Category: News

Anybody who thought the vinyl resurgence was just a fad was mistaken: The industry has experienced a legitimate revival. As a result, music fans are interested in physical media in ways they may not have if the decades-old medium hasn’t made a comeback. That doesn’t mean everybody is listening to just their parents’ old music, though. That’s part of it, sure, thanks to rereleases that present classic albums in new ways. A vital part of the renewed vinyl wave, though, is new projects being released as records, of which there are plenty.

Whatever you might be into, each month brings a new slew of vinyl releases that has something for everybody. Some stand out above the rest, naturally, so check out some of our favorite vinyl releases of September below.

Beastie Boys — Hello Nasty (Deluxe Edition)

Beastie Boys are perhaps best known for their ’80s and early-’90s output, but they were still getting after it later in the decade. Hello Nasty was a No. 1 album in 1998, and now that the project is turning 25 this year, the group has reissued it with bonus LPs (for 4 LPs in total) that have a number of bonus tracks (and there’s even a sew-on patch for you in the box set).

Get it here.

Aesop Rock — Skelethon (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Skelethon was a turning point for Aesop Rock, as his sixth album came five years after its predecessor, None Shall Pass, and it was his first album to be completely self-produced. So, as it turns 10, Aesop has given it premium treatment, which includes a 3-LP package that includes “a gatefold jacket with revised art layouts, printed sleeves, a 4-panel insert with full album lyrics, two cream & black marble-colored vinyl, and a UV printed ultra-clear bonus disc vinyl with four exclusive bonus tracks.”

Get it here.

The Eagles — Hotel California (Box Set)

It’s very likely there’s no song/album about a hotel more famous than the one by The Eagles. Now the group has dusted off the album for a new limited edition (there are 17,500 numbered copies) of the album that was mastered from the original analog master tapes, and is pressed to high-fidelity MoFi SuperVinyl.

Get it here.

Green Day — Dookie (30th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)

Dookie is certainly in the conversation when it comes to the most classic albums of the ’90s. It’s somehow already been 30 years since it was released and the band has released a vinyl box set that has a bunch of rare and unreleased material, as well as other goodies, included.

Get it here.

Steely Dan — Aja (Reissue)

Steely Dan is in the midst of a vinyl reissue series and up next is the 1997 classic Aja. For this edition, the album has been remastered “from an analog, non-EQ’d, tape copy.”

Get it here.

Haim — Days Are Gone (10th Anniversary Reissue)

It doesn’t feel like Haim’s been around long enough for anniversary reissues, does it? Regardless, Days Are Gone is 10 now, so the sisters are re-releasing it for the first time ever, housed in a new package, exclusive poster, a printed transparent slipcase, and more.

Get it here.

Huey Lewis & The News — Sports (Reissue)

Sports was an unstoppable album in 1983, yielding four top-10 hits and managing a rank of No. 2 on the year-end album charts in 1984. The album is 40 years old now and now we’re treated to a fresh pressing, including one edition featuring olive green vinyl.

Get it here.

The Replacements — Tim: Let It Bleed Edition

The Replacements’ Tommy Stinson recently spoke with Uproxx about the band’s new Tim box set, and he said of how the project sounds on this particular release, “I think it sounds more the way it should have sounded to begin with. The funny thing is there were two records that we did that I always felt sounded terrible and this is one of them. It always sounded bad to me, and when it came out it seemed that everyone whitewashed — including the record company — that there was something wrong with it. Intrinsically, I’ve always known what was wrong with it. The original mix was mixed on f*cking headphones. So I don’t suspect Ed Stasium mixing it on headphones. I don’t really know anyone that mixes on headphones, but I always knew there was a problem with that. So this is great. I’m pretty stoked on it.”

Get it here.

The Who — Who’s Next (Reissue)

Uproxx’s Steven Hyden recently dove deep into this release, saying this reissue proves Who’s Next is “the ultimate classic rock album.” He wrote in part, “It is, simultaneously, one of the most overexposed rock albums ever, with a reach that extends into every sports stadium (and CSI franchise spin-off) known to man, and an intriguingly nebulous idea dreamt up by a genius who earnestly believed that his music could elevate his audience to a better, heretofore untouched astral plane. […] It offers proof positive that aiming for the impossible can result in achieving the incredible. And that’s why it’s the ultimate classic rock album.”

Get it here.

Tom Waits — Swordfishtrombones, Rain Dogs, and Franks Wild Years (Reissues)

Waits is in the midst of reissuing some of his most classic albums on vinyl, and a few of them are available now. Waits is personally overseeing the series of newly remastered rereleases and each album is available on gorgeous colored vinyl.

Get it here.

The Breeders — Last Splash (30th Anniversary Original Analog Edition)

This 30th anniversary reissue of Last Splash actually marks the first time the album has ever been remastered, making this the best the classic project has ever sounded. Also included is “an exclusive, one-sided etched 12-inch which excitingly features two brilliant and previously unreleased tracks — ‘Go Man Go’ and ‘Divine Mascis,’” which “originate from the original sessions and were left forgotten until the sessions were exhumed to create this new master.”

Get it here.

Grandaddy — Sumday Twunny

Grandaddy announced this reissue back in May, revealing that it includes the album itself, demos, rarities, and B-sides. Jason Lytle noted,” After many years of hammering away at writing and recording as Grandaddy, Sumday seems to be the center of it and where it all peaked. To the journalists we were, ‘On the verge of greatness, underrated, overlooked, unsung.’ It was a tumultuous and exciting time for us for sure. Also very exhausting.”

Get it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tupic‘s 1996 murder remains one of the most-discussed deaths in hip-hop, as it remains unsolved. Earlier this year, though, an investigation was opened again, and today (September 29), a suspect by the name of Duane “Keefe D” Davis has reportedly been taken into custody.

Though the rapper was killed in 1996, the story begins well before that. On November 30, 1994, Tupac was shot five times during a robbery at Quad Studios in Times Square, but he survived. Then, on September 7, 1996, he was leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip. He was shot multiple times in a drive-by and taken to the hospital, and subsequently died on September 13.

About the arrest made today, retired Los Angeles police detective Greg Kading who investigated the case and wrote a book about it, said, “People have been yearning for him to be arrested for a long time. It’s never been unsolved in our minds. It’s been unprosecuted.” He said Davis’ book gave “Las Vegas the ammunition and the leverage to move forward. Prior to Keefe D’s public declarations, the cases were unprosecutable as they stood… He put himself squarely in the middle of the conspiracy. He had acquired the gun, he had given the gun to the shooter and he had been present in the vehicle when they hunted down and located both Tupac and Suge [Knight].”

The Damian Lillard trade sweepstakes are over, and now, his old team is getting right back to making calls about trading a guard. The biggest name that the Portland Trail Blazers received in the deal that sent Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks was Jrue Holiday, the standout two-way guard who was crucial in getting Milwaukee over the hump in their pursuit of a championship.

If Portland wanted, it could keep Holiday around for a bit, let him serve as a mentor for their bevy of young guards, and look to move him at the trade deadline to a team that wants to make an all-in move during the season. But according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, it seems far more likely that they move quickly.

“The Bucks sent two-time All-Star Jrue Holiday to Portland to acquire Lillard, and I expect the Blazers to be active in the next few days to find a new landing spot for the veteran guard,” Charania reported on Friday morning.

It begs the question: Which teams could use Holiday’s services the most? Holiday’s one of the best all-around guards in the league, a snug fit on basically any roster, and one of the NBA’s most highly-respected guys, which is to say that the Blazers are in a pretty good spot here. There will be a bidding war to acquire his services, even though he is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season if he declines to pick up his player option for 2024-25. With camp starting soon, teams interested in acquiring Holiday should be incentivized to move quickly to get in him before the season begins, which would theoretically drive up the bidding even more.

There are a ton of teams that could end up looking into a Holiday deal. Here, we’re going to look at the ones that make the most sense, both in terms of wanting to compete right now and having the stuff to make a deal happen.

6. Boston Celtics

Does Boston desperately need Holiday? Not really, no — they have Derrick White as their presumed starting point guard and felt confident enough in his ability to run the show that the team traded away Marcus Smart. Having said that: Boy, can you imagine this Celtics team with Jrue Holiday on it? Holiday has pushed one Eastern Conference contender with title aspirations over the hump before, and it’s not hard to see how he could do the same thing here if he ended up on this team.

Boston has a ton of picks it can potentially trade, including a top-4 protected 2024 selection from the Warriors, and a reportedly disgruntled guard in Malcolm Brogdon who could head the other way. Figuring out how to make the rest of this work financially would be tricky — would Boston even consider this if they’d have to move one of Robert Williams or Al Horford? — but there would not be a better starting five in the NBA than Holiday, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and any two of Horford, Williams, and Kristaps Porzingis. That, mixed with how he can initiate the offense and let Brown and Tatum focus on other things, makes the thought of him in Boston awfully fun.

5. New York Knicks

New York is sitting and waiting to strike when an All-NBA player hits the trade market. Why not make a move that: 1. Doesn’t really compromise their ability to do that and, 2. Gets them a guy who fits really well alongside Jalen Brunson in their backcourt? The Knicks have a boatload of future first-round picks, including four in the 2024 NBA Draft (their own and protected selections from Dallas, Detroit, and Washington). They can’t make all of these picks, and they have to do something at some point. Would two of those picks, one of their own future picks, Evan Fournier’s salary, and a young player work? Would they want to move R.J. Barrett? Would the Blazers want Immanuel Quickley (along with whatever else New York would need to add to make this work financially)? I’m assuming Quentin Grimes, who the team had zero interest in moving during its pursuit of Donovan Mitchell, would be off the table, but who knows?

Tom Thibodeau loves defense and toughness, both of which Holiday brings in droves. He’d be part of a very good backcourt with Brunson, would give him and Julius Randle room to cook, and if they could sign him to an extension, he’d be an excellent player alongside whomever the Knicks acquire when that day comes for their really big swing.

4. Golden State Warriors

Just think for one moment about a Steph Curry-Jrue Holiday backcourt. They have a big ol salary to make things work out financially in Chris Paul, they could sweeten the pot with some combination of picks (say, their 2026 and 2028 firsts) and young players (Jonathan Kuminga and/or Moses Moody would be sensational fits on a young Blazers team), and they’d probably care less than anyone else on this list about Holiday potentially being a one-year rental. The “who comes off the bench?” question that exists right now with Paul in town would become more of a conversation, and it’s worth wondering if the Gary Payton II trade saga from last year soured relations between the teams. But if that’s not a hang up, Golden State should 100 percent kick the tires on a trade here — all that matters is to win as much as possible before Curry’s career comes to an end, and this would get them closer to accomplishing that goal.

3. Los Angeles Clippers

Considering their links to James Harden this offseason, the Clippers sure seem like a team that could use some backcourt help, even though Terance Mann is perpetually underrated, Bones Hyland is a promising youngster, and Russell Westbrook is back on a new deal. Holiday, a Los Angeles native, would give Ty Lue the sort of versatile perimeter defender that he loves, all while giving them a steady hand on offense when Kawhi Leonard or Paul George needs a break (or, in a worst-case scenario, miss time due to injuries). It also stands to reason that Steve Ballmer would have no qualms about signing him to a contract extension — presumably one that puts him on a similar timeline to Leonard and George, who are also potential free agents next summer — ahead of the team moving into their new arena next season.

They have the sorts of big expiring contracts that can work as salary ballast here, although players like Marcus Morris and Robert Covington may be helpful for them this season. Two big questions: Would the Clippers want to move a young player like Mann or Hyland if the Blazers demanded it? Would they really want to dip into their stash of picks that is just now getting replenished following the monster deal that landed them George (and, by extension, Leonard)? If the answers to both are yes, that would be one hell of a trio for, say, a postseason matchup with Phoenix.

2. Miami Heat

This would probably be the funniest possible outcome here. After trying and failing to acquire Lillard — in part, per reports, due to the Blazers’ disinterest in trading him to his preferred destination — would Miami actually pick up the phone and try to call up Joe Cronin and co.? The irony here is that Holiday could not be a more perfect fit on the Heat, and it would 100 percent be worth trying to figure something out. A deal built around Kyle Lowry’s salary and some of the picks they were willing to move for Lillard would be sensible, and while it would be a tough pill to swallow, maybe a promising young player like Nikola Jovic or Jaime Jaquez could help put their offer over the top.

Getting him in and letting him handle the point guard responsibilities makes life easier on Jimmy Butler (who wouldn’t have to shoulder such a gigantic role), Bam Adebayo (who would have a killer pick-and-roll partner), and Tyler Herro (who can just focus on being a scorer and secondary creator). And as an added bonus, he’d give Miami someone who could do as good a job as anyone guarding the guy Milwaukee just acquired, which, well, that’d be a fun subplot in a playoff series, wouldn’t it?

1. Philadelphia 76ers

Holiday is, obviously, a former Sixer. More importantly, Holiday could be the solution to the single biggest problem the team has right now, which is trying to find a way to get rid of James Harden while still being able to compete for a championship. While it’s certainly fair to wonder if Philly has any chance at accomplishing that following the moves Boston and Milwaukee made this summer, their best chance is probably turning Harden into a player who makes sense alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey. If they’d need to give up Maxey here, that probably turns this into a non-starter, especially if they’d move him and keep Harden.

But imagine something like a three-team deal where Harden goes to the Clippers (or somewhere else), Holiday goes to Philadelphia, and both the Sixers and the team that lands Harden send Portland a first-round pick. (It’s very funny to imagine a two-team trade here with Harden and picks going to the Blazers, thereby letting them play this game with another guard.) But in terms of need, Philly laps the field, as Holiday gives them a solution to the Harden dilemma, is a terrific running mate alongside Maxey, and would be a great second fiddle to Embiid. It’d be difficult to pull this off, but they should certainly operate with the most urgency.

Tupac died some time ago now, and yet, there’s been some significant news on that front. The investigation of his murder was revived earlier this year, and today (September 29), it was reported that Las Vegas police have arrested Duane “Keefe D” Davis in connection with the drive-by shooting that killed Tupac.

As for when this all went down: As ABC News points out, Tupac was shot five times on November 30, 1994, during a robbery at Quad Studios in Times Square, but he survived. A couple years later, on September 7, 1996, he was shot in a drive-by after leaving a boxing match at the MGM Grand on the Las Vegas strip. He was shot multiple times and taken to the hospital, where he died from his injuries a few days later, on September 13. He was 25 years old.

As for the recent arrest, Davis has admitted to his involvement in the shooting before: In his 2019 memoir Compton Street Legend, he said he was a passenger in the car from which the shots were fired, and he claimed his nephew Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson was the one who actually pulled the trigger. Anderson was later killed in a shooting in Compton, two years after Tupac’s death.

Warning: Spoilers for Gen V episodes one and two below.

Jeff Bezos is truly sick (in a good way) for inventing the three-episode premiere model and then utilizing it for a show as bloody and disturbed as Gen V. After a premiere filled with gore, death, and dicks, the show’s follow-up episodes (released simultaneously) gave us more insight into the bigger mystery fueling this season and the role our dangerous little idiot supes have to play in it.

We met parents, we pondered on whether flashy jewelry makes poor people sad — spoiler: they already are — and we absurd hero antics that definitely won’t make it into anyone’s In Memoriam tribute video. Here’s where the WTF leaderboard stands after episodes two and three.

6. Cate’s Jumanji Moment

The hazmat crew had barely mopped up her dead boyfriend’s intestines before Cate Dunlap decided to start wielding her mind influence for good. She’s saving the world one unfunny frat bro at a time, powering the economy in the process and making fans care about baseball again. That’s real hero behavior. Was it worth the small brain bleed to tell some incel asswipe he should go to Dicks Sporting Goods, purchase a Louisville slugger, and have a crack at his own balls every hour while shouting “Jumanji” at the top of his lungs? Honestly, yes.

5. A Freudian Scavenger Hunt

Andre’s got bigger problems than almost murdering a girl in a nightclub and watching his best friend have a very public, very fatal meltdown: His dad is here. The only thing worse than being stuck with powers and the responsibility that comes with them for Andre is having a parent who lived that superhero life before you did. The senior Polarity is stagedad-ing hard in these episodes which makes the campus scavenger hunt Andre and Cate go on to find a clue left behind by Golden Boy all the weirder. Shoving your hand into your dad’s bronzed penis to retrieve your dead bestie’s cell phone is no one’s idea of a good time. Except maybe Sigmund Freud. Sigmund Freud would’ve loved this show.

4. That Nancy Reagan Reference

Like The Boys, Gen-V isn’t afraid to get political but, unless you’re intimately familiar with the search engine results when you combine “Nancy Reagan” and “Throat Goat,” this reference might’ve gone over your head. Never fear. Even without knowing the oral history of a former First Lady, watching a girl gag herself on her own tale for likes is still nauseating.

3. When Flashlights And Starfish Turned Sexual

Cate risked another aneurysm in episode three to save Andre’s life after a rescue attempt gone wrong in a moment that proved heroic moments come in all shapes, sizes, and sexual innuendos. Using her telepathic abilities, Cate manipulated two guards who seemed ready to transport Andre to “The Woods,” influencing one to simulate oral using a flashlight before the other threatened to stick the organically-lubed battery-operated torch up his “chocolate starfish.” Disgusting, but effective.

2. Sam’s Hulk Out

We’re finally clued into what caused Luke to spiral in the premiere when Andre and Cate discover Sam (the brother Golden Boy believed was dead) is the kid that almost escaped back in episode one. He’s clinically insane and suped up just like his big bro, which might be why the school is experimenting on him in “The Woods.” Of course, we’re not advocating child kidnapping and torture, but watching Sam get so angry he punched a guy’s intestines through his mouth has made it clear: this kid needs help.

1. Q-Tips By Cricket

Emma deserved a hero moment after the suffering she endured in the show’s first few episodes. Feeling pressured to purge herself to satisfy a guy’s kink, having her eating disorder disclosed for likes, being betrayed by a friend, and having to field exploitative reality TV pitches from her own mother meant Cricket needed a win. Would we qualify swimming inside a guy’s ear canal only to emerge in a pool of brain matter and blood as a win? Eh. Knowing Cricket’s mom, there has to be a way to spin this into a brand deal with Q-tips.

Not unlike Daniel Radcliffe’s post-Harry Potter years, Elijah Wood made a ton of money starring in the Lord of the Rings film and now he can follow what creative impulse he wants. Sometimes it’s voicing a dancing penguin, other times it’s producing one of the best horror movies of the 2010s. Now, he’s in a hyper-violent remake of a horror-camp cult classic. Bless him.

You know who else is having fun? Game of Thrones star Peter Dinklage, who plays the “98 pounds of solid nerd” known as the Toxic Avenger (a.k.a. Toxie). Does Toxie rip someone’s face off in the teaser trailer above? You’ll have to watch to find out! Here’s the official plot synopsis:

The Toxic Avenger follows struggling everyman-janitor Winston Gooze, who is transformed by a horrible toxic accident into a new evolution of hero: The Toxic Avenger! Now with super-human strength and wielding a glowing mop for his unconventional weapon, he must race against time to save his son and stop a ruthless and power-hungry corporate tyrant bent on harnessing toxic superpowers to strengthen his polluted empire.

The R-rated The Toxic Avenger, which was written and directed by Macon Blair (the brilliant Green Room), does not currently have a release date.

With the writers’ strike resolved, Marvel is reportedly diving into a project that fans have been patiently waiting for since Disney acquired Fox: The official MCU reboot of the X-Men.

While characters from the original films like Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine have or will appear in the MCU thanks to the current multiverse shenanigans, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige has teased that the mighty mutants will get their own film that introduces a new version of the classic team to audiences. However, Marvel has kept those plans significantly under wraps, and now we know why: The studio has yet to lock down a writer, but that’s about to change very soon.

Via Deadline:

Sources tell Deadline that Marvel will start setting writer meetings later this fall for pitches on its anticipated X-Men movie. Insiders add there is no rush to fill the job since the film hasn’t been dated yet, and it’s more than likely that writer decision will be made at the top of 2024. Marvel declined comment.

As noted earlier, the X-Men have already begun encroaching on the MCU, and they’ll make their biggest splash yet when Deadpool 3 arrives. On top of that, the Ms. Marvel finale confirmed the existence of mutants in the MCU, so the groundwork is definitely being laid for the wildly popular comic book characters who could be the shot in the arm Marvel needs as its films and TV series struggle post-Avengers: Endgame.

(Via Deadline)

If hip-hop’s 50th-anniversary celebrations have taught fans of the culture anything, it’s just how expansive the music has been. Rapper Lil Durk and Kid Cudi are two shining examples of the genre’s growth. The two sub-section innovators linked up for a new track titled “Guitar In My Room.”

Both the track and its official accompanying video are spearheaded by Cole Bennett. As the second single off Bennett’s forthcoming compilation album, “Guitar In My Room,” is a luminous look at their duo’s influential signature sounds. To open the record, Durk lets listeners into his bittersweet reality.

“I’m in a room with my guitar, I’m tryna prove that I’m a star / But I hate when we keep distance ’cause it’s a difference with response / Keep it natural the first day, we gon’ watch Tubi in the car / Ask me what’s my motivation, I say, ‘The trenches,’ she say, ‘Why?’ / I was takin’ all prescriptions, them drugs / I wanna ask for your permission, don’t judge / Before you ever get a job, get a gun,” rapped Durk.

Cudi shifts the energy from gloomy to litty when it is his turn on the mic. “Caught you in a dream, I hit you with that sauce / If we aim at the moon, no, baby, we won’t fall / She said she miss that feeling / A real n**** that is so appealin’ / Keep it low, baby, I’m not leavin’ / Soakin’ up your glory days slow / If there’s problems, I’ll solve ’em, no lie / You never had a n**** catchin’ all the signs / It’s time, baby, lost in the lights,” rapped Cudi.

Watch the “Guitar In My Room” video above.

(WARNING: Spoilers for the most recent Power Book IV: Force episode will be found below.)

“Crown Vic,” this week’s episode of Power Book IV: Force, was a shock, to say the least. Tommy Flanagan’s character, Walter Flynn, is killed off his the episode following his children Vic and Claudia’s plan to ambush him and take him out once and for all. The plan, which was spearheaded by Claudia, wasn’t as successful as she wanted it to be and she also hoped that Vic would be caught in the crossfire. She failed to complete that part of the mission, and she will surely pay for it in the future.

Elsewhere in the season two episode, Tommy Egan is forced to make a tough decision in regards to D-Mac to ensure that his nephew can live out his promising future, something Tommy himself was never able to do. Diamond and Jenard also reconcile their differences, but it only comes after their father passes away. Overall, the theme of family exists heavily in this episode and it’s something that plays out differently for everyone.

Following the episode’s release, we caught up with Lisa Demaine, the director of “Crown Vic.” Demaine discussed the family theme in the episode, the demise of the Flynn family, the authorities’ pursuit of Tommy and CBI, and what to expect in the second half of the season.

There’s a theme surrounding family in this episode as we see relationships with the various characters reach new peaks or a point of no return. What was the specific theme attached to “family” that you wanted to convey in this episode?

The theme was longing. You see it with Diamond when he sees his daddy for the first time in years. The feeling that Isaac and I talked about, where he wanted to be and where I was hoping he could get, was that eight-year-old longing for daddy to show up for him. For Vic, it’s been the longing to be recognized by Walter to not be the little son who’s never good enough. The longing has been really thematic. You see the longing with Kate wanting to be a mother to D-Mac. She’s longing to be the mother she wasn’t to Tommy and to JP — and she thinks she’s finally doing it with D-Mac, until Tommy takes him.

There’s even a moment of longing with Tommy when he is on the phone with D-Mac after he’s been kidnapped and he’s back at the farm and he says, “I’ve got eyes on you everywhere. Don’t you try to escape,” basically. Then, Tommy almost says “D-Mac, I love –” and he stops himself. Tommy almost says, “D-Mac, I love you.” So there’s a longing thematically with the families throughout this episode. Everyone’s trying to belong, no matter if you’re a drug dealer, a fucked up addict who’s recovering, [or] a grown-ass boxer man who’s formidable, but still longs to be loved by your daddy.

The biggest example of the family dynamics that we see in this episode comes with the death of Walter Flynn. What made this the time to say okay, “It’s time to make this happen.” Because his death has always been foreshadowed, but not this way.

I think that we’ve been teasing out a King Lear story with the Flynn family this season and Claudia’s ambitions are palpable. You can feel it, you can see it, she wants to be queen, so building of that. When I got the script from Gary and I read it, I was like, “Are we really doing this? We’re really killing Walter Flynn? Are we?” He’s like, “We’re gonna shock the world, we’re gonna shake the world up.” That’s kind of the thing with Tommy coming to Chicago, and trying to be the kingpin, he’s got to shake it up. I think that was part of it. In order for Tommy and CBI to continue their march towards trying to take over and become the connect, he’s got to start taking people out. The formidable foe of Walter Flynn being taken out, and not even having to be taken out by Tommy, but the blind ambition of his own family, his own children, is such an epic storyline — so Shakespearean.

I was a bit surprised when Claudia was seemingly caught off guard by the revelation that the Flynn family business wouldn’t be for her to take over after her father’s death. Why after all that she’s been through does it still surprise her?

I think ambition is blind and I think Claudia is a bit blinded by her own single ambition of wanting to be on top. Vic has always been a little softer, a little less inclined to want to run it [and] to be the leader. So I think she assumes that she’s really the strong one and she’s really the one who knows this business better than Vic. Vic was always at daddy’s calling, Claudia feels like she can finally step into her own power [and] that she has the ability. So I think her own blind ambition makes her think she can do it and also that Vic doesn’t want it. She just assumes that Vic would acquiesce and she would be queen. I love the scene with [her and] Brendan Doyle because I think Doyle is sweet on her, and I think that if she were not gay, that they might be together because they are attracted to each other. He does it out of the place where he actually likes her and cares about her when he tells her, “You’ll never be queen,” to let her know. Then that sets her up on the next step of her King Lear play.

How much and in what ways at all did Ghost and Tariq’s relationship and the way Tariq grew up inspire the direction for Tommy and D-Mac in this episode?

Not as much as one would think because Tommy really has his own ideas about what his family should be. He started to take D-Mac under his wing when he saw last season how smart D-Mac was, and when he realized that D-Mac was JP’s son, he started to put him under his wing to look out for D-Mac like nobody looked out for him. I think it’s a desire for Tommy to have family, to protect D-Mac, and protect him from the streets like no one protected me. Tommy didn’t have a choice. He feels like D-Mac is smart enough. Tommy can set him up to not have to go on the streets and he’s been trying to do that this season to keep him out of there. When D-Mac goes rogue, he’s just got to shut it down.

Though he looked unfazed by it, what about Diamond’s character made it important to grant him a moment of closure with his father and why didn’t Jenard get that same opportunity?

I think it’s an interesting choice, it could have gone either way. I think it was so interesting to have the big brother have that moment with the dad, especially given in the moment that Jenard is not coping very well. He’s snorting heroin, he’s using on the street, [and] he’s floundering a bit. I think what’s really nice is that big brother getting some closure, gives big brother the ability to step in and start to take care of Jenard. Diamond takes that role on when Jenard shows up and dad is gone, [he says], “What are we going to do D? Pop is gone.” I love the story that Diamond spins. “He loved us, he wished he could have been there for us. You were always the favorite.” You see him stepping into the role of, is it going to be reunification for the two brothers? Will they get back into CBI?

There’s so much family in this episode. When you have family drama and a family rift, can you heal it and how do you heal it? You see that happening through the death of this really angry, not-very-nice man. I mean, Big Syd was Big Syd, he never was what he should have been to these boys. Diamond steps into it to take care of Jenard and that’s why he had the closure with dad that Jenard didn’t.

Like you said, we also see Jenard spiral a bit more in this episode. What would you say that’s most connected to?

These wounds always start deep and young. I think it is connected to the loss of his father [and] never having that. Diamond going away to prison [and] forcing him into a world that maybe he shouldn’t have been right. Jenard was the smart one, he did have the opportunity to do something different. The spiral happens when he and his fear of Tommy, and the jealousy almost of Tommy coming in, and the rift between them develops. He [says], “This white boy is coming between us and you’re picking him over me.” That wound I think that it causes between the brothers is what starts his spiral and his demise. Once he starts using, he can’t keep his game together either.

Throughout the entire Power Universe, we’ve seen the feds come after a series’ main characters time and time again, is there anything different that we can expect with the task force against Tommy and CBI?

I think that Stacy Mark’s ambition to do whatever it takes. She is willing to bend the rules. I mean Bobby, her husband — Chris Tardio, the actor that plays Bobby DiFranco — is like her ambition is in the way with her bending rules to get people to ID and to pointing at pictures when she’s interrogating people. I think that her desire to get Tommy Egan at any cost — you see at the end. “Oh, you’ll give us Claudia Flynn, you’ll give us your sister, but what I really want is Tommy Egan.” She’s willing to let Vic walk – an unknown murderer – to try to get Tommy. I think this task force has more gunpowder in their arsenal than maybe in the past because she is so laser-focused after Tommy. Which means that Tommy has a really formidable foe.

You directed the penultimate episode for this season, and without revealing too much of course, what did you hope to accomplish as a director in what these two episodes contributed to the season?

There’s so much big sort of mid-season finale almost in episode five that we do. I mean, there’s Paula’s death, Walter’s death, [and] Brendan Doyle’s death. The Flynn organization takes a big hit. So when we get to 209, there’s not a lot I can say because there’s a lot of spoilers, but obviously, the task force is closing in and working their way towards CBI and the cartel. I will tell you that people die and that drug dealing is a dirty business. There’s not a lot more I can say. Episode 209 is a very big episode with some really big moments that tie a lot of things together.

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