Scarpetta season 1 ending explained: Who was the killer? And who appears at the end?
**Warning: contains full spoilers for Scarpetta season 1.** Long awaited by fans of Patricia Cornwell's writing, the first season of Scarpetta adapts not one but two of her books for screen. While the modern-day story draws from 2021’s Autopsy, the flashback timeline is inspired by Postmortem, the first book that introduced us to Dr Kay Scarpetta back in 1990. Season 1 jumps back and forth between the two, exploring how an early investigation ties into new murders that the titular lead has been tasked to solve. But the team behind Scarpetta are already looking to the future, too. Season 1 ends with a wild cliffhanger, the kind that would infuriate you no end if the show was suddenly cancelled there and then. Luckily, Prime Video renewed Scarpetta for a second season before the first one even came out, and with good reason too. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter ahead of release, star and executive producer Nicole Kidman teased: "When you see all eight, you’ll see why you couldn’t end it there." And she was absolutely right to say it. So let's start a little investigation of our own and look closer at what exactly happens at the end of Scarpetta season 1. Scarpetta season 1 ending explained: Who was the killer? So it turns out there were two killers, one operating in each timeline. The 90s killer was already revealed to be a 911 operator one chapter earlier in the penultimate episode. Using emergency call records (and soap?), Scarpetta figured out that Roy McCorkle was choosing his victims based on their voices. After she tracked him down, Scarpetta ended up killing him by stabbing him in the neck. And with no mobile phones to hand back then, McCorkle wasn't exactly in a position to call 911 for himself now, was he? View Green Video on the source website Kay's brother-in-law, detective Pete Marino, arrived straight after and finished the guy off. He then covered for Scarpetta by telling the authorities that he and he alone was the one who figured everything out and confronted McCockle. For reasons that aren't especially clear, Scarpetta kept the truth of what happened that day from her husband. Only now in the final episode does the truth come out, and it's safe to say he's not a big fan of what went down. Scarpetta's hubbie, Benton Wesley, asks Kay for a divorce, which is kind of wild, because why would you want to divorce Nicole Kidman? Left alone in the house, Scarpetta is suddenly forced to fend off the present-day copycat killer when Officer August Ryan shows up and attacks. The pair first met at the murder scene of Lori Peterson in 1998. Seeing the original murders unfold in real time ignited something in August. Plus it turns out that the original killer was actually his uncle too. Via flashback, we discover that Ryan saw one of the murders as a kid, which obviously messed him up no end. At one point, he mentions how hard it was to replicate his uncle's murders exactly. Gwen Hainey’s death and mutilation were "perfection", he tells Scarpetta. Kay's not really on board with this, unsurprisingly, prompting Officer Ryan to strangle Scarpetta in her own home (much like McCorkle tried before). You don't easily get to kill Scarpetta in a show named Scarpetta though, so it should come as no surprise that Kay survives. And she does so in a rather grisly way. Using a conveniently placed baseball bat, Scarpetta beats Ryan and knocks him down the stairs before bashing his skull in. The copycat killer should have scarpered out of Scarpetta's house when he had the chance. While that goes down, Kay's daughter Lucy is also struggling in her own way. After the death of her wife Janet, and then the subsequent deletion of the AI program posing as Janet, she turns to former actor Matt Petersen to try and find a way to bring both of their spouses back from the dead. Yes, that really is a sentence I just typed out in full. Add Radio Times as a Preferred Source on Google Keep up to date on what’s worth watching with your favourite entertainment news from Radio Times – see more of our exclusive news and interviews featured prominently in Top Stories when using Google. Lucy takes part in one of Petersen’s weirdo cult ceremonies during the finale's closing montage, confirming their alliance moving into season 2. There is also some science involved as one of the victims, Gwen Hainey, was involved in research that could potentially reanimate dead tissue, and therefore people, somewhere down the line. It's giving Resident Evil at this point, especially when we watch Scarpetta repeatedly bash Ryan's brains in with that baseball bat. The season then ends with someone arriving at the door, someone who sees everything... Who arrives at the end of Scarpetta season 1? Is this someone a zombie or a member of the Umbrella Corporation? Probably not given that this is not actually Resident Evil. However, the look of pure shock on Scarpetta's face at the end suggests that this visitor has come as a surprise to her regardless. Could it be Lucy coming home? Or Kay's sister Dorothy? Or perhaps even someone new who we haven't met? We won't know the answer to this until season 2 arrives, but our money's on it being Maggie. Not only has she got more involved with Kay's life recently, Maggie also handed Scarpetta some key evidence just a few minutes prior. Maybe she's shown up to bring Kay some more in the closing scene? It could also be Pete or Benton of course. And without Scarpetta's investigative skills, it's impossible to know for sure. Whatever the case, you can see why Kidman said they "couldn't end it there". All episodes of Scarpetta are available from Wednesday 11 March on Amazon Prime Video. Sign up for a 30-day free trial of Prime Video and pay £8.99 a month after that. Add Scarpetta to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 ending explained – How does the trial end?
Everyone is now back aboard the USS Athena, but that doesn't mean anyone is safe.
School's almost out for summer, or whatever constitutes a summer break aboard Star Trek: Starfleet Academy's USS Athena. This semester has flown by, especially as the final two episodes of the season are actually a two-parter that reunites Caleb (Sandro Rosta) with his mother after 16 years apart. As seen at the very start of the season, Caleb was separated from Anisha (Tatiana Maslany) when he was just a kid due in part to Holly Hunter’s officer Nahla Ake. That's why the captain has gone out of her way to help Caleb all season, to make up for this awful past trauma. By the end of last week's episode, Anisha was wounded after she helped Caleb's fellow cadets escape execution. Everyone is now back aboard the USS Athena, but that doesn't mean anyone is safe, not with Paul Giamatti’s obnoxious baddie Nus Braka back on the scene. And where does Anisha's allegiance really lie? Star Trek: Starfleet Academy season 1 ending explained — How does the trial end? Braka has everyone's favourite crew on the ropes when the finale begins. Overlapping mines have prevented the ship from escaping, and there are 240 inhabited planets in the blast radius if one should go off. Not even the USS Discovery could jump through this using Mycelium Spores because that would trigger the bombs too. The skeleton crew that remains aboard surmises that the energy field surrounding these mines is being controlled by one signal. If they can isolate it and jam it, they can deactivate the entire network of bombs. They just need to do so without disrupting it, because that would lead to one big BOOM. The Venari Ral warp in then with Braka at the helm. Jett Reno (Tig Notaro) hides the first year cadets below deck as the ship's shielding is pummeled to breaking point, allowing Braka to teleport onboard. "It was always going to be me in this chair," he laughs, leaving his stinkiness all over Nahla's nice Captain's furniture. Braka is very surprised to see Anisha still alive, and what's even more shocking is that she's not saying much of anything. "You were awfully chatty when I busted you out of prison two years ago," he points out before adding: "What are the only two people in the universe who hate me most doing together?" Before Braka takes Anisha and the Captain away, Nahla leaves the Doctor (Robert Picardo) with a cryptic message: "Leap clear of all that is corporeal and make yourself greater." Braka is obviously an idiot because this all passes him by. That's just as well because Nahla was actually telling the Doctor to run training mission Hermes 19. What is that? We don't have time to figure it out because the Venari Ral open fire then and destroy the USS Athena completely. Boy, that was a short finale… Except, the show's title card suddenly appears over the debris as it's revealed all the broken pieces of ship that remain are actually holograms initiated by Hermes 19. The decoy worked. Everyone on board is still alive and the Venari Ral have left without realising their mistake. The ship itself has seen better days, however, as its structural integrity continues to fail. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's something wrong with the Doctor. He's malfunctioning, repeating weird strings of words like "There's glue in the shoe." The gang come together to try and come up with solutions, spearheaded by Reno who uses this life and death situation as a teaching moment. Never mind the "trillions of lives" at risk. Teachers are still gonna teach, damnit! Meanwhile, the Captain finds herself on trial, even appearing on a Venari Ral news broadcast that's being sent across the quadrant. Before shit goes down though, she reassures Anisha that Caleb is safe. Braka recounts a story from his childhood, one which explains his hatred for the Federation and how he ended up the way he did. Basically, Braka's father sent flares up to Federation ships who hit his family with missiles in return. "From my colony, eight of us survived." "So today," Braka continues, "We’re putting the Federation on trial for their lives and crimes against democracy. I never got a real trial and neither did the woman next to me (Anisha)." Braka decides that Anisha alone "will decide if the Federation deserves a reprieve," presumably so he comes across as impartial. Of course, Braka knows that Anisha hates The Federation and Nahla especially because she's the one who separated Anisha from her son. As Giamatti showboats it for the cameras, Nahla pushes back, claiming that Braka's opening statement is wrong because The Federation would never attack civilians. "But who writes the history?" asks Braka. Oh, good point. "Liberators don’t take hostages," counters Nahla. Oh, also a good point. "But you took a kid and put him in the uniform of his mothers jailers." Ooh, snap! Nahla quickly changes the subject by pointing out that Federation shuttles "had to make hard choices in impossible times". Anisha chimes in then, attacking Nahla for her role in separating mother and son at such a young age: "I want you to have no shelter from this [guilt], to feel it every day like cold or hunger or broken bones. I want it there when you close your eyes, when you’re laughing or grieving. I want you to see me. It's the only way I get justice and the only way I get to dance on your grave." Back on the USS Athena, the cadets bond in the face of death, and in doing so, they suddenly find a solution. It turns out The Doctor has been trying to communicate a solution this whole time, even though he can no longer articulate sentences properly. With surprising speed, they surmise Doc was referring to Ruben particles. View Green Video on the source website By reducing these particles, simulations show a way to transmit the algorithm so they can bring down the wall of the signal completely. They just need the right frequency. Oh wait, Tarima (Zoë Steiner) just found it. As the others try to find a way to narrow down Braka's location, Caleb and Tarima get cutesy in a psychic room together. Just your everyday Betazoid fling, really. During their chat, Caleb reminds Tarima how she used her psychic ability to connect with his mother. "Can you find her again through me?" asks Caleb. "Then we can find Braka." Everything's coming together, which makes this the perfect moment for Reno to chip in with an inspiring speech: "As far as final exams go, this is a doozy. Pass we live, fail, we're all dead." Oh. OK. We then cut back to the trial, which is already ending apparently. "You wanna dance on my grave?" asks Nahla. "There’s another grave… The pilot you killed," she points out, reminding Anisha of what she and Braka got up to on that ship together all those years ago. "He was from Earth, Hawaii," Nahla continued. "We served together… He was a lousy singer. That supply ship was supposed to be his last rotation before he retired. What did you think was gonna happen when you boarded that shuttle? You both had weapons and were prepared to use them." Braka claims he shot the pilot in self defence, so Nahla continues to interrogate Anisha instead, asking if she could have stopped him. "'Maybe' is not enough. In that moment, you changed the lives of his kids as well, and your son’s life. So did I. We have to live with it, Anisha claims to hate Nahla still, proclaiming her guilty at the trial (even though she's supposed to represent The Federation? It's all a bit of a mess, if we're being honest.) Caleb shows up then, just before the trial is about to end. Braka lets him talk to save face in front of all the cameras broadcasting everything as it unfolds. He's there to save Nahla, yes, but he's also buying the Athena crew time to finish deactivating the mines. "Mum," says Caleb. "I would ask at this minute for you to listen… I can be more than just a 'space rat' or a 'lost son.' I can be part of a community." Accepting this community at Starfleet Academy felt like a betrayal at first, a betrayal to his mother and everything she stood for. But the lessons he learned there, the friends he made… "I've laughed more in the last year than in my entire life. But I was a coward and I fought them. I did horrible things and they deserved so much better. I tried to push them away, but they didn’t let me because they all live for something bigger than themselves." To be fair, this is all coming from a genuine place, as is Caleb's respect for Nahla. "[Nahla] believed in me, mum. She’s never given up on us. She listens… I know what happened 16 years ago. She taught me I can’t stay there forever. I can be part of this world without forgetting where I come from, forgetting you... I’ve been searching for you my whole life, looking for a home for so long and now I think I finally found it." Anisha cries, realising that her son has finally found happiness in his life. Sensing that the tide is shifting, Braka tries to laugh it all off as brainwashing. Nahla then brings up strontium, of all things, a fuel source that could be found on Braka's planet. Caleb explains that it's cheap, but lethal, burning red when it explodes. Earlier on, Braka mentioned that The Federation rained down "red hellfire" on his settlement, but their weapons are always green. As such, Nahla realised that The Federation didn't attack. It was the weapon used by Braka's father which burned up the atmosphere because it was made of strontium. "Vicious lies!" screams Braka. "Lies! Lies and propaganda!" "You were a kid," says Nahla. Then she turns to the cameras using Holly Hunter's trademark charisma and husky voice. "Is this the person you want to follow into the future? An angry child with a finger on the trigger whose entire worldview is based on a lie?" Spectators watching the trial in person begin to leave, presumably to go rewatch Anatomy of a Fall instead. Braka gets desperate, threatening to blow up all the mines with a trigger. What he doesn't know, however, is that the Athena's crew are doing all they can to deactivate them at the same time. We see a counter reach 93 per cent, and then he presses the button. That's a misdirect, obviously, because a Star Trek show like this was never going to casually wipe out trillions of people in one fell swoop. Yep, the counter reached 100% before Braka pulled the trigger, which means that the mine field has been nullified. And with that, other Federation ships are suddenly free to come in and arrest Braka for his crimes against the quadrant. Maybe he would have gotten away with it too, if not for those meddling kids. Anisha punches Braka as he's led into custody, because her allegiance will flip on a dime, it seems. "Close your eyes and you'll see me in your nightmares!" he screams. And you know what? With all those gross prosthetics he's sporting, Braka might just be right. We then cut to one last sequence where Caleb goes over future summer plans with his mum. "Part of me hopes you won’t wanna come back," says Anisha, "but I know you will". Sounds harsh, but really she's just a bit reluctant about him and the whole Starfleet Academy thing. Anisha tells Caleb how proud she is of him then. "I know this is your home, but you always have another one here." Yep, she touched her heart as she said it. Totes adorbs. Caleb runs off to give his mum the tour then as everyone else at Starfleet Academy enjoys the end of year celebration that's unfolding aboard the ship. He then says some cute stuff about home and trusting people in his first ever cadets log entry as we watch the crew celebrate the end of a successful season year. Don't be scared though. A second season of Starfleet Academy has already been confirmed, so there's plenty more classroom hijinks to come once the summer break comes to an end. Just don't be surprised if this "summer break" takes a year or so to conclude in real time. Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is streaming now on Paramount+. Add Starfleet Academy to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
One Piece season 2 ending explained: Who is Mr 0 and what happens to Chopper?
Everything you need to know about the finale episode – and what's coming next.
**Warning: contains full spoilers for all episodes of One Piece season 2.** With the end of One Piece season 2, the Straw Hats are just a teensy bit closer to finding the fabled One Piece. But with hundreds more anime episodes to adapt, don't expect Luffy and co to find it on Netflix anytime soon. That's OK though. There's more than enough going on here anyway. Between Chopper's intro, Princess Nefeltari Vivi's journey home and the looming presence of Baroque Works leader Mr 0, there are many, many pieces moving around in One Piece. So what does this mean for the season 2 finale and what's to come next? The penultimate episode of season 2 mostly consisted of a devastating flashback where we learned how Tony Tony Chopper came under Dr Kureha's care. So it's with tears in our eyes that we jump back to the present and find out how the Drum Island arc reaches its end. One Piece season 2 ending explained: Who is Mr 0 and what happens to Chopper? The final episode begins with Wapol, leader of Drum Island, showing off the new power Mr 0 gave him through eating some devil fruit. We watch as he devours a wooden pole and then transforms his arm into a metal sword. Wapol's body has become like a factory, able to consume, transform and combine anything he eats into what he wants. I would eat cakes and turn them into money, but that's just me. Dalton, the former captain of Wapol's Royal guard, rebelled against Wapol, and now he proves himself to be a "monster" too when he transforms into a minotaur-like beast to fight back. The King quickly stabs him though and then transforms his metal mouth into a much bigger metal mouth with what looks like an arm inside? Meanwhile, Miss All Sunday taunts Vivi, telling the Princess that her friends will die and so will her people thanks to Wapol's new army. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/ONEPIECEnS200223120R-f54bb5b.jpg" width="2700" height="1800" alt="Tony Tony Chopper appears wide-eyed in One Piece season 2, bundled in his signature hat as he stands against a snowy forest backdrop, his small antlers and soft fur dusted with frost." title="Tony Tony Chopper appears wide-eyed in One Piece season 2, bundled in his signature hat as he stands against a snowy forest backdrop, his small antlers and soft fur dusted with frost." /> Yep, that was an arm in his mouth before. It turns out Wapol ate his entire army and transformed them into metallic monsters to ravage what's left of the Drum Island uprising. Big ew. While Usopp and Zoro defend the village, Vivi runs off to Kureha's hideout in search of Luffy, using a new grappling hook device Usopp created for this very occasion. Up in Kureha's castle, Nami listens to Sanji share a story from his childhood that explains why he enjoys taking care of loved ones through his cooking. It's the exact kind of tender scene that's needed amidst all the action, giving Sanji his big moment and us yet another reason to cry this season. When Vivi arrives to update everyone on what's happening, Kureha suggests they run, but Chopper pushes back, saying they must stay to help those who will get hurt in the coming battle. "That's what a doctor does." I just want to smush and squish Chopper's little cheeks. What a sweetheart. Wapol suddenly appears then, ambushing the gang via a secret passageway. He makes a big blustering bad guy speech, but Luffy isn't listening because he's too busy warming up and stretching for their big fight. Vivi stands up to this hideous dictator and punches him in the face as Zoro and Usopp discover back in the village that his metal army is a lot more resilient than they thought. Usopp's "Sure Kill Fire Star" move doesn't produce a sure kill, after all, and neither does Zoro's sword. Nami is still too weak to fight as she's recovering from her sickness, so Chopper and Sanji protect her from Wapol's henchmen. When Chopper grows bigger all of a sudden, the effects are kind of rubbish, but we'll forgive One Piece because tiny Chopper is just the best still. Wapol is keen to eat another devil fruit, by which we mean he wants to eat Luffy. Our rubber boy holds Wapol's giant metal mouth open with his fingers stretched out and then Vivi uses her weapons to close it just as he's about to fire a cannon. With nowhere to go, the cannonball explodes in Wapol's mouth, and he's mad about it too. "I'm a member of the world's government," says Wapol. "Attacking me is a crime." It's funny how a character created decades ago feels more relevant than ever today. But then, sneaky Wapol surprises the gang with his attempt to destroy Luffy's flag, the one Dr Hiriluk gave him before he died. Urgh, why did I have to bring that up again? Luffy being Luffy won't let that happen though, so he jumps in the way of Wapol's cannonball, saving the flag. Flags are a big deal when you're trying to be King of the Pirates. Luffy and Sanji team up with an air assault combo which, ironically enough, is just Wolverine's 'cannonball special' move (from X-Men) in all but name. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/03/OPS2Unit09318RC-a34b9d1.jpg" width="3600" height="2400" alt="Rob Colletti as Wapol stands encased in heavy, fur-lined armour in One Piece season 2, snow drifting through the warm-lit interior as he faces forward with a commanding, menacing presence." title="Rob Colletti as Wapol stands encased in heavy, fur-lined armour in One Piece season 2" /> With Wapol defeated, Luffy assumes Chopper is going to join him and the Straw Hats on their next adventure. "I’m very grateful to you all," says Chopper. "You’ve been so nice to me… but I’m not a human like the rest of you." All those years of rejection, first by the other reindeer and then by his good doctor friend, have taken their toll on Chopper's self-esteem. The gang doesn't care though. They're all weirdos and now Chopper is one of them too. "Just shut up and come with us!!" shouts Luffy, and it works. They all laugh together as Chopper agrees in a very cute, wholesome moment. What's not cute, however, is Kureha's response when she finds out that Chopper is leaving. "You ungrateful little s**t! After all I’ve done for you. You’ll never survive out on the seas…" Kureha can be a bit of a meanie, yes, but really she's just sad to see Chopper leave, even if she knows it's the best thing for him. The poor little guy needs to follow his dreams, after all. Chopper lives up to his reindeer heritage and pulls the gang along in a sleigh out of the castle to their ship which they now live on together. "My very first pirate ship," says Chopper, all happy. But then he realises that he's leaving home for good, and the tears soon start to flow. "I know what it feels like leaving home," says Usopp. "But you don’t have to be nervous…. We’ve got your back always." Chopper realises then he left his backpack with all his medical supplies back home. But Nami found them in the sleigh, which means Kureha must have put them there to help Chopper on his journey. The supplies include a jar of what looks like golden balls. Chopper tells the crew that their purpose is a secret, but we're all friends here so I'll tell you exactly what they are. These balls are actually Rumble Balls, small pills invented by Chopper to enhance his transformative powers. Their effect only lasts for three minutes, however, and eating too many too fast can transform Chopper into a huge monster. As Kureha watches the Straw Hats sail away, she gets out a cannon that she can use to fulfil the dying wishes of Dr Hiriluk. He found a way to "cure this country, but never got to do it himself…" says Kureha. "Let's find out if he was right." The sky lights up then, not with explosions, but with a pink, snow-like substance. "It looks like cherry blossoms," says Chopper, watching from the ship. The deceased doctor's words return in voiceover then, reminding us that "Once people lose hope, they turn to fear." He believed that looking at cherry blossoms like this can give the islanders hope again and turn the tide against fascist forces. Chopper cries again, because of course he does. But Zoro puts him on his shoulder and the gang watch this beauty unfold together. The island looks like one giant cherry blossom tree now, which is exactly why Drum Island will likely be renamed Sakura Island from now on, just like it is in the source material. "If a man can bring cherry blossoms to this frozen land, maybe a reindeer can be a pirate," says Dalton. Kureha agrees, suggesting that Chopper's new friends are very special. "Perhaps [Luffy] will be the one who will find the One Piece." "He does share certain traits with Gol D Roger…" You know, the Pirate King Luffy has always admired and aspired to be Back on the ship, everyone parties to celebrate Chopper joining their crew. But one person doesn't look so merry. View Green Video on the source website "I’m gonna miss this, says Vivi, assuming that they will all go their separate ways once she's returned to her kingdom. That is the plan, agrees Luffy, but not until they defeat the Baroque Works and help Vivi save Arabasta. "You’re one of us too," says Zoro. "And friends help each other." "I never should have doubted it," replies Vivi. "I appreciate you all." But with this development, Vivi realises that she must tell the gang what she learned about the Baroque Works when she worked with them undercover. We then cut to marine captain Smoker who talks of a secret that "could rock the foundations of everything…" And it seems all eyes are pointing to Vivi's kingdom, Arabasta. In one final scene, Miss All Sunday convenes with her boss at Baroque Works to tell him that Wapo failed. Mr 0 isn't fazed by this though, because Wapo's royal treasury will "help with our cause." "Don't you mean your cause?" replies Miss All Sunday. "What’s good for me is good for you," he replies rather vaguely. "For all of us, Nico Robin." "I’ve told you not to call me by that name," says Miss All Sunday, aka, Nico Robin. Mr 0 doesn't care. Instead, he talks of plans to commence Operation Utopia, which will lead to the fall of Arabasta and take him "one step closer to obtaining the One Piece". We zoom out then to see that his lair is underwater and a huge crocodile-like creature is swimming outside. So who is Nico Robin? Who is Mr 0? And why should we care about Operation Utopia? Without spoiling too much, Robin is so much more than just another assassin with freaky powers. She's actually the only survivor of the island Ohara, which means she's the only person left who can read ancient stones called Poneglyphs which contain secrets deemed threatening by the World Government. Expect to see a whole lot more of Robin in season 3, not to mention a few twists and turns when it comes to her relationship with the Straw Hats. And what of Mr 0? The Warlord actually goes by the name Crocodile, using his intellect and cunning to trick Arabasta and the marines into thinking he's on their side. In reality, he's been secretly using Baroque Works to weaken Arabasta for eventual conquest, betraying the World Government while he's at it. It's clear that Crocodile will play a much bigger role in season 3, and that should come as a huge worry to the Straw Hat gang. Using his ability to become sand, Crocodile is easily one of the most dangerous foes the crew have ever faced. In fact, he's the first to ever defeat Luffy in combat, at least if the source material is anything to go by. The plan Crocodile mentioned, Operation Utopia, aims to take out King Nefertari Cobra so the throne of Arabasta will be his. This is all in aid of finding an ancient weapon named Pluton which is supposedly hidden somewhere in the kingdom. Using this, Crocodile will be able to create his own "utopia" which can compete with the World Government. But only if the Straw Hat crew can't stop him first. Let's just say it's no stretch to imagine a world where Luffy manages to do exactly that, but at what cost? I guess we'll find out when season 3 finally sails into view on Netflix in the next year or two. One Piece is available to stream on Netflix. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why Scrubs revival's relationship development is such an unexpected yet inspired move
A JD–Elliot divorce wasn’t on our Scrubs reboot bingo card, but despite initial doubts, it’s proving to be a genius move for the show.
Happy endings can be hard to come by, especially in a hospital setting. But JD managed to get his at the end of Scrubs when a final scene revealed visions of the life he'll share with Elliot and their future family. Or at least, that's what happened the first time the show ended. A much-maligned surprise ninth season brought our faves back a year later, confirming that their wedding did indeed become a reality off-screen. This wasn't exactly a happy ending though, because JD and Elliot barely appeared at all this time around. And now, 16 years later, a new Scrubs series has undone that perfect ending entirely by revealing that their marriage has ended completely. Yep, that future vision of happiness that JD saw at the end of season 8 wasn't real, just like so many other fantasy sequences he's envisioned throughout the show's run. But actually, it turns out Scrubs is all the better for it in this case. Season 10 begins with Elliot sniping at JD upon his return to Sacred Heart Hospital. It's clear that their marriage didn't end on good terms, even if we don't know the specifics of why they broke up at this stage. While that might come as a blow to fans who have been rooting for them since day one, it's not entirely out of character to see the pair face off like this. In fact, you could argue JD and Elliot have never been a good fit, constantly at odds despite the obvious chemistry they share. View Green Video on the source website Scrubs has spent the vast majority of its run convincing us that this 'will they/won't they' couple doesn't make sense long-term (a far cry from their contemporaries in other sitcoms like Friends, Frasier or The Office). The revival presents a perfect opportunity to explore that in depth, exploring a very different kind of tension beyond simplistic notions of "Will they make it?" Now that we know they don't make it, Scrubs instead offers us a glimpse of married life at a very different stage, one where JD and Elliot work towards an understanding that continues to fit them both now that their marriage has ended (not to mention the two children they continue to co-raise outside of work). Rather than rely on the easy jokes that can come from bickering, these new episodes smartly delve deeper beyond the arguments to face what the emotional realities of working with your ex might look like. It's hard at points, as we see when Elliot struggles to navigate her friendship with Turk upon JD's return. But there's an emotional nuance to the end of a marriage that Scrubs works hard to unpick as this season progresses. This shouldn't necessarily come as a surprise. At its best, Scrubs has always grounded the show's often absurd flights of fancy with a very real emotional core. That's true whether it was telling a story of friendship or loss, or in this case, a combination of the two. Read more: Scrubs season 10 release schedule – when will the episode air? Scrubs season 10 review: New reboot is much better than it has any right to be In episode 3 of the Scrubs revival, Elliot and JD initially butt heads again until they suddenly reconnect and come to an understanding. "I care about you, JD," says Elliot. "I will always care about you. You’re my family. I just don’t know how we will figure this out." How often do we get to see a fan-favourite couple explore the "honeymoon phase" of their failed marriage, as JD jokingly describes it? In doing so, the writers continue to foreground a key dynamic from the show without betraying the strength of their connection. They might not work long-term as a couple, but that doesn't mean that there isn't any love between them. Just because you divorce doesn't mean you have to stop caring about the other person, especially when kids are involved. In some cases, this love just evolves into something different, something akin to family, and that's just as beautiful in its own way. Series creator Bill Lawrence told Deadline that he was resistant to separating Elliot and JD at first. It wasn't until showrunner Aseem Batra explained her own journey co-raising her child as a single parent that he realised the potential of this new development for the revival. "It doesn’t mean that their story is over," says Lawrence, "but it certainly is something that adults have to navigate all the time." Scrubs star Zach Braff echoed this in the same interview, explaining that dreams, like those JD fantasised about at the end of season 8, don't "necessarily come true, especially when you’re 50 years old". "Things that you didn’t want to happen, happen," he continued. "Some marriages fail, some don’t. You have the contrast with Turk and Carla, where they’re as happily married as ever compared to us, who are learning now to co-parent and eventually work together. So I think it was a good way of also showing a wide array of how marriages can turn out in midlife." With the revival just beginning, it's impossible to know where this journey will take JD and Elliot long-term. There's probably a temptation to bring them back together at some point, given their on-and-off-again past. But the happiest ending I can envision for this pair is one rooted in a familial kind of love where 'will they/won't they' becomes 'they shouldn't' and 'they won't'. Scrubs season 10 is streaming now on Disney+ in the UK. Sign-up to Disney+ from £5.99 a month. Add Scrubs to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Beauty ending explained: What happens to Cooper Madsen?
Ryan Murphy's latest show ends on a wild note.
The Beauty began in explosive fashion, quite literally with the death of that drugged-up model, and it ends much the same way too. But what else would you possibly expect from a show created by Ryan Murphy? Especially one with a premise as wild as this? For those catching up, Murphy and co-creator Matthew Hodgson adapted a comic book of the same name which premiered back in January. The story, originally written by Jeremy Haun and Jason A. Hurley, follows the spread of a sexually-transmitted virus known as "The Beauty" which transforms people into perfect, idealised versions of themselves. The catch is that you'll eventually die, which is far from ideal. FBI agents Cooper Madsen (Evan Peters) and Jordan Bennett (Rebecca Hall) have been on quite the journey to stop the virus from spreading. Both ended up getting infected, except Cooper was accidentally transformed into a much younger version of himself. This was also far from ideal. By the end of the penultimate episode, Byron Forst (Ashton Kutcher) had made The Beauty public, selling it through his corporation without any concern for how this might change society. Spoiler alert, it doesn't go well, although the full extent of the horrors this treatment can bring aren't revealed until the final episode. The Beauty ending explained: What happens to Cooper Madsen? The finale begins with Byron's two deadbeat sons dancing with their mother to the sound of Sweet Child O' Mine by Guns N' Roses. It turns out these kids aren't so sweet, however, when they stab Franny (Isabella Rossellini) with the serum against her will. Later, they tell Byron that they have a special surprise set up for him, one that will bring them closer together as a family. Yep, Franny is young and unbearably hot now, which makes sense because Isabella Rossellini was already the hottest woman on the planet. And she's even hotter because she's wearing almost the exact same beaded top that Rossellini famously wore in the classic '90s film Death Becomes Her. This one's for the gays, and we're not mad about it. Franny is mad about it, however, and understandably so, because her awful dumbass kids just changed her entire body without her consent. "I feel like a prisoner trapped inside a body that is not mine." In a rare moment of wisdom and clarity for this show, Franny then describes how her scars, her stretch marks, "the age I owned," have all been taken from her. This is the message this show should be conveying, and for once, it actually resonates. Byron tries to reassure Franny, reminding her how much he loves her and always has. She doesn't care though, because let's face it; Byron has always been a fool. Franny starts smashing up antiques to make the point that "their beauty comes from their age". "I was a goddamned work of art," she continues, "and one thing you never bothered to notice is some people are perfect just the way they are". Wishing she could go back in time to speak with the girl she was before she ever met Byron, Franny grabs a broken shard and suddenly slices her own throat with it. The Beauty then reintroduces a teenager named Bella who we first met in the previous episode. She's at a resort this time, meeting a very cute boy, and they both seem nervous. Bella is surprised the hottie feels that way though. It turns out he's not used to talking with girls because it wasn't so long ago that he weighed 345 pounds, "addicted to anything considered edible". Nothing helped him until he tried The Beauty. "It was the easiest choice I've ever made." And now? "I want to help give other people that same feeling." Bella won't be receiving an injection though. Not in the traditional sense. "A version of The Beauty can also be spread through bodily fluids," reveals the boy. Bella discloses that she's a virgin, so she's a little nervous, but she did stuff she wasn't proud of to get the money and she needs to see this through to completion. The boy mentions that he took an extra injection of The Beauty beforehand to ensure she gets the "strongest dose of this miracle of science". "Whatever small chance there is of something bad happening, it’s worth it to me," says Bella. And that's how you know something real bad is about to happen. After she pays up and they do the nasty, Bella returns home to receive a nasty welcome from her mother. She ignores it and runs to her room, super sweaty all of a sudden. The convulsions begin to take hold, but Bella smiles through them, knowing that this will all be worth it in the end. At 12:43 the next day, Bella's mother returns home from her shift to catch Bella out from skipping school. It turns out Bella had good reason to call in sick though. If anything, she should have called an ambulance, because when the mother arrives home, there is blood and slime everywhere. Yes, you read that right. Slime. Oh, but that's just normal when The Beauty kicks in, right? The infected go through convulsions and then form a weird slime cocoon where all those perfect genes brew and transform. Not this time. Bella's mother follows the slime trail to her daughter's closet where she finds Bella hiding, or what remains of Bella. The Beauty has often been compared to Demi Moore's The Substance these past few weeks, but nowhere is that comparison more clear than in the mutated monstrosity that now sits before us. Bella has become a grotesquely deformed creature, crying and screaming and bleeding from weird holes where holes should not exist. She is essentially The Substance in all but name, presumably because that double dose she got messed with the process somehow. She's not the only one suffering from hideous side effects though. We then cut to a board meeting where Byron is told that there's been an 83 per cent success rate out of the 6 million doses given so far. 450,000 incidents of mutation, including "cranial breast fusion," have been reported, and it appears that the sexually transmitted variant is the worst offender. With several class action lawsuits building and multiple investigations led by local federal agencies, things aren't looking good. Even the President is no longer backing Byron's company after the secretary of defence was accidentally turned into a 9 year old. The FDA has revoked its approval of the drug and plans to ban it shortly. Byron is way ahead of them though in the sense that he actually agrees and already plans to shut down the clinics. Boosters will be kept flowing free of charge to help those already infected, and he plans to cut cheques for those adversely affected. View Green Video on the source website Byron's son arrives then, enraged that his father is going to give away all their profits. Byron has never exactly cared for his children though, and his personality has turned a complete 180 after what happened to his wife. "No, this isn’t about optics," says Byron. "It’s about fundamental change, fixing everything and everyone. We will pay and provide resources to those affected and restructure our company so our resources can be focused on antidotes and cures. We need to fix the things we have broken and hopefully bring my wife back to me, in whatever form, whoever, however she wants, because she is and always has been the one person on this planet who can open my eyes and help me see." Franny is stable for now thanks to the best surgeons Byron could find. And it looks like Rossellini might even come back in a potential second season now that efforts are being made to reverse engineer The Beauty. We then return to agents Madsen and Bennett one last time along with Antonio (Anthony Ramos) and Jeremy (Jeremy Pope) who have turned their backs on working for Byron. Together, they meet Byron's son and his associate where plans are made to kill Byron in a coup. The son claims that he's developed a cure to pull the world back from the brink. Can he be trusted? Madsen doesn't care either way. He's so desperate to transform back into an adult that he'll do whatever it takes. And that includes taking an untested cure. "Don’t do this for me or anyone else," says Bennett. "I’ll always love you, no matter what." Once the cure is injected, dark veins appear on Madsen's face and he starts to scream. The show then cuts ahead to him in a cocoon, transforming. A hand breaks free and then so does Madsen. But did it work? Is he back to his original adult self? Or has Madsen become a mutated horror story like Bella did? No one knows, except maybe Murphy and Hodgson because the credits roll in just as everyone reacts to the new Madsen in shock. We don't get to see what they see, leaving things nice and open for a potential second season. There's been no word yet on whether a renewal might actually happen, but people have certainly been talking about this show a lot. In fact, The Beauty might be the most well-received Ryan Murphy show in years, critically speaking, and it's not like the cure has taken full effect just yet… The Beauty is available to watch on Disney+. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Scrubs season 10 review: New reboot is much better than it has any right to be
The beloved hospital sitcom has been successfully resuscitated.
Looking back, Scrubs was always a little bit cringe. That's not to say it was bad though, not by any means. The medical sitcom was once hugely popular thanks to its combination of rapid-fire one-liners and terrific chemistry that would suddenly give way to devastating emotional turns which hit hard, but never felt out of place. The fantasy cut-aways were more touch-and-go, however – something to sit through rather than actively enjoy. That didn't matter so much at first, not when the overall show worked as well as it did. Later seasons began to drop the ball though, skirting around the character development that reeled us in with broader gags that lost sight of why Scrubs became so popular in the first place. This felt especially pronounced following a network move from NBC to ABC where the central quartet, our main reason for watching, were sidelined completely in favour of new, less interesting doctors. A decade and a half on, Scrubs is the latest millennial show to inevitably be revived, but why should we care about a show that flatlined for good reason when we can just rewatch the original again? After the writers quickly conjure up a way to bring JD (Zach Braff) back to working at Sacred Heart, the new episodes feel like more of the same at first, except everyone is a little older. Carla (Judy Reyes) still calls JD "Bambi". He and Turk (Donald Faison) still affectionately bro out when they see each other. And Dr Cox (John C McGinley) still runs his mouth off with the longest, most withering put-downs known to man. But then little shifts take hold that suggest Scrubs has developed beyond a mere greying of the temples. When JD tries to jump on Turk's back like he used to in the good old days, they quickly realise that they're too old now for such shenanigans. And it's tempting at this point to suggest that might be true of the show as a whole. But then JD tries to lift his friend's spirits with a "Whassup!" joke that falls flat and you start to realise that this new Scrubs is fully aware that it can't just rely on millennial humour anymore. Concessions to that are also embodied by a new HR figure, Sibby, played by SNL alum Vanessa Bayer. What could have felt overly critical of political correctness, neutering characters like Cox and even JD, ends up carrying a loopy sincerity of its own that fits remarkably well with the often absurd tone Scrubs is known for. The new jokes balance what came before with a need for modernity that's rooted more deeply in the narrative as well. This shift comes subtly at first in an opening title sequence which retains that "Superman" theme song with a digital twist. But then we see it too in stories around the affordability crisis in healthcare, as well as harmful TikTok diets and even a robot in surgery. It all works within the signature framework of the show, updating Scrubs without scrubbing its personality away entirely. As such, skipping over COVID in this context does feel a bit odd. What the revival doesn't skip over though is how the intervening years have changed the dynamics between most of the main characters. We see it in how Turk struggles to find time for JD as a father of four. We see it in how Elliot (Sarah Chalke) and Turk negotiate their friendship at work upon JD's return to Sacred Heart. And most effectively of all, we see it in how Elliot and JD fight yet still love each other in the wake of their divorce. Episode 3 is the biggest standout so far thanks to them. These emotional beats, noticeably missing among the newbie doctors who our faves now teach, have always been at the core of what makes this show work. To recalibrate them now with older, wiser eyes justifies the existence of this revival in ways that plenty of other franchises could learn from. There are still some teething problems, of course. The cut-aways, once integral to the show's identity, are more distracting than funny these days, pulling away from the situational humour that winds up being a lot more effective. The rookie doctors could do with some more fleshing out too, but if Dr Cox was willing to take a chance on JD, we should give these newbies a chance to settle in too. Speaking of Dr Cox, he's not around so much this time and neither is Carla due to the actor's other work commitments. Thankfully, actor/comedian Joel Kim Booster brings some much-needed sass in their stead, playing JD's rival Dr Park who pushes back against Bambi without letting their friction dominate proceedings. After watching the first four episodes provided for screening, it's safe to say that Sacred Heart has changed a lot in ways both big and small. There's a new janitor, for example, and a new robot too. But JD and Turk are still hanging out like old times when they can, and it's surprisingly nice for us to be hanging out with them again after so long too. Scrubs has already flatlined once – twice if you take that bizarre network shift into account – so let's just hope this revival continues to hold up until the newbies are no longer newbies and the series has settled into its rhythm. Despite my initial misgivings, I think it's important sometimes to enjoy a show like Scrubs that isn't afraid to be sentimental and yes, even a little cringe at some points too. Because much might have changed across the intervening years, but the warmth found at Sacred Heart has not and that's needed just as much now as it was when JD first stepped through those automatic hospital doors. Scrubs season 10 launches on Disney+ UK on Thursday 26th February 2026. Sign-up to Disney Plus from £5.99 a month. Add Scrubs to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5's book change highlights the show's biggest problem
The Game of Thrones prequel is overwhelmingly fuelled by testosterone from the get-go.
**Warning: Spoilers ahead for A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms episode 5.** A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms tells the story of a Hedge Knight called Dunk and a boy named Egg. Yet this is a story of men, and only men. More than any other visit to Westeros, HBO's new Game of Thrones prequel is overwhelmingly fuelled by testosterone from the get-go. To be fair, that's also true of George RR Martin's novella that the series is based on. Attempts to flesh out that world with more women have been pretty minimal up to this point, including a few sex workers here and there to tease Dunk. Beyond that, the only female character of any significance in the show so far is Tanselle, an artist and puppeteer who paints a new sigil for Dunk's shield. "I think there's maybe two or three sentences [in the novella] describing what she looks like, and maybe one on her personality," actress Tanzyn Crawford told Polygon. There's more in the end product, true, but Tanselle's impact on the story is still quite minimal when it comes down to it. Such sparing representation is somewhat improved, however, in the penultimate episode of season 1 when a new character is introduced via flashbacks. Mid-tournament, Dunk's mind ventures back suddenly to his time in Flea Bottom before Ser Arlan of Pennytree took him on the road. There, we meet a girl named Rafe (played by Dune: Prophecy star Chloe Lea), who hangs out with Dunk in this medieval hellscape. In the book, they're both described as beggars and thieves, as well as "little monsters," yet their connection here is a tender one. The pair are clearly close, talking of plans to escape and start a new life for themselves in the free cities. There's friction too, but their love is clear still, whether it's romantic or forged in friendship. Of course, this being a show set in Westeros, their plans for a better future together don't pan out. And that's because the people they encounter are so much worse than the "little monsters" that Martin's writing described them both to be. Just as the kids scrape enough money together for salvation, thieves attack and steal their hard-earned coins. That would have been devastating enough, but then the show takes this one step further when an attacker ends up slitting Rafe's throat right in front of Dunk. Yep, the only female character of note was killed just a few scenes into her very first episode. And what's worse is that this didn't even happen in the book. The writers actually went out of their way to introduce a female companion for Dunk, only to brutally murder her almost immediately after. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/0501AKOTSKS01-1-812b952.jpg" width="3840" height="2560" alt="Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, riding a horse through a misty landscape in full medieval armour. He wears chainmail and a weathered steel breastplate, his expression focused as the armoured head of his horse fills the foreground." title="Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" /> To be clear, death is nothing new to the world of Westeros. Characters die all the time throughout this franchise, often in brutal fashion. That's just par for the course. And yes, these would, of course, be dangerous times for women especially. The men in Game of Thrones are, for want of a better phrase, extremely messed up, and that will often manifest itself in violence towards the opposite sex. The issue here is when the scales are tipped so strongly in favour of men. Without a Daenerys or Rhaenyra to balance things out, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is unrealistically skewed against women, reducing them to walking tropes who lack agency and depth. And when they do appear, they're simply included as window dressing in service of the men at this story's centre. That's true of the sex workers, that's true of Tanselle, and worst of all, that's true of Rafe. Dunk might have treated her as an equal, but the writers did not, choosing instead to kill her off in service of his story. Things could have ended so differently for Rafe, especially given how much freedom the show had to expand on her role, yet they went down the most boring, obvious and offensive route they could. Season 2 will hopefully do a lot better when it comes to female representation, considering the prominent role of the Red Widow in the second novella. However, when it comes to season 1? It seems that the gender politics in the writers' room are just as medieval as the time and place in which this show is set. Just because A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is a story by men, for men, shouldn't automatically mean that women get short shrift too. It's not true to the world we live in, and it's not true of Westeros either when you take the other shows into account. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms airs weekly on Sky and NOW - find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
James Van Der Beek became a '90s heartthrob in Dawson's Creek – but his legacy extends far beyond that
James Van Der Beek will be best remembered for the American teen drama Dawson’s Creek, but time and again he proved himself far smarter and more versatile than he was often given credit for.
In the days following James Van Der Beek's tragic death, Dawson's Creek has obviously come up a lot. It's no exaggeration to say that the '90s teen drama changed TV as we know it. I could fill a page or more with the names of every series that wouldn't exist today if Dawson's Creek hadn't come first. The stars aligned in many ways to make this happen, but writing aside, it was the cast who propelled the show to the heights it reached across its six season run. It's no surprise, after all, that so many cast members went on to find even greater success after, including Katie Holmes, Joshua Jackson, and Michelle Williams. But there would be no Creek without Dawson, and there would have been no Dawson without Van Der Beek. After landing the role of a lifetime at just 20, Van Der Beek achieved immortal heartthrob status as one third of the love triangle that still has fans arguing between Team Dawson and Team Pacey to this day. That barely scratches the surface of just how much drama took hold of this small town over the years. The Creek was practically overrun with talky teens who intensely dissected every feeling, every moment, in the way that only teenagers can. Looking back at Dawson in particular, it's easy to focus on the melodrama and all the memes that came of it (or 'Vandermemes', as Van Der Beek himself named them). What that fails to recognise, however, is the wit and heart Van Der Beek brought to the role. Whether Dawson was helplessly romantic for Pacey or mourning the death of his father in season 5's standout The Last Goodbye, there was a serious talent under all that boyish charm. When you grow famous overnight, there's always a risk that you'll only be remembered for the role that got you there. But Dawson isn't the only character who fans have been celebrating in the days that followed Van Der Beek's passing. Many of the roles that followed smartly sent up his squeaky clean image from Dawson's Creek, twisting the boy next door into something infinitely more complex. Early on, Van der Beek stood out as the lead in 2003 indie The Rules of Attraction where he played Sean Bateman, the younger brother of American Psycho's Patrick Bateman. This came as quite a surprise to fans of the Creek, but subsequent performances proved this wasn't a one-off motivated by shock value alone. Memorable roles in Robot Chicken and the Jay & Silent Bob Reboot took Van Der Beek further down this path, as did the capitalist monster he played in season 1 of Ryan Murphy and Steven Canal's Pose. MTV lovers will also remember the time Kesha enlisted Van Der Beek to appear opposite her in the music video for Blow, where the singer calls him "James Van Der Douche" to his face. "I don’t appreciate you slander-Beeking my name, Ke-dollar-sign-ha,” Van Der Beek replied before they share a laser gun face off which ends with his head mounted on Kesha’s wall. Van Der Beek never took himself too seriously – even when the rest of the world did. That was key to the success of arguably his greatest role, when James Van Der Beek played James Van Der Beek in Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23. Or at least, a fictionalised exaggerated version of himself. This version of Van Der Beek was a bit of a douche, but that was the whole point. Opposite Krysten Ritter's Chloe, Van Der Beek toyed with the absurdity of celebrity through the lens of someone who remains synonymous with one character to this day. The result was wickedly fun, helping to elevate this humble sitcom into one of the all-time greats (for the few people who actually saw it when it first ran in the early 2010s). Van Der Beek wasn't just in on the joke. He actively tapped into his own perspective and humour to make the role his own beyond just how others might perceive him. Speaking with Buzzfeed at the time, Van Der Beek revealed that this exact kind of humour helped keep him sane during the heyday of Dawson's Creek: "These are the kinds of jokes I would make to friends of mine, privately. When you suddenly become famous at 20 [years old], it doesn't make sense on any logical level. I was always the guy [that] if we ever didn't get a table at a restaurant, I would turn to my friends and say, "Does she have any idea who I think I am?" A running gag in the series was that the rest of the Dawson's Creek cast hated him, but that couldn't have been further from the truth. Among the many celebrity tributes shared following his passing, one written by former co-star Katie Holmes was especially moving and tapped precisely into what made Van Der Beek so special. "To share space with your imagination is sacred," wrote Holmes. "Breathing the same air in the land of make believe and trusting that each other’s hearts are safe in their expression." And what a gift it has been for all of us to "share space" with his imagination too. There was skill and talent, of course, whether Van Der Beek was asked to cry Dawson's tears or make us laugh as Fake James in Apartment 23. But there was always an intelligence to everything he did that was often overlooked at the time yet shone through more than ever since his cancer diagnosis was made public. Van Der Beek helped change the face of TV, yes, but it's his eternal optimism and devotion to others that people will surely remember most if the overwhelming wave of tributes that have been shared this week are anything to go by. Both on and off screen, that legacy will endure just as brightly now as it did when Dawson Leery first showed up as an aspiring filmmaker all those many years ago.
Apple TV drama Shrinking shows that, yes, older people have sex lives too
At 83, Harrison Ford brings effortless sex appeal to Shrinking – and the show leans into it.
Shrinking started out as a showcase for Jason Segel, who plays the titular shrink at hand. It's Jimmy's tragedy, and the growth he develops from overcoming his trauma characterises much of season 1 especially. But it wasn't long before Harrison Ford's supporting role in Shrinking began to overshadow Jimmy, delving deeper into what life was like for his boss, Paul, as he came to terms with suffering from Parkinson's disease. Season 3 marked the biggest shift in this direction yet with an hour-long premiere driven by Paul's wedding to Dr. Julie Baram (Wendie Malick), the neurologist treating his disease. Inappropriate? Technically, yes, although these crazy kids make it work anyhow. What wasn't inappropriate, however, was the way that this episode opened with them practically naked in the bathroom together. The scene itself is pretty straightforward. Paul's just shaving and chatting to his future wife while she prepares to take a shower. Pretty typical stuff for a couple their age who are living together. What's not typical or straightforward, however, is the fact that Paul is doing all this shirtless. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/02/Shrinking-Apple-0207777.jpg" width="8640" height="5760" alt="An older man and woman wearing sunglasses walk side by side along a sunny park trail. The man wears a grey T-shirt, dark jacket and black leggings with a light blue waist pouch, carrying a large water bottle, while the woman wears a beige sweater and shorts and holds a pink water bottle. Trees and greenery line the path behind them." title="Shrinking Apple" /> Harrison Ford is no stranger to a cheeky flash of pecs or torso. His open shirt in Indiana Jones launched a thousand ships, after all. But that was decades ago. He's still an iconic movie star, of course, even now at 83 years old. Yet how often do TV shows this mainstream depict older bodies so naturally like this without there being a very specific reason for doing so? Shrinking co-creator Bill Lawrence told People last year that Ford was actually the one who requested to be shirtless in this scene: "[Ford] called me up and he's like, 'I’m not going to shoot this…' If I’m shaving, I have to be shirtless." 10 push-ups later, Ford shot the scene that wound up in the season three premiere. This striving for realism is a nice touch, but the by-product of doing so is what's really important here. On and off screen, there's a tendency to sideline people of a certain age or forget them entirely. When they do show up, it's usually in smaller roles that play into tropes around kookiness or memory loss. What you don't get to see all that often is the simple fact that older people are still people. It may seem simple, but yes, 83 year olds take their clothes off to shave or use the bathroom, and 83 year olds also flirt with their girlfriends. As Shrinking reminds us in scenes like this (and many more prior to it), senior citizens aren't sexless or incapable of romance. It's just that TV usually shies away from that aspect of their lives, flattening them out into broader stereotypes that few audiences would even question. There are some exceptions, of course. The latest season of Bridgerton gives Violet Bridgerton (Ruth Gemmell), the family's matriarch, a chance to find love for a change instead of endlessly matchmaking her kids. And Just Like That also celebrates love and sex for women in their fifties (one of the few things that show actually had going for it). Yet there are even fewer examples of what this looks like for people who have grown past middle age once they retire. A Man on the Inside touches on romance and even sex somewhat with Ted Danson's lead, but it's a lot harder to think of examples where lust and nudity come into play like they do in Shrinking. Grace & Frankie paved the way in some respects, although that show is long gone now. That's not to say Paul and Julie are clawing at each other in every episode. None of the characters really do that, regardless of age, because it wouldn't fit the tone of this show. But what Shrinking does so well is organically remind us that people can still be sexual or attractive to others once they reach a certain age. It's in the flirty remarks that Paul and Julie share. It's in the occasional kiss or body language the actors embody. And it's there in the big moments too like that big wedding smooch that closed out episode one of the third season. Scenes like this prove that Paul and Julie's relationship is just as important as any other in the show, romantic or otherwise, easily slotting in alongside different narratives drawn from all walks of life. In fact, their connection is often the most interesting of the lot, especially with the depth that comes from navigating illness and finding love later in life. Shrinking started out as Jimmy's show, but the shrink we all keep tuning in for is his boss, Paul. And given Jimmy's own love and admiration for Doctor Rhoades, we reckon he'd be ok with that. New episodes of Shrinking air on Apple TV on Wednesdays. Seasons 1-2 are available to stream now on Apple TV. You can sign up to Apple TV now. Add Shrinking to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Comedy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. 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Wonder Man ending explained: What happened to Simon Williams and what's next?
It's fitting that the creator of DC's Wonder Woman invented an early prototype of the lie detector, because Marvel's male counterpart, Wonder Man, is based almost entirely on lies. Or at least the MCU version of Simon Williams that's played by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II. There's the lies that Simon's tells himself, desperately trying to suppress his devastating ionic power. Then there's the lies he tells on set everyday, pretending to be just another ordinary man. Never mind that he's an actor whose stock and trade is artifice. Yet despite all this, Williams is still devastated when it turns out that his new best friend, Trevor Slattery (Ben Kingsley), has also been lying this whole time too. Originally planted as a mole by the Department of Damage Control (DODC), the former 'Mandarin' quickly grew fond of Williams, developing a real friendship as they auditioned together for the Wonder Man movie. But by the end of episode seven, the jig was up. "Hell of a performance," says Williams as he storms out, leaving Slattery behind, genuinely gutted by how the truth hurt his one real friend. Fit to burst with rage, Williams finally snaps, unleashing all the ionic energy he's kept inside. It's a good thing he's in an empty studio or someone could have got hurt. Still, the Wonder Man crew who helped build the set sure won't be pleased the next day, and there's the little matter of a reporter from the New York Times who's still snooping around on the lot… So what does all this mean for Williams? Is an Oscar on the cards? Avengers membership? Or how about prison? Marvel's Wonder Man ending explained: Where does Simon Williams go? The season one finale begins in the past, showing us again just how formative the '80s Wonder Man film was on Simon and his relationship with his father. These moments they shared are the driving force for everything Williams does, although we sort of got the message already a few flashbacks ago. The next morning, news of the explosion he caused reaches Slattery and agents at the DODC. Realising that he's running out of time, Williams calls up his mum for a chat. Said chat is really a goodbye, but he doesn't want to worry her, even though a mother always knows when something's up. Just as it looks like DODC agents are about to break into the apartment, Williams receives a call from Slattery: "I’ll never forgive myself for what I did to you, but I’m making it right," he says in what sounds like another thinly veiled goodbye. "Promise me you’ll live your life to the fullest." And with that, we're suddenly shown a video confession recorded by Slattery in the role of the Mandarin. Yep, the same terrorist he pretended to be all the way back in Iron Man 3, 13 years prior. "America, did you miss me?" asks Slattery as he takes responsibility for Simon's meltdown. Yep, those DODC agents were actually storming his apartment, not Wonder Man's. It's a sad end for this kindly thespian who's worked so hard to get out from under the Mandarin's shadow, but it's the only way he feels he can atone. The DODC seems happy enough with the arrest, even if it's "not the one we wanted." Never mind that they've apparently been hunting Williams down for years because of the incredible threat he poses? Nah, just let him carry on being a huge Hollywood movie star instead. Slattery maintains to the arresting officers that he was actually The Mandarin all along, and that the acting career was just an act all along. How meta! Wonder Man director Von Kovak asks Williams to channel this betrayal in his performance, but what really helps is the original retro glasses that Simon's given by the prop guy, the same ones worn in the 80s film that his Wonder Man is based on. And they just so happen to be the signature look of Simon Williams in the comics as well. Joe Pantoliano ends up taking over the role of Barnaby from Slattery, which is a bit savage given how cruel The Sopranos star was to our so-called Mandarin prior. We then cut rather snappily to the Wonder Man premiere, which everyone is absolutely loving, if conversations outside the theatre are to be believed. There's already talk of a sequel and even Simon's asshole brother Eric is a fan. Everything's worked out perfectly for Williams, exactly how he wanted. Except, of course, for what happened to Slattery. Simon's agent reveals that bigger projects are being sent his way now, and presumably, that's why we next find Williams out in the middle of nowhere, shadowing an average joe trucker. He must be studying for a new role, right? A few scenes go by where Simon gets to know Chuck Eastman, an old acquaintance of Simon's from the industry, and his family. It's such an abrupt shift, not to mention a long-winded one, that you can't help but wonder what we're even doing here now that we're so close to the end of the show. But then we find out that Chuck works security at the DODC and everything falls into place. Nondescript agents discuss the true power Simon possesses as "an extraordinary threat… or asset" while he casually breaks into a highly secure government building with nothing more than a fake name and a dream. It's not long until 'Alfonso' finds The Mandarin's cell and frees him using his powers, powers which he's suddenly seemed to master, despite suppressing them his entire life. And it's not just super strength he uses here either. It turns out Simon can also fly, a skill he doesn't hesitate to use, rocketing up and through the ceiling without any help from the rocket jets that his '80s inspiration used on screen. What's next for Simon? Is he going to eventually wind up joining the Avengers like his comic book counterpart? Given that the origin of Simon's powers were never explained, could he be a few films away from teaming up with the X-Men? Or could he even help found the Great Lake Avengers, a D-list superhero team that Doorman joins early on in the comics? View Green Video on the source website What's clear in the short term is that Williams and Slattery are on the run for committing crimes against the US government. Why they didn't just arrest Simon earlier when they had proof of his powers is anyone's guess, especially if he really is the huge threat that the DODC claims him to be. Don't be surprised if answers for all this never come, however. Marvel has a habit of leaving their TV-based heroes on a cliffhanger, like Moon Knight or She-Hulk, for example. And the difference with them is that Disney actually invested a lot more time and promo into their stories. With Wonder Man already being billed as a miniseries, one that Disney unceremoniously dumped all at once online, the chances of Abdul-Mateen II (or Williams) starring in a Wonder Man sequel seem close to none. But when it comes to Marvel, never say "never". Wonder Man is available to stream now on Disney Plus. Add Wonder Man to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. 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Who was Juan "Spike" Osorio? Wonder Man tribute explained
The first episode of the Marvel show features a tribute card.
Most Marvel heroes strive for greatness, but in Wonder Man, Simon Williams isn't trying to be a superhero. Instead, he hopes to wow the public with his acting, so his biggest fight is keeping those impressive powers of his under wraps. Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's struggling actor is joined by fellow actor slash former "terrorist" Trevor Slattery (Sir Ben Kingsley), who the world remembers as the so-called "Mandarin" from Iron Man 3. Together, they're fighting to appear in a new remake of the classic Wonder Man superhero film that Simon loved growing up. Questions abound, however, when it turns out that not everyone is who they say they are. When it comes to questions, another is raised at the end of episode 1 when a dedication appears before the credits roll, which reads: "In memory of Juan 'Spike' Osorio." So, who is Juan Osorio? And why did Wonder Man pay tribute to him? Read on for everything you need to know about Spike. Who was Juan "Spike" Osorio? Osorio was a veteran lighting technician who worked in the electrical department across multiple Hollywood productions. Before Wonder Man, he was credited on a wide array of sci-fi and fantasy projects including The Dark Tower, American Born Chinese, and Marvel's 2018 sequel Ant-Man and the Wasp, plus more grounded fare such as Mayans M.C. and The Conners. According to interviews with fellow crew members (via The Daily Beast), Osorio worked in the army before moving to Hollywood. Rigging gaffer Dave McGrory explained that Osorio once survived a devastating explosion while serving in the Middle East. "He was in a Humvee that drove over an IED which exploded. And he basically watched his closest guys die in front of him,” McGrory said. "And there was another firefight in a cave in Afghanistan, where he was wounded with some shrapnel. I know that because he got a scar under his left eye, from rock fragmentation." McGrory added: "The man made it out of Afghanistan, and didn’t make it out of the studio system." What happened to Juan "Spike" Osorio? While working on Wonder Man, Osorio fell through a catwalk at Stage 3 at the Radford Studio Center in Studio City (per Variety). He died on the same day – 6th February 2024. Osorio, aged 41 at his time of passing, was survived by his wife, industry boom operator Joanne Osorio-Wu, and his mother Zoila Osorio. Hundreds of people attended a vigil in Burbank to honour Osorio (via ABC7), and Osorio's widow shared a heartfelt message to attendees at the vigil. View oEmbed on the source website "I know Spike would want all of you to know how much he cared for you," Joanne Osorio-Wu said. "Each and every person that he worked with, each and every person that he knew, he wanted to make sure that they were safe, whether they were in his department or not. He was the most important part of my life, and I appreciate you all and the impact that you all had on him." Kaitlyn Yang, the visual effects supervisor on American Born Chinese, remembered Osorio: "I worked with Spike on my last series. He made sure I had all the lights to make our blue screens work. As many crew have echoed before me, I felt seen and heard in his presence. May he rest in peace." Marvel issued the following statement: "Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with his family and friends, and our support is behind the investigation into the circumstances of this accident." Following the tragedy, a Cal/OSHA investigation concluded that the catwalk Osorio fell through had a deteriorated section of wood, which was improperly nailed to a roof support. As a result, Disney was hit with a $36,000 fine and Radford Studio Center was fined $45,000. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Osorio’s widow and mother also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Radford Studio Center seeking unspecified damages, with the family’s lawyer alleging that it "failed to properly maintain, repair and inspect its premises". Radford’s lawyers disputed the claims and argued that the accident could have been caused by negligence on the part of Osorio or others. Wonder Man is streaming now on Disney+. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Jujutsu Kaisen season 3's Culling Game rules explained
The latest episodes of Jujutsu Kaisen have hit like a train, yet not a single punch was thrown. Following Yuta Okkotsu's addition to the team, Yuji Itadori and the gang suddenly find themselves front row at an episode-long lecture about the impending apocalypse. As the freaky-looking Tengen explains, The Culling Game they're about to enter is a Battle Royale-style deathmatch that will span the entire nation of Japan. That means it's a big deal for every sorcerer who takes part, plus all of us watching back home too. But boy there are a lot of rules. To be fair, the animators do an incredible job of keeping us entertained without any cursed battling in sight. Flow charts have never come with so much aura. Still though. It's a lot. The rules flashed up ever so briefly in the first two episodes, but for those of us who don't wish to pause and read text longer than the Bible, I'm on hand to break down Kenjaku's plan in more detail. What is The Culling Game? The tournament isn't your typical anime showdown. The ancient sorcerer Kenjaku, aka, the guy who ruined all our lives in season two's Shibuya Incident, has been planning this battle royale for centuries. His goal is to pit 1000 sorcerers against each other in a game where anyone can die at any point. Even Kenjaku can snuff it, but if he does, The Culling Game will continue anyway, generating enough cursed energy for him to transform the whole of Japan into one singular cursed entity. The wildest thing about all this is that he's essentially doing it all for giggles because not even Kenjaku knows what will happen after this. Yuji, Megumi Fushiguro and the gang want to stop this because, well, you can guess why already. But they also want to specifically save Megumi's sister, Tsumiki, who is now one of the many humans who Kenjaku awakened as a sorcerer at the end of season 2. And the odds of surviving a game with "Culling" in the name seems unlikely. There's also the matter of Satoru Gojo, the blue-eyed wonder who was sealed in the Prison Realm last season. As the most powerful Jujutsu sorcerer, his return would turn the tide in humanity's favour. But to free Gojo, the gang must compete in order to find a reincarnated sorcerer named Angel who holds the power to break his seal. All caught up? Let's break down the rules in more detail. Rule 1: Every player must choose a colony within 19 days Anyone who's participating, whether they're choosing to join or were awakened by Kenjaku against their will, must enter a colony within 19 days. There are 10 colonies in total across Japan to select from, each separated by an impenetrable barrier. Once you've declared your decision, you are now officially a player in the Culling Game. As brutal as the 19 day deadline is, it also prevents anyone from training longer and gaining an unfair advantage. Plus, there's nothing like a deadline this deadly to stir up a little extra tension. Rule 2: Breaking the first rule will result in almost certain death Why don't participants just say no? Anyone who refuses to compete once they've awakened will have their cursed technique removed (Idle Transfiguration), which results in brain damage and most likely, death. This clause stops anyone who tries to skip the game or even forfeit after the game has begun. Kenjaku is a sneaky bugger alright. Rule 3: Civilians have one chance to leave the game Regular folk who don't possess cursed energy can't usually see spirits without the aid of a special tool. That means innocent bystanders might accidentally cross a colony barrier without even realising it, which would technically make them a player too. However, those who find themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time are given one chance to exit at the very start. If they choose to remain, then all the rules of The Culling Game will apply to them from here on out. Kenjaku isn't all that nice for introducing this component though, because he's really all about just throwing extra chaos into the mix. Rule 4: Players earn points by killing each other Want to win? You need to kill other competitors to secure those much-needed points. As such, the game isn't so much about survival as it is slaughter. Players are encouraged to go on the offensive, which results in utter carnage throughout this longer-than-average arc. As if that wasn't chaotic enough, Kenjaku also adds extra wild cards halfway through in the form of newly awakened sorcerers and resurrected curse-users from the past. Rule 5: Every player has a set point value Killing is key for everyone who competes, but not all players are valued equally. While sorcerers and cursed spirits are worth 5 points, non-sorcerers are only worth a measly one point. Still, every win counts, especially when game master Kenjaku can change a player's worth on a whim depending on their threat level. This creates an intriguing dynamic where powerful sorcerers become the focus for players hoping to earn big while others hunt out low-score humans to play it safe. Rule 6: 100 points can be used to propose a new rule This rule is a literal game-changer because any player who stacks up 100 points can propose a new rule to Kenjaku. These new rules can do anything from reshape the battlefield to creating different mechanics that aid the player in question. As such, rule-making is essentially another type of weapon for those strong and smart enough to wield this power correctly. It's safe to say that this rule easily tips the scales in favour of more powerful sorcerers who can rack up those points quicker. Sorry to all the random humans who stroll in unawares. Rule 7: Kenjaku must approve each new rule Of course, there's always a catch. Players can ask for almost anything, but only up to a point. That's because the one rule players can't request is the removal of rules previously set in place by Kenjaku. Kind of like a 'genie refusing to give more wishes' kind of deal. Long-term changes are also disallowed. Essentially, Kenjaku can do what he wants with these requests. And remember, his priority is to maximise the body count, because he's kind of messed up like that. View oEmbed on the source website Rule 8: Stop for 19 days and your cursed technique is removed While the first rule gave players 19 days to choose a colony, the final rule punishes competitors who don't increase their score for the same length of time. Sit idle for 19 days and you lose your cursed technique, which usually results in death for the player who's been targeted. So much for waiting things out until everyone else is dead. This rule quickly weeds out anyone who's too weak to make an impact on the tournament, plus it adds even more pressure to an already stressful game. And by "stressful," I mean "unbearable to the point of madness". Combined, these rules create monsters out of good people and make bad people even worse. In short, this is a horrifying ordeal that sucks for everyone competing, but kind of rules for us waiting to see all the endless culling unfold back home. So. Much. Culling. And with that, there's nothing left to except let The Culling Game commence! And may the odds be ever in your favour. Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 is streaming now on Crunchyroll. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' most graphic scene so far makes a crucial point about the show
Plenty of people have had a s**t time of it in Westeros, but few have had it quite as bad as Dunk (Peter Claffey). A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms begins with the modest hedge knight in mourning. Once Dunk has wiped away his tears, the plan is to honour his late master, Ser Arlan of Pennytree (Danny Webb), in a jousting tournament nearby. But before he heads off to compete, another task must be completed first. It's all very serious as Dunk buries Arlan with all the gravitas you might expect from a show set in this world. The music swells and builds ceremoniously as the hero's journey is about to begin… And then we suddenly cut to Dunk defecating by a tree. It's not a brief dump either. The camera cuts from a modest overhead shot to a wide angle where we can see the full extent of the poop spraying out from Dunk's behind. Targaryens will get down and dirty in all kinds of ways, often with their own siblings, but you'd never catch one of them doing that. Not on camera anyway. Of course, Dunk doesn't know he's being watched by us either. Poor guy. And things are about to get a whole lot worse for him before they get better… It's tempting to assume the graphic nature of this scene has been included this early on just for shock value. Games of Thrones is hardly known for taming things down, after all. But like a doctor looking through a stool for answers, we too can learn a lot about Dunk and this show's outlook through a messy scene like this. There's the abrupt shift in tone for one. While both Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon are rather serious (for the most part), leading with this bowel movement early on establishes that this ain't your nana's Westeros — not by any means. Humour is as integral to A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as knights and kingdoms are. It's there in the way people greet each other — "What you gawping at, you blue eyed c**t?" — and it's there in the crueller putdowns too, like when a woman says early on, "A hedge knight is like a knight, but sadder." None of this is funny for Dunk, of course, just as it's not amusing to poop outside without a roll of bog paper to wipe up. But this kind of callous toilet humour situates the show in a very different place than previous visits to Westeros, making us laugh while also establishing the realities of life for an everyman who wasn't fortunate enough to be born into nobility. This outlook differentiates A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms from both Thrones and House of the Dragon in ways that this franchise sorely needed. There's only so many times you can circle back to nobility in Westeros before risking repetition, and as this series proves, there's a whole world out there full of interesting new stories to navigate. To be fair, Game of Thrones did manage this to some degree, and once even with poop as well. Remember at the start of season seven when Samwell Tarly (John Bradley) began maester training only to discover that this entailed cleaning up human waste? Bradley spoke to Vulture about the importance of this bedpan sequence at the time: "The first time we see Sam, he’s being put through abject misery compared to how elated he was when he first arrived at the Citadel at the end of season six. He’s so disenchanted with it all, realizing that after all the time he’s invested in the Wall all these years, he’s now away from everybody." "Sam is restless and angry," adds Bradley, "and he feels he’s letting Jon down. The scene makes you believe all that. It’s a very functional scene at establishing his psychology and his motives going into this season, but it does it in a very entertaining and, hopefully, very funny way." Just as this sequence highlighted the contrast between noble life and the gritty toil of scholarly pursuits, so too does the excrement in Seven Kingdoms, which points to hardship for Dunk. As showrunner Ira Parker told RadioTimes.com and other outlets, "The moment behind the tree is so important to season 1. [It's] Dunk feeling this call to try something really hard, to go out there and to be a knight... "He so badly wants it, he picks up the story, feels this call, but then, of course, like all of us, whenever we try to do something new and hard that we've never done before, your guts just turn to water. "He's not a hero, yet, he's not this fake version of a hero that senses his destiny and goes out and grabs it. He is a human being like me and you. He wants things, but he doesn't exactly know how to get the better things, and his journey this season is going to be about whether or not he can endure the trials of knighthood, and actually rise to the occasion." Nothing says you're struggling like pooping under a tree and sleeping out in the open. But we're not just meant to feel sorry for Dunk. This is simply the life of an everyman in Westeros, yet even so, this humble hedge knight doesn't let it get him down. By establishing Dunk's world as a cruel one, it's all the more impressive when he sticks to his guns in the face of great difficulty. With Egg (Dexter Sol Ansell) by his side, Dunk's belief in what's right never falters and that makes him a hero worth rooting for. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the ruling class above him whose merest whims can send our hedge knight spiralling. Dunk has been dealt a s**t hand, and I'm not just talking about the lack of toilet paper in that field. But, this is exactly what sets A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms apart and makes it a worthy extension of George R. R. Martin's world. A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms premieres on 19th January 2026 on Sky Atlantic and NOW and airs in the US on HBO. Game of Thrones seasons 1 to 8 and House of the Dragon seasons 1 and 2 are available to stream on Sky and NOW – find out more about how to sign up for Sky TV. If you’re looking for something else to watch in the meantime, check out our TV Guide and Streaming Guide, or visit our dedicated Fantasy hub. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
His & Hers ending explained: Who was the real culprit all along?
**Warning: contains spoilers for His & Hers episodes 1-6.** Don't let the name of this new Netflix thriller fool you. His & Hers is anything but romantic, driven by dark desires that result in a dangerous game of cat and mouse between two exes. The former lovers in question are Jon Bernthal's highly strung detective named Jack Harper and Anna, a cutthroat journalist played by Tessa Thompson. Personal trauma ripped their marriage apart a year prior, but when a woman is brutally murdered in their Atlanta hometown, Anna returns to investigate and salvage her career. The problem is Jack might have been the one who killed her… It turns out His & Hers is just as twisty as the Alice Feeney novel it's based on because just when you think you know who killed Rachel Hopkins, viewers discover that the culprit was actually a lot closer to home. His & Hers ending explained Five episodes in, time is running out for Jack. After dodging his detective colleague Priya Patel (Sunita Mani) all season, the evidence is stacking up against him. But does he care? No, not after he finds his sister Zoe (Marin Ireland) murdered in the bathtub. Yep, what might have been a red Lush bathbomb turns out to be her blood, which is now all over Jack. Anna makes a discovery of her own, less gruesome, but no less dangerous, when she realises that the rival anchorwoman gunning for her job isn't just a random blonde named Lexy (Rebecca Rittenhouse). She's actually Catherine (Astrid Rotenberry), a girl who Anna's friends bullied back in school. It turns out Catherine lost a lot of weight and changed her name to fool everyone and enact revenge. But that's not all she's done. The final episode of His & Hers starts with a flashback where Lexy, back when she was known as Catherine, goes on a family boat trip. Sounds cute, right? Sadly no, because it's not long before Catherine's sister starts poking fun at her weight. In response, Catherine does what anyone would do and deliberately uses up the medicine in Andrea's inhaler so she won't be able to use it when she needs it most. Ok, that might not be what most sane people would do, but the result is the same. Andrea dies while on the boat trip, unable to use the medicine she needs, which just goes to show you shouldn't make fun of people. We then cut back to the present where Anna has just realised the truth about Lexy/Catherine (despite knowing both versions of her for many, many years). The problem is she's only just realised now while she's in Lexy's house after her husband Richard (Pablo Schreiber) led Anna there in the previous episode… Anna calls Jack for help, but he's a bit tied up with finding the corpse of his sister. Still, he comes anyway when Anna reveals the danger she's in, pointing out that Lexy must have been the one who killed Zoe (not to mention Rachel and Helen too). Jack is delayed, however, when Patel shows up, ready to finally confront him about his potential role in Rachel's murder. Frankly, her timing couldn't be worse, not just because Anna's in danger but also because of the extremely incriminating blood that Jack's absolutely drenched in. Meanwhile, Richard has cottoned on to the fact that Anna has called for help, which is far from ideal. The fact they regularly work together – and do a lot more together – doesn't stop him from having a go at Anna. Scared, she manages to grab the concealed gun in her bag and shoot at him in the house, but then the bullets quickly run out, so Anna locks him in another room. That's when Lexy shows up to help her hubby out, but instead of smashing Anna's head in with a plant pot, Anna turns the tables and smashes her head against the wall instead. Patel was knocked out too, by Jack, and now wakes up outside his house with police back-up checking to see if she's alright. Anna calls Lexy a psycho, which is fair, but Lexy calls her one back, saying Anna "lured her" into the woods 20 years ago. You know, back when something terrible happened to the group. More on that later. There's also a great line about drinking piss which I'd argue is Emmy-worthy. Anna's tooth comes out in the resulting fight, so she hits Lexy mad as hell and they fall through a glass table. It's not really a TV fight unless someone falls through a glass table. Jack shows up just as Lexy goes for the gun. He pushes Anna to the side, not realising that the gun is empty. That's when a bullet suddenly hits Lexy from outside where Patel is now standing. She didn't realise the gun was empty either so she went for the head shot, killing Lexy in an instant. We suddenly cut to dawn the next day as Jack and Anna sit together and talk while the police clear up everything around them. Anna gives Jack her condolences for the death of his sister, suggesting that she can maybe help out raising his niece, Meg. But just like us, Jack needs answers about what happened between Anna and Zoe and all the other girls that fateful night in the woods when they were young. "Rachel was the ringleader, but Helen and Zoe knew about it too," says Anna, who then describes how she and Lexy were led into the woods on Anna's 16th birthday. It was supposed to be a party, but then men showed up after Rachel had sent them photos of the girls. "These men attacked Catherine. Rachel and Helen and your sister watched. I wanted to tell you, I started to a hundred times and I just couldn’t. I thought maybe I shouldn’t because of Zoe and... the truth is, Jack, I’ve just never been able to tell anyone. I thought I… Maybe I could just pretend it didn’t happen, so that’s what I did. I’m sorry." This story is horrific, but Anna and Jack have been through their own fair share of trauma already following the loss of their baby last year. It's no surprise then that they'd reconnect in this moment, sharing a kiss after baring their all to each other. The police find more incriminating evidence that seems to prove Lexy was behind the murders and Patel very quickly seems to have forgiven Jack for knocking her out the night before, so everything is fine and peachy. Right? Right??? One year later, it sure does seem that way. Anna has got her old job back, she's pregnant with Jack's baby, and they're also raising Meg together as a family. Finally, they've managed to claw back what was stolen from them following the loss of their first child. The end... Except, wait. There's more. Anna begins narrating again, like she usually does at the start of every episode. But this time, the words are familiar. In fact, these are the same lines we've heard across the five episodes prior to this one. Lazy writing? No. Because it turns out that these were never Anna's words. It was simply Anna reading the words of someone else, someone very close to her. That doesn't become clear though until the narration suddenly changes from Anna's voice to the voice of Anna's mother, Alice (Crystal Fox). And the change happens right as she says the word "killing". <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2026/01/Netflix-3d8313d.jpg" width="2616" height="1744" alt="An older woman sits on a sofa, cradling a younger woman against her chest in a warm, softly lit living room. The younger woman rests her head on the older woman’s arm as they share a quiet, intimate moment, with sunlight streaming through the windows behind them." title="His & Hers" /> Oh yes. With this switch in narration, we watch as Anna reads a letter written by Alice that reveals she's been a lot busier than the show's made out. As detailed in the letter, Alice looks back with pride at everything Anna had accomplished, including the birth of her baby Charlotte. But when Charlotte died in Alice's care, all she had left of Anna were old video tapes. She'd watch them daily, and regularly visit Charlotte's grave hoping her daughter might return home. There, Alice saw Jack meet Rachel for some loving in a side road. But that wasn't her concern at this time. No, it's what happened next that kicks off her murderous rampage. Six months into Anna's absence, Alice finally gets round to watching one last video tape of her on Anna's 16th birthday. The celebrations quickly turn to horror though as Alice watches and discovers that Anna was sexually assaulted by the men in the woods too, who committed the vile act as so-called friends like Rachel watched and laughed. They even sing "Happy Birthday" during the assault, which is one of the most disturbing things you'll see happen on TV this year. Alice breaks down watching all this, and then she concocts a plan for revenge. "No one expects a woman to be a serial killer," says Alice, pointing out that some of her suspicious actions were quickly written off as signs of dementia. "That’s the thing about older folks. Like back doors and the workers who use them, we’re usually forgotten, ignored, invisible." But that works to Alice's advantage. "Year after year after year. Same locks, same doors, same keys. They could’ve stopped me, but we see what we want to see, even when the truth is right in front of us." We watch then as Alice goes around killing all the women responsible for what happened to Anna. She didn't intend to kill Catherine as she figured "prison was fair" for the smaller role she played. But she "didn't expect Patel to be such a good shot". "Killing Rachel brought you home," adds Alice. "Killing Helen kept you here, and killing Zoe gave you the family you lost." It's kind of worked out perfectly, no? And as far as outlandish TV twists go, this one is actually kind of believable. Ridiculous? Yes. Entertaining? Absolutely. But before the show ends, presumably for good, Alice reveals why she's written this letter to Anna. "I’m writing this now, baby, because soon you’ll be a mother again. Love my grandbabies as I’ve loved you. Teach them the value of hard work and planning. Prepare them for a life both ugly and beautiful. Unpredictable, always changing. Except for one thing. Show them that a mother’s love never dies, never weakens. It's constant, continual, relentless. All my love, my precious girl. Your mother…" Anna looks up at her mother then with tears of disbelief as Alice hangs out with the rest of the family in another room. But Alice sees Anna watching and watches back, knowingly. The show might be called His & Hers, but the story is very much hers and only hers by the end. His & Hers is available to stream on Netflix. on deSign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media. Add His & Hers to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" class="x_OWAAutoLink" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. 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Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 review: Anime A-lister returns to cull the competition
The first two episodes of season 3 amp up everything we love most about Jujutsu Kaisen.
This review is based on Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 episodes 1-2. Jujutsu Kaisen season 3 kicks off with an uncharacteristically quiet moment for the teen sorcerer at the heart of this show. Yuji Itadori is washing blood off his hands, but there's just too much of it. Red stains spiral into the sink, stubbornly refusing to come clean. Endless torrents of blood are par for the course in both the series and the Gege Akutami-penned manga this story is based on, but this isn't just the aftermath of any old battle. Season 2 ended with The Shibuya Incident, Jujutsu Kaisen's most devastating arc yet. Friends died at the hands of demons and countless more perished at the hands of Yuji himself once the power of Ryomen Sukuna took over. In the fallout from this, the blood on Yuji's hands carries something far heavier, and the overarching mood is thick with despair as well. Survivor's guilt coupled with guilt over the carnage he technically wreaked shapes everything here, visually warping Tokyo itself with a bleary pink sunrise stained like the blood on his hands. A giant, grotesque monster claws at Yuji all of a sudden, throwing us into battle, but you can feel that Yuji's heart isn't in it. Even at his most impressive, jumping and spinning and hurtling through the air mid-fight, Yuji's body language speaks to a broken man far removed from the protagonist we were first introduced to in season one. Dread infuses every frame, every lingering shot of an empty staircase or demolished building. It's eerie and atmospheric in ways that speak to the show's movie-level animation and how the team at MAPPA are capable of stunning beyond Jujutsu Kaisen's signature fights. These too are just as elaborate as ever, first when Yuji tears into Cronenbergian demons, and then when Yuta Okkotsu arrives to kill him on orders from the Jujutsu Council. We've only seen glimpses of Yuta in the main show before now, but here, the protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 is finally unleashed in full, pitting the franchise's two heroes against each other in a battle to the death. The fan-favourite sorcerer is also one of the most powerful, and you can feel it in every blow. This long-awaited confrontation between them is as visceral as it is balletic, practically operatic in its gravity-defying athleticism. Note how the pair's different fighting styles bring a new kind of energy to the show as well, paired with Jujutsu Kaisen's usual chaotic framing and sharp camera movements. View oEmbed on the source website Between every cursed punch and kick, it's also gratifying to see how Yuta carries himself now, no longer the timid student we met back in the prequel film. His self-assured arrival further shifts Jujutsu Kaisen into new territory along with the addition of other characters including Naoya Zenin, a potential clan leader who has Megumi Fushiguro in his sights. Beyond each individual fight, power struggles in the wider world of Jujutsu Kaisen ebb and flow to form new enemies and alliances at every turn across these first two episodes. The writing speedruns some of this set-up, moving faster than even our battling sorcerers, as season three hurtles towards The Culling Game. As fans of the manga know, the longest arc in the series (spanning 63 chapters) is a game-changer that might even top the Shibuya Incident in terms of impact. That's assuming the show can navigate this arc and condense it where needed without losing too much of the original story. With less room to maneuver here, season three runs the risk of mishandling the pace, a problem that can already be felt a bit in these first two episodes. Jujutsu Kaisen has never been the easiest show to follow, rushing through convoluted setups and ever-changing rules, but nowhere has this been felt more keenly than at the end of episode two when The Culling Game rules are first explained. Well, "explained" is generous given how quickly huge swathes of text are plastered across the screen, only to be removed seconds later. Exposition is often dense in this show, but usually we're given at least a fighting chance to catch up and understand. Other character beats beyond Yuji's despair in the opening also land quickly, although you might not realise that initially thanks to the sheer spectacle of everything that unfolds. Fans hyped for the show's return probably won't mind too much though. By and large, the first two episodes of season 3 amp up everything we love most about Jujutsu Kaisen. Every frame, every note in the score, goes harder than ever. This is apocalyptic aura farming at its most effortless, which makes it easier to overlook occasional issues with the writing. Even without our blue-eyed boy Satoru Gojo on hand, season 3 has loudly announced itself as the A-lister to beat once again. Everything from the soundtrack to the voice-acting is next level, and with something as big as The Culling Game looming so close, blood will pour for anyone who stands in the way of Yuji and Jujutsu Kaisen alike. Jujutsu Kaisen is streaming weekly on Crunchyroll. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why everyone's talking about Heated Rivalry
The Canadian sports romance series, based on Rachel Reid's novels, is the show of the moment.
Add Heated Rivalry to your watchlist When it comes to sport, hockey might be a big player on the international stage, but it's not exactly a huge draw when it comes to storytelling on screen. Not since the Mighty Ducks, anyway. That's all changed now though thanks to a pair of gay hockey players who develop the hots for each other while they puck their way to the top. Based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers novel series, Heated Rivalry follows Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as they compete on the ice and get steamy in the bedroom. Along the way, they struggle with the toll that comes with keeping their love secret while training to be the very best at what they do. Throw in a whole lot of butts and it's easy to see the immediate appeal of this story. But even so, it's hard to fathom just how quickly Heated Rivalry took the world by storm. Jacob Tierney's adaptation started out as a Crave original, which probably doesn't mean a whole lot to people who live outside of Canada. But just a week before the premiere launched, Heated Rivalry picked up an international distribution deal, expanding the show's reach to millions more via HBO Max (you know, the streamer that won't arrive on our shores until March 2026). Now it will air on Sky Atlantic from Saturday 10 January. Even so, Heated Rivalry didn't receive the same kind of big marketing push that HBO originals like House of the Dragon take for granted. Not from the network anyway. Instead, promotion fell to the fans. Specifically, horny fans of Reid's original book who pored through every moment in the first trailer, creating countless edits and screaming reaction videos using just 90 seconds of material. View Green Video on the source website Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Brendan Brady revealed it was this fan buzz that directly led to HBO Max's involvement, thereby securing the show's international success. But distribution alone could never guarantee such a rabid response, especially for a show that has no recognisable IP outside of the book fanbase. That's where the butts come in. What started with just happy book readers soon turned into a collective lust driven by gay men and straight women alike, something the series heavily leans into. From early showers together to their first hotel hook-up, Shane and Ilya's relationship is defined almost entirely by sex. It's the language of the show itself. As Tierney told THR, "Sex is how you tell the story because their sex changes as they get to know each other, as they get to know themselves." Sex sells, of course, but it's also easy to imagine a world where Heated Rivalry could have downplayed these scenes, watering them down to appeal to a wider audience. Thankfully, Tierney's team did no such thing, and the results speak for themselves. If anything, their adaptation of Heated Rivalry goes to even further extremes in the bedroom department. The sex is almost constant, punctuated by brief conversations and expansive time jumps before the bedroom action begins anew. It's no exaggeration to say that far more of the show takes place between the sheets than on the ice. Except, the sheets rarely get in the way of what can only be described as a peachy barrage of endless cheeks displayed onscreen. Actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie obviously bring a lot of physical appeal to Heated Rivalry, but beyond the well-lit smut, it's their chemistry that sells the show. Without that, the sex could have been corny or even cringe to watch. And it's not just in these scenes where their connection shines. Even with clothes on, Williams and Storrie embody something very real, a growing lust and even love worth rooting for. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they're nice to look at too, but good looks will only get you so far, especially with such a straightforward narrative. Rather than gun for big names, Tierney's team prioritised choosing the right talent to bring these characters to life, actors who could lean into the yearning that's so integral to this story. As naughty as the show can be, it's also rather moving at points – I defy you to watch Shane slowly delete his "we didn’t even kiss" message without feeling something. Heated Rivalry is as authentic in its feelings as it is in its approach to gay sex, something which mainstream productions rarely nail. And therein lies the show's true appeal, this ability to pull us in and speak to the romantic in us too. Well, that and the fact there's almost no actual hockey here to speak of. Why would we want to watch sports when we can watch Shane and Ilya score off the rink instead?
Pluribus ending explained: Cast break down every twist and reveal
It's Christmas, Carol! But that doesn't mean it's all cheer and goodwill as far as Pluribus is concerned. Santa giveth and Santa taketh too with this season 1 finale, which marks the end of a chapter, but also gives us one of the most unique, special ends to a season we've seen in quite some time. The episode, titled 'La Chica o El Mundo', is essentially a three-hander between Carol Sturka (Rhea Seehorn), Manousos Oviedo (Carlos-Manuel Vesga), and Zosia (Karolina Wydra) — even if the latter technically represents pretty much every other person on the planet. And with this close proximity comes a few disturbing twists that we spoke to stars Rhea Seehorn and Karolina Wydra in greater detail about. But the final chapter begins before these three characters meet, revealing what happens when one of the few remaining survivors gets her wish in Peru. Pluribus season 1 ending explained: What happened to Carol? Interviews by Alex Hewitt. With the clock ticking 71 days in, the season one finale of Pluribus starts with Kusimayu watching as a plane arrives in her small Peruvian village. A relative (in the group mind) asks if she's 'excited or nervous about what's to come.' Against gorgeous scenic backdrops, we watch as a special crate is delivered to Kusimayu. "Will it hurt?" she asks. "Not one bit," replies the group mind. And with that, Peruvian chanting begins as Kusimayu breathes in vapour that emanates from the delivery. As soon as she falls to the ground, mid-seizure, the religious-like chanting immediately stops. The Joined have what they wanted now. Kusimayu has joined them too, and she did so willingly, so there's no need to keep up any semblance of normalcy. Everyone in the entire village suddenly leaves at once, letting the farm animals free as they go. Where they go next, we don't know, because then the action returns to Carol and Zosia watching Manousos on his way to Albuquerque. Zosia suggests that they/she should not be here when he arrives in case her presence upsets him. Carol wonders if Manousos might be dangerous, as if she's not casually sleeping with a cannibal in her own home. Manousos arrives with a machete in hand, which doesn't exactly scream diplomacy. Carol is wary, even if he's only carrying it in fear of The Joined and what they might do to him. He's wary too, unwilling to talk inside her home. Together, they speak through a translation app outside, but Manousos is worried about Carol's phone so he tries to take it and they end up dropping it inside the grate. "I'm finito," says Carol, as she storms back into her house and closes the front door on him. How will she keep up her Candy Crush streak now? Realising that he's messed up, Manousos tries to retrieve the phone using his machete for leverage. A multi-purpose tool if I've ever seen one. He then convinces Carol to talk with him again, first outside with an umbrella to shield them from satellites, and then finally, inside her house. "These weirdos are evil," says Manousos. "They have stolen everyone’s soul. If we can't fix them, they are better off dead." "They are still human beings," replies Carol. "They are not evil. They wouldn’t even kill an ant." Manousos is surprised that this Carol is so different to the one he saw in the video she sent. What he doesn't know is that Zosia is attractive and therefore has won Carol over. Inside the house, Manousos is checking for bugs and wire taps that The Joined might be using to listen in. Carol thinks he's absurd for suggesting it until he suddenly finds something very suspicious hidden away in the back of her liquor cabinet. Carol immediately calls Zosia, who tries to tactfully reveal that it was Helen who put what turns out to be a motion sensor in there so she'd know if Carol was drinking when she shouldn't be. It's a devastating reveal, another twist of the knife that doesn't just reopen old scars but creates new ones too, just when Carol had been trying her best to suppress that grief. Manousos reluctantly moves into one of the neighbour's houses while Carol drinks herself to sleep with The Golden Girls playing again in the background. Sounds like my idea of a good time, if it wasn't for the soul-tearing grief and post-apocalyptic vibes of it all. The next day, Carol finds Manousos talking to Zosia, and she's instantly horrified at what she must have revealed to him. As she pulls Zosia away to find out if she disclosed the physical nature of their relationship, Manousos calls the group mind and asks to speak with another representative. Zosia didn't lie to him, because she can't lie, and she loves him the same as well. Another betrayal, another stab in the gut for Carol. But it's not so much a betrayal of love as it is a reminder that this romantic fantasy Carol has begun to indulge in is all a lie. "No, you can’t love him the same," she cries. "He’s a stranger and we… You’re my… You were my…You’re my chaperone. Mine." Seehorn broke down this "very upsetting" exchange with us exclusively, saying: "Carol’s very careful to not poke holes in this water balloon that’s barely holding water. There's a willingness to hang onto what she would like to believe in this moment, because not only was she very, very broken from how long she was left in isolation, it was an existential threat of loneliness." "She might just be sitting in her house watching Golden Girls until the day she dies," continues Seehorn, "unless she chooses to have a relationship with one of these people, be it a close friendship or a romantic relationship or anything. She was looking at a life alone for the rest of her life." Manousos has become a threat to that, so Carol asks Zosia to stay away from him, mentioning all the bad things he's said about The Joined. In response, Zosia suddenly lies down, telling Carol not to be alarmed regarding what's about to happen. It turns out Manousos got angry with another member of The Joined, deliberately so, in order to test theories around their connection and extreme collective response to heightened emotions. "Rick, I know you are there," he says, checking the signals emanating from the radio he's placed in his hand. "Come back. I know you are there. I am there." It looks like Manousos is trying to find a way to sever Rick's connection to the alien group mind, which explains all the scientific research he was doing alone back in Paraguay. And crucially, it looks like he might be onto something. But before Manousos has the chance to test his research out completely, a shotgun blast suddenly takes a chunk out of the wall behind him. Carol is back and she is livid. When Zosia wakes up, she reveals that all The Joined must leave again, like they did last time. "For what it’s worth, [Manousos] did warn us first before he did what he did. Please tell him we’re sorry it came to this." Manousos doesn't care though. He's just happy that his research was fruitful: "It was worth it completely. Now I know much more. You were right. I think there’s a way to put things back in their place. Come on, now the work begins…" Carol doesn't seem too interested though. "Do you want to save the world or get the girl?" asks Manousos. Our answer comes in the form of stunning holiday vignettes from around the world. Swimming in a gorgeous pool, drinking tea in a luxurious apartment, visiting a snowy ski resort and what appears to be Halong Bay in Vietnam… But is it enough? "You seem pretty quiet," says Zosia. Carol's been wondering about Zosia's past, the unjoined Zosia, and whether she had a special someone in her life. Yes, it turns out, but they must have died before or during The Joining because they're not present in the group mind now. "I don’t think I’m good at just feeling good," says Carol. "What makes us happy in our bodies?" View Green Video on the source website They talk about chemical reactions before Zosia suggests things will "only get better" once Carol joins them, just like Kusimayu did at the beginning of the episode. Carol checks that they need her stem cells and her consent for the joining to occur, but something's off and Carol senses it: "My eggs. The ones I froze with Helen. You have them, don’t you. And you can make those into stem cells… You’re working on it." "We are," replies Zosia. "You have to understand how beautiful it is. You have to see how we see it… Remember the young Peruvian girl? She just joined us. She’s happier than she's ever been." "How long do I have?" asks Carol, broken by this news. "A month. Hopefully no more than two or three." "If you loved me you wouldn’t do this," pleads Carol. "Carol, please understand we have to do this because we love you. Because I love you." The Joined can access every memory, every skill of each person in their group mind all at once, so it looks like they've learned plenty about gaslighting and manipulation to get what they want out of Carol. It's devastating to watch, not just for us but Seehorn too. "In episodes 8 and 9, Carol is living in a delusion somewhat voluntarily," the actor says. "She is choosing to not see obvious signs of certain things. I don’t think she saw the egg thing coming, I really don’t." Wydra had no idea that this was coming until she received the script for episode 9: "We didn’t get all the scripts at once, so with each episode, there was a new discovery of the story as it was unfolding..." "It was great to read that and to see how to Them, their biological imperative is everything, at all costs. They really need [Carol] to experience this thing that they’re experiencing. Same with Manousos, same with all the rest of the ‘old-schoolers’." As Seehorn points out, this betrayal "starts the whole plot ticking again, of being ‘turned’. They can now do this without my consent." It's with this information that Carol arms herself as the final scenes of season one pull into focus. Now 74 days into the countdown, we see Manousos doing research using science books from the library (sometimes translated using his English dictionary). A helicopter suddenly arrives with a huge crate just as Carol pulls up in a car. "You win," she tells Manousos. "We save the world." "What is this?" "An atom bomb," replies Carol. And then the camera zooms out from above into the credits. Yep, angry Carol is back, fresh off the horrors of that betrayal, and she's ready to stop The Joined using whatever means necessary. But how this will actually look remains to be seen. Could Pluribus really go there and actually set off an atomic bomb? "The good news for me is that I don’t have to keep secrets," Seehorn tells us, "because I don’t know anything! I literally don’t know what she’s doing with the atom bomb." "I have gone through a lot of thoughts in my head," she adds. "I know that they are in the writer’s room right now writing season 2, and I have chosen not to specifically ask that." "But as excited as I am about the chemistry and the relationship and the bizarre rollercoaster that I have with Karoline Wydra playing Zosia so brilliantly, and wondering where that’s going, the dynamic between [Koumba] Diabaté (Samba Schutte) and Carol is also slightly different now. We see that he does have some compassion and admitted that he wouldn’t want to be turned either, so would he help me?" "And then, the dynamic I have with the brilliant Carlos-Manuel Vesga playing Manousos, so fun. I’m looking forward to their combative energies, because they both so dramatically are hanging onto their own intentions and secrets that they are both immovable objects when they come up against each other, which is just often comedic, no matter how you go at it! That was a lot of fun, and he’s a tremendous actor." Pluribus is streaming now on Apple TV – you can sign up for a seven-day free trial of Apple TV now. Add Pluribus to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
My Hero Academia is ending after more than a decade – here's how it became an anime phenomenon
The beloved cast reflect on the incredible series in an exclusive interview with RadioTimes.com.
School's out for good with the end of My Hero Academia, but it's not just the end of another academic year. We're talking the end of an era, the end of a franchise that expanded and deconstructed an entire genre. Where else could you see the kind of earnest, hopeful superhero storytelling that came to define Kōhei Horikoshi's decade-long run in his manga and the show that followed? So much more than just another story about super-powered school kids, My Hero Academia introduced us to countless heroes and villains who are just as inspiring as they are "quirky". It's not just their powers or "quirks" that set them apart though (as weird as they often were). No, it was their determination to push through imperfection and fight for what mattered. Izuku Midoriya, especially, represented a new kind of hero in that sense, worlds removed from the dark or quippy protagonists popularised by Marvel and DC. It's not just us who are saying goodbye to Midoriya and the gang though. After 170 episodes and four theatrical film releases, the English dub cast have been forced to reckon with the end of an era for themselves as well, learning to let go of a show that's dominated anime and their own personal lives for the better part of a decade. "I'm definitely in the beginning phases of mourning," says voice actor Ernesto Jason Liebrecht (Dabi) ahead of the final episode: "It is really kind of a crazy thing to live with a character in your head for a decade of your life, to experience the level of character development that the creators so graciously provided to us as actors." Justin Cook (Red Riot) was quick to echo that sentiment: "There's a part where you don't want to say goodbye to these characters, but at the same time, watching the story wrap up on its own terms… It's pretty powerful to be a part of it." Very few titles make it to eight seasons in any medium, so the fact we're now here in the final stretch with some of the show's best reviews yet is nothing short of phenomenal. It didn't always seem like that would be a given though. Luci Christian (Uravity) recalls huge hype at the start, only for the first season to come and go without much fanfare. "We all went, 'Oh well. That's how it goes. It's no big deal.' Then the second season came out, I think, or was about to come out, and it just went huge." "I think My Hero Academia happened at a really perfect time," adds Christian. "It's kind of when streaming anime took off. It became a lot more mainstream. And I think My Hero Academia really reaped the benefit of that." Between the peak visuals, innovative powers and epic saga at hand, it's always been easy to fall in love with My Hero Academia. Patrick Seitz (Endeavor) likens all that to the "frosting," so to speak, on the foundation of this series and its appeal. "The cake, the underpinning, the structure of it all, is still about imperfect people trying to do better for each other… People want connection. They crave connection. They foster it, they love it, or they suffer for the lack of it. And I think that's what speaks to people about this. Yes, it has the power fantasy. It has the big fights. It looks great. The production is great. But again, that's, that's the frosting to the underpinning. If the underpinning weren't solid, the frosting would just collapse in on itself." "My Hero Academia really breaks the mould of the Shōnen genre," adds co-star Christopher Sabat (All Might). "As somebody who's watched it with his kids, I think the thing that makes it special is that everyone gets to participate. With Shōnen, you'll traditionally have the main character that does everything, and everyone else stands on the sideline explaining to the audience why it's so cool that the main character is doing their thing. But in this show, everyone has a role to play." Just as everyone has a role to play within My Hero Academia, everyone seems to have their own opinion about the show too, or at least how it ends. When the manga was completed last year, criticisms around the fate of Midoriya and the rushed feel of it all inspired Horikoshi's to write an additional coda that addressed these issues. This, of course, impacts the anime in turn. "I thought it was interesting of Horikoshi to give us a little bit more," says Christian. "It's a little bit messy. I kind of like that. I think that's part of the story that he tells with these heroes, because it's not black and white. It's not necessarily tied up at the end with a bow, with the good guys winning. It's just not quite like that. So I'm okay with how it ends. I like it. I guess I'm okay with the bittersweet. And I always have hope that maybe he'll come back and give these characters more to do later." Christian's not the only one who feels this way. "We live in a time where I feel like all the franchises keep coming back if you give them enough time," says Clifford Chapin (Katsuki Bakugo). "I'm not going to give up hope that maybe one day there will be My Hero Higher Education or something to follow this series." But what would such a thing actually look like, assuming it does eventually happen one day? For two of the franchise's most significant heroes, it seems like it might be time for some long overdue rest. Sabat's grateful that All Might lasted as long as he did. "Every single season has been just nail biting, wondering when this is going to be the season that they use All Might as a vehicle to make Izuku stronger. So I'm just grateful that he got as far as he did, and I think he could probably use a little time just at home. Maybe All Might and Midoriya can link up online and play games or something like that. They just need to chill." Justin Briner (Izuku Midoriya) is on board with that too. "If they want to make a show all about Deku's day-to-day life, I'm there for it. I just hope for him that he's living his best life. Deku's achieved so much in such a short time. He's proven himself on the world stage as the hero that he's always wanted to be. Now, I think hopefully he's just living proudly with the knowledge that he has made the difference that he has always wanted to." The Todoroki family have a lot of recovering to do as well, and given all they've been through, the cast hope to see them work through that together. "I would just want to see Endeavor living life as a civilian, doing no harm, trying to come to terms with himself," says Enji voice actor Patrick Seitz. "His story, it feels like Greek tragedy to me. He had the hubris. He was smote many different ways for it… His race is run as far as what I want to see. But if there were more material, I hope it would just be something day-to-day, pastoral, going to see Toya, speaking to the children that will still speak to him. No harm, no interactions with rage, just real slice-of-life, just something low stakes. Because for him, that is such high stakes." "You hit upon a fantasy of mine," adds Liebrecht. "I had this weird notion that it would be really cool to see Engie and Toya in their recovery mode, living in some little house with a garden and Eng taking care of them, taking care of each other, and it just being a normal, beautiful life. Finally, peace, redemption, the turning of that page." But what about Shoto Todoroki, the family's premier hero? "I have this idea of Shoto, having fully accepted who he is and where he's come from, taking some of his Dad's wants and needs doing them the right way," says David Matranga (Shoto Todoroki). "I have that idea of him out there in the world, heroing, really in the light, because Endeavor's idea was born in shadow, in intensity. So for Shoto to go and be a top hero in a different way, truly embodying that… I would be so jazzed for that." As it stands, there are currently no plans to continue Shoto's story or revisit any of his peers in Class 1-A either. Not in animated form anyway. But with a Hollywood live-action adaptation on the way, not to mention a popular new anime spinoff titled My Hero Academia: Vigilantes, anything's possible. "After you do this for a really long time," says Christopher Wehkamp (Eraserhead), "You suddenly realise that these shows don't always go away. My Hero Academia is so big and it's so meaningful to so many people, we could always hope that it's going to be back in some iteration or another. Vigilantes is kicking off now and, and that's a nice bridge to jump to if you really want to. There's always going to be hope that maybe someday down the road we'll see something else." But even if this really is the end, even if it's time to say goodbye to Class 1-A for good, at least My Hero Academia was able to end on its own terms. "At this point, I don't really know what it'll be like for it to really, actually end, but I'm happy that it gets to end," says Chapin. "There are so many shows we've worked on that don't get proper endings. The fact that we're going to at least get to do that is kind of its own little blessing." And don't forget; My Hero Academia will always be here in some shape or form, ready to inspire a whole new generation. Kind of like One For All, when you think about it. "I think we'll be talking about My Hero Academia for a very, very long time," says J. Michael Tatum (Ingenium). "I think it'll age incredibly well. New generations will continue to find it and be moved by it. And I think it'll go on to be — well, it probably already is —the gold standard that other shows will be judged by going forward." My Hero Academia is available to watch on Crunchyroll. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Why won't there be a My Hero Academia season 9?
The anime has bowed out after eight seasons.
After almost a decade, My Hero Academia is officially ending. The anime phenomenon, created by author and illustrator Kōhei Horikoshi, follows Izuku Midoriya/Deku, a boy who was born without a superpower (or a Quirk) in a world where they have become commonplace. After he dreams of becoming a superhero, he is scouted by the world's greatest hero, All Might, and enrols in a high school for superheroes in training. Now, the show is officially bowing out. Here's why there won't be another season of the beloved anime. Why won't there be a My Hero Academia season 9? Quite simply, eight seasons were enough to tell the story from Horikoshi's manga. Season 8 adapted the final chapters from the manga (plus a bit of bonus content), bringing the story to an end. In the grand scheme of things, 10 years is actually not a super long run for anime, when compared to titan franchises like One Piece, Naruto and Bleach, which have run and run for decades. Ending the anime can't have been an easy feat, especially when the ending to the manga proved rather controversial, with fans criticising the pacing and how things ended for Deku. Speaking exclusively about how the cast feel ending the show, Dabi voice actor Ernesto Jason Liebrecht told RadioTimes.com: "I'm definitely in the beginning phases of mourning. "It is really kind of a crazy thing to live with a character in your head for a decade of your life, to experience the level of character development that the creators so graciously provided to us as actors." Justin Cook (Red Riot) added: "There's a part where you don't want to say goodbye to these characters, but at the same time, watching the story wrap up on its own terms… It's pretty powerful to be a part of it." "After you do this for a really long time, you suddenly realise that these shows don't always go away," said Christopher Wehkamp (Eraserhead). "My Hero Academia is so big and it's so meaningful to so many people, we could always hope that it's going to be back in some iteration or another." If you love the world of My Hero Academia, thankfully, there's more to delve into, with spin-off My Hero Academia: Vigilantes. The show, which premiered in April 2025, is set five years before the events of My Hero Academia and follows Koichi Haimawari, who helps others with his Quirk despite not being a licensed hero. The second season is set for release in 2026. My Hero Academia is available to watch on Crunchyroll. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
When it comes to sport, hockey might be a big player on the international stage, but it's not exactly a huge draw when it comes to storytelling on screen. Not since the Mighty Ducks, anyway. That's all changed now though thanks to a pair of gay hockey players who develop the hots for each other while they puck their way to the top. Based on Rachel Reid's Game Changers novel series, Heated Rivalry follows Shane Hollander (Hudson Williams) and Ilya Rozanov (Connor Storrie) as they compete on the ice and get steamy in the bedroom. Along the way, they struggle with the toll that comes with keeping their love secret while training to be the very best at what they do. Throw in a whole lot of butts and it's easy to see the immediate appeal of this story. But even so, it's hard to fathom just how quickly Heated Rivalry took the world by storm. Jacob Tierney's adaptation started out as a Crave original, which probably doesn't mean a whole lot to people who live outside of Canada. But just a week before the premiere launched, Heated Rivalry picked up an international distribution deal, expanding the show's reach to millions more via HBO Max (you know, the streamer that won't arrive on our shores until March 2026). Even so, Heated Rivalry didn't receive the same kind of big marketing push that HBO originals like House of the Dragon take for granted. Not from the network anyway. Instead, promotion fell to the fans. Specifically, horny fans of Reid's original book who pored through every moment in the first trailer, creating countless edits and screaming reaction videos using just 90 seconds of material. View Green Video on the source website Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, executive producer Brendan Brady revealed it was this fan buzz that directly led to HBO Max's involvement, thereby securing the show's international success. But distribution alone could never guarantee such a rabid response, especially for a show that has no recognisable IP outside of the book fanbase. That's where the butts come in. What started with just happy book readers soon turned into a collective lust driven by gay men and straight women alike, something the series heavily leans into. From early showers together to their first hotel hook-up, Shane and Ilya's relationship is defined almost entirely by sex. It's the language of the show itself. As Tierney told THR, "Sex is how you tell the story because their sex changes as they get to know each other, as they get to know themselves." Sex sells, of course, but it's also easy to imagine a world where Heated Rivalry could have downplayed these scenes, watering them down to appeal to a wider audience. Thankfully, Tierney's team did no such thing, and the results speak for themselves. If anything, their adaptation of Heated Rivalry goes to even further extremes in the bedroom department. The sex is almost constant, punctuated by brief conversations and expansive time jumps before the bedroom action begins anew. It's no exaggeration to say that far more of the show takes place between the sheets than on the ice. Except, the sheets rarely get in the way of what can only be described as a peachy barrage of endless cheeks displayed onscreen. Actors Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie obviously bring a lot of physical appeal to Heated Rivalry, but beyond the well-lit smut, it's their chemistry that sells the show. Without that, the sex could have been corny or even cringe to watch. And it's not just in these scenes where their connection shines. Even with clothes on, Williams and Storrie embody something very real, a growing lust and even love worth rooting for. Of course, it doesn't hurt that they're nice to look at too, but good looks will only get you so far, especially with such a straightforward narrative. Rather than gun for big names, Tierney's team prioritised choosing the right talent to bring these characters to life, actors who could lean into the yearning that's so integral to this story. As naughty as the show can be, it's also rather moving at points – I defy you to watch Shane slowly delete his "we didn’t even kiss" message without feeling something. Heated Rivalry is as authentic in its feelings as it is in its approach to gay sex, something which mainstream productions rarely nail. And therein lies the show's true appeal, this ability to pull us in and speak to the romantic in us too. Well, that and the fact there's almost no actual hockey here to speak of. Why would we want to watch sports when we can watch Shane and Ilya score off the rink instead? Heated Rivalry is available to watch on HBO Max in the US. Add Heated Rivalry to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Maxton Hall season 2 ending explained: The scandal that sabotages Ruby and James's happy ever after
School's back in session at Maxton Hall, where a scholarship student and the entitled rich kid must fight to overcome the world between them and make their love work. Based on Mona Kasten's best-selling book Save Me, the first season of MaxtonHall had the most successful series launch of any non-American Prime Original ever upon its release. Things weren't looking so good for Ruby and James, however, as season 1 ended in tragedy. Just as their romance finally got back on track, James and his sister Lydia were confronted with the worst news imaginable. Their mother Cordelia had died after suffering a stroke. Season 2 kicked off with James spiralling so much that he wrecked his relationship with Ruby entirely. But Maxton Hall being Maxton Hall, it wasn't long before the pair reconciled. As such, the drama came instead from James's awful father, who continues to make his son's life as hard as possible, with Ruby often taking the brunt of his cruelty. The only thing crueller is us being forced to sit through this schlock in the first place. That's not all though. Beyond this family strife, another controversy brewed, one that takes centre stage at the end of season 2 in what must be one of TV's weirdest, most uncomfortable developments of 2025. Read on to find out how Maxton Hall season 2 ends and see just what we're on about. Maxton Hall – The World Between Us season 2 ending explained The previous episode ended with Maxton Hall's Principal discovering that one of his teachers, Graham Sutton, has got Lydia pregnant. This plotline is all kinds of gross and icky by the way, especially because of how the writers romanticise it – and in a teen show, no less. James's sister and the professor are in love, which apparently makes this power dynamic something worth rooting for? Or at the very least, something we shouldn't be condemning outright? The head has the right response though, dramatically looking into the distance with sheer horror in his eyes (even if he's only thinking of himself). Season 2's finale starts in much the same way, this time with him dramatically ending a call about the same problem, eyes still agape in camp disbelief. Meanwhile, James is skipping out on a vital investors meeting to play lacrosse. It's an important match to be fair, make-or-break for the championship, and his dad sucks, so leaving him in the lurch like this is definitely the right call. The game between Eastview and Maxton Hall is shot like a clash of the titans on Mount Olympus. With every fall and every tackle, the camera shakes and the ground seems to shake with it in booming magnitude. It's silly and over the top in ways that don't fit the show in any shape or form, but it's not like logic has ever held the writers of Maxton Hall back before. Lydia runs off to the bathroom when gossip around Mr Sutton and his mystery lover starts making the rounds. Back at the investor meeting, one of the head business guys runs off too, enraged that James didn't bother showing up. "I will not entrust a man who can’t even handle his own son with another penny." Mortimer is not best pleased. But hey, James was needed at the game because the teams are drawing and there's only ten seconds left on the clock. This is the kind of original, daring storytelling that Maxton Hall has become known for, and I for one am happy to see it continue now in season 2. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/maxton-83afb2d.jpg" width="2000" height="1333" alt="A young man and woman stand on an outdoor sports field, appearing tense. The man, in the foreground, wears a white tank top and grey sweatpants, holding lacrosse gear in one hand while looking ahead with determination. Behind him, the young woman wears a school uniform consisting of a purple blazer, white shirt, and light grey pleated skirt. She carries a brown satchel and watches him with a concerned or serious expression. The scene suggests an emotional or dramatic moment set after a sports practice or game." title="Maxton Hall" /> As if that wasn't dramatic enough, blame at the meeting inevitably brings up Mortimer's dead wife yet again. "I’m glad Cordelia didn’t have to see this," says someone for the umpteenth time, giving her more screen time now she's dead than the show ever bothered to give Cordelia when she was alive. Mortimer blames Ruby Bell, obvs, as does Cyril when Maxton Hall loses the game. Sure, why not? Sutton and Lydia meet to talk about the scandal growing around them. She reckons Cordelia is leaving the family business to her and James in the will reading that's about to happen, so the Professor offers to be a stay-at-home dad to look after their baby. "Seems I’m gonna have a lot of time on my hands soon…" adds Sutton. You know why that is? Because he's going to get fired for impregnating one of his students. Ew. James and Ruby text each other with quick updates on their lives, signing each text with their initials like they're pensioners writing letters from war rather than the 18-year-olds they're supposed to be. James's voiceover uses big terms like "cognitive consistency", which aren't particularly interesting or relevant, feigning intelligence for both him and the writing at hand. At the will reading, it's revealed that Cordelia has left all of her assets and shares to her husband, Mortimer. He's super smug about it, revelling in his children's misfortune. James gets all up in his face, threatening to ruin his father. Sure, James. Good luck with that. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/Ruby-5681b2f.png" width="1278" height="852" alt="A woman with light skin and long brown hair stands in a softly lit, elegant setting, wearing a deep blue, textured dress. She looks directly toward the camera with a composed, thoughtful expression. Behind her, several people dressed in formal black-tie attire are visible, slightly out of focus. A large crystal chandelier glows above, casting a warm light that contrasts with the cool blue tones in the background. The atmosphere suggests a formal or sophisticated event." title="Maxton Hall" /> There's a scene where Ruby's family starts singing the "Be Happy" song to lift each other's spirits after her mum's bad news. I mention this here, not because it's relevant, but because it's a perfect encapsulation of just how silly this show really is. I can't possibly convey how cheesy this all plays out on screen. Words do not do it justice, I'm afraid. James goes to Alice, the woman who revoked Ruby's scholarship grant a few episodes prior when Mortimer asked her to do so. He tries his mother's memory to guilt her into doing the right thing, to turn against his father, but Alice points out that Mortimer's financial support helps her do a lot of good in this world through charity. Things aren't looking good, but there's still some hope that Ruby can pass her scholarship exams and get into Oxford. She holds onto this hope pretty strongly in some weird slow-motion scenes where – I kid you not – actual butterflies dance around her. But then it all comes crashing down again. When Sutton is called in to explain himself to peers, he explains that he and the student under his care "have fallen in love with each other". Mortimer is randomly there too because he's on the school board, apparently. "I’m curious what her parents will have to say about it," he mentions, which is kind of weird because his daughter Lydia is the one who is directly involved. Sutton is understandably confused, and so are we. That is, until Ruby is suddenly called to the headmasters' office just before she heads into the exam. Her mother arrives, also confused, and then it happens. The head reveals the photo everyone's been talking about, but that's not Lydia in the picture. It's Ruby in a photo that was taken of her with Sutton at the welcome party last season. "That was a completely harmless situation," Ruby points out, and she's right to say it. Still, that doesn't stop the headmaster from rather cruelly suspending her with immediate effect. "No diploma, no studies… Oxford? you can forget about it." <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2025/11/Ruby-MH-7a88809.jpg" width="1095" height="730" alt="A woman with light skin and long brown hair stands outdoors, looking intently at a man who faces her with his back to the camera. She wears a light, ruffled blouse with soft pink and white tones, while the man wears a light blue shirt. The setting is bright and natural, with greenery and a body of water blurred in the background. The woman’s expression appears emotional and serious, suggesting a tense or heartfelt moment between the two." title="Maxton Hall" /> Ruby then runs out crying in slow motion as a police car picks Sutton up from the university. James and Lydia look on in confusion, but the gross professor gives her a reassuring nod as he climbs into the vehicle. Yep, it looks like Sutton didn't correct the teachers in a bid to protect Lydia, thereby ruining Ruby's life in the process. She and James cry in each other's arms as the Snow Patrol song Chasing Cars plays over the credits. Is it a particularly relevant or original choice to end on? Of course not, and that's Maxton Hall in a nutshell. The show brings drama, make no mistake about that, and it's morbidly fun to hate-watch at points. What doesn't sit right though is how this student/teacher relationship is framed as merely misunderstood. Of course Lydia and Sutton are into it, but it's uncomfortable that the show itself seems kind of into it as well. Let's just hope the already-confirmed third season rectifies this somewhat. As it stands now, this ridiculously absurd ending is built on a weird, uncomfortable story arc that isn't being treated with the skill and nuance it deserves. But maybe that's my fault. Maybe I'm asking too much of Maxton Hall, which, two seasons in, remains one of the worst shows on streaming. Maxton Hall – The World Between Us streams on Prime Video – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. Plus, read our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime. Add Maxton Hall—The World Between Us to your watchlist on the Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
How anime has led the way in the battle against climate change
Tackling environmental topics is in the very DNA of the medium.
Storytelling naturally reflects the culture and climate it's produced in – yet few films and shows appear to be tackling the biggest threat to both. According to Climate.gov, 2024 was the warmest year since global records began in 1850 (by a wide margin) and the 10 warmest years on record have all occurred in the past decade. Floods and heatwaves are increasing as the climate crisis grows, yet Western takes on this issue remain few and far between, especially when it comes to children's fare where they could make the most impact. Since Ferngully left a lasting impression on millennials in the early '90s, not many animated films have continued where it left off. Just The Lorax and Pixar's Wall-E stand out as two notable exceptions when it comes to tackling environmental issues in animation. It's a different story in Japan, however. Anime has long incorporated themes of this nature, tapping into traditional Taoist and Shintoist beliefs that prioritise ecological harmony and respect for the natural world. The Godfather of Anime, Tezuka Osamu, did so as far back as the '60s with Kimba the White Lion, and more adult stories like the Black Jack manga, where an unlicensed surgeon used his money to fund environmental projects. It's Studio Ghibli that often comes to mind first, however. Even before the studio was named as such, co-founder Hayao Miyazaki wrote and directed Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind, a post-apocalyptic saga where the key to surviving a polluted world came from understanding the resilience of nature and the interconnectedness of all living things. View oEmbed on the source website Plenty of other Miyazaki films continued this outlook further including Spirited Away, where the cleansing of a polluted river spirit is vital to the story and My Neighbor Totoro, which celebrates the beauty of rural life and preserving natural spaces. Aside from Nausicaä, however, it's Princess Mononoke which comes up most regularly in these conversations, thanks to the central conflict between forest spirits and human encroachment where industrialisation threatens life itself. Crucially, Miyazaki avoided any obvious route in, offering up a more complex examination of both sides without outright condemning one or other. Humanity is violent throughout the film, for example, but Lady Eboshi, its leader, also cares deeply for those in need, building an entire community for lepers and other social outcasts. That's not to say Miyazaki let humans off the hook entirely. "I’ve come to a point where I just can’t make a movie without addressing the problem of humanity as part of an ecosystem," he said in an interview with Asia Pulse around the film's release in 1997 (via Asia Pulse). The same is also true for Studio Ghibli co-founder Isao Takahata, who put his own unique spin on that conflict in Pom Poko, swapping out wolves and forest spirits for shape-shifting Tanuki (raccoon-dogs indigenous to Japan) who engage in extreme guerilla tactics similar to radical groups like Earth First! and the Earth Liberation Front. Such ecological concerns aren't just limited to Studio Ghibli. A host of different anime creators have explored similar issues, from child-friendly fare like Doraemon, Dr Stone and Miyori's Forest to more mature titles such as Parasyte: The Maxim and Makoto Shinkai's Weathering With You. One that's endured longer than most is Pokémon, which has encouraged climate awareness since the '90s with a celebration of biodiversity that fosters love for all living things. Most Pokémon are inspired by real-life plants and animals, after all, including one whose transformation has been influenced by climate change directly. A species named Corsola is a coral-themed Pokémon that needs clean water to live. Polluted waters discolour and even break the growths on its back. The Pokémon games Sword and Shield introduced an evolved version of Corsola that's essentially dead as a result of global warming. The Cursola have changed type from water to ghost, bleached like real coral that's died due to ocean acidification and global warming. It's just as well that this franchise is using its power for good because the global popularity and impact of Pokémon cannot be overstated. Just this week, protesters showed up at the United Nations climate conference dressed as Pikachu, aiming to stop the financing of coal and natural gas projects across Southeast Asia. What this reflects so well is how anime often speaks to the power that systemic organisations hold in such cases, emphasising the need for structural change over individual consumer behaviours which come to the fore more in Western equivalents. Yet despite all this, climate education in Japan is nowhere near as strong as you might think. Despite the severe issues the island nation faces due to climate change, from massive rainfall to intensifying heatwaves, indifference to these problems is growing. According to a 2023 Cabinet Office survey that polled 3,000 adults (via The Japan Times), only 31 per cent of 18 to 29-year-olds and 30.3 per cent of those in their 30s replied they were interested in climate issues. Meanwhile, 60.4 per cent of respondents over 70 said they were interested, which isn't ideal because you'd want this to flip the other way where the future of this planet is concerned. That's not to say anime can't inspire real change where the climate crisis is concerned. In a 2019 study, researchers from the University of Tokyo found that including animal characters in animated shows can increase public interest in real wildlife. Through their research, (now Associate) Professor Fukano Yūya and his team found that animals in a popular anime called Kemono Friends received 4.66 million more Google searches and 1 million Wikipedia page views than they had in the 18 months prior to broadcast. Crucially, this boost in interest led to increases in real-world conservation activity as the specific species featured received larger public donations across Tokyo zoos. Kelvin Tang, a postdoctoral climate education researcher at the University of Tokyo, tested this connection directly in a 2023 workshop (via The Japan Times) where he introduced 10 young children to ideas around climate change through simple cartoons and videos. Asking them to draw a picture of how they envision Japan's future climate 50 years from now, some drew a burning forest or even a burning Earth while others drew pretty flowers or grassy fields. "I see this as a hope," says Tang, "because some students, after learning about climate change, about this alarming situation, still have that hopeful future (in their minds),” he said. The resulting conversation led to students suggesting what they can do to help, whether it be turning off lights or reducing meat consumption. "The key is to find how to really harvest this hope," adds Tang, "for them to be an agent of change, to change these concerns into constructive action." In the same article, attention is drawn to a new series of anime shorts called Future Kid Takara, where the kid and a scientist go back in time to flee environmental disasters and discover the "beautiful Earth" that no longer exists for them in the future. Early signs of climate change here and now portend the apocalyptic era they hail from. The 11-episode series aims to inspire hope for positive change among elementary school students with educational, classroom use in mind. By organically conveying this vital message in an animated story like Future Kid Takara, the idea is to educate but also empower young people to change the future together, shaking off the mindset that hope is lost already. With such a long history in this field, anime remains the perfect vehicle to mainstream these concepts already and inspire further change. It's in the very DNA of this medium, after all. But it's not just Japanese animation that should aspire to make a difference. Powerful storytelling across the board is needed on a global scale to inspire action at a time when our reliance on fossil fuels is increasing as fast as the temperature is worldwide. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
It: Welcome to Derry risks ruining Pennywise for good with one fatal mistake
Welcome to Derry dares to hold Pennywise back – only to reveal far too much.
Eddie who? Richie whatshisname? As strong as the cast were in Andy Muschietti's IT, Pennywise is always the first name that comes to mind when you think of his twofold adaptation. As such, it didn't take long for Bill Skarsgård's deranged clown to dance its way into our hearts and nightmares alike (while showing up occasionally in my therapy sessions too). It's safe to say then that if there's one thing we'd want to see more of in the prequel series Welcome To Derry, it's Pennywise, even if it was reduced to a weird gross baby puddle by the end of IT: Chapter Two. The show is set 27 years before the events of the first film, making it easy to bring Pennywise back in its full splendour. Yet for the first few episodes, Skarsgård doesn't show up at all. IT is there, of course. It's in every nook and cranny of Derry, its evil seeping into every brick and the mind of every resident. Stephen King's most recognisable antagonist even shows up to terrify a new batch of kids each week, but not in his most recognisable form. Instead, IT appears as various nightmares made flesh, from Lilly's pickled father to a baby-faced demon in the premiere. It would have been easy to simply rely on the iconography of Pennywise, maximising the show's scares by giving viewers what they came for. But what you want isn't always best for you. Muschietti and his team smartly recognised that in writing this show, choosing to hold back on revealing Pennywise in full until five episodes in. Risky? Yes, but this was actually the best way to reintroduce a once-terrifying character who audiences have grown somewhat desensitised to. How could you not after Pennywise was meme'd into oblivion back when the films first came out? Building on the tension that comes with waiting to see it, this idea that Pennywise could leap out at any moment, helped remind us how scary IT really is while erasing those dancing memes from our minds completely. It's unfortunate then that Welcome To Derry risks undoing all this, not through how much Pennywise is shown but rather because of how much its backstory is. In King's original novel, we learned that Pennywise is a monstrous shape-shifting entity that crash-landed millions of years ago in Derry. This cosmic force of horror can shapeshift into your nightmares to feed off your fear, although its true form is that of golden lights, or "deadlights," that can drive anyone mad upon seeing them. Every 27 years, IT emerges to feast, mostly on children, before hiding away again below the town that's poisoned by IT's presence. This raises a number of questions. Why does IT favour the form of Pennywise the Dancing Clown? Why doesn't this inter-dimensional entity venture out beyond Derry? And why does IT love to float so goddamn much? In an early interview with SFX (via GamesRadar), Muschietti teased that answers will be coming in season one of Welcome To Derry and beyond: "We're opening a window. Everything that we are setting up in season one, that will really manifest in two and three, is a look into all the bigger questions about IT. 'What does IT want? Why is IT here?' All the cryptic elements of IT that we're going to ruin and explain." View Green Video on the source website It's safe to assume that Muschietti was joking about his plans to "ruin" the wider mythology, but he accidentally did it anyway. The whole point of IT and Pennywise specifically is that this unknowable entity of unspeakable evil can't be explained away or ever fully understood. There's no logic to nightmares, and IT is a nightmare personified, the very essence of what you fear most sculpted out of the darkest recesses of your mind. Every horror fan knows that what you imagine will always be so much scarier than what's shown on-screen. That's why the '90s IT miniseries starring Tim Curry faltered when Pennywise's true form was revealed to be that of a janky-looking spider at the end. And it's not just what's shown that can have an impact either. Over-explaining is just as bad in its own way, especially with an evil as abstract and weird as this one. In episode four, Welcome To Derry dives deep into the origins of Pennywise, adding lore that wasn't even included in the original book. It's revealed that a dagger made from the same material as the meteor that Pennywise landed with can hurt the monster. In centuries past, thirteen sacred shards crafted from that metal were buried deep in the earth around Derry's western wood where IT lived, trapping it there. Each one was buried in a turtle shell, hinting at the role Maturin the cosmic turtle has long played in the battle against Pennywise. Sounds silly, right? What works on the page doesn't always translate well to screen, especially when it comes to aquatic reptiles of a cosmic nature. And that's also true of IT's expanded origin story, which Muschietti hints will be delved into further throughout future seasons. That's going to be a disaster if the military storyline we've seen so far is anything to go by. Lines like "Derry is a prison and we're looking for the bars," aren't just absurd in isolation. They also speak to just how odd and misjudged it is to see military officers try to weaponise something as unknowable as Pennywise. Even the name itself, IT, speaks to an ambiguity that's central to the power this idea has to unsettle us, a power which this narrative undercuts brutally. The result inevitably demystifies IT and robs the entity of its power. As smart as it was to tease Pennywise's physical appearance in the prequel, it was anything but wise to begin chipping away at its mystique. And therein lies the show's true horror. Because if Stephen King never explained why Pennywise stays in Derry, for example, why should the show? And more importantly, why should we care? It: Welcome to Derry continues on Sky Atlantic and NOW on Mondays. Add It: Welcome to Derry to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Pluribus season 1 review: Vince Gilligan's sci-fi masterpiece will take you to your happy place
Rhea Seehorn is magnificent in this unique sci-fi masterpiece.
TV titan Vince Gilligan is known for writing bad guys. Think Walter White in Breaking Bad or Saul Goodman in Better Call Saul. But for his highly anticipated follow-up, Gilligan dares to imagine a world where there are no bad guys, where evil has been eradicated in its entirety. And therein lies a very different kind of horror. Pluribus begins with a scientific discovery gone awry, as is often the case with post-apocalyptic stories of this nature. One simple mistake breaks the world as we know it, unleashing a virus that melds the globe into one collective group mind. The horrific imagery that follows evokes everything from the devastating stillness of 28 Days Later to the chilling paranoia embedded throughout Invasion of the Body Snatchers (in all its incarnations). So why was Pluribus surrounded by so much secrecy prior to its release? We've seen this all before, right? Well no, it turns out that Gilligan's twist on the genre quickly takes these familiar tropes in wildly unexpected directions that intrigue, unsettle, and might occasionally test your patience at points. Without spoiling too much, this global shift in thinking isn't hellbent on domination. The virus has essentially won already, yet that was never its goal. Melding the world's population into one singular mind was just necessary, a biological imperative akin to breathing. The result is a happy one, creating a utopia on earth where there is no more crime. Discrimination is a thing of the past and every caged animal has been set free. At its core, this apocalypse brings peace and happiness to everyone on earth except the one woman who can't stand it. Carol Sturka, an unhappy romance novelist who peddles "mindless crap" numbers among the very few people on earth who have retained their minds still, somehow immune to the virus. As such, the collective is keen to draw Carol into their embrace, quite happily informing her that they're working on ways to push through and infect her somehow. It's in this tension that the show's defiance of straightforward tone and genre is most evident. Much like Carol herself, Pluribus pushes back against notions of good and evil, what's right and wrong, in a funhouse mirror version of the grey areas Gilligan played with so adeptly in his previous works. With a placid smile (smiles?) and kind reassurances, the virus wishes to erase Carol's individuality and assimilate her completely. But would that be so bad? Other survivors reject Carol's idea of "saving humanity", believing themselves to be saved already in what could be considered a new utopia on earth. It would be easy to read this as a push back against group think or conformity, but Pluribus doesn't offer easy answers. Instead, the writing opens itself up to interpretation on multiple levels (unlike Carol's own tawdry fantasy series). This idea that the ones who wish you harm will smile at you as they do so also speaks to religious extremism, gay conversion therapy, and even our political reality, while assumptions that the virus is bad also touch on the differences between individualist and collectivist societies. Pluribus does offer easy answers in another sense, however, as the virus readily gives up information Carol seeks in her attempts to uncover what's really happening. These tranquil admissions might lack the tension that a puzzlebox mystery show usually provides — with one even going so far as to undercut its own horror almost immediately — but this in itself sets Pluribus further apart as an entirely unique viewing experience. That's also true of its scale. Gilligan's return to TV makes full use of that Apple TV budget with vast settings that ram home the global impact of what's happened. Jumps back and forth in time expand this even further again, plus international locales beyond Albuquerque, New Mexico (also the setting of both Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul) are just a plane ride away, easily accessible thanks to "The Afflicted" and their endless altruism. While you're sometimes left wondering at the implications of this global shift beyond Carol's perspective, Pluribus constantly finds ingenious new ways to touch on that through dialogue or outlandish scenarios that could only come from a premise this strange. Hearing a child draw on the group mind to discuss the ins and outs of gynaecology is as disconcerting as it sounds, for example, while a politician talking to Carol through her TV delivers one of the premiere's most shocking moments through what's essentially exposition. Pluribus is alien in more ways than one, so it was smart to ground this story through a protagonist like Carol, a cynical grump whose anger is as useful as it can be destructive. Her outrage at what's become of humanity spikes against the happiness of the collective, creating a push and pull dynamic that grows central to what Pluribus has to say. Gilligan wrote this story specifically for Rhea Seehorn following their work together on Better Call Saul, and it's the exact kind of calling card that could nab her an Emmy at last following three previous nominations. Whether she's seething or yearning, raging or grieving, Seehorn is magnificent, adding dimension upon dimension to Carol against the smoothed-out flatness on the faces of everyone who surrounds her. Pluribus is essentially a one-woman show in that respect, yet Karolina Wydra also does phenomenal work as Zosia, an avatar for the collective who Carol comes to rely on. Her prominence deliberately complicates our perception of what's happening while also giving us a face to connect with in this multitude of billions. Pluribus works as an inverted version of Sense8 in some ways, another marvellously inventive spin on what's possible within sci-fi. Elements of Lost's puzzle box enigma, the existentialism of The Leftovers and even the quirkiness of The X-Files — a show Gilligan worked on extensively before Breaking Bad — are also apparent in the DNA of Pluribus (not to mention the influence of seminal sci-fi authors such as John Wyndham or Kurt Vonnegut). Much like the virus does to everyone except Carol, Pluribus twists familiar storytelling beats into something new and otherworldly. The result is one of this year's most inventive stories across any medium, making Gilligan's return to TV a bonafide rarity in a sea of recycled ideas we've seen countless times before. Beyond the premiere — a truly perfect hour of television — you'll need to be open to seeing the bigger picture at points, and patience is vital if you're to go along with some of the wilder swings this show takes. But if you're up for it, prepare yourself for what could eventually turn out to be a genuine masterpiece on the same level as Breaking Bad or Better Call Saul. All it took was for Gilligan to make everyone and no-one the bad guy all at once. Pluribus is now available on Apple TV. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. 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The Witcher season 4's Liam Hemsworth recast makes complete sense for one key reason
Geralt's had quite the makeover in season 4.
The Witcher has fought all manner of monsters in his time, but four seasons in, the biggest threat to Geralt's existence might just be himself. Or at least, the new version of him that's been introduced in Netflix's latest season. Whatever your thoughts on The Witcher might be, fans and detractors alike usually agree that Henry Cavill has been pivotal to the show's success. Whether he was drawing his sword or drawing a bath, Cavill's take on Geralt felt intrinsic to the story being told. It's as if he was born to play The Witcher. So when Cavill suddenly left the show three seasons in, his exit understandably came as quite a shock. It was impossible for fans to imagine what The Witcher might look like without him, yet that's exactly what showrunner Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich was forced to do for the series to continue. Enter Liam Hemsworth, another statuesque bulk of a man who was asked to step in and take Cavill's place. Long before pics of him donning the wig surfaced online, fans were already quick to denounce Hemsworth as being unfit for the task at hand. These were big shoes to fill, after all. Never mind that Liam is 6cm taller than Henry. It didn't help that when trailers for season 4 did finally arrive, they included a scene where Hemsworth's Geralt rallies his friends by crying: "Let's f**king move." For fans still invested in the show, this felt like a betrayal of sorts, a sign that The Witcher had lost its way. "Geralt would never say such a thing," they claimed, with others criticising Hemsworth's delivery of the line as well. To be fair, Liam was going to be criticised regardless, no matter how good or bad he was in the role. Copy Cavill too closely and you're just a pale imitation of the real deal. Put your own stamp on the character and you risk losing Geralt's essence entirely. This was always going to be a lose-lose situation for Hemsworth, at least at the beginning when fans would be most resistant to change. Plus, it's not exactly easy to pull off a white wig of that gloss and magnitude. Yet even with all that going against Hemsworth, I'd argue his arrival in the show couldn't have come at a better time. In fact, replacing Cavill at this stage actually makes a lot of sense considering where Geralt himself is at in this stage of the character's journey. Witchers don't typically involve themselves in the affairs of humans. As Geralt himself says in the fifth episode of this new season, people like him are "destined to kill monsters and make coin". Yet that's no longer true for this Witcher. While this might hew closely to where he and this show first began, Geralt has been through a great deal these past three seasons. He's fallen in love with Yennefer, he's become a father of sorts to Ciri, and he's developed a somewhat homoerotic bromance with Jaskier too. The Witcher's heart and soul has become enmeshed with humans more than even he could have ever expected, and that's also the case in season 4 when he ends up leading a new hanza bonded by friendship. It wasn't where the Witcher saw himself heading, but here we are nonetheless. Over time, Geralt has become a friend, a lover, a father figure who's worlds removed now from the Geralt that Cavill first introduced to us at the start of season 1. Season 4 goes to great pains to emphasise this. In Hemsworth's first episode, Jaskier states that Geralt "just hasn't been the same since his injuries, since he lost the ones he loved". Nods to him changing, to Geralt embracing his emotions like never before, continue throughout, perhaps most noticeably when Laurence Fishburne's new character tells him that he's "evolving." And he's right to say it. The Geralt we once knew certainly wouldn't have trusted a vampire like Regis, for example. Cynics might suggest this has been emphasised so strongly to differentiate Hemsworth's version of the role from Cavill, perhaps with a knowing nod and wink that's rather typical of the show in general. But the truth is that Geralt's different anyway now. As such, any deviations from the Geralt we once knew can easily be explained away as such, which easily accounts for the different take Hemsworth inevitably brings to this character. Does Liam match up to Henry? No, not quite, but there's more nuance to this than arguments that Hemsworth is simply "bad" in the role. What is clear, however, is that the new episodes don't live up to past seasons regardless. If anything, that's what puts The Witcher in danger now. Not the 'new' Geralt, but lacklustre writing and directionless plotting that drags this season out far longer than necessary. In that regard, Hemsworth couldn't have signed up at a worse time. The Witcher seasons 1-4 are available to stream on Netflix. Season 5 coming soon. Sign up for Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast. 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Wayward ending explained: Do Abbie and Leila escape the school?
Lets's break it down. **CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR WAYWARD**
*Warning: Major Wayward spoilers ahead.* Mae Martin’s new mystery series Wayward has hooked fans with its genre-bending oddness, thrilling plot and decades-spanning twists. Set in the secluded town of Tall Pines, Vermont, the series centres on Tall Pines Academy, a so-called therapeutic school for troubled teens, helmed by the terrifying Evelyn (Toni Collette). Creator Martin also stars as Alex, a police officer who has just moved to Tall Pines with his pregnant fiancée, Laura (Sarah Gadon), and immediately begins to sense something is off about the town. Alex soon becomes entangled with two students, Abbie (Sydney Topliffe) and Leila (Alyvia Alyn Lind), who plan to break out of the school. But Alex has more than his own fair share of problems to contend with. The new cop in town can't leave Tall Pines yet, not until he has enough dirt on Evelyn to break free of her controlling hold on his family. He and Laura plan to escape together with their baby once it's born – except at the end of episode 7, Alex overhears Laura tell her support group that she's never going to leave town. Not ever. It's then that Alex finally realises that Laura, who seemed to be rebelling against her former mentor, is actually becoming the new Evelyn herself. To make matters worse, it also looks like Leila is becoming the new Laura now that she's falling for Evelyn's cult-like control, just like Alex's wife once did all those years ago. So, will Laura turn to the dark side completely? Will Abbie and Leila's friendship survive long enough to escape? And will Collette deliver another raging "Mother" monologue, the likes of which we've not seen since her Oscar-worthy turn in Hereditary? Here's how Mae Martin's Wayward ends its first (and probably only) season on Netflix. Wayward ending explained: Do Abbie and Leila escape? Sensing that she's losing her grip over Laura, Evelyn shows up at Laura's house, but doesn't get a warm welcome. Her current number one disciple, Rabbit, isn't so keen on Evelyn now either after she watches the kid she hoped to adopt has been suddenly sent away with another family. The cracks in Evelyn's control over the school and this town are becoming too big to ignore… Seizing this opportunity, Abbie finally puts her escape plan into action, using the stamps Alex gave her to trick one of the guards into leaving the compound using a fake love letter from a long-distance admirer. Yep, really. And it works. Through this elaborate scheme, Abbie is able to switch the power off in the school at a crucial moment, and when the guards run out to find her with Morty and Leila outside, the other students are all wearing identical hoodies to her so that Abbie's impossible to find. While all this is happening, Laura suddenly goes into labour three weeks early, but that's OK. Someone in her new cult has to be a doctor, right? What's the point of starting a cult of your own if you can't enjoy a few benefits every now and again as leader? Abbie and Leila get away, but Leila suddenly changes her mind, telling Abbie that the school can help her so she should stay. Evelyn has got into her brain, indoctrinating Leila completely. And not even her bestie Abbie can change her mind in time. Speaking to RadioTimes.com, Martin said that when they were "reading about these schools, there are some people who say it changed their life and it was all worth it". "So I'm interested in that and where that comes from, and pain relief is a very persuasive element, right?" they added. "And I'm also interested in class struggle. Like socioeconomically, she doesn't have a safety net [on the outside]. And Leila's having a different experience to Abbie, she's had a different experience going through the programme, so it just felt emotionally truthful that she would want to be there." What happens to Evelyn in Wayward? Meanwhile, Evelyn confronts Alex in the creepy basement of her school where the gross tadpole water baptisms take place. Have you ever heard a more unholy combination of words in your life? Things aren't looking too good for Alex, but then Rabbit betrays Evelyn after she finally realises that her mentor doesn't actually care about her at all. Alex almost drowns, but he ends up turning the tables on Evelyn by injecting her with the drug she's been using on the kids. Rabbit points out that he's given her too much, a lethal dose, but honestly, it's what Evelyn deserves at this point. High as a kite, Evelyn turns around and reveals a horrific truth to Alex – that Laura's parents weren't killed by her. They were killed by their own child, Laura, who smashed their heads in with a rock. While Alex leaves to go be with Laura during the birth of their child, Rabbit talks an intoxicated Evelyn through her own version of The Leap, that horrendous procedure she frequently used to mind control the students. In her visions, Evelyn sees her mother and then her mouth becomes a symbolic door of sorts. Evelyn proceeds to put her own hand into her own mouth because why not? And that freaky ass dream(?) sequence is the last we see of Evelyn. But is she still alive or has she died from an overdose of the Leap drug? Wayward was designed to be a limited series, but given how often streamers like Netflix like to switch things up and change their minds, it makes sense that Martin might leave Evelyn's ending at least a touch ambiguous. What's not ambiguous, however, is just how messed up life is for Alex and Laura moving forward. Does Alex leave at the end of Wayward? Despite almost dying at the school, Alex makes it home in time to greet Laura just as she's given birth to their child in a paddling pool. The pair bond over the fact they've both done "many awful things," and then Alex bonds with the baby by sitting with it in the pool, skin to skin. That's when members of Laura's new cult interrupt and take it upon themselves to do the same, passing "their" new baby around like a hot potato, cuddling to ensure a bond is secured through plenty of skin to skin contact. It's weird and freaky and probably the ninth oddest thing to happen in this series. Alex agrees, bewildered at what's going on, but Laura explains that their child should belong to everyone now because it's the "only way to break the pattern". The pattern being Evelyn's creepy grip on the town and how it was forbidden for new children to be born there for decades. Still though, it's pretty creepy. The next thing you know, Alex is driving in his car with the baby and Abbie too, escaping town for good. Alex tells Abbie that she's "not a bad kid," pointing out the strength it takes for someone so young to know exactly who they are. Abbie says "You're a good person too, Alex," ending Wayward on the happy note they both deserve… Except, it's all a lie. Alex isn't a good person and he's not a good father either, because this last sequence isn't real. We cut then to where Alex actually is, back at home, closing the front door of his house to return to his family. In doing so, he broke his promise to Abbie and condemned his child to a life in the creepy cult his wife just freshly set up. "I think the fact that he can imagine the right thing to do just brings it into focus even more that it is a bit of a moral failure," explained Martin. "He knows the right thing to do, and he's choosing instead to to stay. "But again, I relate. He really loves Laura, and he loves the baby, and it would be really, really difficult to leave. "I'm so interested in people's reactions to the ending because I've had people say it's really ambiguous with Alex, I'm like, I don't know if it's ambiguous, or if he just didn't make the choice you wanted him to make. He chooses to stay and he knows that that's the wrong thing to do. But what would you do with your baby and your wife? "I definitely think that yearning for acceptance and that kind of outdated idea of being a protector and a provider, I think that's so strong in him. But he's not gonna get it. It's gonna be f**ked, right?" What happens at the end of Wayward? And with that, Wayward ends with Abbie driving alone, free, but at what cost? It's safe to presume that Abbie gets away, mostly unharmed, if not for all the psychological trauma that must come from what's happened. Alex, meanwhile, has given into the fake comforts of the cult family life Laura's dragged him into, but what of the school and the rest of the students? Whether Evelyn is alive or not by the end, there's still a ton of corpses and messed up kids to sort out. Sometimes you're better off just not knowing, forced to imagine the best or worst for characters like this without forcing a second season where one might not be needed. But still, aren't you tempted by the idea of a sequel set years down the line that could revolve around Laura's new cult? Wayward is available to stream on Netflix from Thursday 25th September. Sign up for Netflix from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream. Check out more of our Drama coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 ending explained – every twist broken down
Let's hope the siesta they take between seasons is enough to inject some new life into this spin-off.
Like its titular zombies, The Walking Dead continues to live on as a shadow of its former self. That is, except for the Daryl Dixon spin-off. While other spin-offs have failed to capture what made the flagship show so popular, Norman Reedus and his fan-favourite character have endured for three seasons to much greater success. With a season 4 already confirmed, the future's looking good for Daryl and his bestie Carol who's accompanied him for the past two seasons. Except, everyone's favourite mulleted hero hasn't exactly had it easy this time around. Trapped in the Spanish town of Solaz del Amar, Daryl and Carol are caught up in all kinds of drama with the show's new Big Bad, Fede. Plus, Carol's been catching feelings for a local named Antonio. It's a shame then that Fede has kidnapped Antonio and is currently torturing him for info on Daryl. Will Carol find love at last? Will Daryl ever make it home? And will someone finally cut Daryl's mullet down to size while he's sleeping? These questions and more all come to mind watching the seventh, final episode of Daryl Dixon season 3. The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon season 3 ending explained The finale begins with a callback to a callback. Remember when Daryl placed Laurent's Rubik's Cube at a memorial to honour him a few episodes prior? (Laurent was the French kid Daryl looked after in seasons 1 and 2.) Well, we're back there now with another familiar face from previous seasons. Yep, the mysterious eyepatch guy is actually Stéphane Codron, who started out as a villain in season 1 before he switched sides. The last time we saw him was at the end of season 2 when hallucinogenic bat poop in the Channel Tunnel caused him to see visions of his brother, during which he stabbed Daryl with a bayonet. Yep, really. That encounter ended with Stéphane running off to who knows where and he hasn't been seen since. Until now. More on that later. While Antonio is being tortured by Fede, Carol tries to convince his ungrateful son Roberto to help save him. She tells him to wait for Daryl and Justina to return from their mission and board the boat as she goes it alone. Carol's smitten! Fede makes an example of Antonio, stringing him up on a torture device in the town square as Carol watches in horror from the shadows. Only when he reveals where the Americans are hiding will Antonio be freed. Plus, it doesn't hurt to scapegoat them in front of the town to assert Fede's dominance further. When night falls, Carol comes to free Antonio while avoiding gun fire from Fede's henchmen in the distance. Meanwhile, Daryl and Paz go undercover at a royal banquet, working as masked servants right under everyone's noses. This is where the people with power gather in luxury, the same people who demand villages offer up their women to Spanish royalty in a ritual known as "La Ofrenda" ("The Offering"). As they wine and dine in luxurious finery, the royals watch a special show on stage where walkers are dressed up fancy and strung up like marionette puppets to dance for them. The symbolism isn't exactly subtle, but it's a unique, striking image still, which has become somewhat of a rarity in the Walking Dead franchise these days. The King dedicates a speech to his son Guillermo, and his "beautiful future wife" Elena, who was snatched away from her girlfriend Paz earlier this season. Daryl ain't having it, so he cuts the walkers free and opens the curtain, unleashing them on the crowd. He also starts a few fires for good measure as Paz heads off to rescue Elena. The pair reunite with a hug in Elena's place, where Paz finds out her love has a son named Pablo. They plan to run off together, but then a guard knocks Paz out, who wakes up to Guillermo threatening her. "You want my wife?" he shouts. "Now you’ll be together every night because I’ll mount your head on her bedpost." As murderous threats go, that's a pretty good one, but Elena then quite literally stabs him in the back to save Paz. They get the boy and run. At the same time, Daryl saves Justina from the man who chose her at "The Matching" ritual before all hell broke loose. In doing so, Daryl saves some other women, because that's just the nice guy that Daryl is. Carol also received a welcome dose of human kindness from Antonio who's prepared some tea for her in a brief safe spot. And not just any tea either, but with milk and honey. That's how you know he's one of the good ones. Of course, it's not long before Fede's men show up pounding at the door. Luckily, the local women who hid them away show them to a convenient escape route concealed down in their basement. One brief walker attack later and all our faves are reunited safely above ground. Paz thanks Daryl for all his help and then bounces while he and Justina take the scenic route back to the lighthouse on his motorbike. They stop off briefly to share some thoughts which are supposed to sound deep, but come across a bit basic as they point out how the apocalypse turned some people bad and others good. Eventually, they arrive back at the lighthouse but are welcomed by two intruders who attack and take Justina hostage. Valentina saves them quite quickly though, revealing that Roberto had her hide after she was injured in the initial attack. Daryl runs off back to the village again in order to rescue Carol who went back for Antonio again. Fede has captured them both, but decides to immediately let them go… Of course, there's a catch. The catch being that Antonio's son Roberto has been chained to two of his dead friends who are about to transform just as more walkers are led into the courtyard. View oEmbed on the source website Carol and Antonio try to remove the chains but it's too late. A local named Alba throws a knife to Carol, but Fede's men shoot it away with startling accuracy. Unfortunately for them, said accuracy escapes them just moments later when Daryl arrives and starts shooting at them from a balcony nearby. Daryl quickly picks off his aggressors as Carol picks up the knife and gets stabby stabby with the walkers. Justina arrives then, casually strolling through the mini-horde as both Daryl and Fede shoot at the zombies trying to eat her. Remember, Fede is Justina's uncle, so he does care about her safety still, despite how poorly he's treated her up until now. This works against Fede though when the villagers emerge to hear Justina's claims that Fede has been lying to them all. She also announces that El Alcazar "is in ashes" thanks to Daryl, which means The Ofrenda is over for good. Instead of torturing Fede like he did Antonio, Justina suggests taking him to the dungeon. To hurt him would mean they're not better than him. The evil cartoonish mayor then screams "This is your fault!" at Daryl as he's led away. "You'll pay!" Do Daryl and Carol make it home? Back at the lighthouse, Daryl and Carol finally get around to sharing those hot dogs they've been hankering for all season. Instead of sailing off immediately, using the boat to find their way home, the pair recuperate and open up to each other on the beach. "This whole time I’ve been trying to get home," says Daryl. "Why the f**k did I leave in the first place? Why did I have to get in a fight with the guy in Maine? Why didn’t I leave France when I could have? This makes no sense. My whole life I’ve been running, just running and fighting. That’s all." Carol says he did it to survive, but Daryl worries this has become a habit now, that he might arrive home and feel the urge to leave again still. The pair hug it out, reminding us that this show is always at its best when Daryl and Carol are actually together instead of getting separated on endless side missions. Meanwhile, Fede's mama brings him food in jail. He asks to be freed, telling her that the town will obviously kill him as soon as Daryl and co sail away. "You already lost one son. You don’t want to lose another…" The Spanish matriarch doesn't say anything, but it's not long before we find out what she did next, because Fede suddenly shows up on the beach, holding a gun to Daryl in a bid for revenge. But he doesn't just run up and shoot him. No, that would have been the smart thing to do. "I let you into my town," he cries. "I gave you food and shelter and you took everything from me. Do you really think you can just sail home now?" Just before Fede pulls the trigger, Carol appears and knocks him to the ground. A bullet's fired off in the struggle, which somehow starts a fire in the ship. Others join in to help Carol, including Antonio who knocks Fede out with a rock. The fire quickly devours the ship in a series of explosions, which means the gang aren't going anywhere. A Spanish version of Johnny Cash's Hurt plays as Daryl and Carol watch their ride home go up in flames. It's all very dramatic, and then Stéphane shows up again, watching the explosions from a distance using his one remaining eye. With a fourth season already confirmed, it was inevitable that Daryl and Carol wouldn't make it home just yet. But it seems that after bouncing around America, France, and the UK (briefly), the showrunners aren't done with this Spanish setting just yet. Let's just hope the siesta they take between seasons is enough to inject some new life into this spin-off before it shuffles on into the horizon for good. Since Daryl and Carol left France, the show has lost some of its "je ne sais quoi". In the UK, Daryl Dixon season 3 will be available to stream on Sky and NOW from 24th October. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
My Hero Academia's 10 strangest characters ranked from quirky to super weird
My Hero Academia is so much more than just a Japanese version of Western comic book stories like X-Men or Umbrella Academy. Across its decade-long run, Kōhei Horikoshi's school-based superhero saga has changed the game for storytelling in both anime and manga, introducing us to countless heroes and villains who are just as inspiring as they are weird. Powers in this world are known as "quirks", yet quirky doesn't even begin to cover the bizarre places some of these characters take us. In Class 1-A alone, there are students who possess frog powers, who gain super strength from eating sugar, and one who can even shoot lasers out of his belly button. These would be the strangest characters in almost any other story, but in My Hero Academia, such quirks are ordinary and even mundane in comparison to the 10 weirdos you're about to meet in this list. But who's the weirdest and freakiest character in a world full of them? Join us here at RadioTimes.com as we flex our listing Quirk and create the ultimate ranking of 10 weirdest characters in My Hero Academia. 10. Taneo Tokuda – Whole Body Lens Imagine being able to take photos without worrying that your phone might run out of charge. That's the perfect reality Taneo Tokuda lives in thanks to his unique Whole Body Lens ability that enables him to form camera lenses anywhere on his skin. Tokuda can even print off the photos he takes from his chest, polaroid style. Obviously, he's a reporter, because what else would you possibly do with that quirk? Being a perv in the shadows won't pay your bills, after all. 9. Teruo Hazukashi – Shame When people usually feel shame or embarrassment, we tend to sweat or our face might turn red. But for Hazukashi, these feelings also endow him with super-strength. That's why when he shows up in episode 87, this nefarious criminal decides to get naked in a busy street, powered up by the shame this brings. Hazukashi is kind of ripped though, so why he's embarrassed to show off those abs is beyond us. 8. Setsuna Tokage – Lizard Tail Splitter Tokage has the unique and icky ability to split her body into smaller pieces which she independently controls. What's even weirder is that each piece can float in the air, so anything from her nose to her pinky can zoom around in the sky at will. Can lizards do this? No. Would we question the name of Tokage's Quirk to her face? No, because she'd probably do something gross like detach her tongue or foot and throw it at us. 7. Minoru Mineta – Pop Off As a founding member of Class 1-A, this little freak is the most well known Quirk user on the list. Maybe that's why he ranks so low, because we've got used to the weird sticky balls that he pulls from his hair. What we will never get used to, however, is his creepy obsession with girls and the fact that he wears a diaper while doing said creeping. It's time to expel Minoru Mineta ASAP. 6. Kojiro Bondo – Cemedine Class 1-B student Kojiro Bondo is aptly named because his quirk allows him to spray a sticky glue that he can "bond" to anything, drying it fast or slow depending on what the situation calls for. As far as quirks in My Hero Academia go, there are weirder ones, sure. But what earns Bondo a spot on this list is the fact that he's essentially a giant human glue dispenser who sprays the glue out of tiny holes where his face should be. No judgement, but that's pure nightmare fuel, and I want no part of it. 5. Comicman – Comic Comicman is a comic book hero whose face is constructed like a blank comic book panel. When he speaks, the words materialise in mid-air, and not just any words either. These words are onomatopoeia (words that describe sounds), which then manifest the effects of the sound. It's a very flexible power with tons of potential if not for the fact that over-using this quirk gives Comicman a sore throat. But let's be real. If you want to be the number one hero in the game, just buy some lozenges and step your s**t up. 4. Ending – Whiteline As you might have gathered, my dude Ending has the power to control white lines. Red lines are a no-go. White circles are also a no-go. And if that wasn't specific enough, Ending can only control white lines painted on the road. Attack him in the countryside and you're good to go. But don't dismiss Ending entirely. Under the effects of a Quirk-boosting drug named Trigger, he used his Whiteline ability to form tentacles that can bind enemies or throw heavy objects, including cars. Dumb yet impressive, nonetheless. 3. Seiji Shishikura – Meatball If Shishikura's Meatball Quirk gave him the ability to create the world's finest spaghetti dish out of mid-air, he'd top our ranking of best heroes ever. But unfortunately, this is not that Quirk. Instead, the Shiketsu High School student has the power to manipulate raw flesh. And not just a lamb chop either. His signature move is kneading other people's bodies into a ball of flesh, a meatball, if you will, and they're still conscious the entire time. The entire time. As if that wasn't enough to fund a year's worth of therapy, Shishikura can manipulate his own flesh too. Our little creep is too powerful so they don't use him in the show much anymore. Either that or he traumatised too many kids watching. 2. Tatami Nakagame – Telescopic You might assume that the Telescopic Quirk refers to someone who can zoom in to see things from far away. But no, that ability belongs to another named Mei Hatsume. What Tatami Nakagame can do is far more freaky. Essentially, she can retract her body in on itself, like a turtle, but naming this Quirk after an aquatic reptile was too weird, apparently. So instead, you have to imagine how a telescope can be pushed into itself with smaller and smaller cylinders stacking into each other. Yep, that's it. That's the whole Quirk. At best, this power might be handy if you're aiming to win a particularly serious game of hide and seek. Or maybe you want to save some money and buy a child ticket for the train. Beyond that, it's hard to see how retracting your limbs into your body can help to protect innocents or fight anyone really. 1. Susugu Mitarai – Clean Bubbler Laundry day can be an absolute ball ache, but not for Susugu Mitarai. Better known as Pro-Hero Wash, he uses the Clean Bubbler Quirk to produce soapy water from his body that can be wielded in a variety of different ways. Enormous bubbles can be used to trap villains or keep them afloat in the air while the soapy fluid he creates can also help treat injuries. That's all pretty weird, but the strangest thing about Mitarai is the fact that this somewhat useful power actually earned him a spot in the top 10 Pro-Heroes. Yep, the guy dressed up like a washing machine is in the top 10 out of literally hundreds of heroes. What does Mitarai know that we don't? What dirt does he have on the people who get to decide this? That's one stain he won't be washing off anytime soon. My Hero Academia is available to watch on Crunchyroll. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what’s on. For more from the biggest stars in TV, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Peacemaker season 2 ending explained: How finale sets up Superman's Man of Tomorrow
Things aren't looking good for Chris. **CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR PEACEMAKER SEASON 2 EPISODE 8**
**Warning: Spoilers ahead for Peacemaker season 2 episode 8.** Will Peacemaker ever find any actual peace? The penultimate episode of season 2 left Chris Smith in a very bad place. Yes, even worse than the Nazi-loving dimension he's just escaped from. Because on the team's way out, both Peacemaker's (alternate) brother and (alternate) father ended up dying, forcing Chris to relive the loss of his family all over again. With Peacemaker now in custody and the rest of the gang in disarray, what does this mean for the final chapter of season 2? And how do we go from that to the setup for season 3, not to mention James Gunn's Superman sequel Superman, Man of Tomorrow, which this episode will also launch. Grab yourself a Big Belly burger and settle in as we take a closer look at the end of season 2 and what's next for Peacemaker. Peacemaker season 2 ending explained The finale starts one month prior where we finally get to the night Chris and Emilia Harcourt acted on their feelings and shared a kiss. Copious amounts of tequila aside, it's an incredibly sweet, affecting sequence that wouldn't feel out of place in a modern-day rom-com. That's not to say it's cheesy either, especially when Emilia nearly pummels a guy with freckles. The chemistry Chris and Emilia share feels genuine, rooted in affection for their friends and each other. Back in the present, Chris rejects efforts made by the gang to visit him in prison. He claims to a guard that he's become the angel of death as a result of the trauma he's endured, but if that's true of anyone, it's Rick Flag Sr. Time and time again, he sends A.R.G.U.S. agents to investigate unlocked doors in the inter-dimensional space that Peacemaker first introduced us to at the start of this season. John Economos points out that this feels reckless, especially given that the agents can't be tracked once they pass through each door. Most of the doors are locked though, thankfully. That is, until they reach number 22. At first, it looks like the sweetest dream, a world where candy canes stand tall in place of trees. But, of course, it's not long until tiny critters ambush the agents, including Emilia, biting at their hazmat suits with tiny pointy teeth. The team eventually escape, shooting and even ripping the imps apart who explode in a puff of glitter. One team member, embarrassed earlier by his story of puking on a stripper, has nothing to be embarrassed about anymore, and that's because he's dead. The little gremlins smashed their way through the glass in his helmet and proceeded to eat his face. So what is the plan exactly? It turns out Flag is looking for an uninhabited world that's breathable with its own food and water supply. But why? Leota Adebayo, aka Ads, visits Vigilante who ends up envisioning her and his mum engaged in cunnilingus because… reasons. Moving swiftly past that, Ads needs the blood money Vigilante has accrued from all his crime busts over the years. It's the only way they can pay off Peacemaker's bail and free him from jail. Vigilante would rather kill the judge's family because he's afraid this blood money is cursed, but Ads tricks him into agreeing anyway. Chris makes bail, despite his wishes to the contrary, so he just takes off to a dingy motel with Eagly. Meanwhile, A.R.G.U.S. Agents open plenty more doors to other worlds including one with a black hole, another with old-school zombies, and a third that's populated by giant skulls on spider-like legs, screaming into the abyss. That's a big nope for everyone involved, although Lex Luthor leaves a note saying the black hole world looks promising. Flag seems pretty happy too, laughing and doing lines of coke with his team while more agents are brutally killed under his command. Yep, Flag sucks, which is a bummer for anyone who enjoyed watching a younger version of his character lead the Creature Commandos in Gunn's recent animated series. Eventually, another dimension suited to his needs is found. In a shady meeting with some higher-ups, Flag explains that this 'Salvation' planet is the perfect place to house criminals that prisons like Arkham Asylum and Belle Reve can't handle. Essentially, he wants to remove all the aliens and meta-humans he doesn't like, much like a dumber version of Lex. Will that soon include Superman? Flag's cyborg colleague slash girlfriend Sasha Bordeaux doesn't feel particularly good about this plan, and with so many people dying for the cause, she decides to form an alliance with Emilia and put a stop to this. View oEmbed on the source website They meet in the same Big Belly burger restaurant that Harcourt and Chris visited on their date, which is as good a time as any to point out that Peacemaker has barely appeared in the finale yet, even though it's his show. While some might be quick to criticise that, this just goes to show how strong the supporting cast is, especially when they band together with one common goal. Despite that camaraderie, Danielle Brooks remains the clear standout here, and she gets a chance to shine when Ads visits her ex to find resolution and close that chapter of her life for good. The words they share — "It tears me apart at my bones and I will love you for the rest of my life, but I know we’re not right for each other" — are so good that they almost make me forgive the fact that Ads' wife's been missing from the show since episode 1. Using her special clearance, Sasha finds Peacemaker's location with a little help from John who tells what might be the worst joke in the world — while revealing a harrowing fact about lobsters in the process. Did you know they die because their shells stop growing so they end up being crushed by their own exo-skeleton? Well now you do... Ok, maybe double check that one on Google. The group catch up with Chris outside the motel. He tries to run, but Vigilante electrocutes him. It's ok though. He does it with love. And then they all pour out their feelings to Chris who reveals why he's been pushing everyone away. With so many people dying around him, including his family, twice, Chris believes that he's cursed. After all, weirder things have happened in a world full of magic and aliens and all kinds of f***ery. But Ads points out that all those deaths happened because Chris was listening to other people, Amanda Waller… his father… and not himself. "When you are truly who you are, Chris Smith, what happens? You touch people, man. I believe in miracles because of you. I saw an eagle hug a human. I know who I am because of you and when I’m around you, I feel loved. You’re big and you’re stupid but I know you love me and I don’t know if I can say that about anyone else in the world." Brooks has received Oscar and Emmy nominations in the past, so how about we just give her both for this performance? It doesn't have to make sense. All I know is that she's amazing here and got me crying even harder than her character does in that motel room. Everyone pitches in to convince Chris that they're his family, and with that, they go off to the next big thing. But before they do, Peacemaker stops Emilia and asks her if their time on the boat meant something to her. She pushes back, at first, afraid again that she might hurt him, but then Emilia admits: "Of course it did you fucking arsehole. It meant everything." Chris goes back inside and pauses for a moment. Suddenly, he then does the biggest cheer along with an adorable leap in the air and mini dance break to the show's theme song. The show intercuts that with an actual performance by the band Foxy Shazam one week later on the rock boat. A montage where everyone grabs money from Adrian's basement, complete with an obligatory stripper dance from Adrian, cuts to the team building their own office alongside Judo Master and Agent Langston Fleury (you know, the guy with bird blindness). There's a very cheesy moment where the gang all walk together, slow-motion, in a line, which shouldn't work, but you know what? They've earned it. We then learn from Langston and Adrian that spiders can produce milk, because what else are these two loveable weirdos going to talk about now they're teammates? That one's definitely true. I've already Googled it. How the Peacemaker finale sets up season 3 and Superman's Man of Tomorrow As the team leave the office, we pan up to see that the new organisation they've funded with Adrian's blood money is called Checkmate. In DC Comics, Checkmate is an established spy team that follows a chess motif with everyone's code named based on rank, like Kings and Queens on top, for example. The white half of the division focuses on information and intelligence while the agents designated black work in the field. Peacemaker was actually a member of Checkmate in the source material, so this all tracks, and with the organisation's focus on ensuring balance between humans and metahumans, it's obvious that the Peacemaker gang will continue to play an important role across the wider DC Universe moving forward. <img src="https://images.immediate.co.uk/production/volatile/sites/3/2024/02/superman-krypto-dd3e1d5.jpg" width="2100" height="1400" alt="Superman (David Corenswet) is dressed in his full superman outfit (blue latex body suit, red underwear, yellow belt, black boots and red cape) is seen talking to his dog, Krypto – a white terrier mutt with a red cape on – in the Fortress of Solitude – a cave made entirely of ice. A silver robot is seen behind Superman." title="superman-krypto" /> But not with Chris, it seems, because at the very end of the episode, Flag kidnaps him and throws our hero through the interdimensional door, trapping him on Salvation. He claims Peacemaker is a test subject to see what long-term effects the dimension might have on his body. But really, it's pretty obvious he's doing it out of spite. "This is for Ricky, you piece of s**t," says Flag as the door closes and disappears, leaving Chris alone in another dimension where monstrous screams from who knows what can be heard in the distance. That's what you get for killing the dude's son in a Suicide Squad feature film a few years back, I guess. Two post-credits scenes follow, both played for laughs. The first sees a government official suggesting that Flag put up a "vaporising barrier" around Salvation to ensure no one can escape. Kind of like a bug zapper. The second feels more like a deleted scene that didn't make the cut because it jumps back to John trying to distract everyone with a terrible joke. The story this time, about a serial killer who shows his killer permit to a cop, leaves one colleague in fits of laughter though. "Looks like someone has got a new fan," John says to himself rather smugly. It's interesting to end the episode on a joke as some fans feel the same way about this episode as a whole, complaining online that there wasn't enough action or that it was too concerned with setting up something new at the end. It also doesn't help that Gunn has previously hyped this episode up, only for the cameos in question to be old rock bands and not famed heroes like the Justice League finale from season 1. Yet there's something rather ballsy about doubling down on the character work while forgoing the usual big CGI battle that's come to characterise the end of so many shows like this. Sure, there are still loose ends to take care of, potentially in other DC endeavours rather than a third season of Peacemaker. It's previously been hinted that Superman and Lex Luthor will be forced to team up in their next movie together, Man of Tomorrow, and it's looking more and more likely that this may take place on the Salvation planet introduced here. In the comics, this 'Salvation Run' arc forced plenty of villains to team up so they could escape the prison world together, and it wouldn't take much of a twist to throw Superman into that equation, especially given Lex's involvement here in Peacemaker. One thing's for sure, Chris ain't finding peace anytime soon, even if it did look that way ever so briefly in that happy smiley slow-motion segment. Peacemaker is available on Sky Max and NOW. Add Peacemaker to your watchlist on the <a id="OWA8b702c45-bee9-94e4-f018-57518e78041b" title="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" href="https://www.radiotimes.com/download-the-app/?af_xp=custom&pid=website&c=editorial_content&is_retargeting=true&af_reengagement_window=30d" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-outlook-id="449c28d9-909e-4aab-b6b8-153454f55d5e" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">Radio Times: What to Watch app – download now for daily TV recommendations, features and more. Check out more of our Sci-fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.
Spy x Family's 10 most powerful characters ranked from weakest to strongest
Every member of the titular Forger family hides a secret in Spy x Family, not just from the world but from each other as well. Loid Forger, the father, is actually a superspy in disguise, while his wife Yor works as a deadly assassin of international repute. Their adorable daughter Anya has gifts of her own, specifically the ability to read minds, and she's hiding the fact that their dog Bond can see the future. Each is strong in their own way, but who's the strongest? And how do the Forgers compare to the might of others they face within the Spy x Family universe? Read on for our ranking of the strongest Spy x Family characters. Sorry in advance to Bond for not quite making the cut. But he knew that already. 10. Anya Forger If we were ranking the cutest, most adorable Spy x Family characters, Anya would obviously come head and shoulders above the rest, despite her tiny stature. Unfortunately, this is not that list. But even in the strength stakes, Anya is stronger than you might think. Sure, Anya is still a child, and she's often drained easily by using her powers. But if she's this brave and resourceful now at the age of 5, just think how strong Anya could be with some training as an adult. Don't count the smallest Forger out just yet. No matter how tough things might get, she always laughs in the face of danger – and can you say the same? 9. Martha Marriott Appearances can be deceiving, especially in a spy show, and that's absolutely true for Martha Marriott, who works as a personal nanny to Becky Blackbell. This sweet elderly woman once served as a soldier in Ostania’s military and there's a reason why the rich Blackbell family have entrusted her with Becky's safety. As Loid Forger notes when they first meet, Marriott carries herself like a warrior, working as an undercover bodyguard in addition to her nanny duties. She might not be as strong and nimble as she was in her youth, but Martha remains someone you shouldn't mess with, regardless of her age. 8. SSS Lieutenant The SSS Lieutenant works as Yuri Brair’s supervisor within the Ostania State Security Service, instantly positioning him in a role of power. He also looks pretty intimidating too with those scars on the left side of his face, and the fact we know so little about him also adds to that mystique. Come on Anya, read his mind already! We're yet to see the SSS Lieutenant in action, so it's hard to gauge just how strong he really is. Still, his reputation precedes him, and given how ruthlessly dedicated he is to each job at hand, it's safe to say that the SSS Lieutenant is a formidable force in the world of Spy x Family. 7. Yuri Briar Yor's younger, unhinged brother has done so well as a newly appointed SSS Agent because he's so good at his job, demonstrating brutal efficiency in the role already. The only thing about him that's stronger than his physical prowess is his deep, obsessive love for his sister. More than that though, and more even than his rigorous training, what makes Yuri truly strong is his ability to endure Yor's terrible cooking. Dishes that would make a lesser man choke or vomit are no match for Yuri who will eat anything his sister makes just to please her, even at great cost to his physical health. 6. Sylvia Sherwood As Loid’s direct superior, Sylvia oversees every mission he carries out for the WISE organisation, which means she must be incredibly intelligent, well-informed, and capable in her job. Yet the Handler of the Ostanian branch is more than just an information expert. To move up so high in the ranks of this super-spy organisation, Sylvia must be an extremely proficient spy in her own right, as we've seen when she's had to fight in the field. Anyone who trained Loid is obviously a power to be reckoned with too. And who knows what powerful secrets she hides in that huge hat of hers? 5. Matthew McMahon When we first meet Matthew McMahon, he's daylighting as the Director of Policy at Berlint City Hall. But behind that nice, gentle facade, it turns out he works as another Garden assassin at night. And not just any assassin either. As the one who usually relay's Yor's assignments, it's clear Matthew must be higher up in the food chain than her. That means McMahon could be even stronger than Yor in theory. Or maybe he's just well liked in the office. Either way, he's clearly a very proficient fighter in his own right, as seen a bit during the Cruise Arc when he works alongside Yor. The problem is we haven't seen him fight a whole bunch yet, so he doesn't get to be her superior when it comes to this list, even if he technically is in the show. 4. Type F This military weapon only appeared once in the film SPY X FAMILY CODE, but it's hard to forget the guy who almost took down Yor. Equipped with multiple guns throughout his cyborg body, this extremely durable foe easily stands out as one of the strongest characters across this entire franchise. Go big or go home, said the filmmakers. This man of few words was still pretty basic though when it came to his goal of destroying peace between the East and West. As such, Yor was able to outsmart Type F, using his arrogance against him. But even so, this impressive cyborg would still give the vast majority of characters in the show a run for their money. 3. Fiona Frost Agent Nightfall, as she's otherwise known, was once trained by Loid (much to her enjoyment). As one of the best agents at WISE, Fiona has regularly proved herself to be his equal, and perhaps even stronger in some respects. Have you seen how much she can bench, bro? In fact, Fiona's only weakness is Loid himself. Or, should I say her undying, obsessive love for him? If anything is going to be her downfall, it's that. But to be fair, Loid is a dream boat, so who are we to judge? 2. Loid Forger Agent Twilight is the greatest spy in the world. There's no doubt about it. While disguise and infiltration might be where he excels most, Loud has also proven himself to be extremely capable as a fighter out in the field too. With a body honed to perfection, he regularly emerges unscathed from combat situations that could easily kill a lesser man. The only thing greater than Loid's strength, however, is his dedication to protecting the world, be it through random acts of kindness or the warmth he shares with the rest of the Forger family. 1. Yor Forger By day, Yor is a meek, polite clerk who goes home to cook gross meals for her ever-loving family. But by night, the Thorn Princess regularly proves herself to be the best assassin in all of Ostania, killing every one of her targets with deadly precision. Not only is Yor yet to be beaten in battle, she often exhibits what can only be described as superhuman strength on the show. Remember when she defeated an entire group of assassins without breaking a sweat? Or when she threw a dodgeball for Anya and accidentally leveled an entire row of trees? Yor is basically the "One-Punch Man" of Spy x Family at this point. May her reign as the show's strongest character continue into season 3 and beyond. Spy x Family is available to stream on Crunchyroll. Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.