Minority Mindset

Saturday Night Live appears to be hitting its stride again. After a period of weaker shows, the last three episodes have been remarkably strong. This week, former One Direction member Harry Styles directly addresses the criticism he’s received about potentially ‘queerbaiting’ his audience. Here are some of the best moments from tonight’s show:

Before the show even airs, David shared a clip about the famous V-J Day kiss photo, explaining how the event wasn’t consensual. The show will also feature sketches with Bill Hader and Kathryn Hahn playing Abraham and Mary Todd Lincoln, Jon Hamm and Sean Hayes as the Wright Brothers, and Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld portraying Lewis and Clark – you might want to brush up on that last one!

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room – the accusations of ‘queerbaiting’ that have followed Harry Styles for a while. He finally addressed it, and honestly, his response was pretty great. He pointed out that people fixated on his fashion choices and then got upset when he didn’t publicly pursue relationships with other men, like Louis Tomlinson or even Barack Obama! He playfully questioned if anyone had considered that maybe, just maybe, there was more to him than what met the eye. And to really drive the point home – and perhaps quiet the critics – he shared a sweet kiss with Ben Marshall. It felt like a clear message: his personal life is his own, but he’s definitely comfortable expressing affection. It was a smart and surprisingly effective way to handle a tricky situation.

Although the acting in Game of Thrones was consistently excellent, a few characters didn’t add much to the story and were even frustrating to watch. Some storylines and key scenes centered around these characters, leaving many fans confused and questioning their purpose.

The planned reboot of Buffy the Vampire Slayer has been canceled by Hulu, and Sarah Michelle Gellar has addressed the news. While promoting Ready or Not 2, Gellar shared the disappointing update with fans, explaining that Hulu decided not to proceed with Buffy: New Sunnydale. She expressed her sadness at the cancellation, wanting fans to hear the news directly from her. And, naturally, some fans are jokingly blaming Xander for the show’s demise.

Eight months after its debut at the Fantasia International Film Festival, the new supernatural film Undertone was released in theaters. Critics generally enjoyed the movie’s paranormal mystery, which helped it achieve a 76% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.