'Young Sheldon' paid sweet tribute to 'The Big Bang Theory' - CNN

In an episode that aired immediately after the series finale of its mothership series, "Young Sheldon" surprised "Big Bang Theory" fans with one more look at the gang, but as younger versions of themselves.

The premise of Thursday night's episode of "Young Sheldon" had Sheldon eagerly awaiting the announcements of the Nobel Prize winners. When his party goes bust at the end of the episode, the voiceover, performed by grown-up Sheldon, Jim Parsons, explains that in that moment, he felt like "a neutrino, destined to be alone forever."

Viewers are shown six other children.

One is a little boy listening to his radio, presumably also awaiting the announcement. The boy is then addressed by his mother, "Leonard, dear, you should be in bed."

Another child, a girl, is messily fast asleep. A wall decal reveals she's named Penny.

Young Raj is seen doing his homework. Young Howard is shown playing videogames in a bean bag chair and being addressed by a memorably booming voice. (Carol Ann Susi voiced Howard's mom on "Big Bang Theory" before she died in 2014.) Young Bernadette has a microscope on her nightstand as she sleeps. And young bespectacled Amy is seen reading by flashlight.

Older Sheldon then concludes, "Thankfully, I was wrong."

The touching moment was a treat for "Big Bang Theory" fans, who had just finished bidding farewell to the characters they've grown to know and love over 12 seasons.

The show signed off with a one-hour finale and a half-hour retrospective that aired after "Young Sheldon."

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2019-05-17 05:57:00Z
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Why We Love the John Wick Movies - IGN

The Keanu Reeves series is shaping up to be one of the greatest trilogies of the decade.

By Chris Tilly

John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, the third chapter in the Keanu Reeves saga, hits screens this week. The story, which kicked off with the legendary assassin coming out of retirement to avenge the death of his dog, and then travelling to Rome to take out a target, now finds the character “excommunicado,” with a contract on his head.

So how did John Wick get here? And what is the unique appeal of both the man and the myth? We examine the facts… (Be sure to also read our John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum review when you’re done here!)

Spoilers follow for the first two John Wick movies!

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The Dog

This is the hook. The MacGuffin. The piece of plot that draws you into John Wick. Because what could have been a film about a man avenging the death of his wife instead becomes the tale of a man delivering payback for the death of his dog. And as dogs are better than people, that switcheroo seriously raises the stakes.

Though of course the canine also represents his recently deceased love. Because, as John tells mob boss Viggo Tarasov, “When Helen died, I lost everything. Until that dog arrived on my doorstep. A final gift from my wife. In that moment I received some semblance of hope. An opportunity to grieve unalone. And your son took that from me. Stole that from me. Killed that from me!”

The loving bond John forms with Daisy the Beagle forces the audience to become emotionally invested. So when that relationship is cruelly snatched away, we’ll forgive John pretty much anything. That’s the genius of John Wick, it seems like Parabellum will feature even more canine action. Though hopefully no more doggy death.

The Man

The Boogeyman. The Devil. The Reaper. Baba Yaga. John Wick is known by many names within the criminal community. All of which suggest he’s the assassin’s assassin. He once killed three men with a pencil, apparently, while before the events of the first film, he completed the “impossible task” by killing all of Tarasov’s enemies in one night.

Which makes John a character that’s larger-than-life. But those are just words. It’s not until you witness Wick in action that you truly understand the man. His single-minded focus to complete the task at hand, no matter what the cost. Those lightning reflexes that allow him to dodge knives and bullets and speeding cars. And the tactical smarts with which he outmaneuvers and outwits his opponents. John’s every action backs up the legend. And during Chapter 2, we even get to see him go to town on a trio of assassins with a pencil.

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Yet he’s also a sweet, polite, thoughtful man; one who keeps his cool, who possesses a moral compass, and who knows right from wrong. And it’s that dichotomy that keeps audiences coming back for more; those tales of the monster he was before he found love, contrasted with the man he has become after. Contradictions that make John Wick an endlessly interesting character, and one worthy of an ongoing series of films.

The Action

More than 20 years ago, John Wick director Chad Stahelski landed a gig as Keanu Reeves’ stunt double on The Matrix. So started an ongoing collaboration that has spawned incredible action across multiple movies. Which in turn inspired Reeves to phone Stahelski when the John Wick script landed on his desk.

It was the right call to make. Having doubled for Keanu, Chad knew how he moved, how he fought, what he was capable of physically, and how to make that look cool onscreen. The action in the John Wick movies is therefore fine-tuned for Reeves’ abilities, leaning into the ways in which the star excels.

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And with all three chapters shooting fairly quickly (we’ve gotten three movies in four and a half years), when Keanu isn’t shooting a John Wick movie, he’s training for one. As that’s where much of the trilogy’s budget is spent; not on expensive CGI, but on months and months of prep. The actors and stunt performers perfect each sequence before a second of footage is shot. Resulting in some of the greatest action ever committed to celluloid.

The Keanu

John Wick loves his puppy in the same way audiences love Keanu Reeves, an actor who seems so sweet and vulnerable that you just want to give him a hug. So genuine and likable that when he looks at you with those big, brown eyes, you can forgive him his many missteps and mistakes, from the accent in Dracula to pretty much all of Matrix Revolutions. In the casting of Keanu as John Wick, we’re already on the character’s side.

John Wick is also something of a samurai; a noble warrior travelling from city to city, delivering justice and righting wrongs. And that’s a persona that Keanu Reeves has been developing onscreen for decades, playing quietly determined heroes in the likes of The Matrix, Constantine, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and 47 Ronin. It feels like it’s all been building to this, with John Wick the ultimate incarnation of that stoic soldier.

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Plus, having collaborated with Keanu Reeves for decades, director Chad Stahelski doesn’t just know what the actor is capable of physically, but also in terms of performance. As in, maybe to get the best out of Keanu Reeves, you don’t give him too much dialogue. John Wick is a man of few words, who lets his actions do the talking. Which makes these movies the perfect marriage of actor and material.

The World-Building

Chapter 1 built a mythology around not just John Wick, but also the murky underworld in which he exists. One of strict rules, mysterious terminology, strange currency, and outdated technology. That first film introduced The Continental, a New York hotel that serves as neutral territory for a syndicate of trained assassins. Violence is strictly forbidden on the premises, and punishable by excommunication, or death. All of which is decided by the High Table, whose supreme authority is final.

This intriguing netherworld is loosely based on Greek mythology, with the Continental’s concierge named Charon -- ferryman to the Greek underworld back in the day -- and gold coins replacing dollars as currency.

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The John Wick underground world was expanded upon in Chapter 2, with blood oaths introduced, and the Continental’s influence extending to Rome. And it looks to be opening out even further in Chapter 3, with the organisation’s global network coming into focus, leaving John nowhere to hide.

Meaning the stage is set for a dramatic, adrenaline-fuelled finale to this particular story. Which may in fact be just the beginning, as there’s a TV spin-off planned for post-Parabellum called The Continental. And surely the movie series can’t be over yet…

So rather than John Wick being one of the greatest trilogies of the past decade, if everything works out in Chapter 3, we might in fact be looking at the finest ongoing franchise of the next.

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2019-05-16 15:46:54Z
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In Praise of ‘John Wick,’ The Last Great American Action-Movie Franchise - Rolling Stone

It was just a guy’s name. You could guess that he was played by Keanu Reeves, given that we’d seen laughing with a woman over a meal and kissing her against a picture-postcard vision of Manhattan’s skyline. Then we go from Sad Keanu sitting bedside in a hospital to Sadder Keanu standing graveside as a coffin is lowered into the ground. Later, he gets his wife’s posthumous gift to him: a puppy. The man and his dog, who is indeed adorable by any standard, tool around in his vintage Mustang. We know something else happened, because we’ve also briefly glimpsed Bloody Keanu, lying battered on a warehouse floor. But as far we knew, this was a movie about a gentleman — he’s called John — who lives in an exceedingly well-furnished apartment, is deep in the throes of grief and has only his faithful companion to help him move on. Maybe the pooch will teach him how to love again. Maybe he’ll meet someone nice at the dog park. The title told you nothing. It was just a guy’s name.

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Let’s say a viewer was lucky enough to go in cold to John Wick back in 2014, knowing nothing else other than that it featured a movie star who had seen better box-office days. He or she might have suspected things were about to take a turn when some Russian guys start hassling him at a gas station. They like his car. Later, they pay him a visit and, well, you ever heard that George Lucas quote about the easiest way to get an audience emotionally involved is to have someone wring a kitten’s neck? It applies to other cute furry animals as well.

What folks probably didn’t know was that these young men, led by Game of Thrones‘ Alfie Allen, have just fucked with the wrong dude. The man they try to sell the hot vehicle, however? He knows it. The lead thug’s father, a Russian mob bigwig, knows it too. And once audiences watched commandos enter Wick’s house in the dead of night, high-powered guns drawn, and could see why this normal-seeming man inspired such fear throughout the toughest corners of the criminal underworld — well, now they understand as well. This isn’t a widower weepie, it turns out. It’s not even a standard revenge movie. This is the beginning of what would become the seriously batshit-crazy, go-for-broke, open-world action-flick franchise of the 21st century.

Yes, we know: “Hold my beer,” says the Fast & Furious films. But the fact that this statement no longer seems like your run-of-the-mill Reeves stanning or the result of a head injury is a testament to how this series has sold itself as a superior model of an old multiplex staple. Over three films — the new one, John Wick: Chapter 3 opens May 17th — this series has magpied the best of Hollywood stuntapaloozas and a host of hyperkinetic international subgenres, then shoved it all into one B-movie sausage skin. Bourne-style close combat, old-school car chases, Hong Kong action set pieces, Japanese yakuza honor stand-offs, gangster-film vendettas, several varieties of martial-arts fighting, knife fighting, sword fighting, point-blank gun fighting: you will find all of them seamlessly integrated here, and much of it performed by its surprisingly fit fiftysomething star. The Wick films gave Reeves a comeback and his third franchise to date. Is real currency, however, is cinematic carnage choreographed with panache, screen violence treated with a comprehensive yet bespoke sense of style. What other trilogy features a hospitality service that includes not just a wall of weaponry but a ballistics sommelier?

Ah yes, the Continental. We haven’t even mentioned the Continental yet.

It’s right around the 38-minute mark of the original John Wick that our formerly retired master assassin — not the boogeyman but, per one character, “the one you send to kill the fucking boogeyman” — goes to rent a room so he can plan his attack in peace. The Continental could be any swank boutique hotel in downtown New York, but its clientele is more or less exclusive. It caters primarily to professional hit men. It’s run by Ian McShane, playing the 180-degree opposite of his Deadwood character. (Al Swearingen never did crossword puzzles.) And it’s a neutral zone, where “no business can be conducted on the premises without incurring heavy penalties.” There are codes to be followed, and consequences if you don’t, which one aspiring alpha finds out when she tries to off Wick in his room.

More importantly, it’s a brief peek through the portal of what feels like a much larger, deeper untapped sandbox, in which Wick’s vengeance-quest story is merely one among many. You don’t need a detailed universe to enjoy the primal pleasures of Reeves expertly taking down dozens of men (he’s obviously put in serious dojo hours), or the blend of creative firearm skills colloquially dubbed “gun fu,” or observing a bad guy who’s hit by a car then get shot through the vehicle’s roof as he tumbles over it. But this tiny conceptual touch makes a huge difference. It’s an expert bit of concise worldbuilding dropped into a project you might otherwise describe as “Keanu kills everyone.” It somehow places an oft-told tale of a hit man being dragged back into the game one last time into the center of an elaborate maze, where the minotaurs sport Russian-prison tattoos and the homeless guy around the hedge may be part of a deep-state criminal enterprise.

Per director Chad Stahelski, who’s helmed or co-helmed each chapter, there was never supposed to be a sequel. A stunt double and stand-in for Reeves on The Matrix, he’d initially been approached to co-ordinate some of the fight sequences on Wick; after reading David Kolstad’s script, he and his professional partner David Leitch pitched themselves as co-directors. The budget was $20 million. A box-office-gross of $88 million worldwide and the response to action sequences staged like musical numbers suggested that they’d hit upon something that struck a chord, so they went back to the well — and this is where the hint of bigger things dropped early paid dividends. Tolkien had a Middle Earth hierarchy of hobbits, wizards and orcs. Stahelski, Reeves and Kolstad had a global secret society of intramural syndicates, factions and criminal-catering industries that felt as varied as the action. A second film delivered more mix-and-match mayhem and gave us John’s Excellent Roman Adventure, not to mention this incredible paranoiac’s-wet-dream scene:

But it also posed questions: Who is “the High Table”? Where do these rockabilly secretaries responsible for assignments and accounts-payable data work, and how do you get recruited? How did Laurence Fishburne (hi, Morpheus!) establish his Bowery empire of derelicts and cast-offs? And what the hell is “excommunicado”?

It means that you’re out in the cold with a bounty on your head, which is where Chapter 3 — blessed (or cursed) with the Latin-for-“prepare for war” subtitle Parabellum — picks up, with Wick on the run and seeking sanctuary. The iceberg’s tip gets a few more inches revealed. Reeves’ fanbase will squeal at a direct Matrix shout-out and seeing this almost inhumanly in-shape middle-aged movie star absorb blows and hold his own in fights. (Say what you will about his signature monotone style of acting: This role is as perfectly tailored to his strengths as that bullet-stopping suit is to his frame.) Lance Reddick gets in on the firepower game and Fishburne returns for more prix-fixe scenery courses. Angelica Huston shows up with a borscht-thick accent and running a school for ballerinas and assassins (bullet ballets, indeed); Halle Berry pops up in Casablanca with crotch-biting dogs; Billions‘ Asia Kate Dillon plays someone called the Adjudicator and proves they have screen presence to spare. Ditto Mark Dacascos, who draws the straw for the Boss Level fight. Action-film connoisseurs will once again feel they’ve died and gone to heaven, or at least one of the Continental’s better lounges.

Yes, it’s another variation on the catch-and-release formula that’s allowed Wick to keep zipping from one highly choreographed bit of chaos to the next. Yet there’s more imagination and skill and verve and sheer star wattage in this new movie than 90% of everything else hitting screens, including blockbusters in which superheroes snap their fingers. And it’s this combo that has made this series damned near invaluable for those who like le cinema du adrenaline. It’s not even that it’s wholly original, in either concept or creative flourishes. The Bond films have given us weapons tinkerers before, and as critic Alison Willmore has pointed out, Parabellum‘s big motorcycle fight with katana swords owes a serious debt to the South Korean film The Villainess. The closest thing that the Wick series have to competition in the rock ’em-sock ’em department are the Raid movies coming out of Indonesia, and Chapter 3 co-opts two of that franchise’s players, Cecep Arif Rahman and Yayan Ruhian, for an extended Pencak Silat exhibition.

Rather, it’s that Staheski & Co’s pastiche curation has turned a star vehicle into a standard-setter for how to do big-screen-action-as-storytelling right. (It’s set to extend its universe to TV with an anthology show revolving around the comings and goings at the Continental as well.) Action films have become Big Macs. There’s a thrill in seeing someone take a recipe and add in unfamiliar yet complementary ingredients, give it an artisanal touch, put in the time to make it taste good even when served bloody rare. It’s transformed a B-movie series into A-plus genre outrageousness. It’s made one man’s name a shorthand for quality pandemonium.

In This Article: Cult Movies, Keanu Reeves

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https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-features/john-wick-the-last-great-american-action-movie-franchise-832310/

2019-05-16 15:23:00Z
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'SAW' Being Reimagined by Chris Rock with Darren Bousman Returning to Direct! - Bloody Disgusting

Are you ready to play a game?

Breaking news out of Cannes as Bloody Disgusting can report that Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures will bring fans worldwide a new level of deviously treacherous traps, clever clues and suspense as they partner with award-winning actor, director, and stand up comedian Chris Rock to spin-off and expand the world surrounding the hit billion dollar SAW franchise.

We’ve also learned that the next SAW, pegged as a “re-imaging”, will be directed by none other than Darren Lynn Bousman, who helmed the first three sequels following James Wan and Leigh Whannell‘s pop culture phenomenon.

As Bloody Disgusting exclusively told you last year, the screenplay was written by Jigsaw writers Pete Goldfinger and Josh Stolberg, although we didn’t know it was – and I kid you not – based on a story conceived by Chris Rock!

“I’ve been a fan of SAW since the first film in 2004,” said Rock. “I am excited by the opportunity to take this to a really intense and twisted new place.”

We can’t help but wonder, will Rock also star?!

The next SAW will be released on October 23, 2020.

“When Chris Rock came to us and described in chilling detail his fantastic vision that reimagines and spins-off the world of the notorious Jigsaw Killer, we were all-in,” said Joe Drake, Chairman of Lionsgate’s Motion Picture Group. “SAW is one of the highest grossing horror franchises of all-time and it’s one of Lionsgate’s most successful film series. This upcoming film will still be as mind-bending and intense as all the previous SAW films. Chris conceived this idea and it will be completely reverential to the legacy of the material while reinvigorating the brand with his wit, creative vision and passion for this classic horror franchise.”

The film will be produced by longtime SAW producers Mark Burg and Oren Koules, and executive produced by Chris Rock, long-time SAW executive producer Daniel Heffner and the original creators of SAW, James Wan and Leigh Whannell.

“Chris wants to put his own spin on the SAW franchise in the way Eddie Murphy put a completely fresh perspective on buddy-cop films with 48 Hours. This new SAW is going to be an event film in the making for horror fans. It will have all of the twists and turns and hardcore layers that our fans expect directed by one of the masters of the craft, Darren Lynn Bousman. We can’t wait to get started,” said Burg and Koules.

Watch for casting news as it comes in, which should be soon if they’re targeting an October 2020 release.

What say you, horror fans? Chime in below!

Pictured: Darren Lynn Bousman

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2019-05-16 14:00:54Z
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How Prince Harry Is Protecting Meghan Markle & Baby Archie's Privacy - E! NEWS

Prince Harry isn't one to give off a false sense of security. Especially when his family is involved. 

The Duke of Sussex accepted damages and an apology today from Splash News, which, in January, took aerial photos of his and Meghan Markle's $3 million, four-bedroom country home in Cotswold Hills, England.

Speaking on the royal's behalf in a High Court, his lawyer said the published shots—which included a direct look into their bedroom, living room and dining area—"seriously undermined" the family's "safety and security." So much so, that the new parents, who welcomed son Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor last week, no longer live at the rented estate.

"The property had been chosen by the Duke for himself and his wife given the high level of privacy it afforded," the solicitor continued, "Given its position in a secluded area surrounded by private farmland away from any areas to which photographers have access."

Since offering an apology, the news agency has guaranteed it will not "repeat its conduct by using any aerial means to take photographs or film footage of the Duke's private home," his lawyer concluded.

Before their son's arrival, the duo moved in early April from Kensington Palace into their newly renovated, 10-bedroom Frogmore Cottage on Queen Elizabeth II's Windsor Estate. In a statement, the Palace said, "Windsor is a very special place for their royal highnesses and they are grateful that their official residence will be on the estate."

While many believe the Duchess gave birth at a local hospital, several royal watchers believe she actually delivered their son at the Frogmore home. In another break from royal tradition, Meghan and Harry formally introduced baby Archie to the world from inside St. George's Hall on May 8, two days after they announced his arrival.

"It's magic," the Suits alum gushed. "It's pretty amazing. I mean, I have the two best guys in the world, so I'm really happy."

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2019-05-16 13:20:00Z
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15 Best Game of Thrones Finale Theories and Predictions for Episode 6 - Esquire.com

The popular R + L = J theory (which correctly posited that Rhaegar Targaryen and Lyanna Stark were Jon Snow's real parents) can be traced all the way back to a blog post on September 18, 1997. This is a little over a year after A Game of Thrones—the first book in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga—was published. Since then, the internet has become a far more advanced place for fans and critics alike to share and write about theories for how this immensely popular series could end.

For more than two decades, fans have written millions of words and countless blog posts dissecting both the show, Game of Thrones, and Martin's source material. The books and show have built a vibrant and passionate community that has dedicated literal decades to unraveling the secrets within this vast and detailed fantasy universe that Martin has built.

After years of reading and watching and discussing, the Esquire staff has put together their favorite predictions for what will happen in the Game of Thrones series finale.

Varys Already Poisoned Daenerys

It was a seemingly throwaway line that many Game of Thrones fans missed. But in the early moments of Episode Five, one of Varys’ little birds came to him (as he was writing letters about Jon’s true parents) to let him know that Daenerys wasn’t eating. “We’ll try again at supper,” he told her.

This seems like a clear sign that Varys was attempting to poison Daenerys, which could come to play in the series finale, and could even explain her sudden madness in Episode Five. —Matt Miller

Could the Army of the Dead return when the humans are at their most vulnerable?

HBO

The White Walkers Will Rise Again

Game of Thrones was always known for blowing up everything at the last minute—like when Cersei literally blew up the Sept of Baelor or the Red Wedding. This was a story known for cataclysmic moments. There's nothing more cataclysmic than the White Walkers and the Night King somehow rising again. Many fans felt it was far too easy for the humans to dispatch the Army of the Dead. So, what if they didn't? Perhaps the theories about Caster's babies-turned-Walkers are true, and the Night King's fall didn't wipe out his kind entirely. And it won't be so easy to unify to defeat them this time, what with Dany gone mad. Plus, the GoT creators are being coy about it. —Sarah Rense

Troops Are Coming to Take Down Daenerys

Before his execution for treason, we saw Varys writing letters about Jon’s true Targaryen parentage. He seemed to burn at least one note before Dany’s soldiers took him away, but we never saw whether or not any of his missives made it out. But what if they did? Dany may have toppled Cersei, but she doesn’t actually hold much of the Seven Kingdoms. Her supporter Yara has the Iron Islands and Varys mentioned in Episode Four that the new prince of Dorne backs Daenerys, but there are still plenty of regions that might decide that they don’t want to be ruled by another mad tyrant, especially if alerted to the fact that Jon might be another option. This show loves a deus ex machina, and could very well end with armies from places like the Reach and the Riverlands coming to dethrone Dany. —Gabrielle Bruney

Jon Snow Will Die

When Jon Snow was resurrected it was so he could serve his purpose for the Lord of Light. Now, as we reach the end of the series, Jon has yet to show what that purpose was (he’s been pretty useless in the final season). That purpose must be to sacrifice himself in stopping Daenerys from becoming another tyrant sitting on the Iron Throne (or what’s left of it). It would be far too expected for Jon Snow to survive and become the next king of Westeros. That’s not the Game of Thrones style. George R.R. Martin has made it clear that our heroes must die. And in the end, Jon Snow must, too. —Matt Miller

After becoming the Mad Queen Daenerys must die in the finale of Game of Thrones.

HBO

Daenerys Will Die

Even for Game of Thrones, it would be far too cynical for the Mad Queen to end this series on the Iron Throne. No, the only fitting ending must be a tragic, yet, satisfying conclusion. And considering there’s no redemption for Daenerys after she slaughtered thousands of innocent people, she’s gotta go right? Plus, with the conflict with the Night King done, the only villain left to be vanquished is now Daenerys. The final confrontation between her and Jon snow will, ultimately, a human conflict of the likes that has always driven George R.R. Martin’s stories. Ending the series with both of the characters who were once this story’s ultimate protagonists would have perfect Thrones-ian symmetry to Ned Stark’s death in Season One. —Matt Miller

Dany Was Pregnant All Along

Game of Thrones was fairly heavy-handed in making sure Dany informed everyone she can't become a mother, but maybe that was a feint. Imagine now if Dany told Jon she was pregnant with their child. He might show mercy to the woman he loved to protect their baby. Then, that child might continue the struggle between Stark and Targaryen for years to come. Or, it might bring Dany to her senses. Either way, it'd give the show a bridge to the next generation. It doesn't seem impossible, considering Cersei's pregnancy was on the same timeline. —Sarah Rense

Bran is Evil

The youngest surviving stark sibling hasn’t exactly been super helpful this season, but maybe he’s purposely been holding back from lending a hand in the battle against the Night King or the fight for King’s Landing. Bran’s the only character we’ve seen be touched by the Night King and come away from the encounter no worse off—the babies from Craster’s Keep were turned into Wights at the touch of his cold hand, and Viserion rose as a zombie dragon after the NK touched him. When the Night King grabbed Bran back in Season Six, the Night King may well have turned the kid evil or begun of a process of transforming him into the next Night King himself. If the White Walkers do rise again, this could be a way to make that happen. —Gabrielle Bruney

The Prophecies Mean Nothing

One theme throughout the entirety of Game of Thrones has been the misreading of prophecies. Look no further than Melisandre, whose many mistaken visions led to the tragic downfall of the Baratheon brothers, led by her ruthless attempts to prove Stannis the Prince That Was Promised. Then there’s Cersei, whose entire life was dominated by protecting her children from the fate that was prophesied by Maggy the Frog. That self-fulfilling prophecy eventually became Cersei’s ultimate demise. Now, here we are with only one episode remaining and none of the main prophecies have come to fruition. Azor Ahais and Princes That Were Promised and Houses of the Undying and Valonqars—all of these have been misread not only by characters within the story, but fans who have studied them for decades. —Matt Miller

Could Arya Stark be the Azor Ahai who kills both the Night King and Daenerys?

HBO

Arya Will Kill Daenerys

This comes from the beautiful scene of Arya with the white horse at the end of Episode Five. This horse is a reference to a biblical apocalypse, it's a reference to some of the visual imagery in the episode, and a nod to some of the more prominent prophetic language of George R.R. Martin's book. This could all point to Arya being the harbinger of death coming for Dany to avenge the destruction she saw first-hand at King's Landing. So if that’s the case ...

Princess That Was Promised Is Arya

And if Arya does in fact kill Daenerys could that make her the Princess That Was Promised? When that possibility was initially put into place back in Season Seven, many fans thought this was a clunky hint about Daenerys being the Princess That Was Promised. Now that Dany has become a villain, it’s unlikely that she’s this story’s ultimate hero. But, what if, as the Azor Ahai theory says, Jon Snow must sacrifice himself for Arya to kill Daenerys? This would make sense if—in the end—Jon Snow must die so Arya can use his face to get close to Daenerys and kill her. —Matt Miller

Prince That Was Promised Is Jon Snow

Given how lazy the writing in the past two seasons have been, it’s still entirely possible that the writers will go with the easiest conclusion. Since the beginning, George R.R. Martin’s story has pointed toward Jon Snow being the ultimate hero of A Song of Ice and Fire. And that’s still absolutely a possibility here—that Jon must sacrifice Daenerys, at once killing his lover and the ultimate threat to humanity, thus fulfilling the prophecy of Azor Ahai. —Matt Miller

Sansa Kills Dany

At this point, Sansa appears to be the only person of any actual intelligence left alive. She hasn't seen any type of combat yet, but she's ready to do whatever it takes, just like she learned from the murderous Cersei. Given the chance to kill Dany, she would, she'd take it. And she'd do it with the little dagger given to her by Arya that she carried during the Battle of Winterfell—the one that got a lot of screen time and no action in the crypts. It could symbolize the pact between her and Arya: They know Dany must go if the Starks will survive. —Sarah Rense

Is Drogon not the final dragon left in Westeros?

HBO

There Are More Dragons

The dragons of Westeros are often likened to the nukes of our real world. These things are weapons of mass destruction that are impossible to defend against. Almost. After the seven seasons of build-up of dragons as the ultimate weapon, we’re now only down to one lonely Drogon. But, having researched a little bit about dragon biology and reproduction, fans have an interesting theory that Drogon could potentially be female and could have potentially laid eggs when she was missing in Season Five. This would be a terrifying prospect. But, considering dragons could be loyal to Jon Snow as well, he could use one of these other dragons to fight back against Daenerys. —Matt Miller

Sansa and Tyrion Create a New Form of Government

Only Game of Thrones could have a satisfying conclusion in which no one wins the game of thrones at all. What if, in the end, no one is sitting on the Iron Throne because there isn’t one at all? As we know based on George R.R. Martin’s extensive history of Westeros, this realm has mostly been at constant war with a never ending rotating cast of tyrants and dynasties. If Jon and Dany do indeed die in the ensuing battle, could it be possible that Sansa and Tyrion could pick up the pieces to form a new, democratic form of government? One in which power doesn’t reside in a single person, but in the people as a whole? It would be a shockingly positive way for things to wrap up. —Matt Miller

Samwell Tarly is Writing the Story

This theory has been around for a long time. Considering Samwell Tarly is the best at reading and writing—briefly trained in the Citadel—and has often been presumably the story’s avatar for George R.R. Martin himself, is it possible that, in the end, he’s writing this story? Could A Song of Ice and Fire be the detailed historical documentation of this War of Five Kings, this War With the Dead, and the Last of the Targaryens? I’d love to see the final scene of this show be an aging Sam sitting by a fire with Gilly and all their kids reading what he wrote about his friend Jon and how they saved humanity. Not unlike this. —Matt Miller

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https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/a27482158/game-of-thrones-season-8-finale-episode-6-theories-predictions/

2019-05-16 12:00:00Z
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So, What’s That Book John Wick Uses as a Lethal Weapon? - Slate

John Wick had better luck at the New York Public Library than we did.

Lionsgate

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4. Daenerys Doesn’t Need to Be a Feminist Hero

One of John Wick’s earliest and most imaginative kills in John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum occurs at, of all places, the New York Public Library. Facing down a city full of assassins out to kill him, Wick heads first to the main branch’s circulation desk, where he inquires about a book: “Russian Folk Tale, Aleksandr Afanasyev, 1864,” he tells the librarian, in typically Reeves-ian, laconic fashion. Once he has withdrawn the title from the stacks and retrieved the tokens hidden inside, he encounters an assailant played by NBA player Boban Marjanovic. At this point, the ever-resourceful hit man uses the book to repeatedly bash Marjanovic in the face (he holds the book in front of the 7-foo-3 man’s head with one hand and then punches the book with the other), break his teeth (he puts the book in the Philadelphia 76ers player’s mouth, then punches it), and, finally, break his neck (he puts the tome upright on a reading table, positions the Serbian giant’s neck over the top of its binding, and then smacks his head downward). He then immediately returns the volume to the shelf, presumably to avoid any late fees.

The scene raises a number of questions, foremost “What is this book?” and “Can I really check it out from the New York Public Library?” I trekked to the library’s flagship location to find out, to substantially less success than Wick, though I did manage to avoid any confrontations with giants. Here is a transcript of my encounter, which has not been edited or condensed for clarity:

Librarian: Yes?

Slate: Russian Folk Tale. Aleksandr Afanasyev. 1864.

Librarian: Do you have the call number? Let me see the reference.

Slate: Russian Folk Tale. Aleksan—

Librarian: But let me see, let me see the location.

Slate: I don’t have that.

Librarian: It’s probably in the branches, it’s not here. Show me the call number.

Slate: Um, I don’t have that. I think it’s about—

Librarian: Hang on.

Slate: I think it’s about Baba Yaga?

Librarian: Do you have a library card?

Slate: Yes.

Librarian: What’s the title again?

Slate: Russian Folk Tale.

Librarian: Folk Tale or Tales?

Slate: Tale? Or Tales …

Librarian: Are you looking for a copy you can take home?

Slate: No. It may be in rare books?

Librarian: Well, this one is off site. That’s the author there.

Slate: 1864?

Librarian: It’s 1950. Just a different publication date.

Slate: Where is it off site?

Librarian: That one is Princeton.

Slate: So, if there was one—

Librarian: I’m looking. [Pause] So this is off site, off site. OK. These are here, let me see. So this is the call number. You need to fill out a call slip.

Slate: So that’s not the older version. I guess I’m curious about one that might be in a reading room, or—

Librarian: I mean, if there’s a copy in Rare Books, you’d have to get permission, which, first of all, it’s too late now anyways. You have to apply for admission, explain why you need to see the old copy.

Slate: I see.

Librarian: So.

Slate: But there isn’t one anyway?

Librarian: I’m checking. No, the earliest we have is 1950. And that’s off site.
It would take two days to get here.

Slate: OK, I’ll fill out a slip. Thanks.

As it turns out, the book, as Wick identifies it, doesn’t seem to exist, or at least not at the New York Public Library. Afanasyev was indeed a folklorist and collector of Slavic folk tales—he is sometimes described as Russia’s one-man Brothers Grimm—and he did publish several volumes of them in the mid-19^th century, but the NYPL doesn’t carry any volumes from 1864.

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Baba Yaga by Ivan Bilibin.

The best fit that the NYPL’s main branch had in house was a 1980 translation from Random House (call number J 398.2 A), although after I was sent from the third floor to the first and then back up again, the team informed me that—in a rather mysterious twist—my copy’s location had been mislabeled in the system. (The work of a certain assassin nicknamed “Baba Yaga”?)

As for the prop copy that appears in the movie: The illustrations in Wick’s lethal volume were, we believe, drawn from artwork by Ivan Bilibin, who illustrated Russian folk tales in the early 20^th century and whose pictures have since been used to illustrate modern editions of Afanasyev’s collections. (They’re also the illustrations that show up when you search Baba Yaga on Wikipedia.) We’ve reached out to Lionsgate for details but have yet to hear back.

Finally, it’s worth noting that perhaps none of this is surprising from a franchise that frequently treats the English “boogeyman” and the Russian “Baba Yaga” as interchangeable, when, in Russian folklore, the Baba Yaga is most commonly a female witch who lives in a house that sits on chicken legs.

This post contains additional reporting by Matthew Dessem.

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https://slate.com/culture/2019/05/john-wick-chapter-3-book-library-scene-russian-folk-tale.html

2019-05-16 11:30:00Z
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