For a little while, it seemed like The Walking Dead was eager to use its popularity as a platform to create an entire universe of zombified television. First, there was the spinoff/prequel Fear the Walking Dead, followed by The Walking Dead: World Beyond and then the anthology series Tales of the Walking Dead. Each one intermingled with the original show, but for the most part, they were intent on telling their own stories. Fast-forward to 2024, and the former two series have ended, while Tales got an order for another season last year with no further news.
This leaves us with the question: What do we want out of The Walking Dead now? Because it seems like whatever plans AMC had for a sprawling empire have been whittled back down to focusing on what the central characters of the main show have been up to. Dead City looks at Negan and Maggie, Daryl Dixonis concerned with the titular badass, and The Ones Who Live reunites Rick and Michonne, the franchise’s power couple who previously departed The Walking Dead, leaving it to end in a rudderless, underwhelming fashion. Is the future of The Walking Dead… The Walking Dead divided into three shows?
If it’s a ploy to regain a dwindling audience, it makes sense. At its height, The Walking Dead was a ratings behemoth. Its peers in the “prestige TV” boom of the 2010s might have eaten its lunch in terms of sustained critical appraisal, but at its height, the fifth-season premiere scored 17.29 million viewers. To put that in perspective, the finale of Breaking Bad had 10.28 million.
Going back to the “glory days” with a handful of the characters most associated with them seems to be a good idea in perhaps luring back the viewers that absconded from the show due to its exhausting length or unpopular creative decisions. The debut of The Ones Who Livenabbed 3 million viewers, a far cry from the massive numbers it once landed a decade ago, even considering TV viewership being down in general. However, it’s a marked improvement from the relatively measly audience of the final season. And AMC is happy with the show’s performance on its streaming service, AMC Plus.
As a way to reignite its narrative potency, it’s a more questionable direction. Dead City, in particular, suffers from a “been there, done that” feeling — didn’t Maggie already sort of forgive Negan for whacking her beloved Glenn with a baseball bat back in the original? Do we really need another series where they have to play an apocalyptic odd couple and go through the same emotional arc again?
Photo: Emmanuel Guimier/AMC
Photo: Peter Kramer/AMC
Image: AMC
Daryl Dixon thrives on Norman Reedus’ bottomless well of likability and an engaging atmosphere. And with best pal Carol co-headlining the upcoming season 2 of his spinoff, we’re likely to get something at least somewhat watchable. However, with franchise overseer Scott Gimple seemingly set on one day reuniting the gang, will it eventually feel like Daryl ’n’ Carol are just spinning their (motorcycle) wheels until we can get the Avengers of Walking Dead side projects? And aren’t all of these Walking Dead spinoff leads coming together just… The Walking Dead?
And considering that The Walking Dead ended with a look toward the future, what wider meaning is there for them to reunite aside from a nostalgic group hug? The zombies have become a bit of an afterthought as the world moves toward rebuilding itself, and they mostly serve as a fleshy obstacle course in 2024. There is always some terrific gruesomeness to be mined from The Walking Dead’s consistently stellar makeup and practical effects, but piecing the cast back together for the sole purpose of seeing them beside one another, squaring off against undead hordes, feels a little empty. The Walking Dead managed to shock us in its early years thanks to its commitment to going the distance in showing that no one is safe from the zombies, but a reunion tour of all the people that were clearly safe misunderstands the “glory years” that the creators want to return to.
Luckily, The Ones Who Live is tapping into some much-needed emotional territory and making it seem like the event that it wants to be (even if the zombie horror aspect has long since rotted). Rick Grimes, now an established soldier of the paramilitary group CRM, must reconcile with his guilt and survival instincts when Michonne, his sword-wielding partner and the mother of his youngest child, comes back into his life to corral him and bring him home. It’s something that Grimes wrestles with, as heading off might put him and the people he loves in the line of fire from the CRM, who has some serious dirt on him and the community he left behind.
“What We,” the fourth episode of the new show, might be one of the best in the franchise’s history that doesn’t focus on undead bloodshed. A good chunk of it is devoted to Rick and Michonne arguing and finally getting to reflect upon the world-weariness that an experience like this would instill. In particular, Rick finds it hard to return to his family because of what happened with his late son Carl, and The Ones Who Live gives him a chance to properly grieve for the ones who don’t. He doesn’t want anyone to have to go through that kind of pain again, nor does he believe that he’d be able to. They’d all be much safer if he bore the weight of their tragedy alone. It is misguided patriarchal martyrdom, but it makes sense for Rick.
Photo: Gene Page/AMC
Of course, Michonne is able to convince him of the fact that he’s Rick Grimes, that he shouldn’t give up, that there’s more out there for the pair, etc. But Rick Grimes being reduced to an anxious, melancholy shell of a man and giving him an ultimate redemption makes The Ones Who Live feel like a fitting narrative follow-up to The Walking Dead and the closest thing the show has gotten to a proper epilogue. It could have very easily been a hollow attempt to draw in the unconvinced crowd with “Hey, it’s that sheriff guy that you liked!” Instead, it competently grapples with Rick as a character that’s been through so much trauma rather than Rick as a returning action hero.
On a wider level, The Ones Who Live can also serve as a fitting cap to the escalating threats of the show. The “We are the Walking Dead” mindset, where the physical menace of the zombie (amid a pop culture saturation of zombie media at the time) was no match for the terrifying specter of your fellow man, produced bad guys like the unstable Governor, the brutal Negan, and a host of other antagonists that ranged from wannabe cults to cannibals. The CRM, an army equipped with massive firepower that is willing to adjust the world to its specific definition of law by force, is the logical “final boss” of The Walking Dead. By fighting back against them, Rick and Michonne aren’t just taking on a rival group but helping decide the order of the future.
Where this leaves the end goal of The Walking Dead remains to be seen. It could all be pointing toward some eventual grand reunion, given that the original show concluded with Michonne and Daryl both running off to find Rick. But the first seasons of both Dead City and Daryl Dixon end with the shows spiraling off further into their own specific plots, so it will be a while before the gang gets back together again.
Until then, The Walking Dead franchise is in, essentially, its DLC era. What you want out of The Walking Dead depends on how attached you are to certain characters, and luckily, there’s now DLC side quests available for a few of them. It remains to be seen if these threads will ever interconnect again (now that every actor is on their own show, AMC would also have to deal with a truckload of contractual issues if it wanted to then push them back into the same series), so until then, The Walking Dead survives entirely on audience interest in the solo exploits of characters it worked to build together. With 11 seasons of the main show, AMC did plenty of asking for you to wait for plots to be resolved and character arcs to be fulfilled. And now, with the hint of bigger things to come and a host of orbiting spinoffs, it’s asking you to wait just a little while longer. For what? We’ll just have to see.
The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live is now streaming on AMC Plus.
April is nearly here and spring has sprung, which means it’s time to comb through the best movies leaving streaming services at the end of this month and plan accordingly.
This month’s lineup is an eclectic assortment of classics, crowd-pleasers, and cerebral gems. Jonathan Glazer’s 2000 debut, Sexy Beast starring Ray Winstone and Ben Kingsley, is a top priority; you must watch that if you haven’t already. Other picks include the sci-fi horror film Underwater, starring Love Lies Bleeding’s Kristen Stewart, Kathryn Bigelow’s elusive cyberpunk thriller Strange Days, a classic martial arts action film starring the inimitable Sonny Chiba, and more.
Whatever you’re looking for, there are options for you, with the added urgency of “you won’t be able to watch this here next month.”
Here are the best movies you should watch before they leave streaming this March.
Editor’s pick
Sexy Beast
Image: FilmFour/Fox Searchlight Pictures
Director: Jonathan Glazer Cast: Ben Kingsley, Ray Winstone, Ian McShane Leaving Criterion Channel: March 31
Earlier this month, Jonathan Glazer took home the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film for The Zone of Interest, his first Oscar win in his 30-plus-year career. Glazer has only directed four features in that time, each one more cerebral and astounding than the last. His first film, Sexy Beast, is arguably his most “commercial” effort to date — and even that qualifier feels like a stretch: It’s a black comedy crime drama that plays out with the nail-biting tension of a horror thriller.
The film centers on Gary “Gal” Dove (Ray Winstone), a career criminal happily whiling away his retirement in Costa del Sol with his wife and friends. Gal is suddenly plagued by a visit from Don Logan (Ben Kingsley), a former associate who has come to recruit him for a upcoming heist. Don is a foul-mouthed, emotionally manipulative sociopath who delights in incessantly berating those around him and bending people to his whim, so when Gal refuses his offer, Don makes it his mission to make Gal’s life a living hell until the job is done.
Glazer’s stellar direction and Ivan Bird’s dreamlike cinematography are what set Sexy Beast apart from other crime movies of its era. So does Kingsley’s scene-stealing performance as a malevolent agent of chaos, who blows in like a bad omen to wreak emotional and physical havoc on anyone and anything unfortunate enough to be close to him. That’s not even mentioning the score, which includes contributions from U.K. trip-hop outfit Unkle, who Glazer previously collaborated with on the music video for their 1998 single “Rabbit in Your Headlights.” Sexy Beast is an exhilarating, thorny, and terrifying case study in emotional manipulation that also happens to be a superb heist movie, and you should absolutely make it your priority to see it if you haven’t already. —Toussaint Egan
One of the most influential action movies ever made, The Street Fighter is a gloriously violent display of Sonny Chiba’s unique star power, as he rips and tears his way through a bunch of gangsters and lowlifes. Decades later, Chiba’s son Mackenyu (One Piece) is carrying that legacy forward… albeit in a slightly less violent fashion.
The first movie to receive an X rating in the U.S. because of violence, The Street Fighter not only inspired the title of the fighting game series, it also introduced the idea of X-ray fatalities, directly influencing Mortal Kombat. If you’re a fighting game fan and you’ve never seen The Street Fighter, this is your chance to fix that. —Pete Volk
Movies to watch on Hulu
Underwater
Photo: Alan Markfield/20th Century Fox
Director: William Eubank Cast: Kristen Stewart, Vincent Cassel, Mamoudou Athie Leaving Hulu: March 31
Underwater is a lean genre project with B-movie flair and solid execution. Sometimes, that’s all you need.
Kristen Stewart stars as the mechanical engineer of a research and drilling facility at the bottom of the Marianas Trench. When disaster strikes and part of the facility is destroyed, she joins the remaining survivors in their attempt to make it out alive. With a strong cast (with the exception of T.J. Miller, who is graciously killed very early in the movie), solid direction by William Eubank (who just directed the solid action thriller Land of Bad), and a tight script from Brian Duffield (No One Will Save You), Underwater is a fun popcorn sci-fi thriller. And with Love Lies Bleeding now out in theaters, why not check out an underrated Kristen Stewart project? —PV
Movies to watch on Max
Strange Days
Image: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Director: Kathryn Bigelow Cast: Ralph Fiennes, Angela Bassett, Juliette Lewis Leaving Max: March 31
Strange Days is a cult classic whose reputation is defined in no small part by how difficult it has been to watch on streaming. Max added the movie to its platform in January 2023, but not all good things last.
Set in a futuristic Los Angeles just two days before the end of the 20th century, Strange Days follows Lenny Nero (Ralph Fiennes), a black-market broker dealing in an illicit technology that allows the user to record their own memories and physical sensations and experience them after the fact. When Lenny comes across a recording that threatens to implicate the LAPD in a high-profile murder, he’s forced to turn to his old friend Lornette “Mace” Mason (Angela Bassett) in order to uncover the origins behind the recording while staying one step ahead of a mysterious killer that wants him dead.
Conceived by producer James Cameron and inspired by the 1992 LA riots that erupted in the wake of the infamous Rodney King trial, Strange Days is a pitch-black sci-fi thriller that touches on institutional racism, voyeurism, societal collapse, and sexual violence, the latter of which is focused primarily on women and Black people. It’s a hard watch — but nevertheless a worthwhile one that rewards its audience with a trio of terrific performances and a strikingly original vision of a bygone alternate future. —TE
Movies to watch on Prime Video
The Swordsman
Image: Well Go USA Entertainment
Director: Jae-Hoon Choi Cast: Jang Hyuk, Kim Hyeon-so Leaving Prime: March 31
There’s no shortage of terrific Korean action movies. If you’re specifically looking for one that’s a stylish, emotional historical drama with fast and frenzied swordplay, I would highly recommend The Swordsman. Set in the aftermath of the Joseon dynasty, the movie follows the story of Tae-yul, the former bodyguard of King Gwanghaegun, who lives in seclusion with his daughter, Tae-ok.
Taey-yul has been afflicted with a condition that threatens to rob him of his sight, and in order to cure it, he’ll need special herbs afforded only to the most well-connected of families. Desperate to help her father, Tae-ok accepts an offer to serve a wealthy family in exchange for the medicine, but when she is inadvertently kidnapped as part of a larger conflict, Tae-yul is forced to come out of hiding to come to her rescue.
Joe Taslim of The Raid and Warrior fame shines as Gurutai, a sneering slave trader and Qing emissary who serves as the film’s primary antagonist. The action itself is terrific, but what really elevates The Swordsman as a whole is Tae-yul grappling with his rapidly diminishing eyesight and the unfolding tragedy of his backstory conveyed through flashbacks. At an hour and a half, it’s a perfect action film to pop on and watch over the weekend. —TE
Matt is joined by Van Lathan to discuss the complicated and nuanced relationship between TMZ and Hollywood. As a former TMZ employee, Van walks us through how the sausage is made at TMZ and outlines its aggressive reporting style, how it pays its sources, and how, despite its often negative perception, the mainstream media has become more like TMZ, not the other way around.
For a 20 percent discount on Matt’s Hollywood insider newsletter, What I’m Hearing …, click here.
Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran
Jason Hehir joins to discuss the medium of sports documentaries, as well as his films, like ‘The Fab Five,’ the lost Sacramento Kings documentary, ‘Down in the Valley,’ ‘Andre the Giant,’ and ‘The Last Dance’
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Meg is joined by former team principal and Netflix star Guenther Steiner to discuss his new role as ambassador of the Miami Grand Prix and how Formula One is incorporating the American audience in the sport. Then, they hit on Steiner’s Drive to Survive stardom, talk about his friendships on the grid, get into his approach as team principal, and then wrap things up with quick season predictions.
Jo and Rob return to break down the sixth episode of Shogun. They discuss the effective use of flashbacks in this episode, the theatrics behind Toranaga’s political maneuvering, and how the show deftly deploys violence. Along the way, they talk about the growing jealousy that revolves around Blackthorne. Later, they’re joined by Shogun series cocreators Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo to talk about making sure the humor from the novel translated from the page to the screen, the power of Fuji’s reaction shots, why Toranaga was the perfect role for Hiroyuki Sanada to play, and much more.
Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney Guests: Justin Marks and Rachel Kondo Producer: Kai Grady
While this submission isn’t officially labeled a smash burger, the team at J.T.’s delivers each Darn Good Burger (lettuce, onion, pickle, American cheese, dijonaise) and J.T.’s Special Burger (caramelized onions, cheddar, Granny Smith apple, bacon, dijonaise) with a delightfully griddled texture that satisfies all those smash burger cravings.
“The Caged Magistrate” is one of several quests you receive from Captain Brant in the early stages of Dragon’s Dogma 2. Brant tells you about one Magistrate Waldahr, someone who has stood his ground against Disa and refused to change the Code of Vermund to her benefit when asked, leading to him now sitting in a cell in Vernworth jail — ahem, gaol.
So Captain Brant has one very simple request of you: set Magistrate Waldahr free. He’ll give you a gaol key so you can let yourself into his cell, but you’ll find that Waldahr needs some convincing first.
In this Dragon’s Dogma 2 guide, we’ll walk through the entire “Caged Magistrate” quest, including where to find Magistrate Waldahr and how to set him free.
Where to find the Magistrate in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Image: Capcom via Polygon
Enter the palace grounds and head to the objective marked on your map. This is the entrance to Vernworth Castle Gaol Tower. Otto will greet you and allow you through, so make your way downstairs and aside from a couple of rooms to explore and loot, the main area here is the long corridor with pillars in the middle and cells on each side, for a grand total of eight.
Magistrate Waldahr is in the first cell on the right-hand side, as soon as you enter. Wait until the two guards are facing away from you then use the Gaol Key given to you by Captain Brant to unlock the cell.
Head in and talk to Waldahr, then when the option arises, urge him to escape. He explains that he’s perfectly happy in the cell because he can spend his days “perusing the Code and deciphering old texts.” However, if you can find “a place with a mountain of tomes,” Waldahr will reconsider escaping. Leave the gaol and return to Captain Brant.
Where to find ‘a place with a mountain of tomes’ in ‘The Caged Magistrate’
Image: Capcom via Polygon
Brant suggests talking to a chap named Kendrick, found by The Gracious Hand in the slums. He’s a balding chap wearing a blue robe, wandering around the tents and dilapidated houses on the outskirts of Vernworth. He’ll ask you for a charitable donation of gold, so pay up and he’ll explain a local boy named Malcolm has gone missing.
This starts an entirely separate quest named “The Heel of History,” where you must find Malcolm by speaking to the children of the slums. Look for a girl called Aimee who will be somewhere nearby and she’ll tell you Malcolm went into the vaults underneath the slums. Return to Kendrick and the pair of you will enter the vaults to find the runaway kid.
Image: Capcom via Polygon
Explore the vaults in their entirety and you’ll find Malcolm, followed by a huge underground library. Kendrick makes Malcolm promise to keep his mouth shut about the discovery, but you can return to Waldahr in the gaol and tell him about this wonderful place where he can study in peace. Escort Waldahr out of his cell and to the slums, then return to Captain Brant for your reward: 7,000 gold and a ferrystone.
Make sure you also return to Waldahr in the vaults a few days later, as he’ll have another quest for you: “A Magisterial Amenity,” which involves finding his confiscated spectacles.
It’s time, once again, to rally the realm with Mal and Jo as they return to give you their deep dive on the two dueling trailers for the new season of House of the Dragon! They begin with the “Team Green” trailer and discuss what the schemes of Alicent Hightower, Otto Hightower, Criston Cole, and more will be (07:15). Then, they move to the “Team Black” trailer to glean what they can from Rhaenyra, Daemon, and others (68:16). Finally, they take to the skies of speculation to see what they can predict using their knowledge of the book (1:43:30).
Hosts: Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran
On the Final Edition, Bryan has two guests for you! First, he speaks with his former teammate … Jay Caspian Kang of The New Yorker. They kick off the show by discussing the gambling story involving Shohei Ohtani and his interpreter Ippei Mizuhara (1:32). Then they talk about LeBron’s ventures into the podcasting space with JJ Reddick (15:17). Last, they discuss the first round of March Madness and the reaction from Oakland’s head coach Greg Kampe after their upset win over Kentucky (38:40).
Then Bryan talks with Ellie Hall, who discusses the royal family and how they are covered by the British press (40:34).
Then, David Shoemaker Guesses the Strained-Pun Headline.
This podcast was recorded before the announcement that Princess Kate Middleton has been diagnosed with cancer.
Host: Bryan Curtis Guests: Jay Caspian Kang and Ellie Hall Producer: Brian H. Waters
Big surprise: 3 Body Problem, Netflix’s new show based on a trilogy of sci-fi novels that regularly deal with advanced quantum science theories, doesn’t offer a lot in terms of easy answers. Why did Vera Ye kill herself? What do people see when those shaky countdowns get to zero? And who, really, are the incoming aliens known as the San-Ti (Chinese for “three-body [people]”)?
Many of the answers to the latter question revolve around a virtual reality game encased in a sleek chrome headset that resembles something Apple would sell for several thousand dollars. Early in Episode 1, Jin Cheng (Jess Hong) is given one of these devices on a visit to Ye Wenjie (Rosalind Chao), the mother of Jin’s recently deceased friend Vera. Wenjie claims Vera was gaming regularly in the weeks before her death, which piques Jin’s interest since her particle physicist friend would never deign to carve out time for video games.
Headset affixed, Jin finds herself in a hyperrealistic desert landscape. The words “Level One” echo loudly. The headset is able to affect every sense, not just seeing and hearing, effectively transporting her mind to a new plane of being. Jin marvels as the wind ripples the traditional garb she’s been outfitted in, smiles and squints as a massive sun rises over a stately pyramid, and screams in terror when the wind picks up, revealing a desiccated, still-alive humanoid figure buried at her feet. I’m not a big fan of tutorial levels, either.
Eventually, one of Jin’s friends, snack magnate Jack Rooney (John Bradley), gets his hands on her headset. But his experience playing the game is even more bonkers. When Jack first puts on Jin’s device, which was evidently intended just for her, a woman (Sea Shimooka) appears behind him and sternly observes, “You were not invited,” before cutting him down with a sword. The same thing happens when another friend, Auggie (Eiza González), tries to play. The San-Ti want only a select few people to use their tech. But with time, Jack finally makes the cut. A shiny headset of his own comes with a card that reads: “We invite you to play.”
Initially, the VR portions of 3 Body Problem do resemble some kind of incredibly immersive game. Putting on the headset and engaging with the AI once again, Jin meets a suave NPC, the Count of the West, and another simply referred to as Follower, a young girl Jin immediately takes a shine to. The Count welcomes Jin to “Civilization 137” and tells her that this world has “chaotic” and “stable” eras. She must deduce whether an era is chaotic or stable, and if she’s wrong, the civilization is destroyed.
As in any good game, you need a big end-of-level boss. Here in Level One, it’s Emperor Zhou—a real-life tyrant king from about 3,000 years ago. The Count, desperate to appease the emperor, tells Zhou that he can use divination to predict the next stable era, which just so happens to be in eight days and will last 63 years. Jin, a trained scientist rather than a mystic, disagrees with the Count’s assessment. But Zhou is on board with the Count’s prediction and dismisses Jin’s interjections about “the laws of physics: everything we know to be true about the world.”
“Which world?” he asks her.
The emperor moves forward with the Count’s plea to “awaken your dynasty and let it prosper.” But that decision quickly proves to be misguided, as Zhou’s civilization is completely obliterated by a massive ice storm. Nevertheless, Jin’s foresight in choosing science over mysticism results in her passing Level One. Several doomed civilizations later, Jin and Jack solve Level Two together: This world is part of, get this, a three-body star system, moving unpredictably between the gravity of three suns, causing constant ecological disasters and apocalypses. Throughout the “game,” they’re tasked with explaining complex modern physics to NPCs who are based on important figures in Earth’s history and whose temperaments range from “unimpressed” to “cartoonishly hostile.” And I mean cartoonishly. At one point, Kublai Khan tries to boil Jin and Jack in a big pot, which is something Wile E. Coyote would attempt. A series of comedic cameos adds to the heightened reality and playfulness of these scenes compared to the rest of the show, like when League of Gentlemen alum and Sherlock cocreator Mark Gatiss—in character as Isaac Newton—spits at Jin to “shut the fuck up, troll!” after she questions his (very cool) human-powered binary computer. The San-Ti are at least hip to a bit of gamer lingo, then.
It’s a fascinating way to tell the San-Ti’s story, which becomes clearer and clearer with each progressing level. This game is not a puzzle; the three-body problem is unsolvable. Any species existing within such an unstable star system will always face eradication, eventually. It’s a demonstration by the San-Ti that they have no choice but to abandon their planet and find a new home.
Jin and Jack are invited to Level Four, which, as it turns out, is basically an initiation. Donning the headsets one more time, they are greeted by the game’s “guide,” that mysterious woman with a sword. “There is only one solution when your world is doomed,” the woman says. “Flee,” Jin whispers in response. And so, after 9,478 total civilizations have been built, destroyed, and rebuilt, the San-Ti are accepting an invitation to Earth that—surprise—Ye Wenjie extended to them at the end of Episode 2. Wenjie, exasperated with the cruelty she experienced at the hands of her fellow human beings during the Cultural Revolution, believes the San-Ti could save humanity—even if, and perhaps explicitly because, the San-Ti warned Wenjie that her “world will be conquered” if she responded to the their messages sent decades before Jin’s VR excursions.
Jack and Jin, as “Level Four champions,” are invited into a sect of humanity that’s led by Wenjie and is preparing to welcome the San-Ti, whom they call “Our Lord.” The game is designed not only to literalize the history of the San-Ti, but to select players who will be sympathetic and malleable to the San-Ti’s own ends. “Your cingulate cortex [an area of the brain commonly associated with emotion and empathy] activity was the highest we’ve ever recorded,” true believer Tatiana (Marlo Kelly) tells Jin.
Inside the careful and occasionally humorous craftsmanship of the games, there are more hints to be gleaned about the nature of the San-Ti. First—and this is the one that’ll stick in most people’s minds—they have the ability to “dehydrate” themselves, essentially pausing all biological functions and flattening into a rolled-up canvas so that they can preserve themselves during the chaotic eras of their home world. When a stable era arrives, any surviving, hydrated San-Ti toss them into pools of water and they come back to life, like those compressed hand towels that start out looking like tiny pills that you sometimes get at Chinese restaurants. Though the San-Ti civilizations are based on human ones in the game, they clearly have a very different biology. “We don’t look anything like this,” the sword woman tells Jin and Thomas Wade (Liam Cunningham) in a final demonstration later on. When asked what they do look like, she calmly tells Wade he “wouldn’t like it.”
More troublingly, the game’s design betrays the implication of the San-Ti’s authority over humanity. In each level, Jin and Jack are presenting their ideas to some of the most powerful and notably violent figures in history. This is not the San-Ti asking for help; they’re already on their way. This is them explaining how things will work once they arrive.
By the season’s end, there’s still a lot about the headsets that remains mysterious. Why did the San-Ti, a species that takes things very literally (to the point that they’re incapable of lying or understanding the concept of a fairy tale), construct such a narratively complex fable to highlight their perspective? They clearly know the broad mechanics of a video game, but not Little Red Riding Hood?
In the end, though, another useful purpose for the headsets emerges: outright threats. The woman with the sword is an avatar for the Sophons: four 11-dimensional supercomputers folded back into the size of a proton (seriously, don’t think too hard about this) and quantum entangled with one another on the San-Ti fleet, allowing for instantaneous communication even though they’re 400 years from reaching Earth. The Sophons can be anywhere, see and hear anything, cause mass hallucinations, and even disrupt the laws of physics, slowing down humanity’s scientific progress so that it’ll be less able to defend itself when the San-Ti arrive. They’re omnipresent gremlins designed to drive everyone employed at the United Nations insane, basically.
By the end of the first season, humanity’s relationship with its alien counterpart, the San-Ti, has already deteriorated to the extent that they publicly announce their intention to conquer Earth. As 3 Body Problem’s first season progresses and Earth and the San-Ti fleet morph from uneasy allies into all-out belligerents, the headsets become less prominent in the story. There’s only so much you can do to recruit more pro-San-Ti influencers after you’ve called all of humanity “BUGS” on an LED display in Piccadilly Circus. But, curiously, Tatiana herself receives a headset at the end of Season 1, even though she was already all in on the San-Ti cause. “If one survives, we all survive,” the card included with her device reads. Expect to see some different tricks from the headset when Season 2 inevitably drops. For the rest of those who received them, the San-Ti’s message is clear: Play ball and help, or die with Earth Civilization no. 1.
Tom Philip is a Scottish writer based in Brooklyn, New York. He’s written about entertainment and culture for GQ, Vulture, and The New York Times and contributed some truly awful jokes for the likes of ClickHole, The New Yorker, and CollegeHumor. You can yell at him on X here: @tommphilip.
Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay start the show off with some “gender wars” banter (02:21) and a quick shout-out (04:37) before diving into Biden’s proposed budget (18:42). Then, they talk about the Nickelodeon atrocities highlighted by the documentary Quiet on Set (50:13) and the internet’s reaction to Beyoncé’s latest drop (1:22:07).
Hosts: Van Lathan and Rachel Lindsay Producer: Ashleigh Smith
Callie Curry and Jodi Walker kick off today’s Morally Corrupt by discussing the news that Karen Huger of RHOP has been charged with a DUI following her recent car crash (3:02) before jumping into Season 11, Episode 8 of Vanderpump Rules (12:41). Then, Callie and Jodi transition to the series premiere of The Valley (39:45) and Summer House Season 8, Episode 5 (53:24). Finally, Callie is joined by Summer House fan favorite West Wilson to talk about his relationship with Ciara, his take on the Lindsay and Carl dynamic, his fascinating upbringing, and more (1:12:08)!
Host: Callie Curry Guests: Jodi Walker and West Wilson Producer: Devon Baroldi Theme Song: Devon Renaldo
Johnny sits down with icon of the stage, screen, and now reality television Alan Cumming to talk about his illustrious career, what it’s like to host The Traitors, his fabulous fashion, filming Season 2, and much more.
Host: Johnny Bananas Guest: Alan Cumming Producer: Sasha Ashall
This week Heidi and Spencer give their takes on all the hottest stories in the world of pop culture. First, we get a wedding recap from Chelsea and Spencer shares what his and Heidi’s wedding invite looked like (00:06). Then we dive into updates on Kate Middleton’s whereabouts (14:06), before discussing whether there’s a potential friendship rekindling between Taylor Swift and Kim Kardashian (25:36).
Hosts: Spencer Pratt and Heidi Montag Producers: Chelsea Stark-Jones, Aleya Zenieris, and Kevin Cureghian Theme Song: Heidi Montag
It’s time for a jam-packed episode of House of R! Mal and Jo break down the electrifying trailer for the new Star Wars show, The Acolyte (06:12). Then they dive into their first episode of House of Reads as they enter da book club and talk about The Three-Body Problem (41:53). Later they bring on Zach Kram to discuss all of the spoiler-filled goodness that might come in the new TV adaptation (63:27).
Hosts: Mallory Rubin and Joanna Robinson Guest: Zach Kram Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran
Arguably the biggest addition, though, is Diablo 4 on March 28, the first new Activision Blizzard title to hit Game Pass since Microsoft’s acquisition of the company was completed last year. Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer said that players shouldn’t expect all Activision Blizzard games to drop onto Game Pass the moment the deal was finalized, but this signals the start of more additions to come. New Diablo 4 players will also have plenty of time to play this RPG for dozens of hours before the paid DLC Vessel of Hatred releases later this year.
There’s also Supermassive Games’ The Quarry, a previous PS5 console exclusive and spiritual successor to Until Dawn. This time, a group of teenage counselors have to survive a night at an abandoned camp while being stalked by violent creatures and mysterious locals. As the player, you have to make a series of choices on behalf of all the characters to try and ensure everybody makes it out alive. (Spoiler alert: It’s very unlikely you will succeed.)
If none of those games are for you, this is still a very packed list of new titles for the rest of March into April. Here’s the full list:
Lightyear Frontier (Game Preview) (Cloud, PC, and Xbox Series X|S) — March 19
MLB The Show 24 (Cloud and Console) — March 19
The Quarry (Cloud and Console) — March 20
Evil West (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 21
Terra Invicta (Game Preview) (PC) – March 26
Diablo IV (Console and PC) – March 28
Hot Wheels Unleashed 2 – Turbocharged (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 28
Open Roads (Cloud, Console, and PC) – March 28
Ark: Survival Ascended (Cloud, PC, Xbox Series X|S) – April 1
F1 23 (Cloud) EA Play – April 2
Superhot: Mind Control Delete (Cloud, Console, and PC) – April 2
As you can imagine, with the release of MLB The Show 24, last year’s MLB The Show 23 will be leaving Xbox Game Pass at the end of the month, along with two other games:
Hot Wheels Unleashed (Cloud, Console, and PC)
Infinite Guitars (Cloud, Console, and PC)
MLB The Show 23 (Cloud and Console)
Xbox Game Pass costs $10.99 a month, while PC Game Pass costs $9.99 a month. PC Game Pass includes EA Play access, which offers another 70 games on PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, at $16.99 per month, gives subscribers access to everything — the PC Game Pass and Xbox Game Pass libraries, EA Play on both console and PC — as well as access to online multiplayer. Xbox Game Pass Core (formerly called Xbox Live Gold) costs $9.99 per month or $59.99 per year.
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