2020 already has a takedown with Netflix’s comedy The Last Hangover removed from Singapore. The movie is a spoof of The Hangover where the apostles wake up after a night of partying to find Jesus missing. In 2019, the country also demanded the removal of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ after the movie was banned in Singapore in 2015, according to The Online Citizen.
Singapore’s last known removals were in 2018 when the country demanded three Netflix originals were taken off. The competition series Cooking on High, the documentary movie The Legend of 420 and the comedy series Disjointed were removed.
In 2019, a single episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj titled “Saudi Arabia” was removed from Saudi Arabia’s Netflix. The host of the show tackles the Saudi Arabian government’s cover-up of the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi. “This is the most unbelievable cover story since Blake Shelton won sexiest man alive,” Minhaj says in the special, according to NPR.
Representatives of Vietnam demanded Netflix to remove Stanley Kubrick’s Vietnam War movie Full Metal Jacket in 2017. That same year, Germany requested Night of the Living Dead to be removed from the service.
Germany allowed the George Romero classic for years, but supposedly banned it due to a mistake. The country banned the 1990 remake and the 30th Anniversary Edition of the 1968 film, which had some scenes taken out and other material put in. The new version of the 1968 movie is banned, but the original 1968 cut apparently isn’t. That’s according to Schnittberichte.com, which was translated via Google Translate.
Netflix seemingly confirms that this is the case. The report says on page 6 that Netflix took down the movie because a “version of the film is banned in the country.”
Finally, New Zealand asked for the documentary “The Bridge” to be removed from the country’s service in 2015. The filmmakers recorded more than a year of footage of the Golden Gate Bridge and caught 23 suicides on camera. They then interviewed some of the families and friends of the suicide victims that were identified in the footage. Netflix says that the film is classified as “objectionable” in New Zealand.
This Netflix report comes a few months after Blizzard banned a Hearthstone player for vocalizing support for Hong Kong’s liberation. A day after that incident, South Park was banned in China after the show aired an episode appropriately called “Band in China” where, among other things, a character is arrested in China for possession of marijuana and breaks a deal with the Chinese government to murder Winnie the Pooh so he can sell his weed in China and write a movie.
In February 2019, the horror game Devotion was taken off Steam after a Winnie the Pooh joke was found in it. Months later, developer Red Candle Games said that Devotion will not be re-released after the joke “caused immeasurable harm to Red Candle Games and our partner.”
Now that DC’s radical Birds of Prey has been unleashed on audiences everywhere, we thought it would be the perfect time to look back on the cast of crazy characters and their iconic looks throughout the years. With such an eclectic collection of DC heroes and villains, the movie is a non-stop R-rated romp through the gritty and sometimes glittery streets of Gotham.
To celebrate the release of director Cathy Yan’s superhero flick, we’ve selected some of the best, most outrageous, and most important iterations of each of Birds of Prey’s core cast — Harley Quinn, Black Canary, Huntress, Black Mask and more — from their comic book, TV, movie, and animated pasts for you to enjoy!
It’s interesting to look at how the classic versions of the characters have evolved and how some of the newer iterations have inspired and influenced what came next. There are more than a few entries here that, without which, Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn likely wouldn’t exist!
We’re back again to discuss the games that are currently keeping the GameSpot staff busy after work, which includes a variety of games new, old, and everything in-between. Below you can read about the titles that folks on the team are playing, why we’re playing them, and what we love about them so far. But don’t just stop at reading our responses; we’d love to hear from you too! Tell us all about what you’re playing in the comments section below. Whether it’s playing the latest big games, experiencing old classics for the first time, or revisiting the warming comfort of a childhood favorite, we’d love to hear about it.
So please, join us and ramble on about all the super cool video games you’re playing! We know you need to get it off your chest as much as we do. And if you’re playing the same games from last week, that’s fine too! You’re more than welcome to talk about why you still love it!
Destiny 2 (Always) — Phil Hornshaw, Editor
So here’s the thing: I’m kind of never not playing Destiny 2, partially because it’s a big part of my job, but partly because I’m really enjoying what Bungie has done with the game over the years. I’m always telling people, “Destiny 2 has never been better,” and I’m enjoying the current approach of seasonal content that’s just enough to keep you engaged without feeling like you’ve taken on a non-paying part-time playing a video game. I got lost in the Corridors of Time puzzle, I’ve been digging into the lore surrounding the game’s current time travel plot, and I’ve managed to hit the Legend rank in the PvP Crucible for the first time since the first Destiny launched.
The current season has been exceedingly chill, which has been great. Destiny has become the game I play a little here and there to unwind, and lately, I’m digging into my Destiny 2 “backlog” of activities, cleaning out old Triumphs from the Scourge of the Past and Crown of Sorrows raids. Coming back to all the old content from Year Two has been a fun and relaxing experience, allowing me to dig into some of Destiny 2’s more involved and complicated stuff without the pressure that comes with trying to learn a new raid when it comes out. I played all of these back on PS4, so moving over to Destiny on PC has been an opportunity to revisit older corners of Destiny 2 and finally get some of those sick raid Exotics I’ve been pining over for a while.
Sure, I have a bunch of games on my Steam account I keep meaning to play–but maybe this run of Last Wish will finally get me One Thousand Voices. This feels like a backlog I can manage. | Twitter: @philhornshaw
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel II — Michael Higham, Associate Editor
You know that feeling when you’ve discovered your new favorite thing–that genuine excitement that comes with diving into something fresh, to the point where you make time for it? That’s what’s happened to me with the Trails of Cold Steel series.
I’m currently on Trails of Cold Steel II (which is a four-part JRPG series), but it’s really a second chapter of the first game, as it picks up right where it ends. Instead of managing your day at the military academy (à la Persona) and going on dangerous field trips for hands-on educational experiences, the political drama brewing in the background reaches a tipping point and that impending dread hits meticulously at the conclusion.
The thing about the sequel is how it leverages my connection to the characters and world established in the first game to make its dire stakes all the more impactful. Characters who seem like cliches at first naturally grow into complex and believable people through sharp writing, localization, and voice acting. Their development feels genuine, and their narrative importance is always evident. So when I (or, well, the main character Rean Schwarzer) reconnect with them throughout Cold Steel II, there’s a sense of relief, a morale boost during tough times portrayed in the story. But I also realize that these military academy students are thrust into roles they didn’t ask for and have to grow up fast, and it’s those arcs that hook me.
Cold Steel’s story is so tightly told, leaving very few dialogue sequences, lore drops, or story beats to waste–yes, these are long RPGs, but Cold Steel is dense. Where the first game gave a sense of comfort, warmth, and wonder despite tensions between internal political factions, Cold Steel II paints a darker, starker picture of rampant classism and militarization.
What makes my journey through Trails of Cold Steel even more exciting is that I’m also playing the previous trilogy in the same universe, Trails in the Sky. That’s seven games in total I have my eyes on (of which I’ve only completed one), and I’m eager as ever to see how they all come together, however long it takes! | Twitter: @michaelphigham
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot — David Ahmadi, Video Producer
I’ve always loved the Budokai series, and Dragon Ball FighterZ was a fighting game masterclass. Still, I never quite grew acclimated to the full 3rd person combat system of Xenoverse and Tenkaichi. That didn’t stop me from picking up Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot as I eagerly began playing it in both a rush to make content and a personal desire to once again relive the Dragon Ball Z sagas that I’ve grown accustomed to.
The real beauty of the chaotic action in the game shines when the actions on screen are a result of your input and intentions rather than mere happenchance. Timing assists moves with your own Super Kamehamehas, breaking down your opponent’s guard and stunning them to unlock mini cutscenes that dramatically show off the super moves with destructive flair. Powering up your allies to unleash devastating Z-Combos, and the natural balance of ki management, suddenly had me feel the hook of the old Budokai games from ages ago. Combine that with my recent fascination and love for open-world RPGs, and all of a sudden, I look at Kakarot in a new light.
I genuinely can’t stop playing the game, already having sunk about 80 hours into it long after beating the mainline campaign. I’m still flying around the various regions, making pit stops at the Kame house, and buying supplies for some killer recipes. I am a sucker for skill trees, and I have been greedily unlocking as many skills and powerful moves as I possibly can. And more often than not, I find myself absentmindedly flying off-course to gather Z-Orbs, which I promise you is way more satisfying than it might seem at first!
Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot has so much fan service as well, sometimes to the point where I feel that the slower moments in-game aren’t meant for me, but for people who grew up watching the anime more than I did. If anything, that’s just another aspect of the game that I’ve grown to enjoy. Seeing so much effort put into climactic moments in the story puts the legacy of Dragon Ball Z in perspective. When I see Teen Gohan face an enemy no kid his age should ever have to, and watch him surpass his dad in a gob-stopping moment of prodigious potential, I’m entirely captivated–and with that recent memory so fresh in mind, I eagerly move on to my next objective, anticipating what other laws of physics I can happily defy. | Twitter: @Roshby57
Pokemon Sword — Kevin Knezevic, Associate Editor
Like last week, I’m still steadily trekking through the world of Dragon Quest III, but in between sessions of that, I’ve found myself returning to Pokemon Sword. I’ve long since cleared the main storyline and post-game quest, so there’s nothing left for me to accomplish besides completing my Pokedex (which I have no interest in doing), but I can’t resist the allure of Max Raids. It’s become a nightly ritual of mine to check what Max Raids are occurring in Sword after shutting down Dragon Quest, which usually turns out to be a poor decision as I end up staying awake far later than I intend because I keep joining Raids.
Of all the new features Sword and Shield have introduced to the series, Max Raids are undoubtedly my favorite, in part because the rewards are so compelling. Max Raids are a fitting way to earn otherwise-expensive items like TRs, which can be used to teach Pokemon new moves. Unlike the reusable TMs, however, TRs break after a single use, so they’re much harder to come by. Many Pokemon can also only learn their best attacks through TRs, making them incredibly valuable, particularly if you’re trying to battle competitively.
Another reason Max Raids keep drawing me back in is that they offer a way to play cooperatively with friends–something the series has sorely lacked to this point. Previous Pokemon games have allowed you to team up with another player for Multi Battles, but that was typically limited to local play. I’ve always longed to have the option to play Pokemon online alongside my friends rather than strictly against them, which is why being able to team up and battle colossal monsters together has been so alluring. And now that a new handful of Gigantamax Pokemon have started appearing more frequently in Max Raids, I don’t think Pokemon Sword will be leaving my Switch anytime soon.
Wide Ocean Big Jacket — Edmond Tran, Senior Editor And Producer
I like playing short narrative games because they don’t take up a lot of time and are usually a chill break from the usual stuff I play. The really good ones typically focus on exploring unique scenarios and building strong moods, typically in ways that you aren’t going to find in any other kind of video game. Wide Ocean Big Jacket is one of those. It came out on Steam and Switch this week, and it’s a short story that revolves around tweenager Mord and her new boyfriend, Ben, as they accompany her uncle Brad and aunt Clo on a camping trip.
It’s got a great style about it, and the game’s primary mode is humour, which makes it easy to digest–the writing is pretty sharp, and Mord, in particular, is hilarious and full of energy. You’ll rotate between all four characters during the trip, though, and in between doing camping activities like roasting hot dogs, hiking, birdwatching, and finding a bush to pee in, the game also spends time taking brief glimpses into the untold anxieties of each individual.
Mord and Ben, both 13-years-old and longtime friends, are navigating that awkward phase in every kid’s life where they start getting curious about things like romance–working out precisely what it is, how the hell you’re supposed to go about it, and what it means to them. It’s a charming window to a part of life that I’ve long forgotten, and it’s weirdly surprising how much I found myself empathising with them. Uncle Brad and Aunt Clo have more adult relationship matters at hand, which made it more relatable and believable to me, so the same kinds of heart-straining feelings apply there too. The whole thing is very poignant and just… convincing.
It’s only about an hour long, and it left me in one of those beautiful, hopeful, feelgood moods. Definitely give it a shot if any of that sounds like your bag. Camping. It’s great. | Twitter: @EdmondTran
Dino Crisis — Matt Espineli, Editor
The first Dino Crisis isn’t often the go-to choice for those revisiting the cult-favorite dinosaur-themed Resident Evil sister series. In the years since its release, the game is frequently overshadowed by its far-superior sequel (it’s obvious where my allegiances lie). Still, I was compelled to play the less brilliant Dino Crisis 1 when I realized–after listening to a podcast about the game–that I’ve only beaten it once. I’m a strong advocate for giving old games a second reading, especially if I was a naive prepubescent child the last time I played them, so I was willing to give it another go.
So far, replaying Dino Crisis has been enriching. In stark contrast to its more action-packed sequel, Dino Crisis focuses on slowly building tension and surprising you with raptors (and other dinosaurs, but mostly raptors) when you least expect it–qualities I’m particularly fond of given the premise. The whole “secret research facility overrun by dinosaurs” scenario is still so captivating; there’s nothing more humbling than being hunted by hostile prehistoric beasts–even if some of them turned out to not be as violent as we thought. All the while, protagonist Regina is a delightful protagonist to experience the game’s numerous grizzly situations with, as her easy-going temperament supplies welcome levity to the proceedings.
I’m undoubtedly enjoying Dino Crisis far more than I did the first time. I recall having a lot of trouble solving all the puzzles scattered throughout the game, so maybe that’s why I didn’t like it as much back then. So I want to say I’m enjoying it more now because my current (hopefully) adult-level intelligence has made the journey more palatable. But who knows! Dino Crisis just might become be a new favorite for me. | Twitter: @MGespin
Apex Legends — Jordan Ramée, Associate Editor
My love for Apex Legends is probably different from most. I can’t claim that the smooth gunplay or satisfying climb up the ranks or thrill of unlocking new rewards are the main reasons for why I keep playing. For me, it’s the characters; it’s always been the characters.
Role-playing as an idiotic adrenaline junkie who’s always running towards the next fight (even when I really shouldn’t be because I haven’t also found a body shield yet) while playing as Octane is exhilarating fun, especially when I somehow win. It’s almost as ecstatic a feeling as zapping people while making stupid electricity-based puns as Wattson.
So yes, I do appreciate how mechanically sound of a game Apex Legends is, I really do (how did I ever once play first-person shooters without a ping system?), but if I’m honest, it’s the highly quotable characters that keep me coming back.
And I can’t get enough of Revenant. Season 4: Assimilation‘s new playable character is this jerkwad of a robot who is sassy, arrogant, ungrateful, and sadistic. The dude–and I am not making this up–refers to himself as “Death.” He uses a capital “d” and everything, like some middle-school edgelord. It’s hilarious, and I love just how extra he is, running around with this creepy douchebag persona.
Like, there was a moment this past week where I executed a Wraith, and Revenant said, “That little voice saying there’s still hope? It’s lying.” Given Wraith’s abilities, I couldn’t help but chuckle with malicious glee over how perfect such a line fits the situation.
My roommate has told me that I’m not allowed to play as Revenant anymore. Apparently, it’s “creepy.” But he’s just another worthless skin suit–what’s he gonna do? | Twitter: @JMRamee
For one, I’m using the term “playing” pretty loosely here. Pokemon Masters has an auto-battle system, and in single-player modes, it can be sped up. The auto-battle AI sometimes makes downright bafflingly stupid decisions, and it isn’t suited for the toughest stages, but for the sake of gaining levels and items, it works fine. This makes me less of a Pokemon Master than a Pokemon Team Manager, and something about that is deeply appealing to me. I still get to collect monsters, and I don’t have to grind–I just have to check in every couple of minutes to keep it going and then choose how to allocate my loot. Other times, I only check-in for my daily login bonus and put it aside. I’ve accumulated a fair number of gems and more sync pairs this way.
But besides that, the game has actually gotten a lot of TLC since its barebones beginnings. The Training area has added more Supercourses with tougher, once-daily challenges for much bigger rewards. New story chapters have been added, and level caps have been raised. A “Bingo” board lets you select your own set of objectives for even more weekly rewards. A Gear system enables you to equip team-wide buffs and gives more incentive to participate in co-op matches, where Gear and crafting materials are often the prizes. Most recently, a new Sync Grid lets you upgrade individual sync pairs with a system akin to Final Fantasy 10’s Sphere Grid. The game has gone from having too little to do to an almost overwhelming degree of customization, which is perfect for my passive “team manager” approach.
Finally, the semi-regular occurrence of Legendary events has added some big names in the Pokemon world, including Giovanni with Mewtwo, your own player character with Solgaleo, and currently, Zinnia with Rayquaza. The Pokemon Company has announced more events coming for Pokemon Day, and I’m hoping for another Legendary to add to my collection. | Twitter: @sporkyreeve
In Season 1, the White Wolf vanquished all sorts of creatures, from the Kikimora in the opening scene to the hellacious Striga in the third episode, “Betrayer Moon.” And it seems like the trend of ferocious fiends won’t stop with Season 1 as another famous beast from the saga’s deep lore is heading our way in Season 2.
Woodland Spirit (Leshen) from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
Redanian Intelligence is reporting now that one of our heroes will encounter a Leshen, which made a gruesome appearance in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, and is based on a monster from Slavic mythology called a “Leshy.”
Leshen are towering terrors that derive their power from nature, dwelling in primeval woods, using their magic to control the plants and animals within their territory.
The site’s sources say that a Leshen will appear in Season 2, encountering one of the characters and holding “serious consequences.”
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
Warning: this article contains spoilers for the finale of Locke & Key Season 1!
After a 10-year wait and 10 magical episodes that upended what fans of the comic were expecting, Locke & Key Season 1 ended with a finale that offered up a shocking cliffhanger and a mystery that set up a major conflict for the Locke family.
With the Locke kids finally defeating Dodge after a season of battling the evil demon, it seemed like all was well in Keyhouse. But a last-minute reveal that Dodge had been hiding under a familiar face all along and that Ellie was the one tossed through the Black Door threw all of that into chaos. Keep reading to discover how this compares to the source material and what it means for the cult comics adaptation going forward into a potential Season 2.
Who is Gabe and what happened to Ellie?
In the comics, the Lady in the Well takes on the face of a young boy named Zack Wells who befriends the Locke family in order to discover the location of the keys. But as we saw over the course of this season, the showrunners had a different plan. With the Well Lady A.K.A. Dodge taking on the shape of Lucas — like she did in the comic — to manipulate Ellie, it seemed like her plan was complete. However, as the final episode came to a close she had another shocking secret up her sleeve.
After the Locke kids and their friends threw Dodge through the Omega Key door, trapping her in the ether where she came from, it seemed like a happy ending was on the horizon. But it was revealed at the last moment that Dodge had actually been hiding behind the face of Kinsey’s new boyfriend, Gabe, the entire time… and that it was Ellie who was thrown through the door rather than Dodge. It was a smart way to subvert expectations of readers who already knew the book’s biggest twist whilst setting up a huge conflict for a potential second season.
But if you’ve been paying attention it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise. Throughout the season we’ve seen Gabe try to cozy up to Kinsey and do his best to find out as much as he can about the keys. Think back to when he first discovers that Kinsey and Scot have the music box – what are the chances that he was really just wandering around and happened upon them? The reality is that Dodge (under the guise of Gabe) was following Kinsey to try and find out the secrets of the keys as well as their locations. Though it’s easy to miss on the first watch, upon a second viewing you can clearly see Gabe ingratiate himself with Scot and the Savini squad simply to get close to Kinsey, and he often supports her when the others won’t in order to earn her trust.
A great example of this is Gabe encouraging the crew to go down to the sea caves to film simply to get close to the Black Door and potentially the location of the Omega Key. Gabe also quizzes Kinsey at every opportunity about how she thinks that the keys were made and where they came from, plus Gabe’s story about his dad traveling constantly sounds awfully familiar to Lucas explaining that his family “moves around a lot.”
The Differences Between the Locke and Key Comics and Show
Netflix’s vision of Locke & Key changes a lot from the comics, which makes sense for such an ambitious and esoteric project. Here, though, the biggest change is the reveal that Dodge was actually Gabe and has been romancing both of the Locke kids to get close to them — and the keys — whilst also helping to orchestrate their final showdown in order to save herself and potentially find a new ally in a demonically possessed Eden.
Talking to IGN about these twists, co-showrunner Meredith Averill explained why the team decided to change that final big reveal. “Fans of the comic, they’re gonna be expecting Zack Wells to show up, and in the comic the issue with Zack Wells is he still looked like Lucas Caravaggio so people were constantly recognizing him and he would have to kill them as a result, as you saw with Joe Ridgeway, so what we liked to do with our version was make it a surprise for everyone.”
Averill explained how it was the creative team’s way of keeping fans of the comic guessing whilst staying true to the source material. “We’re still telling a version of the same story about Dodge choosing to take on this persona in order to manipulate the Lockes, but holding that reveal until the last 10 minutes of our season.”
Co-showrunner Carlton Cuse elaborated, explaining how the change was embraced by the comics’ creators. “We wanted to do something different in the show than what was in the comic, and obviously there was this demon character who changed identities. For us, [we’re like] ‘Oh, here’s a really cool thing that we can do that takes an idea that was really embedded in the comic, but do it differently and expand upon it,’ and … [Locke and Key co-creator Joe Hill] was really enthusiastic about the change.”
What Would Locke & Key Season 2 Be About?
There are two big questions left at the end of Season 1. First, where is Ellie? Second, what is Dodge/Gabe’s plan now that they’re in Matheson with no one aware of their presence? It’s clear that both of these threads set up a major conflict going into a possible second season — Netflix has assembled a writers’ room for another season but has yet to officially greenlight it — and during a chat with IGN, Cuse teased what fans can expect if it does happen.
Trying to adapt a huge comic series like Locke & Key isn’t easy, so deciding what they could logically introduce in the first season helped them shape the finale, he said: “There are things that fit in Season 1 and there are things that don’t fit in Season 1, so we started collecting these things that we thought would be great for Season 2 and they helped inform some of the decisions about where we were gonna end this season.”
With the astonishing reveal that Dodge was actually using the persona of Gabe as a way to infiltrate Kinsey’s friend group and find out more about the keys, let’s look at how that plan came to fruition in the finale and what it means going forward. As Kinsey’s new boyfriend, Gabe gets a front row seat to the Lockes’ plan to defeat Dodge, which is incredibly helpful, seeing as the two are one and the same. Knowing that the Savini squad and company will be hunting down the demon themselves opens up the perfect opportunity for Dodge to put their ultimate plan into action. Using the Identity Key, Dodge switches their face with Ellie’s and leaves the transformed woman knocked out on the floor. Though finding Dodge completely vulnerable seems a little too good to be true, the squad doesn’t question their luck and quickly dispose of her through the Black Door, leaving the real Dodge free to reign terror as Gabe.
This big twist was something the showrunners were incredibly excited about setting up. “We wanted the show to end with a big twist, and we loved this idea that you would be able to kind of look back on the season and go, ‘Oh my gosh, I wasn’t really seeing what I thought I was seeing,'” Cuse added. “It really does set up a lot of stuff in Season 2. There’s so much that comes out of what we did at the end, particularly Gabe and Eden being teamed up. We saw that a little bit at the very end of Season 1 but that’s a relationship that we think is gonna be fantastic in Season 2.”
Speaking of that team-up, what is Dodge’s plan going forward? In the comics she never had an ally, so Eden’s possession is a completely new addition to the story, and was that part of Dodge’s plan all along? Could the demonic Dodge possibly have known that her fellow demons would jump out of the ether and potentially take over the body of one of the Lockes’ friends? Or was that just a wonderfully convenient coincidence? In the comics, Dodge’s ultimate goal was to gain access to the Omega Key and invite a whole bunch of world-ending demons into our world. If that’s her plan here, she’s already on the road to achieving it with Eden at her side. The scarier thing for everyone, though, is that we know Kinsey has picked Gabe over Scot, putting more space between her and the one person who truly had her back. It also puts Gabe in prime position to convince Kinsey to revisit the Black Door and reveal the location of the Omega Key. We have to hand it to Dodge, it’s actually an incredibly smart plan, especially as the two already have a connection through using the keys together.
What’s Behind the Black Door?
There’s certainly a lot that can be mined for Season 2 and Cuse also wanted fans to know that Ellie’s fate would play a key part in the series going forward (pun intended): “Where Ellie went is… she went into the void. And what all that means, we’ll learn more about that in Season 2.” From the Locke & Key comics we know a little about the Black Door and what lies behind it, which already seems to differ from what we saw when Kinsey, Locke, and their friends opened it. In the comic series from Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodriguez, the ether is a horrifying Lovecraftian landscape filled with terrifying monsters and a great amount of demonic power rather than a swirling space-scape. Those real demons seem to be represented in the show by the magical fiery bullets that escaped the door.
Another big thing here is the fact that it seems like Ellie (in the form of Dodge) actually seemed to survive enough to scream for Tyler and realize the terrible situation she was in. Whenever we’ve seen someone venture through the door in the comics, whether human or animal, they’ve immediately become possessed and obsessed with the world beyond the door. Seeing as the showrunners are clearly planning on this being a major part of Season 2, it seems like there’s a good chance that we might get to see the Locke kids venture beyond the Black Door to try and save Ellie. Maybe we’ll get to see Rufus realize his abilities from the comics — he can’t be controlled by the Head Key, and has a skill for spotting people who are hiding their identities using the keys — and return to help save his mother? If they do manage to save her, she might be forever changed, but there’s the possibility that she’ll have learned vital information about the demons while stuck in the void, and that could help the group beat Dodge and the freshly-possessed Eden.
There’s also the matter of the demons that passed through the Black Door. As they shot out of the door you might have noticed that the ones that didn’t strike Eden turned into a lump of molten metal when they hit the ground. This is a massively important part of Locke & Key lore, as in the comics (spoilers!) it’s revealed that the keys are made from that demonic metal, called Whispering Iron. Now that some of that magical material has been left behind, the Locke kids could possibly learn of its properties and make some new keys of their own. Or, perhaps it’s Dodge and Eden who will work out the secrets of the metal and fashion themselves a set of keys that they can use as weapons against the Lockes.
What did you think of Locke and Key Season 1, and will you tune in if it gets a Season 2? Weigh in below!
The demo for Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers hit the Switch’s Japanese Eshop and PSN earlier this week and I was able play through it with a few easy steps. I absolutely appreciate how it captures the style and spirit of the RPG in action form–it’s also exciting as hell to continue the story of the Phantom Thieves since this is as close to a sequel as you could get. But the thing that’s still stuck in my head is that remix to the battle theme “Last Surprise” that hits during certain fights in P5 Scramble, because damn, it is a certified banger.
Persona 5’s lavish style was complemented by its eclectic jazz-fusion soundtrack, and “Last Surprise” was emblematic of that. It kicks off with dramatic strings, transitions to the groovy vocals of singer Lyn Inaizumi, and goes into the iconic (and over-meme’d) hook with “YOU NEVER SEE IT COMIIIIIIIIIIN’!” After 100+ battles with the song playing, it naturally gets shuffled as background sound. It still stands as an incredible song that shows Atlus Sound Team’s creativity and talents, but what if I told you the Persona 5 Scramble remix was just as good, if not better? Stick with me here and listen to it real quick:
In the opening seconds, the remix hits you with a more direct melodic-hardcore tone–the new rhythm guitar melody complements that familiar main riff. The two guitar tracks harmonize with each other just right, and as a result, creates a better balance since the song relies a bit less on the riff itself. Also, Lyn’s vocal note she holds before the beat picks up thrusts you right into the new fast tempo; and the heavier percussion flawlessly supports the bold new sound. Even though the remix leans more into punk-metal, it doesn’t ditch the all of the original’s elements as you can still catch the orchestral strings in the hook and the second verse comes with a funky rhythm guitar.
It’s so different from the original, yet it evokes the same attitude Persona 5 embodies and fits the new action RPG mold. But I think the remix also reminds me of when I would go to punk shows and throw down in moshpits, so when I hear it, I daydream of throwing down at a Persona Super Live concert.
Maybe hearing a new, fresh version of a top-tier battle theme has me hyped in the moment, but I’ll entertain the idea that the “Last Surprise” remix might be the better version. Then again, why pit two great songs against each other? After all, they both slap in their own unique ways. Honestly, I’m just happy to have more music from the Atlus Sound Team. There are a bunch of new songs in Persona 5 Scramble: The Phantom Strikers which you’ll start to hear more of when it launches in Japan on February 20. Even Persona 5 Royal has some new tracks, and you can catch up on everything new in P5R ahead of its March 31 release date in the West.
The DCEU (or whatever we’re supposed to be calling it these days) got a shot in the arm this week with Harley Quinn’s brand new movie: Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation of one Harley Quinn–or Birds of Prey for short. It joins the ranks of modern DC movies like Shazam, Wonder Woman, and Aquaman while also bridging some of the more confusing continuity gaps between the new generation and the old one. Which means that, yes, it does actually connect to Suicide Squad but, no, don’t worry, you don’t need to remember anything about that movie to enjoy it.
Picking up in the messy aftermath of Harley’s break up with The Joker, Birds of Prey is a wild, neon-splashed ride through a Gotham City we’ve never seen before. It’s entirely street level–no one is trying to take over the planet, or even the city. There are a handful of metahuman abilities floating around (like Black Canary’s canary cry) but otherwise, it’s all bone-crunching brawls. Without Joker’s protection, just about everyone in Gotham has realized that they can go after Harley as much as they’d like, which brings not only GCPD officer Renee Montoya into the fray, but also crime lord Roman Sionis and his right-hand-man Victor Zsasz. Montoya also winds up pulling lounge singer Dinah Lance into the mix, who accidentally involves teenage pickpocket Cassandra Cain, who becomes a potential get-out-of-jail-free card for Harley–and, well. You get the idea. Things get as messy as they do complicated. And that is to say nothing about the crossbow-wielding assassin Helena Bertinelli who winds up involved for her own, very specific set of reasons.
Mike and Meg are here to break down Birds of Prey in all of it’s chaotic, fun-loving, face-punching mayhem–what they loved, what could have been better, and of course, what it all might mean for future DC movies like James Gunn’s Suicide Squad. But be warned–this is a spoiler review, so if you haven’t seen the movie, please come back once you’re in the know!
Last year, it was reported that Netflix was developing a live-action Resident Evil series. Now, its description has apparently leaked and all but confirms that the horror show will be headed to a streaming device near you in the future.
ResetERA user Jawmuncher spotted the now removed description on Netflix’s Media Center. While it can no longer be found there, a quick trip to the Wayback Machine allows you to view the paragraph that gives a glimpse into what this series will be.
“The town of Clearfield, MD has long stood in the shadow of three seemingly unrelated behemoths – the Umbrella Corporation, the decommissioned Greenwood Asylum, and Washington, D.C. Today, twenty-six years after the discovery of the T-Virus, secrets held by the three will start to be revealed at the first signs of outbreak.”
