Alex Garland‘s ‘Devs,’ starring Nick Offerman and Sonoya Mizuno, has launched as FX on Hulu’s first original series. The sci-fi show oozes futuristic paranoia and pairs a beautifully frightening aesthetic with charismatic performances, all of which bring a disturbing parable to life. Here, we’ll break down the show’s many mysteries as the season unfolds around the works of a tech CEO with a possible messianic complex.

The sixth episode of Devs finally got down to doling out answers about what Amaya’s mysterious Devs program does and what Forest (and his right-hand, Katie) believe. The answers are not entirely comforting ones, neither for Lily nor the audience, but this week, writer-director Alex Garland gives everyone tons to think about while staring down the two remaining episodes. It’s particularly nice to receive these answers after last week’s agony-filled turn from Nick Offerman after we saw the accident that killed his family and forever changed his outlook on life.

Now, we’ve got an exposition-filled installment that doesn’t answer every question, but it sure gives us some hefty clues. As far as recapping goes, the structure of this episode is startlingly simple: a fed-up Lily (and an accompanying, doting Jamie) decides to visit Forest and Katie at his home. No one is surprised to see them show up because this probably popped up as a vision in the Devs machine. What does it all mean, though?

Is Forest good or evil?

Throughout this season, and even more so during this episode, I kept thinking about that quote that’s frequently misattributed to Edmund Burke: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” The actual quote comes from John Stuart Mill and goes like this: “Bad men need nothing more to compass their ends, than that good men should look on and do nothing.” Same effect, and both condemn Forest.

Basically, we’ve watched Kenton do bad sh*t all season long while Forest stands there, looking haunted but doing nothing. He watched Sergei’s murder happen, and the Devs group accepted the death as predetermined. Forest truly believes that he cannot interfere in such things (even after he orders them to happen) because whatever happens was meant to happen. It sure looks like Forest is attempting to justify his own bad behavior (at best, he’s an accessory to murder!) by claiming that nothing happens without a reason. It’s all in the cards. In the machine. Don’t blame him, man.

The infuriating aspect of Forest’s belief system is that he genuinely appears to think he’s inherently “good.” As in, he’s doing nothing wrong, and he actually extends this claim to Jamie while reasoning that he had no idea that his “attack dog” broke Jamie’s hand. Sure, Forest knew that someone was terrorized, but damn, he’s so sorry this happened. And he paints himself as free from culpability because of predetermination. On one hand, that’s convenient for Forest, but do we really want someone insane running an incredibly powerful machine that can predict the future? The answer seems obvious, and let’s make things very clear: Forest might not be straight-up evil, but he’s definitely not a benevolent entity. He’s only in this whole thing to resurrect his daughter, and anything else is an obstacle or gravy to him.

What is Lily’s role in this hot mess, and what is Devs?

Quite understandably after Sergei’s death, Lily has wanted to know what Amaya’s mysterious “Devs” group was really all about. Katie, surprisingly, does not hold back, and she gives Lily almost the full run-down about how the machine can revisit all past moments and, to a degree, see into the future. Katie acknowledges that she’s the chief engineer of this thing, and it’s only bolstered her belief in determinism. However, and as she explains to Lily, there’s a point in the future where the Devs machine sputters. It can no longer see the future, and that is why Lily is a target. She apparently does something according to the machine, that breaks the very fabric of the universe.

That turns into quite the argument between Lily and Katie, understandably so. Lily, like much of the audience, believes in free will and actions having consequences. Whereas Katie argues that “nothing ever happens without a reason,” and “everything was determined by something prior.” Katie insists that Lily will do this mysterious thing (some unknown event), and that creates a chicken-and-egg type of dilemma. Will Lily show up at Devs (like the machine shows) because she wants to show up, or will she do this thing because Katie convinces her that she’ll show up and do something? Katie conceded that reading the future is a problematic thing, but she still went there. Still watched the future. Still told Lily what she would do.

Well, Katie admitted later to Forest that she didn’t tell Lily 100% of the story. Also, there’s this: either Katie’s telling the truth, and the Devs machine cuts out in the midst of Lily’s actions — triggering “a total breakdown of cause and effect, a breakdown of determinism, a breakdown of the literal laws of the universe” — or Katie’s masterminding what she wants to happen. Lily comes away from the conversation thinking that Katie’s delusional, but we’ll see what happens next week.

In the meantime…

Is frisbee a sport? As all of this enlightenment (and confusion) is going down, here’s what Forest was doing.

I dunno, man. This is like when Forest was stuffing salad in his face, all granola-like, when his motivations for Devs had nothing to do with environmentalism. He’s projecting himself through a facade, and as someone who simply stands by and lets evil happen because “everything happens for a reason.” Like Lily, said, this sounds like “bullsh*t.” It’s scary, and here he is, forcing Jamie to play frisbee in the street while claiming that it’s a “sport.” (I’m no sports expert, obviously, but this ain’t Ultimate Frisbee.) All the while, Forest damn well realizes that Lily’s getting the lowdown on some disturbing sh*t, but he’s just being casual. Like I said, not a good dude.

What of the fixer? All night long, Kenton has been watching everything. He’s already warned Forest that he’s gonna watch out for himself and won’t take the fall for all that murder business, so watch out, everyone.

FX on Hulu’s ‘Devs’ airs new episodes on Thursdays.

The former Dr. Harleen Quinzel may not have received the right movie (one that brings in droves of comic book fans) with Birds Of Prey, but the Harley Quinn animated series is an entirely different creature. Notably, the DC Universe streaming service has shown that they’re willing to cut bait with shows that don’t work, like James Wan’s Swamp Thing, which received an immediate axe without ceremony. So, it says a lot that DC Universe is running hard and fast with more Harley, four months after her first season celebrated her free-wheeling, feminist romp on the way to finally ditch the ultimate bad (and abusive) boyfriend, the Joker. He’s gone, after attempting during last season’s finale to erase Harley by tossing her back into the transformative Ace Chemicals vat and ending up there himself. And the show’s now even better for his omission.

When Mr. J laughed his last laugh, though, he also found a way to leave Gotham City (and the Legion of Doom) in shambles, which gives this sophomore season a marvelous jumping-off point. Basically, we’re looking at the apocalyptic version of Gotham right now. The U.S. has disavowed the city, and the police force can’t cope with the increasing pandemonium. Harley’s just fine with all of this — actually, she’s thrilled — and the season launches with more inappropriate humor, along with rampant profanity and violence, but it all feels more amplified. The F-bombs are strategically placed, with none going to waste, and the rip-roaring ride feels even faster than last time.

Granted, DC Universe has not released almost the whole second season to critics, like they did last year, so I can’t assure you that the whole season is consistent, but it’s off to a bang-up start. Harley has achieved her own sense of self, and she’s pumped. She’s no longer weighed down by a clown, but the enormous Gotham power void that he’s left must be filled by someone, and as the season premiere reveals, is now filled by about 1000 a-holes. It’s up to Harley and her gang (all guys, and that’s kind-of marvelous with her as the leader) to narrow down that field of a*holes. Can she rise to that challenge? Fortunately, this version of Harley (voiced by Kaley Cuoco) has her head in the game (unlike Margot Robbie’s hollow character, who’s in the DCEU wind), and the series keeps pretending that Suicide Squad doesn’t exist.

Where does this Harley go after her emancipation has been established?

A new principal challenge awaits, but also, this Harley is a tough-as-nails lady with heart. I mean, she actually saves a sushi chef from becoming a meal for King Shark. This shouldn’t come as a surprise for existing viewers of this series, which sees her as less of a supervillain than an antihero. However, there’s still a hell of a lot of guys behaving badly in Gotham, and even though she’s the one who took out the Joker, Harley’s now also a target of a new male power structure that wafts into view. She’s keen to charge in like a bull in a china shop at them, for better or worse, but there are lessons to be learned for impulsive choices. Harley initially encourages every Gotham henchman (and she counts herself among that crowd) to rise up for themselves — she doesn’t want this anarchy to die — but reality (at least, a comic book version) rears its head.

The terrible state that Gotham finds itself in is no joke with no Batman around to do the vigilante thing. The rising power players (including Penguin, Mr. Freeze, Riddler, Two-Face, and a ridiculously muffled Bane) call themselves the Injustice League and claim “New Gotham,” as it’s now called, whether Harley endorses them or not. Yes, evil will always attempt to take root, and it’s up to Harley to make sure that the updated Gotham doesn’t end up being more dangerous — and sh*tty for women — than the old one.

Not that this means the series has grown serious. Not even close, for this TV show has already proven itself capable of balancing deep, soul-searching moments on Harley’s behalf with uproariously wicked humor. The challenges for the title character have simply shifted, and become less intermittently heavy because Harley’s no longer acting codependent within an abusive relationship. She does, however, still need tough love from Poison Ivy (Lake Bell), who seems to be the only one who can talk sense into her friend. It’s not a spoiler to say this, really, since the trailer already revealed as much: Harley and Ivy’s friendship starts to edge toward the type of relationship that the fans have really wanted to see. On an unrelated note, the season also promises to feature an ice vagina, folks. We are pushing into bold new frontiers, alright.

Underneath it all, though, the sophomore Harley Quinn season is still the same show, only more chaotic as new obstacles unfurl. It’s as unapologetically profane and absurdly violent as always, and breezy, 23-minute episodes are still the name of the game with the pink-and-blue ball gleefully bouncing down the street into the absolute pandemonium of where Gotham once stood. This is also a show that also values connection, and friendship, and furthering one’s own development without being obnoxiously preachy about it. New Gotham can’t survive without a leader, and thankfully, Harley’s gathering of henchmen — including Doctor Psycho (Tony Hale), Clayface (Tudyk), and King Shark (Ron Funches) — think she’s the gal for the job. So hang on tight while Harley fights for her right to anarchy and, along the way, enjoys the parrrty.

DC Universe’s ‘Harley Quinn’ returns (on the DC Universe streaming service) on April 3.

Phoebe Bridgers confirmed in February that she worked with The 1975 on their upcoming album Notes On A Conditional Form. It turns out her contributions come on The 1975’s new single, “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America,” which is a folk-leaning duet between Bridgers and Matty Healy.

The song sounds more like a Sufjan Stevens than anything The 1975 have put out lately, and on it, Healy and Bridgers address forbidden loves. Healy sings near the start of the song, “I’m in love, but I’m feeling low / For I am just a footprint in the snow / I’m in love with a boy I know / But that’s a feeling I can never show.” Bridgers later echoes that sentiment, singing, “I’m in love with the girl next door / Her name’s Claire / Nice when she comes ’round to call / Then masturbate the second she’s not there.”

Bridgers previously told Apple Music’s Zane Lowe about the origins of her relationship with Healy, saying, “We started DMing. Matty told me he was a fan and then it turned very quickly from talking a tiny bit to then completely no talking and just memes back and forth for months. He has very good taste in very obscure nerdy memes. And then I met all of them and they’re the sweetest and I can’t wait.”

Listen to “Jesus Christ 2005 God Bless America” above.

Notes On A Conditional Form is out 5/22 via Dirty Hit. Pre-order it here.

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Love y’all with all six feet of my heart.

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“We’re doing much better now because we’re laughing about it.”

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It’s only April, but it’s been a looooong year already.

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This morning, I expected the worst.

“Venom” was the number-one trending topic on Twitter in America, with “symbiote” in the number-three slot. “Oh no,” I worried, “has the unthinkable happened: has Venom 2 been delayed?” The sequel to 2018’s Venom — which not be the greatest movie ever, but it’s the only movie where Tom Hardy climbs into a tank and feeds on a live lobster in front of Michelle Williams, so I take it back, it is the greatest movie ever — is supposed to come out on October 2, and thankfully, the release date hasn’t changed (for now).

No, the reason “Venom” and “symbiote” were trending is because of this:

Should we be worried about whatever that is? Maybe! Dunno about you, but I, personally, am not a fan of withering, slimy black spaghetti. But at least we still get Venom 2 in October! Assuming that thing doesn’t kill us before then. But what is “that thing”? It’s apparently a bootlace worm, which “can grow up to 55m long. When provoked, it releases a high concentration of venomous mucus which would paralyze potential predators, giving it enough time to retreat to safety,” according to one explanation. It’s the longest animal on Earth, but not as long as the wait until Ve2om.

Where’s Spider-Man, you might be asking? He’s daring Jake Gyllenhaal to do shirtless handstands. Honestly, that’s way more important than stopping this venomous goo. Continue on.

For a good portion of March, Death Cab For Cutie’s Ben Gibbard performed daily livestream concerts, although he recently changed the series to be a once-a-week occurrence. His first weekly show happened yesterday, and during the performance, he paid tribute to Adam Schlesinger, the Fountains Of Wayne member who recently passed away due to coronavirus complications.

Gibbard covered Fountains Of Wayne’s “Barbara H.,” and before playing the song, he spoke about how Schlesinger was part of one of the proudest moments of his career. Gibbard wrote a song called “Me & Magdalena” for The Monkees’ 2016 album Good Times!, which Schlesinger produced, and Gibbard said Schlesinger was a big part of his song selection:

“I never got to meet Adam. We had a lot of connective tissue, a lot of friends in common, but we never had a chance to actually meet. I owe him a huge debt of gratitude because he was integral in picking ‘Me & Magdalena’ for The Monkees to record four years ago. I always thought, as one always does in life, that you’ll have plenty of time to say ‘thank you’ or ‘I love you’ or give somebody a compliment or what have you, and that day obviously did not come. But from the bottom of my heart, I’m so grateful for him to help me realize a life-long dream.”

Gibbard previously wrote of the song, “Before The Beatles, before The Velvet Underground and before punk and/or indie rock, The Monkees were the first band I truly loved. Their albums were always on in our home when I was a kid (especially Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd.), and I learned to sing alongside them. I spent countless hours in front of the TV in the ’80s watching Monkees reruns wishing I could climb through the screen and be in the show with them. They made being in a band seem so fun — and godd*mmit, it should be! For these reasons and a million others, I can say with absolutely zero hyperbole that contributing ‘Me & Magdalena’ to this album has been the greatest honor of my career.”

Watch Gibbard perform “Barbara H.” above, starting at around 42:49 into the video.

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

We’ve made it to April, but the joke’s on us because this quarantine is still going strong. Luckily, Netflix is giving us plenty of entertainment while we’re all trapped in our personal terror domes. A new comedy starring Ed Helms and Taraji P. Henson? Yes, please. The return of The Matrix trilogy? We’ll swallow that pill. More proof that Mark Zuckerberg is actually the worst a la The Social Network? Request accepted.

Here’s everything coming to (and leaving) Netflix this week of April 3.

Coffee & Kareem (Netflix film streaming 4/3)

Sure, watching billions of minutes worth of The Office means we’re probably all sick of Andy Bernard by now but look, Ed Helms is just trying to give us some good content to laugh at right now. Don’t punish him for the mistakes of the show’s later seasons. Here, he and Taraji P. Henson star in this action-packed comedy about the unlikely partnership between a 12-year-old kid and a police officer. Helms plays Coffee, a cop who starts dating Henson’s Vanessa and quickly finds himself on the bad side of Vanessa’s young son, Kareem. The boy’s plan to break the couple up begins with him hiring fugitives to take Coffee out, but things get complicated when Kareem stumbles upon a secret criminal network and Coffee has to help him get out of his mess alive.

The Matrix Trilogy (film series streaming 4/1)

The Wachowski sisters created one of the greatest sci-fi films in cinematic history with their mind-bending Matrix trilogy and now that it’s back on Netflix, we should pay our respects. Keanu Reeves plays Neo, a young man unplugged from the matrix — a kind of alternate reality that keeps humans docile, so machines can harvest their life energy. He teams up with a band of rebels fighting the machines (Laurence Fishburne as Morpheus and Carrie-Ann Moss as Trinity) and faces off against a henchman named Agent Smith (Hugo Weaving). The real draw of this trilogy, besides its inventive storyline, is the CGI effects that help pull off the most imaginative fight sequences you’ll ever see on the big screen.

The Social Network (film streaming 4/1)

It’s hard not to watch this Aaron Sorkin-penned, David Fincher-directed masterpiece and have your viewing experience colored by Facebook, and founder Mark Zuckerberg’s, many political misdealings but in the age of social distancing, this almost feels like required viewing. Jesse Eisenberg plays the boy genius, an outcast whose brainchild is the product of a bad breakup and sexism. He partners with Andrew Garfield’s business-minded Eduardo Saverin and the two create the famous social networking site before Zuckerberg outs his friend and alienates himself. The story isn’t new, but watching it play out is still thrilling, mostly because Eisenberg is just so great at being a prick.

Here’s a full list of what’s been added in the last week:

Avail. 4/1
40 Days and 40 Nights
Bloodsport
Cadillac Records
Can’t Hardly Wait
Cheech & Chong’s Up in Smoke
Community: Season 1-6
David Batra: Elefanten I Rummet
Deep Impact
God’s Not Dead
How to Fix a Drug Scandal
The Iliza Shlesinger Sketch Show
Just Friends
Killer Klowns from Outer Space
Kim’s Convenience: Season 4
Lethal Weapon
Lethal Weapon 2
Lethal Weapon 3
Lethal Weapon 4
Minority Report
Molly’s Game
Mortal Kombat
Mud
Nailed It!: Season 4
Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon: S3: Sun & Moon – Ultra Legends
Promised Land
Road to Perdition
Salt
School Daze
Sherlock Holmes
Soul Plane
Sunderland ‘Til I Die : Season 2
Sunrise in Heaven
Taxi Driver
The Death of Stalin
The Girl with All the Gifts
The Hangover
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
The Roommate
The Runaways
The Social Network
Wildling

Avail. 4/2
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Violet Evergarden: Eternity and the Auto Memory Doll

Avail. 4/3
Coffee & Kareem
La Casa de papel: Part 4
Money Heist: The Phenomenon
Spirit Riding Free: Riding Academy
StarBeam

And here’s what’s leaving next week, so it’s your last chance:

Leaving 4/4
American Odyssey: Season 1

Leaving 4/8
Movie 43