Fantasy movies are in one way the best genre there is because there is a promise most other genres don’t even try to keep. Things will turn out okay in the end. Magic will fix what’s broken. The person who deserves to win will win. That promise is why people still tear up at a fairy tale ending even when they already know exactly how it goes. That happy ending is a real comfort in a story that keeps its word.

These ten movies take that comfort and pull it out from under you, right when you’re leaning on it hardest. Each one plays by fantasy’s rules long enough to earn your trust, real magic, real curses, real quests, and then breaks the one promise the genre is supposed to keep, on purpose. That’s the part that stays with you longer than a happy ending ever could.

10

‘Edward Scissorhands’ (1990)

Image via 20th Century Studios

Most fairy tales about outsiders end with the outsider learning to fit in, whether that means a wedding or some kind of big change that finally lets them belong. Edward Scissorhands (Johnny Depp) never gets that kind of ending, mostly because the inventor who built him died before finishing the job, which is why he still has scissors instead of hands. Kim (Winona Ryder) and her mother, Peg (Dianne Wiest), bring him down from his empty castle into their quiet, pastel neighborhood, where everyone treats him like an exciting new toy at first.

That excitement doesn’t last. Once Edward kills Jim (Anthony Michael Hall) in self-defense near the end, the same neighbors who welcomed him turn on him just as fast, chasing him back up the hill to the castle he came from. He stays there alone for the rest of his life, while Kim grows old without him and only tells the story to her granddaughter decades later, as a memory. Tim Burton takes the usual Beauty and the Beast formula, where the beast eventually gets the girl and a place in the world, and simply never lets Edward have either one.

9

‘Beetlejuice’ (1988)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Betelgeuse (Michael Keaton) is the title character, yet he barely shows up in his own movie, adding up to less than twenty minutes of screen time total, and he isn’t even the one the story wants you rooting for. That role belongs to Adam and Barbara Maitland (Alec Baldwin and Geena Davis), a married couple who just died and now find themselves haunting the house they used to live in, trying and failing to scare off the wealthy, rude family that’s moved in and started redecorating.

Most haunted house movies want the audience afraid of the ghosts, but this one flips that completely, since the Maitlands are the gentle, awkward ones who can barely manage a decent scare, while the humans, aside from Lydia (Winona Ryder), the one person who can actually see them, are the real nuisance. Betelgeuse only enters the story because the Maitlands get desperate enough to hire him, and once he’s loose, he nearly wrecks everything for the characters we’ve spent the whole film rooting for.

8

‘The Green Knight’ (2021)

Image via A24

The medieval poem this is based on ends with Gawain surviving his ordeal essentially unscathed, having proven his honor to everyone’s satisfaction. David Lowery’s version doesn’t let him off that easily. Gawain (Dev Patel) spends the whole film wearing a magic girdle that guarantees he can’t be killed, a cheat he never tells anyone about, right up until the moment he’s supposed to keep his promise to the Green Knight and let himself be beheaded.

Before he does, the film shows an entire imagined future where Gawain removes the girdle, flees the challenge, and lives out decades as a hollow, cowardly king, watching everything he built collapse. Then it cuts back to the real moment, where the girdle is still on his waist, and lets him choose. A quest story built entirely around a fight ends instead on a man deciding, alone, whether he’s willing to actually be brave.

7

‘The Shape of Water’ (2017)

Image via Searchlight Pictures

Beauty and the Beast stories almost always end with the beast turning human. Guillermo del Toro‘s version ends with the human choosing to become something else instead. Elisa (Sally Hawkins), a mute cleaner at a Cold War research facility, falls for an amphibious creature (Doug Jones) being tortured and studied by Strickland (Michael Shannon), and it is never visible that their relationship is real.

By the end, Elisa doesn’t get her voice back, and the creature doesn’t get legs. Instead, Elisa is pulled into the water and transforms into something that can breathe there alongside him, which reverses the direction every version of this story usually goes. It’s the human who changes to fit the fantasy world, not the other way around, and a genre film built on that premise went on to win Best Picture, a category it almost never gets invited into.

6

‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ (2006)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

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Guillermo del Toro has never confirmed, in any interview, whether the fantasy world in this film is real or something Ofelia (Ivana Baquero) invented to survive fascist Spain, and he’s said that ambiguity is deliberate. Her stepfather, Captain Vidal (Sergi López), is hunting resistance fighters in the forest above the labyrinth, and every fantastical creature Ofelia meets underground, including a faun (Doug Jones) who sets her three brutal tasks, exists right alongside real torture and real executions happening a few feet away.

Ofelia dies at Vidal’s hands in the last act, shot in the real world with no rescue arriving in time. The film’s final scene shows her reunited with a magical mother and father in an underworld kingdom, crowned and welcomed home. Whether that’s actually happening, or just what a dying child imagined in her last few seconds, is something the film never settles for you

5

‘Being John Malkovich’ (1999)

Image via USA Films

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There’s a door on the 7½th floor of an office building that leads directly into actor John Malkovich‘s mind for exactly fifteen minutes at a time, and the strangest thing about this movie is how fast everyone treats that as a business opportunity. Craig Schwartz (John Cusack) starts charging people two hundred dollars a ride, while his wife, Lotte (Cameron Diaz), and his coworker Maxine (Catherine Keener) start using the portal to work out their own tangled feelings for each other.

John Malkovich plays an exaggerated version of himself, increasingly horrified as strangers start controlling his body from inside his own skull. The story ends with Craig trapped permanently inside the consciousness of a young girl, watching her life through her eyes with no way out, which turns the fantasy of becoming someone else into a life sentence instead of an escape.

4

‘Brazil’ (1985)

Image via Universal Pictures

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Terry Gilliam fought his own studio so hard over this film’s ending that he eventually took out a full-page ad in Variety demanding they release his cut instead of theirs, and once you see the ending, it’s obvious why he refused to budge. Sam Lowry (Jonathan Pryce) spends the film escaping a suffocating, paperwork-choked dystopia through elaborate flying daydreams, and by the final scene, he seems to actually pull it off, rescuing Jill (Kim Greist) and driving free into open countryside.

Then the camera pulls back, and it turns out none of that happened. Sam is strapped to a chair, having just been tortured into a lobotomy by the same bureaucracy he’d been dreaming his way out of, smiling blankly at nothing. The fantasy ending was real inside the film. It just wasn’t real for him.

3

‘Spirited Away’ (2001)

Image via Studio Ghibli

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Chihiro’s parents get turned into pigs about fifteen minutes into this movie, punished for eating food that wasn’t theirs without asking first, and Hayao Miyazaki never really lets the story go back to being gentle after that. Chihiro (voiced by Rumi Hiiragi) has to take a job at a bathhouse run by a witch named Yubaba to survive, and the film refuses to give Yubaba a clean villain arc, letting her run the place with genuine competence rather than pure cruelty.

Chihiro and Haku (voiced by Miyu Irino), the boy who helps her, never get a romantic ending, not even a kiss goodbye. She’s told not to look back as she leaves the spirit world, and the film cuts away before showing whether she’ll remember any of it once she’s home. This is a coming-of-age fantasy that hands its hero actual growth and then takes the memory of it away. Very subversive.

2

‘Princess Mononoke’ (1997)

Image via Studio Ghibli

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Lady Eboshi (Minnie Driver) gives lepers and former sex workers real jobs and real dignity inside the walls of Irontown, something almost nobody else in the story is willing to offer them. She’s also cutting down the forest that keeps her furnaces running, and by the film’s climax, her hunters are chasing down the Forest Spirit to take its head. Hayao Miyazaki never gives you a clean reason to hate her for either one.

San (Claire Danes), raised by wolves and ready to kill any human who threatens her home, doesn’t get positioned as the clear hero either. Ashitaka (Billy Crudup), the one character trying to hold both sides together, carries a curse on his arm that never fully goes away, not even by the last scene. The forest grows back changed, not restored, and San and Ashitaka choose to live apart instead of ending up together. Nobody wins here the way a fantasy movie usually lets somebody win.

1

‘Shrek’ (2001)

Image via DreamWorks Animation

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Shrek is based on a girl named Fiona (Cameron Diaz) who spends her whole life locked in a curse, turning into an ogre every night until true love’s kiss can supposedly fix her for good and make the change permanent. She finally gets that kiss from Shrek (Mike Myers), and it does make the change permanent, just not in the direction she or anyone in the castle was expecting.

Lord Farquaad (John Lithgow) had already offered Shrek a kingdom in exchange for rescuing her, a crown and a castle and a permanent place at court, exactly the ending most fantasy movies build their whole story toward. Shrek and Fiona turn it down anyway and go home to the swamp that started this whole mess . There’s no lingering shot of the throne they’re leaving behind at all. They just leave, and Donkey (Eddie Murphy) follows them there too, instead of staying behind in the fancy castle he could have had for himself.

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Shrek

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Release Date

May 18, 2001

Runtime

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90 minutes

Director

Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson

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Writers

Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, Roger S.H. Schulman, Ted Elliott, William Steig, J.M. Barrie, Carlo Collodi

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  Shrek / Blind Mouse (voice)

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  Eddie Murphy

  Donkey (voice)

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Trans actress Dylan Mulvaney has spoken publicly about President Donald Trump comparing her to CNN reporter Katilan Collins.

“To the president — thank you for reminding me that I am more powerful than I even knew. To quote my favorite recording artist, Shea Diamond, I am America,” Mulvaney, 29, said, referencing the 2020 track by fellow trans woman Diamond, 48, in a a Sunday, July 26, TikTok video before concluding her statement with “love ya” and blowing a kiss to the camera.

Trump, 80, compared Collins, 43, to Mulvaney during a speech at the rescheduled White House Correspondents’ Dinner on Friday, July 24. After Collins received an award for her coverage of his highly publicized Oval Office meeting with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president took aim at Collins: “I thought Kaitlan had really made it big with a major new sponsorship, but then I informed that it wasn’t her on the Bud Light can, it was Dylan Mulvaney,” he told the crowd.

Mulvaney’s TikTok response began by congratulating Collins, noting that she felt “incredibly honored to be compared to her in any way, and I hope that she keeps doing all the great work.” Mulvaney then moved onto why she believed the president brought her into his speech.

Related: CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Seemingly Responds to Donald Trump Insult at WHCD

CNN correspondent Kaitlan Collins seemingly clapped back at President Donald Trump for attacking her at the rescheduled White House Correspondents Dinner. Collins, 34, shared an empowering quote from former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt via her Instagram Story on Saturday, July 25, which read, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Her response […]

“The president also brought up a video I did over three years ago, and, mind you, I’ve been kind of flying under the radar … doing my little musicals, singing, dancing. And yet, I’m still his hot topic of conversation all these years later. It seems to me like I might be, like, the one that got away,” she told fans, adding that she has made a profound mark on critics of her transgender identity.

“I am permanently burned into their retinas, I am microchipped into their minds,” she joked.

Mulvaney then stated that she refused to let herself get upset over serving as a “diss track” subject for the president. “A few weeks ago, I would have probably been more upset about this, but luckily, I was ghosted last month by a hook up who I really liked, and what I realized was from that experience [was] I shouldn’t want to be with someone who doesn’t really want to be with me,” she explained. “So maybe, I shouldn’t want to be professionally supported by an administration that doesn’t personally support me or so many others in this country.”

Mulvaney then turned her reference within the president’s speech into a positive. “In fact, maybe being publicly mocked and criticized by this administration is actually, like, the greatest compliment of all because it puts me in the company of some of the most brilliant, empathetic people in our world today,” she said. “I do still wonder, like, why is it so important to them that I don’t find success? What is it that I have that they don’t? Oh my God, [it’s] freedom.”

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The TikTok followed Mulvaney’s more subtle support of Collins via her Instagram Stories one day prior. Sharing an inspirational quote attributed to former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, which was the same quote Collins shared via Instagram in a recap of the annual fundraiser intended to celebrate the First Amendment, Mulvaney seemingly nodded to the reporter.

“No one can make you feel inferior without your consent,” the quote read.

If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. https://988lifeline.org/

Tom Holland is confirming that he has previously promoted projects he privately believed audiences were better off skipping. The actor said his latest press tour has been far more enjoyable because he is genuinely proud of both “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” unlike some of his past work.

Holland did not identify the movies he regretted promoting, but several of his poorly reviewed projects have faced harsh criticism over the years.

Holland has admitted that promoting movies he wasn’t proud of was one of the most difficult parts of his job, revealing there were times he had to convince audiences to buy tickets despite privately believing they were better off skipping the film.

Speaking on the “Dish” podcast, the actor said it’s far easier to promote a movie when he genuinely believes in it.

“I’m absolutely loving it. When you’re doing press for movies you’re really proud of, it’s really easy,” Holland said. “I’ve had experiences before when people say, ‘Why should you see this movie?’ And in the back of your mind, you’re like, ‘You shouldn’t, because it’s sh-t.’”

Holland is currently promoting both “The Odyssey” and “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” projects he described as a “victory lap” because he’s “super proud” of both films.

Holland Has Endured Several Critical Flops

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When talking about movies he has done fans should never watch, Holland did not name any titles specifically. However, like most other actors, the Englishman has several critically mauled projects that could fuel speculation about which movies he privately disliked.

His lowest-rated starring films include “Chaos Walking,” “Cherry,” and “Uncharted,” which hold Rotten Tomatoes scores of 21%, 37%, and 41%, respectively. “Dolittle,” in which he voiced Jip, sits even lower at 15%.

“The Crowded Room” also struggled with critics, but Holland publicly stood behind the Apple TV+ series and its message about seeking help for mental health struggles.

Still, he admitted the production took a serious personal toll. Holland said the role left him struggling to separate himself from his character and contributed to his decision to take a year-long break from acting.

Tom Holland’s Career Has Reached A New Peak

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Holland’s days of reluctantly promoting movies he disliked could now very well be far behind him, with the actor seemingly enjoying the biggest high of his career. After several years of balancing Marvel blockbusters with more divisive projects, the British star is now leading two of Hollywood’s most anticipated releases.

Christopher Nolan’s “The Odyssey” opened to a massive global debut and has earned widespread acclaim, while “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” is already generating major buzz ahead of its release.

The momentum has also been backed by those around him. Sony Pictures chairman Tom Rothman reportedly described Holland’s work in “Brand New Day” as his “finest performance.”

‘The Odyssey’ Is Already An Oscar Frontrunner

4

Holland’s role in “The Odyssey” has also placed him closer than ever to Hollywood’s awards conversation.

Although the actor is not currently projected as a leading Oscar contender, Christopher Nolan’s epic has emerged as one of the year’s biggest awards hopefuls, with early forecasts predicting nominations across major categories, including Best Picture and Best Director.

If the film lives up to those expectations, Holland will have played a key role in one of the most acclaimed movies of his career, further cementing his evolution from blockbuster superhero to respected dramatic leading man.

How Christopher Nolan Elevated Tom Holland’s Career

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Working with Christopher Nolan also appears to have reshaped Holland’s approach to filmmaking.

Per Variety, the actor was so determined to star in “The Odyssey” that he personally called Sony boss Tom Rothman to request a delay to “Spider-Man: Brand New Day” after the two productions landed on conflicting schedules. The gamble ultimately paid off, with Holland later saying the extra development time helped Marvel make “the best version” of the film.

The London-born star has since credited Nolan’s meticulous process with influencing how he approaches future projects, telling TheWrap there was “a lot more preparation” on the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s sets than he had previously experienced.

“[With Marvel,] sometimes we come to set without scripts and stuff like that, and you’re having to improvise and try and find ways to tell the story. Whereas Chris’s script, I don’t think it really changed at all from the first time I read it to the movie that you saw yesterday,” Holland said, adding that he carried those lessons into the production of his latest “Spider-Man” movie.

This week, it was confirmed that one of the defining action thrillers of the ’90s, the 1991 cult classic Point Break, will be making a splash back in theaters for its 35th anniversary. The film starred Keanu Reeves as FBI Agent Johnny Utah, alongside the likes of Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty, and Gary Busey, and remains one of the biggest early turning points in a career that would soon blossom into Hollywood immortality. Excitingly, Point Break will return to theaters nationwide on August 16 and 19 in the form of a new 4K restoration released by Resurgence Media Group, Saga Arts, and Fathom Entertainment.

The film will technically be the third release for Reeves in 2026, and the second of this summer, following his reprisal of the hilarious Duke Caboom alongside the voices of Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, and Joan Cusack in Toy Story 5. That particular release is certainly his best of the year, receiving widespread acclaim and proving so popular it is expected to become the third film of the year to hit $1 billion at the box office. His other 2026 release is perhaps one Reeves would rather get less noticed, considering the terrible reviews it received upon arrival.

The film in question is Outcome, the latest directorial project from Hollywood funnyman Jonah Hill, which stars Reeves as Reef Hawk, a once globally popular movie star who is forced to take a hiatus from the industry after struggling with heroin addiction, alongside the likes of Matt Bomer, Cameron Diaz, Susan Lucci, Laverne Cox, David Spade, and more. The movie marked Hill’s second narrative feature after his debut with the skateboarding dramedy mid90s in 2018, and was also penned by the Wolf of Wall Street star alongside Ezra Woods.

Critics Weren’t Keen on ‘Outcome’

Despite even featuring a cameo from Hollywood icon Martin Scorsese as a washed-up talent agent, Outcome didn’t impress critics, even being called “a tonal nightmare” in Nate Richard‘s 4/10 review for Collider. Nevertheless, the film has bounced back on streaming, maintaining a consistent popular place on Apple TV. At the time of writing, Outcome has surpassed the 100-day mark on the Apple TV top ten in the U.S.

Outcome is streaming on Apple TV. Stay tuned for more streaming stories.

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April 10, 2026

Runtime

83 Minutes

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Kris Jenner is facing an emotional milestone just days after saying goodbye to her beloved mother, Mary Jo “MJ” Campbell. 

The Kardashian-Jenner matriarch marked her mom’s first birthday since her passing with a heartfelt social media tribute, giving fans another glimpse into the family’s grief. 

The touching post came only ten days after MJ died at age 91, as Kris and daughter Kim Kardashian continued honoring the woman they both credited with shaping their lives.

Rather than mourning the day in silence, Kris Jenner chose to celebrate her mother’s life by filling Instagram with photographs spanning decades of family memories.

“Happy Heavenly Birthday Mommy. I love you,” she wrote alongside the touching post honoring what would have been MJ’s 92nd birthday.

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The carousel opened with a radiant portrait of MJ wearing a vibrant floral jacket before moving through intimate snapshots of mother and daughter together. 

Some captured the pair sharing quiet conversations, while others showed warm embraces that reflected their close relationship.

Kris also included several multi-generational family photos featuring Kim Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian, Kendall Jenner and other relatives gathered around MJ, along with candid images of the beloved matriarch smiling and flashing her trademark peace sign. 

Jenner’s Fans Flood Her Tribute With Heartfelt Messages

Kris Jenner’s emotional tribute quickly resonated with fans, many of whom flooded the comments section with messages of love, support and birthday wishes for the late family matriarch.

“Love you Kris. I am so sorry for your loss. We have all lived seeing MJ on our screens for years. A truly classy, wonderful woman,” one supportive fan remarked.

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Another user acknowledged how painful the “firsts” after losing a loved one can be, encouraging Kris to give herself grace as she adjusts to life without her mother. 

The commenter added, “I’m sure MJ is smiling from above. I believe they can only see the good things there. My heart goes out to you. Thank you for sharing your beautiful mother with all of US.”

A third person also wrote, “Kris. You have always been a wonderful person. Prayers for her and happy birthday to her for blessing this earth.”

Kris Jenner Previously Called MJ ‘The Heart Of Our Family’

The birthday tribute echoed the emotional message Jenner shared when announcing her mother’s death earlier this month.

“There are no words that could ever capture what she has meant to me or the heartbreak of having to say goodbye,” she wrote on Instagram at the time.

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The socialite went on to describe MJ as “the heart of our family,” explaining that her mother taught generations of loved ones to put family first, show kindness freely and never take time together for granted.

Those sentiments have continued to resonate throughout the Kardashian-Jenner family. A source told PEOPLE that MJ’s death has been devastating for everyone, describing her as “such an important person for all the girls” and revealing that the family has been left completely “heartbroken” by the loss.

Kim Kardashian Reflected On New Discoveries About Her Grandmother

True to the insider’s words, the heartbreaking loss has been just as difficult for Kris Jenner’s daughter, Kim, who has repeatedly spoken about the special relationship she shared with her grandmother.

The reality TV star also shared her own tribute on MJ’s birthday, revealing that spending the past week sorting through her grandmother’s belongings had introduced her to stories and memories she had never known before.

“Happy Heavenly 92nd Birthday grandma! It’s only been a week but wow the amount of things I’ve learned about you this week from going through all of your stuff with mom has been beautiful!” Kim wrote.

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She admitted she thought she already knew everything about MJ before adding, “Makes me respect you and love you more if that’s even possible.”

Kim closed the message by promising to celebrate her grandmother’s life while acknowledging how deeply she missed her.

Kris Jenner’s Daughter Previously Remembered MJ As Her ‘Forever Twin’

The birthday tribute wasn’t the first emotional message Kim shared following her grandmother’s passing.

Days earlier, the SKIMS founder posted another collection of family photos on Instagram while remembering MJ as “My sweet Grandma MJ, my best friend, my gossip buddy, my forever twin…”

She also credited her grandmother with shaping the woman she has become, writing, “You taught all of us the importance of family, and those values are something we’ll carry with us forever!!!!!! You were the woman who showed me what it meant to be a hardworking businesswoman.”

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According to the PEOPLE source, MJ’s death has been especially painful for Kim because of the extraordinary bond they shared over the years.

“Kim truly idolized her as a self-made woman. She talked with MJ very frequently, and she feels they had a really special bond,” the insider explained.

Whether it is as Sonny Corleone in The Godfather or as Walter Hobbs in the Christmas classic Elf, the late, great James Caan has delivered countless iconic performances. In 1974, he reprised his performance as Sonny in a cameo role in The Godfather: Part II, one of three performances he is credited with in that year. Alongside starring as Freebie in the buddy cop black comedy Freebie and the Bean, Caan dazzled audiences as literature professor and gambling addict Axel Freed in The Gambler, based on the novel of the same name by Fyodor Dostoevsky.

As did many other iconic action thrillers from a similar time, The Gambler became the latest of its kind to catch the attention of Hollywood execs in the 2010s, with a remake eventually being released in 2014. Directed by Rupert Wyatt, best known for the 2011 blockbuster Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the remake starred Mark Wahlberg in one of his most surprising performances of the decade, as Jim Bennett, a fill-in for Caan’s Axel Freed.

Sadly, the movie faced a tough run theatrically, earning just $39.2 million worldwide against a reported production budget of $25 million. This was undeniably partially caused by the movie’s negative reception from critics, illustrated by a 43% average score on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes. “Potentially gripping, but never generates enough tension,” wrote one reviewer, with another saying, “The Gambler is a solidly acted and directed piece that somehow can’t decide what kind of film it is.” 12 years later, it is bouncing back, officially placing as one of the ten most-streamed movies on Paramount+ in the U.S.

What Else Is Popular on Paramount+?

The Gambler might be the most surprising current hit on Paramount+, but it only places tenth, with other movies scoring even higher in the ranks. This includes Johannes Roberts‘ latest horror project, Primate, the latest in a huge horror franchise, Scream 7, the cinema-saving blockbuster Top Gun: Maverick, Channing Tatum‘s true-crime gem Roofman, and the current chart-topper, Rebecca Thomas‘ crime flick Wardriver.

The Gambler is one of the ten most-streamed movies on Paramount+ in the U.S. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for all the latest streaming stories.

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Release Date

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November 10, 2014

Runtime

111minutes

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Director

Rupert Wyatt

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Taylor Sheridan has had a big year over on Paramount Plus, releasing new TV shows in droves, but the Yellowstone writer is preparing to return to filmmaking soon after focusing strictly on TV the last few years. Sheridan penned the script for a brand-new Sicario-style action thriller, F.A.S.T., which is coming to theaters on April 23, 2027. Sheridan’s long-time collaborator Ben Richardson is directing the film, which stars Brandon Sklenar, Sam Claflin, Jason Clarke, and LaKeith Stanfield. Sheridan is also working on a new Call of Duty movie set to be released in 2028, and it was just announced in the last few weeks that the film will be set in the Modern Warfare universe. Casting for the Peter Berg-directed action feature is expected to be announced before the end of the year.

While it’s Sheridan’s TV shows that have taken over the conversation in recent years, many fans who have been following his work for a while know he’s just as adept at writing movies as he is series. Back in 2021, Sheridan penned the script for the polarizing Tom Clancy adaptation, Without Remorse, starring Michael B. Jordan opposite Jodie Turner-Smith. Without Remorse was originally planned to be released theatrically, but it fell under poor timing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the film was ultimately dumped straight to streaming on Prime Video, where it still streams even to this day. Fans criticized Without Remorse for deviating from the source material, but some would push back that these changes were necessary to bring the book into live-action. Fans have been rewatching Without Remorse at such a high clip that the film has surged back into the Prime Video top 10.

What Is Tom Clancy’s ‘Without Remorse’ About?

The official synopsis for Tom Clancy’s Without Remorse, which was directed by Stefano Sollima, reads as follows: “Elite Navy SEAL John Kelly (Michael B. Jordan) seeks vengeance after Russian assassins murder his pregnant wife, dragging him into a deadly conspiracy that reaches the highest levels of government. As he uncovers a shadowy plot destined to spark war between the U.S. and Russia, Kelly transforms into the operative who will become Tom Clancy’s iconic hero: Rainbow Six’s John Clark.” Without Remorse director Stefano Sollima worked with Sheridan in 2018 on Sicario: Day of the Soldado. Without Remorse did not accumulate any box office earnings, but the film earned poor scores of 45% from critics and 41% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Check out Without Remorse on Prime Video, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates and coverage of Taylor Sheridan’s future projects.

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Release Date

April 30, 2021

Runtime

110 minutes

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The Great American novel is a kind of mythical concept, an ideal that critics still argue about and that a few ambitious (delusional?) writers still strive to reach. Nevertheless, there are some consensus picks for contenders, books that capture crucial aspects of the American experience and which have hugely influenced the country’s literature.

Just as delusional is the rather daunting task of ranking these masterpieces, but here we are. The titles below span a range of styles and settings, from the Mississippi River to the Dust Bowl, Jazz Age mansions to the violence of the Old West. However, they are all essential in their own way, titanic entries into the ongoing medium.

10

‘Beloved’ (1987)

Image via Knopf

“Freeing yourself was one thing; claiming ownership of that freed self was another.” Beloved confronts one of the darkest chapters in American history. Set after the Civil War, the novel follows Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman whose home is haunted by the ghost of the daughter she killed rather than allow her to be returned to slavery. When a mysterious young woman calling herself Beloved appears, buried trauma resurfaces in devastating ways.

Here, Toni Morrison fuses historical realism with supernatural elements, using ghosts to represent memories too painful to suppress. The haunting becomes as literal as it is symbolic, switching between intimate emotional moments and broader historical reflections and making the book both personal and political. Not for nothing, Beloved earned Morrison the Pulitzer. Even now, the book still hits hard, and it continues to be challenged and banned in many American school districts.

9

‘A Farewell to Arms’ (1929)

Image via Scribner

“The world breaks everyone.” One could make the case for several Hemingway novels to appear on this list, though perhaps the most well-rounded of them is A Farewell to Arms. Set during the First World War, it centers on American ambulance driver Frederic Henry and his romance with British nurse Catherine Barkley. Their relationship develops against a backdrop of military collapse and relentless violence.

One of the greatest anti-war novels ever written, and drawing heavily upon Hemingway’s wartime experiences, the novel strips away romantic notions of heroism in favor of emotional honesty. Here, war is chaotic and indifferent, unforgiving, unpredictable, and inescapable. Frederic’s and Catherine’s love offers a fragile refuge from it, yet it can’t fully avoid the surrounding devastation. The book’s prose style is minimalist, objective, and stark, mostly built out of short, unadorned sentences.

8

‘The Corrections’ (2001)

Image via Simon & Schuster Audio

“We all live with the consequences of our choices.” This book caused a sensation on release, with some critics immediately hailing it as one of the best novels of the 21st century. The Corrections is Jonathan Franzen‘s vivid portrait of the Lambert family. Aging parents Alfred and Enid Lambert attempt to reunite their three adult children for one final Christmas together, but decades of resentment and unresolved conflict gradually come to the surface.

Franzen combines razor-sharp social observation with extraordinary psychological insight. Each member of the Lambert family is three-dimensional, with a layered backstory and competing motivations. Through them, the book paints a powerful picture of family dynamics and generation gaps. Frequently funny but never flippant, The Corrections takes its characters’ emotions seriously, delving deep into their ambitions, failures, romantic disappointments, and lingering childhood wounds.

7

‘Invisible Man’ (1952)

Image via Random House

“I am invisible, simply because people refuse to see me.” Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison (not to be confused with the H.G. Wells sci-fi story) is an exploration of race and individuality. Its unnamed narrator recounts his extraordinary journey through American society, moving from the segregated South to Harlem while repeatedly discovering that people refuse to see him as a complete human being. Instead, they continually impose their expectations, prejudices, and political agendas upon him.

Along the way, the story oscillates between realism, surrealism, and satire, balancing social critique with character study. It gets incredibly philosophical, too, commenting on many different ideologies, from Marxism and Black nationalism to the work of Booker T. Washington. Invisible Man went on to win the National Book Award and, notably, Barack Obama has said that he used it as a model for the structure of his memoir Dreams From My Father.

6

‘The Sound and the Fury’ (1929)

Image via Vintage Classics

“Caddy smelled like trees.” Chronicling the decline of the once-proud Compson family in Mississippi, William Faulkner‘s magnum opus unfolds through four radically different perspectives, each revealing another aspect of the family’s collapse. The book’s use of stream of consciousness, shifting chronology, and fragmented POVs was groundbreaking and transformed the possibilities of fiction. In particular, the famously difficult opening section, narrated by the intellectually disabled Benjy Compson, is one of literature’s boldest achievements.

The book is challenging the whole way through, certainly no beach read, yet it rewards those who stick with it. It’s a dark but masterful Southern Gothic, with a lot to say about modernity and tradition, nihilism, and even religion — famously, several of its scenes mirror or subvert Jesus stories. Many people found all this way too bleak back in 1929, but in the following decades, The Sound and the Fury slowly matured into a classic.

5

‘The Catcher in the Rye’ (1951)

Image via Little, Brown and Company

“Don’t ever tell anybody anything.” The greatest YA novel of all time. The Catcher in the Rye plunges us into the vivid, unstable mind of 16-year-old Holden Caulfield. Following his expulsion from boarding school, he wanders through New York City over several lonely days, struggling to make sense of a world he increasingly dismisses as “phony.” We experience Holden’s growing emotional crisis from the inside, making even ordinary encounters carry surprising weight.

The character’s distinctive voice transformed American fiction. Cynical, vulnerable, funny, contradictory, and emotionally raw, Holden feels real and surprisingly relatable, even 75 years later. His story makes for a quintessential coming-of-age tale, as well as a powerful study of loss and mental health. Holden’s grief over his younger brother Allie’s death quietly shapes nearly every aspect of his behavior. His tough exterior hides profound sadness and melancholy, making him resonate with millions.

4

‘The Grapes of Wrath’ (1939)

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“Wherever they’s a fight so hungry people can eat, I’ll be there.” The quintessential novel of the Great Depression. Forced from their Oklahoma farm by drought and economic hardship, the Joad family joins thousands of other migrants traveling west to California in search of work and a better life. Instead, they encounter exploitation, poverty, prejudice, and a society unwilling to provide dignity to those most in need.

In telling their story, Steinbeck combines intimate family drama with sweeping social commentary, transforming the Joads into representatives of countless Americans displaced by the upheavals of that era. However, he never reduces them to caricatures or mere symbols, instead portraying them with remarkable empathy. Likewise, while the book is frank, never watering down or softening the edges of the characters’ struggles, The Grapes of Wrath does contain some seeds of hope. The Joads’ resilience is inspiring, even against all odds.

3

‘The Great Gatsby’ (1925)

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“So we beat on, boats against the current…” If The Grapes of Wrath is an emblem of the Depression, then The Great Gatsby is the Roaring Twenties preserved in amber. Narrated by the thoughtful Nick Carraway, the novel follows the mysterious millionaire Jay Gatsby, whose extravagant parties conceal an all-consuming desire to reunite with his first love, Daisy Buchanan. His relentless pursuit of an impossible ideal becomes a powerful metaphor for ambition, reinvention, and the American Dream.

Despite clocking in at less than 200 pages, The Great Gatsby is full of wisdom and great lines, like “There are only the pursued, the pursuing, the busy and the tired”, and “I hope she’ll be a fool. That’s the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.” Not to mention, its symbolism, from the green light to the eyes of Doctor T. J. Eckleburg, has become permanently embedded in pop culture.

2

‘Blood Meridian’ (1985)

Image via Random House

“War was always here.” The defining project by Cormac McCarthy. Loosely inspired by historical events, Blood Meridian follows the Kid, a runaway teenager who joins the notorious Glanton gang as they roam the American-Mexican borderlands during the mid-19th century. There, they commit unimaginable acts of brutality while pursuing profit through scalp hunting. The gang includes Judge Holden, one of the greatest antagonists in 20th-century fiction.

Holden is brilliant, charismatic, physically imposing, and intellectually enigmatic, prone to delivering impromptu philosophical speeches that are as haunting as they’re insightful. Blood Meridian descends into the darkest depths of the Western, presenting the American frontier as a landscape of mythic violence, a place where civilization is gossamer-thin. Here, the world offers little protection against humanity’s most destructive instincts. To hammer the message home, McCarthy tells the story through grand, almost biblical prose.

1

‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’ (1884)

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“All right, then, I’ll go to hell.” The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is widely regarded as the cornerstone of American literature, the reference point for everything that came after. Escaping his abusive father, young Huck Finn joins the runaway enslaved man Jim on a journey down the Mississippi River. Their shared adventures touch on the contradictions at the heart of American society. In particular, Huck’s decision to help Jim despite believing society condemns it is a moving act of ethical courage.

Themes aside, Mark Twain revolutionized American fiction through his use of vernacular language here. Rather than using formal literary conventions, he allows Huck’s distinct voice to guide the entire narrative, giving the reader direct access to the character’s feelings. This approach lends the book an authenticity and relatability that influenced generations of writers. Today, its impact appears inexhaustible, as authors continue to draw on and reimagine ideas and plot points from it.

There’s no doubt that horror is one of the biggest genres of 2026, all thanks to two names in particular. The first, A24’s Backrooms, took a viral internet creepypasta and transformed it into a visually impressive must-watch theatrical release, which helped 20-year-old filmmaker Kane Parsons become the youngest director ever to claim the #1 spot on the North American box office charts. The second, Curry Barker‘s breakout masterpiece, Obsession, continues to be the talk of Tinseltown two months after it made its theatrical debut.

On a sub-$1 million budget, Obsession has now made over $400 million to date, and is still breaking box office records despite now proving a streaming sensation. The film’s success has led many to speculate about some future Academy recognition, especially for Inde Navarrette, whose star-making central turn inspired Collider’s Hannah Hunt to call it “one of the year’s best” in her review. But the path was paved for the dominant horror movies of the past couple of months by the big hits of early 2026, namely Send Help, which marked the thrilling return to horror for The Evil Dead director Sam Raimi after 17 years.

Starring Rachel McAdams and Dylan O’Brien as co-workers stranded on an island following a deadly plane crash, the movie blends Triangle of Sadness and Ready or Not for a fun, furious, and brilliantly gory viewing experience. The movie is “a hell of a lot of fun with two dynamite performances,” wrote Aidan Kelley in Collider’s official review, adding, “It’s also one that, more often than not, plays to Sam Raimi’s scripts, whose previous horror hits have always been firmly in the fun-and-campy category.” Six months after it was released, Send Help is one of the most-watched movies on Hulu in the U.S., at the time of writing.

Was ‘Send Help’ a Box Office Hit?

Although the likes of Obsession and Backrooms have made horror the go-to box office genre of this summer, it wasn’t always the case. Earlier this year, the likes of 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple struggled to find success, despite earning rave reviews. Thankfully, Send Help proved a modest hit on Raimi’s return, earning just under $100 million worldwide against a reported production budget of around $40 million.

Send Help is one of the most-watched movies on Hulu in the U.S. Make sure to stay tuned to Collider for more streaming stories.

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Release Date

January 30, 2026

Runtime

113 Minutes

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Director

Sam Raimi

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Writers

Damian Shannon, Mark Swift

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The Game of Thrones spin-off prequel series, House of the Dragon (HotD), is one of the hottest shows currently on television, proving to be a worthy follow-up to the hit HBO show. HotD has introduced an array of unique and well-developed characters, such as Lord Corlys Velaryon (Steve Toussaint), Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell), and Alicent Hightower (Olivia Cooke), but out of all the incredible players in this epic game for the Iron Throne, Queen Rhaenyra Targaryen is without a doubt a popular favorite among HotD fans.

Played by the phenomenal Emma D’Arcy, Rhaenyra has become a well-rounded, detail-oriented character who is as wise as she is brave. She rules with a stern fist but isn’t without a heart and empathy, which are all excellent qualities of a well-qualified ruler. As she tries to navigate her way to winning back her birthright, Rhaenyra has expressed a sense of wisdom and honesty with some of the show’s greatest quotes that deserve immense recognition.

15

“He was everything I wanted to be: carefree and dangerous — a man.”

“Smallfolk” – Season 2, Episode 6 (2024)

Image via HBO

In “Smallfolk,” Rhaenyra opens up to Mysaria (Sonoya Mizuno) about her complex and sometimes turbulent relationship with her husband, Daemon Targaryen (Matt Smith), regarding her late father, Viserys (Paddy Considine). She explains that while Daemon envied the relationship she had with his older brother, she herself also harbored envy towards Daemon for being a man and essentially having the freedom to do as he pleases. She ends the line with “And I was what he wanted: cherished by my father and made my father’s heir. We were halves of a whole.”

It might not be a poetic or deep moment, but it does capture Rhaenyra’s self-awareness of the cost that comes with her inheritance and the complicated bond she shares with Daemon. The quote resonates because it’s not a declaration of love or resentment, but an honest reflection on the way Rhaenyra and Daemon both complete and ultimately complicate each other’s lives, summarizing many of the core themes of House of the Dragon in a few memorable lines.

14

“For twenty years, the lords of this realm levied insults at my sons behind my back. Well, then, let us raise an army of bastards.”

“The Red Sowing” – Season 2, Episode 7 (2024)

Image via HBO

For decades, people have constantly questioned the legitimacy of Rhaenyra’s sons, and while viewers know the truth, Rhaenyra has always denied the accusations and firmly stood by her children’s birthright. In Season 2’s “The Red Sowing,” Rhaenyra decides to live up to her reputation by weaponizing these vile claims as a reason to seek out illegitimate Targaryen children who could potentially become dragonriders, marking a major turning point for the character.

The quote leading up to the bastard buffet in “The Red Sowing” reveals how Rhaenyra recognizes that victory requires capable dragonriders and ultimately chooses practicality over tradition, demonstrating her belief that survival matters more than noble pedigree. After years of enduring whispers and insults, Rhaenyra responds with confidence and resolve instead of self-pity, transforming the accusations into a source of strength and pure resilience.

13

“Exhausting, wasn’t it? Hiding beneath the cloak of your own righteousness.”

“Driftmark” – Season 1, Episode 7 (2022)

Image via HBO

In “Driftmark,” family tensions reach a boiling point after a fight between Rhaenyra’s son, Luke (Harvey Sadler), and Alicent’s son, Aemond (Leo Ashton), ends with Aemond losing an eye. When Viserys refuses to punish his grandson by removing one of his eyes, Alicent finally snaps, leading to an intense but inevitable confrontation between the once close friends. As Rhaenyra fights to fend Alicent off, she takes the tense opportunity to finally call out Alicent’s hypocrisy but with calm precision.

Rhaenyra accuses Alicent of using morality and honor as a shield for her ambition and resentment towards Rhaenyra and her children, challenging the idea that Alicent has always acted with noble intentions. The moment also marks a significant sign of maturity and growth in Rhaenyra, who has traded in her usual impulsive nature for confidence and a deeper understanding of the political and personal motives driving the conflict. While the quote is one of Rhaenyra’s best quotes in the series, it also reinforces one of the show’s recurring ideas: that many characters justify their pursuit of power by convincing themselves they are acting righteously.

12

“Not yet… bring Aegon the Usurper to me!”

“Queen’s Landing” – Season 3, Episode 2 (2026)

Image via HBO

In Season 3, Rhaenyra sacks King’s Landing and finally takes her rightful place on the Iron Throne, but despite the massive victory, Rhaenyra knows the game is far from over. At the end, she demands that her stepbrother, Aegon (Tom Glynn-Carney), be brought to her, exposing her determination, restraint, and authority in a single moment. By calling him “Aegon the Usurper,” she not only rejects his legitimacy and reaffirms that she is the rightful ruler, but also reveals that her focus is firmly set on confronting the man she holds responsible for the war.

The line is brief but forceful and underscores her authority as a queen who is issuing an uncompromising command, while also emphasizing her unwavering determination to right the wrongs of this senseless civil war. Even in one of her darkest moments, Rhaenyra turns her immense grief and devastation into a powerful declaration that echoes fiercely through the Seven Kingdoms, essentially proclaiming the fight for the Iron Throne is not over until she says it is.

11

“I will never have justice. But what crumbs of it may be snatched, I will devour.”

“Rhaenyra Triumphant” – Season 3, Episode 3 (2026)

Image via HBO

After taking King’s Landing, Rhaenyra is still mourning the loss of her son, Jace (Harry Collett), and realizes that she will never get the justice he and her son, Luke, deserve, deciding that anything is better than nothing. The quote shows how Rhaenyra no longer believes she will receive true justice and understands that the losses she has suffered can never be undone, but despite accepting that perfect justice is impossible, she refuses to abandon the pursuit of accountability, insisting that she will take whatever measure of justice remains.

Rhaenyra’s words symbolize her abandoning idealism and any dreams of this war coming to a fair ending in favor of the hard-earned truth that there is no law and order when it comes to war. She accepts that justice may only come in fragments over time and vows to seize every speck she can no matter how long it takes, encapsulating her evolution from a hopeful heir into a hardened queen shaped by loss and war, making it one of the best Rhaenyra Targaryen quotes from House of the Dragon.

10

“You kneel quickly for a man so suddenly elevated.”

“The Red Sowing” – Season 2, Episode 7 (2024)

Image via HBO

At the beginning of “The Red Sowing,” Rhaenyra meets Addam of Hull (Clinton of Liberty), who has bonded with the powerful dragon Seasmoke, but since Rhaenyra doesn’t know how this happened, she is hesitant towards him during their first encounter. Considering her crown has already been stolen, it’s understood that Rhaenyra is concerned about anyone who might pose another potential threat to her.

She makes her feelings crystal clear to Addam with a simple one-liner that speaks to her straightforward attitude and uncertainty about whom to trust these days. Rhaenyra is aware of the power one can have once they bond with a dragon and, since she has no clue who or how Addam bonded with Seasmoke, she doesn’t hold back by questioning Addam’s quick allegiance towards her.

9

“Now I have seen that your heart only belongs to you.”

“Rhaenyra the Cruel” – Season 2, Episode 2 (2024)

Image via HBO

After learning of Daemon’s part in the murder of Aegon’s son, Jaehaerys, Rhaenyra shares her genuine feelings about her husband and their relationship. She tearfully admits that she tried to trust Daemon and believe that he is capable of change, but after such a heinous act, she knows he will never be completely loyal to anyone but himself.

Rhaenyra’s line is one of the series’ best because it marks such a pivotal moment in the character’s growth as well as her relationship with the Rogue Prince. She could have resorted to throwing insults at him, but her choice of words cut deeper into Daemon than any cruel words could ever. Unlike others who would yell and try to tear Daemon down, Rhaenyra is very much like her father and understands the importance of choosing her words carefully, especially when it comes to delicate matters of the heart.

8

“When dragons flew to war everything burned. I do not wish to rule over a kingdom of ash and bone.”

“The Black Queen” – Season 1, Episode 10 (2022)

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As recent events have led to an impending civil war between the greens and the blacks, Rhaenyra is not keen on shedding more blood than is necessary. While others around her think the dragons will be a valuable asset in combat, Rhaenyra knows the immense damage dragons can cause, and her reply to her council basically showcases her restraint towards resorting to dragons entering the playing field.

In Season 1, episode 10, “The Black Queen,” Rhaenyra’s quote portrays a brutal image in viewers’ minds and shows that she is not willing to sugarcoat the catastrophic damage dragons can have on the world. It also conveys her unwavering consideration for the realm and what a war fought by dragons could mean for the future of her people. Most rulers wouldn’t hesitate to use everything they have, but Rhaenyra has a more empathetic approach, which is demonstrated in this epic House of the Dragon quote.

7

“Fire is such a strange power, everything that House Targaryen possesses is owed to it, yet it cost us both what we love.”

“Driftmark” – Season 1, Episode 7 (2022)

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Daemon and Rhaenyra have always had a special bond and, after the tragic death of Daemon’s second wife, Laena Velaryon (Savannah Steyn), she seems to be the only one who could bring him some comfort. Rhaenyra mentions her own heartbreaking loss of her lover and the father of her children, Ser Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), who was unfortunately killed in a fire.

In Season 1, episode 7, “Driftmark,” Rhaenyra can’t help but point out the irony of fire, which has been both a blessing and a curse for House Targaryen. The revelation adds another layer to Daemon and Rhaenyra’s connection that inevitably brings them closer together. This quote brings a sense of bittersweet comfort to both of them, but it’s also an additional similarity they share that leads to them acknowledging the power of their incredible bond.

6

“I have nothing more to tell you. It must be the dragon who speaks.”

“The Red Sowing” – Season 2, Episode 7 (2024)

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As dozens of people from King’s Landing arrive at Dragonstone to try and claim a dragon, Rhaenyra prepares them for what they are about to do and the deadly consequences that come to those who fail. It’s obvious that Rhaenyra is frightened and uncertain of how many of these brave volunteers will survive, but she shields her emotions with sharp, insightful words that put the entire scenario into perspective.

In “The Red Sowing,” Rhaenyra takes the smallfolk to meet Vermithor, one of the unclaimed HotD dragons. Once the Bronze Fury has made his appearance, Rhaenyra says one of the most symbolic quotes of the show’s second season, making it one of the character’s top-notch lines. Rhaenyra knows she can’t do anything to help these poor, unfortunate souls, and before departing, she makes that obvious with this spine-chilling quote.