The Top 10 Moments of 2024!
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This is a limited time holiday offer, so hurry and stop by your neighborhood Metro store and find your perfect match today. Greetings and welcome to House of R, a Ringerverse podcast on the Ringer Podcast Network. I'm Mallory Rubin, and it is my absolute pleasure to invite you not only back to the Witch's Road and Westeros and Middle Earth, and we'll see where else, but also back into the House of R.

Joining me today, will she be talking about points?

It's Joanna Robinson. Perfect, perfect. Hello, hello. This is our last pod together this year, Mallory. I know. I can't believe it. We've done so much. We've been through so much. Remember we were doing like three pods a week in studio all summer? What a year. Vividly. It was great. Until we got COVID and we're like on our asses for 15 days. But other than that, it was great. Joanna. Sensational. There's only one way to

to wrap the year. I mean, that's not true because in the past we've wrapped the year with like Boba Fett podcasts, but this year there's only one way to wrap the year. And it is by celebrating our top 10 moments of the year in genre stories. But before we refresh on the rules, before we reveal our respective lists, some quick programming reminders.

This podcast is dropping on December 30th. And so on that same day, December 30th, you will be able to find Ringiverse Recommends for December waiting for you on the Ringiverse feed. Wonderful. You will also find the next day, December 31st, a Mint Edition episode on things we missed. And then just a couple of days after that on Ringiverse.

January 2nd, you will be able to come to the House of R and catch back up on Skeleton Crew because we will be doing a double dive on episodes five and six. No Skeleton Crew episode five last week when you hear this next week for us because of the holiday, but we will be catching up on five and six together. You can watch full video episodes of this year podcast, House of R, and also the Midnight Boys, pew, pew, on Spotify,

in the ringer verse youtube channel so follow and subscribe if you haven't yet joanna how else can the people follow along so glad you asked um listen why don't you subscribe to this podcast

You've been flirting with it long enough. Go ahead. Put a ring on it. Subscribe to us. Okay? Also to Ringiverse. Subscribe to Ringiverse. Both of those pods. Also follow us on socials. We're on Twitter. We're on TikTok. We're on Facebook. We're on Instagram. Go ahead and follow us there. Also, please, if you will, email us. Hobbitsanddragons at gmail.com. Shout out to our listener, Tina, who made an HD color...

oomphed gif of Neil's little trunk quivering at Mallory's request which I sent to Mallory this morning and she absolutely loved and I'm going to save it on my phone and use it always so thank you to Tina Hobbits and Dragons at gmail.com is where you can send us gifs or photos of sarcophagi or apple takes or pickle takes or anything else your heart desires that's right that's right sign up with your pickle Joanna yeah

Spoiler warning for the top 10 moments of the year. It's just, it's content. It's anything that came out in 2024 could come up today. And we are, we're not just doing like what were our 10 favorite shows or films or books of the year. We're talking about our favorite moments, which means we're getting specific. I got some doozies. Yeah. So, you know, if you've listened to House of R all year, you're ready for the pod. If you're worried about some specific spoilers, you will hear clips of,

At the beginning of each pick, and then we will say what we're talking about. If you want to skip that one, navigate with care. But we're talking about the moments that really stuck with us this year, so we will be getting particular. Should we go through the rules? Should we refresh on the rules of how we do our top moments of a given calendar year? Let's do it. Pretty simple. Yeah.

Basically, the hype meter rules. If anybody has listened to a house of our seasonal hype meter, if you've listened to this podcast, this exact podcast, Top Moments of the Year, which we have done, this is our third one. We did it in 2022. We did it in 2023. Amazing. You know the drill. And if you've listened to many of the Top Moments pods that we've done inside of Given Fictional Universes, you also know the drill. We're counting down 10 to 1.

We have each made a list. It's a secret list. I don't know what's on Jo's list. She doesn't know what's on mine. It's always fun to anticipate how much overlap we have, to try to think, okay, well, maybe I'm torn between two. I'm going to pick this because I feel confident Jo's going to have that one. It's always a little part of the dance. Steve is claiming we have barely any overlap on this list. I'm not...

shocked by that. I think we will have a lot of overlapping properties, but maybe variants in the moment. So that's fun and exciting. If we have the same moment, though, we will talk about it at the higher of two spots. It sounds like that won't come into play today quite as much as it has in the past, but when it comes into play, it will be at the higher of two spots. So for example, if you have Chameleon playing the piano,

But which song? Is it Harry Styles? Harry. Let's go with Harry. Okay. At number 10 on your list, but I have it at number one. We'll be talking about it at number one, baby. Baby. This is favorite moments. So just to be clear, again, it doesn't mean it's from a favorite show of ours. Like, we had in the past, I had in the past...

This is what I'm going to call the moments from Boba Fett have made this list in the past rule. Okay, first of all, I can't believe you've invoked Boba Fett twice on a podcast. Secondly, when I saw this in the note, I was like, what moment from Book of Boba Fett did I – now I remember which one you did. It makes sense. Yeah. It makes sense. I think I almost picked more than one Boba moment that year. Wild stuff. Wild stuff. And just on the timeframe front –

We're banking this pod a little bit ahead of the holiday. It is December 20th when we are recording. We only want to note that because some stuff that airs in the next week, we haven't both seen or I haven't seen. So neither of us has seen Skeleton Crew episode five. If something unbelievable happens in Skeleton Crew episode five and then you're listening to this pod and you're like, how did they not have this on their top moments list? It's because we haven't seen that episode yet. I

I have not seen Squid Game season two yet. Joe has. I don't know, Joe, if something from that season made your list, but it has not made mine because I haven't seen it. So if anyone's like, I'm listening to this five days after Squid Game dropped. How did you guys not have Thing X on your moments list? Haven't seen it yet. Banking the pot early. Now we've covered that base. I won't speak for you. I don't think I would have had something even though I liked that episode.

season fine. And if you want to hear me talk about it, you can go to the Prestige TV podcast feed. And also I think Ben will be talking about it over on the, on the Ringiverse feed. That's right. There you go. Anything else on the, how we do the top moments pod rundown that you want to refer to? I will say, and I think I've done this in the past. Nine of my 10 picks are things we covered on the show. Right. And one is sort of like a self-indulgent

I put it for me. Wonderful. But it still falls under the genre umbrella. Right. It doesn't have to actually be a thing we have potted about on House of RR or Ringiverse. Just something we could have. It would make sense in our universe here. It's eligible for today. And then I think the only other rule that's probably worth saying is just the moment had to have aired this calendar year, but it could come from a show that started last year and continued into this year. Once again, we'll call it the Boba Fett rule. Yeah.

Boba mentions five minutes into the pod. Horrible. It's time for vacation. Okay, Joanna.

Are you ready to start? Should we just dive in? We'll maybe hit some honorable mentions at the end if there's anything from the year that... Yeah, I didn't bring any honorable mentions. Okay, maybe we won't, but we could potentially. We could potentially. Is there something that John and Steve have just been sitting on this Zoom like, I cannot fucking believe they didn't talk about Thing X, that they want to jump in and celebrate? Also, part of the great joy of this particular framing is if we did forget something...

You know, this is not an exercise in a complete recounting of the year. A lot of stuff came out this year. It was really like a – what was your experience just in looking back at the year to put your list together? I had a few real – I texted you this like, I thought this came out four years ago moments, which was a wild experience. Yeah, the beginning of the year was – More so than in other years. The beginning of the year was really weird to look at. Really, really weird to look at. Absolutely. Yeah.

Before we get into our top 10, I just want to do one final book of Boba Fett mentioned and say it's been 1,065 days. Oh, my God. As of when this comes out, which is December 30th, it's been 1,065 days since we last saw Cobb Van. Not okay. Not great. Not reasonable and not okay. Cobb, not great. Not reasonable and not okay. Cobb, we miss you. Not great, Cobb. Okay.

That kind of cop is delightful. Thank you. Excellent work. Let's make t-shirts. Okay. Put it on the merch. All right. Let's dive into our top 10 moments of 2024. Joe.

You ready for your number 10? I'm so excited. Okay, so here we go. Probably if you know me, you could predict that I would put this on this list. If it were my own personal list, this would be higher. But since this is our shared top 10 list, this is where I put myself indulgent. It's not an us show. It's a me show. But I could not do my top 10 list without this very important to me show. Steve, will you play this clip? You already know who you'll be.

An ugly duplex back in Modesto. A job in an office with drab carpets and flickering lights. A woman in the mold of your mother, vacuuming on Valium. A genteel drinking problem like your father. Your wife counting down your thrusts. Your children shying away from you. All the confidence and hope of your youth replaced by a seething, boiling regret. Until one day...

I assume that's an interview with a vampire. It's an interview with a vampire.

Okay, that's by far my longest clip, too, and I really tried to cut it down. My number 10 is also my longest clip. Okay, so just to let the listeners know, you will be getting much shorter clips going forward. This is from Season 2, Episode 5 of Interview with a Vampire. Don't be afraid. Just start the tape. I did record about this episode with Van over on the Prestige feed, so you can listen to us talk about this. Incredible episode of the show. It is...

against my nature to pick a clip from Interview with a Vampire and not give you the vampire list stat, but this was sort of sneakily a bid for me to get even more people, and maybe especially Mally Rubin, interested in Interview with a Vampire. I picked this sequence. The writing is just exquisite. Yeah, gorgeous. Just absolutely gorgeous language, as per usual. And then the Daniel Hart score, which is amazing throughout the show, is just really doing it. And this is a moment where the vampire Armand is, you know, trying to...

torturing, tormenting, and preparing to kill the journalist Daniel in an apartment in San Francisco in the 70s. And so the way in which she just sort of like seduces and lulls him into sort of asking for death. Mm-hmm.

It's just a wonderful, perfect show. Sounds great. I just love this show so much. And someday I will convince Mallory or someone or other people listening. I actually... I will watch. I'm excited. I know you. Having talked about it on various podcasts over the last couple of weeks, as we've talked about the year, I've heard from a ton of people who are like, oh, I watched season one on Netflix. It's amazing. It is. Watch it.

Watch the show. That's my self-indulgent pick. That was just for me. The rest are for us. But thank you for indulging me, Colleen. I'm glad it's there. I hoped and suspected that you would have this show on your list because I know how much it means to you. It does mean a lot. I look forward to sharing it with you one day, genuinely. Maybe it'll be on my holiday catch-up list. I would love that. After you watch every single words movie, why not some vampires? I'm just going to go right from Nora –

Into the Brutalist, into Interview with a Vampire. I'm hyped. Should I do a Nora, then Interview with a Vampire, then the Brutalist? It's a Nora, and then the Brutalist, and then you're going to need a palate cleanser. Okay. Go for the vampires. Great. Rinse your mouth out with blood and the vampires. Okay. Okay. You've convinced me. What's your number 10? I feel fairly certain this is not on your list. Steve, is it safe to play my number 10?

You need to think this through. What it means. You're floating in endless, frozen space. Not alive, and not dead. Maybe for thousands of years, maybe forever. I'm completely unaware the whole time. So basically dead, which is what I was going to be seeing anyways. No, Will, that's best case scenario. Because if they find you, they'll rebuild you. And maybe they just turn you into a program, and they communicate with you through an interface.

You can't see, you can't hear, you can't feel. Like an isolation tank. Question goes in, answer comes out. Whether you like it or not, they just read your mind. So they read Diary of a Nobody, and then they switch me off and we're back to dead. Okay, but maybe it's not an isolation tank. Well, they want to know everything about what it means to be a human being, and maybe the only way for them to do that is to interact with you. So they bring you back. They run experiments on you to learn how we experience things.

What makes us happy? That sounds pretty good. What makes us unhappy? What makes us so unhappy that it could be used against us? How do we feel exhaustion? How do we feel fear? How do we feel pain? How do we suffer? How much can we take? That is also my longest clip. That's not one body. That's not two body. That's three bodies in a problem, right? Three body problem it is indeed. That is...

Salt, trying to convince Will to change his mind in episode seven of season one of Three-Body, only advance. And...

I knew I wanted to like have a moment from Three Body Problem of my year because I really did enjoy the show. And like we talked about very recently on another pod, I enjoyed finally making my way into this world that I had intended to journey into for years on end now. And, you know, I did consider other moments from the season. I considered the Einstein thing.

bench conversation between Saul and Dr. Yeah, which was also a great scene and a very intriguing setup for what's to come. I certainly considered the Judgment Day sequence, the nanofiber Judgment Day sequence, which I think many people would say was like the standout set piece and stretch of the season. But part of the reason that- Tough to clip that. A little tough to clip that. It's just a lot of snicking. Snick. Snick.

That was pleasant to listen to. Is that your impression of steel collapsing? Yeah, that's my impression of nanofiber slicing through flesh, bone, and steel alike. Amazing. But this scene, this conversation between Saul and Will...

stuck with me and like really walloped me. I just thought the scene was beautiful. I thought the writing was beautiful. The ideas were captivating to me. And this scene and this relationship between these two characters is part of why I think I'm higher on the post-book one adaptation, right? Episode six, seven, and eight than I think a lot of people were. Like I just really loved the

finally getting to spend more time with Saul. And as you know, I was quite taken with Will. And I think like this, the other thing that this moment feels like it captures to me, which feels like an important part of the year and what we covered was the Oxford Five and what that told us about Benioff and Weiss as the kings of adaptation, you know, until they aren't. Yeah.

Until they aren't. And, you know, also this moment captured something I really enjoyed about the show, which was the ability to ground these massive, almost too big to think about and certainly too big to wrap your arms around questions inside of relationships, inside of personal dynamics and intimate settings. And, you know, when this builds toward a few lines after this, Will saying, like, how many people get this opportunity to say a proper goodbye to a good friend? I was like...

I'm riveted watching it. So yeah, I wanted to get Three Body on the list and this was, I think, my favorite of the season. Here we are. There you go. You and Andy both, top tenning Three Body Problem. Yeah. Wild. I will say this about Three Body, which I did not like nearly as much as you did, but I love the experience of seeing this with you in Austin. We got to see it at South By and it was just like really, really fun to see it on the big screen with you. That was delightful. A joy. A joy, a thrill. Okay, Jo, what do you have at number nine? Play the clip.

I want him to know who he is before your family tries to tell him who they want him to be. He is better than that. He has better things in him than that. Then I think you have your answer. He's going to go to school, and he's going to learn things that you can't teach him. And it's going to be hard for the both of you. It's going to be torture for the both of you. But he will be stronger for it on the other side. His mother raised him well.

This is Sally and Poseidon, the parents of the titular Percy Jackson, having their first conversation inside of the show. And this comes in...

The penultimate episode of this first season of Percy Jackson. We find out the truth sort of, episode seven. We loved this moment. This is when Toby Stevens as Poseidon enters the chat, walks in. Sally, Percy's mom, who's like,

At a loss, doesn't know what to do with her son. There's a lot of problems going on because, oh no, he's a demigod. Sitting at the bar at this restaurant basically summons him, does an offering to summon him.

It starts to storm and rain outside. We see him first in soft focus behind her, come in the door, walk up, sit down next to her at the bar. They have this whole very impactful conversation without once looking at each other. And it is unbearably emotional. It is unbearably sad. It is unbearably uplifting.

And it is incredibly sexy at the same time as well. There's just this longing between these two people. There's this part inside of this moment, there's this part where she says, I'm not sure you want to hear what I have to say. And he's like, yeah, but I'm pretty sure you have no one else to tell it to, so tell it to me. And then after they have this conversation where he's talking about

You know, Percy Jackson is a demigod. Percy Jackson has Olympian blood in him. But he is who he is because of being raised by Sally Jackson. This is an aspect of the show we absolutely loved. The foregrounding of Sally Jackson as a key figure. There are some people who questioned us covering this show because it felt like maybe a little too kiddy for some folks. And I would argue that...

The weight that this show places on Sally Jackson and her importance in the story is part of what really – I mean, there's nothing wrong with something that is for kids. We love plenty of things that are just for kids. But, like, really grounded my own experience inside of this story. There's a part after this where she asks Poseidon if he wants to speak to Percy. Yeah.

And he's like, no. And then he has this great speech about like someday when he's ready. And this, this whole montage as like in, this is a flashback in the present Percy's waking up as we're hearing his father give this speech about how someday he'll be ready to really know who he is. And we're just like amped then for the final fight going into the finale. So it's, I think it's a wonderful, perfect moment inside a show that we both really enjoyed covering. So yeah.

I was hoping that you would have this on your list. I will spoil that. I have a, another Percy moment that I think, uh,

connects directly to this coming soon. I will say one more thing is that I had this on my long list anyway, but there was only one person who wrote, I mean, we didn't solicit people's input on this because this is our list, but we did have a listener. Listener Ryan wrote in. He's like, I really hope you have this Sally and Poseidon moment on your list. It was already on my long list, but Ryan, your email helped push it in to a top 10 inclusion. So thanks for writing in Mallory. What's your number nine?

Thank you, Steve.

Your brilliant work. Flo is not available yet on streaming. And so my request to Steve was, can we find a stretch for one of the Flo trailers that features cat purring, bird squawking, dog moaning, and cat meowing? And Steve fucking did it, folks. Wow. Came right the fuck through. Thank you, Steve. He did it. Okay. So this is from Flo. Amazing.

A movie I saw literally this week. Yeah. And we'll be in the span of one week talking about three different times on various podcasts. This one right here, Big Picture with Sean, and it is my Rigorverse Recommends for December. I kind of like... Didn't you have to fight someone for it? It ended up that... No, actually, ultimately because of various availability and scheduling things, but there were... It's a brief moment where it wasn't clear. Okay.

Because this is not available yet to stream and because it is an unlimited number of screens, I don't want to say too much, but...

I will say that this is one of my favorite movies of the year. I thought this was absolutely beautiful, breathtaking animation. There's not a single word uttered in the movie. There is not a human being in the movie. And you don't need words. You don't need people because the emotional impact and the connections between the characters are

So astonishing. The journey that Kat and his fellows go on, like, so mesmerizing and gripping. The lessons that they learn about fear and growth and community just so affecting. I was...

I'm so stressed out and anxious watching the movie. Like, I was supposed to see it with Adam. It didn't end up happening. And so I was sitting, like, next to a stranger who I almost asked at one point, like, can I, like, hold your hand? Like, my heart, my stomach, I was just so worried the entire time. I was really, really, really worried the entire time. But it was just such a beautiful experience. If you don't want to hear any specifics, hit, like, fast forward two to three times.

I'm not going to get into too many particulars, but I do want to zero in on one moment in particular that sort of feels emblematic of the magic of the movie to me. And it is when Bird stands up for Cat against the other birds. And the horror of what ensues, like the thing that happens to Bird, was genuinely not something I was prepared for. And I absolutely flabbergasted and it shocked me. But then the...

surprising nature of like the bonds and the lessons that stem from that, which is absolutely magical. There's like a mystical quality to the movie. The movie, Sean and I talked about this on Big Pic, but it's just much more interested in presenting a way of life

and a way of moving through life than it is about necessarily saying in any kind of prescriptive fashion, like, this is how we got here. This is where the people went. This is what happened, right? Like, there's a lot of blank space for you to fill in on your own, and I just loved that about it. I cannot recommend this highly enough. If you get a chance to see this in the theater, go do it. I was in a sold-out theater –

On a Monday night in Los Angeles, a sold-out theater, and not a single child was in the room. It was all adults. Which theater was this? This was actually a theater I had never been to because, again, it's unlimited screens. Yeah. So I went to the Burbank 8 Town Center to see this. I'd never been there before. Great.

Full house for Flo. The prevailing wisdom is that this is probably going to win the Oscar for Animated Feature. I hope so. In a year that like Inside Out 2 and Wild Robot had like, you know, huge audiences, but Flo has really come out of left field at the end of the year to capture people's hearts. I love that you saw this and that you get to talk about it. It makes me really happy. Beautiful movie. Can't wait to listen to that episode. Almost just cried.

Are you ready for an abrupt shift in mood? In tone and mood? I am. What's your number eight? Steve? She straightens up for a better look. He begins to undress, revealing a prominent scar on his well-toned back. Dropping his billowy-legged hakama pants, he steps forward with the sunlight accentuating his taut muscles. Okay. Just kidding. That's not the real clip. Steve, will you play the real clip? Was that its name? She was a child. You brought her here.

You really didn't know it was me. Not even deep down? You attacked me. While my back is turned? Not very Jedi of you.

This was, I can't wait to hear you talk about this show. I will say this was my single hardest elimination. This is my honorable mention. It did not make my top 10. And this was the one where I trusted in a way that felt wonderful and beautiful to me. Yeah. I felt absolutely sure. When I was like, I have 11 and I have 10 spots. What do I do? I knew that this would be on your list. Knew. Wonderful. And here it is. I'm thrilled. I call light. Here we are. I call.

Here we are at the end of the year. Acolyte wasn't our favorite show. No. Did it have some great parts to it? Yes. Was the highlight, the standout, the star of the show for us?

Manny Jacinto as Chimere. Yes, especially inside of this episode, Night, written by the great Cameron Squires. Cam Squires, this is not the last time Cam Squires is going to come up on this list, actually, today. And the first clip, of course, was the audio commentary on a different episode when Chimere gets out of the water. A horny moment we all enjoyed. But this is, this moment in Night, the reveal, something that we had called

Just months ago. So it wasn't like this big, shocking surprise for us. It was just fun to watch Manny Cento get to play all the flavors of this particular... To hear him inside of this clip slip back into his sort of doofy persona. The...

Lee Jun Jae may not have made the list because of Squid Game season two, but he is represented here in Acolyte. And the, you know, our beloved Jackie Lon gets three-hole punched in this as the scene begins. And he's like, was that its name? You brought her here?

That scene was unbelievable. It was just incredible. Just the visual of it. When, when right after this, when he's like, not very Jedi of you, he holds his saber up to a maze temple as if it's a gun in a way that I don't think we've ever seen. And just like all of the saber stuff in this episode was wonderful. Yeah.

But yeah, the Chimera reveal. I'm really excited for 2025. Is that when your Chimera helmet is coming to you? I do believe they restocked, and so I am expecting one for Hanukkah. We'll see. Okay. All right. Adam, we'll see. I'm baking on you, Adam.

Yeah, I mean, again, this is a complicated show, but had some real wonderful stuff that we loved. And honestly, this is like some of the most unforgettable Star Wars I've ever seen. So I was thinking about this. If you listen to our Dune Prophecy finale podcast, you will know that...

We didn't love that show. It has been renewed for a second season. And really, as soon as I heard that news, I was like, this gets a second go and Acolyte doesn't because I really feel like Acolyte could have found its strength as it was going on and could have leaned into that in a second season and really delivered an incredible second season. But the world may never know. The world will never know. Yeah.

That's my number eight. Great pick. I'm really glad it's here. When I was considering which moments from The Acolyte might make my list, that was the leader in the clubhouse, but I also, you know, the bit clip that you picked at the start. Many of those moments between The Stranger and Osha in episode six were also strong contenders. You know, they're like, that's your strength. Like, I mean, there's a reason it inspired a...

Power ranking of the horniest things. And a lot of plenty of fanfic. So you'll love to see it. Okay. I'm really glad it's here. Great one. Number eight is my Percy moment. So our Percy moments were pretty close together, not only on our list, but also in the story. Mine is from the finale. Steve, can we hear it? Obedience doesn't come naturally to you, does it? No. Sure. I must take some of the blame, I suppose.

The sea does not like to be restrained. Oh, my God. So good. The smolder in audio form. We've talked about this as a tattoo. I just love this. Loved this. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Loved sharing it with you. Loved reading it. Loved watching it. We talked about this when we potted about the finale, episode eight, The Prophecy Comes True. This is one of the closest –

word for word adaptive moments from book to show because it is just perfect. But then to see it brought to life so beautifully, you know, we talked about this when we potted, but like actually the scene is missing one of the things from the sequence of the book that I was most looking forward to hearing on the screen, which is Poseidon saying, I've brought you a hero's fate and the hero's fate is never happy. It is never anything but tragic, which just like kills me. And then that wasn't there. And I was like,

The fact that this scene was still so mesmerizing to me, despite the thing I was looking forward to, like not being there is really to its credit and tells you so much about how, how, uh, how compelling it was. So this is when Poseidon shows up on Olympus to surrender to Zeus and save Percy. It builds obviously beautifully from the moment that you picked in terms of anticipating this conversation between Percy and Poseidon. Uh, I,

I love the way that when Poseidon and Zeus are interacting, this is again, very different, different vibes, uh, inside of a romantic relationship and obviously like a paternal relationship, but that not looking at each other thing that you cited between Sally and Poseidon as they sat side by side here, we had the version of that we get is that Poseidon waits and waits and waits to turn around and look at his son until it is finally just them. Zeus is gone. He's gotten through business and they can have that moment together. Um,

Not only is the sea does not like to be restrained, an incredible line, and as you just noted, potential tattoo fodder. This is a beautiful Poseidon moment. It's a beautiful and meaningful Percy moment. But Sally, even though she's not here, is so present for both of them in it. And that is one of the reasons that I love it the most. When Percy says...

He had been listening to this conversation, observing the conversation between Zeus and Poseidon. That's the only word I really caught. It means father, right? Poseidon says, Chiron taught you well. I didn't learn it from Chiron. And Poseidon, the smile on his face when he realizes, of course, it was Sally. Your mother taught you ancient Greek. She taught me a lot of things. It's just so good.

And the love that they both feel for her and the admiration and respect that they both have for her and the way that the show made sure that she was...

there and that they and the show were like honoring her. But also there was plenty of space for what that meant for Percy and Poseidon and their relationship. It was just like a really incredible achievement in a moment that had to land and really, really did. We also got some great comedy in that scene. You know, they get to dunk on Ares. Do you dream? Ares said gods don't dream. Ares is a moron.

Perhaps you noticed. And then the way that Percy asks, like, do you ever dream about mom? And Poseidon just can't even bear it. And neither could we. It was a beautiful, beautiful scene. Great show. Revisiting this got me really hyped again for season two next year. I really enjoyed the show. You did. You loved Percy. I loved the season of TV and I loved reading Percy.

So I'm excited. I'm excited to be back with our demigods. Hopefully not too deep into the year. All right, Percy, glad it's here. Joanna, what was your number seven? I know you're all anxious for me to leave. No one has been shy about that. I'd really hoped that it would be different, but I understand. I don't fit into this family anymore. So tomorrow I'm starting a new life. For the first time, I have hope. To new beginnings. Chantani.

Hello, welcome to the list. Penguin! Uh, Sophia. I miss her. But without any penguin in the clip. This is Sophia. So listen, going into the penguin, I was, and we talked about this the other day, but I was like...

uh, was, had like some trepidation going into it. I wasn't sure it was going to hit the way I wanted it to, but you know, as much as I have loved Chris and Milioti and a million things, I was sort of focusing on like Colin Farrell's Colin Farrell show. This is the tank is called the penguin. This is the character we know and really a portrayal. We really liked in the film, blah, blah. And then as far as I'm concerned,

Sophia waltzed in and stole the entire show from Oz. Oz is wonderful. You know, if you have an Oz moment, I can't wait to talk about it. Boy, it's all of that sort of stuff. Deeply exciting. Sophia in her saffron dress with her hair tousled and her eyes double lined and the entire family just hating her. The entire family and Johnny Vitti just like hating her. And her just giving this emotional toast to,

Right before she murders all of them, inside of an episode... Except for Johnny. Inside of an episode...

you know, where we see her journey to Arkham. Chantani, as an episode, really elevated, took Penguin to the next level for me, for a lot of people, I think, in terms of like, wow, this is what this show can do. Oh my God. And I just think this moment, I think few people have ever looked more stunning, been more emotional and more unhinged and lethal than Sophia in her speech from the Penguin. So.

Fantastic pick. I do have a Penguin moment coming. I won't say what it is, but I will tell you that I had a difficult time picking my Penguin moment because there were a few really, really, really strong contenders. This was another one where I thought... For sure Joanna will have it. Joanna's definitely going to have Sophia on her list. I could probably go Oz. Great. There we go. We did it. What a team. We know each other so well. Okay. Okay.

My number seven is the one that I feel sure is on your list. I don't know that if we have the exact same soundbite, but I feel like this stretch of this episode of this show, this moment has to be on your list in some capacity. Steve, am I right that this is on Joe's list and we should wait? Or is it safe to play my clip? I have something from this episode on my list. Yeah.

Yeah. So do you want to talk about like the fullness of these characters and their role in the show later? Maybe we should just do it all together. What do you think? Yeah, let's wait. Let's wait. Yeah. Okay. That's that's that's X-Men 97 episode five. I felt certain that would be reflected on your list.

And, you know, I think you're right that it is two distinct moments, but I don't think there's any way Mallory wants to talk about this moment without talking what comes later. This is why I was like, I think this one has to, there has to be some overlap. Okay, so we will wait. We will come back to the attack on Genosha and everything that happens at the end of episode five of X-Men. X-Men 7. And we will talk about that all in one spot, which brings us then to, as we put a pin in that, your number six. Of all the time that I spent...

on this list i spent the longest on this i have wrapped it up for you happy hanukkah steve play the clip you should not have come here all right well just don't stay up too late studying okay answer from you vaporized what do you have a question at school i think there's something inside hey little guy oh

Can't you plug his trunk or something? Can't. I don't talk with my trunk. SN33, he was disabled right before we were captured. Oh, and don't forget about the rat that lives in his eye hole. Are you guys hungry? So there's no combats on this Addison? But we do play this one game called Slap Ball. You know, like the... I'm one of the best players. That was very brave. Neil? He fainted.

A little squeak. Oh, my God. That's my Neil supercut. Absolutely beautiful. A masterpiece. You should win an award. Genuinely. The Academy Award for Best Editing goes to... I literally just scrubbed through the entire show up to this point to pull as much Neil as possible to make that for you. It's absolutely beautiful. It's magical. It breaks the rules of this prompt, which is one moment, but it is...

Neil all the time here at number six on the list. Is it possible that Neil will rank higher once they finish with Skeleton Crew? Yes, it is. But this is where we are right now. This might mean that Neil could wind up on the list next year as well. So here's hoping. Hell yeah. What was your moment? So my moment, Steve, you want to put, we just, we just enjoyed this, boy, was that literally in real time in our actual lives yesterday? Yes, yesterday, this clip opened our Skeleton Crew episode.

Episode four podcast. But let's listen to it one more time. Come with us, Hannah. My house has plenty of room. At the end is peaceful. No. Perhaps someday when I'm leader of the Troik, I will remember your ways. I see now your weakness. It makes you kind. And my world could use some kindness. Neil, I hate to interrupt, but come on, move your trunk. Uh, wonderful. Simply wisdom.

wonderful. So that's from Can't Say I Remember No Ed at an episode four of Skeleton Crew, a show we're loving. I had the same thought, like, if we did this in a few weeks, I have no idea how high a Neil moment, a John moment, a Skeleton Crew moment could potentially rank because we are really enjoying the show so much. But given that we're midway through and don't know where it's heading, this felt like an appropriate slot. Neil is the most important character ever put on screen. Yeah.

Instant icon. Just wonderful. John is an instant icon, obviously, in a very different way. Grogu who, honestly? Oh, no. To me. You'll never say Grogu who. Grogu who. Team Neil. Oh, I have enough room and love in my heart for Grogu and Neil. They're both great. They're wonderful. I love Neil. Neil's perfect. It's been a really wonderful experience getting to know Neil and the skeleton crew. I think in this moment with Haina and Neil, that combination of

Just genuinely impactful emotion. Neil getting his, like we talked about on the episode four deep dive, where it like armor moment is just obviously something that we value and prize. The snide hilarity from Jod just seamlessly stitched right in to such a resonant... Move your trunk. Move your trunk. The trunk block from Jod there. Boy, it's just such a warm and winning...

an affirming moment and character and show. And it's just been truly wonderful. I can't wait to see more. Love it. I was so happy to, in the super cut include like, uh, the ongoing arc of, uh, snowball, the rat and, uh, Neil, all of those moments. Yeah. Um, to have the, the snootling and the snoring. Amazing. You could really hear the splashing of the bathtub. You got it all. Oh,

And then, but also just like the very first moment we see him like igniting the fake lightsaber is just like so perfect. And also I considered cutting this part, but the part where he's like, you know, goodbye, don't stay up too late studying to whim. He's not going to do that. You'll do great tomorrow. He's just like, oh man, the wind beneath my wings. I love you, Neil. I love him. He's amazing.

The best. And so are you for putting that together. That was genuinely special. Thank you. Thank God. I loved that. Loved. Steve Arino, Steve Aroni, will you play my number five clip, please? Who among you would be first? Wonderful. Hello. Wonderful. House of the Dragon is a show. Have you heard of it? We cover it a lot. It was...

I was like, obviously House of the Dragon is going on the list, but what House of the Dragon moment to pick? It was tough. It was so easy last season. We both picked the same moment and we knew exactly what it was going to be. It was so easy. This one I was like, and maybe your moment, whatever, I'm assuming you have a House of the Dragon moment. Whatever your moment is, I might be like, oh, of course it was that moment. So maybe I picked incorrectly. I don't think you'll say that. I don't think you'll be surprised by what I picked. Is it Kristen Cole cleaning a sword with a lemon? It is. And it's number one. Okay.

And I did it to honor Chris. No, my number one, it's us playing Name That Dragon with Chris at Talk to Thrones Live. Weird that that's not your number one. That was so fun. Great stuff. Would you rather, for the rest of your days, play Name That Dragon with Chris or Name That Thigh with me? I'd rather die than have to pick. Yeah.

They're both gifts. We've had a year. They've both enriched my life. We've had a real year. The audience getting so exasperated with Chris as he like, it was, Chris is such a sport for that. He's so good at what he does. The crowd was really with him until they weren't. Um,

This is Vermithor rising up in the Dragonmont right before the red sewing. I could have done the whole clip. I could have had Rhaenyra going, like all that sort of stuff, of course. But you and I both really responded to this. It's not just like a technical achievement for the show in terms of visual effects or the incredible sound work of our pal Paul Fairfield on Vermithor. I was like...

arrested paralyzed overcome with just sort of this you know you talked about this a lot when you talked about like the claiming of vagar in season one this idea of just sort of like the enormity of these creatures and the power something that you see that um you know

coursing through Rhaenyra's face and veins as like Vermithor who happily has been torching and munching people doesn't attack her and so she's just like it's one more confirmation for Rhaenyra that she is the one who she has the dragon power she is the one who should rule she is the one who people should bend the knee to so like her terrifying she was she starts it slightly scared

And then comes out the other side convinced and turns around and then speaks the line. And this is the shot that ended all the teaser trailers leading up to season two. It is just an iconic moment in House of the Dragon. And it's just like a very special genre moment. A moment you can only have inside of genre storytelling. Fantastic pick. I had three contenders for House of the Dragon. This was my runner up. Nice.

Really glad you picked it. I love this one for every reason you said. Just a fantastic television moment. Incredible. Truly incredible. Did you consider picking Laris and Agon? No.

Did you pick Larissa Nagant? No, but that was my other contender. Oh, okay. I consider picking something with Alice because I loved Alice so much. So like something in the- Which stuff? Yeah. Which stuff? Go. Fucking go. Something with Alice being like spooky and creepy in the kitchen or in the godswood or something like that. So yeah, yeah. So Damon fucking his mom? Yeah. You know. Weird things happened this season on House of the Dragon and we had fun covering it. We sure did. I had some time in my life. Yeah.

Great pick. Amazing one. Okay. It is time for my number five, which is my penguin moment. Steve, let's hear it. Spoilers. You're family to me, you know? Fuck. Fuck, Vic. You and me, that's all that's left. I don't believe in kismet or nothing. But it's good that we met, yeah? Yeah. I mean, you see me at my lowest, all this shit with my mom. You been there?

By my side every fucking step. Listen, kid. I, uh... I can't bring you with me this time. What do you mean? I mean, that's the thing about family. Us? It's your strength. Us? I mean, it drives you.

Fuck if it don't make you weak, dog. And I can't have that no more. I can't have that shit again. It's too much. Too fucking much.

You're holding Bug to you. Yeah, my cat has crawled up into my arms and I'm like, yep, now's the moment. Usually I don't let her do this on podcasts, but it's the end of the year. So, you know. Sweet Bug. Oftentimes she's kicking around right below frame. You guys might have seen a microphone wobble or something like that. She loves to sort of like run around here, but she gets to be on the pod here at the end of the year. And that was, I needed the comfort. I needed the comfort. It's a tough clip to have to revisit. It's a painful one. That is, of course, the Penguin finale, episode eight, A Greater Little Thing.

And that is one of the most painful moments that we had to experience this year or in recent years, really. I'm like still not over this, not only the impact of it, but that astonishment that we felt, the shock, but like then in tandem with that, that recognition that it had to go this way. Yeah. And that's just an incredible, incredible brew. Yeah.

Building off what we had learned about Oz and his brothers.

Everything with Vic and Oz, obviously we already had a moment to celebrate Sophia here and the impact that she had on the show and on our year. The Victor and Oz relationship was really one of the highlights of this season of TV for me, a season that we loved. You know, going back to like obviously their initial meeting and the circumstances that bring them into each other's lives, that restaurant scene in episode three that we talked about like on our midseason superlatives pod that I loved, you know, the fuck

fuck what they say, let them wait, take up space. That bathroom scene that we both love. This is what it feels like. This is what it feels like being with me and how everything with Francis, Vic and Francis, the three of them living together, everything that happened with Squid, that embrace and that whispered, it gets easier. Like every single thing that builds toward this moment and this choice and this betrayal, casting that ID,

Into the water. Not just killing Victor, but ensuring that he is erased and forgotten. And how it is an act so hideous. It is the necessary ingredient in the season to ensure that

That we do not believe redemption is possible for Oz Cobb. And we loved this finale. We really thought this was, like, an amazing episode of television. And this moment is the one that kind of, like, in addition to some of the Sophia ones, just, like, lingers and continues to haunt me. And fuck was this sad, but really amazing television. You know, maybe if...

had remembered to leave the cilantro off the taco order, he might still be with us. But I mean, that, that, I think that would be Chris Ryan's read as well. I love cilantro. Me too. I love cilantro. Oh, what a show points. Guess what? I got a lot of death coming up, uh, on the, on the heels of this good amount of death on my list this time too. Yeah. Uh,

Steve is my number four. Safe to play? Why are you on this journey? I didn't want to come. Then why did you? To get my power back. Is he gone? Where did he go? This is not the true reason. I'm a forgotten woman. Then remember yourself. What's worth remembering? That you died? That I saw it coming? Our entire coven wiped out by a fever? I saw it. I told you. But it didn't change anything.

That comes for us all. You say it like it's a comfort. It is what we all have in common. When will it come for me? I was falling. I will fall. Yes. What will you do with your remaining time? If I could save time in a bottle, the first thing that I'd like to do

Great one. That is Lillia's death in Agatha all along. It's not technically the moment of her death, but I felt like this is the best sort of moment.

larger encapsulation of that. Um, there's a lot in Agatha, obviously a show that I loved covering it. I love talking to you about, uh, which stuff go, go and go and gone this year. So good. Um, had such a great time. This is an episode co-written by Cam Squires who wrote night, the accolade, uh, episode that we're talking about earlier. So shout out Cam Squires. Um, and, um, I,

I just thought this was incredible. Most people did. I'm not, you know, inventing the wheel here, but I think similar to Chantani, this was a moment that really felt like it elevated Agatha to another level of storytelling. This is a kind of only in genre storytelling that, that, that we can get this sort of like unstuck in time. Yeah. Storytelling, Patti LuPone, legend. I have loved her my whole life.

I memorized her, uh, version of anything goes that I had on cassette tape. And then I auditioned for the play in my eighth grade year and got the part of the lead Reno Sweeney, her role, and just like basically did a bad Patti LuPone imitation, uh, throughout that entire run of that show. And, uh, so to see her celebrated more broadly, uh, in a cultural space outside of, um,

The space she already occupied in culture was really exciting for me. And I just found this so uplifting and poignant. And we had been talking, even in our coverage of this episode, we were like, how permanent is a death in this show? We felt like this sacrifice, this meant Lillia had to stay dead on Agatha. But...

we were talking about, you know, other deaths and we're like, is this going to stick a ball of blood? And I, I just love what the, you know, what the writers decided to do, what Jack Schaefer and her writers decided to do at the end of the day was just like, death means death on this show. That's what that means. Um, so yeah, that's my Agatha all along moment. Fantastic pick. Speaking of Agatha and speaking of death, let's hear my number four. Nice. Agatha, that boy isn't yours.

That is, my heart is like racing just hearing that again. That is, of course, Agatha and Rio at the end of episode four. If I can't reach you, let my song teach you. There were two shows that made my list that I had the hardest time narrowing them down to one pick for. This was one of them. We'll get to the other one later. I had a

Difficult time with Agatha because I had like a dozen things that I was considering. The one that you picked was certainly on the list. I am not too proud to say that I seriously considered picking The Return of Ralph Vaughan. Did you agree? I mean, seriously, because like I— A great pick. I loved it and I thought everything it represented about—

The nature of the relationship that Jack Schaefer has to the story that she is telling and continues to tell was just so impressive to us and continues to be. I thought about doing Billy's bar mitzvah, honestly. Yeah, yes. Like, to try to capture what they accomplished with that episode.

Well, it's just an absolute treasure trove of contenders from a wonderful show that we really adored. I will second what you said. I loved covering the show with you. We obviously had been looking forward to it, but it exceeded our expectations. And like every week was a pleasure and it was emotionally stimulating. It was intellectually stimulating. Yeah.

I landed on this moment ultimately because it is just the thing that jumps to mind first for me when I think back on the show. Like, it is the experience in miniature to me. I think episodes six and seven were my favorite episodes of the season, more than episode four. But this closing stretch of episode four, I think, is just really, like, representative of the series at its best. It's this, like, tightly...

coiled spring just waiting to like unfurl, right? That was how the show so often felt. The plot intrigue. What's going to happen on the road? Teen almost just died. What's going to happen with the sigil? What happened with Nikki? We have a lot of clues mounting that Rio is death. Pair all of that seamlessly with the relationships driving the story as much as the mystery, as much as the plot.

Agatha walks away and Rio follows after that fireside chat. I've got a scar. You're my scar. You're my scar. Yeah.

The tension, the chemistry, the questions we had at this point in the season, like what was their history, the way that Rio approaches Agatha and is like running her hands through her hair, the way that Agatha turns to her and embraces her and almost like breathes her in, like that desperation, that need, that longing, and the complete and total humanity inside of that moment, I just...

Absolutely loved it and loved the show. Really miss it and can't wait to rewatch it sometime soon. Honestly, what a joy Agatha all along was. Tremendous. We would happily take a second season of Agatha all along in addition to the vision season we're getting, please. Okay. Thank you so much. My number three is.

Genuinely, my top three... My number three could easily have been my number one. My top three are all sort of like shared number ones for me. And it was really tough for me to pick order. Really, really tough. Steve, will you play this clip? A little Three Rings for Elven Kings ring theme right at the end there for you. I am...

So relieved and thrilled that Kelly and Sauron made your list. Thrilled. I knew I could count on you. The death of Celebrimbor. I hope I have given you a similar gift with my rings of power pick. Okay, great. The death of Celebrimbor. We had such a good time with Celebrimbor. Not a good, bad time with Celebrimbor. A complex time. Mr. Mouse.

Charles and Charlie, the Charlies, Charles Edwards and Charlie Vickers, just really, really crushed it this season on Rings of Power as we watched the gaslight girl boss gatekeep destruction of Celebrimbor by...

Sarah Navier out of them lots. So I wanted... This is the first thing that sprang to mind. And then I stopped and thought about a bunch of other stuff and then I just came right back to this. And I almost made all of you at home listen to like five minutes of this scene because I like everything, every gurgle from Kelleb Rimbaugh in this scene. But you and I really zeroed in on this moment. He's been...

speared and hoisted aloft by Sauron. He's just like weeping, but smeared blood smeared, uh, just sort of, and then, but still gets the upper hand on Sauron when he says you are their prisoner. Um, and then the look on, uh, Charlie Vickers face, uh, on Sauron's face, uh,

As he is absorbing this moment, and I loved that when we talked to JD and Patrick about this moment, they disagreed on their interpretation of what Sauron is thinking here. That is going to fascinate me forever. And then, and then Kelbermore's dying words are Lord of the Rings. And they had done this

earlier in the season in a way that I hated. And so for it to come back around in a way that just like really worked for me, it's a thing I hate. Yeah.

And somehow really, really worked for me in this moment. I just like, I just really cannot admire them enough for what they did with Celebrimbor on Rings of Power season two. I just thought it was an astounding accomplishment when that storyline could have been so boring.

easily. You know what I mean? And it just wasn't. It was just enthralling. There was just like, Ed's over here and this over, this ghoulie over here and this monster over here. And every week you and I were like, cut back to two dudes in a room, please. That's all we want to see. Which is on brand for us, but still, it was just an astounding accomplishment. And I'll miss him dearly. And didn't

Patrick and JD have a little twinkle in their eye when we were like, maybe Celebrimbor could haunt Sauron. Please. I consider it canon. I demand it. Now that the mere possibility is out there. Fantastic pick. I am thrilled that it's on the shared list here. I agree. The way that he uses this title is...

that all will come to fear as a damnation is just incredible. I pity you. This concept of pity that we've talked about, this is like a slightly a twist on it. Yeah. Wonderful. I also have a rings of power moment, but it's not, it's not at number three for me. It'll be coming higher on the list. So I'm telling you, this is almost my number one. It was really tough. Very tough at the top. Very, very, very challenging. Okay.

Steve, is it safe to play my number three? This is my father's ducal signet. I am Paul Maudive Atreides, Duke of Arrakis. Genuine chill listening to that. Mahdi, oh my God, Timmy. That is my favorite acting moment of the year.

I think that performance is in that, I mean, throughout the film, but I think the performance in that scene when Paul, despite not wanting to go, despite saying he won't go, despite saying he can't, the journey is what it is and Paul heads south. That performance is so sensational and horrifying and spine-tingling. It's, you know, one of the things that we have loved about

The Villeneuve adaptations and films is, and, you know, we talked about this all the way back in the part one pod that we did, like,

Chosen ones, are we sure they're good? Like, the way that he moved that so forward to the front as such an active part of the text has been, you know, part of what we've really loved about his approach to adapting Herbert's tale and world. And so one of the really fun things about this moment of the movie and, like, just the part two experience in general was –

the response if you're a book reader, if you're waiting for this, if you're ready for it, if you're salivating, anticipating it, and then the response if you're like, oh, is Paul, like, any number of things in between? And then, yeah, and then the third response, which is, like, this show, like, not feeling that this is reading as Paul is the bad guy. It's like, we're still supposed to take him as the hero. Yeah. Great. Yeah. Just sensational. And...

You know, the way we go from, again, the like, I can't go, you know, I can't go, the visions of holy war, his active resistance to the way that this land has been readied and prepped to receive and deify him into the water of life sequence. There is a way, a narrow way to, so this is how we'll survive by being Harkonnens.

Into just the entrance into the temple and then the... The murder strut. The Anakin murder strut. We love an Anakin murder strut with the swaying black cloak. The way that he goes, like the haunting nature of the way that he goes...

I'm going to tell you about your history. I'm going to tell you about your fears. I'm going to tell you about your hopes. I'm going to tell you about your secrets. You think I'm stupid enough to do this. I am pointing the way. Like, this whole sequence is just incredible, and I love one of my favorite – I almost picked this as the clip instead, but I just thought the one – I mean, the one we just heard is just astonishing. The way that he whispers when he's saying at that time this world had a Fremen name on

Dune. Like, it just gives me chills. And then it's not just what we're seeing from Paul. It's not just how the fundamentalists in the Southern Temple are responding. It's Gurney. Pride. Pride on Gurney's face when he sees Paul lift Leto's ring.

on Stilgar's face as he leads that chorus of Lisa and Al-Gaib's and then disgust on Shani's face. This is my favorite movie moment of the year. And there were a number of contenders from Dune. Perhaps one of them will be coming for you momentarily. Perhaps. Who can say? I feel like it might be. Perhaps. I had three real strong contenders from Dune and yeah, I just ended up, I don't know, I think about this pretty regularly. Yeah.

I love this moment, truly. I love it. Great pick. All right, so this is where I'm going to play my X-Men 97 moment. Great. Mutant intruder, neutralize. The name's Gambit. Remember it. Sugar. I can't feel you. Okay.

I just started crying. So yeah, so this is the first moment that I knew was going on the list. I knew it was going high. It almost was my number one. This is Gambit's death on X-Men 97. And I think people thought I was exaggerating when I talked about how devastating this was for me. But I'm not.

Um, it, and the only thing I can explain, we talk, you know, we deal a lot in properties that tap into who we were as kids. Yeah. Um, and nostalgia factor and, uh, you know, bonds formed with stories and characters when we are, you know, soft brained and vulnerable and soft hearted and innocent and naive. And, um, my association with,

Gambit, who is a dirtbag, goes back to my childhood and the way in which this show didn't just kill him, but killed him in just a really beautiful way.

you know, it's, it's like not super kosher to invoke this in 2024, but it just weed any sort of way that absolutely just ripped me to shreds. And I don't care. Like this just breaks all of my rules about my, how I sort of like to analyze story in terms of like, yeah, I'm pretty sure they're bringing him back.

And usually that's like, yeah, I didn't cry at the, well, yeah, I don't think I cried at the end of infinity war. Cause I was like, all these motherfuckers are coming back in end game. Like I, I don't know. It didn't like really get me. This got under the layers of, of cynicism or I've seen too many stories or whatever it is that I've built up over the years and really hit me somewhere that is very young. And, um,

And I think about it a lot. And I would be embarrassed except this is what we do on this show sometimes. So, yeah. Oh, pal. I love you so much. So beautiful. I wish I could just like talk about you. That moved me to tears hearing you talk about that. Truly. You're the best. I love you. I love sharing this with you. Very special. I know. What do you want to say about Rogan Magneto sexy dancing? Yeah.

Maybe I should have let you go first. So I, I, I loved this episode so much. It was so beautiful and certainly one of the most memorable episodes of the year. And, you know, I considered picking the Remy rogue private chambers, fireside chat that like proceeds both of the moments that we, that we ended up picking. And that conversation is, Oh, so gut wrenching. Um,

There's something about Rogue entering and the ace of base kicking in, building toward that crackle of electricity between Rogue and Eric's hands that felt...

like an, an amplifier and enhancer in this beautiful thread, connecting the two rogue gambit moments on each side of it, because we have, you know, the way that rogue like enters the room and the way that everybody turns to look, including Remy. Right. And there's this like very public nature of this display. And, and,

I remember watching that for the first time and feeling, it's magneto, so I don't know if this is the perfect word or corny word to use, but just feeling the magnetic pull, truly, of the way they move toward each other. And there's that literal crackle, but the emotion of, the reason that it is a Remy and Rogue moment, even though it's an Eric Rogue moment, is because

that longing to be able to touch someone, right? And so, like, when we're building toward what we just heard, that, Sugar, I can't feel you, and, like, the way that the anguish we see on Remy's face when he watches Rogue and Eric's hands touch, and then she pulls away. Like, they kiss, and she pulls away, and she's like, this actually isn't what I want, and then it's too late. Too late. It's just so fucking heartbreaking.

It's so fucking heartbreaking. It really, really, really, really is devastating and beautiful. And like the show gave us a lot of pain and heartache and things to think about and take seriously about our relationships and like what we look for in each other. And it was just really, really, really a remarkable series. Beautiful. What's your number two?

My number two is from Rings of Power. Steve, let's hear it. Durin! Durin! Durin! I never let you lift your hand. It's you. Just you. Getting stronger. Forgive me, my son. King Durin. We're just going to be weeping the rest of the pod. I might have cried no matter what at this moment, but Gamma really loosened the lid and I was just like unable to not cry during that.

Totally normal. We're just sitting here weeping, listening to clips on Zoom. Oh my God. Dwarf flinging himself at a fire demon. I considered, I settled on Kelly first. And then I was like, that was the first thing I told you. First thing that came to mind. And then I tried to run through the other character sets to see like, what else is on here? And I was like,

Oh, no. How can I possibly not do the King Dorian moment? And this is where I was counting on you, Mallory Rubin, to come through with the moment. This is it. When I said earlier, I hope there's one where I can give you this gift, it was this one. You did. This is, of course, from the Rings of Power. Yes, yes.

The Rings of Power season two finale, episode eight, Shadow and Flame. When I said earlier with Agatha, I had two shows that were the hardest for me to narrow it down. Rings of Power was the other one. I knew my House of the Dragon moment immediately, which we will, spoiler, get to at my number one. But Rings of Power was hard because I am so invested in so many of the characters and we loved so much about the season. But this was, and I think the pick you made is fantastic. This was such a Casa Doom thing.

dwarf-centric season. We love the Durans, Papadi and Sunny D. And when I think of the finale, which we loved, and when I think about the season, this is emotionally, but also visually, this is the image. Oh, yeah. King Durin charging the Balrog.

The explosion of flame and light. Like, this is the image that pops into my mind. It's one of the defining visuals of the year. His little feet in the air. It's like such a devastating, strong, powerful moment. And it's also just like... It's a good one.

That's incredible. We talked about this obviously a lot when we covered the finale, but such a stunning instant pantheon visual in the history of fantasy stories that we cover. The way that this stitched together the prequel canon with not just trilogy canon, but essential iconic trilogy canon, the Balrog, Dern's Bane, Gandalf, Tess, Trials, it

Astonishing. The emotional wallop and thematic richness of this stretch, this opening stretch of the finale, the dynasty of Durin, such an ill omen. Sunny D trying to use...

memory and humanity and connection to pull his father back, but then in a way that not only felt perfect inside of their relationship, but a way that unites the various different character sets and storylines. Papa D had to touch the darkness, right? Had to stare the Balrog and the cost of his greed in its fiery face in order to then

Make the right decision, sacrifice himself, save his son, try to do the right thing, come back to the light. And the quality of the performances in this scene, in this moment, I mean, the ache in Sonny D's voice, as he said, like in one of the stretches preceding this moment that we heard in the clip, it's not our mountain father you taught me that. Like, that just killed us when we heard it. And the way that then...

Duren in the clip that, that it did choose Peter Mullen. What a, what a gorgeous, like granting his son, the gift of affirmation, pride and belief at the end is so meaningful. And a rewrite of a, of a, like of a truth that has sort of pinned him down his whole life, you know? And it's just sort of like, no, here's, here's the rewrite on that.

Incredible moment. Rings of Power. Great show. What an accomplishment, honestly. And like, as you know, I'm like less than 48 hours away from my annual Lord of the Rings watch and I'm so excited. It's my reward and I can't wait. I can't wait to watch it. I already can't wait to rewatch this season. Should I have picked Elendil talking about wolves licking cradles? Should you have picked...

Any of your weird crushes this season? I don't know. I genuinely don't know. The best. We'll miss them all. This stretch of death. My last one is not a death, so I can sort of talk about it retrospectively. This stretch of... Oh, yeah. I thought about that. Okay. This stretch of deaths and how much this as a story tool...

impacts us really does underline with the bullet what a failure to improvise you can't just stack up bodies you need to make us care and if you make us care we are putty in your hands at these moments of self-sacrifice or you know whatever else it might be my number one moment is

was my number one experience that I had in story this year. Do you, wait, wait, wait. Pause, Steve. Do you know what it is? You know what it's from. Do you know what it is? My guess was that this was the Gaty Prime sequence from Dune, which was your favorite movie theater moment of the year. You're close, but not quite. Steve, will you play the clip? Let's go! Let's go!

That is, of course, Paul Atreides. Hell yeah. Riding the sandworm for the first time. And very specifically.

I want to say, so I saw this a couple of times in theaters. And the first time I saw it with our pal Rob Mahoney in the city at the IMAX. And I would say in that screening, the Gaty Prime sequence was like the thing that most astounded me. Then the second time I came down to LA, we saw it at the LIMAX theater. If I recall correctly, Steve was on my left, you were on my right. Sean was one over from you and the rest of the crew was sat all around us.

And this moment happened. And I think, I think it's part of the reason why I have really come to drill down on this moment is because I had already seen it. And nevertheless, watching this overwhelms me again in a way that I didn't think, well, I've already been to the airport. I already seen this. Like I, you know, it's like, um, and it's a, a,

visceral experience. It's an overwhelming visual. It's an overwhelming sound. It's an overwhelming score. You feel like you're on a ride of some kind. And then it was also just profoundly emotional as we hear in the clip that

We see this... We can't really connect with Paul's face, though we do get the quiet moments of him setting the thumper and all of that before that. So we're with Timmy before it, but we're seeing it through Zendaya's, Chani's face, all of the Fremen taking in what this means. Her face that she's proud of him and then a little scared of the fervor that's cropping up around her as a...

It's one of the most important moments in the books. The fact that Denis nailed it on screen. The fact that I got to watch it with all of you and, like, hear you guys respond to it. The fact, it was like, the fact that we were with the Ringer vs. Pham. Yeah, that was special. And then also, because, you know, and then also Sean, who is, like, such our beloved snobby pal, was there and also just...

giddy with the experience of this decades old story that you and i have loved for a very long time that we get to see faithfully and beautifully adapted in this and just to be using every tool in in a filmmaker's arsenal to when you talk about the kings of adaptation weiss and benioff

You know, they deserve plenty of credit. For a time. Until they destroy us. But what Denis has done is he has like really justified. It's not just we want some money out of squeeze some money out of this dune property. It's like, how can I make this book experience a very,

visceral, three-dimensional experience for you. And that is what he has done. Your clip and your choice is perfect. I loved your moment, but this is the moment for me because of that just physical exhilaration that came along with it. And it also makes the case that

And we talked about this a lot with the first Dune because the first Dune came out during COVID and people don't want to go to the movie theater and like wildly understandable. And so a lot of people watched it at home and that is like perfectly acceptable and fine. But to watch it on the big screen with the sound and the overwhelm of it, again, makes that...

case for film cinema as a medium to be experienced in a dark dark room with a big big screen which plenty of people I guess can accomplish with their home setups but it's not the same as sharing it with people so go to the movies movies matter anyway that's my number one moment and I shared it with you and I shared it with Steve and John I wish you had been there with us when we did it so we had our popcorn buckets

We did. We did. Movie magic. That was my runner up when I was thinking of my dune pics. It's a fucking great one. I have no notes. I love this pod. It's always so fun to relive these moments. I know. We're lucky. This is our job. I know. Talking about this stuff. It's wild. Amazing. It's really great. Great one. It was awesome to see that together. I can remember turning to you and like, oh, my God.

I feel like I came down for like 24 hours for that. I feel like that was like a really quick trip for me where I was just like, I'm just coming down to watch a movie with my pals and then I'll be gone again. So, yeah. I didn't do it for Craven, but I did do it for Dune Part 2. And that was a grievous error that you'll carry with you forever, not having been here to watch Craven with us.

I'll think about it. Yeah. Okay. Speaking of things, Joanna, that we share together. I do know what your number one is. Yeah. I do know what your number one is. Yeah. I assumed this was considered a lock for me to pick this one. It is my House of the Dragon pick, Steve. Can we hear it? Yeah.

That is a wordless clip, but we can hear so much. That is, of course, Maelys and Rhaenys falling to their deaths. That is Vhagar's jaws clenching around Maelys and... Paula Fairfield, once again. Star of the show. Specifically, the thing that I am picking is...

That look. Maylee's looking back at her rider, at Rhaenys, once more before they both die. And that is from The Red Dragon and the Gold, the fourth episode of season two of House of the Dragon. That's from the Battle of Rook's Rest, an episode that we loved, a general battle sequence that we loved. We talked about this for many, many, many hours on many pods this summer. Yeah.

And, you know, as this is happening again right now, like I broke down in tears on Talk of Thrones and House of R, like sharing with you and Chris and with you, like why this meant so much to me and I think did to a lot of Thrones fans and a lot of fantasy fans. And, you know, what you selected from the sewing captured a lot of this as well. You just felt here the way that House of the Dragon, the way that this series was

Dating back to season one, you mentioned Aemon claiming Vhagar. It was so palpable there. Celebrating and embracing Vhagar.

what it means to make a fantasy show, to be a fantasy story, to live in a fantasy world, and why that means so much to so many people, and why it was so devastating to so many people, including me, that that was like a largely discarded and abandoned element at the end of Game of Thrones in a way that I really still carry. And so in addition to this just being beautiful, it felt like

a little salve on my aching heart. On your where-the-fuck-is-ghost heart. Like, everything that builds up toward the battle in this episode. Sunfire head-butting Aegon when he goes to the dragon pit. When Rhaenys goes to the dragonmont to get Maelys.

The way that she's like resting her hands and head on her, the look that they share, the little smile that passes between them there.

There are so many other elements that are so beautiful and expertly executed in this sequence, too. You know, you really, like, feel—we talked about this, obviously, at length in the summer—you felt the horror and the cost and the consequence of unleashing Dragon War. Yeah, yeah.

When Vhagar, a moment that I know you really loved, we see those Vhagar wingtips over the edge of the tree line. When we look down after the battle and the scarred and scorched ground, when Kristen reaches out and touches the armor and just a plume of ash pops out. It is inescapable what they have brought into their world. Yeah.

And you just feel the show in this stretch, like really humming. And I think in episode seven as well, at a perfect frequency, it's,

into the adaptive liberties and opportunities that fire and blood affords, like something like seeing what really transpired between Aegon and Aemond, right? That was like, oh, whoa, all this new information, new perspective. This is really fun. This is really cool. Honoring that pledge from the pilot, not only what's passing between the blacks and the greens, but inside of each faction, right? That the only thing that could tear down the House of the Dragon was itself idea. You're like, oh, here it is. Here it is.

Dragon War, but most beautifully, you felt what it meant to be a writer. Like, you felt what it meant to be a dragon writer. And you have to understand that in this show. You have to, to get it right. The depth of that bond. Yeah. I think also from a... I love everything you just said, and I love podcasting with you and talking to you about the story. I think also from a storytelling perspective, it really confirms...

Something I am so insistent on, which is that shock and surprise are no replacement for surprise.

It's not about the shock and surprise. We knew this was coming. Yes. We knew that from the moment Eve Best gets on screen as Rhaenys in season one, episode one, we know we only have a certain amount of time with her. We plotted out to, you know, the episode, which one had to be Rook's Rest. We were, like, waiting for this. We were anticipating it. And, um...

So it doesn't have to be a shock or a surprise or, you know, ooh, spoiler, spoiler, spoiler. Like, we as book readers know what's coming, and then it was beautifully delivered and devastating anyway. And, you know, on the flip side of that, I think Blood and Cheese was, like, slightly less perfectly executed. And so there's, like, Eve Best, the way this was set up,

I love you highlighting that look, which was so powerful to me. And actually that was thinking about you and only you in that moment when they lock eyes, I was thinking about you and the way that you talk about magical creatures and their connections to, to their, you know, human counterparts and stories. But also for me, it's just that decision to go back that she's sort of clear of the battle. Yeah. And she turns around and goes back. And I,

The dumb interpretation that it had anything to do with her husband and his infidelities. Yeah. Like, get out of here with that. This is a warrior, and this is a fighter, and this is a battle, and this is one she can't abandon. And she goes back knowing exactly what's going to happen to her, and she does it anyway. Oh, my God. I just love it. It's so good. The depth and the might and the very specific nature of that bond, like that forges between –

A dragon and a rider. And like we talk a lot about I always really love to invoke that line from Fire and Blood. We shall not pretend to any understanding of the bond between dragon and dragon riders. And like the thing that I loved so much about this moment is that it was a way of saying that's OK, because this told you everything.

You see the fire go out and you see the choice for in that last breath is going to be like them sharing something that only they could understand what was passing between. Told us everything we needed to know and I really am grateful for it, genuinely. You'll also never understand the bond between a House of R podcaster and a House of R podcaster. No, but that brings me to my bonus pick, which is our tattoos. We have...

How can it not be one of my top moments of the year? We got magic tattoos. We got Apple War tattoos. Of course, that's one of the highlights. The Apple Wars are eternal, Joanna. Forever etched on our flesh. Totally normal thing to do when we did it.

This is beautiful. This is wonderful. I loved it. I loved it. I love you too. You're the best. You're the best. What a year. It was a beautiful year. Another great year together, man. Yeah. Can't wait to do it again next year. I know. Okay. We did it. That's a wrap. That's a wrap on our top 10 moments of 2024. Thank you to the best team of 2024 or any other fucking year.

Steve Ullman. Yeah. John Richter. John. Arjuna Ramgopal and Jomi Adeneron. What a squad. And we should say all the people who helped on video, like our move to video, the talk to Thrones, we had like a whole team.

whole team of people on Talk the Thrones every week. It was wild. Unbelievable. But all the support we got this year is just really incredible. Stefano Sanchez will be helping us with this episode. So a thank you to Stef for this and many other episodes. And yeah, to Jack and the entire crew for everything all year. It has been a blast. And of course, thank you to the Bad Babies. Yeah. For spending another year with us. We never take it for granted that you choose to spend your time with us. We are...

genuinely fortunate to get to do this with each other and with all of you. What a gift. Happy New Year, my love. Happy New Year, my darling. I'll see you in 2025. Bye. Tears. I'm a wreck right now.