The Ringer-Verse - ‘X-Men 97’ Ep. 6, and ‘Shogun’ Ep. 9 | The Midnight Boys

Episode Date: April 18, 2024

Listen as Van, Charles, Jomi, and Kerm dive into Episode 6 of ‘X-Men 97.’ The guys discuss the surprise appearance of Charles Xavier, and much more (02:00). Later, the Midnight Boys break down the penultimate episode of ‘Shogun,' before making predictions for the finale (51:00). Hosts: Charles Holmes, Jomi Adeniran, and Van Lathan Producer: Jonathan Kermah Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal and Steve Ahlman Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Wake up, babe. Bansplaine is back. That's right, your favorite extremely long music podcast has returned. And this season, we're talking grunge. As usual, there's Goss. There's tea. There's an excessive amount of facts and info. And you know what? There's nine hours on a band that rhymes with Schmirlschmamm, plus much, much more. Listen to new episodes of Bansplaine with me, Yossi Solic, every Thursday. For adults with Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis symptoms, every choice matters. Tramphia offers self-injection or intravenous infusion from the start. Tramphia 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. Tramphia 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 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. This episode is brought to you by WeatherTech. Everyone knows winter is the MVP. and make it a mess. You don't need weather tech floor liners in the summer, unless you hit the beach or go camping. Then you'd want a cargo liner. Or a road trip goes sideways, ketchup goes rogue, ice cream drips. Yeah, you'd be pretty happy about those weather tech seat protectors. So just to be

clear as the mud, you're inevitably going to step into the summer. You don't need weather tech unless you plan on doing summer. Visit weathertech.com today. Welcome into the ringerverse. This is, of course, the ringers next to this podcast. Be, all things fandom. We are Jonathan X-Man Kermal. In for Steve today. Steve has to week off. Jomey, the explainer of dinner on. You've got

questions. He's got answers. Old man, Van. He has the receding. Here a lot. We are. Coke, baby, Chuck. It's 24-carriced closure, aka the pro-chati. AKA the cowboy holdown master. Come on. It's Saturday. Saturday. Together, we are A little midnight boy!

Oh, Poo! Now, Kerm is here. Kerm? You are basically like an auxiliary midnight boy. Like, he's probably the closest to the fifth chair that we have.

Yeah, like a, you know, like the Karek cousins. The Sixth Ranger, if you will? Kind of. To think about somebody, what else is there? Like, people that are right there, but they're,

they're right there, but not a part of the thing. Jay Cole in the Big Three. Oh. Oh. Wait, can I, speak of that, can I have to bring up? Big Sean in the Big Three. You're the Big Sean of the Midnight Boys.

That's great. Yeah. Oh, wow. Wait a minute. Boy. Wait. Did you hear what Kerm was saying about Steve before you got, before you got in here? What did he say?

He's just like, yo, this white boy want to hang at the park, white boy. BBL Steve, want to hang with the niggies. And the park. And the park. And the park. And the bar. You don't have a Chevy. Where's your car?

Where's your Chevy, white boy? You cut your father's nose. Jesus Christ, I'm nuts. Nuts. Jummy, let's get right into it. Follow us on Twitter. Also, social social says I say,

Insta, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Save Jumby's job, Jummi. Hey, man. You saw we got Joe Amal, do a little thing, sharing their love, a podcast with each other. You guys really rock with that. Fans also wanted to wish Van a happy birthday.

This old-ass nigga. How old are you now, man? 44. 44. Oh, no, 44-44. All right. Okay. 44.

44. 44. That's me. I'm like, Rallad, new birthday hit. This one hit. 43 is a 44.

I'm like, all right, let's switch it up. You know what I mean? Time to get some shit. Now, this one hit. This one hit. This one hit.

I'm feeling good, though. Feeling good. My body feels good. My spirit feels good. Everything feels good. Yeah. But, you know. Dan, because I was about to wonder how I'm like,

. Damn, he's probably at home. Because usually on your birthday, like, oh, I'm turning up. He's like, yeah, thanks for, thanks for the birthday wishes. I'm so exhausted. Like, I couldn't do shit. I was tired. I just wanted to actually, I was trying to get through my birthday very low-key.

The only thing that started, I mean, obviously everybody that I know was, you know, hitting me up and all of that stuff like that. But the thing that started, the cascade of birthday well-wishers from like random L.A. types. It's Jomi because Jomi posted Happy Birthday and then you guys had already said Happy birthday but Jomey posted happy birthday and then I didn't want to not repost it

because it's very nice and it was a good picture and so I reposted it and then people I haven't heard from in like five years oh happy birthday Vam I got this meeting with this film finance guy you gotta get

no fuck all that man what was my text back though I said happy birthday OG nothing I did you might say shit you little bro in big show over here No we Wobbly, wobbly, wobble.

Put the ass on it. Put the, roll my weed on it. That's an ass tree. By the way, we're going to have to bleak this out. This is not this to Big Sean, because I fuck with Big Sean. All right, get the fuck out of here. Let's get to the show. I don't like Big Sean.

I like Big Sean, but in the capacity of comparing them to the Big Three, like, that's a backhanded compliment. Well, this is all I'm saying. I'm saying that, like, the three got whittled down. there used to be more people on that plane. Meek used to be on that plane. What? All right. Dreams and Nightmares era Meek.

That was a different way. We look at him today. You know what I'm saying? That used to, there was a core, but there were a lot more guys that were around. Big Cuddy, like all of them. Big Crit? Big Crit.

Big Cri. That's a talented rapper. That's all I'm saying. Big Criot. He was great, but he was never. He never. Travis Scott. Travis Scott, though.

Travis Scott is kind of still, he just exists outside of that. Because he can't really rap, so we don't really like, respect them. Okay, we're not on Midnight Boys' Hip Competition. All right, program reminders. Yesterday, Ben and I discussed Amazon's Fallout series on Butmash. It was fantastic. Look, I do have to make a correction here to everyone that listened to this. I fucked up.

Oh, yeah? I did. So I thought that Fallout took place. I thought that what happened was this. I thought that they had World War II, and then there was an atomic race after World War II, which made this sort of steampunkish energy thing to where people have, there's this,

Miss Moss, you've seen Fallout of high technology. You've never played Fallout? No. Okay, so in Fallout, they have fusion, powered cars, right? But they watch regular television. They dress like they're from the 50s and they have that same sensibility and all of that stuff.

But they have all of this other technology like steampunk stuff. You've seen that stuff before. So I thought that it took place in an alternate history where it started in the 50s or in the 60s and then the nuclear war came and blah, blah, blah, blah, whatever. It turns out that that's an alternate 277 where it starts, but it just looks like the 50s, which makes no fucking sense to me. But at the same time... Are the fans getting at you right now?

They're not getting at me, but they are pointing out the fact that I, throughout the entire podcast, said that over and over and over again. And Lindberg? Ben fucking Limburg didn't, like, help you out? No, I? Because Ben fucking Lindberg is a New Yorker.

And he's like, seek a fucking swim... Bigger-digg-chee-song-pefitt. Like, seek a fucking swim on your own. Me and Ben had a great conversation. I love it. All right. I apologize. to the audience about that.

Okay. Friday, House of R returns with an X-Men 97 deep dive, deepened and diving into the show. Next Wednesday and Midnight Boys will be back to discuss the series finale of Shogun, which I have no idea what the fuck is going to happen. I mean, I guess people that watched it in 1939 when that bitch dropped, they have some kind of clue. But I don't know what the fuck. I just fucking shit knocked my socks off. I can't wait to talk about it. And we will react to X-Men 97, which is also knocking my goddamn. socks off. To begin our reactions, before we begin our reactions, actually, we have to let you know that we're going to spoil everything. A lot of spoilers are coming, okay? A lot of spoilers are coming. So we're going to get into X-Men 97 right now, but we have to let you guys know. We're going to spoil X-Men, X-Stuff, Charles Xavier, fucking Gladiator, the Shia. Vulcan was in that bitch. I know I saw Vulcan.

No, he was there. I saw Volcan in there. Quick minute. Sure. So all that stuff is going to get spoiled. current brand a spoiler warning. We're getting ready to talk about you're listening to a reaction podcast. The spoilers are coming. All right, got to put you in the note on the person I can do that.

Charles, Midnight Manifest, Chuck, take it away. All right, this is your Midnight Manifest for X-Men 97, Life Death, Part 2, directed by Chase Conley, written by Charlie Feldman. Professor X is alive. He's been healed on the Shiar Homeworld by the Empress Alondra,

who announces that the two are to be wed. Deathbird, Lalandra's sister is unhappy with the announcement and invokes an ancient ritual to challenge the marriage. Deathbird says she'll only accept the marriage if Xavier allows Alondra to secondly wipe all his memories of the X-Men, Akku-A-Kezus, and then Xavier used telepathie to the Shiar, and he talks to them about their coexistence, blah, blah, blah, and then he finds out that Gambit is dead and decides to go home. Meanwhile on Earth, Storm saves Forge from the adversary and gets her hair and powers back. And that has been your midnight manifest for X-Men 97. Instant reactions, Chuck, give it to me.

No, let's start positive with you. How are you feeling about this episode? I liked it. I like the episode. You know what I will say? It's coming after remember it, I was wondering what would happen next. Because everyone is wondering whether or not Gambit is alive or dead.

Yes. Seems pretty clear that he's dead. However, there's also the X-Men thing that exists to where no character is actually really dead. Also, cable was in that episode, which makes me think, is this time. And he time slipped. Yeah, he time slipped. So I'm just like, are they just going to go back in time? Could be. Could be. I will say this.

Gambit was not in the title card of this episode. Neither was Magneto. And Magneto was not in there. Nightcrawler was in it. So that to me was a telltale sign that either Gambit is actually dead or they don't want us to believe that he is still alive. So Gambit and Matt Nino were out of the title

card. Nightcrawler was in the title card. So I was like, huh, I actually ran it back a couple of times like, oh, there's no game because I was looking forward to see him. I like the episode, President, Professor X coming back out of nowhere was probably the most interesting choice. Now, obviously, we knew that Xavier wasn't dead, but there was almost nothing leading up to this. They didn't even hint that we were going to get Xavier. He just popped up. and so even when I was watching it with Kalika, Kaleek was like, oh, so he's not dead.

I'm like, no, he's not dead. Definitely not dead. And she goes, so they're just going to put him back in the show. It's like, that's kind of the pacing and stuff that X-Men 97 has been moving. I mean, that's the pacing of X-Men comics. You're like, one comic, you're like, this motherfucker's dead. And five comics they're like, they're like, they're back again. And you're like, all right, man, we're just, that's what we're doing.

Those are comics. If you are deep into the X-Men and you really like it a lot, I think watching She-R and seeing Gladiator there, the toughest motherfuckers in the whole galaxy, and Vulcan and Death Bird and all of these different characters is really a lot of fun. Wait, we should say who Vulcan is for the audience. Volcan is Gabriel Summers. He is the third, the youngest of the Summers brothers. But what he's crazy, because this is the choice that I actually wish X-Men 97 would do.

Because back in the day, they were teasing forever in the comic books. yo, there's a third Summers brother. There's a third Summers' brother. Obviously, they're Cyclops. Obviously, there's havoc. Some people were like, yo, was it supposed to be Gambit all along? Gambit was in the running. And I was like, dog, they should have done Gambit instead of fucking Vulcan.

Vulcan's trash. Vulcan's fucking awesome. What are you? What do you mean? I don't like Vulcan, bro. Curb, jump in here. I'm ambivalent on Vulcan. What I like about Vulcan's origin story is how it proves that Charles Xavier is a piece of shit with a messiah complex.

And the fact that, like, there was this whole hidden X-Men team that Charles wiped everybody's memories of pretty much and nobody knew of. See, that's what I don't like about comics when they like, oh, actually, yeah, there was actually a whole other young X-Men team and there was another Summers brother

and Professor X never told him. I'm like, Professor X never told fucking Cyclops, hey man, I got your little brother killed, bro. Like, what? He's a piece of shit. He'd do it. Yeah, he does what he has to do. But Vulcan is super.

For people who don't know, Vulcan is the third Summers brother. Cyclops Havoc did not know about him. He's off in space. He died on, I think, the first mission to Krakawa. And it was all reccon. And essentially, he is probably the most powerful Summers brother because he could just, like, absorb a bunch of fucking energy. Omega level.

Yeah, Omega level. Like he's, which is also kind of funny because I don't think A in this, he probably knows that he's a Summers. It just seemed like he was just one of them. the Shia Royal Guard. Well, he would be because, remember, that's how Corsair and his

Corsair... Cyclops' father. Cyclops' father. For people don't know the origin of it, and we're not going to do a whole bruce. There's so much going on. Like, I don't... And I was... We'll get to the storm part later, but while I was watching this part of the

episode, I was like, now I get why we have the 2000s X-Men and why they are the way they are. Because there's no way you start bringing up The Shiar, Ligandra, Death Bird. Corsar, the Shatter. What's his team? What's the team?

The Star Jammers. Starjammers. You can't bring that to regular folks and go, here you guys go, man. Here's a two-hour movie about these folks. Go nuts. People like, hey, man, what the hell is going on, bro? They'd be hella confused.

So for people who don't know, the way that Scott and Alex's story goes is their parents were supposedly died in a car accident, not a plane crash, I said. Cyclops and Alex Summers were given a parachute. They fucking jump out. Cyclops got his head fucked up. They fall down, whatever.

Turns out that's not what happened. It turns out. Of course not. It turns out. And then the parents died. No, that's not what happened. What happened was the fucking parents got taken over by a shiard. the shiard, this space-faring empire.

Bird people, yeah. Bird people, but there's all different type of people in the shiard. Yeah. Like all different races, it's more like a tree. And so at first, Corsair, who is the fucking father of Scott Summers, you thought that he, the wife was dead, but the wife wasn't dead, she wasn't dead at all. She was pregnant with Gabriel Summers when all of this happened. I'm doing this all on recall

of the comic book, by the way. You're doing a really good job. All right. So you thought at first that everybody was dead. They weren't dead. She was pregnant. The leader of the,

the Shiar at that point, it's actually pretty problematic, had taken her, like, prisoner or whatever. And then he came back to, the Corsair came back to try to rescue her. And she gave birth. That was Gabriel Summers, blah, blah.

She ended up getting killed after that. At first, they actually reconed this. They actually recond this. At first they said, hey, he came back to try to get her. She died almost right away. He goes off with the Starjammers. But then he also has an affair with one of the ladies. I think it was Death Bird.

No. No, Hepsula, the cat woman. Yeah, he had an affair with her. This is insane to explain to someone. Whatever. It's fine. I'm doing my best. All off memory.

Then you actually find out after they recon it that she was actually pregnant when they took her over. she was the concubine of the guy they had the baby the baby was Gabriel Summers became a fake X-Men all that whatever I think in this version of whatever's happening he was born to the Shiar and he's a part of their

of the Shiar Guard and he's probably being commanded by Gladiator which is why we saw him for one second when he was fighting right there that's the best I can do that was really good I'm not even check my work term it sounds accurate to me but I'm gonna be honest with you

Those are older comics, my dear. Those are older comics. How old were you when the... Yeah, Carmen must have been in middle school when this shit was coming out. No, but what I'm saying is this was a big job. This was a big deal then expanding the Summers family and all of that stuff. Because they've been teasing it for years. They've been teasing because, like, also, spoiler, like, Mr. Sinister had a role because, like, Cyclops after he gets his head fucked up.

He, like, the vision is all fucked up. He goes to an orphanage, and then it's revealed that, like, Mr. Sinister. It's a Mr. Sinister Orphanage. Yes. It's his orphanage. Mr. Sinister has been fucked. Mr. Sinister is obsessed with the Summers family. Yeah.

And it's his orphanage that Scott, that he's actually. And hence, cable from the previous series, kidnapping cable, giving the techno organic. Like, he, like, the summer's line is, like, the one of the most powerful mutant lines. And then Xavier comes and actually, while you're talking shit about Xavier, he fucking saves Scott. Now, he saves Scott. I don't know what. He does good things. He still.

a fucking great life. Anyway, I'm like, none of that really has anything to do with what happens to this. It does. That's why I'm like, I like the show,

but I'm watching, I'm like, hey man, what's going on here? What is any of this? I couldn't pay attention once Vulcan was out. I was just like,

yo, the whole time I was like, where's fucking Volk? Because Vulcan, here's the thing. What people need to understand about like the Shiar is that what's his face?

Sorry, I'm blanking. The Mohawk, my fucking. Gladiator. Gladiator is like, he's a bad motherfuckerful He's like the Superman.

Like he is, like when in the Dark Phoenix saga, when they go, Desiard or whatever, he's fucking them all up. Like, these are actually legit. But I was looking for Vulcan because I was just like, no, Vulcan is just as powerful as gladiator. Like, he could wreck all of them. Yeah, he is. Different type of power, but he definitely is.

Give you guys an example, there's a book called the Thanos imperative. And Thanos is talking about, so there's a new, I guess, there's a team, I can't remember the name of the team, but the team is Gladiator, Ronan, who's also in this episode, Gladiator, Ronan, Nova, and someone else. And at the beginning, Thanos is talking about, Thanos is talking about like how he's going to beat the team,

and he goes, Gladiator is by far, not even close, the most dangerous of all these motherfuckers, and I have to figure out what I'm going to do. And so he creates a diversion that's in Gladiator, galaxies and galaxies and galaxies and galaxies away

so that he could deal with the rest of it. Wait, do you think Gladiator could hold his own against Thanos? In your head, he could. He beat the fucking crap. Without the fucking... Without the stone. He fucked him. He fucked Thanos up. Who?

Without the stone, I think he would fuck Thanos up. And look, the book is gray. I'll bring it. And so I think Thanos knows that. But back to the point, it's like, all of this is a lot. First of all, it is a lot. lot, but it's a pretty linear story. Like, Xavier's

on a different planet, different world with a different... He's not dead. He's not dead. And he has to make a decision about whether or not he's going to have his mind wiped and return to the X-Men or choose love and stay with the Shi'R. So this is, this might be too deep. And this is why I was just like, I like the intention

of what they're trying to do. But I was little like, I'm like, can this TV show land the plane? Obviously, this episode is essentially like, Xavier's choice is representing like assimilation. And for him to assimilate in this culture that not only looks down on him as a human, but as a mutant and lesser than,

it's like him wiping his memories of the X-Men, of his people, of him being a leader of these people, is him saying like, love is more important and I will bury that part of myself for you, La Landra, which I thought is, I'm like, that's actually really, I think that's a really genius thing writing wise to do.

I don't know if they landed the plane as much because it's like, oh, Professor X is back. Oh, he's about to get married now. Oh, he has robot legs. All right, we got to do the storm shit. And I was just like, did any of this feel a little bit like we're speed running through all of this shit? Yeah. I think it's tough too because when you think about the first storm episode, that's also displaced by the Jubilee story at the beginning. right and so this entire like section of of the show is kind of like you have that great episode last week

then you have two in between where it's like you can see the vision but ultimately does it serve the story in a way that makes sense and here it does i don't think because i thought i thought it got i think both stories got short change where i'm like the storm story gets short change because i'm like way more interested in what's happening with the shi r and then the shi r story i'm just like like, quite literally within 15 minutes, we figure out that Professor X is alive. He's about to get married. They want to wipe his memories.

He finds out about Gambit and then he's going back to Earth in like 15 to 20 minutes. And I'm like, that's just so much stories. Very dense. And I was like, this is a good problem to have where I was like, just stretch it out a little bit. This is actually so interesting. I was like, I want to know more. I want to see more of Gladiator.

I want to see more of just like this world and how professional. Because, like, you guys watched the animated series more recently than I have. Did they, was Professor X in the last season of that that came out in the 90s? Was he on Chiar already, or is this all new? I think this is. I think they ended where it's like. He dies. Yeah, exactly.

Ambiguous. Where you think he dies. And that's what you're left with. Yeah. So that didn't seem strange. I was just like, what he popped out? I'm just like, oh, they're going to explain a lot. out of this and they're like, no, we're not.

Nope. I thought it was a fastback for a little bit. For a second, I was like, I'm looking for a sex man. Technically it was because this all takes, because when he goes into the, to the classroom, what I read that as is does Professor X basically get, it's not spiritual, but like a

telepathic blowback the minute Gambit dies. Exactly. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Like it's, happens, he dies and he feels it how many galaxies are stars away? and then, yeah. So, I guess technically... Also, that's bullshit.

What I mean? I feel like if Scott died, that death would reach galaxies. For Gambit, I'm just like, I don't know Professor X-Rex who fucks with Gamble like that. But not Magneto. Not Magneto. So Magneto's alive.

So it's like... Well, I mean, that might mean Gambit is dead and Magneto's actually alive. That's what I think they're teasing where it's like he didn't have a flash about Nightcrawler or any... Because like, here's the thing. Gambit's cool.

But Gambits, like, is like on the B level of X-Men. Shit. Also... he's not? Well, maybe he is to you guys, but if you are a fan of the 90s X-Men, Gambit was one of the illest motherfuckers. All right, no, if we're talking about, let's do,

because, Kern, Gambit was a sensation. All right, well, let's do, let's do a tier. Let's say a tier you could put 10 X-Men. Well, I mean, to be honest with you, in totality, in totality, he probably is not a tier. But when this show was set, like when the first X-Men show came out,

Gambit was one of the most popular comic book characters in Marvel period. Gambit, as a kid in the 90s, I was just like, this motherfucker talks like this, and he's throwing cards and they explode. We didn't bring it up last episode, and I have to bring it up now, if I'm going to be a Debbie Downer. This show does have a problem with,

they let these motherfuckett powers do anything, where I'm like, Gambit explodes an entire sentinel. I'm just like his powers If he could touch it, he can explode it. What you mean? That's always been his power and I feel like he's limited himself

as a character by just using playing cards as like a gimmick. What are you all talking about? His powers are about, oh, I need to He can charge stuff. Yes, with kinetic energy. Right. And then make it explode.

The amount of kinetic energy that Gambit would need, we did not see Gambit doing that with the Sentinels in the other episode. B. Because he's not Beesoffs, man.

We don't have to do this. But I'm just saying he's not like hugging them. He's connected to the Sentinel. I mean, we saw him do it with Wolverine in, what, the first episode, right? Which was also bullshit

because Wolverine's hands would explode. They should have exploded. They should have exploded. That's his powers. I'm sure they did when he crashed them into the master mode thing. You have to think that maybe Wolverines, remember Wolverine has an intense,

uncanny, ridiculous healing factor. Yeah. So maybe in that situation, if you charge Wolverine, he's supposed to explode. Maybe his shit is breaking and then repair it so quick. If you blow up your hands, though,

like, it's going to take a second. You can't fucking drown Wolverine, okay? So, like, so you guys. You got up. He sat up. He sat on doing this. It's some different shit. You can't drown Wolverine.

Yes, you can. No, they can't. They try to drown Wolverine in Days of Future Pass at the end of the movie. You can drown him, but he's going to Keep you fuck.

Bray. It's some different shit Wolverine, but if it's an explosion, if you blow up the nigger's hands, they're going to heal, right? I don't know. They're not going to just

immediately heal back. He's not Deadpool. Bro, bro. His healing factor is better than Deadpool's. Yeah. I don't know about that.

Yes. His healing factor is better than Deadpool. All right. You know, like Deadpool has the most extreme healing factor in the whole shit. Am I tripping?

I always thought death pool was better. Maybe I'm wrong. Because I thought Deadpool had the greatest one. Me too. But even in the show, like he's got the full

suit on when he gambit charges him, throws him into the master mold, comes out, his suit's all jacked up. Like, I think, like, the top half he's just got the pants. The top half of his suit is all, like, ripped and destroyed. So he grew new hands, like, in 3.5 seconds? Clearly, he did.

That's, I don't know. Anyway, all I'm saying is this. So, a couple of things. It was amazing. I'm not late. You're not taking that way for you. You're not. This episode is brought to by Boris Head. What if we told you the taste of deep fried turkey is now available at your local deli?

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Order now at order. Sweetgreen.com. To you guys' point, I'll say this. All right. I really like the episode, and I like both halves of it. I enjoyed the Storm and Forge stuff with the adversary. It's freaky. It's Superman-esque in like you lose your confidence, you lose your powers,

and you have to find them again through a connection to somebody. I like that. I like the tonal shift in that. If that would have been a whole episode, I don't think I would have dug it. If it would have been, if you combine the two halves of the Storm and Forge episodes and you made that its own episode, I probably would have been like, why are we off the beaten path a little bit with this? I wouldn't have probably appreciated it as much as I did as two sections of other episodes. Although a lot of people are having problems with it, I'm not

I'm not someone who does. I got a question. So do you feel like by the time Storm says like my love to forge, you felt like that was earned? Because for me, I felt like... Nothing is earned, bro. Like, I feel like it's so quick. I'm like, why does she love this dude? I'm saying, this is what I'm saying. like there is there is a point there is a point of all right in this in this world remember everything's going so quick we went from jean gray to the goblin queen what was it an episode and a half yeah we did the whole fucking thing yeah right the whole so i just think it does move a little bit i'm not saying that it all that it all works but there is a lot but there there was a point in the storm part because like i do agree with you i'm like if we had a

whole storm episode. I just think both of these halves have been kind of weak. But there was a moment where it's like, oh, no, the flashlight drops. Oh, now she got to believe in herself. Oh, she's flying now. Oh, there's a different gossip. Oh, she beat the person off screen. They're back at the house.

I'm like, I was like, what happened? Also, we got to, once again, I have to talk about. Wolverine, Deadpool, and Hulk. Top three? Or the healing factors. They don't really put up in order. So some people say, some people say, a lot of people say Deb,

this is an interesting question, by the way, we'll throw this to the audience. Let's let the audience have, have a run a thread on this. So those three, I guess, and it's different. I mean, I totally forgot about how old. So I have some questions about this episode first.

Was that a dream sequence with Storm? Because, like, she got her, like, she had a Mohawk, and then she got a whole new shit for air. She got, First the foremost, She got a you a more. Br,

let me tell you something. I hate when they do this and stuff. Oh my God. I hate when somebody realizes their power and then they get a whole new suit. Yes. But I've always hated it. First and foremost.

I've all, bro, like, I hate it. I've always hated it. Like, oh my God, he's downing out,

blah, blah. And all of a sudden he comes back and he's Superman and now the suit is on. So, wait, you didn't think the black and silver

Superman suit after he comes back from death was like, that's fine. But there was a reason why he had. that bitch on because he was buried in that bitch or something like that. I can't remember. But like with her, was she wearing that under? Yeah, no, I get what you're saying. I'm not

going to complain. It looked good. It does look good. She looks like so. But here's the thing. This is what I also don't like. How like Storm didn't go to the salon. So we never see, we never see Storm with like real like four C, like just the hair. So here's it's always the perm. So here's what I'm going to say, man.

You know, this is this is a world where You know, they got big giant robots and people can shoot lightning from their fingertips. I'm not going to think about it too hard. Okay? You guys, you know, you guys are the ones that we would ask. What you mean?

I mean, what is, me, look. What do you mean about that? I'm just saying, you guys are two Africanas. Oh, my God. That we had two. What? We got two. What?

Two. All right, what are you? Two African. What do you guys feel about? natural hair and women with natural hair. You guys know a lot of Kenyan ladies? I mean, what is the hair? Shout out to all the women listening right now.

I'm going to look it up. I'm going to look up Kenyan hair and see if it look like Storm. And if it don't, I'm going to write some email. Do you think it's a little racist? Because you know, white people be writing Storm and they never let her have no natural looks. It's always like, she looked like Cowboy Carter, Beyonce all the time. These Kenyan women is fucking gorgeous.

Jesus Christ Is she? Yeah. Why don't they say she's Mexican? She was born to Mexico. I don't know if she's born in Mexico, but she lived in Mexico for a long time. They just do shit like that just to trip us up. Because all they do is in like trivia questions.

They go, this Mexican actress starred in Nope. And I'm like, what the fuck? Is it Loznope? Like what is it? Right. I'm serious. I'm like, what are y'all talking about? And then it's like, oh, it's Lupeeda.

And I'm like, man, you're fucking with me. But I thought she was. Guyanese, though. Kenyan-Mexican actress. Kenyan Mexican actress. Is she, like, was born in Mexico? She was born in Mexico City. Oh, so she's Mexican.

She's Mexican by nationality. Yeah, that's for sure. I was just checking. Like Jomey. No. Jomi is Ghani. Wait, let me see. Let me see these Kenyan women look.

They look good, bro. Jomi is. Y'all, y'all, y'all sleeping on the continent of Africa, man. You got some baddies out there, right? Jomi is Ghanaian by. That's not true. That's not how the math works. But there's a thing.

That's not how it works. We just did our Googles, none of those Kenyan women on Google images have the same hairstyle. The white hair? Yeah. I mean, they also don't have blue eyes. So, like, we can have a whole discussion about Storm as a character.

There's a lot going on right now. Design, but. Is Storm proud of her natural hair texture? I think she is. She got to be. Because her hair turned that way because, I mean, she got the clouds and the lightning and it and some shit. I don't know.

Also, I got to say, also, like, Storm is an omega-level mutant. But it was so funny where I'm just like, I'd never seen you do some shit like this storm. That shit was like, she was going to space. I was like, God damn. I was like, bruh, she's cooking. But look, how about this? So we talked about things happening a little bit too fast on the show.

Was it not super fulfilling to watch her get her powers back? No. Didn't feel earned. That's something to me, man. It did to me. I enjoyed it because of how down she was, I can't feel the moisture in the air. No, no, but here's the thing because in the comic books,

the whole thing was Storm is like, she don't got her power she comes back she fucking beats the shit out of Scott Summer I know they wouldn't go do that I was just nah yeah

because they don't let a black woman win you know but you wanted to see that you want to see that you want no powers embarrass that nigga real quick to show he's a real captain that's what I wanted

also there's been rumors that I don't even think it's rumors I think it's been kind of hinted at that by the end of this season we're not going to see them in their like

90s costumes anymore and a lot of people think that the, like, the Grant Morrison comics are going to be, like, something. Obviously, Emma is probably going to get her diamond powers. Would you like to see after X-Men 97, like an X-Men 98-99? Oh, we know that they're doing it. Yeah, I definitely will want to see it because I will want to see how this stuff. X-Men is canon to the MCU X-Men.

Is it not? I don't think so. I don't think it's been-com. I mean, they had the watcher in there, right? And so, like, that's a little hint. It's a, I think it's like, it's a multiverse. Of course. Of course.

Exactly. We'll see, like, whatever happens. But I, to your point, I do want to see if these storylines and the happenings to these characters have any larger meanings. Like, do you kill Gambit because you have no, you have no plan to cast an actual Gambit? Are you thinning these things out and maybe not doing the trial of leadership between Cyclops and Storm because it doesn't fit in your view of the live action MCU X-Men. I don't really think it's that.

Are they get to the point with some of these things so quickly to pair these X-Men down to something that's palatable on this. Because we know that this beast, the same beast, the Kelsey Grammer-looking big, fluffy beast, is, we've seen him. Well, he's the only X-Men. I don't know if that's the same beast, though.

It could be different. It could be different. Bees. Could be different Bs. Could be different Bs. But to your point, to your point, I wouldn't be surprised if, because a lot of the chatter, like the positive chatter about this show is like, yo, this is how they should do the X-Men. This is how they should do the X-Men. I want to be surprised if the second season gives us probably a preview of a pared-down team that you could see in the MCU, if that makes sense. Kitty Pride. I'm just starting to throw a name.

I mean, there's been a shit total mutants in here. That's true. Like a shit ton of mutants in the show. I literally think they're doing the Grant Morrison team of, we're going to get Wolverine, Gene Gray, Emma, Emma, Zorn, who was like Magneto. No way, they're bringing Zorn in, man. They're bringing Zorn in. If they bring in Zorn, that's, that's life changing.

They have Vulcan in this shit, bro. That's fair. You know what I'm saying? And then they got Beasts on the team. Like, come on. Zorn sucks, but. I like Zorn. So, real quick, let's go back to,

let's go back to Xavier's situation. Okay, so Xavier's deal here, he has to choose between what he built and what he loves, which is a very common choice that you have to make in life. All the things that I built against the things that I have come to love. Like, you get to a point, it's very, very, for us older men,

you have to make that decision all the time. I thought that even though I was kind of just thrust back into caring about Charles Xavier, I do think that watching him flex his power, take them over, watching the decisions that you had to make, the scale and the scope of

the Shiar, even though they didn't really for the uninitiated, people are going to wonder who the Shiar are. The Shiar are so. You've never liked them. They're just in terms of like every, all the space people, I was like bird people. Come on. Yeah, but you keep saying

that. The Shiar are made of all, like Gladyshire isn't a very person. The Shiar are made up of all different... But most of them. No, wrong. The empire is

wherever they go and like Concord are an avian descended humanoid race of extraterrestrial beings. I know, but the Shiar... I know they are, but the Shiar empire is... Well, yeah, because they go on a conquer planets.

Right. So I'm saying, it's a bunch of different... But the real question... You talk about the core... The core. The real question I have to ask you, though, is Van, we think, the Midnight Boys think

you are dead on Earth. You are not. You're on Chiar. First of all, not the name of the plan, but yeah, but, yeah. Wait, what? The number of plan is Chandelar. Chandelar. Chandelar. Shandelier?

Chandelier. Oh, there's an eye in there, yeah. They heal you up. Chandelar. Yeah, Chandler something. They heal you up. You fall in love with an empress with a fat ass. And she's just like, yo, I want you to forget about your blackness

and all your black friends on earth and that's what you have to do to fall in love with me the bird woman with a fat ass what is your choice I would leave y'all except I was very quick decision I appreciate that except when they let me know that like Steve was like in trouble and something that Steve oh wait if you get the psychic from Steve

if I get the psychic from Steve Steve just turns so skeleton it's like I see Steve I got to come back and check on everybody there. I got to come back. It's like, yeah, I'm going through the things. I'm like,

shit, man, I got my own. And then I'm the emperor. I'm the emperor of the bird people that conquer everybody. I got gladiated. I could tell the do whatever I say. Do you know if I had a nigga like gladiated

the things I would make him do? Oh my gosh. What are you mean? What are you mean? All right. You been hanging. We are, we know what's some parties you've been to.

So watch out. It's a crazy. That's crazy. Oh my God. Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey. You know what's funny? No, Bob, man. You know what's funny?

You know what's funny? On the tennis court? Like, it was bunny hopping. Jesus Christ. I mean, I'm looking at Glad to here like, good job, Daddy. You deserve it. Dad. Daddy, you deserve it.

Yeah. You deserve it. You deserve it, Daddy. Don't. You deserve it. I fuck it, right, yeah. I don't even fuck it to say. I still, I think X-Men 97 is cooking with Grace.

I loved it. Kermm. Yes, sir. I want to give you your little clear out here because the people love your X-Men. Why are you looking at Jomey? Wait, Jomi, why Jomey? Jomey check your phone.

You want to know why? Check the phone? Because, because Byron's playing in the semifinals, the Champions or the Quarterfathers' Champions League right now. It's a sore spot we bring up Kerm's X-Men 9. It's really. That's really not. Me and Joe me, been home?

Because if you listen, because y'all went, y'all did the whole sting about the, oh, the time capsul prediction podcast was the dumb man. We went on the podcast, we talked about X-Men for a little bit, and we had Kerm hop in and tell us what he thought of the first five episodes. So we really are not like that. And you just trying to start stuff. Trying to make beef out of nothing, man.

It's crazy. Make beef, jol-off beef. Jol-O-J-L-L-J-L-J-L. Get to Shog. Wait, no, we got any, we need a, uh, Kerm-Clear-Out. Oh, yeah, Kerm, clear out real quick. Kerm, you are a very, very dedicated X-Men fan. Showstone a lot of people,

just from your deep well-of-knowledge of the X-Men in comic books and different runs and things like that. How are you enjoying X-Men 97? I've been enjoying it a lot. I think my biggest thing was going from last week's episode to this week's one. When you end it on such a big note with, you know, Gambit dying, Magneto, potentially dying,

it felt like a bit of a drop-off. Like, I get that we had to introduce Charles and Xavier at some point, but it just felt like where the main story is that we have to take a two-episode break from. I didn't necessarily love that. But overall, I love the show. I love how it's a great way to speed through some of these storylines to kind of get, you know, a fan up to speed.

Like some of this stuff, I'm going to be honest with you. Like, I know a lot of the X-Men canon, but I didn't necessarily read the Chris Claremont comics of like the 80s. So it's like different things like this. I love how they're doing it, truthfully. But one thing I will say that we didn't touch on today about today's episode because I got this fuck Charles Xavier's agenda. The ablest was showing hard. And the fact that they went to the astroplane, he brought them all there.

Why can he stand there? Does he feel shame of being in a wheelchair that much that he's like he's going to pretend that he can stand in the astral plane? I'm just saying, fuck that nigga. All right. Control an ass off. I hate that. This is ridiculous. I hate that guy, man.

This is how you know that the Professor Xavier hate is irrational. It's not irrational. It's not. He's a piece of shit. He got a whole child, army. We can do this all day. I understand that part of being in Gen Z or whatever generation you guys are in is to go back and look at people that make regular decisions. Professor X was trying to groom Gene Gray.

What is talking about? Rumer for what? Let's talk about it. For sexual intercourse? What did I miss? It's canon that he had like a crush on Gene in like the original five. Okay. So what?

So what? Okay. So what? So what? What? What? What? We got him.

We got him. We got him. We got him. We got him. Hold on a four second. Quiet on set. Quiet on set. I can't put that in the book.

I can't put that in the book. But look. But look, okay. So I just want to clear out. Clarify something here. I was clear. I want clarify something. I was clear.

I was clarify something. I wasn't talking. talking about Gene and the original Gene. I was talking about when they got older, maybe he had a crush on her or whatever. It's whatever. I don't care that much about that. She's an adult.

The fucking 50-year-old man when she turns 18, 19-20s is like, yo, Gene, what's going on? Look. You ain't you ain't? This is what I'm saying. This is what I'm saying. Xavier as a family man teacher boss dude is a pretty impeachable father figure in comic book history.

No, he's not. Unimpeachable shit. He's sending these motherfuckers out to war like they're not, you know. He's a family man. He's a multiple X-Men. Wait, me, how's he? What, you guys? You guys are, it's a fucking war.

It's like, I don't understand. What do you want? What? Land this plane. Okay, I'm going to land the plane. Okay, so I want you guys to think about what's going on here, right? Okay. Think about where Charles Xavier, like, operates.

He doesn't operate in your super fucking, soft ass 24 lens this is a motherfucker that they're trying to kill them at all fucking times right they're trying to kill them at all fucking you know who else like pussy

Dr. King like they're like these guys are stressed out I'm tapping out of this conversation I'm not getting caught like this man about examine so look they're trying to kill them at all times they're aliens trying to kill them

yeah at some point if these kids have special abilities you're going to say to them, figure this shit out, and let's put a fucking uniform on you. It's the way that it goes. So if Professor Xavier, right? Yeah.

He gets there, we were talking about Vulcan earlier. There was a whole crew of children that he sent to their desk. One of them is related to his favorite X-Men Cyclops. And he's just like, I'm never telling y'all about that shit.

You don't think that's a bad leadership? Nah, because I really don't think, First of all, leaders have to compartmentalize things all the time. You guys are so... I don't understand what world you guys grew up in. So Nick Fury, Nick Fury. Is he a good or a bad leader? A bad leader, historically.

He's kind of a piece of shit. Okay, so... Hold on. Hold on. Hold on. No, no, no, no. No, no. I got to stand up.

I got to stand up. I got to stand up. I got to stand up. There's a lot going on. There's a lot going on. There's a lot going on. This is really crazy. What, what do you guys expect?

You guys expect that, like, if you're the president, or if you're like a governor or if you're something that you go around telling everybody, everything, there are different fucking situations. I think the problem there is. You have to communicate things to people. Because you have... Cyclops is a good leader.

Professor X is a bad leader. Cyclops is actually not a leader. He is a commander. Xavier is the leader. You have this. You got this. Hold on. Wait, wait.

I can't talk comments with you. Cyclops is a commander, meaning he's an on-field battle command. So Cyclops, when Professor X dies, he takes over. He does not take over the X-Men, takes over the school, gets them through. And he sucks. And he sucks. Oh, my God. All the X-Men got their fucking powers taken away.

And he's like, yo, I'm the leader. I'm going to take y'all through this. Let me tell you something. What ends up happening to Cyclops? He ends up getting super-duper fucking radicalized. right and he be true or false you know you know the X-Men versus Avengers era I get it he ends up

becoming super duper fucking radicalized because when you're in that position it's not easy Xavier never became radicalized but he did have to compartmentalize things that he told to people that he was leading things that he didn't let them know and things that he let them know to

negotiate their motivations I keep trying to tell y'all like even if you want to get me I don't think nothing this is a tired comment I keep trying to tell you. Even in the situation with forge and storm, I'm talking to you guys, and you guys are like, he needs to tell her, he needs to tell her.

If he fucking tells her, then she's not going to do the stuff that she needs to do to help her. Sometimes when you're a leader, you can't be super snowflake woke and all of this stuff. Sometimes you have to, like, make tough decisions about what you're going to do with people.

I will say, I'll say two things. One, I do see what Van is saying about, like, leaders. I don't want to get... How do y'all feel about Obama's history with drones? Let's talk about it. You know what I'm saying? Exactly.

Hold on. Also, not a secret. But let me tell you something right now. Hold on, real quick. Let's say that Obama goes, let's say that Area 51 is all kinds of alien shit, right? Let's just say we really got it. And let's say Obama goes, I just want everybody to know everything. So he just gives, hey, uh,

President Obama is a motherfucking press conference. I just want you to let y'all know. About 200 years ago, above Alaska, the United States made contact with extraterrestrials. We've been talking with them, trading with them. They're our pals. Some of our tech and all of the stuff that we've gotten. It's got it from the Oppenheimer didn't build that shit.

Bleak block bloop bloop for Mars. So then, like, after he says that, right? Do you know what happens? Madness? everything goes to shit y'all can't handle this shit like after he says that shit we can handle aliens we definitely are at the point where we can

brother we don't no no no no we definitely can't add it. What are you talking about we can't handle fucking climate crisis people couldn't get a shot bro we definitely can't handle aliens we definitely can't handle aliens so you go out there and you tell everybody that oh yes it was very honest Obama did the right thing

now is riots all over the place people are going crazy they want to make the aliens they want to worship them. It's bad. Sometimes when you are a leader, you have to compartmentalize things. You have to make tough decisions

and especially like in common books when it's life. It's not perfect. It's just how, why. It's not only professor X. They're defending government to like a degree that I can't get with.

I can't go-in that shit, I'm telling you all right now. I'm telling you all, y'all don't want to know. Y'all don't want to know, man. I want to know. Okay. There's a lot of, again,

this is, I'm not. trying to defend the government and people. But in stories like this one, like you gotta like make tough decisions about life or death and, you know, your whole race as a people. Like, yeah, some stuff you gotta have to do is gonna be unpopular. You know what I mean?

Like, Nick Fury's not to, it's not on the same level, obviously. But like, there's a lot of shit going down. He's a spy. He's a spy. I don't know what you want. We can move on. Van fucking turned 44 and he's already like,

well, you know, I'm not a liberal anymore. I'm a moderate. I'm a, no, hold on. I'm a liberal. I'm, I'm very, look, here's a. Dean. I'm super liberal. How you feel about taxes? I would pay, I would really, I would take the tax rate back, just real quick.

I would take the tax rate back to the time of the Great Compression in the 50s. If it were me, anything over $3 million, I hit you motherfuckers with a 70% margin tax rate. I get that money from your dumb asses. And like, if it was me, anything over $3 million, you don't need that. like we could all have something but anyway I don't want to get to that because it's mad people that's like oh my God Bill's probably freaking out all right cool

I do want to know and I think that people should know but I think most people don't want to know I think Xavier knows that I think Nick Fury knows that Batman does know that Batman knows I think most people don't want to know that's all I'm saying so that's why I defend Xavier I get what you're trying to say in the in the lens of the straight up like whatever

so Captain America asshole right he knew why didn't he go and tell Iron Man that his boy killed his bad. I mean, yeah, that's not a debate. That was fucked up. Because Iron Man was being a little bit of a bitch. See? See? Have some goddamn shame. We got to go. We got a goddamn shame.

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Find yours at Target today. Let's talk about Shogun. Give me a spoiler warning. We're getting ready to talk about Shogam. You're listening to a reaction podcast. The spoilers are coming. Chuck, Midnight Manifest. All right.

This is your Midnight Manifest for Shogun. Chapter 9 Crimson Sky, directed by Frederick Iotoy, written by Rachel Kondo and Kalyn Puente. Blackthorn and Yabashiga make their pitch to Ishido but are denied. Meanwhile, Mariko demands that she be allowed to leave and escort Torunaga's family to Ido as is her duty with her lord. When Ashido denies her and sends guards to prevent her from leaving, Mariko proclaims that she will commit Sapuku. On the verge of death with Blackthorn as her second, Mariko was stopped by Ishito and granted the permits necessary to leave the castle, which opens the door for the other in-prisoned families to request the same permit. Mariko and Blackthorn finally succumbed to their feelings for each other,

but it's cut short when Shinobi are sent to kill Mariko. Blackthorn Yabashika and Toranaga's family are trapped in a storehouse, Mariko decides to sacrifice herself in an explosion, giving Torinaga the last chip he needs to wage his war. And that has been your Midnight Manifest for Shogun. Clear out, Charles, what you got? It's so hard, I think, to... surprise me or honestly anybody anymore after our like prestige peak TV era um you know we game

of thrones is probably i think the last time and maybe succession actually too with uh spoiler alert five seconds with logan's death we were all like yo what the fuck and the i will say i had the same feeling of this episode where i was like yo they kill a homeboy last episode let's see what happens this entire episode i'm like mariko's not going to do it they're going to save her at the last minute. And then when she puts the knife to her to her chest, I'm like, oh, man, this show's going to break my heart. And then she gets saved at the last minute and you're like, and then this thing does the thing that great TV does, where it's like, oh, you guys are relaxed now. You guys got everything you want. Blackthorn Mariko. They finally consummated their whole thing, professed

their love for each other. Y'all think you're cool. It's going to be action. We only got one episode left. And when Mariko goes on that door, as she's just like, hey, it's time, I was heartbroken. I was surprised. I was angry. That's the mark of good television. Television that makes you feel. I was like, yo, what the fuck is happening right now?

Exhausted after the episode. Exhausted. It just, it took you on this emotional roller coaster. and I think the genius thing about this is they send Mariko off in such an amazing way. Last week, she finally gets to tell her husband everything. And then this week when she has to tell her son sucks. Her son sucks so much.

Is this the first time we've seen him? No, we saw him in, I think, like, the first or second episode. I don't remember seeing him before, but yeah, he does that. I think she kisses him goodbye. Like when they're marching out and Toranaaga sneaking out. Her son sucks, but it's like, oh, this is another layer of the curse, where it's like Mariko's like cursing everything that's happened with her family. And like the last person she loves in this world turns his back on her.

It was sublime. Van, what did you think of this episode? Remarkable. Brutal, emotionally brutal, viscerally, brutally brutal, just high stakes. I just watched the movie Civil War. Quick little clear out. How was it, man?

I loved it. Does it not have any politics as people are bitching about? It doesn't have very many politics. It eludes at politics. It's about what a movie like that, to me, should be about, which is about us.

It's about how our lives and our perspectives are changed, the danger of living in, a war zone, the instability of living in a time where things are crumbling. It's about that. And you move through different eras of that and different ways of that. But the thing about the movie is almost every single scene, not every single scene,

but every single scene is high leverage in a way because it's almost like Handmaid's Tale. Like anytime you put something in that situation, every scene seems like it means so much. which is when we're talking about television that that doesn't resonate it's oftentimes to me like what we're talking about we're talking about the empty calories in the television show show gun just doesn't have any empty calories and this episode was all meat ha ha ha ha yeah again um it was this episode was all meat no filler and spicy spicy spicy uh uh i was it made me wonder so many different times if I was ready for her character to die. If she, if her character passes away from character goes,

what it means to the show and the episode was able to reinforce how there really is no show without her, that she is the connective tissue to the show. And it was bloody and there was swords and there was all of that stuff. but the reason why Toranauga entrusted her to go up there and to do exactly what she did is because she was the only person that could have done it. So does that make y'all look at Toranaga differently?

Because I didn't realize it last episode, but what he's asking her to do takes the ultimate trust between a lord and someone who's following, which is essentially like, I'm sending you into this war zone. You are the biggest chip I have left. you might die. Like, your family is going to be against you, your country might be against you,

and the whole thing that makes this, her entire performance throughout this, the actress, she's amazing, is that she cannot blink. Like, she has to be so strong and so steadfast when she's talking to, like, basically not her biological sister, but her sister, Oceba, she has to be so strong in that. And then finally, when it gets to be too much, I was like, that is, she not only had to carry the entire series on her back, she had to carry this entire episode on her back.

She did. It's great work. Joby. I thought this episode was spectacular. I think to Charles's point, I don't know if she had to die, but it definitely means more that she did. When I was,

I'm watching the episode, and like you, she's got the knife to her chest and Blackthorn seconding her. I'm like, it's over. She's got the rosary in her hand, hands it to a boy and I'm thinking like it's cooked get saved, gets the permits, whatever.

And then I'm like, huh, that worked out. But there's still seven minutes left in the episode. Yeah, I was like, uh, I don't, I don't trust it. And if, uh, if Yabushiga has no haters, that means I'm dead. Because that motherfucker. Nasty work. Sold. So hard.

And then he fucking goes back and he's like, I'm on y'all's team. And I'm like, what? Well, I mean, he has to be, yes or not, he has to not implicate himself. His whole thing is, he has to be like, and his thing is, oh, we go this way so they don't kill us. They're like, no, no, no, we're going to go that way. He's, he can't tell them why he knows which way to go. They're just like there to basically kill everybody. Question.

How old were you guys when you learned a difference between Dija and Semarai? Oh, you know, I was in the fucking bookstore reading fucking Naruto and shit. So very early on. want to say when I read one of those Magic Treehouse books. So that might have been like, I might have been like a 10, 11, 12. So we were at the bus stop. This is

circa 89. Van is old. Thank you. I appreciate that. So what people don't talk about in the Negro neighborhoods is there's one point where people just start doing backflips. Yes.

Yes. There's like there's one era where people just start doing backflips. And it also, the craziest thing is it's like overnight. It's like puberty where you're like, oh, I'm like there is the niggas who are doing backflips and then there's everybody else. It's like you get to a certain era and people start doing backwards. I remember my dad warned me not to try it. He could just look at me and say it wasn't in mind.

He's like, hey, that's a gift. It's a gift you ain't got. All right. You come in here with a broken arm or some chival. trying to talk about just trying to flip. I'm going to let that motherfucker bleed. I didn't even know that a broken arm bled, but whatever, I guess it can. Do you guys remember when, like, fucking all of a sudden, like, Chris Brown just starts flipping?

N'niko start flipping? He just, I didn't know. He was, like, pop-locking, and then he'd be like, I can flip now. He was just doing fucking flip. I have a theory about that. Because, you know, he was doing all of the stuff, and it was like, Michael Jackson was never going to be. Michael Jackson never flipped. And Chris Brown was like, yo, all of these dances I do.

on the ground, that's not going to get past Michael. But if I flip and do a corkscrew, that I'll tell you right there that I'm better than this nigga. But niggas didn't care. But anyway, so I remember we're at the bus stop, and one of my homeboys, DeMell, he flips. He flips, and he goes, fuck. Telling you, I feel like a samurai.

And I remember one of the little white boys that went to school with us. Jared goes, Samurai don't flip. Jared's locked in. Jared was small. Jared and his brother Aaron. They were the only two little white boys in the neighborhood. Jared goes samurai don't flip.

That's the coldest shit ever. And then you ever seen it? What happens when somebody gets embarrassed by knowledge and you know it's about to go bad? I was like, oh, shit. And he was like, what? It's like, Samurai don't flip. They're wearing too much arms. and they got all kinds of stuff on there.

He's like, you're thinking of ninjas. Oh, right. And he was like, oh, shit, this motherfucker's spit. He is right. Ninja is a samurai, not the same thing. Fucking ninja, ninja assassin, creep up on you. Samurai, soldier. Demel was furious.

Of course. Like, furious. Like, he was furious. You don't fucking tell me. I said, I flip my. Like a samurai, I see all kinds of samurai as flip. Hey. And Jeremy.

No, you haven't. Hey, he's cooking. He cooked it. He cooked them. Wait, well, I know what piss to me off about black people? It's like, when black people get embarrassed about that, they start to be like, don't tell me about Sabarion, nigga. I saw Sabarov flip.

I'm like, dog, like, just let it go, bro. Like, it's not even an important, right? And we was all watching it. I mean, we, I'm telling you, man, we had to be like in the fifth grade. We were all watching. We knew it was coming. And it was like, so what,

nigga, you trying to fight? Yeah. My big cousin was like, nah, I'm not going to let you fight him over that. He was like, he was like,

because the kids was going to middle school because he was going to kindergarten and he was like, nah, I'm not going to let you fight him because of that. He's, I don't even know what y'all tell him.

You can't fight him because of that. You can't find that. And that's, that's the moment. Because at that point, I would confuse samurai and ninja. Like, and that's when I realized, because of my little, the little Jared and Aaron, it's like, that's when I realized that it's a difference between the samurai.

They both got swords. But one is an assassin and one is like a feudal soldier from Japan. That's the moment I learned. Yeah. I always in movies too, you know, samurai, I think are a little bit more valuable. Every time you see Shinobi, it doesn't matter. It's like, oh, there's thousands of them. And they just wanted through.

just killing people. That's the one that gets me Shinobi and Ninja. I don't know if there's a difference. It's the same thing. Interchangeable. Okay. Shinobi, doesn't Shinobi mean ninja? I think so.

Anyway, what you were saying? Our Asian listeners are like, fuck. They just, they, there's a difference. How are we supposed to know? I didn't know. I didn't know. Do Wikipedia. Like, I think Shinobes are just ninjas, man.

I've read a lot of fucking Naruto. I think Shinobi means. Oh, a ninja, Japanese, one who is invisible. or Shinobi One who sneaks. Yeah. Yeah, they call them Shinobi and the thing.

Anyway, so when the Shinobi came through, when the Shinobi came through, I knew that was about to be fucked up, but I was still wondering how she was going to survive. Yeah. I thought that she had already escaped the gauntlet of death.

Now I'm not so sure. I don't know if she's there a lot. I mean, I think... Oh, she's definitely there. You think she's definitely dead? This is a chance she could be alive, right? She's alive. She got burnt to a crisp in that explosion.

She didn't get burned to it, she didn't get blowed up, but I, you know, but the door was behind her. But also, here's the thing. The reason I was like... Once again, if they don't show a character dying. That is true. Yeah, but go ahead.

But the reason I was just like, oh, the whole reason strategically Toranaaga has to send Mariko there is like, yo, we have to prove that the rest of these lords and their families are basically being held prisoner. And the real thing that is just like, oh, the reason she, like, story-wise, I think, she has to die, because that's what's going to make Torinaga and all of these lords unite against Ishido because now they're like, oh, you went against someone of high birth? Oh, no, fuck this. Ishito, you're done. And I think the genius of this is like the chapter, it's chapter nine crimson sky. I was like, we keep hearing about crimson sky. Oh, we're going to sneak up on the castle.

We're going to sneak up on the castle. That's what originally I thought the Shinobi were. But then I'm like, Oh, no, thematically what this Crimson Sky was, instead of sending, Torano is sending his armies there. Oh, Mariko's the army. She's the army. She's the person that sneaks in. And her weaponry is more,

her weaponry is culture, it's honor, it's poetry. It's poetry. It's the history that she has with everyone, the standing that she has with everyone. Her weaponry, because, like, she's at her weakest in the episode when she tries to grab a weapon and get busy.

Yeah. She's at her strongest when the weight of who she is and what she is is is being leveraged to affect an outcome. I don't know, man. That scene at the end with her and the Blackthorn went out there like back to back. I don't like that. I don't like shit like that. I don't like shit like that.

What? Blackthor killed like two ninjas, bro. I mean, he had the gun. You got range on him. Yeah, he has the blammer on him. I hate it, bro. Why? You'd motherfuckers would have packed Blackthorn up so quick.

Blackthorn would have came out there with one arm, one toe. That was a little bit, like, because I'm like, first of all, you could only get one shot off. And then he's like grabbing nods. I'm like, this nigga just picked up. Also, what I will say, though, Blackthorn and Mariko, I did think it was beautiful when it's like, you know, Mariko. Sapu is just, she's a Christian. She's just like, I'm, it's going to be eternal damnation. Like, I need you as my second.

And the Christian guys is like, peace, I'm not doing this. Which I was just like, fuck him, man. Well, he didn't want to do it also because. He would go to hell too. Well, no, he wouldn't go to hell. He could just, you know, repent. My dad. But I love the fact that it was just like, oh, that is such a, this is shot beautifully.

The place where it's coming in the episode is so beautiful because Blackthorn is like, I don't believe in this part of your culture. I don't understand Sapuku. I don't understand your relationship to life and death. But in that moment, he's like, I love you so much. I will be your second. And I was just like, I don't want to see the white boy end up. with Mariko, but if this is how it has to go,

it was done beautifully. The stuff that worked for me, I mean, the show I love as a whole, but man, y'all know me, and I love me some romance, love me some of that stuff, bro. The scene before she, she just getting ready to kill herself

when they're outside the little, little convent, she sends her people away. He's like, look, if not for Japan, not for your family, not for anybody, don't die for me. That's crazy.

Crash out. Which is crazy. I didn't think that would work. Crash up. I thought she looked at that boy like, brother, it's not like that. Chill. But she takes his hand, she squeezes his hand and just scurs away no response. I was like, oh, yeah.

Like, I knew she loved this man. I didn't know it was that deep. She could not face him. That white man has a family. A y'all has sex once. Mariko stand up. For all the women in the Japan, stand up. I get it.

I want to, you know, I want to be rational about it. But that shit messed something to me, man. I can't hold you. They have some kind of unspoken, really energetic. Like, just, they have an energy together. They got to think. Dude. I think this is the second time we've seen them fuck.

I think they stick it in whenever they have a chance. I think they go out for translating lessons. Stick it in on snow. Can we use any language that is better than sticking in, bro? I just kidding. I was going to, we do win. I was ready to push past it. Let's let it slide.

You know what I'm going to. He was unseathing the sword. You know what I'm going to do? This is what I'm going to do. This was what I'm going to do for you guys and for the audience. I'm going to spend one month and we're going to flip the rolls. I'm going to come in this bitch. Okay.

I'm going to be the other way super duper elevated. I'm going to show y'all how problematic y'all are. I don't want to hear you say Oh, stick it in I'm sticking it in all done You called him a white man You just finished being racist You're just finished being racist

You and Rick Rawls White boy, white boy, white boy It's like he just finished being racist For no reason But look. Black people can't be racist That's facts Whatever you guys say that

We laugh Whatever you guys Whatever you guys complain about stuff like that Oh my gosh Wait wait really really quick Really really quick You probably already talked about on higher learning

What? Can Drake be racist by calling Rick Ross racist to his mom? Okay, so this is he just being a Karen? Just can I just say something real quick? At certain points, people do the exact wrong thing that they shouldn't do. That's a perfect example of that. Yeah. Like when someone's coming at you and first of all, it's completely unfair to Drake,

we should just say. We know he's a black man. He's black. Okay, he's daddy from Memphis. Shout out, Dennis. It's completely unfair to Drake, but it's rap beef. So the most immature thing wins, it's fine. But the last thing that you do in that situation is go, mama, they're being racist to me.

You can't do that. Because it's like, here's the thing. It's a light skin rule that I learned very early on. I'm like, if your boys are being like, oh, you're being so light-skinned. I'm like, you can't, like, you just can't have any emotion, bro. You got to let the jokes rock, bro. You can't. He's angry.

It just looked. It looked crazy. It is what it is. It is what it is. And Ross is just so unsurious. Dog, did you see the cover art? It's so

funny. What is going on with this beef, man? What is going on with this beef? Like, Kendrick haven't dropped yet. Everybody, every day, all of my, shout out to all of my West Coast. Shout out to DJ head glasses.

Everybody is like, oh, man, I'm hearing these records go so every day the records ain't dropping. The records ain't dropping. Show to yours. I need everybody to calm down because now I got motherfuckers being like, yo, y'all don't want baby Keem to hopping this.

I'm like, Nick, shut the fuck. There should be less rappers is what I'm hearing right now. It should be way less. I'm hearing push about the drop. Wait, what is he got to do with this? Might as well. It's overseas. Might as well.

Push it, dude. Let's try it. People say push about the drop. up. Oh, he smelled blood in the water? He's like, oh, we going? He said, he said, enough is enough. Yeah.

Anyway, but look, Shogun annihilated me. The show is... It stuck it in you. Here's... It's stuck in you. Christ, oh, my thing. That was...

I was talking... I was section of friend last night. Shout out to Daniel Jude. I don't want to see... If Mariko actually is dead, I don't need a second season. I don't need it. They're not doing the second season anyway.

They say they continue to lie and act like they're not doing the second season. So, you know, I don't know. But if she's dead, then they can't do a second season. If she's actually dead, y'all got it. We'll wrap it up next week. Don't be sad about it. Here's the thing. I can't be on that because, you know, my wife, Fujisama is still out there.

Fujimma, two episodes, stop Fujisama. Yo, Fujisama, I'm out here in these streets. Just call me up, you know, I'll pay your rent. What? That's nuts. What? Is she paying for, why I guess,

I mean, she's the homamoto's. I'm a Hotamoto out here in the Hotamato Holmes. Hotamato Holmes. Hotamato Holmes is crazy. We need Fuji Salmon next week. But yeah, if there's no money, I don't really want to.

Is this the first episode we've gotten with absolutely zero Torana? No, because remember when his son, was he in the episode where his son completely like fucks up? I think he was like beginning maybe? Oh yeah, and then he leaves.

Yeah. But most of the episode was just like, Like those two. So obviously we know who sent the Shinobi. Ishtido? Is she to? Yeah. My question is this.

He doesn't want to make her stay or let her kill herself because it is too dishonorable. But he'll send assassins to her place in the middle of the night to kill everyone. And when everybody's going to know who did that is just the, is the shroud of who did this enough to absolve him? You can feign innocence. You'd be like, oh, what? That's, wow, that's crazy. It's one thing to be like, we denied you the papers.

You had to go kill yourself. That looks square at the barrel at you. Oh, oh, my gosh. These ninjas. The cover of dark and all that stuff is a way of hide. Because also, he can be like, oh, my gosh, like, we need to find the people who did it. I see. You know what I'm saying?

like he can because here's the thing I also mean I'm not going to say it I'm just saying it I'm just saying it I'm in Jomey's brain right now Jomey say it The old OJ Simpson defense

You want to find a real killer All right All right That has been the fucking Don't Steve need to come back y'all don't know how to act with Steve Nye here right You want to find a real killer

We're looking at it We're looking at it I will I'm scared to be It'll soccer right now because I don't know. The real killers are still here. Right.

The real killers are they going to be like, yo, actually, it was Mariko's son. Yeah. I'm saying. The son is I'm telling you. One more episode of Shogun, before we leave, you guys, we're having too much fun. We're doing the best job we can this podcast or something.

We apologize. Before we leave, what do we expect what will happen? Oh, I think we are getting a Battle of the Bastards type. Like, Toronaga's coming in. He's fucking shunaga. shit up. I think now, especially Blackthorn about to go Terminator. He's just like, yo, you kill Mariko.

Da-da-da-da-da. We about to see something generational. I agree. And again, this is all according to Tornaga's plan. Everybody's playing the roles. He's like setting up the chessboard and everything is lining up for him to go into Osaka next week and do the thing. That's what's going to happen. Yeah, I think he's going to be

action-heavy episode. I can be wrong. A lot of people who have watched the original series have, you know, they're like, oh, guys, all this stuff, blah, blah, blah. I know what's going to happen. But I think it's going to be an action-heavy episode.

And I feel like Toranooga's going to win. I think obviously he's going to win, but I want to see how at this point. Yeah. Like, obviously how it's going to happen. But I need, what I actually like is, I just need to see Torana get busy because it's all been like, oh, from behind the scenes, he's really smart.

I'm like, no, you need to kill those. Ashito, bro. I need him out of here. He sucks. Fuck. It's terrible. It's terrible. Stop.

Guys, we're done. We're out of here. Steve, we'll be back next week. We appreciate you, Kerm. I'm going to thank you later. White boy? White boy. White boy?

White boy? White boy. No Chevy? You ain't got a Chevy. He ain't got no Chevy. Steve. Steve ain't got no Chevy. White boy.

If Steve rolled up in a Chevy one day, it'd be the funniest one day. It'd be so funny. Steve, you ain't got no Chevy, Steve. It's like, you got the 1978 cargo jet. What the fuck? How can you make fun of somebody who was given a 737 for free?

And you got that whole bitch decked out. Only Rick Ross could find something wrong with that. He said, you got the cargo. It's not meant for humans. The plane ain't meant for humans. It ain't got no oxygen tanks up there. I want you to be careful up there with the plane. She's not meant for human beings to fly on it.

I meant what I said about your mom. She's beautiful. That's beautiful. That's how I know. That's how I know. They kind of still love each other. That's homies. That's homies. That's beefing with your bro. Because even the moms was like, nah, nah, nah, nah, no.

Your mom's still beautiful. I meant that. I meant that. Your mom's a beautiful lady. I mean, she is a beautiful lady. They'll be friends. You know what other white mom is beautiful? Shout out a lot of his mom.

You know what I'm saying? And I'm the milk man. What? She looks like a good. And I'm the milk man. Younger than me. How old, how old Lato's one?

It's like 35, right? I don't think she's 40 yet. She might be 40 because I remember Lotto's well, Lato dis Nicky Minaj. Lato said, you're older than my mom. Yo, take it to help, man.

And I was like, that can't be true. And then I looked it up. And yeah, Lato's mom had it when she was 15. So some low-down-ass nigger was, anyway. Oh my God. Okay. that's a wrap.

Housel Bar returns with an X-Men 97. Deep dive on Friday. Next week, we will be back on Shogun and X-Men 97. Now, how many more episodes this X-Men 97 have? Four, I believe. There's 10 total. This was six? Yes.

This was six. So we're on X-Men 97 for a while. There's going to be a lot of stuff coming up pretty soon as well. All right. Our producer is Steve, the architect, Allman. But today, it is Jonathan X-Men. Man, Kermah. There you go, Jonathan.

Jomi, a dinner on, is on social's hashtag. I'll make up the hashtag this time. Hashtaghan Ghanian gangsta. Ooh. Not Ghanian. Ghanian gangsta. Jomey, you're Ghanaian. I'm not Ghanaian.

Wait, what are you, you don't like the Guyanese? No, what are you doing? Look. Y'all got beef? Between Jalaf rice and the soccer is beef. Oh, wow. Outside of that. Are you Nigerian?

I'm Ghanaian. Oh, that explains it. That's why y'all don't like each other. You know, don't do that. That's why y'all don't fuck with each other. We can discuss the joll off offline. Because I don't know about that one. Whose mom has better joll off, you think?

My mom. I've had his mom's joll off, and I'm not trying to dish your mom. Like, shout out of Joe's mom. You clearly are, though. You clearly are this. Oh, no, this is the beef. But my auntie, she got that good job. Okay, you got peez in it, don't it.

They got pieces of character. Don't do that. Don't do that. Don't do that. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. I'm glad we're doing this I'm glad we're doing you're trying to set up to Africans

Ray you're trying to put the Africans against each other I have a friend a dear friend who is a Joloff expert he also happens to be a very prominent rapper and his name is Waleigh okay shout out Wale shout out Walee

this is what we're going to do does your aunt live near here yeah La Cresenta she lives here Your mom. We're going to have a jolof off. Oh, this is going on the pod. We're going to have a joloff off.

We're going to have a joloff off on the pod. And we're going to take people. It's not going to, I'm going to let, it's going to be a three-person. It's going to be Waleigh. And then maybe Steve. Oh, yeah. And then somebody else. And they're going to taste the joloff.

And then we're going to decide whose joloff is better. Blind taste test, though. Blind taste test, blind Joloff off. If you guys don't know what Joloff Rice is, go look it up. It's the pride of West Africa. Sierra Leone says that they got the best out of everyone. Have some shame. Okay.

So we're going to do this. We're going to, we're going to see. Because, Kerm, you just, you called out Joe's own family. It was good. And that's a little. My mother. You're filling in for Steve and you was like, your mom's rice.

Before we get out of here, I didn't say it's whatever. I said it's solid. It's good right. It's solid? It's good right. It's solid. That's crazy. But, like, do you think I'm going to sit here and ignore my auntie's rice over on this side?

I can't do that. I can't do that. It's all right. Peas and carrots, Jomey said. There was no peas and carrots over on this side. At least the Joloff I've had at my crib. Joloff Rice, country. Hold on real quick.

Before we go, Kerr, do you have a ring at the tip of your index finger above the little knuckle thing? I do. What the fuck is that? Zerk sees from 300? What the fuck you got going on? Let curb cook, bro. He's out here. Let him fucking cook, right.

I'm just trying shit out. It's a little iOS update, you feel me? You know, we just trying shit out. Additional production from our Juna Romca pal. Charles take us out. Storm, we love your natural hair. Steve Allman is on a trip. And if we've learned anything this episode,

nigger Samaraz don't flip. Boo!