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

Season two of Power Book IV: Force is officially in the books thanks to an epic tenth and final episode in the Tommy Egan-led season. This week, it was time for Tommy and Diamond to lead CBI up to the top and make them the No. 1 connect in Chicago. However, to do so, Tommy and Diamond had to get a few things out of their way first. We start with Vic Flynn, who Tommy discovered is the rat in CBI providing intel to the authorities. To ensure that Vic is unable to send him off to the authorities, Tommy tricks Vic about a location for a meet and it screws up the FBI’s plan of catching Tommy. Instead, they get Claudia, Mirkovic, and the Serbs while also suffering the loss of yet another officer. This also puts Vic at risk as he figures out that Tommy gave him the wrong location for the meet because he knows he’s working with the FBI. The episode closes with an attempt to save Vic before he’s potentially killed, but we’ll have to wait until season three to see if that is successful.

Next for Tommy and Diamond is evading Miguel and his Insane Princes crew. For Miguel, it’s clearer than ever that Tommy is coming for his spot which leaves him with one choice: kill Tommy. Miguel sends his associate Nasi to try and do so, but that mission is unsuccessful as Tommy defends himself and kills Nasi instead. His evasion of Miguel and his crew is successful as Tommy and Diamond meet with Che to propose a position directly under him with Cartel. Though their initial hope was to push out Miguel, Che instead allowed CBI to take over the Serbs’ position due to the arrest of Mirkovic and his crew. Che gives strict orders to Miguel, Tommy, and Diamond that they are to compete healthily without retaliation in any manner. Though they agree, Miguel makes the first move against Che by taking Mireya away from Tommy once he learns about their relationship.

Elsewhere in the episode, we have the return of D-Mac who is back with his eyes set on rejoining CBI despite Tommy and Diamond’s wishes against that. In an attempt to get on their good side, D-Mac goes out of his way to kill Mad Dog (the teen who murdered Leon) as a favor for Diamond. This creates a complicated situation as Mad Dog is the nephew of King Kilo, a key player in the coalition CBI created across Chicago. Thankfully, Jenard helps make a deal with King Kilo so that he doesn’t retaliate against CBI as a whole. Speaking of Jenard, he and Shanti are still working hard on their plan to undermine Tommy and Diamond’s position in CBI. Their plan is underway as they provide Miguel with an image of Tommy and Mireya being intimate, something that will surely make for a big problem for Tommy, but a great opportunity for both Jenard and Shanti. Lastly, Tommy’s mother suffers a drug overdose in front of Tommy who does little to help her. Thankfully, JP is there to call an ambulance and get her to the hospital, but Tommy’s refusal to help is enough to make JP cut off Tommy for the foreseeable future.

Now, let’s see who made the top five Power Players of the Week list based on the events that went down in the “Power, Powder, Respect” episode.

5. Jenard

Jenard has come a long way in Power Book IV: Force season two. He went from being the distrusted brother of Diamond and enemy of Tommy to a solid participant in CBI. Jenard had his highs and lows with a brief addiction to drugs and the death of his father, but he got himself together to be welcomed back to CBI. Despite all of this, don’t be fooled and think that Jenard is on board with Tommy and Diamond’s plans for CBI. He’s working behind the scenes with Shanti, a fellow Chicagoan who is also a gang leader and his love interest, in taking down Tommy and Diamond to make CBI theirs for leading.

Jenard does everything necessary to get back on Tommy and Diamond’s side and even handles business for them when needed. It’s all a part of the plan as Jenard and Shanti take a step forward in sabotaging Tommy and Diamond’s goals by sending Miguel a picture of Tommy kissing Mireya. The damage that will result from that will be big, and though we see a glimpse of it to close “Power, Powder, Respect,” the rest will be seen in season three. Nonetheless, Jenard and Shanti move forward with their plan to take over CBI and it’s a big and boss move from them, something we can commend them for.

4. Shanti

Shanti is not only all in on Jenard’s plan to take over CBI, but she’s also leading the operation. While Jenard worked to get back on Tommy and Diamond’s good side, Shanti did her best to aid that situation while also getting on Claudia’s good side by joining her operation in Chicago’s Viagra Triangle. She then used this to get on Tommy’s good side and gain his trust by feeding him intel on what Claudia was up to. All of her work paid off in the season finale, when Shanti helped Tommy trick Claudia into her arrest and presumably her own death as well. Through it all, Tommy’ trust in her increased and it helped to put her in a position where she could comfortably set him up for his downfall without being worried about him on her back. Through sending the picture of Tommy and Mireya to Miguel, Shanti does just that and her rise to the top could be in full swing.

3. Tommy

For much of season two, Tommy Egan was in the top-two position on the weekly Power Players list. He led the way for CBI’s mission to take over Chicago, and on his “worst” days, he was the sidekick to Diamond, as he let the Chicago native make necessary moves to further their agenda. This week though, despite his wins, Tommy suffers a crucial loss for himself on a couple of fronts. First, Jenard and Shanti sent Miguel the picture of Tommy and Mierya kissing which tips the Insane Princes leader about Tommy’s relationship with his little sister. Though Tommy doesn’t know how Miguel found out, what matters is that Miguel knows and it seems like he’s done something to make sure that Tommy and Mireya never see each other again. Tommy did well balancing and protecting everything that mattered to him this season up until this point, but now, that streak has come to an end thanks to Miguel’s move against him.

Secondly, D-Mac’s decision to kill Mad Dog, the teenager who murdered Leon, could prove to be problematic for CBI as it ensures D-Mac will be killed by King Kilo when he’s free from prison. Though Tommy probably won’t disagree with the decision for D-Mac to be killed, as he warned D-Mac about the streets, he’s lost a lot of family, and adding to that list isn’t going to have the best effect on him.

2. Diamond

Diamond gets the edge on Tommy this week as he had a few things go his way in the season two finale. First, D-Mac murdering Mad Dog, though problematic, is a satisfying win for him as it means that Leon’s death is officially avenged without him having to do anything and risk getting in trouble with the law. Then, he’s able to get Jenard to speak with King Kilo and ensure that he doesn’t retaliate on CBI for his nephew Mad Dog’s death. A retaliation would destroy the coalition that Diamond and Tommy worked so hard to construct in the Chicago area. Add in his and Tommy’s ability to evade the grasp of the FBI as well as their new deal with Che and the Cartel, and it’s clear that this season ended on a high note for Diamond. He didn’t suffer any losses unlike Tommy, but with a rift between him and Tommy building up, things could be changing for him and others in the foreseeable future.

1. CBI

Minus the last couple of minutes in the season two finale, “Power, Powder, Respect” is a huge win for CBI. The coalition that Tommy and Diamond helped put together proved to be extremely beneficial even before the deal with the Cartel. Prices for product dropped all around and everyone in the coalition started making more money than ever before. Now, with the Cartel deal in place, the profit is only going to increase. Though CBI works on the same level as Miguel and his gang now, it’s clear that CBI has the power to knock Miguel out of the Chicago drug game. CBI previously moved product for Miguel and the Cartel, but now that it’s just the Cartel, there’s a big financial loss that awaits Miguel and an even bigger gain that’s waiting for CBI. Tommy and Diamond got the job done with their mission for CBI, and though they end the season two finale on an argument, the hope is that the two can iron things out and continue to lead Tommy to the top.

New episodes of ‘Power Book IV: Force’ are available on the STARZ app on Fridays at 12:00am ET/PT and on the STARZ TV channel at 8:00 pm ET/PT.

There’s a late entry for one of the best new shows of 2023: Blue Eye Samurai.

Created by husband-and-wife team Michael Green (who wrote Logan and Blade Runner 2049) and Amber Noizumi, the animated Netflix series follows Mizu, a mixed-race master of the sword (voiced by Penis15 star Maya Erskine) on a quest for vengeance. She not only has to disguise her gender, she also conceals the color of the eyes. Blue Eye Samurai is set in 16th century Japan when foreigners weren’t allowed into the country and those with white features, like Mizu’s blue eyes, were considered “demon bastards.”

Noizumi compared Blue Eye Samurai to “Kill Bill meets Yentl,” but it’s more Tarantino than Streisand. The choreographed violence is gory and gorgeous, as is the entire show, and there are moments of lightheartedness, mostly courtesy of lovable chef Ringo (Masi Oka). Once you finish all eight episodes, you’ll want more. But will there be a season two?

Netflix hasn’t officially announced a second season (yet), but supervising director and producer Jane Wu sounded positive in an interview with Variety. “Story-wise, I can’t clearly say what we’re expecting in season two, because I don’t have the script in hand,” she said. “But I do think we will probably explore [SPOILER] — and how much of [SPOILER] is really depending on the budget and the schedule.”

Considering Blue Eye Samurai‘s critical acclaim (a 100 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes) and popularity (it’s been in the streamer’s top-10 since premiering), a season two feels inevitable.

If/when it does happen, celebrate with a bowl of noodles.

(Via Variety)

Steven and Ian are hopping in the time machine this week. They’re heading back one quarter-century to 1998, a fascinating year when artists were imagining the sound of the future and combining rock with jazz, hip-hop, and electronic music like never before. For Steven and Ian, it was a time of attending college and getting high while playing video games. You could be amazed by simple pleasures like, “Whoa, Richard Ashcroft is collaborating with DJ Shadow! I’m gonna listen to that after I go see Bruce Willis and Ben Affleck in Armageddon!”

Before that nostalgic trip, Steven and Ian answer listener questions, including one from an actual Gen Z listener! (Friendly tip: If you self-identify as a Gen Z listener, you will definitely get your email read on the show.) She wants to know 1) what the guys think of elaborate arena shows? 2) what they think about checking out setlists before showtime? 3) what they think about Matty Healy pretending to be drunk on stage? Their answers may not surprise you!

Finally, they get down to ranking their favorite albums of 1998. They each picked five albums, and they had two in common. Can you guess which ones? If you said the Godzilla soundtrack, you would be wrong!

In Recommendation Corner, Ian goes to bat for String Machine and NATL PARK SRVC while Steven recommends Cat Power‘s new Dylan covers album and the latest from Nashville guitarist Daniel Donato.

New episodes of Indiecast drop every Friday. Listen to Episode 163 here and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. You can submit questions for Steve and Ian at [email protected], and make sure to follow us on Instagram and Twitter for all the latest news. We also recently launched a visualizer for our favorite Indiecast moments. Check those out here.

Ted Cruz has a new book out. It’s called Unwoke: How to Defeat Cultural Marxism in America. Now, before you update your Christmas list, you should read some reviews. Here’s one: “This book pushes a negative agenda towards our country. Like his efforts in congress, everything is about him. I am returning my copy of the book. Complete waste of time.” And another: “Just another desperate attempt to jump on a bandwagon and stay relevant lol.”

Lol, indeed.

To celebrate the release of the book, Jimmy Kimmel offered to help out Lyin’ Ted. “Ted’s been out trying to sell the book. His last book, he had to get his own campaign to buy thousands of copies to get it up the list, which is sad,” the Jimmy Kimmel Live host said during his monologue of Thursday’s episode. “So we decided that, this time, we’d help him out with an assist from one of the stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race, none other than Trixie Mattel.”

Mattel visited a classroom (in a nod to the Drag Queen Story Hours that conservatives are losing their mind over) and read excerpts from the book to unimpressed youngsters. “Do you know who this guy is?” Mattel asked the children. One responded, “No. Looks like somebody from the FBI.” Children really are the future — a future hopefully free of Ted Cruz complaining about The Little Mermaid, as he does in the book, and Barbie.

You can watch the Jimmy Kimmel Live clip above.

Jack Harlow has a sexy new bop on his hands. Tonight (November 10), the Louisville rapper, has shared “Lovin’ On Me,” which precedes a new album.

On “Lovin’ On Me,” Harlow delivers his signature cheeky bars, but also steps into his pop bag by showing off his vocal chops.

“I don’t like no whips and chains / Baby, you can’t tie me down / But you can whip your lovin’ on me, baby / Whip your lovin’ on me, baby,” he rap-sings on the song’s chorus.

Back in April, Harlow released his third studio album, Jackman. While the album received acclaim, Harlow was noticeably absent from the radio waves this past summer, despite having charts in a chokehold over the previous few years.

Harlow took to Twitter to explain his hiatus and revealed more new music is on the way.

“Thank u for allowing me to reset this year,” said Harlow. “I moved back to Kentucky and gave u an album I could not have made on the road. Surrounded by family & childhood friends this has been one of the happiest years of my life.”

You can see the video for “Lovin’ On Me” above.

Jack Harlow is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

The Kid Laroi is living the dream. Tonight (November 10), the Australian superstar released his long-awaited debut album, The First Time. And while he’s living that popstar life, he is realizing that the life of an artist isn’t always peachy.

On “Sorry,” the intro track from The First Time, Laroi grapples with the ups and downs of fame.

“I mean, the pressure’s immense / I’m 19, trying navigate money and stress / Weird industry friends and my family life is intense / And my girl is always upset ’cause I’m always f*ckin’ workin’ / Sh*t, I expect some respect / Can’t even go on the ‘net without someone goin’ for my neck,” he rap sings on one of the song’s verses.

While a life of artistry isn’t always easy, Laroi knows this is his true passion, and is willing to go through the bad to get to the good.

In the song’s accompanying video, Laroi is seen pedaling his bike down a road, walking through the city, contemplating the gravity of the choices he’s made. Elsewhere in the video, fans may notice similarities to Laroi’s “Let Her Go” video.

You can see the video for “Sorry” above.

The First Time is out now via Columbia Records. Find more information here.

Dove Cameron has no qualms about saying the things we’re afraid to say. As we are weeks away from her full-length debut album, Alchemical: Vol. 1, Cameron has shared “Sand,” a new ballad on which she mourns the loss of a lover, whom she can no longer look at with high regard.

“I saw the end when we began / You couldn’t love the way I can / I tried to bargain with the stars For more than half your heart but / You have more pieces of me than the desert has sand / And I have less pieces of you than I can hold in my hand,” she sings on the song’s chorus.

Inspired by true life events, “Sand” was a therapeutic song for Cameron to write alongside songwriting collective The Monsters & Strangerz. Since crafting the song, Cameron says she’s learned to trust her instincts when it comes to love.

“‘Sand’ is about a person who I loved very much, and who I thought I was going to spend my life with,” said Cameron in a statement. “It’s about the experience of having that seemingly perfect relationship end so suddenly and without warning, the feeling of shock and overnight disintegration of the future you built together, realizing no matter how much I gave of myself, I still had so little of him in the end, and the feeling of being unable to get back even the smallest pieces of myself that I had given away. I hope when you hear this song, it helps you learn to trust your instincts when you fall for someone, and hold out for the one where the more you give, the more they give. Don’t be afraid to lose the ones who can’t possibly see you, not because you aren’t incredible, but because they never could in the first place.”

You can listen to “Sand” above.

Alchemical: Vol. 1 is out 12/01 via Disruptor Records/Columbia Records. Find more information here.

WARNING: Spoilers for The Marvels below.

After Marvel spent the last two weeks dropping surprisingly unsubtle hints that The Marvels would have a connection to the X-Men, we can report that the film does make good on that tease. However, The Marvels uses an unlikely character to pull off that connection.

In the sole mid-credits scene, Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) is seen recovering in a hospital bed after the events of the film. However, she quickly realizes something is not right, and she’s clearly in an alternate reality. For starters, her dead mother, Maria Rambeau (Lashana Lynch), is alive and a version of Captain Marvel known as Binary. There’s also a strange creature treating her who will be immediately recognizable to fans of the old school X-Men movies: It’s Beast, and wildly, it’s the Kelsey Grammer version of the character.

The Frasier star played the character in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand before Nicolas Hoult took over as a younger version of Beast/Hank McCoy in X-Men: First Class. However, Grammer did reprise the role during a brief moment in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Now, it should be noted that the version of Beast in The Marvels is not exactly the one from the films. Like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, which featured Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, this Beast hews more closely to the classic X-Men animated series. Because Marvel is a master at cross-promotion, that series is getting a revival on Disney+ next year called X-Men ’97, which Kevin Feige teased just this week. (He also teased that the X-Men would be showing up “soon” in the MCU, and he was not joking.)

The presence of Beast also confirms the Variety expose that claimed Marvel was planning on leaning into the Fox version of the mighty mutants to give the MCU a much-needed shot in the arm. That was already evident with Hugh Jackman reprising his Wolverine role for Deadpool 3, but clearly, that was just the beginning.

The Marvels is now playing in theaters.

This week’s installment of The Golden Bachelor marks the return of all the glamorous, geriatric hotties Gerry Turner snubbed on his way to finding true love. The infamous “Tell-All” episode is a BachelorNation tradition that invites scorned lovers to air their grievances and gripes (with other contestants and with the bachelor/bachelorette they were courting) in front of a live audience. It can be controversial, emotionally charged, and sometimes, downright nasty. But, as with every other expectation that comes with this show, Mr. Turner and the women managed to subvert the norm.

Instead of tantrums, we got tears (lots of them), instead of brawls we got fart-filled bloopers, and instead of wallowing in heartbreak, we’re reminded of what this version of the reality franchise brings to the table: hope. There were no winners and losers, but there were some big reveals that feel worthy of a breakdown. Here are the biggest takeaways from The Golden Bachelor’s tell-all episode.

That Rose Ceremony Conclusion

The show left us clinging to the edge of a cliff all episode as they teased the devastating conclusion to Gerry’s stalled rose ceremony from last week. When we finally did return to that pivotal night, we learned that Theresa, not Faith, would be the woman joining Leslie as the final two women vying for Mr. Turner’s heart. Readers, we gasped. The connection between Faith and Gerry, especially during that hometown date, felt undeniable. He uttered the “L” word in front of her children. He rode her horse. He made promises to not break her heart. In comparison with that visit, Theresa’s hopes really felt doomed. He impressed her sisters, sure, but her daughter had a tough time buying into their romance and even Gerry seemed hesitant to issue any concrete declarations to the woman he had his first one-on-one date with. As fans, we felt as blindsided by Gerry’s decision as Faith seemed to be, but at least she got the opportunity for closure — and to watch Gerry weep like a baby on national TV again.

Squashed Beefs

There was no love lost between straight-shooting Kathy and Theresa, whose well-meaning narcissism irked the Texas retiree at every turn. A montage of those micro-aggressions played before host Jesse Palmer questioned Kathy on her relationship with Theresa now. It seems like those pickleball sidebars and cocktail tête-à-têtes are just water under the bridge, though Kathy has leaned into her signature “zip it” hand signal.

Susan’s Kardashian Connections

Though she never had an intense romantic connection with Gerry, Susan managed to win over the other women (and the fans) with her sense of humor, her carefree attitude, and her 7 a.m. chicken piccata. It’s no wonder then why she stole the spotlight during the tell-all, joking with Jesse Palmer about the sexual innuendos that embarrassed her kids and poking fun at herself during the blooper reel. But the best evidence that Susan was the real star of The Golden Bachelor came via a video message from her doppelganger: Kris Jenner. The momager counts herself as Susan’s number one fan, so really, who needs Gerry Turner when you’ve got that?

Ellen’s Heartbreak

Before we learned of Faith’s fate, pickleball enthusiast Ellen sat down for a one-on-one to re-live her exit from the Bachelor house. It was just as devastating the second time around, but what really brought the tears was the news that her best friend, Roberta, had passed before the show’s premiere. Roberta was the reason Ellen applied to be on the show and, by the time she was sent home, her friend was in a coma because of a stage four cancer diagnosis. As tragic as the situation sounds, the show managed to fly out Roberta’s daughter so that she and Ellen could honor her mom on TV.

Guacamole Sabotage

Most of the night was spent jokingly mulling over the biggest house mystery that never made it on air: The Case of Edith’s Gaseous Guacamole. Susan suffered the most, constantly breaking wind during intimate sit-downs with Gerry and to-camera confessionals. She blamed her indigestion on Edith’s concoction, but Edith threw the accusation right back, claiming it was Susan’s meatballs — which she’s been eating for 66 years with no problems, mind you — that led to the fart attacks. Who’s telling the truth? We’ll probably never know.

Fart Attacks

Speaking of flatulent flubs, plenty of The Golden Bachelor contestants were caught on camera belching and bottom-burping this season. Blame old age, those delicious mansion potlucks, or on-air nerves but the truth is, the funniest moment of the entire show — hell, this franchise’s entire run — featured Sandra, pausing her confessionals to bust out a lengthy one-cheek squeak while dead-eyeing the camera and then getting back to recapping the episode like nothing ever happened. If Sandra’s not the first Golden Bachelorette, we riot.

Giannis Antetokounmpo entered Thursday evening averaging 24.4 points and nine rebounds in his first seven games of the 2023-24 season. While those numbers would be stellar for most humans, the two-time MVP was operating well below his established level of production and efficiency. That sharply changed on Thursday, with Antetokounmpo absolutely erupting for 54 points on 19-of-25 shooting against the Indiana Pacers. However, the Bucks fell just short of a divisional road win, as the Pacers put together a notable closing kick to seal a 126-124 win.

In his trademark fashion, Antetokounmpo set the tone early in the game, attacking the rim with the combination of physicality, length, and touch.

Antetokounmpo scored eight points in the first quarter, but he kicked it up a notch in the second. That included 18 points on 6-for-7 shooting in the quarter, reaching 26 points by halftime.

From there, Antetokounmpo also produced a mesmerizing third quarter. He was on the floor for fewer than ten minutes, but Antetokounmpo put up 20 points and seven rebounds while maintaining off-the-charts efficiency. By the time the fourth quarter arrived, he already had 46 points, including one stretch of 19 straight for Milwaukee.

At that stage, a 50-point night seemed to be all but assured, and he reached that mark quickly in the fourth quarter.

Antetokounmpo’s dominance merely kept the Bucks afloat for quite a while, as Milwaukee trailed by as many as 18 points. Then, the Bucks actually built as much as a 10-point lead in the second half, only to see Indiana slash that margin and eventually take the advantage in the final minutes. Tyrese Haliburton buried the biggest shot of the night for the Pacers on a night in which he finished with 29 points and 10 assists.

All told, the Pacers went on a 23-8 run near the end of the contest, spoiling an otherwise transcendent effort from Giannis. It should be noted that he did have a few shortcomings in the final moments, but at the same time, Antetokounmpo did deliver a reminder of his individual upside on any given evening. For Indiana, it was a resilient, impressive win on the second night of a back-to-back, and the Pacers are now 6-3 to begin the campaign.