For two months last year, in April and May 2019, Game of Thrones took over my life, and my life was Game of Thrones. I reckon I’m not the only one. It was the final season of one of the biggest shows ever, the last piece of the TV monoculture with more Emmy wins and nominations than any scripted series. As someone who writes about TV for a living, it was nice to cover something that everyone was watching, or at least was willing to discuss (yell about) the next day; it sure beats writing about Brockmire for an audience of 47 people who are slowly catching up on Hulu. (Watch Brockmire! It’s great!)

But following the series finale, which apparently people had a lot of opinions on, I haven’t re-watched a single episode of Game of Thrones. That’s not a knock on the show overall (I love The Sopranos, which has an objectively perfect finale, but I also haven’t gone back to “Pine Barrens” since binging all six seasons a few years ago) so much as Thrones burnout. It got back so bad that last April, I started dreaming about hanging out with Daario. Not even a good character, like Sansa, but Daario! Do not recommend.

Anyway, I should say, I’m in the majority of people who did not enjoy the finale. I wasn’t angry about it, but I can’t say I liked it, either. And I haven’t thought about Thrones much since. But with today being the one-year anniversary of the finale, I thought I would re-watch “The Iron Throne,” and see if it was better, worse, or the same as I remember.

I was cautiously optimistic heading into the re-watch, hoping we were unnecessarily cruel on “The Iron Throne.” Maybe it was a victim of unprecedented hype, and it would have a Pinkerton-like arc: hated at the time, loved in the future. But “The Iron Throne” isn’t Pinkerton — it’s Make Believe, or Raditude, or Harley, or the disappointing Weezer album of your choice. There’s enough good stuff in there to remind you of what once, but not enough to make you, y’know, like it. But first, I want to hand out some compliments.

What Works

It’s great to hear the theme song again (between Game of Thrones, BoJack Horseman, and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, we’ve lost too many never-skip theme songs in the past year); the acting is uniformly excellent, especially Emilia Clarke’s steeliness as Daenerys Targaryen and Peter Dinklage’s heartbreaking performance as Tyrion Lannister (it’s fun to dunk on pouty-faced Kit Harington, but he brought it in season eight); the Mother of Dragons’ final outfit is killer; everything looks expensive; and it’s good to see my dude Tormund again. All that was true last year, and it’s still true now.

Those are the positives. But before getting to the negatives, there’s…

What I Forgot

Daenerys doesn’t appear until 15 minutes into the episode, and she dies halfway through; the Dothraki are the only fun characters; and how annoyed I was that Bran, not Davos, was named the Lord of the Seven, er, Six Kingdoms.

What Doesn’t Work

Let’s say, this time last year, you wanted to see what the hoopla was about and you decided to watch Game of Thrones for the first time. What would you know about Bran, based only on “The Iron Throne”? Well, he has a weird nickname, “Bran the Broken.” He’s in a wheelchair; he appears to be emotionless; he’s “the keeper of all our stories,” whatever that means; and in his first small council meeting, he barely says or does anything. “This is your leader?” you might ask. “The winner of the game of [checks notes] thrones?” What an inspiring choice. In a vacuum, I don’t hate Bran becoming king (he’s a better pick than Jon), but Game of Thrones did not do the work to convince us that he was the right choice — he’s an interrupting weirdo whose powers remain frustratingly undefined. To make sense of King Bran requires too much headcanon. Even Isaac Hempstead Wright, who played Bran, seemed unsure about his character’s arc.

The narrative shortcuts remain the most frustrating element of Game of Thrones season eight, and the final episode, in particular. The Breaker of Chains turning into the Mad Queen? I buy it, in theory, but Thrones never showed the receipts, so to speak. It all felt pre-determined, not earned, or as our own Jessica Toomer wrote before the finale, “So many grand plots have been thwarted because the landing was rushed.”

“The Iron Throne” is also a gloomy, laborious episode, mostly shot in ashy darkness and largely missing what Game of Thrones was always the best at: two characters in a room, scheming and/or arguing. There’s a reason the most passionate scene in the finale is the one where an imprisoned Tyrion tells Jon that it’s his duty to kill Daenerys. The Breaking Bad or Mad Men finales work divorced from context, but not “The Iron Throne.” Once you know what happens to Bran and Brienne, it’s about as interesting as an already-solved maze. Again, not terrible, but not something I’m clamoring to watch again, either.

On May 19, 2019, “The Iron Throne” was almost immediately declared by the Comic Book Guys of the world the “worst series finale” ever (it’s a rule that everything on the internet has to be either the best or worst, with nothing in-between, which is where 99 percent of things fall). But watching “The Iron Throne” on May 19, 2020, twelve months removed from the hype, that’s not true. It never was. The Dexter finale is way worse, to use a recent example. How I Met Your Mother, too, and I’m sure there’s some codger out there who’s still furious over how December Bride came to an end in 1959. But Dexter Morgan and Ted Mosby didn’t inspire packed Hall H panels at Comic-Con, or headlines calling them the “world’s most popular show.” Game of Thrones became a victim of its own success; people hate the episode, because they love the show. Also, it’s boring.

A year later, “The Iron Throne” is what it always was, a disappointing ending to a once-great show, not the cataclysmic failure it’s often depicted as. It’s — to quote a show that will never have a bad finale, as it will never end (brilliant strategy, tbh) — meh.

The Veterinary Care Group’s Westbury location in Long Island had their first case of the coronavirus a week after two New York house cats had tested positive for Covid-19 on April 22 — the first pets in the U.S. to have the virus.

It was a fearful day, as one of the workers at the veterinary hospital tested positive— although it wasn’t from caring for an infected animal. “It’s not confirmed that dogs or cats can spread the virus to humans. There’s no evidence of that,” says Medical Director Mario Costa of the Oyster Bay and Westbury locations.

“But I would warn the absence of evidence is not necessarily the evidence of absence,” he added. “That means just because we haven’t shown that dogs and cats can spread the infection to humans doesn’t mean they can’t. The safest thing to do if someone in your household tests positive for the coronavirus is stay clear of the animal if you can or have someone who is not infected take care of it.”

Once the worker with coronavirus was isolated, the entire Westbury facility was shut down for a few days. Everyone else was tested and the facility was deep cleaned. “It’s definitely been trying times,” says Dr. Costa. “The real positive aspect is that we have seen how people really come together and do the right thing in these situations and help each other out. Everyone has been stepping up. We are understaffed because of everything going on and everyone is helping in these trying times.”

Photo by Marina Hanna on

Like most vet hospitals, they are mandated to emergency surgery, sick appointments and essential surgeries such as vaccines and neutering. No clients are allowed in the building and everything is operated curbside. They bring their own leashes, careful not to let any materials from the outside infect their workers. They all wear masks and gloves. There has been some backlash to the new policy and procedures. Some want to be with their pet. Others get angry that grooming isn’t essential anymore. “We are taking serious precautions,” says Dr. Costa. “We’re trying to protect ourselves and others. There is a risk of coming in contact with pets and people and getting the virus, but we are doing everything we can to avoid it.”

As far as Dr. Costa’s seen, coronavirus in animals is nowhere near the pandemic that’s been happening with their owners. Several labs have developed a SARS-CoV-2 test for pets, but none have broadly administered it. Although the test is costly and not covered by insurance, it will only be administered if the pet shows respiratory signs and the more common causes for infections are ruled out. Their clinics haven’t encountered any positive cases so far.

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When the pandemic first began, Dr. Costa saw respiratory cases in cats far more than he usually does. But, he claims, during the winter months, that’s usually the case. “We’re still learning a ton about what this virus does to animals, specifically dogs and cats. A lot of it really unknown at this point,” he says. “It’s possible that cats and dogs are getting infected, but not showing clinical signs. It’s most likely there are a lot of positive cases out there, especially if they are getting exposed to the virus if someone in the household is infected, but we are not catching it because we aren’t testing a wide percentage of the animal population.”

If an animal tests positive, Dr. Costa says that it’s mostly sneezing and upper respiratory signs, but it’s not analogous to the human infection. “As far as what we’ve seen, animals haven’t required real intense treatment. Whether it’s nebulization to reduce the amount of nasal discharge they are having or an antibiotic to prevent second bacterial infection, we let the virus take its course. Just like the common cold for adults. We haven’t really seen widespread life threatening consequences.”

Dr. Costa says people are less fearful now. He says a lot of it stems from the fact that most pets are only in contact with their household. The chances of contracting the virus from humans are way greater than getting it from your pets. He says: “In fact, pets are more likely to get it from their owner because they are the ones out and about.”

He believes right now it’s important not to let your animal mingle with others outside the home. The virus can live on fomites, which means things like leashes, collars and clothes can carry it and the virus could be transferred to you or your pet. The safest thing to do, he says, is social distance yourself and your pets. Dr. Costa mentioned a few studies that have shown that pets can duplicate the virus. One in China found that dogs, cats and ferrets could replicate the virus inside of them and potentially spread it to other animals. “But there is definitely no clear-cut evidence,” he says. “We’re taking the pulse of the scientific community and trying to figure out a scientific consensus and that takes quite a bit of time with replication of multiple studies. There just hasn’t been enough evidence yet to make broad conclusions.”

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One positive aspect is that since people are home from work and have a lot more time now—there has been a large influx of people adopting and caring for animals. “I’ve been seeing a lot more pets now that everyone is home. People are noticing more about their pets that they wouldn’t otherwise have noticed because they are spending way more time with them. People have time to train properly while they’re home. It’s great and interesting so many more people are adopting animals.”

For the vet community, it’s still essential to see the animals and examine them. But it’s sometimes difficult to tell what’s essential protocol. Dr. Costa believes it’s still a grey area that they are figuring out as time goes on. “People are saying the world is never going to be the same in how we do business. But it’s not feasible to operate only by video, phone calls or pictures. We have to physically examine a pet,” he says. “There is definitely a general concern over the situation we are facing—it’s natural during these times. I have personally seen the value of having the clients there with you. But we are all trying are best in this pandemic we’re facing right now.”

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One thing The Last Dance highlights is that the Chicago Bulls were more than a basketball team during their heyday. They were a gigantic cultural force, with Michael Jordan holding the title of the most famous person on earth. This meant that everyone wanted to be around the team, even if that wasn’t always going to be easy.

An example of this came after the Bulls knocked off the Utah Jazz in Game 6 of the 1998 NBA Finals. As we saw in the finale of The Last Dance, Leonardo DiCaprio somehow made his way into the area outside of the Bulls locker room and got to congratulate Jordan for winning a ring. It turns out that he almost didn’t get the chance to do this, but fortunately for him, Ahmad Rashad was able to do him a solid.

Rashad, throughout the series, has recorded videos on his Twitter account for things that popped up that needed a little more context. On Monday evening, he did that with DiCaprio’s backstage cameo.

“So when the last dance was over, I was on my way to the locker room, and as I walked to the back I saw security putting these little kids — well, they weren’t little kids, they were like, 20-year-old kids — but they were kicking them out of the back,” Rashad said. “So I saw it was Leonardo DiCaprio and I went over and I got him and I told the security guard he was with me, so I took him through the back, through the training room, and had them sit in the corner of the training room so when the whole team came in, they ended up having a chance to meet Michael Jordan. That was the end of the dance, then the dance was over.”

It’s a fun story from Rashad, one that further helps reinforce my belief that a docuseries that involves him telling stories over several hours would be a joy.

HBO Max will launch on May 27, and like a lot of people, you might be wondering if your HBO subscription will get you in the door at no extra charge. It’s a valid question, given that cable packages are pricey, with or without premium channels, and paying for HBO Max on top of HBO doesn’t sound appealing. The good news is that HBO Max is serious about standing as a formidable rival to Netflix and Disney. Not only will the service offer 10,000+ movie and TV titles (both on the library catalog and original content sides), but it’s shaping up to be competitive, pricewise. We’ll try and clear up some confusion here.

The Cost Of HBO Max If It’s Not Part Of Your Existing HBO Package:

If you’re coming to HBO Max dry — that is, if you aren’t one of the fortunate viewers who will be rolled into membership with an existing HBO subscription elsewhere or as an HBO Now subscriber — then HBO Max’s standard price will run $14.99 per month. That’s a higher price than Netflix’s standard plan ($12.99) and lower than its premium plan ($15.99). HBO Max also runs the same baseline price as HBO Now, but a special introductory deal exists to lock people into a 12-month HBO Max rate at $11.99 per month. A limited number of these discounted subscriptions are up for grabs before May 27, so visit the HBO Max home page to take advantage of the offer.

Naturally, anyone who can avoid being charged separately for HBO Max will want to do so. We’re all thrifty! So it only makes sense to look for ways to save money. First, let’s recap the other ways that you might already watch HBO: mainly, the other two HBO streaming services (HBO Go and HBO Now) already offered.

What Is HBO Max Vs. HBO Go And HBO Now?

– HBO Max is the newcomer streaming platform from WarnerMedia. The service will feature 10,000+ hours of premium content, which includes HBO’s entire library, HBO Max Originals, tons of Warner Bros. movies and TV shows, and much more.

– HBO Go is the on-demand streaming service that HBO cable viewers already receive as part of their subscription. The service includes HBO’s original content and rotating monthly selections, and access is tied directly into your specific cable TV package.

– HBO Now is a standalone, on-demand streaming offering for people who don’t hold a cable or satellite package but still want to subscribe to HBO and watch on a smart TV, laptop, tablet, phone or other compatible devices. The current price for this service is $14.99 per month, and many current HBO Now subscribers will automatically receive HBO Max access (when the service launches) without any added cost.

So If You’ve Got HBO, Do You Get The HBO Max Upgrade For Free?

Maybe. The current guidelines aren’t clear cut, and they’re very much in flux. Here’s where the issue stands as of now:

– Those who subscribe to HBO (and, in turn, HBO Go) through a cable TV service may (or may not) be in luck. As it stands, there’s no deal between HBO and many cable TV service companies (including Comcast and Cox), but that could change in the future. However, HBO subscribers who pay for the channel through Charter or an AT&T package will receive HBO Max at no added charge. That includes subscribers to the AT&T-owned DirecTV, IPTV, and AT&T TV, which means that millions of these HBO customers will get rolled into HBO Max.

– HBO Now subscribers who pay straight through HBONow.com will automatically receive access to HBO Max when it launches. So will subscribers who sign up for HBO with the Hulu add-on. And HBO Max has made a special point of saying that more partnerships might pop up before and following launch. Right now, though, it remains unclear whether those who pay for HBO Now as an add-on service through Amazon Prime, Apple, or Roku will also gain access to HBO Max with no extra charge.

– We do know that neither HBO Go nor HBO Now will be erased from existence for the foreseeable future. You can keep on doing your thing and pretend that HBO Max doesn’t exist, but you probably will want to enjoy the expanded library if you can.

Where The Topic Goes From Here:

If you’re a cable subscriber who remains (understandably) puzzled on whether you’ll receive access to HBO Max at no extra charge, your best bet is to ask your cable provider. That’s easier said than done, we know. HBO Max’s FAQ page is also a good source for updates because, soon, HBO Max will also be the only place to stream every episode of Friends and enjoy an expanding slate of wonderful-sounding HBO Max Original TV series and movies. Beyond an included cable package, the easiest way to get HBO Max rolled into an existing HBO service is through HBO Now (directly or through Hulu), so if you’re tempted to cut the cord, there’s one more reason to do so. That, however, might feel like a drastic move, so maybe hang tight and see what happens — other partnerships may very well surface as HBO Max evolves.

HBO Max launches on Wednesday, May 27.

Lil Durk has made feeding people something of a habit. Just weeks after he hand delivered hot meals to healthcare workers in his native Chicago, Durk does the same for some of the city’s most downtrodden residents in the somber video for his latest single, “Street Prayer.”

In the video, not only does Durk feed the needy, but he also addresses the justice system and how faith plays into his charity, literally demonstrating prayer through a scene of Durk and his bodyguards observing Salah, the Muslim practice of kneeling toward Mecca. He wears a thawb and a taqiyah throughout the video, in keeping with the spiritual theme.

“Street Prayer” is the latest single from Durk’s fifth studio album, Just Cause Y’all Waited 2, which released Friday, May 8, and landed at No. 5 on the US Billboard 200 chart, making it his second top-five debut (after 2019’s Love Songs 4 The Streets 2). He also released a video for “Doin Too Much,” while his collaboration with Lil Baby and Polo G, “3 Headed Goat” marked his first Hot 100 entry as the principal artist. The album drop was also preceded by “Chiraq Demons” with G Herbo

Durk’s experienced a big bounce back from 2019, when he was put on house arrest after being charged with intent to commit murder in an Atlanta shooting. While the case still has yet to be resolved, it appears that Durk is intent on making the most of his time until the trial, donating masks and meals to health workers in Atlanta, appearing on Wild N Out with Chance The Rapper, and performing his above-mentioned acts of service.

Watch Lil Durk’s “Street Prayer” video above.

Lauv released his debut record How I’m Feeling just last month, which boasted an impressive 21 songs. The singer returns with a psychedelic video accompanying his Sofía Reyes collaboration, “El Tejano.”

Directed by Kid. Studio and filmed pre-quarantine at the LA restaurant that inspired the song, the “El Tejano” video takes Lauv on a spicy pepper-induced trip. Lauv gives into his friends’ peer pressure and eats a hot pepper. The unexpected spiciness sends him on a mind-bending journey throughout the restaurant, complete with bizarre characters and disorienting visuals.

In an interview with Uproxx following his How I’m Feeling release, Lauv said:

“My songs are just a way for me to be honest about those things and confront them, and admit them to myself. And then it’s up to me to actually look at those things and change them. So it’s something that takes practice for me, focusing on being a better friend, step by step, when my friends call me up and making cognitive changes to be more there for them, and to spend less time on the internet, and to care less about what people think of me, and fuck with substances less. Stuff like that. The first step is admitting, but the second step is actually making change. That’s sometimes the harder part.”

Watch the “El Tejano” video above.

How I’m Feeling is out now via AWAL. Get it here.

Sofía Reyes is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Aside from being the greatest basketball player of all time, Michael Jordan is also huge in the meme community, whether we’re talking about “Crying Jordan” or “Stop it, get some help.” Now the new Chicago Bulls documentary, The Last Dance, has yielded even more meme-able MJ clips, like a couple different ones of Jordan reacting to video on an iPad. The final two episodes of the ten-part series aired over the weekend, and they left the world with one last meme.

There’s a scene where Jordan is on the team bus listening to a then-unreleased song from Kenny Lattimore. The singer confirmed the story, writing on Twitter, “In 1998 I sent Michael Jordan an advanced copy of my ‘From the Soul of Man’ album. Who knew ‘Days Like This’ was his pre-game hype song though.” So we know what Jordan was listening to, but somebody saw an opportunity and made the @JordanJamming Twitter account, which puts other songs over the footage, and it’s pretty great.

The account has racked up over 21 thousand followers since yesterday, and it kicked things off with The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside”:

Naturally, they also had to get Future and Drake’s “Jumpman”:

There are a bunch of other great ones, so check some out below.

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The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow, and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.

Charlotte Aitchison is at her best when she works fast.

Nothing illustrates this more than “Claws,” the first single off her newest album as Charli XCX, How I’m Feeling Now, which was released last Friday. Glitchy, grunge-pop for the obsessive indoor love that tends to swell when real danger is suddenly omnipresent, “Claws” is a culmination of everything that Charli XCX does right. The production is dreamy, jittery pop intersecting with industrial clank, the lyrics are saccharine sweet nothings that pivot on a dime toward raunchy like a horny free association exercise — this is “We Didn’t Start The Fire” cadence, but make it crush culture — and, underlying it all, an unflinching vulnerability, the kind that’s impossible to achieve without a wild amount of inner strength, as anyone who has been in an adult relationship knows. Charli does all that in under three minutes, crafting the perfect first track to introduce an album she made in less than two months.

There’s working fast, then there’s nearly superhuman.

Lately, it seems like Charli might be the latter. And, “Claws” is only one song out of eleven — some of which are even better than the lead single. How I’m Feeling Now has been in the world for just about five days at the time of writing this, and already it’s inching its way up in the ranking of her discography. It’s early yet, but this one just might be the best album of her career. It’s also the most emotionally raw album of her discography, and maybe, the happiest, despite it all. She’s shared one of the biggest influences on this release is her longterm long-distance boyfriend moving in with her to wait out quarantine, and how much the physical proximity of the last few months have changed their relationship. If How I’m Feeling Now reflects anything, it’s a relationship in metamorphosis, maturing and deeping in real time.

When making her 2017 “mixtape” Pop 2, Aitchison and the tape’s producer, AG Cook, who shows up again in a big way on Feeling talked at length about how they pieced the entire Pop 2 tape together in just three months, 13 collaborators notwithstanding. Arguably her best work up until last Friday, and objectively a pivotal moment in Charli’s career, that mixtape’s popularity with fans and critics alike seemed to eclipse the painstaking care and years of work that went into Charli, last year’s official album released with plenty of press lead up, flashy music videos, and another full slate of high-profile guests. That isn’t to say Charli wasn’t a triumph in plenty of ways, I still come back to “Gone” and “Click” regularly, but her self-titled inadvertently revealed Charli’s greatest strength — she works best when working quickly, and that sense of immediacy comes through in her newest music. (She’s already compared these two albums herself, dubbing them sisters.)

With that context, the strength of this latest release — an official album this time but one created in just 39 days during isolation due to the pandemic of COVID-19 — is unsurprising in some ways. But it’s still rather astonishing to realize that in the course of six weeks, and while facing the restrictions of limited travel and minimal face-to-face contact, Charli made a better pop album than most stars can come up with when they have access to practically unlimited resources. The resonance of this album is partially due to another element that’s totally different for an XCX release — there isn’t a single guest, most likely another necessary constraint of social distancing guidelines and the speed of release.

Aitchison has always been an ally of LGBTQ artists, and always uses her platform specifically to support lesser-known musicians, yet sometimes the sheer volume of guests on songs and records would distract from the force of Charli herself. How I’m Feeling Now remedies this, too, because as much as she’s historically used her reach to prop up others in the past, there ‘ something special about the single-mindedness of just hearing… Charli. It mimics the self-examination quarantine has forced us all to grapple with, and allows her to open up lyrically like never before.

As an avid user of social media, especially now, Charli has dropped plenty of information about her inspirations for the record, like noting that the careening first song on the album, “Pink Diamond,” was inspired by J. Lo, and everyone but the most casual fans will notice that “c2.0” is a chopped up remix of the Charli standout “Click.” But most of the context listeners need is embedded directly in these songs, which are so emotionally direct it’s almost jarring, at least enough to wake listeners up out of my their relationship self-sabotage.

“Forever” is my personal favorite, an early standout and an aching love song spiked with Imogen Heap-style vocoder that acknowledges the way impermanence is tied up with every kind of love — honeymoon phase gone zen — and “Detonate” is a stark portrait of what it’s like trying to love someone while hating yourself. “Party 4 U” flips the old familiar script of girl-throws-party-to-impress-boy and makes it into an intimate moment shared between two people, while “7 Years” takes a bombastic synth beat and turns it into an anthem of devotion, bringing fans into some of the specifics that Charli’s lengthy relationship has included.

The vast majority of these songs are dedicated to analyzing what it takes to be in love with someone, and how that experience shifts and warps under pressure — whether that be global fame or a global pandemic. But, when it comes to experiencing the sudden, insane rush of pressure that accompanies isolation, uncertainty, and fear, Charli has done the work of synthesizing what life feels like now for all of us, managing to anchor herself in love despite the endless drone of white noise and static of the outside world. Thankfully, she did it quickly enough for us to give it our full attention, while we’re all still stuck inside.

How I’m Feeling Now is out now via Atlantic Records. Get it here.