Episode 557: You Can't Call Them Skin Babies

Real Life Devon went full medieval this week with a trip to a Renaissance Fair—this one featuring permanent structures that actually looked "authentic" instead of slapped together by ye olde hot glue. There were swinging rides, wooden horses, and some legit jousting. Unfortunately, the real fantasy was thinking the kids would have fun. Big downer energy. Steven is gearing up for an Arizona trip but had to make a sudden detour into Best Buy territory after his TV gave up the ghost. On the plus side, Andor continues to be amazing and makes up for any consumer electronics woes. (It really is still that good.) Ben has seen Labyrinth (have you?), and he's here for the dream logic and David Bowie's entire vibe. Also thrown into the cinematic blender: The Island and Cliffhanger. We're now seeking out more films where geological or man-made features are basically the co-stars. Let us know if you have one. Oh, and Ben also saw the Slate all-electric pickup truck, which looked like something out of Black Mirror. Meanwhile, TVs just… work now? What a time to be alive. Future or Now Time for some spicy Star Wars takes. We got into it over which trilogy was better: the Prequels or the Sequels. Episode IX (The Rise of Skywalker) got roasted—Devon called it "the worst." Ben leaned sequel-side, arguing they're better than the prequels overall. The breakdown went something like: Prequels: bad films, good plots Sequels: good films, bad plots There were also complaints about Starkiller Base, which feels like someone said "What if Death Star, but more?" But then there's Andor, which everyone agrees is just pure excellence. So Star Wars can still be good when they let writers write. Our rankings for maximum judgment: Devon's list: The Phantom Menace, The Force Awakens, Rise of Skywalker, Attack of the Clones, The Last Jedi, Revenge of the Sith Ben's list: Rise of Skywalker, The Phantom Menace, Attack of the Clones, Revenge of the Sith, The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi Your move, Internet. 📚 Book Club Next Week: We're diving into Ted Chiang's "The Evolution of Human Science," which you can find in Stories of Your Life and Others (also included with an Audible subscription, if you're fancy like that). This Week: We read Jorge Luis Borges' strange and unsettling tale There Are More Things. It's Borges doing Lovecraft, but with fewer tentacles and more existential dread. We were all in until the end, where it kinda… fell off a cliff. Still worth the read for the vibes alone. Also relevant: this animated gif of a tesseract, because the story kinda goes there. New episode drops each week. Subscribe, tell a friend, and go re-rank your Star Wars opinions. We'll wait.