House of R - Top 10 Moments of 2022

Episode Date: December 9, 2022

As the year comes to a close, Mal and Jo look at their top 10 moments of 2022, and talk about their favorite shows, movies, and pieces of IP! Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Mallory Rubin Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Social: Jomi Adeniran Addition Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Restrictions apply. See terms at Fandul.com slash predict slash bonus dash offer dash terms. And welcome into the Ringerverse here on the Ringer Podcast Network. I'm Mallory Rubin and it is my absolute pleasure to invite you not only to Westeros, to Middle Earth, to pharynx, to so many of the magical worlds and realms that we visited together this year, but also to join us right here on the Ringer's Nexus podcast feed for all things fandom. joining me today so that we may embrace in our shared love of content,

much as Eagley and Peacemaker once wrapped their wings and arms around each other. It's my house of our co-host, Joanna Robinson. Oh, Mallory, I'm so thrilled to be here, and I really wish that our listeners could have just seen you, like, literally rocking your arms as if clasping eagley to your chest. It was incredible stuff. Incredible stuff. If only, boy.

Joe, we are here today. Yeah. To count down our 10 favorite moments from the year in genre stories, the year in nerd culture. But before we explain the rules of our countdown, before we reveal our respective lists, it's programming reminders time.

Isn't it always? Of course. Here at the top of the pod. And boy, are we in the year ends? swing of things here at the ringerverse next week. Junior Mintz, get ready, because Mint Edition will be highlighting some of the best things that we missed on the feed this year. Steve, please consider this.

Not the first and not the last. Formal request for some 1890 discussion on that thought in German. Soon to come. Later next week. then Limburg and Pals will be highlighting the best video games of the year. Ben, Steve, and Jomey also have a pod already up on the feed on Midnight Sides of the State of Superhero Games. So we have some fun video game pods of plenty right now.

Please check them out. Then Joe and I will be back a little bit later for some more year-end, year-ahead, special pods. More details coming soon. We'll have some House of Midnight action coming on the feed. it's going to be a month of celebration. So stay tuned. Joe, if people are wondering, well, boy, how can I follow all of that this holiday season? What would you tell them?

Wow, what a great question. I'm so glad you asked me. Listen, first and foremost, I would recommend that folks just, I don't know, subscribe to the podcast. Why not? And listen to every single episode? Why not? I mean, that's what I do. So even the video game ones, which I don't understand, but I listen to them.

So there you go. Also. You want to follow us on social, right? Keep Jomey employed through the holidays, right? So, you know, on Twitter, on Instagram, on TikTok, at Ring Reverse, wherever you find your social needs on Peach, if you're Mallory, you know. It's not like that. Also, I would remiss if I did not invite you to email us at hobass and dragons at gmail.com. Currently, that inbox is flooded with White Lotus theories because that's just what's happening right now.

And if you're curious as to why, you might want to head over the Presti's TV podcast speed. Mallory and I and a special guest are doing some White Lotus theories in advance of the finale. So, you know, those are just some of the fine ways that you can keep in touch with us. Send us a raven if you want. I can't promise it will be able to find us. And it's kind of cold, so maybe you shouldn't do that. But we're around. Oh, boy.

Tough time for the actual Baltimore Ravens right now. Oh, what's going on with them? I can't get into it. I just Google Lamar Jackson, me. And you'll have an insight into my current emotional state. My dad's going to be in town for Raven Steelers, though. And that, honestly, I can't wait to watch the game with him. What a treat that will be?

How do you feel about the TikTok I sent you of those two soccer players kissing? I responded by asking you if you were following West Ham TikTok because Jack from White Lotus is a West Ham guy. I just assumed that there was a White Lotus connection. And I told you that's how deep my dedication to White Litteson. Oh, boy. Great stuff. I love it. Okay.

Today's podcast. What is it? What are we doing? How's it going to work? So glad you asked. Yeah. If you have ever listened to a house of our hype meter or a house of our top moments pod, you know the drill.

We are counting down from 10 to 1. We have each made our personal lists of our top 10 favorite moments. more on what's eligible in a second. But we have not shared our lists with each other. We have shared them with Steve. So Steve and only Steve knows what is to come today. How many moments will overlap? We will find out together.

Now, if we have the same pick, the same moment, we will discuss it, as always, at the higher of the two spots. So if, for example, we have both selected Matt Smith's Milo dancing in Morbius as one of our 10 favorite moments of the year. We will discuss that at the higher of the two spots. Joe, I'm assuming that's your number one. And so we will be waiting until the end of the pod to discuss that. But who can say for sure?

Now I'm just like watching Steve's face because Steve knows all the answers. And I'm like, wait. Oh, boy. What's happening? Just had to get one Morbius mention in today. So that was it. I'm glad you did. You morphed up.

Well, you don't know. Maybe I do have. It's more in time right now. Maybe I do have. I can't believe you remember his. character's name was Milo. Maybe I do have a Milo clip. You don't know. We'll find out together. Oh, boy. Okay. What's eligible for selection? So this is, as you may have gleaned from listening to this podcast on the Ringervverse Feed, a Ringervverse Top Moments Countdown, meaning that our

lists will largely consist of moments from shows, movies, stories that we covered on the feed this year. But anything from the nerd culture and fandom realms, any fantasy story. sci-fi story, superhero story, comic story, any moment from a genre story is eligible today, even if over the course of this past calendar year, we covered it on, say, or our colleagues covered it on prestige or big pick. Yeah, instead of Ringervorverse.

Maybe we'll cover these things more on Ringervorverse in the future, who can say. We agreed that we will each get one wild card pick today, as we have done for past hype meters. Now, what does that mean in this context? Honestly, I don't know. anything. I have such a hard time narrowing down my list to 10

that I'm not sure I actually used my wild card, but I guess we'll find out together in real time. Finally, on the rules front, spoiler warning, our friendly neighborhood spoiler warning is, folks, it's not so friendly today because it is basically that anything from 2022 is on the table and any pick that we make then opens up that entire IP universe for discussion.

So obviously no spoilers from future releases, but everything that is already out in the world, fair game for discussion. I don't think I have anything too wild in terms of like... Me neither. And there was one thing that I considered picking, which I'll mention later, that I didn't pick because I thought,

oh, I'm, this is, this came out really recently. It's maybe too soon to spoil this. But it's, we have a lot to cover. Yes. Steve, are you ready with your sound? board? Very ready. Big pot for you, buddy.

I'm earning it today. Big Steve pod. Big Steve pod. Big Steve pot. Oh, boy. Okay. Let's start at number 10. Joanna Robinson. Yeah.

What do you got? Steve, will you play this clip, please? Did that go longer than you hoped it would? Maybe. Not as long as it could have gone. That's for sure. That is the strange versus strange musical. no fight from Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

I actually don't have a ton of MCU film representation on the list. Same. And I felt like I should have something. And that was genuinely the moment that delighted me, like, delighted me the most. There's a lot of like feelings in Mokonda forever. But like that moment when you realize that you're in the middle of a loony tune as the notes start flying across the room was just like, like pure thrill for me in the theater. So I thought I would do the music note fight.

What do you say, Mal? Absolutely phenomenal pick. I love it. I'm glad we got some strange in here. That's an incredible scene. We had such fun watching it, such fun talking about. A great pick. What a twist.

Didn't see that coming. I was wondering which MCU movie, if any, you would have. So now we know. Okay. I wonder if you have any. I'm curious. Okay. It's time for my number 10.

I think there's a chance. you have this on your list. But Steve, if not, can you please play my clip? What are you doing? Taking my shoes off. You should take yours off too. It's good to touch the earth with your bare feet.

It's grounding. Come on. I don't want to miss the next one. The Samman. Dream receiving death's wisdom. This is episode six, the sound of her wings. Sam on an uneven show.

But this episode, and particularly this entire stretch of dream, walking alongside death, as death does her work, this examination of death's gift, of the relationship between the endless and the people of this realm,

was just really extraordinary and stuck with me most of anything from the show and stuck with me more than many other moments from many other experiences this year, which is why it made the cut here. There were so many different snippets of conversation that I could have selected for the sound by, you know, death saying,

people may not be ready for my gift, but they get it anyway, or that culmination of dream saying, you've taught me something I had forgotten. I thank you, my sister. I think this really captured, not only, of course, the essence of this exceptional and beloved issue of, say, a man, graphic novels

and really, like, showcasing how an adaptation can function at its absolute best, but also, like, exploring the spirit of what the story more broadly is interested in examining. So I really loved this stretch of this episode and this moment and that idea, touching the earth with your bare feet. It's such an evocative concept. and it really lingered.

And I've thought about it a lot since. So that's my number 10. That is a great pick. I was just remembering, do you remember our very first type meter over a year ago? Ficking Saman, even though it didn't come out

that calendar year? Vividly. Because Netflix is like coming soon and you were like, what a soon mean in the grand scheme of things? So how fun it was to finally get to do that. To pod with Mark.

To pod with Mark Bernardin, to yeah, All of that was like a really great experience. And yeah, Sandman was uneven overall. But I was just thinking, you know, Boyd showed up in the Indiana Jones trailer. And I was just thinking, like, what a time. I gasped and then I shouted, Joe. Just in my living room.

For me? Well, but we get to share more Boyd together soon. I cannot wait. But a bounty. The Sounder Wings is an incredible episode of television. And I would encourage people, even if you, you could watch it as a standalone. It really works as a standalone. So I would encourage you if you skipped the Sandman because you weren't sure it was where you could watch it. I think it's episode six, five. Six. Something like that. Six. You know, you can just pop in and watch that and see like, oh, maybe this is something I want to watch more of. So I would highly recommend it. Great pick. Love it. Okay, Joe, what's your number nine? Steve?

I haven't seen you since you gave up your armor. How have you been? More careful. Where's the little guy? Back with his own folk. That's too bad. I guess we both lost something we were fond of. Can I buy you a drink? We're square, you and me. Yes, we are. But I didn't think you were one to back down from bullies. See, that's what I like about you, Mando. That big smile of yours let you get away with anything.

Yes! I'm thrilled right now! Did anyone think fucking Bubba fat was gonna make a big, Boba Fett was going to make it on the list, but it did. Guess what? Yeah. Well, I figured that... I figured I'd leave that for you.

So, okay. I assumed that Mallet would cover other things that happened on Book of Boba Fett, but my priority, now and forever, is one Mr. Cobb Vant, who sashes his way back onto the screen. I was thrilled. You and I thought he might show up based mostly on me scrutinizing his facial hair on a late-night talk show appearance. as I want to do. It's always wigwatch, hair watch corner with Joe. Always.

Never stops. Oh, my God. I saw, I watched, do you have seen the 1960s parent trap with Haley Mills? Oh, boy, not since I was a kid. Yeah. I've like seen that movie one million times. I watched with a friend of mine last night. She's like, is the dad in this movie wearing a wiglet?

And he is. And I had never noticed. And it just like changed a classic movie that I've seen a million times. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is, cop banth is here. And not only that, he is, like, flirting hardcore with Mando. It's like, Mando's like, can I buy you a drink? And then he says that thing about Mando's smile, the helmet.

It's a lot. So Cobb Vandth. We ship it. This is called Cobb Vance Flirts with Mando. That's what I named it in my top 10 list. Beautiful. So, you know. Oh, extraordinary.

And then I started sending Mallory, like, not safe for work fan art of Cobb Vant that did. Steve's on camera this week, so I got to see him react to that. So that's great. It's pot research. It was pretty safe for work, to be honest. I loved it. I'm just overwhelmingly delighted right now. Boy.

Boy. Okay, well, I will just say that we have more Boba to come. Spoiler. Great. Boba. Specifically, more of the air. More. more picks from the book of Boba Fett that have nothing to do with titular character Boba Fett.

So, stay good. Okay. Well, we're staying in the galaxy far, far away for my number nine. Steve. What have you become? I am what you may mean. Joanna, I can only be who I am. And being who I am is saying that this was one of my favorite moments of the here in NERC.

culture easily. If I had to make one bet about what would be on this list, I bet that you would pick this moment from Obi-1. Hit me. Oh, boy. I move this up and down to any number of spots on my list, but I always knew that this showdown between Darth Vader and Obi-1-Kinobi, Vader repaying Fire with fire at the end of part three, which was the third episode of Obi-1-Kin-Nobie ever heard of it.

would make the cut here. I did not think that we would get this showdown, this meeting between Vader and Obi-Wan, this initial confrontation so early in the run. And obviously, it really changed then what we expected for the rest of the show after we did get it. But this sequence, episode three overall, which I loved,

and this stretch, this interaction between Vader and Obi-1 was really... everything that I wanted this show to be. It encapsulates so much of what I was hoping we would get from Obi-Wan Kenobi and so much of what has lingered and lasted for me, even amid an imperfect conclusion to the season, the way that their lightsabers first ignited in the dark, the palpable, almost like overwhelmingly oppressive presence of Obi-Wan's fear and his guilt, how weak he is in this moment, the force and the way that that sets up the really satisfying evolution of him regaining his comfort and confidence and strength in the force over the ensuing episodes.

The fire, the Mustafa callback. We all know how everyone here at the Ringerverse feels about revenge of the Sip and Mustafa by everyone, I mean me and band, but that's okay. It's a fucking great. Democracy. A call back to Mustafa. It's just like... 100 times out of 100,

I'm going to be in the bag for that, and I was this time too. Anakin's desire, Vader's desire, to make Obi-1 suffer. The way that Vader says the years have made you weak. The way that he says

you should have killed me when you had the chance. Now, is that line a little more complicated to revisit after the finale? Sure. But we're talking about moments. Yeah. Not entire series.

You are pain has just begun, that desire to wound mixed in with the hubris that so often leads Anakin astray. Everything here that I love about these characters in this relationship was present here. And so I'm really grateful for the showdown, despite the flaws later in the season, really grateful for this episode, really grateful for this stretch and for fleshing out this key, key, key stretch of the timeline and the canon for one of the most important relationships, not only in Star Wars, but in my life as a consumer of stories. So that's my number nine.

I love that the bottom of the list here are like moments. We're plucking from things that we had a harder time, like, loving the entirety of. You know what I mean? But like, yeah. It's, I wonder if that will be the case throughout or if that will kind of define the bottom of our list and then it'll shift in the top to the top being more moments that encompass why we thought something was overall extraordinary. But yeah, like I think, you know, we get, it's a great point show because we

got so much this year. And there are these things to like love and these things that resonate and pop even inside of a series or a film that like isn't as successful. And it is interesting to think back and like see what pops into your mind first when you think about what stood out to you this year. Okay. And what's going to guess you don't have Obi-1 on your list anyway. I don't have Obi-1 on my list. I was counting on you to put that on there. I honestly considered going with the just the trailer. And like when we first- We were like so excited. Just did our trailer freak out and just talked about you and McGregor's beard for an hour and 45 minutes on a pod.

I thought you might also just like put eopi noises on there too or something like that. Who knows? Steve, can you insert an eopie fart here, please, for the art of the pod? Sophistication. The French champagne. Yeah. So I assumed you'd have this. And what's funny about this episode, episode three, is I wasn't on this podcast.

I was like sick that week or something like that. So I just got to listen to you and Ben talk about it. Like I was just a fan of the podcast. That was really fun for me. So, I mean, I always love talking to. And what, and I said this to you later, but like, what's true about that episode is like, I didn't love it. And then listening to you and Ben talk about it, I wound up loving it a lot more. And that's like one of your gifts and one of Ben's gifts.

So, yeah, I'm really glad you picked that moment. I think that like one of the things about that moment and even Obi-1 more broadly is like it, it was an exciting time for Star Wars fandom even when something like didn't fully click or let us down a bit and thinking back to like the like genuinely thinking back to the jubilation of watching that trailer and parsing it with you thinking about getting to see the first couple episodes

at Star Wars celebration and like the fever pitch in the room it was just a really cool highlight this year and also like it was I fell into a lot of novels and comics. And I love anything in Star Wars that like takes me deeper into the, into the world and into the canon. So it was a fun summer. It was. And I genuinely got very emotional watching Hayden feel like he was being like re-embraced by the fandom. That like, wonderful. However I feel about the prequels, I have no, nothing but tender feelings towards Hayden, Christian said. This episode is brought to you by WeatherTech. Everyone knows Winter is the MVP

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Trimfaya offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from. the start. Tremfaya is administered as injections under the skin or infusions through a vein every four weeks, followed by injections under the skin every four or eight weeks. If your doctor decides that you can self-inject trumphia, proper training is required. Tremfaya is a prescription medicine used to treat adults with moderately to severely active Crohn's disease and adults with moderately to severely active ulcerative colitis. Serious allergic reactions, increased risk of infections, or lower ability to fight them, and liver problems may occur. Before, for treatment, get checked for infections and tuberculosis. Tell your doctor if you have an infection,

flu-like symptoms, or need a vaccine. Explore what's possible. Ask your doctor about Tramphia today. Call 1-800-526-7736 to learn more or visit Trimfairadio.com. You were talking about what we discover about ourselves as we like pick what moments we have here. I feel like a pattern is going to start emerging here for me. Steve, can you, play my number eight clip? I got Starlight I got sweet dream I got Monker

Who could ask for anything more Who could ask for anything We have my first I almost picked it but knew you would Yes I feel so seen and no All right So this is from the boys

Ever heard of it A team series on Amazon And it's third season Right And we did not cover the boys together. It was sort of in the midst of a lot of other things going on. I did get to do a few like house of midnight episodes about the boys. But this musical sequence with Frenchie and Kimiko that that bursts out late in the season was such a full-blown delight for me. And this is the

second musical moment on this list. For me, it is not going to be the last musical moment and what is emerging for me is exciting. I love musicals and I love when music is involved in the story. And yeah, this is just like such, like, I might know what the next one is. Cool. So, like, this is, that was my attempt at a poker face. This is, this is such a brilliant, like, you know, the boys is so enjoyable because it is so grotty and it is so, like, filthy and blah, blah.

So to have this just beautiful homage to the glorious technology. color musicals of your, uh, with like, you know, two of our most lethal characters on the show. They genuinely went for it. Like to listen to these actors talk about, you know, they've done so much physical training for years and years from martial arts. And they're like, it was so much harder training to dance for this. Um, you know, so like learning the choreography, how much like classic golden age of musical choreography that they worked into the sequence. And it was just genuine, like shows through musical sequences all the time. But like, usually they sort of get away with doing it kind of goofy

because they're like, this isn't what we do, so we're going to do it kind of goofy. They like did it and it's so good. And I just, I loved this, I love this moment. I love that it like is a brief little shiny bubble and then pops immediately because that's what the boys is about. And yeah, love the show,

loved this moment. One of my like strongest highlights of the air. Mallory, Rubin. Fantastic pick. I, I will, I guess this is a spoiler for the rest of my list just by spoiling something that isn't on it. But I will say the hardest thing for me in finalizing my list was that I didn't, I didn't end up with a moment from the boys. And that was like, as Steve receiving my panic slacks in the wee hours can tell you, I was like having a meltdown about it.

Because the boys was absolutely one of my favorite shows of the year without question. It's one of my favorite shows, period. I was so sad not to get to talk about it with you. and cover it with the team, but I loved it. It's, if we had done a list of our top 10 shows of the year, it would have been on my list without question.

Again, the exercise and nature of the moments, I almost, I did consider your pick, but again, I felt confident you would have it. I think that one I came next closest to picking was crawling up the penis

and exploding the body because I think that it sums up. So I'll start that out there now in real time as an honorable member. It's my first honorable mention. Love it. Because remember the, I mean, of course you're going to remember this, the exploding whale from season two. You're like, how can the boys top that?

The boys won't top that. And then like literally immediately, immediately in the premiere. And the fact that the boys is always pushing, pushing, pushing, not only the limits of our expectations as viewers, but of what can happen inside of a superhero tale, which is, of course, the point of the show. Just wonderful. So I'm really glad you had that on your list. Wonderful.

Okay. I think there's a chance you might have, if not this next moment, then at least something from this story. But maybe not, because there was a lot to pick from this year. Steve, are you able to play my clip for number eight? Thank you. And to answer your question,

yes, I make the decision. I possess the most advanced entertainment algorithm in the world, and it produces near-perfect products. Near perfect. Some are better than others, but I leave that debate up to the internet. She-Hulk finale. K-E-V-I-N, Jen and Kevin discussing the Marvel finale problem in whose show is this,

just in general. Love She-Hulk. Another show that we didn't have the pleasure of regular. discussing week in and week out that we had wonderful pods on the feed. Love the finale. I thought it was brilliant. Love the, the,

in a show that was consistently fourth wall breaking. Yeah. The finale was fourth wall obliterating and so highly meta in nature. Like this sequence, everything that they're talking about here, from Kevin saying that, uh, needed Jen to wait until the camera was off before transforming.

from Sheeulk into Jen because the team had moved on to another project. Jen saying of Todd the powers aren't the villain. He is on Bruce. Save it for the movie. Jen Singh,

when are we getting the X-Men? Just such an inventive and like unapologetically unafraid examination of the genre that I really genuinely appreciated and thought

was like so smart and so, deft. And then I will say that on the Sheehulk front, I was like, I have a kind of a coin flip situation between two potential moments. I would like to officially thank Jen for easily facilitating this smuggle by mentioning and alluding to my other potential moment inside of this conversation with Kevin allowing me to talk about it. Steve, can you play my bonus clip? Are we done here? Oh, would not mind seeing.

Being dare devil again, a woman has needs. Historically, we've been light in that department. I'm going to ask you to press pause on your thoughts and feelings on that for the moment. Okay. There we go. There's my girl. This one's coming. All right.

We can go right on then. I'll respond to the first part and just say, you know, I've been for years and years now writing a book about Marvel Studios. And I just want to really know that that moment allowed us to title one of our final chapters, K-E-V-I-N, which is really fun. So, yeah, it's a tremendous moment of, like, and addressing all those conversations that we've had about, like, you know, the third act, C-G-I shit show and, like, all, you know, all the stuff that we criticize about Marvel as we love Marvel, the fact that they're like, yeah, we know.

We've heard you. We know. So, yeah, a great, great moment on a show that I really, really loved and wish that you and I had gotten to. If I had a time turner, we would go back. and cover that show together. Steve, let me play my number seven, please.

I got bored one day when I put everything on a bagel, everything on my hopes and dreams, my old report cards, every breed of dog, every last personal ad on Craigslist, sesame, poppy seed,

salt. And it collapsed in on itself. Because you see, when you, When you really put everything on a bagel, it becomes this. Come on, come on, go on, love on. The truth. What is the truth?

Nothing matters. No, Joie. You don't believe that? Feels nice, doesn't it? If nothing matters, then all the pain and guilt you feel for making nothing of your life. your life goes away. Sucked into a bagel. All right.

So that is the everything bagel monologue from everything everywhere all at once. And I could have cut down. Thank you so much. Steve did have to cut down some of my other clips because I did get a little long with some of my clips. And we have a lot to get through. But I'm glad that he let me play this whole one because I almost picked. another moment from this phenomenal movie that you and I did not get to cover, but we both talked about on The Big Pick on separate episodes.

Yeah. I picked it as my favorite movie of the year at that point, and I think it might still be. This is a phenomenal pick. There is, I almost picked this other moment at the end, sort of this like more straightforward conversation between mother and daughter that I found really beautiful. But I wanted to pick this everything big a moment because, you know, we're obviously in the throes of thinking about the multiverse and the opportunity for the multiverse to provide interesting modes of storytelling. And also, this is a genre list.

So I could pick a straightforward moment for everything everywhere all at once. Or I could pick a moment where the Daniels decided to make it everything bagel, a symbol of like depression and nihilism. and then have this big speech with a swelling score, this huge, like, mother-daughter confession, you know, lean into nihilism moment, and then just sort of like undercut it with this little, like, musical tag, and then she literally gets, like, plow-looting tune plowed into a wall. So, like, it's, and that's what the movie is constantly just, like, irreverent,

but also really profound at the same time. And using those genre moments to, tell a really, really deep story and makes the argument for us, an argument that we tend to make on this podcast, which is just like, you know, as Mallorya's safe, it matters. If something is a fantasy story, it matters that it's a fantasy story, right? And also that genre storytelling can be some of the most emotionally profound intellectually stimulating storytelling that there is. So that is the Everything Bagel speech from Everything Everywhere all at once. Amazing pick, amazing speech, amazing film.

So glad this is on your list. I couldn't love that movie more. Like the inventiveness, the pure pursuit of originality. Absolutely wonderful. Maybe I'm going to go rewatch that this weekend. Hell yeah. Delightful. Okay.

My number seven. Right now, we need to talk more than ever. Because things are getting just complicated. A lot more complicated than Legos up the nose, you know? I just... I don't want you to forget that I'm here. And I'll always be here. No matter what.

Because you're my brother. And I love you. And there is nothing in this world, okay? Absolutely nothing that will ever change that. You got that? Yeah. And I'm always here for you, too. I know. I know you are. Come here. Stranger Things, season four, volume two, episode nine, the piggyback.

I would like to thank this super long season of TV and this particular Surfer Boys pizza establishment for allowing this show to rediscover the heart of it. And the reason, in addition to all of the mythology of the upside down and everything that we get to learn about Vecna, mindflare mythology on spilling like the tentacles of a smoky spider, the thing for me at least that I have always loved and continue to appreciate most about stranger things is that it is a coming of age tale about. change and growth and the friendships that you carry through with you. And Jonathan Will are brothers, but their brotherly bond and their friendship and their belief and care and tenderness for each other was one of the things that helped me fall in love with Stranger Things the most in the first place. And then it kind of went away.

And to get that back at such a pivotal moment for Will as he is exploits. who he is, his sexuality, trying to figure out what he feels like he's ready to say to Mike and to his friends. And for Jonathan, the character who always saw Will most clearly to be able to do that for him again. And for there to be room inside of the show for an emotional, beautiful moment like this amid all of the set pieces was just really. wonderful and really important. And the relationship between the kids and the show is just the thing that I love most about it. And I was glad to get that here. Did I almost pick Hopper and Joyce finally hooking up amid the Joyce,

Smoans and both exclaim subtitle? I did. Yes, I did. Diana. Did I almost pick Steve Harrington's chest tear? I mean, yes. Did I almost pick the way that flesh distending wetly forever changed the way that we recorded our own podcast and thought about subtitling television?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I considered it all. But Jonathan and Will. That's the moment. I'm shocked, shocked. You didn't pick Mike's speech to Elle.

Slightly less moving. Yeah, it's a beautiful moment. And a great moment for a character like Jonathan, who, you know, I think for seasons, sort of was struggling to have a storyline that we could connect to. So taking him out of the Nancy, you know, Maelstrom and making it about him being the big brother, you know, he didn't get a ton of stuff to do, but this was a really key moment. I'm glad you picked it. I would talk about Stranger Things more, but maybe I'll have a chance to do that later. So, you know.

Ooh. Interesting. Okay. Steve, as I alluded to earlier, I have a She-Hulk mo in my own. So, Steve, will you play us everyone's favorite couple from She-Hoke, please? Longers, have you ever had tequila sunrise? No, I think so. Long Island iced tea?

Yeah. Blue carousel? No. What's blue carousel? I don't know. That's blue. Manhattan? Yeah.

Manette. Sorry. Steve. Sorry, actually, I meant the other, the other one. Everyone was like real favorite. Iconic. Right, right, right, right. Yeah, yeah.

There are 25 goons in the building. Seven below us, eight in the front, and ten in the hallway. I don't know that. Can I hear their heartbeats? You can hear their heartbeats? Come on, that was a little far-fetched. You can hear yours, too. Her heart's beating pretty fast.

What? No, it's not. I'm healthy. All right. Two clips, and they're not where you think. All right, in honor of van, I had to put Mads and Wongers in there. Phenomenal. Of course.

That's my smuggle. But yeah, of course. Obviously, it's the use of Daredevil and She-Hulk overall. Making Marvel Horny again, just incredible use of a character we already loved without radically changing him. This isn't like a Thor, Ragnarok reinvention of a character. You know what I mean? It's just like Charlie. Cox as Matt Murdoch is able to sort of slide into this comedic world phrasing.

But perfectly like, you know, I don't feel like this Matt Murdoch has nothing to do with the Matt Murdoch that we met over on Netflix. But it works so perfectly here from this moment where Tatiana, who's so good in the entire series. But the way that she just like speaks for us all when she goes like basically cross-eyed, like staring at Matt as he is listening to her heartbeat. and the walk of Shay that happens later. Like, I mean, this is just incredible television. Absolutely phenomenal. Thrill, this is on your list. As alluded to earlier,

torment for me to pick between my two She-Hulk contenders, but delighted that this is here. And Daredevil's arrival in She-Hulk was so anticipated and so talked about. And the craving was so present for so long. you know, we knew from the trailer and the marketing, and then you get the little glimpse of the helmet. You got to wait and wait and wait.

And it would have been so easy for it to be a letdown, but somehow it exceeded expectations. By far. Every single second. I think I like, I'm, I think I said this at the time, but like if we could just bottle their chemistry, I feel like we could solve our energy crisis. It's just like.

At this point, I'm not even sure I want a Daredevil show without Tatyana on it. I'm like, why do I have to watch a show about Matt without Jen there? Why would I want to? So, you know, Steve just gave me a perfect silently, I agree with you face. It's pretty, yeah, pretty solid. Anyway, I'm so happy that Daredevil is here. Let's get in touch with K-E-V-I-N and make that happen.

Oh, boy. Okay. Yeah. I am also about to select a moment from a show that we have already talked about, but it's a new moment. Steve? Okay. Can you play my number six?

You've taught him well. It's more like he's remembering that I'm actually teaching him anything. Sometimes the student guides the master. The Mandalorian was here. As I told you, two share a strong bond. And he brought him a gift. Sometimes I wonder if his heart is in it. So much like your father.

I don't want to be. a dick about this, like, moment that is obviously very emotional for you, and I can't wait. But I just want to say, without, when you just hear it, the speecher really, really shines through in this moment. It does. In an audio-only experience. It's not the same.

Joe. Yeah. In perhaps the least surprise, we're talking about moments. And perhaps the least surprising moment in recorded human history. I have selected as one of my favorite moments of the year. One of my all-time favorite characters, Osoka, finally being in a scene with Luke talking about one of my other favorite characters

in the history of the world, Grogo. I just like, oh, my heart is so full when I revisit this and when I think about it. Boba overall. Not in my top 10 shows of the year. Had this been the top 10 shows list. No. However, the Mando episodes of Boba that existed inside of Boba.

And episode six of particular, still among my favorite hours of TV of the year. And this stretch in particular was just so wonderful. R2D2, just hanging out. Luke training Grogu, we get a disgod. We get Yoda mentions here. We get all of these empire call. and dig up a training parallels. We get such a meaningful download of Grogu history here

and every kernel of Grogu history is precious. As precious as a blue macaroon the Grogu once snacked on at skull. The Order 66 and then vomit it up, you know, it's air travel. It's tough for some. Tough on the top. The Order 66 flashback that we get to glimpse here. Fucking unbelievable. And of course, what precedes this conversation between Assook and Luke?

Mando coming to see Grogu and bringing him his little Grogu head-shaped bundle, his little Beskar shirt, and then Assook a convincing Din to leave. And the absolute anguish of Din and Grogu yearning to be together again, but not being able to reunite just yet. Steve, can we just get a little taste of that pain? I came all this way. He's right there. He's right there.

They're going to have to make us wait for another, like, what, episode? This was also, I mean, you did, you did, you did Cobbant already, but you did Cobbando. Lest we forget, this episode, episode six, is called From the Desert Comes a Stranger. because this is also the episode that gave us cat fucking bane in live action emerging from the desert boots crunching that Tattoine

sand to challenge Cobb Vance Steve isn't possible you'd give me a little taste of this too Of course And who might you be? Okay well I'll forgive you because we got a little Timmy on there but like

Three Book of Boba Cliffs is extraordinary Mallory. I think it is again so emblematic of this exercise. Because like Boba wasn't just simply not one of my favorite shows of the year. But this episode contained so many things that I love about Star Wars. Of all of those, all of those smuggles. It's an episode. Exactly. And guess what?

I fucking love the Mandalorian. I can't wait to pot about that next year with you. I'm excited. The monumental moment, though, of seeing Asoka and Luke together talking about Anakin, alluding to Anakin, Luke's father, Asoka's former master, watching our sweet baby Grogu as they discuss his future. Luke's teacher, like Joe, we are both such big fans of Las Jedi and of Luke's overall arc and journey in this respect.

And this is another really interesting installment. Grogu is a pupil, this idea that he's remembering his former. life. Osoka, a former Paduan who then becomes this trailblazer and like fiercely independent thinker. All of this, all of these elements here together. Like I have, I really had wonder for so long

what an Assook Luke moment and what an an Assookal Luke conversation would be like, how they would talk about Anakin, what that would mean for them. It's just a taste of it here. But Osoka Anakin is one of the Star Wars relationships that I care the most deeply about and I'm the most invested in. So like, you give me that

and you center it around not only Anakin, but my sweet baby Grogu, this for me was as delicious as slurping up a frog. I couldn't have loved it more. That's my number six. I knew you put it here. I'm glad this happened for you. That really was a hilarious auditory experience, though, listening to Rovo Luke.

But Rosario is fantastic. That moment with, you know, just shows us how much that Pedro can do with, you know, his voice-only performance to say. you know, it came all this way. It's right there. It's right there. We little babies.

We a little 50-year-old baby. Why do you think I came all this way? All right. Oh, boy. Steve, would you do me a huge solid in play my number five, please? Mm-hmm. At first regard, it as a harmless game of make-believe now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game.

Saying it promotes satanic worship. ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even... Lardang! We're an easy target. We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game. It's force conforming. That's what's killing the kids! That's the real monster.

All right, it is the introduction of Eddie Munson on Stranger Things. Steve very wisely shaved this down. It was much longer. It involved what comes after this moment where Eddie gets up, walks down the table and it's talking about Dungeons and Dragons. Where he starts talking to Dustin and Mike about how he's about to graduate, right? 86, my year, I can feel it. Right?

And he talks about how he found them as these like little lost sheep, little lost lambs, right? and brought them into this community and how it's going to be their jobs to do that for other kids going forward. And so, I mean, this is a delightful moment because Eddie Munson is a delightful character on a show that we really enjoyed covering together. But also, the idea of this speech is very much that idea that I like to hit a lot, which is, you know, that line from almost famous that I quote all the time, which is the only currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool. So this idea of the community that forms around this team of kids here, the Hellfire Club, who play Dungeons and Dragons together, and what that connection, what storytelling and what that connection means to them and how that insulates them as a little community in a larger, meaner high school world.

And I just want to say, like, us adding the Hobbits and Dragons at gmail.com email this year has been such a joy for me to hear from all of our listeners who consider listening. to this podcast, like, gives them the same feeling that, like, they feel like they're sharing, maybe they, you know, in their friend group or in their family or whatever, you know, they're hanging around people who don't like to watch or read or, you know, whatever, the same things that they like. And so then they come to this podcast and we all get to talk about it together. And that is deeply important to me as part of my work.

And it is, you know, and it's just a joy to me to hear from our listeners. It means a lot to me. And so I just love that Eddie really embodies that in this speech, but like sort of throughout, like the way that the kids are flocking around him. You know, so shout out Eddie Munson, shout out the Hellfire Club, and shout out communities of weirdos. I love it.

I love it. What an amazing pick. Eddie, what a great character. You know, I feel the same way about the spirit of community. It's one of the things I cherish most about the fact that we get to talk about things we love and share it with other people who love it, too. Just an incredible, an incredible stroke of fortune. I'm sad, Eddie's not here in 2022 to listen to podcasts.

I feel like he'd be a great podcaster, certainly a passionate podcast consumer. No doubt about it. Yeah. No doubt about it. Steve, how's the Ringervverse Dungeons and Dragons campaign coming? 2023, it's happening. Okay. Oh, yeah.

Are we getting matching shirts? I love it. Okay. Yeah, we're doing that. Merch? Mallory, can I introduce some merch? I have an abiding passion for merch. My number five.

Steve, can we hear it? I choose Defiant Jazz. Though this experience is in Helly's honor, I urge all the refiners to take advantage of the opportunity presented. Wow. Another musical moment.

That is on the list. Oh, yeah. This is, boy, this is a, a pod episode just laden with musical touches. I love it. Not the last one I suspect. That is the music dance experience from episode seven Defiant Jazz of the Apple TV show, Severance. This was one of our favorite shows of year.

It was not something that we had the pleasure of covering here on Ringiverse, but we did have the absolute pleasure of chatting about the finale over on prestige TV and I cannot wait to get to talk about Severn's season two.

I cannot wait for the show to be back. I fucking loved this show even though we didn't talk about it on RV clearly eligible. Dystopia sci-fi

this is in the mix. Phenomal show, phenomenal episode, phenomenal scene. Dancing? from Tramel Tillman, which, yes, this is a podcast and you can't see it, but I know if you've watched Severance, you can see it perfectly in your mind. You might have even, you might have even seen that.

You might have even see the gift of it. Yeah, yeah, you might have even seen it a gift for them. The memes, the memes that this scene spawned, the lights, the music. I think one of my favorite things about it is the length of it. every time you think it's about to end, it just keeps going. There is such a commitment to making us odd and uncomfortable. It is just utterly surreal in a way that I think makes it like the show in miniature

and encapsulates so much of what was memorable about the first season of severance. Like, it's not just the oddity of what we're witnessing or the internet currency of the memes. So, of course, that's part of it. that's part of what makes it exciting to theorize and parse and try to figure out the inner workings of this world, the severed floor on lumine, what is happening and why people would have made this choice. But it is such a crucial,

I think the first thing that you remember when you think of it is you remember the dancing. But it is such a crucial moment and scene for the plot. Like, it's a big pivot point because this is Dylan's break. Hearing, we're flashing to the cuts of daddy. and then he starts shouting, what's his name? Tell me and bites Milchick as he takes him to the ground. Marks Eni during the music dance experience,

finds the master key card in his pocket and doesn't yet know why his Audi put it there, but knows his Audi must have, and we know it's there for a fucking murder dragging a blood leaking corpse across the floor Dylan revealing the overtime protocol intel to the group and telling them they can wake us up. Like, this is an incredibly rich moment for everything that built to this point and then everything that's yet to come. There are a lot of different things I consider picking from severance, the photo of Mark's wife, the, the hellie reveal, Irv going to find Burt.

But music dance experience, I think, captures everything that it loved. about this show. It just feels like something that was so wholly specific to the severance experience. I love this pick. Love that is on here. I don't have a severance pick,

but I loved covering this show with you. I cannot wait for the next season. And I would just encourage folks who listen to this podcast if you haven't watched it yet. Now is the perfect time. We're in like a little bit of a genre content valley. Like go watch Severance season one.

It's such a fun theory show. You know, watch it with some pals and like, you know, try to figure out what's going on really, fun. If I had, I almost picked a moment. It was on my long list. And if I had, I was like, can I capture the audio of Dylan trying to stretch his entire body to hold, you know, everything open for the finale for like shoulders separating watching it? It's just amazing. Yeah, and I had a great time watching that show talking to you about it, talking to Steve about it. Steve and I were like

exchanging theories really early on in severance. So that was a really good time. Love that show. Phenomenal. It's my turn? Yeah. Steve, will you hit me with this? Please, number four.

The veil men are said to fuck sheep instead of women. I can assure you the sheep are prettier. Dear me. The prince has invited you to his wedding, your grace. Yes. It is in two days time. God's being good. All right.

This is I'm calling the Beesbury. mega mix from House of the Dragon. There's obviously a ton of amazing moments that we could pick from House of Dragon. I'm sure that Mallory has picked an extraordinary one. But I love the way that we latched really early on to our guy Bees and really enjoyed the way that he, his turn of phrase,

the way that our guy, Steve, definitely deployed the old Bees' stings throughout. and the way in which, like, that I've heard from a lot of listeners that became, like, people say that in their houses now. They just, like, walk around going like, dear may God be good. So like the one, so like there's big picture stuff and big, grandiose storytelling ideas and genres and tropes and things that we like to cover, but also love just like digging into the dumb, meaningless side stuff that, and then making it meaningful.

Yeah, we find meaning in it together, absolutely. Code and shorthand for us and our listeners. So that is, believe it or not, that is my main house of the dragon pick for this list. 10 out of 10, no notes. Thanks. When I get to my, I don't shock everyone here, I also have a house of the dragon pick. So when I get to mine, I will reveal which moment from House of the Dragon I thought you were going to pick. But now that you have made your pick, it's clearly, it's clearly the only pick you get.

It's got to be bees. Yeah, yeah. I love it. Oh, bees. I love, okay, so I know that we have some overlap, but we haven't hit any of our overlap yet. I think I know what the overlap is going to be, because there are only a couple of possibilities left. Well, like, yeah, it makes me really happy that our overlaps are like right at the top here, right? Like that, that feels right.

It's wonderful. Should we both on a private Zoom chat, send Steve what we think the overlap is going to be? And then at the end, he'll tell us if we were right. No, I mean, I know what it is at this point. You're bumping right up to it. You're bumping right up to it. I can see what's left on my list and I know exactly what the overlap. Right.

Likewise, I can see my final four hair and I know which two you also have. Such your feelings. You know it to be true. Oh, this is so fun. It's very sweet. What a great pick. Oh, bees. Fucking legend.

He'll be with us forever. Yeah. He's going to be on the soundboard forever. Yeah. Kristen Cole can't, can't small ball this away. Can't small ball our soundboard. Nope. Eat shit, Kristen.

My number four. This place is amazing. The air is pristine. Underwater. My mother told stories about a place like this. A protected land with people that never have to leave, that never have to change who they were. What reason do you have to reveal your secret to the world?

Now I can just like see the small green shorts in front of me. Sorry, no, that's not the point of this. You're welcome to take us to Thigh Corner any time you'd like. That clip, of course, came from Ryan Cougler's Black Panther Wakanda Forever. It is not our first glimpse, technically, of Namor. We got to intriguingly see him hurl a helicopter into the air. But this is our first full, real... introduction. First full moment with Tenos Suerta's Namor. One of the best new character introductions

in the history of the MCU. Just an electric performance. I could have picked any number of Namor moments from the film. As we talked about on our Wakanda Forever pod, all of those quieter conversations in particular, Namor and Shuri, Namor and Ramonda were just wonderful. this first conversation though emerging from the water our minds are racing immediately what it means that he was able to breach Wakanda's borders like that simultaneously like intruding on this deeply private and personal and tender moment between mother and daughter and then also immediately establishing these connections between Talekon and Wakanda I loved visiting Talekon. I loved learning

Namor's origin inside of the MCU. I loved getting to hear him tell Shori. Only the most broken people can be great leaders. There was such a richness with his character and his scenes in this movie. And this first

full scene really like deliciously sets the tone for what's to come and I just cannot wait to see Namor again in the MCU. So this is my MCU movie selection. Yeah, 10. 10. No notes. Great pick. I was really stymied with Wakana forever.

Like, I just didn't know. And also, I actually wasn't sure how to, like, how to clip it. To be honest with you. Unbelievably, this, this clip exists. It was a featured clip on YouTube. I'm proud of you for finding it. But this is a great pick. And we love Namor and we love this performance.

This is an incredible, incredible moment. No notes. Okay. Steve, can you play? my number three clip. I'm afraid I can't do that, Joanne. Okay, okay. Because somebody has that higher.

Well, we're about to have a flip here because I'm going to ask if you can play my number three and I know you're going to say you can't because Joe has it higher. I can't because Joe has that higher. Hey, Steve. I love it. Yeah.

Can you play my number two clip? Yes, I can't. Oh, thanks. The sun is fast falling. Beneath tree dips down. The light in the tower, no longer my home. Past eyes of pale fire, black sand for my bed, I trade all I've known for the unknown ahead.

Call to me, call to me, lands far away, for I must now wander this one. Wandering Day away I must wander this wandering day. Oh, come on, Pop, give us a warble. This was my number three. All right, so this is our girl, Poppy, singing Wandering Day, an original song written by J.D. Payne and Bear McCrary for The Rings of Power, a show that I absolutely absolutely, absolutely loved covering with Mallory.

This is just like one of my favorite experiences of the year was covering the show with you. There were so many options for Rings of Power that we could have chosen, right? We could have obviously chosen a delightful Waldrig quote. We could have chosen Scoladriolia. And I genuinely watched like almost every single Elrond and Duren conversation because I was like so sure that I was going to pick one of their moments. Your goodness. Right? Save it for the far side.

Save it for the far side, Doran. But. Get a weep right now. I had to pick Wandering Day because, I mean, as my list reflects, I love a musical moment. But it's just like, it's so much of what we love about genre, restoring, but like, Lord of the Rings, specifically, you know? As we've mentioned one million times, you and I rewatched the extended editions every year. The music is in a key. key part of that whole experience. Tolkien wrote out these long, long poems and songs.

And so the fact that rings of power, you know, people really criticize that show for a lot of reasons, but I think it really gets a lot of core deep Tolkien ideas that, you know, are not obvious to everyone. And so having this in here, having this big, long wandering song, getting to watch the map, getting to watch this found family come together, having, Norie's family ask Poppy to sing her mother's song. Poppy lost her family. They're making her family tradition

is now part of their family tradition. It's just a beautiful moment and a show that I really, again, just adored covering with you, Molly Rubin. That. This is number three on my list. But it was the first thing I wrote down

when I was making my list. It was the easiest pick to make. I agree. I agree with you that I considered a lot of other rings of power moments as well. And it was difficult to not pick those other moments, but it was very easy to pick this. Because it just, I mean, you said it. It sums up everything we love about Tolkien and this world,

but also everything that we love about fantasy stories. And the idea, I think that line, like, in particular, if you said to me, like, you have to pick one line from anything that came out this past year, that sums up why you love stories and why you love sharing them with people, I trade all I've known for the unknown ahead would be my pick. Like pretty easily and quickly, I think.

Like the quest, the adventure, that promise of fellowship, the importance of believing in yourself, the gift of possibility and of embracing that possibility wherever it might take you and how scary and hard it is to do that, but how truly magical and transforming it is

when you find people who can help you do that. And like you say, You pair that with maps and a journey montage. I mean, my God, it's tough to top. Like, I almost can't believe I have two things ahead of this because it was so special to me and to us. Like, you know, we had another contender that we talked about this a lot in our finale pop, but that wonderful line from The Stranger alone, it's just a journey, now adventures, they must be shared.

Like, when Poppy is singing, Rondering Day, you feel that so keenly. And we are getting to share that adventure with her just as she is sharing that. with Nori and Nori's family and the family that they're building together. Just amazing. Just amazing. And I will tell you, we were joking. Like, I wonder, will this cracker Spotify raps? This was number two.

I Spotify rap for songs. Even though it, like, just came out, like mere weeks ago. I love that. I love that. I love that. Listening to it. And you were chatting so beautifully earlier, Joe, just about, like, about the community around the story and what we get to share with each other and our listeners.

And like this really, rings of power really stands out from this year on that front because like, you know, you already mentioned Waldrigar guy like, have you heard of him, blood? It is a power. Like these things that not only become running bits and like, it's galadrylavia, running bits and like in jokes for the pod and become a part of the very vernacular and fabric of our pod, but then become like you realize they're just embedded in your regular speech is like you go about your life and you feel the way that the pod and the way that we. get to talk about this show and the worlds together, like, is inextricable from just going through your day and your year. And what a, what a really wonderful thing that is. So, wandering day, wandering day. What a banger. I've known for the unknown ahead is, is the sentiment also that came from another moment that I almost picked for Rings of Power, which is the Norie Poppy goodbye, because, which I rewatched, like, sobbing last night because, I don't know, I was just thinking. about how the two of us left other fellowships to make this new fellowship and how it's like it's hard to do. But like you go on to new adventures so you can come back and tell the

stories, you know, to the people that you've spent other time with. And so it's just all all sort of wrapped up in in these journeys that we take through life. So yeah, I love it. Wandering Day. Beautiful. Beautiful. Okay. So that was my thing. three and you're two, which means we're on my two. Your two. You don't, you definitely don't have this. So I think, Steve, you can safely play my number two. Yes, I can. What that rogue Eamond has done in winning Vega

to our side. Ooh. Stunin. The boy was right. It's worth a thousand times the price he paid. Okay. Wow. That's a fun choice. House of the Dragon ever had. My pick. So the auto quote that we just heard is discussing my actual pick, which is Amon claiming Vagar and then taking us right into an eye for a night.

Did I just make 30 minutes of an episode of TV one moment? Fucking soon. Did you just trample the rules once again under your pretty little feet? If you look under my pretty little feet, it's just Smuggle City right there. that's what's uh that's actually um what is the the song that is in uh the the the the the the smuggles that i'm about to make in this pick here so the the actual my actual runner up for house of the dragon the hot deep pick i almost made and actually had made and then changed because i was like this is this was the one that i thought you would pick was vis aris's long walk into the throne room

from episode eight i also thought you'd pick that okay yeah i thought okay joe's probably going to pick this. I'm really torn between a couple of hot D candidates. I'm going to go with my dragon lore. Because that can only be me. So I went with this sequence from episode seven, drift mark. But Patty and his long walk and Damon picking up the crown and saying, come on, they're with us here on this pod and it's important to say that. Yeah. It's important to say that. Why did I ultimately go with Amin claiming Vagar? A few different reasons. As noted, I can smuggle easily within the stretch very handy. That Vigar Klaiming goes right into

not only the eye, the first part of an eye for an eye, the showdown with the kids, but then for an eye, the Allison for Nira showdown, the ensemble set piece, so many of the key players in the show in one room. Damon leaning.

The Damon lean. Talley is there. Sorry, and the essential variable when selecting my favorite moment from Hatti, of course. But this moment, Amon claiming Vagart, It birthed so many of the other moments,

both inside of this episode and in the rest of the season, that I loved so much and that feels so central, not only for season one, but of what is still to come. I'm wondering, Steve, could we get a smuggle clip here? Let her go. Where is duty, where his sacrifice? It's trampled under your pretty foot again.

Release the blade, Allison. And now you take my son's fight. And to even that you feel entitled. Exhausting, wasn't it? hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness. I mean, we had to do it. Had to play it on the pod. We had to. We reported 5,000 House of the Dragon Ponds, and that clip was one we referenced, maybe more than any other, had to be here. There's so much at play here. So many of the characters

that we consider central to the story are like in the talons of the dragon here, so much of the history fueling their resentment. They're longing for Allison and Renera, certainly as we hear there, for House Targaryen and Dragon Lord and the role of the power of dragons and the standing of the house. For the kids, one of the things we talked about a lot on our pods this year was that line from fire and blood, the cruelty of children is known to all. And that question of what you pass down to your children and what that then fosters and fuels, so much set up here for key events.

And so while that auto line is from a later scene, later in the episode. I love it. Thought it was fucking incredible. And it really captures the stakes of the Dance of the Dragons that is unfolding at the end of the season. But none of that is why

I picked this. I picked this for reasons that I have already discussed at length on our prior pods and so I will sum up, hopefully relatively quickly here. This is a fantasy story and the embrace of that in this moment. The way that

You feel that as Amon is approaching Beagar. The dance inside of this larger dance, you feel Veigar's power and importance. You feel Amin's need. You feel the connection that, you know, we think of that amazing Vesaris line from the first episode of the season, the idea that we control the dragons as an illusion. There are power men should never have trifled with and how central that idea of the hubris of control is to the finale and to the mission statement of the show. And so here in the claiming, like, you feel the connection that even the rider cannot truly understand as it is being forged in real time.

And I mean, what this sets up, well, we see in the finale. Vigar and Amin killing ARAx and Luke, the dance that will inferral from there. But more broadly, like the show's interest in delving into that question of control and connection, delving into the moment. magic of dragon lore, embracing and enhancing our understanding of this mythology is just something I'm really grateful for. And more broadly, to continue the theme of our picks today, I am just so grateful for getting to visit this world again and like getting to talk about this story with you. Like, rereading Fire and Blood was such an incredible treat. And I can't wait now to do a full series reread with a prophecy on our minds and look for things that stand out and new to us. And the way that

that really captures the idea that like a story, it's there on the printed page forever. And it will be in your life forever, but it's not fixed. Like it moves and it grows and it changes with you. It soars into the sky like the wings of a dragon. It's always, always beating. And like being back in Westrose,

covering Thrones with you, getting to be a part of that community around this story and this world again in a way that felt really like energizing and hopeful for the first time in a while. And like, I just cherished so deeply getting to be back in this fictional universe that like really meaningfully enriches my actual life. It's very special to me. I love you so much and I love that you smuggled basically the entire House of Dragon and Fire and Blood and a song of Ice and Fire under one.

I could have made five picks on my list, House of the Dragon picks. So to limit it to one from that show was just, who boy. Can I make a request? Can I request that my number three in your number one go next? And then we end with my number one. Okay. Let's do it. What is my sacrifice?

I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. Now the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice?

Everything. You'll stay with me, Lonnie. I need all the heroes I can get. What do I sacrifice everything, us trying to narrow down our list to 10? What's on our list? Everything. So we've already mentioned a couple, I'll keep this.

And I'll just say, we've already mentioned a couple other Star Wars moments on this list, but this Luthen speech from Andor, there's a no-braider for me as terms of like what should go from Andor. And also no-brainer that Andor should be at the top of the list, towards the top of the list and might be my favorite show of the year. But like something that I think is interesting is like some of our other Star Wars moments on this list rely heavily on existent canon or our feelings of nostalgia connected to how we felt watching other Star Wars stories earlier. in our life, or the hotness of Timothy Oliphon. But this, like, this moment in this show did so, like, ejected so much new blood and new energy into a franchise that we already loved. Andrew feels like a miracle. It feels like a miracle that exists. And it feels like a miracle that this speech exists. You know, because I was, like, messaging you in real time that, like, my jaw was

on the floor. I rewound it, like, seven times to rewatch it over and over and over again. You know, Kinaloi's speech, Marva's speech, you know, Nemex manifesto, like there's so much incredible writing and so many incredible speeches

in this show. But Lutthin's speech, Stalin's scars, Gars, delivery of it, I just think is one of the most astonishing things I've ever seen. And what it

tells us about this, like, we've thought about the rebellion and about rebels. And in those extract, abstract, more abstract terms, we talked about this

a little bit on our coverage of Andor, this idea, you know, that we watch a planet explode, the very beginning of Star Wars, but that feels like a sort of a cost that's too big for us to even really comprehend, an entire planet exploding. So to get, and or to get this much more visceral day-to-day cost of being a rebellion, of actually forming a rebellion,

is such a valuable intellectually stimulating, emotionally wrenching aspect of Andor all encapsulated in this incredible speech. Mallory, Rubin, what do you want to say? It's my number one. It's my number one moment. The amazing episode 10 one way out, treat yourself to it if you haven't. Treat yourself to Andor if you haven't because it is absolutely exceptional. My favorite show of the year.

And as you noted, very difficult to pick a number of other contenders. of the Marvel lines that we returned to the most and love the most. That's just love. Nothing you can do about that. Tell him, I love him more than anything he could ever do wrong. Certainly in the running, obviously Keyno's can't swim moment. One of the most devastating experiences that we could have as viewers, but also that that hopeful note of knowing you had achieved something on your own terms, no matter what. Everything with B, of course. In the Beep and boop. Yep, yep. My sweet little B, protect him at all costs.

So many possibilities for Andoran, yet it was, it was always going to be Luthin's speech. Cyril Karn and Dejramuro panting in each other's faces. That's number one on our follow-up pod, ring a verse after dark, which is coming to you soon. Can you imagine? I mean, it would honestly just be the same as a regular pod. Genuinely, I think we should do it. All right. The utterly specific and intentional story that Tony Gilroy gave to us in season one of Andor,

that electric writing and directing in general across the season, across the arcs from the various different writer and director pairings from Bo Willemann and Toby Haynes here in this speech and this episode. I've made my mind, I'll say my clip snippet for Steve was from the first half of Luther's speech. So I've made my mind a sunless space. I burn, I share my dreams with ghosts. I mean, what an absolutely harrowing encapsulation of the choices that this character is made, this riveting performance and this just unflinching examination of what it takes to affect real change, to decide to try, like, what compromises you're willing to make with

yourself. And I think, as you said, like, something that felt and still feels and what. will continue to feel utterly singular inside of Star Wars and so special for that reason, but also so special because it enhanced and heightened our understanding of an appreciation of half a century of storytelling is like an achievement that is really unparalleled this year.

And part of me is surprised I didn't have Pass the Dragon at number one, but I think when we say all of them, that I'm not surprised that Andor ended up at the top of my list. I'm excited to see what your pick for number one is. Is it going to make me cry? With pleasure. With pleasure. I've heard you make so many noises and I've never heard you ever make that noise in all the years that I've known you. I can pretend that that was my dragon impression, but that's really just a very like real sound that my body has just made. I've heard you

like, I've heard you like screech and squeal in so many different flings. first. But truly that was like a dragon cry. Yeah. That was a new one. That was a new one. This is the staff, I know.

You'll certainly form a lifelong bond, wouldn't you agree? That is the hope you'll grace. All right. My number one wild card is the Malory Rubin Dragon Speech. Screech, sorry, dragon screech. From our

hype meter, I believe it was, our preview. I actually found it really quickly. And the reason I picked it is not just because thanks to Steve's soundboard, it became an iconic part of our coverage of House of the Dragon. But also it was just like it was this pure moment of panic and agitation from you about what was coming. And now that we're on the other side of it, like, we did it. And I'm incredibly proud of the work that you and I and Steve certainly on this podcast as like did to get through.

Hot Nerd Autumn and one piece and all the stories that, you know, like, here at the top of our list. It's House of the Dragon, Rings of Power, and Andor. Like, you know, this was the journey we went through the last couple months together encapsulated by that beautiful scream from you, Mallory Rubin. So incredible. It was panic, absolutely, but imbued with anticipation and the. desire to be back in these worlds.

And what a genuine thrill it was. I kind of can't believe still that that stretches over. But it never really ends. That's a thing. We get to go back anytime we want. The road goes ever on. What an incredible pick. You're the best legend.

Steve, is there anything we left off the list, Steve? That you're like, I can't believe they didn't pick X, Y, or Z? like you guys said you guys didn't want to miss a thing I almost I really almost asked Steve to get that clip ready Do we have it at West?

No, still no But Steve was already concerned about the length of my clips in legal So you know I was like Joe we gotta rain this one Yeah we got a log pod Is fine but a long clips No that's a horse a different color

Arjuna Is Arjuna still on the call? He is not. He had to dash away, but he had his honorable mentions for me to give away. What are June is? His honorable mentions were Doctor Who, power of the doctor of the 13th doctor,

The 13th Doctor Regenerates. Okay. The Miss Marvel Generation Y episode where Kamala's dad comes out in his Hulk costume. I almost, yeah. Great one. Yeah. And the peacemaker opening credits.

Yeah. Yeah. I was not. worried, but I was like, if Mallory puts a peacemaker moment on here and I didn't, I literally didn't watch Peacemaker, I was like, what are we going to do? But it's also why I didn't put an interview with a vampire clip on here because I, Mal hasn't watched it yet. So that would have been half your list if you guys had both watched. On the list to catch up on soon. Can't wait. Yeah. It is why I mentioned Eadley in the intro. That was my home. That was my home.

Yeah. But, you know, Peacemaker, my honorable mentions list includes a bullet point that just says everything with Eagley and Peacemaker, which is not really a moment. So I don't know if would have been able to pick one particular thing anyway. The thing that I alluded to earlier where I said I almost picked something, but I thought it might be too soon. I really, this was the one real spoiler concern I had because this show just came out was, I was going to pick something from 1899. But I just think like that just came out.

It's a lot to, it's difficult to even isolate a moment. I'll just encourage people to watch 1899 and then all of dark if they haven't. I almost picked like Avengers con from Miss Marvel. that was almost on the list. Great one. Because that was just like a really beautiful. Like we loved a lot about Miss Marvel and especially like those first couple episodes.

We're so exciting. And then, oh, something from the Batman. I was going to say something from the Batman. Yeah. But I really couldn't figure out what to pick. Everything with Selena. Yeah.

I just like love that movie. And I feel like it's really dropped off people's lists at the end of the year. But I just, I still really love that movie. Me too. Yeah. That was great. the Batman. But yeah, I mean, it makes, it feels right that Andor Rings of Power and Hot D should be here at the top with the cherry of your screech to end it all.

Incredible. What a, what a blast this was. What a year. What a year. Joe, we spent the whole year potting together. What a joy with Steve and Arjuna and the rest of the Midnight Boys. Our beautiful. Ringerverse family. Yeah. Oh, God. And guess what? We get to do it again next year. Hell yeah.

Can't fucking wait. All right. Friends, when this episode ends, we won't have peace. We'll be worried about you all the time. But that's just potting. Nothing you can do about that. So thank you to our Rebel Alliance leaders, Steve Holman. For producing this episode,

for everything that Steve has done throughout this year, Yeah. You guys get to enjoy the soundboards. You get to enjoy Mint Edition and every pearl of wisdom, Steve drops on Midnight Boys, but you have no idea how much time and heart Steve puts in to making this podcast feed that you all love. Steve, you're the best. Thank you.

You guys are. Arjunon and Jomi aren't here, so they don't get to hear anything quite as nice. No, just kidding. Thank you. of course to the wonderful, glorious Arjuna Ramgapal for his additional production work on this episode and Jomi Adonan for his work on the social media for this episode.

What an incredible year it's been with the entire house of our team. I don't know why I'm talking like we're never going to record another podcast. We'll be back on Zoom together literally in three hours. Light Loans! Remember! Send us your house of our emails at hobbits and dragons at gmail.com. Tune back in at the top of next week for Mint Edition, highlighting the best nerd culture that you missed from this year.

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