talking about it, I was just sort of like, okay, those thoughts are out there in the world. That might be weird. I have two Nolan picks. Spoiler. I just couldn't fucking help. That's great. Okay, so we have Scott versus Todd and then eventually Todd versus the vegan police.

As we saw in that clip just now, the aesthetic, right, is just so present here. You've got the glowing eyes, the anime hair. I love envy, the envy. I didn't even know. It's not. It's just so great. That's the movie I would give Reelers and an Oscar for, to be honest. No question. No question. I'm going to ask you how many times in your life you've ever said this to someone else.

And if the answer is never, would you like to start in the future? I partake not in the meat, nor the breast milk, nor the ovum of any creature with a face. I'm more inclined to say milk and eggs, bitch. How about you knowingly ingested gelato? Gelato isn't vegan? Yeah. Milk and eggs, bitch is a little one too? Perfect.

Chicken isn't vegan. It's just all great. We've got the music fight. You know, that's a wonderful bit in there. I love the half and half gambit that Scott pulls and how that really ends up, like, winning the day for him. You get the little, like, this is not a Todd Ingram moment, but you get with Ramona and Scott, the great little, if I peed my pants, would you just pretend that I got one from the rain?

And Ramon is like, it's not raining. It's just a laugh riot start to finish. I love, don't you talk to me about grand. grammar. John as well. It's so funny. It's very good. Makes me laugh every time. Really great. So that is my, that is my number 10. Great one. What's your number nine? I said a challenge to myself. Okay. Tell me. To not include any lost on this list and then I failed. Do you have something from lost on your list? So I had a similar experience. I ended up not. I really tried. Yeah. I, I did not end up having, I like found it very difficult to pick something from lost and that actually

helped me not feature. I actually originally, my original list had something from the leftovers and then I bumped it for this moment from loss just because it is so iconic to me. It's from 2005 Season 2 episode 3, orientation. Can we watch this clip, please?

Why do you find it so hard to believe? Why do you find it so easy? It's never been easy. That would have been my lost pick. I'm thrilled you have this. It's never been easy. It's never been easy. The way that Terry Quinn says that line is just like stuck, jammed in my head. The best.

Lost has been so hard to leave off these lists just because I spent literally years covering every single episode on a podcast. So I just have been really like soaking in Lost for the last many years. And we talked long and hard about how much we love this show and that's fine. This episode, directed by the great Jack Bender, written by Javier Agrio Marks Watch and Craig Wright. At the core of this, you've got John Locke the Believer. Yes. And Dr. Jack Shepard, the skeptic. Yes.

And that idea if it's never been, like, why do you, like, Jack is so mad. He's got his, like, pissed on. His nostrils are flared, pissed off face, right? They're having this showdown. Saeed and Kate and Hurley are like, what the hell is going on? You know, the beeping is happening. We got to, we got to enter this code or else what. Or else what.

And John feels like he knows. And Jack is like, we don't know. Right. So how can we possibly engage in this exercise? Jack's journey of skepticism to faith is core of this show. John, the, I will say loosely without major significant spoilers, the tragedy of John Locke is core to this show. And I just think about that, you know, in thinking about verbal arguments, that it's never been easy delivery. Just like I could not get away from it.

If I had picked, did you have anything from the leftovers? No. I will say Kevin and Nora's hotel room fight in season three. was like really hard for me to leave off the list. I moved a few things in and out of the list and that was the last thing I took out. Yeah. Um, this pick was why I assumed you asked to put arguments. Oh yeah. I mean, kind of. Yeah. And so that helped me not pick it because I felt sure I'd have it. I really sure you would have it. I, the other thing I was like, man, there are so many like Sawyer moments that I would have picked. But it, I think if I had picked loss, it would have,

It ultimately would have had to have been a John and Jack scene, and I would have picked that one. I think it's a fantastic pick and so emblematic of the thematic crux of the show. I'm thrilled. It's here. Thrilled. Don't feel bad about picking Lost again. Lost fucking rules.

I know, but loss does rule. Obviously, we love it. We call it favorites. We call it favorites. I'm trying to diversify. Maybe one day we'll do a different kind of list, but it is not this day. It is not this day. Okay.

From my number nine. Do you have anything from Mad Max Fury Road? I don't. Great. She thinks she can lose us, Dad. She thinks we're stupid. She thinks she can lose us in there. We're calling that a battle.

So, this is my first. This is my first note. The whole movie. Well, this entire, very long. I would let you have that smuggle. If you were like, this movie is a battle. Sure, why not? Yeah.

2015's Mad Max Fury Road. Could you quibble? Could you say these sequences are too long to be like selected and isolated? Or, okay, let's really classify that as a chase sequence, action, set piece rather than a quote-unquote battle. I think the fact that there is so much combat in that pursuit and so much death, it is eligible. And this was one of my real, like, can't finish the best of the century so far without having Fury Road on one of my list. Couldn't do it. Great.

So here it is. Also, we just had the pleasure of like watching this. on the big screen again. With some bad babies. With some bad babies. That was just a dynamite experience. So it really like, I think moved it back up in my power ranking for the finalist construction here.

As we, as we've talked about before, like my actual favorite stretch of that film is actually the night sequence, not what I picked here. I just think that is like the most visually astonishing, like blue-toned, gorgeous gobs backing, a bit of a bit of a bit of a bit of. of movie making, utterly arresting. But I think for saying it's a battle, this was this opening stretch here, when Furiosa peels off, peels the war rig off the Fury Road. And Morton Joe and his warboys realize what is happening that Furiosa has taken his

breeders, has taken his wives, and made a run for it. And the pursuit unfolds. And you were just like sitting there in the theater. watching it for the first time and you're like, I can't believe I'm alive to watch George Miller make this movie. I have an entry like that on the list where like every time I thought about taking it off, I was like, but remember how you felt in the theater when you saw this and you were like, this is literal magic? I can't believe I get to watch this for the first time in my lifetime. You know what I mean? Yeah. Yeah. Like those moments, that actually was- Your gob is smacked.

The gob is smacked. Not being able to lean into that feeling for my Marvel pick actually was like super weird and hard for me, but I felt like I got that here and actually in another place as well. The scale and the scope, how much of the movie it is, but just also what is unfolding in the sequence, the specificity of the world and how that is incorporated into the action. You know, the fact that this stretch, this opening chase is like the inciting event and sequence for the rest of the film. Like, I just think this is like expert and really astonishing. to have, we see, you know, we love here on the podcast. We recently got to talk about this with Chris Ryan on the Dunkirk pod. We love any time Tom Hardy has something on his face. Will that

be the last time I say that today? No. No. No. I think our lists are very different and I'm excited about this. Yeah, it will not. I couldn't help it. I'm sorry. No, it's great. No, there's nothing to apologize for it. It's great. The beating of the drums, the electric guitar. The Doof Warrior, baby. Oh my God, Doof. The plumes of, of orange, into red flame, the like burnt orange dust everywhere. I feel like I'm at a Texas Longhorns game that's gone very wrong, you know? Yeah. Going through the pass, fending off the buzzards, and then that, the precipice on the brink of

entering the sandstorm, and then when you go in. So my actual pick inside of this very long pick is in the sandstorm, like the forks of lightning, the way that the sand just functions as sand does in certain elements is like little blade. of glass. The sky is on fire. And the chills that you felt watching that. And every time I revisit it's still a feel. Just couldn't leave it off. Couldn't leave it off. So I'm calling it a battle. I think I'm allowed to. If anyone disagrees, I don't care. Well, you're definitely allowed to. And in fact, I would say this is the moment I'd be most inclined to let you smuggle an entire

film into an entry. Great. Then the entire movie has been selected. Okay, that takes us to your number eight. There are some shows where the fights are so elemental to the storytelling. Elemental. Do you have anything from Avatar The Last Airbender? No. I'm, do you? I'm thrilled. Great. Yeah, this is where we are. Fantastic. Excellent. Avatar Last Airbender and Cora. Yeah. Yeah. The very distinctive. Shout out, Pablo.

fighting style, the water bending, the fire bending, the earth bending, the air bending. Thinking about the way in which they put those fights together and how this really clicked for me in a certain sequence in Quora, which is not my pick. But just sort of like what a fun math problem it is where you're like, okay, I've got a metal bender here and they could do this and I've got a firebender here and they could do that and that sort of stuff. So like the possibilities and the very distinctive to this specific world. Love this. you know, idea of how to fight is so good.

I could not pick anything other than the final Agniki from the Avatar, The Last Airbender finale. It is the culmination of our character arc for our guy, Prince Zouca. I'm getting like a chill just sitting here thinking about it. I am. I feel the tingle in my spine. It is the unlikely ally. of Katara and Zuko

and Zucco and, you know, one of the best villains to ever do it here. And we've got fractured family and all kinds of greatness. So I'm going to talk about this a little bit more, but let's just play our clip.

Lightning today? What's the matter? A fright I'll redirect it. Breath taking. So like inside the world of animation, and we've talked about this before, like the things that you can do inside the world of animation

that you could not even really do with all the CGI in the world, just like how impressionistic you can get. So watching them zoom around each other, the score of all of that is absolutely beautiful. And then in terms of like the character arc idea, the way that Zuko had to go on this journey from believing what he was taught,

which is that firebending is power and punishing and muscle and force and domination. and then learning through his journey through this story, you know, that this is about energy. And what Iro says, fire comes from the breath, not the muscle, right? And the great episode that comes before this, where Ang and Zuko go and learn fire bending from the dragons. And so all of that culminating in this fight,

his ability to actually stand up to his sister because of his, ability to like emotionally bend. Yes. Or like intellectually bend. And she is just rooted firm in this sort of like fascistic might as right sort of space. And then the dive he makes in front of the lightning because she's like, she's like, I will lightning bend and I will take out Katara. Yeah. And he dives in front of the lightning to protect Katara.

And then we get water bending guitar, badass guitar, you know, fighting Azula. I just, we love a character in an arc. We love the archetype that is Princezuko. Love. We love watching him do this. I love Katara. I love how she evolves from a healer to someone who can defend herself as well. A fucking bloodbender, like scary Katara, right?

And then Azula and her like hacked off bangs. We've talked about this before on podcast. Like it's just really relatable content, honestly. So Michael Dante DiMartino and Brian Kaniatsko, the creators of the show directed this episode. And I just, I think it's incredible stuff. sensational pick. We had Iro on our musical moments pod. We had the pleasure of revisiting the animated series ahead of the live action series a couple of years ago.

It's been really fun to have so many excuses recently to talk about this show and story and world that we love. I really, really love the point you're making about the intellectual, like, rigor and exercise behind the action sequences in the show and the way that the act of creation for the people making it mirrors what the characters would be thinking about how to navigate those circumstances. That's such a great point. I love that. And also just like, as we tease at the top, like, what has the character learned? Yeah. That can allow them to land this punch. Yeah. You know, that that's a moment, you know, we love in storytelling. The best. Very hard to keep Avatar off the list. This was, this pod was impossible. It's really tough. I'm so relieved that you have Avatar and lost here. Like, so relieved. Okay.

Mine number eight, I know you don't have because you already said you have no Nolan. Mine number eight is from inception. Okay. This was one of the, no matter what changes across the list, no matter what I put on or put out, it will be here.

It's just a question of where. Because, like, we just had the pleasure of talking about this movie at length together as part of Hot Nolan Summer now, crisp Nolan Fall. And eventually, happy new Nolan. Yeah. Who knows what we'll call the winter version in spring. Yeah, exactly. Dream of Nolan Spring. I love it.

This is just Godtier, Pantheon Hall of Fame all time. Fight sequence stuff. Well, I think similar to Avatar, this is a thing where you can see like one frame. Yes. And you know what you're watching. You know. Yeah. So this is actually like it's a dual. I'm just picking Hallway, Arthur Hallway fights in Inception. But there are the two sequences which are different. And that's part of what makes it so memorable. I think. and indelible because you have the rotating, right, as the van is spinning. And then we have the second version, which is the zero G. And the way that the movements, they're both so, there's such ingenuity on display in the craftsmanship and structuring of both of those sequences. But like the reason that things are happening, the exact way they're happening, is a little different because of the circumstance and the connection across the layers. And so

it's just like mesmerizing as a bit of visual filmmaking and set piece design. You know, we talked about this a lot on the Inception pod, but the rotating hallways that they filmed this in inside of hangers and the suspension from the wires to like make this work and look so authentic and seamless. The other thing I love about it, though, is just like the way it functions inside of the story we're in all of the layers, right, of the dreams and of the plot of the film. And so we're seeing with the van what's happening on layer one. We're with Arthur in the hotel on layer three. We're flashing to the snowscape. layer in layer three.

And we've been taught how these things will inform each other. Yeah. But this is the moment where your ability to understand the universe that you are inhabiting as a viewer fully clicks into place so organically. And for us at home, like effortlessly, but of course for everybody involved in that with like a Herculia amount of effort, effort, effortful. I just think this is like so memorable and original. the originality of it and that lasting impression that it made on us as Nolan film lovers,

but just moviegoers in general, the practicality of the effects and the filmmaking. This is, I had it higher initially. I moved it down because it's not as like, it doesn't have the emotional pull for me that like some of the picks I'll have higher on my list that are between characters who are like, like, with love to Arthur. That is not how I feel about Arthur. Right. Right.

It's not as, you know, sodden and like character attachment. Sodden and character attachment. Amazing. But it just felt like it absolutely had to be. It's the bar for invention, I think, for an action fight sequence like this. Like, it's Spider-Man, we're astronauts. We're walking on walls and ceilings. We're gripping each other.

We're moving furniture to, like, reveal a hidden projection. It's incredible. To your point, ever since we did that Inception pod, I have, I mentioned it again on the Dunkirk pod. I've mentioned it on prestige a couple times. I keep coming back to this idea of legibility of, like, how Nolan marked the different levels and how instantly you could tell. Rob and I talked about this when we talked about the constant. Like, as Desmond is flashing through time, it's like raining or it's not.

Like, what is the legibility? And when it comes to fight sequences, legibility is so important. And I've got an entry later that it's just sort of like, it's almost here because in almost anyone else's hands, this would be a mess. That's how we feel about Fury Road too, right? How am I following what's going on here? You know what I mean? And that's the great trick that no one pulls off.

through Nux's heart, you know. I'm glad that Nick Holt is here. Patron's say to the pun. Always. What is your number seven? I'm really excited about number seven. Okay. Great.

My favorite number. Lucky number seven. This is definitely recency bias, but I'm really excited about it also as an opportunity to promote a property we've never on the pod talked about. But we have in real life talked about a bit. Well, maybe we've mentioned on the pod. Anyway, do you have anything from Allison? Borderlands. Oh. Wow. This is awesome. No, I don't. This is great. Yeah, yeah.

Let's play this clip. So, this is a fight that is called, like, Coena versus Last Boss or Coena versus Tucketorian, please forgive my pronunciation. I'm messing up pronunciations. Alice in Borderland, for people who haven't seen it. I know that is your husband's favorite show. He's a big fan. And you have seen season one, I think. Yeah. And this is from season one. This is from, like, towards the end of season one. and this is a show where characters wake up in a world that they don't know a borderland, they don't understand what it is, an else world, a portal world, if you will. And it shares a lot of DNA with Squid Game. It gets compared to Squid Game a lot and a lot of DNA with Lost. And the idea of who they were in their other life informing how they survive these various, very lethal games and lethal moments inside of this borderland is amazing.

Nowhere is that more important than in this character. And so this moment when they are fighting in a nightclub, there's katana's involved. There's so much kicking involved and all this sort of like that. But this moment when she, and she's in the bathing suit for a reason, they're like everyone in this particular spot is in a bathing suit. This moment when she stops barefoot on the broken glass and just sort of like breathed herself into position. is just like absolutely stunning. This is a show that I had heard about for years but only recently started watching a couple months ago.

Really fell in love with it. Season one in particular is just like exquisite stuff. And I like to have it here as a sort of opportunity to advocate for people watching this show because I really do think it should be like a Pantheon show. Yeah. And it's not. And I think it should be.

Our listener Ben wrote in about this fight specifically. And this is what he said. being an elseworld story, the central tension for most of our characters revolves around who they were in the old world and who they get to be in borderland. No two characters embody that more than Hikari and her opponent, Takatura, both have a past they want to leave behind, but only by embracing her whole self can Hikari triumph, watching her steal her resolved to overcome an insurmountable opponent while the score swells. Makes me cry every time I watch it.

And the final moments of the fight are truly epic major and jealous slash buffy sword vibes. And then he also, Ben also points out that, like, these are very side characters. Like, this is a miracle that Allison Borderland can deliver because you've got, like, a core couple of characters that you're following the whole time. Right. And then you're picking up characters along the way. And they could just, like, at any given time, dive deep into a random character that might just be here for an episode.

Right. And these are, like, two very minor side characters. And their fight takes up a significant portion of this very climactic, like, everyone's running around the hotel. Tell is on fire, like, moment inside of the show. And, but you're emotionally invested nonetheless. And so I just think it's a huge character moment, a huge, hugely creative show. Yes.

A show that just, like, gets your adrenaline pumping, gets your tear ducts flowing, and it's on Netflix. I'm still having finished season three because I don't want it to be over. Yeah. Oh, but that's the best feeling. Season three is not as good as season one and two. and that was something I told you that I was warned about before I started watching it,

but like I don't want to finish it. I love that feeling when you fall so deeply in love with something you don't want it to end. You can always go back. I think I have like two episodes left. Oh, you're so close. Yeah. Anyway, so.

Great pick. Awesome to have it here. My experience with season one was that Adam was watching it without me, but I was in the room and I just got so, I couldn't look away. Look away. Yeah. Like I got so sucked in. Yeah.

That in real time I was like, I'm, I am now a part of this viewing experience. Yeah. Like this is, it's just impossible to ignore. So I'm looking forward to finishing it. I just like heartily endorse this show so much. Especially given like how disappointing Squid Game was, you know, after its first season. I think that show, Alison Bordleland came first.

And that show just like really overshadowed what Alison Bordowen had to offer on Netflix. So check it out. It's on Netflix. watch it. My number seven is the complete opposite end of the spectrum. From something that we had not talked about yet that felt important to include, I take you to what I alluded to earlier, what I teased earlier. An exact moment I have had, not just a general property, but an exact moment that I have had. I can't believe of all the things where you could have had one moment to return to on multiple lists that this is the one and yet I kind of can.

It seems like a bit, but I swear it's not. I'm going back to Bain. This is my, I'm sorry. Everyone's favorite Batman villain, Bain. What's wrong with me? You also have back-to-back Nolan on that. So it was back-to-back Nolan. That was actually part of like how I ended up ordering.

Double Tom Hardy on the list. Yeah, I've got Double Tom Hardy. I've got double Nolan. You can only be yourself. I can only be who I am. Favorites. And here I am in full. So I'm going back to Dark Night Rises.

and I had this moment on my speeches list. Highlighted a couple other just fucking bars, dynamite lines from our guy, Bain. But this is, of course, the breaking of the back. The key moment when Bain snaps Bruce Wayne like a pretzel stick. Let's see it. Yes, I was wondering what would break first.

Your spirit? Oh, your buddy. You tell me that doesn't roll. That's great. And it was a very popular one with the submissions from our listeners. Oh my God. I was like, this is irresponsible to put this on here twice on my list. What is what the fuck is on me?

But I couldn't leave it off. It's very good. It's one of my favorite moments. Very good. This is my version of the kids today on the Survivor Season who, as Nate Moore on the Survivor season, I kept making fun of, are always like, cinema. This is for me when I'm like, cinema. It's a pain breaking back.

Batman's back in the dark night rises. Her risgod rises. This is my Risgod moment. This movie is, of course, from 2012. I don't think I said when Fury Road came out in 2015 and, of course, Inception in 2010. So this is where I'm in like, I'm in the middle here of our times span for a bit. Individual duel here, of course. Catwoman has led Batman into the tunnels. Bean has ensnared him, right? They have they have led our vigil. lanty mouse to the cheese that will crush his spine and send him into the pip. As cheese often works. Depends if your lactose intolerant or not. Bain reveals he knows who Bruce is. He is even by the standards of Tom Hardy as Bame in this part of the movie, he is mumbling

so astonishingly that we like legit cannot understand half of what he says, but it actually just makes the bars rip even more. peace has cost you your strength, victory, has defeated you. We need Chris here for this. I can't really do be in place, but I just fucking love this. The savagery. One of the things that's so great about this is like this is at the end of the day, two dudes punching each other.

Like it's a lot of just fist to face the savagery of the brawling and the pommeling, you know, the cracking of the mask before the breaking of the back is like such a great moment. We have the richness from a storytelling perspective and you're a force who is in opposition to me perspective. The emerging parallels, right? Like the numbers

of the League of Shadows. We don't need Chris Ryan at all. You're a-in-it. Eat shit, Chris. You're acing it. And the thing I love most about this, of course. And why it has really stood the test of time for so many admirers

of cinema. It's our hero brought low. And we love that. We love a moment where our hero is brought low. You merely, you think darkness is your ally, but you merely adopted the dark. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn't see the light until I was already a man.

By then it was nothing to me but blinding. And then he whips around and he grabs Bruce from the shadows behind him to, like, prove the truth of what he's saying. And his superior grasp on the thing that is unfolding in real. time, the shadows betray you because they belong to me. And then that like final, the fact that Bruce is a character, that Batman is a hero who doesn't give up, who won't give up. And so he has been beaten into the ground and he still gets up again to make that final charge, but it is a foiled final charge, right? The broken back, the domination, the humiliation, like the fact that he is basically a rag doll in Bain's hands, oh my God, it's just absolutely iconic. I think

genuinely an iconic superhero movie moment had to be here. Sorry. I honestly am embarrassed that I have two Bain moments on my best of the century list. It's like insane. And yet, I've decided to just lean in and full. I support you and all your endeavors. I just remember like one of our earliest pause was the Batman draft and you were like, everyone loves Bain and it was truly like a reality shattering moment for you when you discovered that everyone does not love Bain. Listen, A lot of people love Bain. Many people are saying that Bain is a great villain. Oh, no.

All right, I'll end the case there, I think. I felt safe diving in because I feel sure you didn't have anything from Dark Night Rises. I did not have anything from Dark Night Rises. Okay. Number six. So, as before, for no good reason, I limited myself to one superhero pick. And I. Yeah.

cycled through. I was kind of thinking of it as like, you know, we have a Star Wars bucket and a Thrones bucket and, you know, blah, blah. And I was just like, sometimes it's a Marvel bucket, but I was just like, let's just do superhero stuff. And, honestly, for no good reason. I had other Marvel moments. I'm about to be astonished if something is missing from your list.

It is. I've decided to honor a movie that we have not talked about in these best of the quarter century. list. Yeah. But was cinema? Was art? Yeah.

And this is from 2018, the final melee from Into the Spider-Verse. Oh, hell yeah. Great. I'm so proudy. Far old kids? Fantastic. This is one my personal honorable mentions.

Oh, great. Okay, so this is, okay, the legibility is, this is why this is on the list. It's like, you've got Doc Ock here, Kingpin shows up. So many Spider-People people are here. And Spider-Man is a,

as a live action franchise is one that is haunted by a decision to put too many characters in one movie. So Into the Spider-Vers is a movie that should not have worked for 900 different reasons. And then it was not just worked. It was most people's favorite superhero movie that year. Many people's favorite Spider-Man movie full stop. Like it's just, and we eagerly anticipate the next installment in this story. Can't wait. But the fact, what they do inside of this sequence is,

is Miles is leveling up, right? Miles has this level up moment. We love that inside of a superhero fight. We've got goodbyes inside of this. You've got the excellent payoff of the McGuffin, right? We've got a MacGuffin. Got a goober. Got a thing that we know, like whatever.

That's aside, that's not the point. The point is these character connections. And as Miles has to say goodbye to everyone in the middle of this fight, so putting that ticking clock, this urgency. on top of everything is, so you have like very poignant character moments inside of frenzied action. And then of course, as we talked about, and, you know, Avatar is already here, but animation is important to talk about the art of this film.

Gorgeous. The bleeding of the stippling of a comic book page that happens inside of this film, the the characters of different styles that who should not work. work in a frame together and yet nonetheless work in a frame together. How it honors a comic book legacy, how it honors our affection for like what makes a Spider-Man a Spider-Man, you know, a character to be confronted with his own double. This is just like, this is just meat and potatoes for us. Extremely our shit.

We love this shit. So I want it here, 2018, three directors, Bob Prescottie, Peter Ramsey, Rodney, Rodney, Everyone loves into the Spider-Verse, so it's not an overlooked property, but it hasn't been on our lists, and I really wanted it here. I'm thrilled. I'm absolutely thrilled that it's here. I fucking love this movie. It kicked some of my favorite characters of all time off this list. So I think that these lists are so inherently challenging to structure that even like, oh my God, I can't believe you didn't have a thing.

I don't think either of us have been like, I'm really truly blown away that you don't have something on your list. I am astonished because you said only superhero, so I think it's safe now to deduce. Yeah. You do not have the Daredevil, the Daredevil hallway fight that you've said is like you're a top five all time. You'll see what. Action. And then there's another. I also thought, okay.

Oh my God. I thought you might have Cap in the elevator. For sure. Yeah. Or Cap. Cap in a lot of circumstances. Cap and Bucky. I mean, do you have a Marvel property?

I do. So we'll talk about it. Wow. I thought for sure you would have the Daredevil pick. I'll tell you why. Okay. I'm excited to learn more. I mean, nothing to quibble.

Nothing to quibble with about what you did pick. Had to be here. Fantastic stuff. Let's stick with animation for a minute. For my number six, do you have anything from Invincible? I don't. You live to see this world crumble to dust and blow away. Everyone and everything you know will be gone.

What will you have after 500 years? Are you, God? I still have you. Oh, man. Okay, that is, of course, Omneman versus Invincible, Nolan versus Mark, father versus son, from 2021, season one invincible finale. This is one of the, like, kind of merge. This is an argument, but this is, of course, also an individual showdown in duel.

Mark has learned the truth about who his father really is and what he's. doing there, the Viltramite mission on Earth, across the galaxy, what their pursuit is really about the form that it takes. He has heard his father say about his mother, about Mark's mother, about Nolan's wife. I do love your mother. She's more like a pet to me. Stop. This is just every aspect of this is like all-timer stuff. Mark has met this not just revelation, but this invitation to move into this phase of what it means to be a hero, a superior being, as Nolan will tell him, from Vilchermite, with refusal. I will not be enlisted in your cause if this is what your cause is.

And so Invincible fights his father, Omneman. And they're arguing as they fight, there's this one of the, this is not maybe one of the most famous moments inside of this sequence, but it's one that I really love and like really like shook me. me to my core. You killed him, Mark says, when Nolan just, you know, obliterates a person. And Nolan says, now we're in 50 years when he's old, what difference does it make? And Mark says, what difference he'd have a life? Right? And that is like the whole thing. And this is another thing we love talking about. I've always talked on our pods about like Thor and Loki with

Jane. But like now, of course, I have this other wonderful touchstone for this. Buffy and Angel, you know, characters, the doctor, we got to share this and talk about it when you brought me into the doctor who experience, like, when characters have different lifespans, what does that do to how they think about immortal life and the span of that life and what value it brings? And so Omni Man, to make a point, he said, did seeing that man lose his life disturb you? Did it hurt? Well, let's see how you handle this. And he takes his son and he drags him like a garden hoe through off-tilled earth through an entire city. Yeah.

And a train and buildings and all of its inhabitants. All of these people who he is trying to get Mark to believe mean nothing because their existence is a speck in the grand scope of their ambition. And then we move from Omneman versus Invincible into Nolan and Mark, right? The people, the father and son really like a merge and are centered inside of this. we flash to these memories. I love the little like teabaw scene. He goes to the memories of Mark as a kid. It's like so moving.

I mean, this is not the one I thought I would get up. I know about it. But like the show, I remember when this aired in real time and I was just like, this is unbelievably impactful and harrowing and horrifying. And the ability to like center and maintain a heartbeat of humanity inside of the, like we're watching this on a screen here. You can barely see Mark's face. It's just a pulpy, bloody mess.

Yeah, like two teeth sticking out. Yeah. And the cut for, I love that part, the cut from young Mark missing a tooth just because he's a kid into this Mark whose father's beaten his teeth out of his head.

I think the way that they just become like a boy and the father who failed him, not the two strongest beings on earth and the way that even for Nolan, that becomes undeniable to the point where he just has to fly away because he can't face it, what he has done and what he has become. Or maybe more accurately, like what the people who he has allowed himself to love, even if he wasn't supposed to, have helped him be. Yeah. And he's now back to being in, like, active resistance to that. I just think, like, so much is captured there. And it really is, like, genuinely disturbing and upsetting in a way that is really lasting. And I think, like, you know, it, It catapulted invincible and animation for a moment really into the center of like the conversation in a way that I thought was really cool and great. I knew I had to have an animated moment on my list.

Nearly had Avatar on as mentioned, nearly had Spider-Verse on as mentioned. Nearly killed me to not have Clone Wars or Rebels on here, as we'll talk about later. I just had to pick another Star Wars thing ultimately. I could not. It's tough. We'll talk about that when we get there, but not having a rebels. a rebels moment on there was like nearly impossible. So yeah, this, I just was like really,

I felt strongly about having this year. You know my memory is, spotty. This is the moment that Van changed my mind on the verses, right? About when we were like, we were voting on like, what to be included. And he brought up this moment for Invincible.

In the context of his own personal relationship with his dad and his loss of his dad, the first verses I ever did with you guys. And I changed my vote. And it was like a real, it's forever important to me because it was like a real emotional connection moment I had with the team.

So, yeah, great pick. We're into the top five. Oh my gosh. This episode is brought to you by Target. Heads up, Stranger Things has returned to Target, and it's time to prepare for one last trip into the upside down. Head back to the 80s with rad exclusives like The Stranger Things, season five vinyl filled with epic tracks from the show,

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Enjoy the fresh flavors of spring. Save at Whole Foods Market. Okay. So my number five, this is my last entry of recency bias. Okay. And I agonized over including this. Okay. Because I know you're about to start your interview with a vampire journey.

You know where I stand on this. You can't leave things off your favorite list because I haven't seen them. That would kill me. Yeah, but if it were like something you weren't planning to see, then that's one thing. But this, I know you're just so close to not being spoiled for this. Anyway. When I'm on my deathbed, one of the last thoughts that flashes across my mind will be Joanna didn't have spike as high as she wanted on her villains list because I had only seen two seasons of Buffy at that point. And that'll be what kills me.

It'll be hurtful. We had three listeners, Ellen, Abigail, and Natalia all nominated this fight from season two episode five of interview with a vampire. This is from an episode that when I podcasted with Van about it on the prestige feed, he called one of the best episodes of television ever. And I am inclined to agree. Okay. Don't be afraid to start the tape is the name of the episode. Let's just see this little clip, please. Let's start, let's start, listot, listat, let's start, let's start, let's start, let's start, let's start, let's start, let's start.

That's that, that, that, that. I talk shit about him the whole time. The name! The name! Unuttered in our home for 23 years, said over and over again until it was pounding in my brain like a hammer. Get excited.

Yeah. Get excited. Okay. That whole fight, which is a very good one, uh, that's between the vampire Louis and Armand. And, um, this audio actually went viral on TikTok.

Armand is like making fun of Louis. He does his point. put upon Southern accent. It's like really funny. It's really, really good. I think this fight is absolutely iconic. And I don't want to go too much into it because I just like want you to watch the episode. But I will say this. I will say this actually. This will be my excuse to talk about why Buffy is not on my list at all. And here's why. Buffy Empire Slayer not famous for its like great martial arts scenes, right? I thought there might be a verbal argument. And then in terms of verbal arguments, I couldn't think of one that I wanted to

like that it could tease for you that happened like if if season two or three were available I might have put something from there on them but like it's not and so season four onward and I just could not I couldn't do it right this I felt like I could clip enough that you don't have the full context and you can just like when we get to there you can enjoy it though this is the same episode I clipped for our best moments of that year so just to like hype you for the fact I remember yeah yeah yeah um so So season two episode five, don't be afraid, just start the tape. There's nothing more I actually want to say.

I just want to talk to you about it when you watch it. So we'll talk about it soon. Like a week. Yeah. But I am not at all nervous about putting interview the vampire on my best of lists because it really has rooted that. Oh, yeah. I'm not surprised that you have it on your list. I can't wait to watch season two.

Can't wait, truly. Thrill. my number five yeah definitely it's definitely a movie you've seen this is my MCU pick have you seen the movie

Captain America Civil War oh what I maybe have this is the one I figured when you were when you were saying you moved something kind of out that had the like allies

turned foe I couldn't leave it off I couldn't leave it off should we see the clip he's my friend so was I No notes. That fight, that exact moment. No notes.

I'm honestly surprised I don't have it higher. We got so many emails of like, surely you're going to pick this from Marvel. And I was like, actually, I'm going to zag and I'm going to pick this thing. And then I zagged even further into an entirely different studio. Okay, that is, of course, from 2016's Captain America Civil War. This is another hybrid, right? It's an argument. And it's a dual and individual showdown or smaller scale showdown.

Two people? Three people. four people, five people there are a number of different participants. This was tough to pick the Marvel one but also kind of not really. It's one of those where it was hard to leave other Marvel things off the list, but I knew I wanted

to pick this. That was kind of how I felt about it. So like do I love the Battle of Earth? Yeah, of course. Like cap-wielding Mileneers is an all-time movie theater moment, incredible stuff. Maybe if we had just called the list battles, I would have been on here, right? We'll talk about all of our Marvel smuggles and hit a couple other contenders.

But I think I was drawn to this kind of immediately when I started to sketch out my finalist. Like this was one that I didn't put it on. Maybe I'll pick it. I just put it on the list right away. Because it is so deeply rooted in personal history, individual history, and shared history, right? The dynamics between these characters.

And I think that this is like the best of a couple of the buckets that we're looking at today because it's this deeply personal argument over the rawest of, wounds, right? And it also sparks a sick fight. So we get like great action that is paired with these individual drivers. You get something like the really memorable comic book imagery of Tony of Iron Man's repulsors clashing against the shield. You have stuff like that here. The shield being bounce. Yeah, the shield being bounced. You have the way that like because they're allies and they

have such intimate knowledge of each other's tendencies, they are able to like wield those those instincts and insights against each other. But at the end of the day, it's like this is really rooted in ideals and betrayals and competing loyalties in a way that sort of made it like undeniable to me. Obviously, the movie, in a more macro way, like the movie writ large is really about

what happens when our heroes aren't fully aligned, right? And that's something we really love to talk about and love to think about like we've talked about many times before. They shouldn't always be. Like, that wouldn't feel right. That wouldn't feel authentic. It should be hard for them to find their way onto the same page. And the fact that, like, a shared goal or a shared overall intention and purpose still has all of this variance inside of it.

Your different histories lead to different motivations and choices is, like, so interesting to me. And part of, like, really the heartbeat of the Infinity Saga and of the MCU that meant so much to us, you have, in this climactic stretch of the movie, a really great villain in Zemo. who is weaponizing all of those ideas, right? He has lured them into this nest of revelations. An empire toppled by its enemies can rise again, but one which crumbles from within, that's dead forever. And we get the Bucky Maria Howard Stark reveal

and Tony turning to Steve and saying, did you know? And it's just all-time stuff. And that I'm not surprised to hear you say that the clip that I picked was the clip that you had picked. Exactly. Clip, yeah. He was my friend, so was I.

It's an electric moment between these two characters who have simultaneously been the co-leaders of the Avengers and always budding heads and at odds with each other. But it's also like it gives form and shape and reality to Zemo's words. Like that's when you feel the truth of what he has said and tried to do to these people, right, and found a way to do to these people. And what I love so much about this is like it's not just that there's, like, you have these characters who have been in odds, who've bickered over the years. A lot of great moments. It's not just a rupture. It's poison in the wound. Yeah.

Right? There is something here that feels... It takes many films for them to come back together. What it does, not just to them, but to the Avengers, like, the stakes of this and the sprawl of it was so undeniable. And I love the way that this is just borne out in all directions from love and also, like, guilt. You know, Tony and everything he's caring about his parents, Steve and all. all of his history with Bucky, even with Zemo, like his family history, right, is what has driven him to this point. And so you have this like attempt, this well-intentioned attempt

to deploy inside of this sequence rationality. Like, it wasn't him. That's one of the things Steve says to Tony. It wasn't him, right? Like, what did you do in his mind? It wasn't him. What role does reason have in a moment like this in your life? And the answer for a character who should be able to navigate that kind of circumstances. It's like it has no bearing at all on what I'm going to do here. And that's so human and so relatable and I just love it. And how dangerous Tony who has been like fighting on the side of right to see that armor weaponized inside of like a very human emotional breakdown. You know, my favorite Zemo line, there's a bit of green in the blue of your eye.

You know what I mean? This like the flaw. Yes. The human flaw, and how can we allow these people to have so much power when they are merely humans? Right. So good. It's great.

And I love when Tichala goes out to Zemo outside and says, vengeance has consumed you. It's consuming them and then we cut back to them, like, pounding each other. I'm done letting it consume me. The fact that these figures who should be like posters and totems of the righteous path, And of course, that's one of the things they're arguing about across the film. It's like, well, what's the best way to shoulder that responsibility caps? You know, the safest hands are still our own idea. It's like, no, there are a lesson in this moment for the limit of that and the risk of it.

So it's just really brilliant. And everyone is right and everyone is wrong. Yeah, and that's the best, right? When it's complex and it's messy and it's nuance and it's not actually like clear. It's also like doing so well, something that other people have tried, you know, like the Martha moment, the infamous Martha moment. you know, like done so poorly, this has done so well, or to pitch it forward in the field of fire sequence in Thrones, which I feel very confident that neither of us pick for our Thrones moment,

something that Weiss and Benef would constantly say is like, you don't know which side to root for. And I'm like, actually, I don't necessarily feel that way in this moment. But throughout Civil War, I often do. Sure. And also, you know, remembering that, you know, the Marvel powers that be in New York were like nobody wants to watch superheroes fight each other. And Kevin Feige and Company, when they were in, had better grasp of the story they were telling at Marvel,

were like, absolutely they do. Hold my shield. Absolutely they do. Kept dropping the shields. Oh my God. And walking. And then like what it means for Tony to bring him the shield then again later is just exquisite. Great choice.

Perfect choice. Fantastic. I have no surprises the rest of the way in terms of like franchises that are. presented. So, should we hit some of our other, like, Marvel contenders here? Do you want to do that elsewhere? Sure. Let's do the Marvel run. Obviously, Battle of Earth, you know, Cap wielding Mileneer, Tony Snap, everything that happens in endgame, certainly. Cap versus Bucky on the freeway. Very good. Winter Soldier. But because we covered Winter Soldier, we talked about that a lot. Very good. Cap in the elevator. And winter soldiers is certainly a contender.

Kilmonger versus Tachala. Is this your king? Mm-hmm. Has to be a contender. We got a lot of nominations for, like, X-Men properties. Wolverine versus Lady Death Strike. A lot of Magneto. I know this is like Fox, but like Magneto and Professor X, you know, on the beach and then later on the airplane in the different film. Across the Spider-Verse came up a couple times. Loki versus Sylvie came up.

So, yeah. The other Daredevil thing that I thought you might pick. verbal arguments. That was another like, oh, I thought you might have Nelson v. Murdo. I thought about it. Yeah. And I thought you might have Daredevil and Punisher. Yeah. I lost it. Yeah. I thought you might. I fucking love that, as you know. Yeah. Oh, man. Yeah, I don't know. It's just, I guess the fact that I have been so cap Tony centric as well across my list would have been yet another reason to like pick something else here. No, but this is. I'm thinking about the things that have the most outsized, like, grip on my heart and mind and soul over the last 25 years. It's like, this is kind of undeniable. I'm. I'm thinking about. I'm thinking about. I'm I thought you might have this and it was the only reason I was able to bump it off my list,

to be honest with you. So thank you for having it. What a beautiful team exercise is this. We don't have any of the same picks yet. No. I think we have the same number one. I agree. And I think we could have the same number two. Well, but my number two, well, I don't know. No, wait, sorry, not number two. Because the thing I have in number two, you definitely don't have. There's no way. Okay. But I wonder if we have the same Thrones and Lord. of the Rings pick. I'll say that. And I will say my throne's pick is actually my number four. Oh, okay. Do you, which season is your throne's pick from? Season five? So is mine. Okay, we both picked Hard Home. Yes, we both. Great. So let's do it. I have that in number three.

Okay. You're at number four, so we can just do it now. Let's just do it now. Yeah. Okay. They're back to back. Why not? Let's play, I guess, both of our clips. We probably have the same clip. Do we? No, I don't know. Hell yeah. Sick. The Knight King and the White Walker's attacking Hard Home, Season 5, episode eight. We both picked it. Absolutely. Tell me why. People might be surprised that this is our Thrones pick.

There were a lot of great duels. There were a lot of battles that people rank higher. I know that you and I love Hard Home, though. I know that. This is a 15 to 20 minute long sequence for an episode directed by Miguel Sapash. Because this is calling hard to do further battle episodes for Throne. Raleigh Ullum is the Stunct Coordinator or Fight Coordinator for Thrones in general. I remember how electrifying this was.

because there's a couple things. Little narratives inside of larger battles, you and I love, this might come up again, you know. So like the little stories that are told in front of this, Carsey being an example we bring up a lot. Brigitte Hort Sorensen, the moment that Carsey sees the children. And then in the clip that you picked,

which is the Night King Raising the Dead, the like Carsey coming back to life. And so what that tells us about how we can be afraid for all of our favorite characters going forward. And then something that is just, I mean, catnip to us, the lore explosion that happens inside of here. The Night King has not been mentioned in the book. So, like, this is Night King information that either the show made up or George whispered to them or whatever. The moment that I picked that John's sword not only stops the Whitewalker weapon, but shatters the Whitewalker and, like, picture me hunched over my keyboard writing about, like, Valerian Steel and what it matters.

and you remember Longclaw and blah blah. I mean, if you remember, the hard home previously on is like Valeran Steel, Valerian Steel, you know, so like all of the lore that we get from this. And then Lord Commander John Snow, I mean, this is like a real show don't tell about leadership and what it means for John Snow to be a leader of men, a general. I'm not, you know, they're like, Lord Commander, get on the boat. He's like, no, I got to fight. So like, and season five, I think is the last season.

And then I felt had like a real grip on John Snow specifically, but like Game of Thrones in general. This is like after this, it gets weaker and weaker, I think, as it goes forward. And so I just love. I just love. And then the visual is like, you know, again, a visually legible battle. Yeah. And you've got all this ice blue. And then you've got the, you know, the song of ice and fire happens here.

And then this is not in the book at all. This is mentioned as an incident that happened off screen to some wildlings. And so the, to give Weiss and bending off their flowers and say this is a moment of adaptation that is just like incredibly incredibly good. Yes. And this is them at like peak. They're best. Yes. So that is what I have to say about that.

For all of those reasons, it's my pick as well. I'm not surprised. The throne's list of contenders was as long as my list of contenders for any property other than Star Wars. Correct. And yet actually, weirdly, again, it was kind of an easy pick for me, even though there are a number of other things. I would have been thrilled to talk about and loved to honor and we'll toast them as smuggles in a second here. For all the, like this just really, I think has stood the test of time, will stand the test

of time, was simultaneously an instant classic and like will be an historic classic. To pick up on that last point, that was a really big reason why I picked it to. Like how it stands as an act of adaptation is a huge part. For this exercise in particular where we're talking about TV and film. across the century so far. Like, I think that Blackwater is a dynamite television episode in an incredible battle.

And I almost picked it. But if I'm being honest, there's a part of my mind as a book reader, even when I watch an episode as incredible as Blackwater. And I see the wildfire explosion, and I'm like, holy fuck, like it feels so good to be alive

and watch Game of Thrones. But there's then that part of my mind that's like, I'm looking for Tyrion's chain. Yeah, where's the chain? Where's the chain? And Hard Home, because of what, the fact that this was pure, Making murmurs and nuggets and mentions and turning them into a fully bodied, fully realized gift of a television episode, I remember so vividly watching this for the first time and like feeling a lot.

I know. You and I just now while we were watching the clips, you know, because people didn't say that no, and I was just like, remember when it was this good? Yes. I was transported. Yes, yes, it is transporting. I think it's one of those things that always will be. Yeah. Like it pulls you back into that feeling and into what it felt.

like to be sharing this with each other in real time. It was just, I remember going into like the, this was 2015. That made me feel old, by the way, to confront that this was a decade ago. That was, I'm not totally ready to process that. But like, I remember going into the Grantland offices and like talking about this was like Chris and Andy. And Chris was like, wait, so like, they like that, like, you weren't expecting that last night? And I'm like, not really. Yeah.

You know, not like that. No. And like, what a gift that is. Because part of loving a story is seeing the thing you love about it brought to life. And part of the joy is like when it is and it was at this point still in capable hands, the possibilities feel boundless. And that surprise is really a wonderful gift as a fan. Ten years ago I was better equipped to stay up literally all night writing lore article after a lore article over a bandy fair.

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. This was this was flog fodder city right here. I have my I really am high on season six as as you know and some of my favorite throwing moments are in season six, but I think to your point, this is like thrown still at its pinnacle, kind of undeniably, right? And one of the reasons for that, and this is something that really ceased being true, is that the threat never felt bigger than it did here. The threat never felt bigger than it did here. Like when the Night King raises his arms and raises the dead,

the fact that the episode ends on silence, just the sound of people. And the iconography of that moment. Yeah. Oh my God. Yes. Yes. Yeah. I throw out iconic pretty loosely, but this would actually be a case where it was warranted and deserve. The look that passes between the Night King and John. The way the dead like team over like in so many insects. You know what I mean? And just overwhelm. A chitter? A skitter? It's tough. You hate it, but you love it here. I think every aspect of this is is drenched in doom. Whether the doom is in, the scurrying of the arriving foe or the or the silence of the retreat there's something undeniable about it. I think that also like the fact that this is a loss, right? And a hard. We love it. We love that.

And I think that like I love what you were saying about John. I think like on the bookends of this episode too, not just inside of this battle sequence at Hardhome, but like it is such a hugely important to your point stretch for John's character and what it means for John to be a bold hero and a hero who will do things that are not popular. And like the fact that John kills the White Walker with Longcaught, I almost brought Long Claw genuinely because I was like, I feel pretty sure we're both going to pick Hardham. It would be kind of cool to whip out Long Claw. And then I was like, this is like super heavy. And I like a heavy laptop and I'm probably going to break it if I try to do this. But that was electric, like you said. And then the fact that like

this is a great combination of economical storytelling where we can come to care about Carcy so quickly. but also it's like we're brought to this moment by seasons and seasons and seasons of buildup. So the choice that John makes to go there in the first place to reach out to the wildlings. To treat with the wildlings, yeah. Is so wildly and apparently unpopular

and we know what will happen when he goes back. Like the mess that is waiting from, the tangle that is waiting from at Castle Black really like heightens the impact of what you're watching here because it feels like there is an undeniable, inescapable aspect of doom everywhere. The way that you go from, okay, the conversation and the appeal,

one of the things about the Valerian Steel moment that's so cool is like, part of the conversation is about the obsidian, right? It's about the dragon glass. So we know some things, but we have more to learn and that's exciting. I remember sitting on my couch and the dogs started to bark.

And you're like, what is about to happen? And then the way the air changes, like it thickens with the frog. and the ice and the snow. We were living. We were fucking living back then. So yeah, that's my number three.

From like a meta point of view, this is like an episode eight. You know what I mean? We had come to expect episode nine to be big deals or you think about a season finale, episode 10. But here it is the last 15, 20 minutes of episode eight. And so like for those sort of book readers, we see the episodes titled Hard Home. We're like, we have some thoughts about what that might mean. But like, other than that, this is just such a shock.

shocking thing. Just seismic. Seismic and astonishing. I'm really excited that we both have Hargo. Not surprised, but excited. So some smuggles, some thrown smuggles and contenders. What would be your toughest second place? I think that, so here's, my journey was kind of like, all right, for battles, hard home, Blackwater.

Battle of the Bastards is not my favorite episode, but I do really, as a John obsessive, I do love, like, John Cam and other aspects of that. But I actually, I think if I hadn't picked Hartholm, I would have picked something between two people. I would have picked either Mountain and the Viper. The Mountain the Viper was my... Or, you know how I feel about Tywin telling Tyrion that he would be consumed by maggots before he let him turn... Tywin and Olena. There were a number of Tywin arguments that would have done really well.

Those were hard to not pick. Absolutely. And I don't know that I would have been able to get to the point of picking a House of the Dragon scene over a throne scene. But I do think now they see you as you truly are. Allison and Renera drift mark. Trampled under your foot. Yeah, we got a nomination for the drift mark. Let stuff go.

And also for Rook's Rest from a listener, Olivia, nominated that. Great stuff. Yeah. So Game of Thrones. Someone did nominate Field of Fire. and I just simply Lute. Don't say it.

Oh man. Some photos from House of the Dragon season three were released today and some glimpses in the HBO coming on and that made me feel like it was really close. And I'm like, oh my God.

If we get two Thrones shows next year. Oh! Okay, so that was your number four. My number three. So that takes us to my number four. Which I don't think you have. So I think we can just safely play it. You think I don't know

how this phase. You don't know how it feels. Your parents are dead. You have no family. Stop! Stop! Finally, go! Go then.

And you? Okay, so that is, of course, Ron leaving. Leaving Harry and Hermione in Deathly Hallows Part 1, 2010. That also made me feel quite old. This was the one where when we decided to include arguments right away, I was like, let me just pencil this in right now. It's going to be on the list. Does this scene in the movie

Change the hammer line from this scene in the books? Which is, I get it, you choose him? It does. And to this day, I find that deeply perplexing. And yet, it still captures the sentiment and heart of the thing That is unfolding here. So there is, of course, the horror crux factor. You can see Ron remove the locket in that scene.

And there's the aspect of what it's doing to Ron, right? what it is unearthing, what it is amplifying in him, and what it will eventually do to all of them. There's the tax of just life on the road, life away from what would be the flow of a normal year at Hogwarts. There's the toll of war. There's the worry, as we hear weaponized here, of, like, what is happening to the people that I love?

Are they okay? But there's more than that behind this moment. There's the history that they're all carrying and this exchange, this fracture, it's preying on the deepest wounds that they have in all directions. So you have Harry, whose entire history, obviously, and the story stems

from the loss of his parents and his best friend just, like, threw that in his face, right? You have Harry who elsewhere in this scene, Ron, one of the things he says to him, it's like, I thought that you would know what you were doing. Like, I thought Dumbledore would have prepared you. And that is a wound that Harry is carrying,

is having to reckon with the, fact that Dumbledore withheld all of these things from him, kept all of these things from him. And then of course, there's Ron who way back in year one looked into the mirror of Arsette and saw himself the best, right? I could be head boy. I could be quiddish captain. I'm a part. I'm being recognized. I'm worthy. I don't have to be just like one of X number of Wiesleys. And so when he turns out. to Hermione, that doubt, that sense, that insecurity that is driving that sense of like, I'm never going to be enough for anyone. Like, of course you would choose Harry. Of course, everyone in

my life would always choose somebody else. It's like not just a breakup of the Golden Trio at the most crucial time in the story. It's a breakup that stems from all of the loss and grief that they've all suffered through and carried, but more specifically, their vulnerabilities and their self-doubt. And I think that's why it is so painful. It also feels to me very emblematic of a thing we like to talk about across stories,

which is like the person you know how to hurt the most is the person you love the most. Like it really captures that kind of pain. So, you know, I could have picked, like, Harry and Voldemort in the graveyard and Goblet or Voldemort, dueling Dumbledore in order of the Phoenix in the ministry of magic. But once we put arguments in here, like this is the, this is the, this is the hard one. This is the one that hurts.

It reminds me a lot of my almost Lord of the Rings pick. My runner up. I feel like we have the same Lord of the Rings pick. I don't see how we could. And I feel like it's probably number one for both of us. My number three? You're number three. We've already done my number three.

What do you have? If you're curious why the hallway fight from Daredevil is not on my list. This is why I rolled a clip. From 2003, the absolute masterpiece, the template setter that is the hallway fight from Old Boy. Old Boy is the one property where I'm like, would someone say this is not House of R? Yeah. I'm going to put it here anyway. Yeah.

Listen. From director Park Chan-Wuk. this is this is the reason the hallway fight exists in Derridao. This is the reason a hallway fight exists in Guardians the Galaxy Volume 3. This is the reason for the season for so many imitators that have come after.

And so I wanted to not only put it on the list, but put it high on the list. Just because of how it set something that people have been reaching for ever since. It took three months of fight planning two days of shooting

and it is notable for people who have never seen old boy it's one tick down the hallway so this is not the first oneer that ever existed but it is was such a like cool as shit oneer in 2003 that a lot of people were like what if I

did a cool shit winner you know it's one man versus 18 henchmen in this hallway and the original plan for this fight was to have it's shot as a normal fight where we're like cutting to close-ups and stuff like that and making it more of a kinetic thing watching them rehearse it. Park Chen Wook has talked about how the weariness, the exhaustion, the pauses, the moment when everyone falls down and just takes a beat to get back up was sort of the special sauce of the fight.

So he was like, guess what, we're going to do it all in one take? And Trojman Sick, the leading man was like, Parktown has said, a director's greatest gift is to torture their actors, and if it's a star, which his leading man in this film was, he was like, it's even more delicious, right? So he just, like, absolutely exhausted his star

in making him do this. So you're giving John and Carlos ideas for when I ask, if I can fill my water bottle for the 19th time, and they're like, no. No. This is a 15 years of captivity a movie that I don't want to spoil the twist of even though it's been out there for a million years.

A movie that Spike Lee tried to remake and failed to capture the brilliance of. A movie that Quentin Tarantino championed and made, really started the Korean wave of cinema in the U.S. Because of Tarantino highlighting global cinema in a way that it deserved to be highlighted. I would say Daredevil, I would say John Wick, I would say a number of things I'm just like putting under this umbrella as influenced by Old Boy. So that is why Old Boy is here. I love it. I love it. I have some John Wick honorable mention. It felt weird to not put John Wick on here, but like watching him like lunded people with a hammer really feels like it gets the job done for all of John Wick. So yeah. Great pick. There's also like, At the end of this fight, so like he goes all the way down the hallway, at the end of the fight, the elevator opens and just like more guys, which inspires the elevator fight in Winter Soldier. He gets in and then this time we cut to just ding the elevator opening and all the guys fall out. And you believe that he did because you just saw him do this hallway fight.

All right. The daredevil explanation was provided as promised. It makes complete sense to me. Great. I love this. I've done my number three. It was hard home. So we're back to you.

Back to me. Am I number two? For your number two. This is my Star Wars. This is also my Star Wars. My Star Wars is from 2017. Mine's not. Mine's for prevention of the sin.

Fucking obviously. Come on. You knew it would be. Let's roll mine. So good. So. I can fucking love that movie. Good.

It's the best. The Pretorian fight from, or the throne room fight, if you prefer, from the Last Jedi. this is favorites list. Absolutely. This is a fight scene I saw in the theater and I felt like I was levitated. Honestly, same. I was, I could not believe that I got to watch this happen. It felt like history of the making.

And then the controversy that followed The Last Jedi really only cemented it further in my heart. Yeah, he dug it as a favorite. I was just sort of like, no. And those challenges inside of fandom force you to reckon with why it matters so much to you. You and I have talked about The Last Jedi for years and how we love it and have not had to, but chosen to explain why over and over and over again. Yeah. I was talking to friend of the pod, Rob Mahoney and our producer, Kai Grady. This morning we had breakfast and we were like going over.

I was going over my list with them and I was like, this is my Star Wars pick. And then we're all three Last Jedi fans. And so, like, Kai's like, oh my God, the double tap of the saber, you know, and I was like, when she drops the saber and picks it back up. you know, we were just like going beat for beat without having to watch it about like everything we loved from this scene. And the joy of talking about something like that with people who love it to is really amazing. And I also think it's important inside of a show about fandom

for us to talk about how it's important to serve all matter of fandom. And so there is a strain of Star Wars fan who hates Les Jedi. And that's fine you're allowed to. But there's a strain of Star Wars fan for whom Raylo ignited their fandom. And so like the, the Raylo ship is not even like the reason that I love this. But it is a reason that a lot of people love this. And is a reason that like a lot of people came to Star Wars.

And that matters that like we open our arms to whoever loves something for whatever reason, not every single reason, but like for a lot of reasons. And I'm excited to talk to you about Revenge of the Sith. I think it matters, you know, for prequel lovers to talk about why they love the prequels. I think it matters for original trilogy to say nothing's ever going to match the original trilogy and there are many ways in which that is me as well. And then

if you love the sequels other than Rise of Skywalker, I can stand with you as well. And so I just, Star Wars is for everybody. It should be. And this thrills a lot of people and it thrilled me. And Star Wars is hard to pick because

lightsaber battles are so entrenched in character so entrenched in character beats. We've talked about this again. and again again when talking about Star Wars. And as is this. But Star Wars was a really hard one to narrow down. But this was actually the first thing I thought of and I never put anything else. Yeah.

So I had a similar experience. I think I'm really glad you picked it. I thought you would probably like this. This is one of my Star Wars smuggles, of course. I love this scene. I love this movie. I consider this movie important and crucial to the Star Wars experience. I did have my version of the experience of like,

I put the thing down I wanted to pick. I wrote down 20 other contenders and then I was like, I'm going to stick with the thing I started with because I started there for a reason. I will talk about the rebels runner-up I have that I didn't pick briefly after we talk about Revenge of the Sith

because that one is hard to leave off, but related ultimately to what I picked. There's just not a version of best fights of the century so far favorites where I didn't pick, Anakin and Obi-1 dueling on Mustafa. Carlos? I hate you. You were my brother, Anakin. I loved you.

Oh, man. I love this. I'm sorry. No, no, no. Listen. I love it. I talked to Van about this for like an hour on a podcast. I'm ready.

I have said this before on many pods. I have seen this movie in the theater more than any other movie. This came out in 2005. I was a freshman in college. So I was like, I'm an adult now, but also still pretty young. Also where I currently find myself in my inner, carrying my inner child while now being like, I guess I am an adult. I could not get enough of this when it came out.

And I think that the prequels, Phantom Menace clones are deeply flawed. I really have so much affection for Revenge of the Sith, which is not a perfect movie but is a movie that I adore. Those exist. Yes, and love revisiting. Yes, and I honestly, like, I think the only surprise maybe is that I didn't put this a number one. But I kind of was like, I think the number one is kind of like, we all know what their number one is, I think. Hopefully.

What if it's not? That could happen. What if after all this buildup of we have the same number one, we don't? This is inside of the movie. of the prequels, but more broadly inside of the Skywalker Saka and inside of Star Wars. Such a pivotal moment. It is the reason that the prequels exist. Building toward this, right?

The tragedy of Anakin Skywalker, the fall of Anakin Skywalker to the dark side. Obviously, we've killed some younglings. We've been fallen. We've been fallen. But this is... This is like the fateful moment fully crystallized and realized and so much of Star Wars. I really love our two picks together because this is like so much of Star Wars orientes around what is happening here and what we know we're marching toward witnessing and getting to see in full. And then the throne room scene in The Last Jedi is about evolution and all of the, how big and why.

and vast the galaxy is and should feel to us as viewers. So, like, I like actually having all of that energy here. The setting, iconic, moosephar, lava, fire, darkness, the future seat of Fortress Vader, because Anakin cannot escape. What happens here? Cannot escape this moment. The editing, I will say, the cutting to, like, Yoda and Palpi is, I think, for a lot of people a feature.

For me, it's actually a little bit of a bug. Like, I would prefer to just stay on movie. So far uninterrupted. I have to say, I want to support all the bad babies. The maniacs out there who nominated Yoda v. Palpi and Yona v. Duku as actual contenders. I know I just said Star Wars is for everyone. It is. It's for you too.

But I have some questions. And I would like to have a conversation about it. Oh, man. So, of course, there's like the Padmae of it all here, right? We're carrying some shmee mama wounds if we're Anna Kim. We've got a lot of jealousy toward Obi-Wan. And then, of course, there is our faith, our shared faith. one of our husbands.

Obi-1. Obi-1 canobi, have you out of them, lots. Master versus Padawan, blue blades clashing. When you think of Star Wars duels, we're often thinking of dark side, light side, the clashes of colors. And so it is always so arresting to me

and such a wonderful visual rendering of what is happening in the story to see not only like the mirror, that they know how to fight each other because one of them has trained the other. They have shared a life and experience together, but the blue on blue, it, like, tells you everything you need to know about what is happening here between teacher and pupil. Sick action, electric. I won't accept

an argument to the contrary. Devastating outcome, obviously. But the thing that sets this apart is what they say to each other. So some of it is, like, meme fodder, right? This is, like, one of the most highly quotable sequences in recorded human history. It is, I think, the shared script for a certain era of fandom. I would have a hard time coming up with too many other things that I felt I had said as often and two people in my life as much as like, you have turned her against me. You have done that yourself. Or of course, only a Sith deals in absolutes. I will do what I must. We'll try. See, you can't help it. I have failed you, Anakin. I have failed you. And then there's the actual source of this failure. There is the fall. There is Anneke.

his delusion and his desire to control and the way that that is centered here, I love. Like when he says to Padme, make things the way we want them to be, it's like, oh no, that's not a thing that people can actually do. You can try to make the world better, but that's not what's happening here, right? The unnatural aspect of that control, that fear, that refusal to let go of things that guides him to this place, that drives him to this moment, now you have become the very thing you swore to destroy? Oh my God, this is poetry. Your new empire? Well, then you are lost. And I mean, we haven't said it yet, but this is the best of all. It's over, Anakim. I have the high ground. I have the high ground. Come on. Like, this wasn't going to be on the fucking list.

You underestimate my power. Don't try it. That performance there. That performance there. is better than what Hayden delivers in the movie. Frankly, how dare you? Frankly, how dare you? Okay. But let me, let me toss this out there. No, it's not. You know what you're going to watch in this movie.

Uh-huh. Right? This is like how did Anakin Skywalker become Darth Vader? And so you have to deliver on that promise. And some of us from the movie theater. And they did. Some of us from the movie theater going, not like this. No.

Not like this. I will posit that our entire experience is starting. Wars fans is enriched by the dual-on-visdapar. I will. That's how I feel about it. Great. I support you. Okay.

Smuggles. Sure. Agonizing to me to not have Twilight of The Apprentice from season two of Rebels on here, which is, of course, related to my pick, Osoka versus Vader. When the mask cracks and we see Anakin beneath Vader's mask there and the voice, we hear his voice breakthrough for just a second. Oh, my God. Like, I love everything about that stretch of rebels.

It's incredible. It's some of my favorite Star Wars full stop. But that duel is exceptional. It was genuinely really hard for me not to pick. It was extremely heartbreaking for me to leave Andor off this list. But I was really afraid of my recency bias. Would it have been Cyril? Who are you?

If you can bucket that, which you've shown that you can, inside of the Gorman Massacre, I would do the Gorman Massacre and include that Cyril moment, but like the entire Gorman Massacre is like hugely important. Or like Cassian and Marva's argument. So good. There's just like a number of moments from Andor I would have chosen. One of our listeners suggested Chimir and Acolyte, and I know that that would be like the most trollish thing to do.

But that fight was so sick. That lightsaber fight was so, so sick. Adam never got me the stranger's helmet. I'm just realizing. Yet. I felt like that was a lock. How many nights? What happened there?

Is Honok over? Hasn't started yet. Okay, great. Yeah, starts next week, actually. Hope Springs Eternal. I thought you might have Assoca versus Mall. I thought about it. Great one.

I talked about it already. That didn't stop me. But I mean, we got a really good email about Asoka versus Mall and, like, from Jack about how, like, he says, Asoka Mall each represent this era of Star Wars fandom and unique ways Asoka is a character that's defined Star Wars for an entire generation, growing up alongside her and experiencing some of the most tragic moments in Star Wars history alongside her, blah, blah. And then similarly, Mall's story, although first introduced just before the century, exists something that you have talked about a lot in reference to MCU,

the ability of storytellers to rehabilitate something that didn't previously work into a remarkable and compelling character arc. And into your animated husband. Putting those two together. Excellent stuff. Fantastic. Yeah. The Yodanom. nominations, big questions. We did have a lot of dual-the-faiths nominations. It doesn't count, 99. You know, Lutheran v. Saw as a verbal fight from... You know how I feel about that.

And or... Asoka versus Morgan Elspeth and the Mandalorian was nominated, et cetera, et cetera. So a lot of options. Star Wars. It's good. And they fight a lot with lightsabers. Sometimes on lava planets. Number one, it's Helm's Deep. It's Helms deep.

It's Helmsdeep. Come on! Helms deep. What if one of us had not had Helms Deep? I would have been embarrassed. Did you consider... Did you consider not picking it? Or was this like...

I consider putting two Lord of the Rings options on. Me too. And I thought maybe, because maybe Smigel versus Gollum as a fight... That's one of my honorable mentions too. Maybe Frodo sends Sam away. Which is very, very important to me. And also, we're not doing our Smigel. smuggles first. Gandalf

versus the Balrog across two movies? Yeah, yeah, yeah. As the intro for Two Towers especially, it's just like extremely good. You Shall Not Pass in Fellowship into the beginning of two towers. That was actually really like... War of Year's Death, Aragorn, and the Orcs, you know, like, well, but there's just like so many good options

from Lord of the Rings, but it's Helms Deep. In terms of like, again, a template setter. Yes. The thing that every battle has been reaching for everything. Reaching for ever since. 2002. No question.

I'm guessing we have, I think we have two different clips, so let's play that. Oh, yeah, let's see them. Your sun is rising. Look to my coming at first light on the fifth day. That dawn looked east. Yes. The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep. One last time.

Yes. Where is the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that we're? the horn that was blowing. I got very economical with that clip. There's literally anything you could clip from Helms Deep, but I will say that when I, you and I both annually rewatch this

trilogy, my rewatch is like mere days away. It's this weekend, so I'm like getting so excited. When Theodin says, where's the horse and the rider? I get like full body chills and then it just like doesn't stop for 40 minutes. This battle is 40 minutes.

minutes long. Yeah. Something that's so key to think about in terms of adaptation when you think about the two towers is initially Peter Jackson had the idea, sort of similar to our experience, watching the musical, to do two films, fellowship and Return of the King essentially. And just yada, yada, two towers. And so he put Warimir's death into fellowship and he puts Shilab into Return of the King. And then they're like, oops, actually, we're going to do the middle movie.

So, well, we move two of our set pieces out of the middle movie. What are we going to do? And it's like, we are going to. Helms deep. Helms deep. And we're going to fucking helms deep it, baby. So again, in the art of adaptation question that we talked about from hard home, this is massively changed from the novel.

Therodon's reluctance, like, you know, who's riding with Gandalf, that the elves are even here. et cetera, et cetera, et cetera, like so many differences, but I don't give a shit. With love and respect to Professor Tolkien, who is incredibly important to me, this is just phenomenal work. Professor's always welcome. Also, on the legibility front, this is a night battle in the rain. In the fucking rain.

A night battle in the rain, and they lit it with fucking stadium lights so we could see everything that was happening. Think of how many genre battles or crucial moments. have not been able to see on our screens. Think of like entire seasons of television we haven't been able to see. And this is just like, this is just incredible stuff. The look to my coming at the first line on the fifth day. I don't look to the east.

That, I mean, he already did it in The Hobbit, but with Eagles. But this day of sex, like, mock in a moment of Gandalfe arriving is again, something that like Weiss and Benioff had a heart on for like ever and are just like, can we recapture it? George R. Martin is like, can I recapture it? Like, can I do it, right? But what was Aragorn's tax policy? Yeah, and how about the little earth babies and their little Lord cradles?

So I just think that, like, you think about the ladders, you think about the many narratives, what are Gimli and Legolas doing, right? You know, like, it's so important. What is Aragorn doing? Where is, who's writing out? Where? Write out with me. The use of light as hope. something we talk about a lot in rings of power

but like in the clip you chose the light is coming in through the window Gimli's going to sound the horn it's all incredible the fighting Urukai and how scary they look even like the goofy shit like the Olympic torch runner you know like Oricai running towards the

deeping wall like it's just astounding stuff start to finish Legolas can surf on that shield all day long and again I do not care because it's just like great, great stuff. This is one of my favorite movie theater experiences ever. It's one of my favorite experiences of the year.

Every year when I rewatch it with Adam, we're going to do it Christmas week this year. I can't wait. Welcome to the Christmas much. Yeah, we used to be Thanksgiving every year, but the last couple years we've done somewhere between Christmas and New Year's. Because Thanksgiving has just been completely subsumed by football. Not that there's not football on Christmas Day and elsewhere, but I can't wait. Like, I just, the excitement that I get to revisit these movies is unmatched. You know, it's the best feeling every year.

The fact that we know these are going to be out in the movie theater again next year and, like, we get to sit there. But we have some notes. Yeah. Why are they putting them in January? Put them in December. December. That's where the anniversary is. That was aligned more closely with our podcast plan.

Thanks. Thanks. We don't need them in January. We need them at the end of the year. You said a couple minutes ago, I don't give a shit. My I don't give a shit was like, is this too obvious of a pick? Is this like the basic bitch pick? And I was like, I don't give a shit.

I don't give a shit. It's number one for a reason. Just all this time later, it is still the standard. And sometimes when something is the standard, it actually is the standard for a reason. And the scale and the scope and the grandeur, the theme, the score, the action. the choreography. I love the way that the theme and the character are centered. I really love what you said about all of the mini narratives

and the balance, like the alchemy, the chorus, the harmony. And that's hard, period. But to your point, this is nearly an hour. So to be able to sustain that balance and that calibration in so many different respects for that long is like a Titanic feat that I can't, I just can't get over. I love Return of the King, but I think the Battle of Pellinor Fields is like slightly off balance in a way that this never feels for me. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah. Yeah. I think this is just exquisite. The centering of fellowship inside of the battle of Helm's Deep, like Thayden and Aragorn, Gimley and Legolas, the elves arriving. As you said, that's a change and what a brilliant one, because it heightens that theme of like, we will be here with you. We will stand by side by side. The last alliance of elves of men. Yeah.

Back again. returning with Gandalf, it's just great. The score when the elves show up and also the contrast between the sort of like mechanical precision of the elves and just the sort of like, oops, I let my arrow loose of the men. You know, like it's just, it's incredibly, incredibly important. Yeah. It's the, I think like, would I have liked Arwin to have been there as she originally was in, not in the book, obviously, but in Liv Tyler was there.

They filmed it. You can sometimes see her digitally erased from the frame. But like, maybe I would have. Maybe I would. Miranda Otto learned a whole fight sequence because she was supposed to like, you know, she did it and they were like, cut. So, you know, would I have liked to see a single woman lift a sword in this fight? Maybe.

But like, couldn't get into the 50 minutes, you know? No time. No time for women. Sorry. No time and no space. I had the caput in the 40s. Yeah. Yeah.

I'm not surprised that this is our share number one. this was the one that I think we both felt very confident we would both have. Yeah, I just had a hard time ultimately putting even all of the other contenders that we went through in Lord of the Rings, which would be wonderful inclusions, were the inclusions on the list. It had to be this from Lord of the Makes, and then this had to be the top. I think when something is shorthand for excellence, that carries significant, significant weight. Yeah, and that's why I felt like the old boy, the old boy hallway fight and Helms Deep at the top and the meat of that, sandwich is like something that is dearly personal to me. Right.

So it's like the template setters and then something that I'm just sort of like. Helms deep and Mustafa. I agree. I agree. Sounds like we're on the same page. I feel great about our list. I feel really good about it too. We've hit a ton of smuggles and a ton also not only of our honorable mentions, but also of the

bad baby honorable mentions as we've gone through. But we do want to hit a couple more, but not before we pause for mead. Pause for mead. Okay. Magically, some meat has appeared. in honor of the two towers making the top of our list, I present to you something I've talked about on the pod. Sometimes we make mead.

I was less involved in this process than I often am, but I did name them. Incredible. And as we mentioned, this is Faramede. Yep. Faramere. And Boromede or Barrymead for Boromere. And so I just thought we would try them.

Mead is, I don't know what your appetite for meat is. It's like wildly, unpredictable what it will taste like. Yeah. Wildly unpredictable what the ABV is on this. That's good. So we've got some sipping pores here. I love Mead.

I don't think fair. I think Farah Mead Shrinks in the shadow of his superior brother Boroughby. Oh my God. Dedathor has a win for Denethor. How devastating. Some good points were made by Denethor.

How tragic. So should we start with Faramide? The lesser. Cheers. Cheers, my dear. Ooh. This smells great. Very like spicy. Apple spicy. Good. I do. Yeah. Ooh. Ooh. Sharp. But the spicy. Oh, yeah. It burns. You feel the burn. You feel the burn. You feel the burn on the way down. Okay. Okay. Okay. That's fair. I'm taking another sip. I'm glad you like it. That makes me happy. There's a bite on the tongue and a burn in the chest. Classic mead. All right. Um, borough mead. Boremead. Bury meat.

We added a bunch of berries to it. I use wee very loosely there. Again, I was not very involved in this. But that means it's effervesque, so it's got some carbonation to it. Okay. Because we put all the extra fruit sugar in. Cheers. Madeir?

Okay. A subtler smell. Mm-hmm. I mean, that's dynamite. Delicious. Oh, my God. It's really good. That's amazing.

Isn't it so good? You should bottle and sell this. We will never be able to replicate it in a million years. Holy shit. Okay. Interesting. And I left the jars that I brought them in on the table, just so that people can see how like bootleg and moonshine this process is.

But yeah, we will share the mead with the team when this is done. But there you go. Just keep quaffin as we go, baby. Let's do our honorable mentions. Oh, man. Okay. So the pheromede is thicker. Yes.

Yeah. Hmm. This is really good. It's hard to go back to pheromede once you've had boramide is the problem. And yet here I go. Here you go. This one I will say fair. Oh.

Yeah. It burns us. This one smells more like holiday seasonal, right? Because it's so nice and spicy. Yeah. Yeah. This one almost tastes like juice. But that's what's so scary about me.

That's the danger. Yeah. Yeah, this is really good. All right. Delightful. With the mead flowing through. Did you think it was going to be, do you think it was going to be way worse? You never know with something that someone's like, would you like to try my homebrew and you're like, sure.

One of my really good friends, closest friends in the world, her husband. brews beer at home. Yeah. I would say very passionately. And the first time that I was presented with not just a poor, but a flight to try, I was a little nervous. But I've really embraced the home brew experience. I think it's great.

I knew these would be good because you're a woman and a person and a home brewer of taste and quality. And I think the fact that this is a tradition of yours and something you have done many times led me to believe there had to be something there worth attempting to recreate. Yeah, worth doing again. Yeah. Yeah. All right.

Okay. Honorable mentions that we haven't already here. Yeah. Where to even begin here? I want to toss out quickly Battlestar. I just want the new cap. Spoilers, new Caprica rescue in season three, the Adama maneuver. Mm.

Is God tier. Very good. God tier. So that's my first honorable mention. One of the thought of putting on, just putting on the list just because I so enjoyed talking to you about it was the Crowley and Azirafil fight from Good Omitz. I had that in my top 10 until last night at a lot. 1142.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. And this one is a good example of where I'm like, I, whether we do a separate, how long do we keep this series going, who knows? Maybe we wrap it in one more pod. Maybe we go for a whole other year. Whether we do a full, like, shipping, yearning episode at some point, I'm like, well, if we do, it'll be on there. But even if we don't, and that's a category and best of the rest, like, that'll probably be on there.

It could have been us, like, we'll probably be on there. I rewatched it and cried last night. It's so, so, so good. Yellow Jackets, Season 1 finale, Sean and Jackie. Yeah, we got some noms for that from the listeners. I want to shout out a couple listeners nominated this incredible fight from the season two finale of Aalius, which is Francie versus Sydney, Jennifer Garner, Marronji, where they demolish an apartment. It is a reveal, Francie doesn't like coffee ice cream.

It's a reveal that this character who is our main. character's best friend has been an imposter for a while and then they fight and it's so so good. So I think that was a great nomination from our listeners. We got a Witcher nomination from season one episode one of the Witcher. An incredible sword fight that I have you see. Okay. Not seen it. It's very, very good.

And if I liked the Witcher more, I might even consider putting it on it. It's just like a really well choreographed fight. Really, really good. Oh, many of our listeners want us to know that anime exists. Yes. And we should consider that it exists. That is true. Should we have, we should have consulted Charles.

We should have gotten him to give us an anime. The Charles nominee. Yeah. The Raid and the Raid and, yeah, the Raid too nominated. A lot of expanse nominations from listeners. Yeah. Matrix Reloaded. Did you consider anything from Stranger Things?

I, of course, almost picked in the verbal arguments. Will and Mike. Will and Mike in season three, which is a scene that I absolutely adore. That was frankly the only area where I showed any discipline on like the,

we've been talking about this a lot recently so I'm not, didn't stop me from picking Bain twice. Didn't stop me. Didn't stop me from double-noleting. Which mead do you think Bain would prefer? Wait, I have a question. Yeah.

What kind of apple? Oh. I don't know. But surely not a green one. But we got a lot. a lot of, and the best fight actually of the century so far. All right, fine, I fucked it up. That's okay. You've got meat flowing. The meat is flowing. And we haven't eaten all day. I had it uncrustable in the morning. That does not count as food. It was delicious.

House of our Apple Wars is, of course, the fight of the quarter century. All-timer. I almost wore a T-shirt just to once again attempt to show the tattoo and then remember that I almost dislocated. Your shoulder tore a flabrum doing it last time. Someone suggested to the community episode, Fistful of Painballs, starring Josh Holloway, Fave. I love community. Is that eligible?

Is it in the time period? Oh, is community eligible? I think it's surreal enough that you could get in it. Yeah, I think it is. You can make the case, right? Hannibal got nominated. A lot of Kill Bill nominees. I almost picked something from Kill Bill, actually. But because of Paul Dano, I didn't.

Yeah, in honor. I know. When I mentioned Tarantino, championing old boy, I was like, with apologies to Paul. And Matthew Lillard and anyone else. Oh, ma'am. But yeah, I think we did it. Let's see. You know what else?

I consider Deadpool 1 opening credits. That's a great, like, in corporate. I love that. Very creative, very, very comedic. Dune, the black and white. Oh, yeah. I thought you might have that. That's a great one.

Also, Zengzi and Michelle Yo and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. We got a lot of nominations for that. Sensational. It's like a, is this eligible for a house? of our list, but we did do an entire Mission Impossible draft, and so I think Fallout Out Ballroom Roll. Reloading your fists. Reload the arms.

Great stuff. We mentioned John Wick earlier, but like, of course, you know. Yeah. Knife fight. Steps in Paris. I'm happy with our list. With a pencil, all of it. Incredibles, the Incredibles.

Did you consider anything from Doctor Who? No. Yeah. Weirdly. Yeah. It's just not one. Did you consider anything from Avatar the Way of Water? Given how little I remember watching.

watching that movie. No, but stay tuned for my I can't wait. Sure, to be glowing review of Fire and Ash. What substances will you be ingesting on the Fire and Ash and interview with the Vampire Pod? Like a jug of mead to sort of numb the pain, perhaps? All right, anything else? Do we do it? I think we did it. Now I'm just, I'm kind of going shot chaser. A little worried you are driving. I'll stop for some snacks in the kitchen. You know, I'll fuel up. I think we did it. We did another list. What a blast. We have to thank the team today.

It's late on a Friday. It's been going a loaded, jammed week for everyone. And yet, in this very room with us, soaking up the fumes of the mead. Carlos Chiraboga and legend. A late night Friday edit coming, the best. You know who else is here with us today? Who's here? John Jones, who every time we've needed a hand, recently. John is being like, I got you guys. Also, just like very kindly chuckling in the background to make us feel like we are alive. The only thing that John Jones has not done for us today, and I do believe we should commit this to the public record, no answer when we said, how did the owl injure's leg? I don't recall you replying to that. So I have questions still. Other than that, thank you,

John and great work, John. And Jomey is here. Jomey is here to chronicle the Mead journeys. and, of course, to help us with all of the social for the show, as always. Arjuna, Ramgapal, not with us in person, but with us in spirit, as always. To the Apple Wars. Cheers, Nadar. To the bad babies. Happy holidays. We're going to say that to you on the next seven pods.

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