Top 10 Moments of 2022
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The time has come to get ready for the 2022 World Cup. And what better way to prepare than by revisiting the World Cup's most amazing goals? I'm Brian Phillips. I'm making a podcast about the history of the men's World Cup, told through the stories of 22 iconic goals. The show's called 22 Goals. It's out now on the Ringer Podcast Network, and we're having so much fun. ♪

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into the Ringerverse here on the Ringer Podcast Network. I'm Mallory Rubin, and it is my absolute pleasure to invite you not only to Westeros, to Middle Earth, to Ferex, to so many of the magical worlds and realms that we visited together this year, but also to join us right here on the Ringer's Nexus Podcast feed for all things fandom.

Joining me today so that we may embrace in our shared love of content much as Eagly and Peacemaker once wrapped their wings and arms around each other. It's my house of our time.

Co-host Joanna Robinson. Oh, Mallory, I'm so thrilled to be here. And I really wish that our listeners could have just seen you like literally rocking your arms as if clasping eagerly to your chest. It was incredible stuff. If only. Boy, Jo, we are here today. Yeah. To count down our 10 favorite moments from the year 2019.

in genre stories, the year in nerd culture. But before we explain the rules of our countdown, before we reveal our respective lists, it's programming reminders time, isn't it always? Here at the top of the pod. And boy, are we in the year-end swing of things here at the Ringerverse next week.

Junior Mint, get ready because Mint Edition will be highlighting some of the best things that we missed on the feed this year. Steve, please consider this. Not the first and not the last. Formal request for some 1899 discussion on that bot. In German. Soon to come. Later next week.

Ben Lindberg and pals will be highlighting the best video games of the year. Ben, Steve and Jomie also have a pod already up on the feed on Midnight Suns at the state of superhero games. So we have some fun video game pods aplenty right now. Please check them out. Then Joe and I will be back.

a little bit later for some more year end, year ahead, special pods, more details coming soon. We'll have some House of Midnight action coming on the feed. It's going to be a month of celebration, so stay tuned. Joe, if people are wondering, well, boy,

How can I follow all of that this holiday season? What would you tell them? Wow, what a great question. I'm so glad you asked me. Listen, first and foremost, I would recommend that folks just, I don't know, subscribe to the podcast. Why not? And listen to every single episode. Why not? I mean, that's what I do. So even the video game ones, which I don't understand, but I listen to them. So there you go. Also...

You want to follow us on social, right? Keep, keep Joby employed through the holidays. Right. So, you know, on Twitter, on Instagram, on Tik TOK at ringer verse, wherever, wherever you find your social needs on peach. If you're Mallory, you know, it's not like that.

Also, I would remiss if I did not invite you to email us at hobbitsanddragons at gmail.com. Currently, that inbox is flooded with White Lotus theories because that's just what's happening right now. And if you're curious as to why, you might want to head over to the Prestige TV podcast feed. Mallory and I and a special guest are doing some White Lotus theories in advance of the finale. So, yeah.

You know, those are just some of the fine ways that you can keep in touch with us. Send us a Raven if you want. I can't promise it will be able to find us and it's kind of cold. So maybe you shouldn't do that, but we're around. Oh boy. Tough time for the actual Baltimore Ravens right now. Oh, what's going on with them? I can't get into it. Okay. I just, I just Google Lamar Jackson knee and, uh,

you'll have an insight into my current emotional state. My dad's going to be in town for Raven Steelers though. And that honestly, I can't wait to watch the game with him. How do you feel about the TikTok I sent you of those two soccer players kissing? I responded by asking you if you were following West Ham TikTok because Jack from White Lotus is a West Ham guy. I just assumed that there was a White Lotus connection. I told you that's how deep my dedication to White Lotus is.

Oh, boy. Great stuff. I love it. Okay. Today's podcast. What is it? What are we doing? How's it going to work? So glad you asked. Yeah. If you have ever listened to a house of our hype meter or a house of our top moments pod, you know the drill. We are counting down from 10 to 1. We have each made our personal lists of our top 10 favorite moments. More on what's eligible in a second. But we have not shared our lists with each other.

We have shared them with Steve. So Steve and only Steve knows what is to come today. How many moments will overlap? We will find out together. Now, if we have the same pick, the same moment, we will discuss it, as always, at the higher of the two spots. So if, for example, we have both selected Matt Smith's Milo dancing in Morbius as one of our 10 favorite moments of the year.

We will discuss that at the higher of the two spots. Joe, I'm assuming that's your number one. And so we will be waiting until the end of the pod to discuss that. But who can say for sure? Now I'm just like watching Steve's face because Steve knows all the answers. And I'm like...

Oh, boy. Just had to get one Morbius mentioned in today. So that was it. I'm glad you did. That was probably the only Morbius mentioned. You don't know. It's Morbian time right now. Maybe I do have... I can't believe you remembered his character's name was Milo. Maybe I do have a Milo clip. You don't know. We'll find out together. Oh, boy. Okay. What's eligible for selection? So...

This is, as you may have gleaned from listening to this podcast on the Ringiverse feed, a Ringiverse top moments countdown, meaning that our list will largely consist of moments from shows, movies, stories that we covered on the feed this year. But...

Anything from the nerd culture and fandom realms, any fantasy story, sci-fi story, superhero story, comic story, any moment from a genre story is eligible today, even if over the course of this past calendar year, we covered it on, say, or our colleagues covered it on Prestige or Big Pick. Yeah. Instead of Ringiverse. Maybe we'll cover these things more on Ringiverse in the future. Who can say? Yeah.

We agreed that we will each get one wildcard pick today, as we have done for past hype meters. Now, what does that mean in this context? Honestly, I don't know. Anything. I'll just say I had such a hard time narrowing down my list to 10 that I'm not sure I actually used my wildcard, but I guess we'll find out together in real time. Finally, on the rules front, spoiler warning. Our friendly neighborhood spoiler warning is...

Folks, it's not so friendly today because it is basically that anything from 2022 is on the table and any pick that we make then opens up that entire IP universe for discussion. So obviously no spoilers from future releases, but everything that is already out in the world, fair game for discussion. I don't think I have anything too wild.

In terms of like... Me neither. And there was one thing that I considered picking, which I'll mention later, that I didn't pick because I thought, oh, I'm... This came out really recently. It's maybe too soon to spoil this, but... All right. We have a lot to cover. Yes. Steve, are you ready with your soundboard? I'm very ready. Big buddy. I'm earning it today. Big Steve Pod. Big Steve Pod. Oh, boy. Okay.

Let's start at number 10. Yeah. Joanna Robinson. Yeah. What do you got? Steve, will you play this clip, please? Oh,

Did that go longer than you hoped it would? Maybe. Not as long as it could have gone, that's for sure. That is the Strange vs. Strange musical note fight from Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. I actually don't have a ton of MCU film representation on the list. Same. And I felt like I should have something, and that was genuinely the moment that delighted me, like, delighted me the most. There's a lot of, like, feelings in Wakanda Forever, but, like...

that moment when you realize that you're in the middle of a Looney Tune as the notes start flying across the room was just like, like pure thrill for me in the theater. So I thought I would do the music note fight. What do you say, Mal? Yeah.

Absolutely phenomenal pick. I love it. I'm glad we got some strange in here. That's an incredible scene. We had such fun watching it. Such fun talking about it. Great pick. What a twist. Didn't see that coming. I was wondering which MCU movie, if any, you would have. So now we know. Now I wonder if you have any. I'm curious. We'll find out. Okay. It's time for my number 10. I think there's a chance you have this on your list. But Steve...

If not, can you please play my clip? What are you doing? Taking my shoes off. You should take yours off too. It's good to touch the earth with your bare feet. It's grounding. Come on. I don't want to miss the next one. The Sandman. Dream receiving death's wisdom. This is episode six, The Sound of Her Wings. Sandman, an uneven show.

But this episode, and particularly this entire stretch of Dream walking alongside Death as Death does her work, this examination of Death's gift, of the relationship between the Endless and the people of this realm, was just really extraordinary and stuck with me forever.

most of anything from the show and stuck with me more than many other moments from many other experiences this year, which is why it made the cut here. There were so many different snippets of conversation that I could have selected for the soundbite. Death saying, people may not be ready for my gift, but they get it anyway. Or that culmination of Dream saying, you've taught me something I had forgotten. I thank you, my sister. I think this really captured not only, of course, the essence of

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

And it really lingered. And I've, I've thought about it a lot since. So that's my number 10. That is a great pick. I was just remembering, do you remember our very first type meter over a year ago? Picking Sandman, even though it didn't come out that calendar year. Pivotally. Because Netflix is like coming soon. And you were like, what does soon mean in the grand scheme of things? So how fun it was to finally get to do that.

uh, to pod with Mark Bernard and to, yeah, all of that was like a really great experience. And yeah, Sandman was uneven overall, but, um, I was just thinking, you know, Boyd, our guy Boyd showed up in the Indiana Jones trailer and I was just thinking like, what a time. I gasped and then I shouted Joe in my living room. For me? Well, um, but yeah, we get to share more Boyd together soon. I cannot wait. But the bounty, the

The Sound of Our Wings is an incredible episode of television. And I would encourage people, even if you, you could watch that as a standalone. It really works as a standalone. So I would encourage you, if you skipped The Sandman because you weren't sure it was for you, you could watch, I think it's episode six, five? Six. Something like that, six. You know, you could just pop in and watch that and see like, oh, maybe this is something I want to watch more of. So I would highly recommend it. Great pick. Love it. Okay, Joe, what's your number nine? Steve? I haven't seen you since you gave up your armor. How have you been?

Yes! I'm thrilled right now.

Did anyone think Book of Boba Fett was going to make it on the list? But it did. Guess what? Yeah. Well, I figured I'd leave that for you. So, okay. I assumed that Mallory would cover other things that happen on Book of Boba Fett, but my priority now and forever is

Is one Mr. Cobb Vanth, who sashays his way back onto the screen. I was thrilled. You and I thought he might show up based mostly on me scrutinizing his facial hair on a late night talk show appearance, as I want to do. It's always wig watch, hair watch corner with Joe. Always. Never stops. Oh, my God. I saw I watched. Here's in the 1960s Parent Trap with Hayley Mills.

Oh boy, not since I was a kid. Yeah. Long ago. I have like seen that movie one million times. I watched it with a friend of mine last night. She's like, is the dad in this movie wearing a wiglet? And he is. And I had never noticed. And it just like changed a classic movie that I've seen a million times. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is Cobb Banth is here.

And not only that, he is like flirting hardcore with Mando. It's like Mando's like, can I buy you a drink? And then he says that thing about Mando's smile, the helmet. It's a lot. So Cobb Vanth. We ship it. This is called Cobb Vanth Flirts with Mando. That's the that's what I named it in my top 10 list. Beautiful. So, you know. Oh, extraordinary. And then I started sending Mallory like not safe for work fan art of Cobb Vanth that didn't

Steve's on camera this week, so I got to see him react to that. So that's great. It's pod research. It was pretty safe for work, to be honest. I loved it. I'm just overwhelmingly delighted right now. Boy. Boy. Okay, well, I will just say that we have more Boba to come. Spoiler. Great.

Great. Boba. Best show of the year. More picks from the book of Boba Fett that have nothing to do with titular character Boba Fett. Correct. Okay. Well, we're staying in the galaxy far, far away for my number nine. Steve? What have you become? I am what you made me.

Joanna, I can only be who I am. And being who I am is saying that this was one of my favorite moments of the year in nerd culture. Easily. If I had to make one bet about what would be on this list, I bet that you would pick this moment from Obi-Wan. Hit me. Oh, boy. I move this up and down to any number of spots on my list, but I always knew that this showdown between Darth Vader and Obi-Wan Kenobi was

Vader repaying fire with fire at the end of part three, which was the third episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi ever heard of it, would make the cut here. I did not think that we would get this showdown, this meeting between Vader and Obi-Wan, this initial confrontation so early in the run. And obviously it really changed what we expected for the rest of the show after we did get it.

But this sequence, episode three overall, which I loved, and...

This stretch, this interaction between Vader and Obi-Wan was really everything that I wanted this show to be. It encapsulates so much of what I was hoping we would get from Obi-Wan Kenobi and so much of what has lingered and lasted for me, even amid an imperfect conclusion to the season, the way that their lightsabers first ignited in the dark, the power

almost like overwhelmingly oppressive presence of Obi-Wan's fear and his guilt, how weak he is in this moment with the force and the way that that sets up the really satisfying evolution of him regaining his comfort and confidence and strength in the force over the ensuing episodes. The fire, the Mustafar callback. We all know how everyone here at the ringer verse feels about revenge of the sip and Mustafar by everyone. I mean me and band, but that's okay.

It's a fucking great hypocrisy. A callback to Moustafar. It's just like...

100 times out of 100, I'm going to be in the bag for that. And I was this time too. Anakin's desire, Vader's desire to make Obi-Wan suffer the way that Vader says the years have made you weak. The way that he says you should have killed me when you had the chance. Now, is that line a little more complicated to revisit after the finale? Sure. But we're talking about moments. An entire series. Yeah.

Your pain has just begun. That...

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

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

I think, you know, we get, it's a great point, Joe, because we got so much this year and there are these things to like love and these things that resonate and pop even inside of a series or a film that like isn't as successful. And I, it is interesting to think back and like see what pops into your mind first when you think about what stood out to you this year. Um,

Okay. I'm going to guess you don't have Obi-Wan on your list anyway. I don't have Obi-Wan on my list. I was counting on you to put that on there. I honestly considered going with just the trailer and like when we first did our trailer freak out and just talked about Ewan McGregor's beard for an hour and 45 minutes on a pod.

I thought you might also just like put EOP noises on there too or something like that. Who knows? Steve, can you insert an EOP fart here, please, for the art of the pod? Sophistication. Ha ha ha!

The French champagne. Yeah. So I assumed you'd have this. And what's funny about this episode, episode three is I wasn't on this podcast. I was like sick that week or something like that. So I just got to listen to you and Ben talk about it. Like I was just a fan of the podcast. That was really fun for me. So, I mean, I always love talking to, and what, and I said this to you later, but like

What's true about that episode is like I didn't love it. And then listening to you and Ben talk about it, I wound up loving it a lot more. And that's like one of your gifts and one of Ben's gifts. So, yeah, I'm really glad you picked that moment. I think that like one of the things about that moment and even Obi-Wan more broadly is like it –

It was an exciting time for Star Wars fandom, even when something like didn't fully click or let us down a bit. And thinking back to like the, like genuinely thinking back to the, the jubilation of watching that trailer and parsing it with you thinking about getting to see the first couple episodes at Star Wars celebration and the fever pitch in the room. It was just a really cool highlight. Yeah.

this year. And also like it was, I, I fell into a lot of novels and comics and I love anything in Star Wars that like takes me deeper into the, into the world and into the canon. So it was a fun summer. It was. And I genuinely got very emotional, like watching Hayden feel like he was being like re re-embraced by the fandom that, that like, wonderful. However I feel about the prequels, I, I have no, nothing but tender feelings towards Hayden Christensen.

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You were talking about what we discover about ourselves as we pick what moments we have here. I feel like a pattern is going to start emerging here for me. Steve, can you play my number eight clip? I got starlight. I got sweet dreams. I got more curves. Who could ask for anything more? Who could ask for anything more?

We have my first, I almost picked it, but knew you would. I feel so seen and known. All right. So this is from The Boys. Ever heard of it? Team series on Amazon and it's third season, right? And we did not cover The Boys together. It was sort of in the midst of a lot of other things going on. I did get to do a few like House of Midnight episodes about The Boys. But...

This musical sequence with Frenchie and Kimiko that bursts out late in the season was such a full-blown delight for me. And this is the second musical moment on this list. For me, it is not going to be the last musical moment. And what is emerging for me is... Exciting! Yeah.

I love musicals and I love it when music is involved in the story. And yeah, this is just like such an, like. I might know what the next one is. Cool. So like this, that was my attempt at a poker face. This is, this is such a brilliant, like, you know, the boys is so enjoyable because it is so grotty and it is so like filthy and blah, blah, blah. So to have this just beautiful, like,

homage to the glorious Technicolor musicals of yore with, like, you know, two of our most lethal characters on the show. They genuinely went for it. Like, to listen to these actors talk about, you know, they've done so much physical training for years and years for martial arts, and they're like, it was so much harder training to dance for this. You know, so, like, learning the choreography, how much, like, classic golden age of musical choreography that they worked into the sequence. And it was just genuine, like...

Shows do musical sequences all the time, but usually they sort of get away with doing it kind of goofy because they're like, this isn't what we do, so we're going to do it kind of goofy. They did it, and it's so good. And I just loved this moment. I love that it is a brief little shiny bubble and then pops immediately because that's what The Boys is about. Yeah.

Yeah. Love the show. Love this moment. One of my like strongest highlights of the year. Mallory Rubin. Fantastic pick. I, I will, I guess this is a spoiler for the rest of my list just by spoiling something that isn't on it, but I will say the hardest thing for me to finalize my list was that I didn't, I didn't end up with a moment from the boys. And that was like, as Steve receiving my panic, like,

slacks in the wee hours can tell you I was like having a meltdown about it because The Boys was absolutely one of my favorite shows of the year without question. It's one of my favorite shows, period. I was so sad not to get to talk about it with you and cover it with the team, but I loved it. If we had done a list of our top 10 shows of the year, it would have been on my list without question. Again, the exercise in nature of the moments is

I almost... I did consider it your pick, but again, I felt confident you would have it. Though I think the one I came next closest to picking was crawling up the penis and exploding the body because I think that it sums up... So I'll throw that out there now in real time as an honorable mention. It's my first honorable mention. Love it. Because...

Remember the, I mean, of course you're going to remember this, the exploding whale from season two. I do. How can the boys top that? The boys won't top that. And then like literally immediately, immediately in the premiere. And the fact that the boys is always pushing, pushing, pushing, not only the limits of our expectations as viewers, but of what,

can happen inside of a superhero tale, which is, of course, the point of the show. Just wonderful. So I'm really glad you had that on your list. Wonderful. Okay. I think there's a chance you might have, if not this next moment, then at least something from this story. But maybe not, because there was a lot to pick from this year. Steve, are you able to play my clip for number eight? Thank you. And to answer your question, yes, I make the decisions myself.

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

Another show that we didn't have the pleasure of regularly discussing week in and week out, that we had wonderful pods on the feed. Loved the finale, thought it was brilliant. Loved the... In a show that was consistently fourth wall breaking, the finale was fourth wall obliterating. Yeah.

so highly meta in nature. Like this sequence, everything that they're talking about here from Kevin saying that needed Jen to wait until the camera was off before transforming from She-Hulk into Jen because the team had moved on to another project. Jen saying of Todd, the powers aren't the villain. He is on Bruce. Save it for the movie. Jen saying, when are we getting the X-Men

The X-Men, just such an inventive and unapologetically unafraid examination of the genre that I really genuinely appreciated and thought was so smart and so deft. And then I will say that on the She-Hulk front, I have a kind of a coin flip situation between two potential moments.

I would like to officially thank Jen for easily facilitating this smuggle by mentioning and alluding to my other potential moment inside of this conversation with Kevin, allowing me to talk about it. Steve, can you play my bonus clip? Are we done here? Oh, would not mind seeing Daredevil again. A woman has needs. Historically, we've been light in that department.

I'm going to ask you to press pause on your thoughts and feelings on that for the moment. Okay. There's my girl.

This one's coming. All right. We can go right on then. I will respond to the first part and just say, you know, I've been for years and years now writing a book about Marvel Studios. And I just want to let you know that that moment allowed us to title one of our final chapters K-E-V-I-N, which is really fun. So, yeah. It's a tremendous moment. And addressing all those conversations that we've had about, like, you know,

third act CGI shit show and like all you know all the stuff that we criticize about Marvel as we love Marvel the fact that they're like yeah we know we've heard you we know so yeah a great great moment on a show that I really really loved and wish that you and I had gotten to if I had a time turner we would go back and cover that show together Steve will you play my number seven please I got bored one day when I put everything on a bagel

Everything. All my hopes and dreams, my old report cards, every breed of dog, every last personal ad on Craigslist, sesame, poppy seed. Salt. And it collapsed in on itself. 'Cause you see, when you really put everything on a bagel, it becomes this. Come on. Come on, Evelyn. The truth. What is the truth?

Nothing matters. Oh, Joey. You don't believe that? Feels nice, doesn't it? If nothing matters, then all the pain and guilt you feel for making nothing of your life goes away. Suck into a bagel.

So that is the everything bagel monologue from Everything Everywhere All at Once. And I could have cut down. Thank you so much. Steve did have to cut down some of my other clips because I did get a little, like, long with some of my clips. And we have a lot to get through. But...

But I'm glad that he let me play this whole one because I almost picked another moment from this phenomenal movie that you and I did not get to cover, but we both talked about on The Big Pick on separate episodes. Yeah. I picked it as my favorite movie of the year at that point, and I think it might still be. This is a phenomenal pick. Yeah.

There is, I almost picked this other moment at the end, sort of this like more straightforward conversation between mother and daughter that I found really beautiful. But I wanted to pick this Everything Bagel moment because, you know, we're obviously in the throes of thinking about the multiverse and the opportunity for the multiverse to provide interesting modes of storytelling. And also, this is a genre list, right?

So I could pick a straightforward moment for everything or everywhere all at once, or I could pick a moment where the Daniels decided to make an everything bagel, a symbol of like depression and nihilism. And then have this big speech with a swelling score, this huge like mother-daughter confession moment.

you know, lean into nihilism moment and then just sort of like undercut it with this little like musical tag. And then she literally gets like plowed, looting tune plowed into a wall. So like it's, and that's what the movie is constantly just like irreverent, but also really profound at the same time. And using those genre moments to tell a really, really deep story and, and makes the argument for us an argument that we tend to make

On this podcast, which is just like, you know, as Mallory likes to say, it matters. If something is a fantasy story, it matters that it's a fantasy story, right? And also that genre storytelling can be some of the most emotionally profound, intellectually stimulating storytelling that there is. So that is the everything bagel speech from everything everywhere all at once.

Amazing pick, amazing speech, amazing film. So glad this is on your list. I couldn't love that movie more. Like the inventiveness, the pure pursuit of originality. Absolutely wonderful. Maybe I'm going to go rewatch that this weekend. Hell yeah. Delightful. Okay. My number seven. Right now, we need to talk more than ever because things are getting just complicated.

I had a lot more complicated than Legos up the nose, you know? I just... I don't want you to forget that I'm here. And I'll always be here. No matter what. Because you're my brother. And I love you. There is nothing in this world, okay? Absolutely nothing that will ever change that. You got that? Yeah. And I'm always here for you too. I know. I know you are. Come here.

Stranger Things, season four, volume two, episode nine, The Piggyback. I would like to thank this super long season of TV and this particular Surfer Boys pizza establishment for allowing this show to rediscover the heart of it. And the reason...

addition to all of the mythology of the Upside Down and everything that we get to learn about Vecna, Mind Flayer mythology on spooling like the tentacles of a smoky spider. The thing for me, at least, that I have always loved and continue to appreciate most about Stranger Things is that it is a coming-of-age tale about

change and growth and the friendships that you carry through with you. And Jonathan and Will are brothers, but their brotherly bond and their friendship and their belief and care and tenderness for each other was one of the things that helped me fall in love with Stranger Things the most in the first place. And then it kind of went away. And to get that back at such a pivotal moment for Will as he is...

exploring who he is, his sexuality, trying to figure out what he feels like he's ready to say to Mike and to his friends. And for Jonathan, the character who always saw Will most clearly to be able to do that for him again, and for there to be room inside of the show for an emotional, beautiful relationship

moment like this amid all of the set pieces was just really wonderful and really important. And the relationship between the kids and the show is just the thing that I love most about it. And I was glad to get that here. Did I almost pick Hopper and Joyce finally hooking up amid the Joyce moans and both exclaim subtitle? I did. Yes, I did. Joanna. Did I almost pick Steve Harrington's chest hair? No.

I mean, yes. Did I almost pick the way that flesh distending wet leaf forever changed the way that we recorded our own podcast and thought about subtitling television? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I considered it all. But Jonathan and Will,

That's the moment. I'm shocked, shocked, shocked you didn't pick Mike's speech to Elle. Slightly less moving. Yeah, it's a beautiful moment and a great moment for a character like Jonathan who, you know, I think for seasons sort of was struggling to have a storyline that we could connect to. So taking him out of the Nancy...

you know, maelstrom and, and making it about him being the big brother. Uh, you know, he didn't get a ton of stuff to do, but this was a really key moment. I'm glad you picked it. Um, I would talk about stranger things more, but maybe I'll have a chance to do that later. So, you know, Oh, interesting. Uh, Steve, uh, as, as I alluded to earlier, I, I have a She-Hulk mode of my own. So Steve, will you play us everyone's favorite couple from, uh, from She-Hulk please?

How do you know that?

Can I hear their heartbeats? You can hear their heartbeats? Come on, that was a little far-fetched. I can hear yours, too. Your heart's beating pretty fast. What? No, it's not. I'm healthy. Okay. All right. Two eclipses and they're not where you think. All right, in honor of Van, I had to put Mads and Wongers in there. Phenomenal. Of course, that's my smuggle, but...

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

But fit perfectly. Like, you know, I don't, I don't feel like this Matt Murdock has nothing to do with the Matt Murdock that we met, uh, over on Netflix. Um, but it works so perfectly here from this moment where Tatiana is so good in the entire series, but the way that she just like speaks for us all when she goes like basically cross-eyed, like staring at Matt as he is listening to her heartbeat. Um,

And the walk of shame that happens later. Like, I mean, this is just incredible television. Absolutely phenomenal. Thrilled this is on your list. As alluded to earlier, torment for me to pick between my two She-Hulk contenders, but delighted that this is here. And Daredevil's arrival in She-Hulk was so anticipated and so talked about and the craving was...

so present for so long. We get, you know, we knew from the trailer and the marketing and then you get the little glimpse of the helmet and you gotta wait and wait and wait. And it would have been so easy for it to be a letdown, but somehow it exceeded expectations every single second. I think I like, I'm, I think I said this at the time, but like, if we could just bottle their chemistry, I feel like we could solve our energy crisis. It's just like,

At this point, I'm not even sure I want a Daredevil show without Tatiana on it. Like, I'm like, why do I have to watch a show about Matt without Jen there? Why would I want to? So, you know.

Steve just gave me a perfect silently I agree with you face. It's pretty, yeah, pretty solid. Anyway. I'm so happy that Daredevil is here. Let's get in touch with K-E-V-I-N and make that happen. Oh, boy. Okay. Yeah. I am also about to select a moment from a show that we have already talked about, but it's a new moment. Steve, can you play my number six? You've taught him well.

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

I don't want to be a dick about this moment that is obviously very emotional for you, and I cannot wait. But I just want to say, when you just hear it, the speech really, really shines through in this moment. Yeah, it does. In an audio-only experience. It's not the same. Joe. Yeah. In perhaps the...

We're talking about moments and perhaps the least surprising moment in recorded human history. I have selected as one of my favorite moments of the year. One of my all time favorite characters, Ahsoka, finally being in a scene with Luke talking about one of her favorite characters in the history of the world, Grogu.

I just like, oh, my heart is so full when I revisit this and when I think about it. Boba overall, not in my top 10 shows of the year had this been a top 10 shows list. No. However, the Mando episodes of Boba that existed inside of Boba and episode six in particular, still among my favorite hours of TV of the year. And this stretch in particular was just so wonderful. R2-D2?

Just hanging out. Luke training Grogu. We get Yoda mentions here. We get all of these Empire callbacks and Dagobah training parallels. We get such a meaningful...

download of Grogu history here and every kernel of Grogu history is precious, as precious as a blue macaroon that Grogu once snacked on at school. The Order 66 and then vomited up, you know, it's air travel. It's tough for some. Tough on the tongue. The Order 66 flashback that we get to glimpse here. Unbelievable. And of course, what precedes this conversation between Ahsoka and Luke

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

He's right there. They're going to have to make us wait for another, like, what, episode? This was also, I mean, you did, you did...

You did Cobb Vanth already, but you did Cobb Bando. Lest we forget, this episode, episode six, is called From the Desert Comes a Stranger because this is also the episode that gave us Cad fucking Bane in live action emerging from the desert, boots crunching, that Tatooine sand to challenge Cobb Vanth. Steve, is it possible you'd give me a little taste of this too? Of course.

And who might you be? Okay. Well, I'll forgive you. I'll forgive you because you got a little Timmy on there. But like the rebook of Boba Cliffs is extraordinary, Mallory. I think it is, again, so emblematic of this exercise. Because like Boba wasn't just simply not one of my favorite shows of the year. But this episode contained so many things that I love about

about Star Wars of all of those all of those smuggles it's an episode of The Mandalorian it's a Mandalorian episode exactly and guess what I fucking love The Mandalorian can't wait to pot about that next year with you I'm excited the monumental moment though of of seeing Ahsoka and Luke together talking about Anakin alluding to Anakin Luke's father

Ahsoka's former master watching our sweet baby Grogu as they discuss his future. Luke is teacher like Joe. We are both such big fans of last Jedi and of Luke's overall arc and journey in this respect. And this is another really interesting installment. Grogu is a pupil, this idea that he's remembering his former life, Ahsoka, a former Padawan who then becomes this trailblazer and like fiercely independent thinker, all of this, but,

All of these elements here together. Like I have I really had wondered for so long what an Ahsoka Luke moment and what an Ahsoka Luke conversation would be like, how they would talk about Anakin, what that would mean for them. It's just a taste of it here. But Ahsoka Anakin is one of the Star Wars relationships that I care the most deeply about and I'm the most invested in. So like you give me that.

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

but Rosario is fantastic. That moment with, uh, you know, just shows us how much that, that Pedro can do with, you know, his voice only performance to say, you know, we came all this way. Right there. It's right there. It's right there. We little babies. We love 50 year old baby. Why do you think I came all this way? All right. Uh, boy, Steve, will you do me a huge solid and play my number five, please. Mm. Hmm.

At first regarded as a harmless game of make-believe, now has both parents and psychologists concerned. Studies have linked violent behavior to the game, saying it promotes satanic worship, ritual sacrifice, sodomy, suicide, and even...

We're an easy target. Exactly. We're the freaks because we like to play a fantasy game. It's force conforming. That's what's killing the kids. That's the real monster. All right. It is the introduction of Eddie Munson on Stranger Things. Um,

Steve very wisely shaved this down. It was much longer and involved what comes after this moment where Eddie gets up, walks down the table and is talking about Dungeons and Dragons where he starts talking about

to Dustin and Mike about how he's about to graduate, right? 86, my year, I can feel it, right? And he talks about how he found them as these like little lost sheep, little lost lambs, right? And brought them into this community and how it's going to be their jobs to do that for other kids going forward. And so, I mean, this is a delightful moment because Eddie Munson is a delightful character on a show that we really enjoyed covering together. But also, yeah,

The idea of this speech is very much that idea that I like to hit a lot, which is, you know, that line from Almost Famous that I quote all the time, which is the only currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you're uncool. So this idea of the community that forms around this team of kids here, the Hellfire Club, who play Dungeons and Dragons together, and what that connection, what storytelling and what that connection means to them and how that insulates them as a little community in a larger, meaner high school world. Yeah.

And I just want to say, like, us adding the hobbitsanddragons at gmail.com email this year has been such...

A joy for me to hear from all of our listeners who consider listening to this podcast, like gives them the same feeling that like they feel like they're sharing. Yeah. Maybe they, they, you know, in their friend group or in their family or whatever, you know, they're hanging around people who don't like to watch or read or, you know, whatever the same things that they like. And so then they come to this podcast and we all get to talk about it together. And that is so,

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

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

No doubt about it. Yeah. No doubt about it. Steve, how's the ringer verse dungeons and dragons campaign coming? 2023. It's happening. Okay. Oh yeah. Are we getting matching shirts? I love it. Okay. Yeah, we're doing that. Yeah. Merch. Can I introduce you to some merch? I, you know, I, you know, I have an abiding passion for merch. My number five, Steve, can we hear it? I choose defiant jazz.

Though this experience is in Helly's honor, I urge all the refiners to take advantage of the opportunity presented. Whoa. Wow. Another musical moment. That is on the list. Oh, yeah. Boy, this is a pod episode just laden with musical touches. I love it. Not the last one, I suspect. Nope.

That is the music dance experience from episode seven, Defiant Jazz of...

The Apple TV show, Severance. This was one of our favorite shows of the year. It was not something that we had the pleasure of covering here on Ringiverse, but we did have the absolute pleasure of chatting about the finale over on Prestige TV. And I cannot wait to get to talk about Severance season two. I cannot wait for the show to be back. I fucking loved this show.

Even though we didn't talk about it on RV, clearly eligible. Dystopian sci-fi. This is in the mix. Phenomenal little show. Phenomenal episode. Phenomenal scene. Dancing from Trammell Tillman, which, yes, this is a podcast and you can't see it, but I know if you've watched Severance, you can see it perfectly in your mind. You might have even seen that.

Steve Doreen impression. You might have even seen a GIF of it. Yeah, yeah. You might have even seen a GIF for him. The memes that this scene spawned, the lights, the music. I think one of my favorite things about it is the length of it. Every time you think it's about to end, it just keeps going. There is such a commitment to making us

and uncomfortable. It is just utterly surreal in a way that I think makes it like the show in miniature and encapsulates so much of what was memorable about the first season of Severance. Like, it's not just the...

oddity of what we're witnessing or the internet currency of the memes. So of course that's part of it. And it's part of what makes it exciting to theorize and parse and try to figure out the inner workings of this world, the severed floor on Lumen and what is happening and why people would have made this choice. But it is such a crucial, I think the first thing that you remember when you think of it is you remember the dancing, right?

But it is such a crucial moment and scene for the plot. Like, it's a big pivot point because this is Dylan's break. Hearing, we're flashing to the cuts of Daddy, and then he starts shouting, what's his name? Tell me! And bites Milchik as he takes him to the ground. Marks Innie, during the music dance experience, finds the

master key card in his pocket and doesn't yet know why his Audi put it there, but knows his Audi must have. And we know it was there for a fucking murder, dragging a blood leaking corpse across the floor. Dylan revealing the overtime protocol intel to the group and telling them they can wake us up like crazy.

This is an incredibly rich moment for everything that built to this point and then everything that's yet to come. There are a lot of different things I consider picking from Severance. The photo of Mark's wife, the, the heli reveal Irv going to find Bert, but music dance experience, I think captures everything that I loved about this show. I just feels like something that was so wholly specific to the Severance experience. Yeah.

I love this pick. Love that it's on here. I don't have a severance pick, but I loved covering this show with you. I cannot wait for the next season. And I would just encourage folks who listen to this podcast, if you haven't watched it yet, now's the perfect time. We're in like a little bit of a genre content valley. Like go watch Severance season one. It's such a fun theory show. You know, watch it with some pals and like, you know, try to figure out what's going on. Really fun. Yeah.

If I had, I almost picked a moment. It was on my long list. And if I had it, I was like, can I capture the audio of Dylan trying to stretch his entire body to hold, you know, everything open for the finale. I could feel my shoulders separating watching that.

It's just amazing. Yeah, and I had a great time watching that show, talking to you about it, talking to Steve about it. Steve and I were exchanging theories really early on in Severance, so that was a really good time. Love that show. Phenomenal. It's my turn? Yeah.

Steve, will you hit me with this, please? Number four. In the Vale, men are said to fuck sheep instead of women. I can assure you the sheep are prettier. Dear me. The prince has invited you to his wedding, Your Grace. Yes! It is in two days' time. God's been good.

All right, this is I'm Calling the Beesbury Mega Mix from House of the Dragon. There's obviously a ton of amazing moments that we could pick from House of the Dragon. I'm sure that Mallory has picked an extraordinary one. But I love the way that we latched really early on to our guy Bees.

and really enjoyed the way that he, his turn of phrase, the way that our guy, Steve, uh, definitely deployed the old bees, uh, stings, uh, throughout and the way in which like that I've heard from a lot of listeners that became that like people say that in their houses. Now they just like walk around going like, dear me, God's be good. So like the,

So like there's big picture stuff and big grandiose storytelling ideas and genres and tropes and things that we like to cover, but also love just like digging into the dumb, meaningless side stuff that, and then making it meaningful. Yeah, we find meaning in it together. Absolutely. Code and shorthand for us and our listeners. So that is, believe it or not, that is my main house, the dragon pick for this list. 10 out of 10, no notes. Thanks.

When I get to mine, I don't shock everyone here. I also have a House of the Dragon pick. So when I get to mine, I will reveal which moment from House of the Dragon I thought you were going to pick. But now that you have made your pick, it's clearly...

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

That feels right. It's wonderful. Should we both on a private Zoom chat send Steve what we think the overlap is going to be and then at the end he'll tell us if we were right? No, I mean, I know what it is at this point. You're bumping right up to it. You're bumping right up to it. I can see what's left on my list and I know exactly what the overlap is. Likewise, I see my final four here and I know which two you also have. Search your feelings. You know it to be true.

Oh, this is so fun. I love this. It's very sweet. What a great pick. Oh, bees. Fucking legend. He'll be with us forever. Yeah. He's going to be on the soundboard forever. Yeah. Yeah. You might have seen my- Kristen Cole can't- Can't small ball this away. Can't small ball our soundboard. Nope. Eat shit, Kristen. My number four. This place is amazing. The air is pristine. Underwater.

My mother told stories about a place like this. A protected land with people that never have to leave, that never have to change who they were. What reason do you have to reveal your secret to the world? Now I can just like see the small green shorts in front of me. Sorry, no, that's not the point of this clip.

You're welcome to take us to thigh corner anytime you'd like. That clip, of course, came from Ryan Coogler's Black Panther Wakanda Forever. It is not our first glimpse, technically, of Namor. We got to intriguingly see him hurl a helicopter into the air. But this is our first full, real glimpse

introduction, first full moment with Tenoch Huerta's Namor.

One of the best new character introductions in the history of the MCU. Just an electric performance. I could have picked any number of Namor moments from the film. As we talked about on our Wakanda Forever pod, all of those quieter conversations in particular, Namor and Shuri, Namor and Ramonda, were just wonderful. This first conversation, though, emerging from the water...

Our minds are racing immediately what it means that he was able to breach Wakanda's borders like that.

simultaneously like intruding on this deeply private and personal and tender moment between mother and daughter. And then also immediately establishing these connections between Talakhan and Wakanda. I loved visiting Talakhan. I loved learning Namor's origin inside of the MCU. I loved getting to hear him tell Shuri everything.

only the most broken people can be great leaders. There was such a richness with his character and his scenes in this movie. And this first full scene really like deliciously sets the tone for what's to come. And I just cannot wait to see Namor again in the MCU. So this was my MCU movie selection. Yeah. 10 out of 10 no notes. Great pick.

I was really stymied with Wakanda Forever. Like, I just didn't know. And also, I actually wasn't sure how to, like, how to clip it, to be honest with you. Unbelievably, this clip exists. It was a featured clip on YouTube. I'm proud of you for finding it. But this is a great pick. And we love Namor. And we love this performance. This is an incredible, incredible moment. No notes. Okay. Steve, can you play? Yeah.

my number three, Cliff. I'm afraid I can't do that, Joanna. Oh, okay. Okay. Because somebody has that higher. Well, we're about to have a flip here because I'm going to ask if you could play my number three and I know you're going to say you can't because Joe has it higher. I can't because Joe has that higher.

I love it. Yeah. Can you play my number two clip? Yes, I can. Oh, thanks. The sun is fast falling beneath the tree that's down. The light in the tower no longer my home. Past eyes of pale fire, black sand for my bed.

I trade all I've known for the unknown ahead. Call to me, call to me, lands far away. For I must now wander this wandering day. Way I must wander this wandering day. Aw, come on, Pup. Give us a warble. Give us a warble. This was my number three.

All right. So this is our girl, Poppy, singing Wandering Day, an original song from

Written by J.D. Payne and Bear McCreary for The Rings of Power, a show that I absolutely, absolutely, absolutely loved covering with Mallory. This is just like one of my favorite experiences of the year was covering the show with you. There were so many options for Rings of Power that we could have chosen, right? We could have obviously chosen a delightful Waldrick quote. Yeah.

I could have chosen Scaladria. And I genuinely watched like almost every single Elrond and Durin conversation because I was like so sure that I was going to pick one of their moments. Save it for the far side. Save it for the far side, Durin. But... I'm going to weep right now. I had to pick Wandering Day because, I mean, as my list reflects, I love a musical moment, but it's just like...

It's so much of what we love about genre storytelling, but like Lord of the Rings specifically, you know, as we've mentioned 1 million times, you and I rewatched the extended editions every year. The music isn't a key part of that whole experience. Tolkien wrote out these long, long poems and songs. And so the fact that Rings of Power is,

You know, people really criticize that show for a lot of reasons, but I think it really gets a lot of core deep Tolkien ideas that...

you know, are not obvious to everyone. And so having this in here, having this big long wandering song, getting to watch the map, getting to watch this found family come together, having Nori's family ask Poppy to sing her mother's song. Poppy lost her family. They're making her family traditions now part of their family tradition. It's just a beautiful moment and a show that I really, again, just adored covering with you, Molly Rubin.

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

fantasy stories and the idea, I think that line, like in particular, if you said to me, like you have to pick one line from anything that came out this past year, that sums up why you love stories and why you love sharing them with people. I trade all I've known for the unknown ahead would be my pick like pretty easily and quickly. I think like the quest to the adventure, that promise of fellowship, the importance of believing in yourself, the gift of,

And of embracing that possibility wherever it might take you and how scary and hard it is to do that, but how truly magical and transforming it is when you find people who can help you do that. And.

And like you said, you pair that with maps and a journey montage. I mean, my God, it's tough to top. Like, I almost can't believe I have two things ahead of this because it was so special to me and to us. Like, you know, we had another contender. We talked about this a lot in our finale, Pop, with that wonderful line from The Stranger. Alone, it's just a journey. Now adventures, they must be shared. Like when Poppy is singing Wandering Day,

you feel that so keenly. And we are getting to share that adventure with her just as she is sharing that with Nori and Nori's family and the family that they're building together. Just amazing. Just amazing. And I will tell you, we were joking, like, I wonder, will this crack our Spotify raps? This was number two on my Spotify rap for songs. Even though it,

like just came out like mere weeks ago. I love that. Number two. Have not stopped listening to it. And you were chatting so beautifully earlier, Joe, just about like about the community around the story and what we get to share with each other and our listeners. And like this really Rings of Power really stands out from this year on that front because like, you know, you already mentioned Waldrick, our guy, like a yard of a blood. It is a power like these things that not only become running bits and bits. It's collateral.

Running bits and like in jokes for the pod and become a part of the very vernacular and fabric of our pod, but then become like you realize they're just embedded in your regular speech is like you go about your life and you feel the way that the pod and the way that we get to talk about this show and the worlds together like is inextricable from just going through your day and your year. And what a what a really wonderful thing that is. So wandering day, wandering day. What a banger. I've known from the unknown ahead is I've

Is the sentiment also that came from another moment that I almost picked for Rings of Power, which is the Nori Poppy goodbye, because... Which I rewatched, like, sobbing last night, because...

I don't know. I was just thinking about like how the two of us like left other fellowships to make this new fellowship and how it's like, it's hard to do, but like you go on to new adventures so you can come back and tell the stories, you know, to the people that you've spent other time with. And so it's just all, all sort of wrapped up in, in these journeys that we take through life. So yeah. I love it. Wandering day. Beautiful. Beautiful.

Okay, so that was my three and your two, which means we're on my two. Your two. You definitely don't have this. So I think, Steve, you can safely play my number two. Yes, I can. What that rogue Aemond has done in winning Vhagar to our side. Ooh, that was stunning. The boy was right. It's worth a thousand times the price he paid. Okay. Wow, that's a fun choice. House of the Dragon, out of it, lad!

My pick. So the auto quote that we just heard is discussing my actual pick, which is Amon claiming Vhagar and then taking us right into an eye for an eye. Did I just make 30 minutes of an episode of TV one moment? Did you just trample the rules once again under your pretty little feet? If you look under my pretty little feet, it's just Smuggle City right there.

That's what's that's actually what is the song that is in the steel is just all of my smuggles that I'm about to make in this pick here. So the the actual my actual runner up.

For House of the Dragon. The hot D pick I almost made and actually had made and then changed because I was like, this is the one that I thought you would pick was Viserys' long walk into the throne room from episode eight. I also thought you would pick that. Okay. Yeah. I thought, okay, Jo's probably going to pick this. I'm really torn between a couple of hot D candidates. I'm going to go with my dragon lore because that can only be me. So I went with this sequence from episode seven, Driftmark,

But Patty and his long walk and Damon picking up the crown and saying, come on, they're with us here on this pod and it's important to say that. Yeah. It's important to say that. Why did I ultimately go with Amon claiming Vhagar? A few different reasons. As noted, I can smuggle easily within this stretch very handy. That Vhagar claiming goes right into not only the eye, the first part of an eye for an eye, the eye, the stretcher.

The showdown with the kids. But then, For an Eye, the Alison Frenera showdown. The ensemble set piece. So many of the key players in the show in one room. Damon leaning. The Damon lean. Tali is there. Sorry, I'm an essential variable when selecting my favorite moment from Hottie, of course. But this moment, Eamon claiming Vhagar, it...

birthed so many of the other moments, both inside of this episode and in the rest of the season that I loved so much. And that feels so central, not only for season one, but of what is still to come. I'm wondering, Steve, could we get a smuggle clip here? Let her go. Where is duty? Where is sacrifice? It's trampled under your pretty foot again. Release the blade, Alison. And now you take my son's life. And to even that, you feel entitled. Exhausting, wasn't it?

hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness. I mean, we had to do it. Had to do it. Had to play it on the pod. We had to. We recorded 5,000 House of the Dragon pods and that clip was one we referenced maybe more than any other. Had to be here. There's so much at play here. So many of the characters that we consider central to the story are like

in the talons of the dragon here. So much of the history fueling their resentment, their longing for Alicent and Rhaenyra, certainly as we hear there, for House Targaryen and dragon lore and the role of the power of dragons and the standing of the house for the kids, right?

One of the things we talked about a lot on our pods this year was that line from Fire and Blood, the cruelty of children is known to all. And that question of what you pass down to your children and what that then fosters and fuels, so much set up here for key events. And so while that auto line is from a later scene later in the episode, I love it. Thought it was fucking incredible. And it really captures the stakes of the Dance of the Dragons that is unfolding at the end of the season.

But none of that is why I picked this. I picked this for reasons that I have already discussed at length on our prior pods. And so I will sum up hopefully relatively quickly here. This is a fantasy story and the embrace of that in this moment, the way that you feel that as Amon is approaching Vhagar, uh,

The dance inside of this larger dance. You feel Vhagar's power and importance. You feel Aemon's need. You feel the connection that

You know, we think of that amazing Viserys line from the first episode of the season, the idea that we control the dragons is an illusion. They're a power men should never have trifled with and how central that idea of the hubris of control is to the finale and to the mission statement of the show. And so here in the claiming, like you feel the connection that even the rider cannot truly understand as it is being forged in real time. And, um,

I mean, what this sets up, well, we see in the finale, Vhagar and Aemond killing Arax and Luke. The dance that will unfurl from there, but more broadly, like the show's interest in...

Delving into that question of control and connection, delving into the magic of dragon lore, embracing and enhancing our understanding of this mythology is just something I'm really grateful for. And more broadly, to continue the theme of our picks today, I am just so grateful for getting to visit this world again and getting to talk about...

this story with you. Like, rereading Fire and Blood was such an incredible treat and I can't wait now to do a full series reread with the prophecy on our minds and look for things that stand out and new to us and the way that that, like, really captures the idea that, like, a story, it's there on the printed page forever and it will be in your life forever, but it's not fixed. Like, it moves and it grows and it changes with you. It soars into the sky like the wings of a dragon. It's always...

always beating and like being back in Westeros, covering Thrones with you, getting to be a part of that community around this story in this world again, in a way that felt really like energizing and hopeful for the first time in a while. And like, I just cherish so deeply getting to be back in this fictional universe that like really meaningfully enriches my, my actual life. It's very special to me.

I love you so much, and I love that you smuggled basically the entire House of the Dragon and Fire and Blood and Asaga Vice and Fire under auto-quote. I could have made five picks on my list, House of the Dragon picks, so to limit it to one from that show was just, whew, boy. Can I make a request? Can I request that my number three and your number one go next, and then we end with my number one? Okay. Let's do it. See if we play...

What is my sacrifice? I'm condemned to use the tools of my enemy to defeat them. I burn my decency for someone else's future. I burn my life to make a sunrise that I know I'll never see. Now, the ego that started this fight will never have a mirror or an audience or the light of gratitude. So what do I sacrifice? Everything! You'll stay with me, Lonnie. I need all the heroes I can get.

What do I sacrifice everything? Us trying to narrow down our list to 10. What's on our list? Everything. Oh,

So we've already mentioned a couple – I'll keep this brief and I'll just say we've already mentioned a couple other Star Wars moments on this list. But this Luthen speech from Andor is a no-brainer for me in terms of what should go from Andor. And also a no-brainer that Andor should be at the top of the list, towards the top of the list, and might be my favorite show of the year. But something that I think is interesting is some of our other Star Wars moments on this list –

rely heavily on existent canon or our feelings of nostalgia connected to how we felt watching other Star Wars stories earlier in our life or the hotness of Timothy Oliphant. But this, like, this moment in this show did so, like, ejected so much new blood and new energy into a franchise that we already loved. Andra feels like a miracle. It feels like a miracle that exists. And it feels like a miracle that this speech exists because

You know, because I was messaging you in real time that my jaw was on the floor. I rewound it seven times to rewatch it over and over and over again. You know, Keanu Lloyd's speech, Marva's speech, you know, Nemec's manifesto. There's so much incredible writing and so many incredible speeches in this show, but Luthan's speech, Stellan Skarsgård's delivery of it, I just think is one of the most astonishing things I've ever seen. And what it...

tells us about this... We've thought about the rebellion and about rebels, and in those more abstract terms, we talked about this a little bit on our coverage of Andor, this idea that we watch a planet explode at the very beginning of Star Wars, but that feels like sort of a cost that's too big for us to even really comprehend, an entire planet exploding. So to get Andor and to get this much more visceral...

day-to-day cost of being a rebellion, of actually forming a rebellion, is such a valuable, intellectually stimulating, emotionally wrenching aspect of Andor, all encapsulated in this incredible speech. Mallory, Ruben, what do you want to say? It's my number one. It's my number one moment. The...

Amazing episode 10, One Way Out. Treat yourself to it if you haven't. Treat yourself to Andor if you haven't because it is absolutely exceptional. My favorite show of the year

And as you noted, very difficult to pick a number of other contenders. I think some of the Marvel lines that we returned to the most and love the most, that's just love. That's just love. Tell him I love him more than anything he could ever do wrong. Certainly in the running, obviously Kino's can't swim moment, one of the most devastating experiences that we could have as viewers, but also that hopeful note of knowing you had...

achieve something on your own terms no matter what everything with B of course every beep and boop yep yep

My sweet little bee, protect him at all costs. So many possibilities for Andor, and yet it was always going to be Luthen's speech. Cyril, Karn, and Dedra Miro panting in each other's faces. That's number one on our follow-up pod, Ring of Receptors Arc, which is coming to you soon. Can you imagine? I mean, it would honestly just be the same as a regular pod. Genuinely, I think we should do it. All right. Oh!

The utterly specific and intentional story that Tony Gilroy gave to us in season one of Andor, that electric writing and directing in general across the season, across the arcs from the various different writer and director pairings from Bo Williman and Toby Haynes here in this speech and this episode, I've made my mind... I'll say my clip snippet for Steve was from the first half of Luther's speech. So I've made my mind a sunless space. I burn...

I share my dreams with ghosts. I mean, what an absolutely harrowing encapsulation of the choices that this character has made. This riveting performance and this just unflinching examination of what it takes to

to affect real change, to decide to try, like, what compromises you're willing to make with yourself. And I think, as you said, like, something that felt and still feels and will continue to feel utterly singular inside of Star Wars and so special for that reason, but also so special because it enhanced and heightened our understanding of and appreciation of half a century of storytelling is, like...

an achievement that is really unparalleled this year and uh i part of me is surprised i didn't have house the dragon at number one but i think when we when we say all of that i'm not surprised that andor ended up at the top of my list i'm excited to see what your pick for number one is steve is it gonna make me cry please with pleasure oh my god

I've heard you make so many noises and I've never heard you ever make that noise in all the years that I've known you. I can pretend that that was my dragon impression, but that's really just a very like real sound that my body is making. I've heard you like screech and squeal in so many different flavors, but truly that was like a dragon cry. Yeah, that was amazing. That was a new one. That was a new one. This is the staff, Lionel. You'll certainly form a lifelong bond, wouldn't you agree? Yes, sir.

That is the hope, your grace. All right, my number one wild card is the Mallory Rubin dragon screech. Sorry, dragon screech. From our hype meter, I believe it was, our preview. I actually found it really quickly. Um...

the reason I picked it is not just because thanks to Steve's soundboard, it became an iconic part of our coverage of House of the Dragon, but also it was just like, it was this pure moment of panic and agitation from you about what was coming. And now that we're on the other side of it, like we did it. And I'm incredibly proud of the work that you and I and Steve certainly on this, on this podcast have like did to get through Hot Nerd Autumn.

And one piece and all the stories that, you know, like here at the top of our list, it's House of the Dragon, Rings of Power and Andor. Like, you know, this was the journey we went through the last couple months together, encapsulated by that beautiful scream from you, Mally Rubin. Incredible. It was panic, absolutely, but imbued with anticipation and the desire to

to be back in these worlds and what a genuine thrill it was i kind of can't believe still that that stretches over but it never really ends that's the thing we get to go back anytime we want the road goes ever on what an incredible pick you're the best legend steve is there is there anything we left off the list steve that you're like i can't believe they didn't pick x y or z

like you guys said you guys didn't want to miss a thing i almost i i really almost asked steve to get that clip right do we have it at last no still no but steve was already concerned about the length of my clips and legal so you know yeah so i was like joe we gotta we gotta rain this one yeah yeah we gotta a long pod is fine but a long clip no that's uh it's a horse of different color um

Arjuna? Is Arjuna still on the call? He is not. He had to dash away, but he had his honorable mentions for me to give away. Let's hear Arjuna's. His honorable mentions were Doctor Who, Power of the Doctor, The 13th Doctor, Regenerates. Okay. The Ms. Marvel Generation Y episode where Kamala's dad comes out in his Hulk costume. I almost, yeah. And the Peacemaker opening credits.

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

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

It's a lot to... It's difficult to even isolate a moment. I'll just encourage people to watch 1899 and then All of Dark, if they haven't. I almost picked, like, Avengers Con from Ms. Marvel. That was almost on the list. Great one. Because that was just, like, a really beautiful... Like, we loved a lot about Ms. Marvel, and especially, like, those first couple episodes were so exciting. And then...

Oh, something from the Batman, but I was going to say something from the Batman. Yeah. But I really couldn't figure out what to pay. Everything with Selena. Yeah. I just like love that movie. And I feel like it's really dropped off people's lists at the end of the year, but I just, I still really love that movie. Yeah. That was great. The Batman. But yeah, I mean, it makes it feels right that and or rings of power and hot D should be here at the top. Absolutely. The cherry of your screech to end it all.

Incredible. What a blast this was. What a year. What a year. Joey, we spent the whole year potting together. What a joy. Unbelievable. With Steve and Arjuna and the rest of the Midnight Boys. Our beautiful ringerverse family. Yeah. Oh, God. And guess what? We get to do it again next year. Hell yeah. Can't fucking wait. All right, friends. When this episode ends, we won't have peace. We'll be worried about you all the time.

That's just potting. Nothing you can do about that. So thank you to our Rebel Alliance leaders, Steve Ullman, for producing this episode, for everything that Steve has done throughout this year. Yeah. You guys get to enjoy the soundboards. You get to enjoy Mint Edition and every pearl of wisdom Steve drops on Midnight Boys, but you have no idea.

How much time and heart Steve puts in to making this podcast feed that you all love. Steve, you're the best. Thank you. You guys are. Arjuna and Jomie aren't here, so they don't get to hear anything quite as nice. No! Just kidding! No!

Thank you as well, of course, to the wonderful, glorious Arjun Ramgopal for his additional production work on this episode and Jomia Deneron for his work on the social media for this episode. What an incredible year it's been with the entire House of R team. I don't know why I'm talking like we're never going to record another podcast. We'll be back on Zoom together literally in three hours. Light loaded.

Remember, send us your House of R emails at hobbitsanddragons at gmail.com. Tune back in at the top of next week for Mint Edition, highlighting the best nerd culture that you missed from this year. Until the next pod, remember, House of R is no sword. It is...

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