Minority Mindset

I’ve been completely hooked by The Diplomat. It’s fascinating to watch how Elizabeth and Kate approach power – Elizabeth uses secrecy and ideals, while Kate battles within the strict rules of her public role. The show really digs into what happens when power and gender clash in the world of diplomacy. What struck me most is how it shows the cost of being good at your job as a woman in a system that almost wants you to disappear. The plot is incredibly tight – full of threats, political games, and tough choices – but the real drama, for me, is how all that mirrors the characters’ inner struggles. Keri Russell is amazing, and while I loved her in The Americans, I think The Diplomat truly cements her status as one of the best dramatic actors on TV right now.

In a recent interview on the Avatar: Braving the Elements podcast, Greg Baldwin – the voice of Iroh after Mako’s passing in 2006 – shared what story he’d most like to see explored. He said that while Zuko’s journey of redemption is often discussed, he’s most interested in seeing a similar story for Ozai, Zuko’s father.

HBO has consistently delivered exceptional television. The first season of Deadwood brilliantly launched their take on the Western genre, while the final season of Succession provided a fittingly emotional ending to the Roy family’s story. From well-established favorites like Season 2 of The Sopranos to newer hits like Season 2 of The Rehearsal, these represent some of the best seasons of television HBO has ever produced.

The new movie, Predator: Badlands, was aiming to become the highest-grossing film in the Predator series (excluding the Alien vs. Predator movies) by earning over $24.6 million. It now looks like Badlands will make around $37 million domestically this weekend. If it gets good reviews and attracts enough extra moviegoers – about $1.2 million worth – it could even beat the $38.2 million earned by the 2004 Alien vs. Predator crossover.

Thanks to dedicated fans, Zack Snyder’s original vision for Justice League finally came out in 2021, after Joss Whedon finished the film in 2017. Now, after years of fans asking Netflix to revive Snyder’s cinematic universe, there’s a real possibility it could actually happen.

Watching Dragon Ball Super, I often felt like it just didn’t quite reach the heights of the original DBZ. To illustrate this, even the strongest story arc in Super – the Galactic Patrol Prisoner Saga – doesn’t measure up to what I consider the weakest arc in DBZ, the Buu Saga. In almost every aspect, the Buu Saga is better written, and while the Galactic Patrol Saga has a few strengths, they don’t really compensate for its overall weaknesses.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson discussed the performance of his film Black Adam. He was asked if his experience playing a villain (“heel”) in wrestling helped him portray the character, and Johnson replied that it absolutely did. He explained that his time as a wrestling villain was similar to the journey of The Rock becoming an anti-hero.

The Council of Elrond scene might seem straightforward – it’s a discussion among the main characters about what to do with the One Ring, and Tolkien provided a lot of source material. However, director Peter Jackson surprisingly called it the most difficult part of writing the script for The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. Fran Walsh agreed it was a challenge, and Philippa Boyens, while saying other parts were harder, acknowledged the scene was problematic. Despite these difficulties, Jackson, Walsh, and Boyens successfully navigated the complexities of bringing the Council of Elrond to life.