mithen

So I have created

roguesandwraiths -- initially as a fallback position for the Rogue Squadron Discord server since Discord is being a butt about age verification, but I'm hoping to get some chatter going there whether Discord explodes or not. If you enjoy the X-wing books or related media, please feel free to join us!

china_shop

Previous poll review
In the Neighbours poll, 56.8% of respondents know their neighbours well enough to nod and wave, 52.3% have each other's phone numbers/email and chat in passing, and 22.7% socialise/lend things. In ticky-boxes, cat photos came second to hugs, 59.1% to 70.5%. Thank you for your votes! ♥

Reading
Listening to Barrayar (Bujold's Vorkosigan saga) with Andrew. Other than that, just a little bit of fanfic.

Kdramas
I'm cooling on Behind the Bar because a lot of the cases are deeply unpleasant.

For example:

the one that had me noping out is a doctor being accused of murder because a man she unsuccessfully treated on a plane is a convicted paedophile. (I ffwed the scene, so I don't know if the failure was deliberate.) The doctor is suspected because she treated the man's young victim in the past, and also refused to treat him then.

I restarted Strongest Delivery Man for Kim Sun-ho, the second male lead, but I don't much care about the main pairing (iirc, there's potential slashiness between the two guys, but it takes a while to get there). I started the first episode of Our Universe, but backbuttoned when the toddler appeared. (Sometimes I can kidfic, but often I cannot.) Now, I don't know.

Other TV
We finished Wonder Man. I liked it a lot -- imperfect characters, and the redemptive power of friendship, woohoo! (I didn't end up slashing the leads; Ben Kingsley is kind of terrible. But I could be persuaded.)

Still going on The Pitt. Finished our rewatch of We Are Lady Parts season 2. ♥ ♥ ♥

And a couple of movies: The Friend in which Naomi Watts inherits a great dane from a friend; full of humanity and grief. And Dancing the Invisible, a documentary about Jill Bilcock, an Australian film editor who's worked with Baz Luhrmann and many others; fascinating, full of close creative friendships and competence porn.

Audio entertainment
Relistened to John Finnemore's Souvenir Programme season 9, which is a series of interlinked sketched about multiple generations of a family. Being me, I still want OT3 fic for the most uptight/least likeable character, his wife and their good friend, lol.

Also, Writing Excuses, a Death of 1000 Cuts writing ramble, and one episode of You Can Learn Chinese. (Taking a mental health break from the politics.)

Writing/making things
I posted my first fic of the year, a belated

fandomtrees treat for

teaotter:

Title: Honey Tea (1761 words) [General Audiences]
Fandom: 조립식 가족 | Family by Choice (South Korea TV)
Relationships: Kim Daewook/Yoon Jeongjae
Characters: Kim Daewook, Yoon Jeongjae, Kim Sanha
Additional Tags: Empty Nest Syndrome (sort of), Medicating with Alcohol, Insecurity, Define the Relationship talks, Friends to Lovers, Co-parents to lovers, Non-Linear Narrative, Set during episode 9
Summary:
If ever there was a night for obliterating himself, it was tonight. The facts of Sanha leaving and the trials he’d face in Seoul were too depressing to contemplate, so Daewook let himself brood over smaller, more selfish miseries. His apartment was empty. Haejoon had left, too. Everything was changing, the family disbanded, and where did that leave Daewook? Left behind again. Thrown aside.

I'm currently noodling one of the things I started for Yuletide, but I'm not quite sure where it's going.

I've attempted two Lady Parts drawings, neither of which came out right. But I have smudgers/blenders now (much thanks to those who suggested them!), so I'm messing around with shading more, which is fun.

Life/health/mental state things
Yesterday I wrote, drew Saira, drove, made a huge batch of dumplings, and stayed up too late doing dishes. Today, to no one's surprise, my arms are grumbly. So after this, we're going for a walk in the local bird sanctuary.

Some life-admin to-dos are looming over me. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

Food
I'm pretty sure the part of my scribbled down Korean pork dumpling recipe that says 20 ginger is actually supposed to be 2T ginger. If I'm right, I used way too much.

Good things
Andrew and Halle. Smudgers! Learning. Dreamwidth. Fandom. TV and audiobooks. Sunshine and going for walks. WIPs. Early night tonight. The dishes are done -- thanks, past me!

Poll #34203 Oxford comma

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 63

View Respondents

On the subject of the Oxford/serial comma

View Answers

I have firm opinions
28 (44.4%)

I have moderate preferences
22 (34.9%)

I'm officially neutral
4 (6.3%)

I don't know what it is
0 (0.0%)

always use it!
25 (39.7%)

only use it when necessary!
10 (15.9%)

never use it!
1 (1.6%)

each to their own
10 (15.9%)

I still don't know what it is
0 (0.0%)

other
2 (3.2%)

ticky-box of buying a random bargain bin product, imprinting on it, and spending the rest of your life trying to track down replacements
25 (39.7%)

ticky-box full of walnuts
22 (34.9%)

ticky-box full of squirrels with stopwatches
19 (30.2%)

ticky-box full of thirteen ways of putting on your shoes
9 (14.3%)

ticky-box full of hugs
44 (69.8%)

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

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Posted by Vanessa Armstrong

https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/

https://reactormag.com/?p=839084

News project hail mary

Project Hail Mary Trailer Gives Us a Whole Lotta Rocky, and Andy Weir Says That’s Not a Spoiler

Grace and Rocky, friends forever

By Vanessa Armstrong

Published on February 9, 2026

Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios

[Error: Irreparable invalid markup ('<a [...] h-[15px]">') in entry. Owner must fix manually. Raw contents below.]

<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Vanessa Armstrong</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/">https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=839084">https://reactormag.com/?p=839084</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/news/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag News 0"> News </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/project-hail-mary/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag project hail mary 1"> project hail mary </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Project Hail Mary</i> Trailer Gives Us a Whole Lotta Rocky, and Andy Weir Says That’s Not a Spoiler</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Grace and Rocky, friends forever</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/vanessa-armstrong/" title="Posts by Vanessa Armstrong" class="author url fn" rel="author">Vanessa Armstrong</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on February 9, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&_a]:link"><p>Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 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6.32524 8.76499C6.32524 9.32367 6.4209 9.7905 6.61223 10.1655L5.47575 14.964C5.34564 15.4997 5.2959 16.177 5.32651 16.9959C3.74997 16.2994 2.47575 15.2242 1.50381 13.7701C0.531863 12.316 0.0458984 10.6974 0.0458984 8.91423C0.0458984 7.31473 0.440027 5.83962 1.2283 4.48884C2.01657 3.13807 3.08607 2.06857 4.43684 1.2803C5.78761 0.492029 7.26273 0.0979004 8.86223 0.0979004C10.4617 0.0979004 11.9368 0.492029 13.2876 1.2803C14.6384 2.06857 15.7079 3.13999 16.4962 4.49458Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </svg> </a> </li> <li class="flex"> <a class="flex items-center hover:text-red" href="https://reactormag.com/feed/" target="_blank" title="RSS Feed"> <svg class="w-[17px] h-[17px]" width="18" height="18" viewbox="0 0 18 18" fill="none" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" aria-label="rss feed" role="img" aria-hidden="true"> <g clip-path="url(#clip0_1051_121783)"> <path d="M2.67871 17.4143C2.12871 17.4143 1.65771 17.2183 1.26571 16.8263C0.873713 16.4343 0.678046 15.9636 0.678713 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9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PHM_30245_R2_proxy_md-740x493.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="ryan gosling on a spaceship in project hail mary" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PHM_30245_R2_proxy_md-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PHM_30245_R2_proxy_md-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/PHM_30245_R2_proxy_md.jpg 800w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&_a]:link"><p>Courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>The feature adaptation of Andy Weir’s <em>Project Hail Mary</em> has one final trailer for our eyeballs. In it, we see <a href="https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-ryan-gosling-to-star-in-film-adaptation/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ryan Gosling’s Ryland Grace</a> spend more time with the extraterrestrial Rocky, a rock-like being (hence the name) with spider-like legs and a cheeky voice. (<em><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/project-hail-mary-rocky-james-ortiz-1236499838/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Hollywood Reporter</a></em> broke the news that Rocky’s voice, by the way, comes from its puppeteer, James Ortiz.)</p> <p>We see a lot of Rocky in the trailer, which aired for the first time during Sunday’s Super Bowl. We also see the bond that Grace and Rocky build, including how Rocky is determined to save Grace after they both presumably save their planets by saving their dying suns. </p> <p>The reveal that Grace meets Rocky to begin with, however, has upset some folks who are calling it a major spoiler or reveal. In fact, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM1moKErCL4" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Weir strangely addressed Japanese fans</a> specifically in a recently released YouTube video designed to assure people that Rocky’s presence is not a significant spoiler.</p> <p>“I want to reassure you that Rocky isn’t a secret twist but is the heart of the story,” he says. “He’s an essential element in the adventure, so enjoy the trailers! Meeting Rocky is just the beginning.”</p> <p>We can get more of Rocky when <em>Project Hail Mary</em>, a film directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller from a screenplay by Drew Goddard, blasts into theaters on March 20, 2026.</p> <p>Check out the final <em>Project Hail Mary </em>trailer below. [end-mark]</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <site-embed id="18216"/> </div></figure> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/"><i>Project Hail Mary</i> Trailer Gives Us a Whole Lotta Rocky, and Andy Weir Says That’s Not a Spoiler</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/">https://reactormag.com/project-hail-mary-final-trailer-rocky/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=839084">https://reactormag.com/?p=839084</a></p>

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

veronyxk84 posting in

fan_flashworks

Title: Night of San Lorenzo
Fandom: Viola come il mare (for tagging - category: tv)
Author:

veronyxk84
Characters/Pairing: Viola Vitale/Francesco Demir
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: none
Word count: 300 (Ellipsus)
Spoilers/Setting: Set post-S1.
Summary: Viola and Francesco are waiting for a meteor shower.
Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction created for fun and no profit has been made. All rights belong to the respective owners.

A/N: In Italy, the “Night of San Lorenzo” (August 10th) is traditionally associated with shooting stars. It’s the peak of the Perseid meteor shower and a popular night for making wishes.

Challenge: #505 - Star

—
( READ: Night of San Lorenzo/Triple drabble )

***

( ITALIAN VERSION: Notte di San Lorenzo/Triple drabble )

kerk_hiraeth posting in

halfamoon

TITLE: When the clouds are in your shoes kerk-hiraeth.dreamwidth.org/22595.html

PROMPT: Day Five – The Outlaw

FANDOM: Firefly (post-movieverse)

AUTHOR: kerk_hiraeth

RATING: PG-13

LENGTH: 425

CHARACTERS: Zoë Alleyne; River Tam; Jayne Cobb; OC (Saisyu Washburne)

SUMMARY: Concluded that nothing I could say would summarise better than this allpoetry.com/Here-Is-A-Wound-That-Never-Will-Heal,-I-Know by Edna St. Vincent Millay

A/N: This was inspired by halfamoon's own Big Damn Admin cmk418's Day 5 Firefly fic halfamoon.dreamwidth.org/567034.html ; mind was too busy writing stories in my head, including this one.

Goddess be with you,

天下無不散之筵席 { There is no such thing as a feast that never ends }

kerk

Current Mood: lonely
Current Location: USS Rattray
Current Music: In This Shirt by The Irrepressibles (fanvid for SKAM France S6)

pauamma posting in

dw_dev

It's time for another question thread!

The rules:

- You may ask any dev-related question you have in a comment. (It doesn't even need to be about Dreamwidth, although if it involves a language/library/framework/database Dreamwidth doesn't use, you will probably get answers pointing that out and suggesting a better place to ask.)
- You may also answer any question, using the guidelines given in To Answer, Or Not To Answer and in this comment thread.

potentiality_26

Been listening to this one a lot lately.

Watch on YouTube

tordotcom_feed

Posted by Molly Templeton

https://reactormag.com/authors-open-letter-condemning-bookcon-ice/

https://reactormag.com/?p=839019

News BookCon

Authors Publish Open Letter Condemning BookCon Organizer’s Parent Company RELX Over ICE Ties

Authors Alix E. Harrow, Olivie Blake, and more raise concerns about BookCon 2026

By Molly Templeton

Published on February 9, 2026

Photo: ReedPop

Last year, it was announced that BookCon—the New York City book culture convention presented by ReedPop—would return. The event, set for April 18 & 19 at NYC’s Javits Center, is already sold out, and the website lists featured guests that include Chuck Tingle, Carmen Maria Machado, Holly Black, and Heated Rivalry author Rachel Reid, among many others.

Those guests include authors Alix E. Harrow and Olivie Blake, who have put together an open letter condemning ReedPop parent company RELX for its connections to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

As the letter—addressed to RELX CEO Erik Engstrom, Nick Luff (CFO), and Paul Ashton Walker (Chair)—explains:

We are some of the authors that make events like BookCon—run by your subsidiary, ReedPop—possible. Another of your subsidiaries, LexisNexis, has a $22.1 million contract with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), supplying them with the data they need to surveil and terrorize our neighbors, friends, and families. We condemn any collaboration with ICE and call for the immediate termination of all contracts between RELX and ICE.

The letter follows growing concerns about ReedPop’s parent company. As readers and authors began to note and criticize the connection between RELX and ICE, ReedPop released a statement on social media, saying:

We at ReedPop do not sell customer information to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

ReedPop/RX [Reed Exhibitions] operates entirely at arm’s length and independently. None of our data is shared for marketing or commercial use by any other entity within our parent company.

ReedPop’s statement links to its privacy policy, which is less clear about what happens to users’ personal information. It reads, in part, “Depending on the Service provided, we share personal information with: Our affiliates, trading names and divisions within the Reed Exhibitions group of companies worldwide and certain RELX companies that provide technology, customer service and other shared services functions.”

ReedPop also runs Emerald City Comic Con, New York Comic Con, PAX, and C2E2, among other conventions. [end-mark]

The post Authors Publish Open Letter Condemning BookCon Organizer’s Parent Company RELX Over ICE Ties appeared first on Reactor.

https://reactormag.com/authors-open-letter-condemning-bookcon-ice/

https://reactormag.com/?p=839019

conuly

Watch on YouTube

You can watch episode 1 here.

Also, since I have a few videos:

( Hobey Baker, probably gay hockey player from the early 20th century )

***

( Curling and all the nitty-gritty )

***

( The magnetic shadow effect )

tordotcom_feed

Posted by Stefan Raets

https://reactormag.com/jo-waltons-reading-list-january-2026/

https://reactormag.com/?p=838586

Books Jo Walton Reads

Jo Walton’s Reading List: January 2026

Compelling memoirs, Vikings, Heyer, and early experiments in authoritarianism

By Jo Walton

Published on February 9, 2026

Mosaic of 8 book covers of Jo Walton's reads in January 2026

January started with an excellent New Year’s Eve at home in Montreal with friends, then a house party for a few days, then I came to Florence right after Twelfth Night where I have been ever since, writing and looking at art. There was a lot of ice and snow at home, and there is none here. The novel is still not finished, but I have hopes it will be by the end of February. I read eleven books in January, and they were an interesting bunch.

Better Broken Than New: A Fragmented Memoir — Lisa St Aubin de Terán (2024)
All through her career Lisa St Aubin de Terán has been writing about her own life, whether as memoir or thinly disguised fiction. And all through her career, since I was a teenager, I’ve been reading her books, fascinated and a little repelled. I think I wouldn’t like her in person, but I love reading about her. She’s had a fascinating life, and she writes in a confidential way that always keeps a little back, that draws you close but never quite tells you everything. She’s lived in Venezuela, in Italy, in Mozambique, in England, she reinvents herself from time to time, makes a new start, tries to make sense of herself, writes a book, starts a new life with a new person in a new country. She’s very self-centred, and yet open and looking out, and she’s constantly fascinated with herself and how she turned out to be the person she is. The title of this book is from the Japanese art of kintsugi, and she’s writing about her life that way. If you have not read her, I recommend starting with the novel The Slow Train to Milan but if you have read her, you may well want this memoir that will tell you things you know from her other memoirs and things she held back, and in which you know she is still holding back. She’s a tantalising writer, and you have to care about her and be interested in how weird her life has been.

Covent Garden in the Snow — Jules Wake (2017)
Romance novel set at Christmas about a woman who works in make-up and wig-making at an opera house and how she meets an accountant who likes spreadsheets, and yet of course they’re perfect for each other. Wake is a good writer, good at detail and circumstance, good at friendships and time and place. This was a lot of fun.

Hearthfire Saga Book 1 — Ada Palmer (2027)
Re-read. I read the first draft and now I read this revision. This is a book about Norse gods and the Norse cosmos, and so it’s about survival and the marginal way in which it’s possible to make space to survive. It’s the story of a man and a god travelling through memory to learn why they’re doing it, to learn about themselves and each other. As you’d expect, it’s brilliant, very intensely absorbing, very long, and very thought-provoking. It’s also meticulously researched and deeply grounded in all of the latest research about Norse culture and cosmology. And it’s great, and as I was heading towards the end I was just reading faster and faster in that can’t put it down way, even though I’d read it before and I knew what was going to happen. I will remind you when this comes out, and when it has an official title.

Fluent Forever: How to Learn Any Language Fast and Never Forget It — Gabriel Wyner (2014)
To spoil this book, the answer it to make elaborate flashcards and do them a lot, and I expect that it would work if you did it, but it would be an awful lot of work and most people wouldn’t put that amount of work in. Certainly I wouldn’t. Certainly it seems unlikely for the sort of person who’d buy this book… I’ve been trying to learn Italian for ages, and I’m much better than I used to be but still awful. It seems to me that what helps is actually using it and the repetition I get from Duolingo nagging me.

The Nonesuch — Georgette Heyer (1962)
A young man with a good fortune goes to a country village, not actually feeling in need of a wife but of course finding one. This is a charming book with a fun hero and heroine, and a spoiled beauty who wanders about the plot (such as there is of one) having tantrums. This is pure fluff, but that’s what it’s supposed to be. Light as a meringue. And the misunderstanding is beautifully set up.

Anna and Her Daughters — D.E. Stevenson (1958)
Anna, left widowed, decides to leave London and go back to the Scottish village she came from; her daughters get themselves into a tangle over a man. This book covers much more territory in time and space and emotional resonance than I’m used to from Stevenson and I enjoyed it very much. We have the three daughters growing up in their different ways, and people settling into a village, which I expected, and then then it gets complicated and interesting. (It’s fun to imagine the novel Jane writes as being The Nonesuch.)

Days at the Morisaki Bookshop — Satoshi Yagisawa (2010) Translated by Eric Ozawa.
Very gentle Japanese novel about a girl learning to enjoy life again, after being jilted, by working in her uncle’s bookshop. Nothing much happens, she reads some books, she goes on a trip to the mountains, she talks to some people. I think this was recommended to me by an algorithm because I read The Tatami Galaxy and Before the Coffee Gets Cold and I was expecting it to develop some genre connection, but no, just a mainstream Japanese novel about people. Great that this stuff is being translated, glad I read it.

Absolutism in Renaissance Milan — Jane Black (2009)
A very specialised academic book about, well, absolutism in Renaissance Milan from the beginning of the Visconti dynasty until the end of the Sforza. Much more specialised and much more about absolutism and much less about any other aspect of Renaissance Milan than I expected. Also, a large part of this book is about lawyers arguing about when authoritarian leaders are allowed to be above the law, and fighting their corners to prevent rulers doing whatever they want to without justification, and working hard to prevent them riding roughshod over the existing law. So this was also more relevant than I was expecting.

Her Son’s Wife — Dorothy Canfield Fisher (1926)
This has just become available as an ebook. So, she’s a wonderful writer, and this is a wonderful book, but claustrophobic and depressing to the point where I can’t really recommend it. It’s about a woman who sacrifices herself to save her granddaughter, and it’s very well observed—almost painfully so.

The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning 1845-1846, Vol 2 (1899)
Re-read. You know how I read a lot of things at once? (I read sixteen things at once. I have a system.) Two of the things I am reading are always books of letters. Every single time I opened this book, or the previous volume, every time I saw it in the list of books I was reading, I involuntarily smiled. They wrote to each other every day, sometimes several times a day, even on days when they saw each other, which was once or twice a week by this volume. And it’s all so tense and exciting as it gets towards them getting secretly married and preparing to run away to Italy!

And then… they do. And the book stops. And they never wrote to each other anymore, even though they lived here (right here in Florence) for fifteen years and wrote lots of major poetry—both of them. However, I felt bereft at finishing the book. They didn’t write these letters for me but for each other, and yet, I love them both so much and I want them to be happy, because to immerse yourself in this book is to fall in love with their love for each other. I decided that, since they were dead before I read these letters even the first time, I would consider that they are alive for the next fifteen years and I don’t have to mourn them until then. I then went to look at their house, and stood looking up at their windows. (I do know they’re not really in there.) Fifteen years. In 2041 I’ll read the letters again and… They’re free on Project Gutenberg. I think I said about Volume 1 that if you like Byatt’s Possession, you’ll like these.

Nirvana Express: Journal of a Very Brief Monkhood — S.P. Somtow (2018)
Autobiographical book by SF writer S.P. Somtow about the time he was a Buddhist monk in Thailand for two weeks. An odd mix of information about Buddhism, detail about daily life as a monk, and actual ecstatic experiences. This was interesting and strange, like a lot of Somtow’s fiction. I’m glad I read it. This could not be a more different kind of book from Better Broken Than New and yet both are the kind of memoir I like, the kind where the author is really there and being honest about themselves and their feelings even if not telling you quite everything.

[end-mark]

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https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/

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Movies & TV A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

Good Deeds Shine in a Weary World in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: “Seven”

Carving out a space for hope and earnestness, even in the darkest moments…

By Tyler Dean

Published on February 9, 2026

Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=839014">https://reactormag.com/?p=839014</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/movies-tv/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Movies & TV 0"> Movies & TV </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms 1"> A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">Good Deeds Shine in a Weary World in <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i>: “Seven”</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Carving out a space for hope and earnestness, even in the darkest moments…</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/tyler-dean/" title="Posts by Tyler Dean" class="author url fn" rel="author">Tyler Dean</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on February 9, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&_a]:link"><p>Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 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11.7513C4.78371 10.1926 2.89605 9.41364 0.678713 9.41431V6.41431C2.21205 6.41431 3.64538 6.70197 4.97871 7.27731C6.31205 7.85264 7.47471 8.63597 8.46671 9.62731C9.45805 10.6186 10.2414 11.781 10.8167 13.1143C11.392 14.4476 11.6794 15.881 11.6787 17.4143H8.67871Z" fill="currentColor" fill-opacity="0.2" /> </g> <defs> <clippath id="clip0_1051_121783"> <rect width="17" height="17" fill="white" transform="translate(0.678711 0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-peter-claffey_1-740x493.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Peter Claffey as Dunk in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-peter-claffey_1-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-peter-claffey_1-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-peter-claffey_1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-peter-claffey_1.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&_a]:link"><p>Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>The fourth episode of <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em> was absolutely the high point of the season so far. Almost all of this week’s action played out as a series of two-handers, mostly devoid of music (save for that spectacular sting of the main theme, swelling at the episode’s end in all its grandeur, rather than being played for humor as it was in the first episode). This episode, “Seven,” largely eschewed humor in favor of genuine, earnest pathos, driving home all the reasons Dunk and Egg are both worth rooting for.</p> <p>This article does not include spoilers for anything beyond the episodes that have aired thus far, so feel free to read on! </p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>The Title</strong></h3> <p>I mean, it’s pretty obvious right? “Seven” refers to the Trial of Seven and the seven knights that must fight against injustice. Also, the Seven Gods and the Seven Kingdoms, etc., etc., etc. I feel like these episode titles are not quite as arcane or hyper-referential as they were in the original series or <em>House of the Dragon</em>. Which makes sense—like Dunk, it’s all pretty straightforward. </p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Andal Foolery — A Guide to the Ethnicities and Religions of Westeros</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-paul-hunter-steve-wall-bertie-carvel-sam-spruell-and-finn-bennett-1100x733.jpg" alt="Paul Hunter, Steve Wall, Bertie Carvel, Sam Spruell and Finn Bennett in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-839044" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-paul-hunter-steve-wall-bertie-carvel-sam-spruell-and-finn-bennett-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-paul-hunter-steve-wall-bertie-carvel-sam-spruell-and-finn-bennett-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-paul-hunter-steve-wall-bertie-carvel-sam-spruell-and-finn-bennett-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-paul-hunter-steve-wall-bertie-carvel-sam-spruell-and-finn-bennett.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>Maekar scoffs at his son’s invocation of a Trial of Seven as “6000-year-old Andal foolery.” While the point of his angry outburst is mostly to drive home how furious he is at Aerion, it’s another interesting reminder of the alien nature of the Targaryens and their position in the larger culture. As a reminder, Westeros is home to four distinct ethnic groups:</p> <p><strong>The First Men</strong> are the original human inhabitants of the continent (the Giants and Children of the Forest predate them). They tend to be light skinned, dark haired, and dark eyed and are the ancestors of Northern houses like the Starks, Boltons, and Tullys, as well as the Ironborn of the Iron Islands, including the Greyjoys. They originally worshipped the Old Gods—a vaguely animist religion they learned from the Children of the Forest—and many houses still keep that faith (though many have also converted to the light of the Seven or worship the Drowned God). </p> <p><strong>The Andals</strong> arrived 6,000 years ago. They tend to be light skinned and light haired, with blue or green eyes, and are the ancestors of most of the Southern houses like the Lannisters, and Arryns. They brought the Seven gods with them from across the narrow sea and are the rough equivalent of Vikings in Martin’s pseudo-history. They waged war against the First Men and wiped out most of their cultural footprint (save in the North) and are now the most culturally dominant of the ethnic groups.</p> <p><strong>The Rhoynar</strong> arrived as refugees from Essos a thousand years ago after their Kingdom lost a war of conquest with Valyria. They settled in Dorne and make up a number of Dornish Houses (including the ruling House Martell). They tend to be olive skinned, black haired and dark eyed. The ancient Rhoynish worshipped the personification of their home River (the Rhoyne) as well as an unnamed turtle god (Martin famously likes turtles), but save for a small group of itinerant, non-assimilating Rhoynar called the Orphans of the Greenblood, they mostly worship the Seven.</p> <p><strong>The Valyrians</strong> are, for the most part, represented only by House Targaryen and House Velaryon in Westeros (although House Baratheon supposedly has some small amount of Valyrian blood). They are descendants of those who fled their Empire in Southern Essos and were spared the “Doom”—the magical cataclysm that destroyed Valyria four hundred years ago and wiped out the Valyrian people, save those in some of its Free City colonies like Lys and Volantis. They have otherworldly silver or golden hair (often depicted on the HBO shows as white) and purple eyes (the shows eschewed this detail). In the books they are also, traditionally, light skinned, although <em>House of the Dragon </em>cast Black actors to play the Velaryons. The Valyrians traditionally engaged in incestuous marriages in order to keep their bloodlines pure and keep the Valyrian heritage alive. The Valyrians used to worship their own gods but most of their religion was wiped out with the Doom. Many Targaryen dragons are named after Valyrian gods (Balerion, Vhagar, Meraxes, and Syrax being notable examples). </p> <p>The Targaryens, as the most pure-bred Valyrians in Westeros, are definitely easy to peg as the “incestuous alien…blood magickers and tyrants who’ve burned our lands [and] enslaved our people” that Raymun Fossoway describes them as. While Aegon the Conqueror publicly converted to the faith of the Seven during his campaign to conquer Westeros, it’s clear that this was a political move. <em>House of the Dragon</em> drives this home by showing us how the Targaryens of that earlier era still keep their own marriage rites, and maintain ties to the old religion through the sect of Dragonkeepers. By the time of <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</em>, however, we have been through the reign of King Baelor the Blessed (who this show’s Prince Baelor is named after)—a religious zealot who built the Great Sept of Baelor (where Ned Stark is later beheaded, and which eventually Cersei blows up with her wildfire scheme) and made it clear that the Targaryens were a Seven-worshipping House in truth.</p> <p>All of that is to say that it’s quite interesting that Maekar derides an (admittedly ancient) Andal practice so publicly in front of the Lords Tyrell and Ashford. The show has done a great job in making it clear that, both as the youngest of four and as a Targaryen that has phenotypically Valyrian features, Maekar isn’t concerned about the slow degradation of the Targaryens’ power and the weakening of their dynastic brand, as it were—and this seems to cement it. Back when they had dragons, the foreignness of the Targaryens was an asset that made them untouchable. Now, lacking the superweapon that enabled their conquest of Westeros, it just makes them seem out of touch.</p> <p>In that way, you can see that the show is drawing an interesting parallel between the politically savvy Baelor (the eldest brother of Maekar) and his nephew Aerion. The former wants to maintain Targaryen legitimacy by taking a more diplomatic approach, keeping the family on good terms with those descended from the Andals and First Men (given that Baelor and Maekar are half Rhoynish, Dorne is a lesser concern), while the latter wants to do the same with a show of dominance and force. Even so, Aerion’s choice of trial reflects more than just his own unwillingness to face Dunk one-on-one—it reflects that same shrewd desire to use the religion of Westeros’ colonized peoples to make a strategic play. </p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Drunken Dragon Dreams</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-henry-ashton-1100x733.jpg" alt="Henry Ashton as Prince Daeron Targaryen in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-839043" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-henry-ashton-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-henry-ashton-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-henry-ashton-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-henry-ashton.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>Martin has a penchant for writing tragic characters who are deeply flawed, profoundly and uncomfortably aware of their shortcomings, and who begrudgingly choose to do the right thing in key moments. Arguably, Tyrion Lannister is one these, as are Ser Jorah Mormont, Alicent Hightower (at least in the show), and Theon Greyjoy. We can add Prince Daeron Targaryen to that list as he assures Dunk that he’ll throw the match and apologizes for the role he played in Dunk’s legal woes. </p> <p>He also is a Dreamer—a sort of Valyrian clairvoyant that the Targaryen line is famous for producing; it was Daenys the Dreamer, the daughter of the Lord Aenar Targaryen, who dreamed of the Doom of Valyria a decade before it happened and convinced her father to move his holdings to Dragonstone. It is heavily implied that Rhaegar, Maester Aemon, and Daenerys Targaryen are also Dreamers, as well as the <em>House of the Dragon</em>’s version of Helaena Targaryen. Certain fan theories that assert Tyrion Lannister is secretly Aerys II’s bastard son also suggest that he has dragon dreams.</p> <p>When Martin published <em>The Hedge Knight</em> in 1998, he hadn’t come up with a lot of the backstory for the Targaryen dynasty and was still figuring out a lot of the mystical elements of the plot that would become clearer in <em>A Storm of Swords</em> and subsequent Song of Ice and Fire novels, so Daeron is, oddly one of the first Dreamers presented in the series—at least on the “Fire” side of the books. Prophetic dreams and visions are a trait shared by magical lineages on both sides of the “Fire” and “Ice” divide. Over on the colder side, they are called “green dreams” after the Green Man-like greenseers who were shamans among the First Men and Children of the Forest. Bran Stark is famously one of these, as is the Ghost of High Heart, a woods witch that Arya meets in <em>A Storm of Swords</em> (and who may be connected to characters in <em>AKot7K</em> down the line), and Alys Rivers from <em>House of the Dragon</em>. Crucially, Brynden “Bloodraven” Rivers—who we’ve seen in Daemon’s vision in <em>HotD </em>and who was played by Max von Sydow in <em>Game of Thrones</em>, calling himself the “Three-Eyed Raven”—is potentially the most powerful Dragon Dreamer in the Targaryen lineage and will likely appear in future seasons of this show, seeing as he is the royal spymaster during this time. </p> <p>All of this is to say that, when Martin wrote <em>The Hedge Knight</em>, he hadn’t fully established the centrality of dragon dreams in the central story and Daeron’s ability was a winking Easter egg for what was happening with Dany in the House of the Undying. Obviously, we’re watching <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms </em>after the totality of <em>Game of Thrones</em> and also after <em>HotD</em> made Dreamers a central trope of the dynasty with Viserys I’s obsession with prophecy (and Daemon trying to counteract it in his famous line: “Dreams didn’t make us kings; dragons did.”). So Daeron’s vision plays as far more consequential here than it did in the original novella. It also adds to the tragic irony of Daeron’s character: now, when all the dragons are dead and House Targaryen is on the decline, the one family member who still possesses some of the magic that sets Targaryens apart from most of humanity is a drunken failson who fears his own visions, drowning himself in his vices in order to dampen his powers.</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Oak and Iron</strong></h3> <p>We finally see the shield that Dunk commissioned from Tanselle. It’s one of the more iconic designs from all of Martin’s books and it looks lovely on screen—neither too perfect nor too rough. There’s a longstanding fan theory (that has been all but confirmed by Martin) that Ser Duncan is a distant ancestor of Brienne of Tarth, accounting for why the two of them are both so tall. In <em>A Feast for Crows</em>, while Brienne is wandering around the Riverlands and Crownlands, she remembers seeing the shield in her father’s armory, and has someone paint her own shield with the same device so that she can travel in disguise. It’s a great little moment highlighting Dunk’s legacy and Martin’s fondness for awkward outcasts. Long story short, a lot was riding on this shield, and the show absolutely delivered. </p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Six Plus One Times Two</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-daniel-ings_0-1100x733.jpg" alt="Daniel Ings as Lyonel Baratheon in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-839037" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-daniel-ings_0-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-daniel-ings_0-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-daniel-ings_0-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-daniel-ings_0.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>So, with the lineups set for Dunk’s trial of seven, we have fourteen combatants to pay attention to…</p> <p>On Dunk’s side we have:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Dunk himself</li> <li>Prince Baelor “Breakspear” Targaryen, the Hand of the King</li> <li>Ser Raymun Fossoway (newly knighted)</li> <li>Ser Lyonel Baratheon, our queer, devil-may-care fan favorite</li> <li>Ser Robyn Rhysling, “the maddest knight in Westeros,” whom Egg met at the beginning of episode 3 and knew by reputation from previous tourneys.</li> <li>Ser Humfrey Hardyng, who had his horse murdered by Aerion in episode 3 and is out for revenge (even with a broken leg)</li> <li>And Ser Humfrey Beesbury, who we have seen in brief moments during the joust. He has not had any lines yet and is only distinguishable by the beehives on his armor and his startlingly weird, bright yellow, Lorax-style moustache. </li> </ul> <p>On the other side we have:</p> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>Prince Aerion “Brightflame” Targaryen</li> <li>His brother Prince Daeron Targaryen, aka “Daeron the Drunkard”</li> <li>Their father, Prince Maekar Targaryen</li> <li>Ser Steffon Fossoway, Raymun’s cousin who betrayed Dunk for a lordship</li> <li>Ser Donnel of Duskendale, a member of the Kingsguard who is apparently the son of a crabbing magnate. We met him in episode 2 when he commended Dunk for being another common-born knight </li> <li>Ser Roland Crakehall, another member of the Kingsguard who we also met with Ser Donnel in episode 2</li> <li>Ser Willem Wylde, the third and final member of the Kingsguard contingent dispatched to the tourney. Like Ser Humfrey Beesbury, we have only ever seen him in the background of scenes and he has had no lines.</li> </ul> <p>Given that there are so, so many combatants here, I do like that the show has done a decent job of seeding in as many as possible beforehand, making them a bit more recognizable (both Egg’s scene with Ser Robyn and all the scenes with Ser Lyonel before this episode were invented for the show). I also love the parity of having a seventh member of each team that the show has basically shrugged at and said “uh, sure, there’s another guy there.”</p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Hopepunk (HopeDunk?)</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-youssef-kerkour-1100x733.jpg" alt="Youssef Kerkour as Steely Pate in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-839041" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-youssef-kerkour-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-youssef-kerkour-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-youssef-kerkour-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-youssef-kerkour.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <p>The show really is leaning all the way in on giving the audience moments to cheer for and distinguishing itself from other ASoIaF shows by embracing genuine earnestness. Martin’s first book in the series, <em>A Game of Thrones</em>, is the story of an honorable man who does everything right, uncovers injustice, and is brutally killed as a result. It’s not really the relentlessly grimdark story that it often gets accused of being, but it is a statement of Martin’s beliefs about the ways in which happy endings are undercut by political realities. He puts this succinctly in <em>A Storm of Swords</em> when Ser Jorah Mormont counsels Daenerys on why it’s necessary to be underhanded even in pursuit of justice: “Rhaegar fought valiantly, Rhaegar fought nobly, Rhaegar fought honorably. And Rhaegar died.” In some ways, after thirty years of <em>ASoIaF</em> (and fifteen years of <em>Game of Thrones</em> on television), we are primed to view all triumphs in that world cynically. <em>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms </em>offers an ameliorative to our jaded expectations, and in doing so, it’s claiming a distinct space for itself within the Martin canon. </p> <p>In the quiet, poignant scene where he hands over the newly painted shield, Steely Pate’s conversation with Dunk is taken nearly verbatim from <em>The Hedge Knight</em>, and when Dunk asks what he owes, Youssef Kerkour really nails the line reading of “For you? …A copper” that ends it. Similarly, cutting to Red, the sex worker, in the stands and her moment of stunned joy as Prince Baelor declares himself for Dunk alongside Ramin Djawadi’s main theme, hammers home the sense that this is a story where such touching and triumphant moments are truly possible. We’ll return to this discussion after the season is over to more fully examine the ways in which <em>The Hedge Knight</em> and this season are and are not in line with Martin’s typical worldview, but for now it genuinely feels great to end an episode of any show set in Westeros on a high note and with a stirring repudiation of wickedness. </p> <p>The show is also remarkably good at having it both ways when it comes to its characterization of Baelor, the eldest son and heir of the current king. As I’ve discussed in previous explainers, Baelor sees his role as Hand of the King as one that prioritizes PR—it’s his duty to drum up support for the Targaryens. <em>The Hedge Knight</em> characterizes him as chivalrous and brave and a paragon of knighthood (though of course, it is told through Dunk’s eyes). We start seeing the seams in his outer façade a bit better here. Baelor does genuinely seem to be an honorable man but he’s asked to do (or at least ignore) unsavory things for the greater good of his family and their continued dominance. When Egg (treasonously) tells him that he wants Aerion dead, you can see the deep unease and tortured distaste in his eyes when he dismisses Egg’s statement with the rote line “the Septons tell us we must love our brothers,” likely knowing the extent to which Egg has good cause to hate Aerion. It’s meant to be insufficient, an evasion, and whatever arc the show has built for Baelor, it seems to be grounded in the realization that occurs between this moment and the final scene in the episode that the only way to earn the respect of the people is to put himself forward for a just cause. It’s not simply the right thing to do and honorable, chivalrous, etc., it’s also the smart thing to do from PR perspective—ensuring that no matter who wins the combat, there will be a Targaryen on the winning side. The writers pull of a neat trick by making sure that one of the most potentially cynical moves in the show is also one of its most heroic. </p> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Odds and Ends</strong></h3> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="733" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-dexter-sol-ansell_1-1100x733.jpg" alt="Dextor Sol Ansell as Egg in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" class="wp-image-839039" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-dexter-sol-ansell_1-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-dexter-sol-ansell_1-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-dexter-sol-ansell_1-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-104-dexter-sol-ansell_1.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Steffan Hill/HBO </figcaption></figure> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The opening tracking shot where what looks like stars are revealed to be the mud-streaked castle walls is pretty great. Given that so many episodes have started or ended with Dunk and/or Egg looking up at the stars, it makes for some nice thematic continuity.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>There’s more excellent costuming on display in this episode. I only realized this time around that the ridge of dragon scales that encircles Prince Baelor’s doublet culminates in his Hand of the King pin. It makes it look like the Hand itself belongs to a dragon. That, alongside the black doublets and red and black sashes that Maekar, Aerion, and Egg wear, it speaks to a sort of Targaryen branding that is clearly part of the effort to boost the Targaryens’ legitimacy in the era after the First Blackfyre Rebellion</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>I say this almost every episode about every <em>ASoIaF</em> show, but the use of visual storytelling that cleverly cuts down the need for exposition is always fantastic. In this episode, when demanding a trial by combat, Dunk is met by his accuser, Aerion, the Princes Baelor and Maekar (the two highest-ranking Targaryens in attendance), Lord Ashford (because it’s his lands where the crimes have been committed), and Lord Leo Tyrell (because he is Ashford’s High Lord, whose honor might also be impugned). We’ve had a single scene with Leo Tyrell previously, but it’s great to see them adhering to the logic of whose honor is at stake and including him in the lineup. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The tableau with Lord Ashford on his hands and knees searching for a walnut feels very much like a Bosch painting depicting the failures of the state. It’s funny, sure, but it also has the peculiarly Medieval look of allegorical art.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>I’m a little bit leery of the show’s handling of Egg’s assertion of Aerion’s sexual assault. Following it up with Ser Raymun laughing is definitely in character, given how much he hates the Targaryens (in part because they are incestuous), but it also feels like the show trying to lighten the mood. Given how badly the original <em>GoT</em> handled depictions of and references to sexual assault (so much so that <em>House of the </em><em>Dragon</em> had to be very clear that avoiding on-screen depictions of sexual violence <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2022/08/house-of-the-dragon-sexual-violence-game-of-thrones?srsltid=AfmBOoqWcwDL93DLXdYe7TG5iYrKwm3VVN0bgqnX8IN1_-0EFlqWlhTh">was a rule for their writers’ room</a>), this feels a little tasteless. While it is a detail taken directly from <em>The Hedge Knight</em>, it doesn’t seem like one the show needed at all, if they were trying to avoid a darker, more disturbing edge to these events. But if you’re going to include it, take it seriously.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>There is a match cut of Tanselle’s remembered scream with Steely Pate opening the window, mimicking the sound of her finger breaking. This mimics, almost exactly a passage from <em>The Hedge Knight </em>where Dunk in prison hears “… the snap of a lance. Dunk winced whenever he heard that last; it reminded him of the noise Tanselle’s finger had made when Aerion broke it.” I definitely appreciate the show going out of its way to recapture moments from the novella, even when they are relatively unfilmable as written. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>They’ve really made Ser Robyn into a character out of courtly romance—the mad knight dedicated to the abstract concept of the Warrior’s bravery. I also love that the chainmail on his helm just dips down over the missing eye. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>The shrug from Ser Arlan is fantastic. </li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>In the original novella, Dunk calls out a bunch of lords and knights by name when he beseeches the crowd for a seventh combatant, including Ser Otho, “the Brute of Bracken.” In that version, Ser Otho rises to tell him it’s not his fight to get involved in. Changing this to a fart joke feels, I dunno, a little beneath the show? Martin isn’t above crude humor and there is room for it in any ASoIaF show, but I feel like there has been an overreliance on it here that breaks the immersion a little bit—especially when they have had so many good gags that haven’t relied on cheap laughs.</li> </ul> <ul class="wp-block-list"> <li>In the novella, there is a big deal made about the initial assumption that Baelor’s son, Prince Valarr, arrives to support Dunk because Baelor, eschewing participation in the tournament, didn’t bring his own armor and wears his son’s instead. They keep the moment where Baelor rides in wearing what is clearly Valarr’s armor, but because Valarr has largely been relegated to the background of the show, they don’t really go for the Patroclus-in-Achilles’ armor plot point. Apparently, however, they did give Bertie Carvel a single contact lens so that he would have some continuity with Valarr as played by Oscar Morgan, who has heterochromia.</li> </ul> <div style="height:10px" aria-hidden="true" class="wp-block-spacer"></div> <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>In Conclusion </strong></h3> <p>What do you think? Are you excited for next week’s trial by combat spectacular? For book readers, given that Martin includes virtually no flashbacks in his novellas, are you excited to see that the show will apparently feature some scenes set in Dunk’s childhood? What did you think of this episode being so deliberately paced and largely free of spectacle? Let me know in the comments, alongside any other thoughts you have about the most recent episode![end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/">Good Deeds Shine in a Weary World in <i>A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms</i>: “Seven”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/">https://reactormag.com/tv-review-a-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-season-1-episode-4/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=839014">https://reactormag.com/?p=839014</a></p>

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Posted by Sarah

https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/

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Column Babylon 5 Rewatch

Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Rising Star”

The civil war is over, but there are consequences for Sheridan…

By Keith R.A. DeCandido

Published on February 9, 2026

Credit: Warner Bros. Television

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/">https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=838886">https://reactormag.com/?p=838886</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/column/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Column 0"> Column </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/babylon-5-rewatch/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Babylon 5 Rewatch 1"> Babylon 5 Rewatch </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1"><i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “Rising Star”</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">The civil war is over, but there are consequences for Sheridan…</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/keith-decandido/" title="Posts by Keith R.A. DeCandido" class="author url fn" rel="author">Keith R.A. DeCandido</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on February 9, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&_a]:link"><p>Credit: Warner Bros. Television</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] tablet:hidden"> <div class="flex gap-[30px] tablet:gap-6"> <a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/#comments" class="flex items-center text-sm font-aktiv tracking-[0.6px] font-semibold uppercase translate-x-[1px] translate-y-[1px]"> <svg class="w-[22px] h-[22px] mr-[7px] icon-hover" viewbox="0 0 18 18" aria-label="comment" role="img" aria-hidden="true" aria-labelledby="icon-comment-quick-access-"> <title id="icon-comment-quick-access-">Comment</title> <g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <path fill="#FFF" fill-rule="nonzero" d="M6.3 18a.9.9 0 0 1-.9-.9v-2.7H1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 0 12.6V1.8A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 1.8 0h14.4A1.8 1.8 0 0 1 18 1.8v10.8a1.8 1.8 0 0 1-1.8 1.8h-5.49l-3.33 3.339a.917.917 0 0 1-.63.261H6.3Z" /> <path stroke="#000" d="M5.9 14.4v-.5H1.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3-1.3V1.8A1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.8.5h14.4a1.3 1.3 0 0 1 1.3 1.3v10.8a1.3 1.3 0 0 1-1.3 1.3h-5.698l-.146.147-3.324 3.333a.417.417 0 0 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https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-01.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&_a]:link"><p>Credit: Warner Bros. Television</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p><strong>“Rising Star”</strong><br>Written by J. Michael Straczynski<br>Directed by Tony Dow<br>Season 4, Episode 21<br>Production episode 421<br>Original air date: October 20, 1997</p> <p><strong>It was the dawn of the third age…</strong> We open with an ISN special report showing that Clark is dead by suicide, that Susanna Luchenko of the Russian Federation is the acting Earth Alliance President, and that Sheridan has turned himself in. ISN also sends condolences to Ivanova, dying on B5. We then cut to Franklin, rushing back to B5 in a <em>White Star </em>hoping to stop Cole from sacrificing himself to save Ivanova.</p> <p>In that, he fails, as by the time he arrives, Cole is dead and Ivanova is alive, the former having used the Great Hit Point Rearranger to save the latter. Ivanova is sitting on the floor crying, and Franklin joins her on the floor and they talk for a bit, Ivanova expressing her frustration with Cole and her regrets about how she treated him. In the end, she sadly laments that all love is unrequited.</p> <p>On Earth, Sheridan is waiting in a meeting room. Bester arrives, and the pair of them trade quips and insults, before Bester gets down to the nitty-gritty: he wants to know if his lover Carolyn was one of the telepaths he used against the EarthForce fleet. Sheridan says that he made sure to only use ones who had no families. Bester angrily points out that Carolyn had no family, but then Sheridan drops the other shoe: he has been in a situation where he lost someone he loved, then got her back just long enough to lose her again, and he wouldn’t wish that on anyone—not even Bester. Carolyn is back on B5. Sheridan also says that he knows what Bester did to Garibaldi and Sheridan suspects that Garibaldi is going to want payback at some point.</p> <p>On Mars, Garibaldi interrogates an underworld accountant named Max. Lise has been taken by criminals she went to try to get a new ID to get off Mars, and instead are holding her for ransom. Max is who the bad guys would launder the money through, and Garibaldi violently persuades Max to give the location up. He is then able to free Lise, with the help of some Rangers.</p> <p>Mollari and G’Kar meet with Delenn on a <em>White Star</em>. Delenn has a proposal for them that she will also be presenting to the League of Non-Aligned Worlds. Mollari greets her proposal with laughter, not because he thinks it’s funny, but because it’s so revolutionary that it’s leaving him light-headed. When the other League representatives arrive, Mollari cautions them to have a change of underwear handy.</p> <p>On Earth, General Foote enters the conference room and informs Sheridan that a decision has been made with regard to his fate. Luchenko then enters, Foote and Sheridan standing at attention. She excuses Foote and then gets down to business. Sheridan has left a bit of a mess. B5 being so far removed from Earth actually made things easier for him, as he could act with less supervision and surveillance than they could back home. That was why he was able to move more overtly than anti-Clark forces on Earth could. But he also committed acts that could be construed as treasonous.</p> <p>She gives him two alternatives: resign his commission, he’ll get his full captain’s pension, and his crew will receive amnesty; or be dishonorably discharged, and everyone under him will be open to prosecution. Sheridan insists on the amnesty being in writing, and agrees to the former.</p> <p>On the <em>White Star</em>, Lennier informs Delenn that the League has unanimously agreed to her proposal. Lennier is sad that Cole wasn’t here to see this historic occasion, but Delenn is more philosophical about it, feeling that he’s here in spirit. Lennier quotes what Ivanova said about all love being unrequited, and Delenn—showing either remarkable insight or remarkable cluelessness—cups Lennier’s cheek and says that that’s not true.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-04-1100x825.jpg" alt="Delenn comforts Lennier in Babylon 5 "Rising Star"" class="wp-image-838932" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-04-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-04-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-04-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-04-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-04.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p>ISN broadcasts the press conference, which starts with Luchenko and continues to Sheridan announcing his resignation. Then G’Kar announces the new Interstellar Alliance, which is in part inspired by the humans’ unique ability to form communities. Delenn then takes the podium and explains what the Interstellar Alliance is (an economic and political alliance, not a military one), what the Rangers’ role will be in it (a peacekeeping and support force), and that they’d love Earth to join. There’s a flyby by the <em>White Star </em>fleet which, amazingly, doesn’t trigger an interstellar war…</p> <p>Luchenko meets privately with Delenn, G’Kar, and Mollari. She was caught off-guard by this, and has some misgivings. Mollari says he has misgivings, too, but also the Centauri Republic is tired of war. Delenn also sweetens the pot by saying that they will share artificial gravity tech with Earth, which means they won’t have to be reliant on big rotating ships to create gravity.</p> <p>Then Luchenko asks with whom they negotiate, and Delenn says they have a president: John Sheridan.</p> <p>Sheridan is back in that same damn conference room, feet up, smugly remarking to Foote on how you barely have time to pick a vacation spot after retiring when you get another job offer. For his part, Foote angrily says he planned this all along—which he did, but he wanted to make sure his crew was immune from prosecution. To that end, he gave copies of the certificate of amnesty to the reporters and has the original someplace safe, just in case they decided to rescind it. Sheridan then stands and waits for the general to open the door for him to leave. Foote reluctantly does so, as that’s the protocol for a head of state…</p> <p>Sheridan meets with Delenn and also his father, who has been freed. He assures Sheridan that they never got near his mother, and that they’ve been treating him a lot nicer. David is also happy to meet his future daughter-in-law.</p> <p>Another ISN report, this time announcing that Earth has come to an agreement with President Sheridan to join the Interstellar Alliance, pending Senate approval. Sheridan also says that a condition of joining is to allow worlds that vote to be so get to be independent—which means that Mars will be independent from Earth.</p> <p>Garibaldi and Lise are watching the news report from the latter’s bed, in which they are both in a post-coital snuggle. Lise asks if and when he’s going back to B5, and he’s not sure. (Why he even thinks there’s a job available to him is unclear.) Lise says she can use his help running Edgars Industries, which she now owns as Edgars’ widow.</p> <p>The report continues: Sheridan’s last act as a member of EarthForce was to approve Ivanova’s promotion to captain. She’s taking command of a new Warlock-class destroyer, having personal reasons for not wanting to stay on B5.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-06-1100x825.jpg" alt="Ivanova in Babylon 5 "Rising Star"" class="wp-image-838929" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-06-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-06-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-06-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-06-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-06.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p>In addition, Sheridan and Delenn were married in a private ceremony on a <em>White Star</em> en route to B5, which will be the temporary seat of the Interstellar Alliance government until an appropriate spot can be found in Tuzenor or Minbar for it.</p> <p>Mollari and G’Kar are also watching the news report, with G’Kar eating bits of rice left over from the wedding ceremony. Mollari castigates him for eating the rice—if it was edible, why were they throwing it?—and lewdly comments that he wishes he could look in on their honeymoon suite. Then he notices that G’Kar’s prosthetic eye is missing. It is, in fact, in Sheridan and Delenn’s honeymoon suite, which is kinda creepy, but okay…</p> <p>The episode ends on Delenn’s voiceover talking about how 2261 ended historically, the end of one chapter, and the start of another. The next twenty years would bring a great deal of hardship, but the Alliance would endure—as will B5.</p> <p><strong>Get the hell out of our galaxy!</strong> Sheridan gambles that Delenn would be able to pull the Interstellar Alliance together and elect him president—but if he didn’t, at least he gets to retire with his crew safe from legal retaliation. He also gets to be reunited with his father, marry Delenn, and stick it to Bester. Good day for him…</p> <p><strong>Ivanova is God.</strong> Ivanova had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to die, but then she felt herself pulled back to reality with the words “I love you” from Cole. She’s completely devastated by what he did, and she refuses command of B5, preferring to take another assignment to get away from there.</p> <p><strong>The household god of frustration.</strong> When he frees Lise, Garibaldi opens with a flashbang that’s disguised as a kids’ toy that plays a recording of Porky Pig saying, “Th-th-th-th-th-that’s all, folks!”</p> <p><strong>If you value your lives, be somewhere else.</strong> Delenn pulls the Interstellar Alliance together with completely unconvincing speed.</p> <p><strong>In the glorious days of the Centauri Republic…</strong> Vir announces to Mollari that he is to be made emperor when the Regent dies, as was predicted as a vision in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-the-coming-of-shadows/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Coming of Shadows</a>” and by Lady Morella in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-point-of-no-return/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Point of No Return</a>,” and which was seen in the jump forward in the “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-war-without-end-part-one/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">War Without End</a>” <a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-war-without-end-part-two/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">two-parter</a>.</p> <p><strong>Though it take a thousand years, we shall be free.</strong> G’Kar and Mollari have settled into a weird kind of brotherly banter, which Mollari himself describes as strange.</p> <p><strong>We live for the one, we die for the one.</strong> The Rangers are established as a kind of peacekeeping force for the Interstellar Alliance.</p> <p><strong>The Corps is mother, the Corps is father.</strong> Sheridan makes it clear to Bester that he’s going to be keeping an eye on the Psi Corps to make sure they don’t try to keep or worse, expand on all the power Clark gave them.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-02-1100x825.jpg" alt="Bester and Sheridan in Babylon 5 "Rising Star"" class="wp-image-838931" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-02-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-02-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-02-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-02-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-02.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>No sex, please, we’re EarthForce.</strong> Oh, goodness, where to start….</p> <p>Ivanova belatedly realizes the depth of Cole’s feelings for her, and she regrets that she didn’t at least boff him once so he wouldn’t have died a virgin. (Franklin then, justifiably, questions her use of the verb “to boff.”)</p> <p>Garibaldi rescues Lise and they get back together, what with her husband being dead and all.</p> <p>Sheridan and Delenn finally get married, and their honeymoon night is spied upon by G’Kar, which is not at all creepy, really. (It’s <em>totally</em> creepy…)</p> <p><strong>Looking ahead.</strong> In her voiceover at the end, Delenn makes reference to both the Telepath War and the Drakh War. Sheridan also foreshadows the Telepath War in his conversation with Bester. J. Michael Straczynski intended to dramatize both, but was only partially successful: the movie <em>A Call to Arms</em> and the spinoff series <em>Crusade</em> showed the beginning of the Drakh War, but the latter’s cancellation kept it from being shown in its entirety, and the Telepath War was never shown.</p> <p><strong>Welcome aboard.</strong> Recurring regulars Rance Howard as David (back from “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-interludes-and-examinations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Interludes and Examinations</a>”), Maggie Egan as ISN anchor Jane (back from “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-endgame/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Endgame</a>”), Walter Koenig as Bester, and Denise Gentile as Lise (both back from “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-the-face-of-the-enemy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Face of the Enemy</a>”) all appear. It’s Howard’s final appearance; Gentile will return in “Darkness Ascending,” Egan will return in “Objects at Rest,” and Koenig will return in “Strange Relations.”</p> <p>Michael Potter plays Foote, Joey Dente plays Luko, and the great Beata Pozniak is simply magnificent as Luchenko.</p> <p><strong>Trivial matters. </strong>When this episode was filmed, it was not known if there would be a fifth season or not. In terms of production, the next episode to be filmed was “Sleeping in Light,” designed to be the series finale in case a fifth season didn’t happen. Then TNT picked up the series, and so “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars” was written and filmed and made into the season four finale, with “Sleeping in Light” held over until the end of season five.</p> <p>Claudia Christian wound up not returning for season five due to an inability for the two sides to come to terms on a contract. She will next be seen on the show in “Sleeping in Light,” which was filmed as part of season four originally, and will also appear in the movies <em>In the Beginning</em> and <em>Thirdspace</em>. The original intent was for Ivanova to be promoted to captain and made commanding officer of B5. After it was clear that Christian wasn’t returning, the news report voiceover at the end of this episode was re-recorded to state that Ivanova was taking a ship command.</p> <p>This is Jason Carter’s final appearance on the show, and he only appears as a corpse laying alongside Ivanova. The short story “<a href="https://babylon5.fandom.com/wiki/Space,_Time,_and_the_Incurable_Romantic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic</a>” by J. Michael Straczynski, appearing in an issue of <em>Amazing Stories</em>, tried to manufacture a happy ending for the Cole-Ivanova couple by having Cole resurrected by advanced science three hundred years later and he winds up trapping himself on a planet with a clone of Ivanova that has had her memories from up to the events of “Between the Darkness and the Light.” They live out their lives with Cole lying to the Ivanova clone about what year it is and what happened, which doesn’t feel like any kind of happy ending to me…</p> <p>While this is Luchenko’s only appearance, she will be referenced several more times, having presumably been made permanent president rather than acting as she is in this episode.</p> <p>The Great Hit Point Rearranger was introduced in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-the-quality-of-mercy/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Quality of Mercy</a>.” Sheridan and Franklin used it to save Garibaldi in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-revelations/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Revelations</a>.” Cole found out about it last time in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-endgame/">Endgame</a>.” Franklin mentions that Cole must have hacked the medical logs, as they were supposed to be classified and encrypted.</p> <p>Sheridan promised the Mars Resistance that he would free Mars when this was all over, in exchange for their cooperation, in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-lines-of-communication/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lines of Communication</a>.” His wife Anna died some time prior to his arrival on B5, as seen in “Revelations,” and he thought he got her back in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-shadow-dancing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Shadow Dancing</a>,” only to lose her again in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-zhadum/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Z’ha’dum</a>.”</p> <p><strong>The echoes of all of our conversations.</strong> “Half of EarthForce wants to give you a kiss on the cheek and the Medal of Honor—the other half wants you taken out and shot. As a politician you learn how to compromise, which by all rights means I should give you the Medal of Honor, <em>then</em> have you shot.”</p> <p>—Luchenko making a funny.</p> <figure class="wp-block-image aligncenter size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1100" height="825" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-07-1100x825.jpg" alt="Sheridan in Babylon 5 "Rising Star"" class="wp-image-838933" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-07-1100x825.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-07-740x555.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-07-140x105.jpg 140w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-07-768x576.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/babylon-5-rising-star-07.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1100px) 100vw, 1100px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Credit: Warner Bros. Television</figcaption></figure> <p><strong>The name of the place is Babylon 5.</strong> “You do not make history, you can only hope to survive it.” Back in 2004, I wrote a <em>Star Trek</em> novel called <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/A_Time_for_War,_A_Time_for_Peace" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Time for War, a Time for Peace</em></a>, in which we witness a presidential election in the Federation; the following year, I wrote a novel that focused on the first year in office of President Nan Bacco, the winner of that election, <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Articles_of_the_Federation_(novel)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Articles of the Federation</em>;</a> in 2009, I wrote another novel in which President Bacco plays a large part, <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/A_Singular_Destiny" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>A Singular Destiny</em></a>; and in 2023, I wrote “<a href="https://memory-beta.fandom.com/wiki/Work_Worth_Doing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Work Worth Doing</a>,” a story detailing the backstory of <em>Star Trek: Discovery</em>’s Federation President Laira Rillak for <em>Star Trek Explorer</em> magazine.</p> <p>I mention all this to say that presidents in space operas are kind of a thing with me, which is part of why I was so critical of how Santiago and Clark were portrayed on this show, and it’s also why my absolute favorite parts of this episode are the scenes with Beata Pozniak’s magnificent President Luchenko. (If we had had just <em>one scene</em> with Santiago like this when he visited the station in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-survivors/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Survivors</a>,” I might have actually given a shit when he was blown up in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-chrysalis/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Chrysalis</a>.”) Pozniak is superb, and J. Michael Straczynski writes her brilliantly, a lovely combination of ruthless practicality and friendly understanding. She knows her job is impossible, but she’s navigating it with aplomb. Her speech during the press conference is excellent, her scenes with Sheridan sparkle, and she holds her own in a scene she has to share with Mira Furlan, Peter Jurasik, and Andreas Katsulas, which is quite the accomplishment.</p> <p>But this isn’t the President Luchenko show, and other stuff happens in the episode as well, some of it really good.</p> <p>Let’s start with where the episode starts, which is also one of the parts that isn’t really good: Cole’s sacrifice to save Ivanova. Actually, the scene with Ivanova and Franklin sitting on the floor of medlab talking about it is a great scene. It’s one of Biggs’ better bits (of which there aren’t many), as he just sits there and lets his friend word-vomit for a while. And Claudia Christian is superlative, showing the massive range of emotions that Ivanova is going through.</p> <p>But I hate this entire plotline. The Great Hit Point Rearranger has been established as being something that can be daisy-chained, as it were. Several people could have helped Cole bring Ivanova back to life without sacrificing his life. True, it’s in character for Cole to be all martyr-y and be the only one to sacrifice himself (we saw this writ large in “<a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-grey-17-is-missing/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grey 17 is Missing</a>”), but it just feels so <em>constructed</em>. And if you’re wondering who he could have asked, how about <em>all those Minbari </em>who crewed the <em>White Star</em> that he brought back to B5? They were all willing to desert their posts in the middle of a major military engagement purely on Cole’s say-so. So why couldn’t they also be drafted to donate a bit of life energy?</p> <p>(It doesn’t help that Straczynski’s short story followup to the Cole-Ivanova relationship, the morally repugnant “Space, Time, and the Incurable Romantic,” was a wrongheaded piece of nonsense that proved to be more of a character assassination of Cole than it was a happy ending for him and Ivanova.)</p> <p>The Interstellar Alliance gets pulled together with totally unconvincing speed. The notion that there’s an entire alliance with a president and an infrastructure in place in the time it takes to fly from B5 to Earth is patently absurd. Supposedly, Delenn and Sheridan had it in the works before Sheridan turned himself in to authorities on Earth, and I have to ask, <em>when</em>? Delenn was off on Minbar when Sheridan first headed to Proxima, and they were together for all of half a second after Garibaldi, Franklin, and Alexander rescued Sheridan from Mars before Sheridan led the fleet to take Earth. When exactly was all this put together? And it’s not like ambassadors make policy—they just represent their governments. All the ambassadors from the now-former League of Non-Aligned Worlds would have to report back to their governments before any kind of decision could be made. Yet somehow, it’s all a fait accompli by the time Delenn, G’Kar, and Mollari arrive on Earth, despite the latter two not even knowing about it until they left B5. Sure.</p> <p>And yes, I know that a lot of this is due to Straczynski having to rush the storyline in case season five didn’t happen, but it really creates some believability issues. (Also the flyby of <em>White Star</em>s was a spectacularly bad idea, and should have resulted in a mess of Starfuries being launched against an invasion…)</p> <p>Having said that, the moment when Foote walks in on Sheridan, sitting calmly with his feet up, is epic. So is the scene with Bester, which both Bruce Boxleitner and Walter Koenig absolutely nail. You’ve got two smart, powerful people in that room, and it’s an impressive case of both of them having the upper hand to one degree or other, and neither side backing down.</p> <p>Garibaldi’s rescue of Lise feels remarkably perfunctory, which is disappointing, and their happy reunion is nice to see, though why Garibaldi thinks going back to B5 is even an option strains credulity. (See my rant on that subject in <a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-endgame/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">last week’s rewatch</a>.)</p> <p>Having said all that, this works very nicely as the series finale it was written to be in case of the lack of a fifth season, with the coda coming next week…</p> <p><strong>Next week:</strong> “The Deconstruction of Falling Stars.”[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/"><i>Babylon 5</i> Rewatch: “Rising Star”</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/">https://reactormag.com/babylon-5-rewatch-rising-star/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=838886">https://reactormag.com/?p=838886</a></p>

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Posted by Molly Templeton

https://reactormag.com/third-book-stephen-king-peter-straubs-talisman-series-name-release-date/

https://reactormag.com/?p=838995

News The Talisman

The Third Book in Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Talisman Series Has a Name and Release Date

Other Worlds Than These arrives in October

By Molly Templeton

Published on February 9, 2026

Photo: Scribner

The cover for the Stephen King book Other Worlds Than These

Photo: Scribner

In 1984, Peter Straub and Stephen King published The Talisman, a novel about a 12-year-old boy on a journey to find an object that will save his dying mother. Seventeen years later, in 2001, they published a sequel, Black House, which ended on a cliffhanger.

And now, at long last, there’s a third book. Straub died in 2022, but according to Esquire, King “found an old email from his friend that included a tantalizing suggestion for another novel, partly involving the real-life teenage spree killer Charles Starkweather, who terrorized the Midwest in the late 1950s.” When King started working on book three, “So far as it was possible, I wanted to collaborate with Peter. The seed was there, and I channeled Peter throughout like crazy,” he told Esquire. (You can read an excerpt from the novel at that Esquire link.)

Other Worlds Than These will arrive October 6th from Scribner. The publisher’s page about this book claims that it works as a standalone read as well as the trilogy’s conclusion. The synopsis says:

Other Worlds Than These is the story of Jack Sawyer, whom readers first met when he was twelve, crossing America and “the territories” to save his mother’s life, and met again in Black House, where Jack faces a child killer and the Crimson King (among other evils). In Other Worlds Than These Jack must stop a rampaging gang of infected teenagers from America-side, and the forces of the mysterious Gullet at the edge of Mid-World, before it destroys our world and all worlds. Jack is older now; his Ka-tet (echoing the world of Roland) is fraying; and his task, nearly impossible.

The Talisman has never been adapted for TV or feature film; Stranger Things creators the Duffer brothers were attached to a series adaptation for Netflix, but that fell apart last year. Steven Spielberg, whose Amblin Television would have co-produced that series, has had the adaptation rights for decades; according to Entertainment Weekly, “he got Universal Pictures to buy him the rights forever — not just an option to adapt, which would have expired after a few years.”

Maybe now’s the time, with the series finally about to wrap up.[end-mark]

The post The Third Book in Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Talisman Series Has a Name and Release Date appeared first on Reactor.

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Posted by Sarah

https://reactormag.com/the-wisdom-of-star-treks-spot/

https://reactormag.com/?p=838979

Column SFF Bestiary

The Wisdom of Star Trek’s Spot

Long before Data has the chip that allows him to feel what humans feel, Spot is his emotional rock…

By Judith Tarr

Published on February 9, 2026

Credit: CBS

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<p class="syndicationauthor">Posted by Sarah</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-wisdom-of-star-treks-spot/">https://reactormag.com/the-wisdom-of-star-treks-spot/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=838979">https://reactormag.com/?p=838979</a></p><post-hero class="wp-block-post-hero js-post-hero post-hero post-hero-horizontal"> <div class="container container-desktop"> <div class="flex flex-col mx-auto post-hero-container"> <div class="post-hero-content"> <div class="post-hero-tags font-aktiv text-xs tracking-[0.5px] font-medium uppercase"> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/articles/column/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag Column 0"> Column </a> </span> <span class="mr-3"> <i class="inline-block w-2 h-2 rounded-full mr-[5px] bg-blue"></i> <a href="https://reactormag.com/tag/sff-bestiary/" class="inline-block link-no-animation" aria-label="Link to term or tag SFF Bestiary 1"> SFF Bestiary </a> </span> </div> <h2 class="post-hero-title text-h1">The Wisdom of <i>Star Trek</i>’s Spot</h2> <div class="prose post-hero-description prose--post-hero">Long before Data has the chip that allows him to feel what humans feel, Spot is his emotional rock…</div> <div class="post-hero-wrapper"> <div class="post-hero-inner"> <p class="post-hero-author text-xs font-aktiv uppercase font-medium [&_a]:link-hover">By <a href="https://reactormag.com/author/judith-tarr/" title="Posts by Judith Tarr" class="author url fn" rel="author">Judith Tarr</a></p> <span class="post-hero-symbol relative top-[-2px] hidden tablet:block">|</span> <p class="text-xs uppercase post-hero-publish font-aktiv"> Published on February 9, 2026 </p> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-vertical [&_a]:link"><p>Credit: CBS</p> </div> <div class="quick-access post-hero-quick-access mt-[17px] 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0.414307)" /> </clippath> </defs> </svg> </a> </li> </ul> </div> </details> </div> </div> </div> <div class="post-hero-media "> <figure class="w-full h-auto post-hero-image"> <img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="740" height="493" src="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/star-trek-tng-data-spot-740x493.jpg" class="w-full object-cover" alt="Data (Brent Spiner) holds his cat Spot in Star Trek: The Next Generation" srcset="https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/star-trek-tng-data-spot-740x493.jpg 740w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/star-trek-tng-data-spot-1100x733.jpg 1100w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/star-trek-tng-data-spot-768x512.jpg 768w, https://reactormag.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/star-trek-tng-data-spot.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 740px) 100vw, 740px" /> </figure> <div class="post-hero-caption post-hero-caption-horizontal [&_a]:link"><p>Credit: CBS</p> </div> </div> </div> </div> </post-hero> <div class="wp-block-more-from-category"> <div> </div> </div> <p>There’s something about a ginger cat.</p> <p><a href="https://reactormag.com/jonesy-versus-the-big-bad-cat-power-in-the-alien-franchise/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">We’ve seen the greatness that is <em>Alien</em>’s Jonesy</a>. But there is another and possibly even more beloved ginger icon, with a similar arc but more screen time. Spot, Commander Data’s cat on <em>Star Trek: Next Generation</em>, appears in eight episodes of the series, with appearances in two of the films, <em>Generations</em> and <em>Nemesis</em>, plus a cameo in <a href="https://memory-alpha.fandom.com/wiki/Surrender_(episode)" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">an episode of <em>Picard</em></a>.</p> <p>Spot first appears in Season 4’s “Data’s Day.” The episode is a sort of diary, and it has a Theme: friendship. Amid all the alarums and excursions, we learn that Data has a cat. His name is Spot, he’s a long-haired ginger, and Data feeds him and pets him while he works at his computer.</p> <p>There’s no explanation. We don’t get the backstory on how or why Data ended up with a cat. He’s just there, in the same way Jonesy is just there on the <em>Nostromo</em>.</p> <p>Spot shows up again near the end of the season, in episode 25 (back in ancient times, TV seasons used to be 26 episodes long), “In Theory.” Again, he’s a long-haired ginger, and he’s a minor mover of one of the subplots. Data has the door of his quarters set to allow only humanoids to pass, but Geordi finds Spot outside and a couple of corridors over.</p> <p>It’s a mystery, which eventually gets solved. In the process, we learn that Data has been experimenting with numerous cat-food formulas. Spot, it seems, is a picky eater.</p> <p>The main plot revolves around a sweet young blonde crewperson who makes moves on Data. Data has no emotions at this point, that chip hasn’t been installed, but he’s been developing a program to predict human reactions, and he is amenable to experimenting with a romantic relationship. When the inevitable happens and she breaks up with him, he closes the episode by picking up Spot and cuddling him.</p> <p>That’s the last we see of Spot until Season 6. In “Schisms”, Spot isn’t present except in verse. Data’s poetry reading (attended by a circle of overwhelmingly bored crewpersons) culminates in the famous, or infamous, “Ode to Spot.” It begins,</p> <p><em>Felis catus is your taxonomic nomenclature</em><br><em>An endothermic quadruped, carnivorous by nature</em><br><em>Your visual, olfactory, and auditory senses</em><br><em>Contribute to your hunting skills and natural defenses</em>.</p> <p>It ends,</p> <p><em>And though you are not sentient, Spot, and do not comprehend,</em><br><em>I nonetheless consider you a true and valued friend.</em></p> <p>Awful? Brilliant? So bad it’s wonderful? You be the judge.</p> <p>The cat himself appears in “A Fistful of Datas.” Spot is now an orange shorthair, and we have a pattern of behaviors: he often occupies Data’s lap and/or his computer console (whether Data wants him there or not), and he has, as Data puts it, “highly selective tastes.” It’s an ongoing project to find a formula that Spot will eat. Spot is, in short, a normal cat.</p> <p>In “The Birthright, Part I,” in which Data first begins to dream, Spot is one of three personal things that appear in the dream: his cat, his potted plant, and his paintings. Spot is just there, part of Data’s mental landscape. But in Season 7, which is the last season of the series, he finally gets a chance to shine.</p> <p>The first episode of the season, “Descent, Part II,” completes an arc in which Data is equipped with an emotion chip by his evil twin, Lore, but he’s not ready for it. When he comes to that realization, and discusses it with Geordi, Spot is present, doing cat things and allowing Geordi to pet him.</p> <p>“Phantasms” continues Data’s dream journey, this time with a terrifying twist: Data is having nightmares. The episode begins with Data studying Spot as he sleeps, noting the physical indications that he’s dreaming. Data tells Troi,</p> <p>“Spot has never seen a mouse or any other form of rodentia. He has never encountered an insect or been chased by a canine.” </p> <p>Spot is a ship’s cat, though apparently there are no vermin to hunt on a Federation starship. He’s a pet and companion. Data is worried about harming him during one of his waking nightmares, and asks Worf to look after him.</p> <p>Worf is nonplussed. “Your animal,” he growls, and commands the cat to “Come here.”</p> <p>Spot is not a canine, Data reminds him. He doesn’t obey verbal commands. When Worf grudgingly picks him up, Data comes near to babbling about his care and feeding. Which supplement he likes, he has to have water, he has to have a sandbox—</p> <p>“And you must talk to him. Tell him he’s a pretty cat and a good cat…” </p> <p>“I will feed him,” snarls Worf. That, Data realizes, will have to be enough.</p> <p>It does seem to be. After Data’s nightmares have been resolved, Spot is back in his quarters again, and Data is teasing him with a fuzzy toy on a wire. As one does.</p> <p>In “Force of Nature”, Spot has her own major subplot. Geordi has borrowed her in an effort to find out if he wants to get his own cat.</p> <p>Her. Right. We’ll get to that.</p> <p>Spot has been manifesting major cattitude. She’s smashed a vase and a teapot, scratched a chair to pieces, and coughed up hairballs all over the carpet. Now she’s hiding under Geordi’s bed and he wants (entirely metaphorically, one hopes) to kill her.</p> <p>Well, says Data,</p> <p>“When you borrowed Spot, you said you wanted to experience the full range of feline behavior before getting a cat yourself.” </p> <p>The answer to that question, Geordi says fervently, is no. He is not ready for a cat. He then tells Data to call her.</p> <p>Data can’t do that. Spot doesn’t do verbal commands. Well then, Geordi declares, you need to train her.</p> <p>Data’s attempts to train the cat provide comic relief in an otherwise harrowing episode about, among other things, the ways in which warp drives are endangering the universe. Data concludes after a long and varied series of experiments that she may be inherently untrainable; maybe she lacks the intelligence to process human commands.</p> <p>While he tells Geordi this, Spot meows at him. He pauses. She meows again. He fetches her favorite string toy and starts to play with her.</p> <p>“I don’t know about Spot,” says Geordi, “but seems to me your training is coming along just fine.”</p> <p>Seems to me the cat may be rather smarter than Data recognizes. As for intelligence or lack thereof, it may be worth noting that Data had to prove his own sentience in order to be admitted to Starfleet. The fact that he makes a repeated point of Spot’s lack of it, and yet is so clearly bonded to her (or him), is an interesting and ongoing theme in the series.</p> <p>The main plot of episode 9 involves an alien scientist who has made a devastating and controversial discovery. No one believes her. She resorts to ever more desperate and aggressive measures, which backfire badly.</p> <p>Data’s attempts to train the cat are a much gentler reflection of this plotline. They’re teaching a lesson about the difference between persuasion and force.</p> <p>In Spot’s final episode in the series, “Genesis”, she finally becomes a main character. Spot is pregnant, and Data has been with her every step of the way. He doesn’t know which of the twelve male cats on board is the father—he plans to run the kittens’ DNA after they’re born—but he does know that it happened during one of her escapes from his quarters.</p> <p>Meanwhile, crisis of the week means that Data may be away from the ship when Spot has her kittens. He entrusts her to Reg Barclay, the only human on board whom Spot seems to like. (Spot is quite expressive about her feelings toward other members of the crew. As in, physical injuries.) Reg seems to adore her, and he knows cats: he understands that she’ll want a dark and secluded place to give birth.</p> <p>While Data and the captain are away, all hell breaks loose. They come back to find the ship shut down and the crew transformed into prehistoric animals. Spot, when they find her, is an iguana.</p> <p>But her newborn kittens are still kittens. The placenta, the maternal antibodies, and the amniotic fluid all protected them from the evil space virus. That’s the key to the antidote. With the help of a pregnant crew member, for humanoid amniotic fluid, Data whips up an antidote. Spot has saved the day.</p> <p>That’s it for Spot in the series. She (or he) appears briefly in <em>Nemesis</em>, but in <em>Generations</em> he (or she) is a catalyst for Data’s major emotional breakthrough. After the total destruction of the Enterprise, as Data and the rest of the crew comb through the wreckage in search of survivors, Troi detects a small life sign in a heap of rubble.</p> <p>It’s Spot, and Data gathers her up, sobbing into her fur. He’s discovered complex emotions. “I am happy to see Spot, yet I am crying.” He’s spent his life trying to understand what it’s like to be human. Now he knows.</p> <p>Spot is a constant in Data’s life from Season 4 onward (and possibly throughout, but we don’t meet him until halfway through the series). The appearance changes, the gender changes—on this side of the fourth wall it’s continuity issues and a writer who decided, near the end of the game, that she wanted Spot to be female instead of male—but in the Trek universe, pretty much every being is infinitely mutable. Alien invaders, viruses, strange manifestations of space and time, can change a being’s appearance, gender, even species.</p> <p>Maybe Spot is a shapeshifter. Maybe there are multiple Spots. Spot 1.0 the long-haired ginger, Spot 2.0 the ginger boy, Spot 3.0 the ginger girl.</p> <p>They (or he, or she) are Data’s emotional rock. Long before he has the chip that allows him to feel what humans feel, he understands that Spot is his friend. Spot is there, quietly in the background, when he comes to new understandings about human life and human nature. When he’s had a rough day or week or year, he comes back to Spot. From Spot, more than from any other being, he learns how to love.[end-mark]</p> <p>The post <a href="https://reactormag.com/the-wisdom-of-star-treks-spot/">The Wisdom of <i>Star Trek</i>’s Spot</a> appeared first on <a href="https://reactormag.com">Reactor</a>.</p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/the-wisdom-of-star-treks-spot/">https://reactormag.com/the-wisdom-of-star-treks-spot/</a></p><p class="ljsyndicationlink"><a href="https://reactormag.com/?p=838979">https://reactormag.com/?p=838979</a></p>

conuly

(Mission Rejected, if you're curious)

and they took the time at the start of the most recent episode to talk about a charity in Minnesota that will bring food safely to people. I don't have the name of the charity, it's not on their website right now.

But what really struck me is that they spent a few minutes on this and never once mentioned or even alluded to why some people might need food to be delivered safely.

I'm not sure what I think about that, but I'm sure I don't like it much.

******************************

( Read more... )

scalziwhatever_feed

Posted by John Scalzi

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/09/oh-and-3/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59394

Would you believe that I also completed another book since yesterday? This one is Couch Cinema: Comfort Watches from The Godfather to K-Pop Demon Hunters, a non-fiction collection of essays. No, I didn’t use “AI” or anything, I would never do that, you deserve better as readers. It’s a collection of my December Comfort Watches essays from December of 2023 and 2025, collected up in a nice single volume. I put them all together, did a light edit, added an intro, and sent it off to my agent.

As it happens, this is the first book I’ve done in years that isn’t already spoken for contractually, so we’ll see if we get any nibbles for it. If not, hey, Scalzi Enterprises was designed for just this sort of project in mind, and I wouldn’t have a problem using it as a test case to see if boutique publishing is something we have the bandwidth for. I would have to come up with a name for the imprint. We’ll find out!

Anyway. Two books in, and it’s only February. I can take the rest of the year off, right? Right?!?

— JS

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2026/02/09/oh-and-3/

https://whatever.scalzi.com/?p=59394

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

princessofgeeks

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: awake

(no subject)

Me-and-media update

FYI

Project Hail Mary Trailer Gives Us a Whole Lotta Rocky, and Andy Weir Says That’s Not a Spoiler

Project Hail Mary Trailer Gives Us a Whole Lotta Rocky, and Andy Weir Says That’s Not a Spoiler

Heated Rivalry rec

Viola come il mare: Fanfic: Night of San Lorenzo

Day Five Theme - When the clouds are in your shoes (Firefly)

Question thread #148

Music Monday

Authors Publish Open Letter Condemning BookCon Organizer’s Parent Company RELX Over ICE Ties

Authors Publish Open Letter Condemning BookCon Organizer’s Parent Company RELX Over ICE Ties

Nobody told me there was a new episode of

Jo Walton’s Reading List: January 2026

Jo Walton’s Reading List: January 2026

Good Deeds Shine in a Weary World in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: “Seven”

Good Deeds Shine in a Weary World in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms: “Seven”

Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Rising Star”

Babylon 5 Rewatch: “Rising Star”

The Third Book in Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Talisman Series Has a Name and Release Date

The Third Book in Stephen King and Peter Straub’s Talisman Series Has a Name and Release Date

The Wisdom of Star Trek’s Spot

The Wisdom of Star Trek’s Spot

I was listening to an audiodrama

Oh, And

pronunciation question

Heated Rivalry rec

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