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‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: Season 6 Episode 10 – New Power Couple in Alexandria

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6 years ago

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‘The Walking Dead’ Recap: Season 6 Episode 10 - New Power Couple in Alexandria

Season 6, Episode 10, ‘The Next World’

That noise you heard Sunday night was the sound of “Walking Dead” nation rejoicing — or the romantically obsessed quadrant, at least. For that was when “Richonne” moved from fan fiction sites and Tumblrs into the actual world of the show, as Rick and Michonne’s friendly joshing about hard days and dental health finally escalated into considerably more. (Cough called it cough… )

Whether you swoon or sneer or couldn’t care less one way or the other, ‘shipping is a fundamental aspect of contemporary TV fandom, the classic will-they-or-won’t-they fascination now intensified both by online advocacy and the elevated emotional investment modern TV serials inspire and demand. With the possible exception of Carol and Daryl — which has always seemed pretty platonic, pleasing rhyme scheme aside — Rick and Michonne has been the most desperately desired coupling in the “Walking Dead” universe.

For one thing, as the archetypal hero of “The Walking Dead,” Rick’s romantic prospects have always been central to the show. So far this base has been covered first by his wife Lori, who shacked up with his best friend and was also one of the series’s most loathed characters, and then by Jessie, the courting of whom involved killing her husband (#baggage). For another, not only does Michonne not come with an awkward (and narratively tedious) love triangle, she’s arguably the most purely appealing “Walking Dead” character — a loyal, reliable comrade and warrior with both the coolest signature weapon and a slightly wounded quality, making her all the more relatable. She can slice and dice with the best of them but, unlike nearly everyone else on the show — Rick, specifically — she never loses sight of the big existential picture. She gets both what is required in any situation as well as the emotional toll of her actions.

Her involvement with Rick recasts him as a leader comfortable in a coalition of equals, signaling that his current pivot away from the tyrannical impulses the show rolls out whenever it wants to complicate things might actually stick this time. For Michonne, the relationship with Rick as well as Carl and Judith, last seen rolling over on a baby monitor, to Michonne’s delight, brings the stability and sense of home she’s long craved, perhaps the thing she wants “for my whole life,” as she put it to Spencer.

So even for the cynical among us, it’s a notable union. The fact that the whole thing was topped off with one of the series’s most memorable shots — the two of them naked, weapons drawn on a mysterious visitor — was just frosting. Of course, the fact that the show has raised the emotional stakes for these battle-tested warriors and consolidated leadership of Alexandria within their capable hands probably means that pretty profound challenges lie ahead. (The Negan threat remains a shadow over the season.) Here’s hoping things work out better for Michonne than for Rick’s previous love interests.

The new lovers’ pairing was the culmination of a relatively quiet episode that, set a few weeks after last Sunday’s installment, finally stepped back from the frenetic action of, well, the entire season so far. (Until Sunday, we’d only moved forward a few days from the Great Zombie Drive of the Season 6 premiere.) It was one of the periodic reset installments, as the characters rebuild or search for supplies as the show prepares for the next big clash by reminding us what everyone is fighting for.

The answer: One another, per usual. But Sunday’s generally leisurely hour was more enjoyable than other ‘values episodes,’ mainly because it largely avoided the show’s tendency toward didactic explication. Sure, there was Michonne and Spencer talking meaningfully about Home and Family when they weren’t putting down Zombie Deanna. (How about that walker act from Tovah Feldshuh? The woman’s range knows no bounds, mortal or otherwise.)

But there was also Enid and Carl sharing authentically prickly adolescent company in the woods. There was the unforced rapport of Rick and Daryl, using chicken-fried pop songs and unconscious interlopers to mess with each other during an ill-fated supply run. (Get it together, guys, or get used to punching new holes in your belts.)

In some ways this was almost a throwback episode, not to previous periods of this series but to an earlier era of television. Not just the will-they-or-won’t-they aspect, but also the easygoing emphasis on just spending time in the company of people we enjoy.

We even met a wacky new neighbor. The other main point of the episode was to introduce Paul “Jesus” Rovia, a key character from the comics named Paul Monroe — it’s unclear if the name has been changed for the series or if he was being cagey. (Google away if you like, though you might stumble across comics spoilers.)

Played by Tom Payne (“Luck”), Jesus arrived in the guise of terrified walker prey but was quickly revealed to be a crafty survivor, as he picked Rick’s pocket, distracted him and Daryl and then made off with their supply-laden truck. Robert Kirkman, the “Walking Dead” creator, has said that as the story goes on, the main group’s adversaries will be increasingly formidable, as they’d need to be in order to last this long in a post-apocalyptic zombiescape. Jesus’s gifts would seem to include prodigious reserves of guile and resourcefulness along with elite hand-to-hand combat skills, though it remains to be seen whether or how he will bring those to bear in aide of the main group.

He spent much of Sunday night unconscious, thanks to a tussle in a field that helped no one — parking brakes, people — and the rest of it acting like the world’s worst roommate. He stole their food, borrowed their truck without asking, tagged along when he wasn’t wanted and finally, in barging in on Rick and Michonne, displayed zero respect for the concept of personal space.

“Rick, wake up. We should talk.”

No, man. You should knock…

A Few Thoughts While We Try to Get Over the Hat Thing

• Cliffs Notes Recap: People need people, and don’t sleep on sorghum.

• Sorry, armchair architects. It looks like they’re going with the wall supports on the outside again.

• So that dangling walker by the gate: A mascot? Community greeter? Ghoulish lawn ornament? A scarecrow for Eugene’s future sorghum patch? We just gonna leave that guy out there?

• Carl played it off in the moment but he was clearly stung by Enid’s plan to end their special kid times together in the woods. “You don’t want to be out here, you said it,” he sniped later, during his clumsy hissy fit over undead Deanna. It’s not you, Rooster, it’s the hat.

• Episode playlist: “More Than a Feeling” by Boston; “Action Packed” by Ronnie Lee Dawson; “If My Heart Was a Car” by the Old 97’s. Not sure if there’s any symbolism to be found therein but there you go.

• So will domestic bliss dull Rick or Michonne’s edge? What does Jesus so desperately need to get off his chest? Any predictions what Judith’s first word will be? What’s your favorite underrated grain? Please weigh in on this or anything else in the comments.

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Entrepreneur, contributor, writer, and editor of Sostre News. With a powerful new bi-lingual speaking generation by his side, Sostre News is becoming the preferred site for the latest in Politics, Entertainment, Sports, Culture, Tech, Breaking and World News.

ENTERTAINMENT

Emmy Nominations 2019: See The Full List

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3 years ago

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September 20, 2019

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Emmy Nominations 2019: See The Full List

The 2019 Emmys have arrived. The 71st annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on Fox this Sunday, September 22, at 8 pm Eastern / 5 pm Pacific, and honor some of the biggest television achievements of the past year.

As usual, the major awards will be split into separate categories for comedy and drama. On the drama side, the 2019 nominations are both dominated by Game of Thrones — which is expected to set a new record for most Emmy wins by a single season — and unusually wide open. Many shows that would otherwise be contenders — including The Crown, Stranger Things, and The Handmaid’s Tale — did not air during the eligibility window (June 1, 2018 through May 31, 2019), either because they wanted to avoid competing against Game of Thrones or because they simply couldn’t produce a new season in time.

The thought held by many was that Game of Thrones would turn in an unbeatable swan song and the race would open up again in 2020. In hindsight, that final season was widely criticized and not nearly as unrivaled in its Emmy worthiness as many expected it to be. Nevertheless, Game of Thrones is still the frontrunner in multiple drama categories.

Game of Thrones is also the only show to be nominated in all seven drama categories. In addition to nods for Outstanding Drama Series, Directing for a Drama Series, and Writing for a Drama Series, stars Kit Harington and Emilia Clarke are nominated for Lead Actor in a Drama and Lead Actress in a Drama, respectively.

And the show has pretty much overwhelmed the final two drama categories, with Gwendoline Christie, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, and Maisie Williams all nominated for Supporting Actress in a Drama, and Alfie Allen, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, and Peter Dinklage all nominated for Supporting Actor in a Drama. In total, between the Primetime Emmys and the Creative Arts Emmys, Game of Thrones’ final season earned 32 nominations, the most received in a single year by any show in the history of the awards.

Having already won 10 awards at the Creative Arts Emmys — which were held last weekend and mainly honor the technical elements of TV production like cinematography, editing, and visual effects — Game of Thrones needs just two more to tie its own record for most Emmys won by a single season of any show. It needs only three to break that record.

The few contenders looking to upset Game of Thrones include This Is Us, Better Call Saul (returning to the race after being nominated in 2017 and sitting out last year), Killing Eve, Pose, Succession, Ozark, and Bodyguard.

Perhaps the biggest player on the comedy side is the final season of HBO’s Veep. After star Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s cancer diagnosis and treatment, Veep, the reigning comedy champ, sat out the Emmys in 2018. And in its absence, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel took home the major awards.

With Veep back in contention this year — and for its final season, no less — the series easily snagged a nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Its fellow contenders in the category include last year’s winner, Mrs. Maisel; returning nominee Barry; and newcomers to the race Russian Doll, The Good Place, Fleabag, and Schitt’s Creek.

Louis-Dreyfus is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy, an honor she has as already won six times for her role as Selina Meyer (on top of a Lead Actress in a Comedy win for The New Adventures of Old Christine and a Supporting Actress in a Comedy win for Seinfeld). She’ll go head to head with Russian Doll’s Natasha Lyonne, Mrs. Maisel’s Rachel Brosnahan (who won last year), and Schitt’s Creek’s Catherine O’Hara, among others.

Here’s the list of 2019 Emmy nominees in all the major categories:

Outstanding Comedy Series

Barry

Fleabag

The Good Place

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Russian Doll

Schitt’s Creek

Veep

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul

Bodyguard

Game of Thrones

Killing Eve

Ozark

Pose

Succession

This Is Us

Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Mahershala Ali, True Detective

Benicio Del Toro, Escape at Dannemora

Hugh Grant, A Very English Scandal

Jared Harris, Chernobyl

Jharrel Jerome, When They See Us

Sam Rockwell, Fosse/Verdon

Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Amy Adams, Sharp Objects

Patricia Arquette, Escape at Dannemora

Aunjanue Ellis, When They See us

Joey King, The Act

Niecy Nash, When They See Us

Michelle Williams, Fosse/Verdon

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Ben Whishaw, A Very English Scandal

Stellan Skarsgard, Chernobyl

Paul Dano, Escape at Dannemora

John Leguizamo, When They See Us

Michael K. Williams, When They See Us

Asante Blackk, When They See Us

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

Emily Watson, Chernobyl

Margaret Qualley, Fosse/Verdon

Patricia Clarkson, Sharp Objects

Patricia Arquette, The Act

Marsha Stephanie Blake, When They See Us

Vera Farmiga, When They See Us

Lead Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Anderson, Black-ish

Don Cheadle, Black Monday

Ted Danson, The Good Place

Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method

Bill Hader, Barry

Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek

Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Christina Applegate, Dead To Me

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Natasha Lyonne, Russian Doll

Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Fleabag

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Stephen Root, Barry

Henry Winkler, Barry

Anthony Carrigan, Barry

Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method

Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Tony Hale, Veep

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Sarah Goldberg, Barry

Sian Clifford, Fleabag

Olivia Colman, Fleabag

Betty Gilpin, GLOW

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Anna Chlumsky, Veep

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, Ozark

Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us

Kit Harington, Game of Thrones

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Billy Porter, Pose

Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us

Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder

Laura Linney, Ozark

Mandy Moore, This Is Us

Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Robin Wright, House of Cards

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul

Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul

Alfie Allen, Game of Thrones

Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Game of Thrones

Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones

Michael Kelly, House of Cards

Chris Sullivan, This Is Us

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Gwendoline Christie, Game of Thrones

Lena Headey, Game of Thrones

Sophie Turner, Game of Thrones

Maisie Williams, Game of Thrones

Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve

Julia Garner, Ozark

Outstanding Reality Competition Series

Amazing Race

American Ninja Warrior

Nailed It

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

Outstanding Variety Talk Series

The Daily Show

Full Frontal

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

The Late Late Show With James Corden

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

At Home With Amy Sedaris

Documentary Now!

Drunk History

I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman

Saturday Night Live

Who Is America?

Outstanding Television Movie

Bandersnatch

Brexit

Deadwood

King Lear

My Dinner with Hervé

Outstanding Limited Series

Chernobyl

Escape at Dannemora

Fosse/Verdon

Sharp Objects

When They See Us

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Disney’s Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Looking at $100M+ In Memorial Day Riches

UPDATED, 1:17 PM: At this time we can tell you that Disney’s Aladdin is off to a healthy start at the domestic box office with a $28 million-$30 million Friday (including $7 million in Thursday’s previews). It is now expected to hit $80 million over three days and $95 million over the full four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend frame.

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3 years ago

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May 24, 2019

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Disney’s Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Looking at $100M+ In Memorial Day Riches

UPDATED, 1:17 PM: At this time we can tell you that Disney’s Aladdin is off to a healthy start at the domestic box office with a $28 million-$30 million Friday (including $7 million in Thursday’s previews). It is now expected to hit $80 million over three days and $95 million over the full four-day Memorial Day holiday weekend frame.

Some see the Guy Ritchie film besting Solo: A Star Wars Story‘s four-day Memorial Day start of $103M last year with a potential $104M gross, but this holiday is so wonky it is too soon to call it at that. There can be fall-off as people become distracted by holiday activities.

Regardless, it’s a better than anticipated start for Disney’s latest live-action remake, on which critics are divided but exit polls show audiences love. Aladdin is a brand that is fresher than Dumbo and hipper, being a fave of Gen X and Gen Y audiences.

We will have more box office updates later today.

PREVIOUSLY, 7:36 AM: Disney’s Aladdin is off to strong start after $7 million in Thursday night previews that began officially at 6 PM yesterday, preceded by 5 PM fan events. That figure is exceedingly better than the frumpy Thursday night start of Dumbo, which only snorted up $2.6M for a $46M weekend.

Last night was also the best preview start for director Guy Ritchie at the domestic box office; two summers ago, his King Arthur: Legend of the Sword tanked with a $15.3M opening, leading to a $39.1M domestic finish and $148.6M global off a $175M production cost.

Tracking is between $73M-$85M on Aladdin over the Friday-through-Monday stretch of Memorial Day weekend. Critics are split about the live-action reboot of the 1992 Disney classic at 60% fresh. We’ll see whether the die-hard Aladdin fans dominate or remain divided as the weekend continues.

So far, so good: ComScore/Screen Engine PostTrack exits show general audiences giving Aladdin 4 1/2 stars and a solid 69% definite recommend. Females over 25 lead at 34% (98% positive grade), followed by females under 25 at 25% (97% grade), men over 25 at 21% (88%) and Men under 25 at 20% (83%). Parents gave the pic four stars after turning out at 12%, and kids under 12, who repped 20% of the crowd and loved it at 4 1/2 stars.

If those figures maintain, Ritchie is bound to see his best opening at the domestic B.O. after 2009’s Sherlock Holmes ($62.3M). We went into the weekend projecting on the low end, given the funkiness of moviegoing over the Memorial Day stretch. Since Marvel movies have taken over the earlier part of the month (or late April), Memorial Day has increasingly become anti-climactic at the box office. Disney has traditionally tanked over Memorial Day weekend with its event attempts, but this year might be different.

Aladdin‘s Thursday also bests that of Disney’s 2017 Memorial Day attempt Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales ($5.5M off 7 PM shows for a $78.4M four-day opening) as well as late May 2014’s live-action Sleeping Beauty spinoff Maleficent ($4.2M previews from 9 PM and midnight, $69M opening). Many are comparing Aladdin to the female-skewing Cinderella, and Prince Ali also beat her 8 PM Thursday showtimes of $2.3M, which turned into a $67.8M opening.

Among the preview nights for the live-action remakes of Disney’s toons, Beauty and the Beast is still the fairest in the land with a huge $16.3M from March 16, 2017 shows.

Those who’ve seen the top sheet of Aladdin say it cost around $182M net, which is cheaper than Pirates 5 ($230M production cost net before P&A), and a little higher than Beauty and the Beast ($160M).

Atom Tickets saw Aladdin presales outstrip those of Dumbo and Mary Poppins Returns. Based on Atom’s recent Summer Movie Survey, Aladdin was in the top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Movies list in addition to the top 5 Most Anticipated Family Summer Movies. Of those that voted for Aladdin as their top summer movie, they also said they are most excited to hear the song “A Whole New World” from the movie. The majority (70%) are really excited to see Will Smith as the genie. In terms of the survey demographics, 50% were 25-34 years old, 26% were in the range of 35-44, and 12% were 45-54. Also based on the survey, fans of the movie also skewed more female (~60%), which was what tracking spotted and what last night’s exit polls indicated.

Sony Screens Gems/The H Collective has the James Gunn-produced superhero horror pic Brightburn, which drew $950,000 last night from 7 PM shows at 2,257 locations. Pic’s opening is projected at $8M over three days and $10M for four days. That’s ahead of Warner Bros’ R-rated July 2015 horror pic The Gallows, which opened to $9.8M. Brightburn cost an estimated $6M before marketing and distribution costs.

United Artists’ release of Annapurna’s Olivia Wilde-directed teenage comedy Booksmart took in $875K in previews. The R-rated film is tracking towards a domestic four-day weekend opening in the mid- to high-single-digits.

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Aaron Rodgers Goes on Epic Rant Blasting Game of Thrones Ending

The “Game of Thrones” series finale arrived on Sunday and let’s just say that plenty of fans and critics had problems with the ending.That includes a man who actually made an appearance on the show, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

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3 years ago

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May 21, 2019

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Aaron Rodgers Goes on Epic Rant Blasting Game of Thrones Ending

The “Game of Thrones” series finale arrived on Sunday and let’s just say that plenty of fans and critics had problems with the ending.

That includes a man who actually made an appearance on the show, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

(Warning: Several “Game of Thrones” spoilers are mentioned here, but you were smart enough to know that.)

Aaron Rodgers blasts ‘Game of Thrones’ finale

Speaking with reporters during Packers OTAs, Rodgers was initially asked to clarify where he actually showed up in “The Bells,” the fifth episode of the “Game of Thrones” final season.

Rodgers confirmed he was neither the archer (“that person definitely looked like me”), nor the man incinerated by dragon fire (“I’m disappointed in every person who would say that was me … total non-athlete.”) Rather, he was the one by the bell tower.

Once that was settled, Rodgers was asked if he actually liked the ending of the show he has watched for years. What followed was a lengthy, point-by-point takedown of the finale’s biggest decisions.

A full transcript of Rodgers’ comments about the show’s ending:

Were you satisfied with the ending of “Game of Thrones?”

No. I love the show and it was a great 10 years, but no. You come down to the end and Tyrion says the person with the best story is Bran? Who, by the way, three episodes said he wasn’t Bran Stark anymore. No. Jon had a better story. Dany had a better story. Arya had a better story. Sansa had a better story. Tyrion had a better story. Varys had a better story. Bronn, a lot better story. Jaime, better story. Cersei, probably a better story. Any Baratheon, better story.

Who should have been on the throne?

I think Dany should have been on the throne. Here’s the thing, though. Here’s my last theory about it. If Bran, the Three-Eyed Raven, whose all about the health of the realm. Let’s think about what he did. He basically wanted the throne the whole time because he’s the one who told the Starks, knowing that Sansa would tell Tyrion, knowing that Tyrion would talk to Varys, knowing that he’d scheme for Dany’s death, knowing that would piss her off, which led her to be the Mad Queen. So he, the entire time, set the whole thing up and then at the end goes ‘Oh yeah, I don’t want to be king. Oh, but why did I travel all this way to be here?’ No. Look, I love the opportunity to be in the show, which most people probably don’t think I was, but I was there. I love the show, but the writers are also doing Star Wars, so I think they might have been a little busy.

Clearly, Rodgers is a little upset.

Aaron Rodgers is not alone in hating the ‘Game of Thrones’ ending

That last comment alludes to the recent news that “Game of Thrones” showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss will helm the next “Star Wars” movie, which led to backlash from many fans over the perception that the show’s final season was rushed as its top decision-makers prepared for their foray into science fiction.

Really, Rodgers’ comments match up with most fans’ biggest criticisms, mainly the implications of Bran Stark king-taking the throne and the handling of Daenerys Targaryen’s transition into villainy. Petitions have already been started to redo the show’s final season.

“Game of Thrones” is finally over as a television series, but the discussion around the show and story will likely live on for years.

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