By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 22 seconds ago

Now that Starfleet Academy has been canceled, its fans have been fondly reminiscing about what they see as the show’s better qualities. Arguably, the best thing about the show was its colorful characters, whose diversity reflected the ideals of Star Trek as a whole. However, some critics felt the show went a little too far with Jay-Den, the gay, pacifist Klingon. Accordingly, this became another culture war flashpoint, with SFA superfans claiming that anyone who dislikes Jay-Den’s portrayal is just a bigot who never really understood what this franchise was about. 

The truth is, there was a problem with this character’s portrayal, but not in the way the show’s biggest fans or its biggest haters could have guessed. You see, there’s nothing wrong with Starfleet Academy prominently featuring the first gay Klingon in Star Trek history. But the writers went about Jay-Den’s characterization in such a way that the show’s most progressive character accidentally became the most offensive. 

The Accidental Caricature

Ironically enough, one of the reasons that Jay-Den became the most offensive character on Starfleet Academy is that the writers kept putting hats on top of hats to make him a uniquely progressive character. You see, he’s not just a gay Klingon, but he’s also an aspiring nurse who is a complete pacifist. Oh, and his parents are polyamorous (today was a good day for monogamy to die). 

When I first heard that the new Star Trek show would feature a gay Klingon character, I assumed it would be a more traditional, Worf-like Klingon who is simply into dudes rather than gals. Making the character an aspiring medical officer was a confusing choice, but it still made a kind of sense; after all, a warrior culture like the Klingons must have battlefield medics. But then the writers made Jay-Den a Klingon pacifist (completely unheard of in previous lore), put him in a skirt, and did the shocked Pikachu face at the fact that old-school Trek fans disliked him.

Hello, Nurse!

Starfleet Academy made Jay-Den completely different from other Klingons in every way except his face. This is, understandably, offensive to Star Trek fans who expected him to act like a Klingon rather than simply look like one. But it’s also arguably offensive to those expecting a truly progressive character because Jay-Den ended up being weirdly half-baked as a person. He was ultimately nothing more than a set of half-assed progressive signifiers that transformed him into a caricature that leaned on offensive stereotypes.

I would bet my last bar of gold-pressed latinum that the Starfleet Academy writers thought they had struck gold by making Jay-Den the 32nd-century equivalent of a nurse. However, what they failed to consider is that, to 21st-century viewers, the “gay nurse” is actually a very offensive stereotype. It’s rooted in patriarchal, old-school homophobia and assumes that caretaking is a feminine activity. Writers often perpetuate the stereotype by making nurses gay, effectively confirming the homophobic assumption that male nurses can’t be “real” (i.e., heterosexual) men.

In retrospect, I can’t help but think that making a member of Star Trek’s most famous warrior race into a gay pacifist was a decision to play things safe. A hugely muscled, highly aggressive, bloodthirsty warrior who just happened to be gay is the kind of thing that makes people very, very nervous. By making Jay-Den gay and a pacifist and a nurse, Paramount effectively reassured sponsors, execs, and traditional fans (groups comprised mostly of older, white men) that the strong Black character couldn’t hurt them.

The Diversity Is The Character (And Why That’s A Bad Thing)

As I said before, Starfleet Academy is, by certain metrics, the most progressive Star Trek show ever made. Unfortunately, the writers made a pretty crucial mistake with Jay-Den: they made his sexuality and other progressive aspects very nearly the sum total of his character.

To see what I mean, look back at Stamets and Culber, the two most prominent gay characters in Trek before Jay-Den came along. Outside of their (frankly, very cute) scenes together as a couple, you might barely know they were gay because the show largely focused on their responsibilities: one was a doctor, one was an engineer. They were defined by their competence and characterization, and not by sexuality.

Jay-Den, outside of the one episode that focused on his character (the one that sent 99% of Klingons to Hell while giving him the “my parents didn’t understand me” stock gay story), wasn’t really developed as a character. Most of what we got from him was stupid romantic drama (“ooh, will he end up with the bad boy alpha or the adorkable beta?”) or more progressive signifiers (“look, he’s wearing the skirt again!”).

Such a portrayal arguably nullifies the whole point of representing minority groups because Jay-Den doesn’t get to be a real character; he gets to be a collection of stereotypes that make the audience feel good about how progressive they are.

To Explore New Worlds Of Strange

Despite being canceled, Starfleet Academy has a second season already filmed. At this point, one of my biggest hopes for Jay-Den is that he gets better character development in Season 2. But with Jay-Den actor Karim Diané’s recent Instagram declaration that “season 2 is gay AF” and that it will be “season 1 … turned all the way up,” I’m not exactly holding my breath. 

Which is a shame because, once more for the cheap seats, there’s nothing wrong with having a gay Klingon. But the Starfleet Academy writers turned Jay-Den into a caricature rather than a character, one whose substance was buried under layers of cheap skirts and cheaper tropes.

He’s a non-threatening cipher that progressive fans can embrace to showcase their love for diversity. He’s touted as a brave new character, but Jay-Den actually reflects the cowardice of the writers. After all, if they were really ready to give us a gay Klingon, they wouldn’t have taken away everything that makes him a Klingon!

Roomies, y’all know Jania Meshell never hesitates to clap back. That’s exactly what she did when fans started speculating that she might be pregnant after a photo popped up online. Jania peeped the reactions and didn’t hold back on letting folks know if she really has a bun in the oven.

RELATED: Back On? The Internet Weighs In After Jania Meshell & Dejounte Murray Link Up For Lit Night Out (VIDEO) 

Jania Meshell Addresses Pregnancy Rumors After Photos Go Viral Online

Recently, Jania Meshell hopped on a livestream to clap back at speculation that she was expecting a baby after photos from her uncle’s funeral started circulating online. When one X user reposted a picture of her with her loved ones, saying, “Awwwww congratulations Jania on your new bundle of joy I love this happy ending for you.”  Jania appeared to address the comment on a livestream and called out fans for spreading false narratives.“Even if I was b***h. What that got to do with you?” She shut down pregnancy rumors and said she was mad people were busy talking about her looks while she was still in the middle of mourning her uncle’s passing.

“Y’all done pissed me off, can’t even bury my uncle in peace before y’all get online brewing up some mess,” Jania continued.

Social Media Weighs In After Jania Meshell Puts Pregnancy Rumors To Rest

Once The Shade Room reposted a clip from Jania’s livestream, fans flooded the comment section with reactions. Some swore she was definitely pregnant since she didn’t deny it, while others said people need to stop policing women’s bodies.

Instagram user @iiheartlexx wrote, “ion blame her for being mad tho cause at my loved one funeral tho???🤦🏽‍♀️” 

Instagram user @omggliyawtff wrote, “I hope she not doing all this just to pop out with a baby.. for all that just ignore them fr.” 

While Instagram user @immamakeumybish wrote, “pregnant or not y’all are obsessed with women’s bodies. no other race does this except black ppl. 😑” 

Then Instagram user @simplyprettyfrll wrote, “why do y’all care if sb pregnant or not😭😭”

Another Instagram user @_brownskinnya_ wrote, “She just needs to go off the grid for a while and stop replying to comments silence is best..” 

While another Instagram user @jaylacross_1 wrote, “She definitely pregnant but even if she is that’s her life her business.” 

Then another Instagram user @4everslimme._ wrote, “they will be back together next week .. it be the same thing every month 🫩” 

Finally, Instagram user @_lynn.317 wrote, “Why do this to someone that just buried a family member? I don’t get it.” 

Fans Question Whether Jania Took Shots At Dejounte Murray In THESE Messages

Jania didn’t just shut down pregnancy speculation online. Fans assumed she some subliminal jabs at Dejounte Murray. In a series of now-deleted posts on X (formerly Twitter), Jania wrote, “Now yall so sweet so innocent favorite player can live the life yall think he deserve.” Then in another post, she added that she wished she would’ve gotten married before having her kids. “So mad I had kids before I was married and solidified with MYSELF because now it’s the same cycle different generation. Won’t happen again though.” 

RELATED: Jania Meshell Shares Strong Messages Amid Blasting Social Media Page For “Lying” About NBA YoungBoy Allegedly Being Abusive To Her

The Pitt has only released two seasons on HBO Max so far — but the medical drama has already lost several main cast members.

When the medical drama premiered on HBO Max in January 2025, viewers were excited to see Noah Wyle play a doctor again more than after ER. It didn’t take long for Us to fall in love with the entire cast, including Dr. Robby (Wyle), Dr. Collins (Tracy Ifeachor), Dr. Langdon (Patrick Ball), charge nurse Dana (Katherine LaNasa), Dr. Mohan (Supriya Ganesh), Dr. McKay (Fiona Dourif), Dr. King (Taylor Dearden), Dr. Santos (Isa Briones), Whitaker (Gerran Howell) and Javadi (Shabana Azeez).

Season 2 looked a little different when most of the cast returned — except Ifeachor. A source told Us Weekly in July 2025 that it was always the plan for Ifeachor’s character — who was a fourth-year resident in the first season — to go on and be a doctor in future installments of the show.

The insider noted that due to the nature of The Pitt, Dr. Collins wouldn’t be in season 2, but Ifeachor “didn’t choose to leave the show” and isn’t aware of “any doors being closed” on a possible return.

The same reasoning was used when news broke that Ganesh wouldn’t reprise her role in season 3. Off screen, fans have expressed frustration at multiple beloved characters not returning for more episodes.

Keep scrolling to see which The Pitt stars have left the show so far:

Tracy Ifeachor

After leaving the show, Tracy Ifeachor addressed whether she could be back in the future.

“It was just such a joy and a pleasure to play Dr. Heather Collins and to know that my character has been so phenomenally well-received. It just blew me away,” Ifeachor told Us in September 2025. “I don’t know where she will be on the weekend of next season, but I know where I’m going to be, which is on my next project, which is just so amazing. But I take the lessons that I’ve learned from playing Dr. Heather Collins — playing this character who goes through such a traumatic event and still shows up every day for other people.”

She continued: “[No one] stops to ask if she’s OK, if she needs time out, if she needs to run away. I think as a woman, sometimes we carry a lot of emotional labor without even knowing it. I’ve learned that through this character, so I wouldn’t change that. This experience has been so life-changing, really.”

Related: Why Is Supriya Ganesh Leaving ‘The Pitt’ Before Season 3? Exit Explained

The Pitt fans are divided over Supriya Ganesh‘s exit from the show ahead of season 3. Ganesh, 28, originally joined the HBO Max series as Samira Mohan in season 1 alongside Noah Wyle, Tracy Ifeachor, Patrick Ball, Katherine LaNasa, Fiona Dourif, Taylor Dearden, Isa Briones, Gerran Howell and Shabana Azeez. By the time the show […]

Supriya Ganesh

It was confirmed in March 2026 that Supriya Ganesh wouldn’t be coming back to The Pitt, with Ayesha Harris‘ role as Dr. Parker Ellis being elevated. Variety reported at the time that the decision was “story-driven” due to the nature of a show set in a teaching hospital.

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Ganesh spoke to Us shortly before her departure was announced. The actress hinted she was “curious” where her character would end up while teasing season 3 of the medical drama.

“It’s up to the writers,” Ganesh shared in February 2026 about where she would like to see Mohan in season 3. “Let’s see where they end up taking her.”

Ganesh continued: “I think we left her in a really interesting spot. I’m really curious where she ends up going.”

King Charles III, Queen Camilla, Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton and more royals gathered to celebrate Easter, though not all of their family members were present at the public church outing.

Charles, 77, and Camilla, 78, led the royals for the annual walk into St George’s Chapel for the Easter Mattins service on Sunday, April 5. The king wore a blue pinstripe suit, while his wife opted for a red dress and matching hat. The monarchs were followed by Charles’ son William, 43, and his family: wife Kate, 44, and kids Prince George, 12, Princess Charlotte, 10, and Prince Louis, 7.

The Wales family, who previously skipped the Easter Mattins service for two consecutive years, donned their Sunday best for their royal return. William and his sons twinned in navy suits, while Kate and Charlotte matched in beige coatdresses. The Princess of Wales accessorized her frock with a coordinating fascinator and a tan DeMellier handbag.

The group was also joined by Princess Anne and her husband, Sir Tim Laurence, as well as Prince Edward and his 18-year-old son, James. Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and his daughters, Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie, meanwhile, notably skipped out on the tradition.

Related: Biggest Royal Family Scandals Through the Years

The British royal family may appear prim and proper to the public, but they’ve faced their fair share of controversies over the years. One of the biggest royal scandals in recent memory came when King Charles III and the late Princess Diana announced their separation in 1992 after 10 years of marriage. At the time, […]

In the days leading up to the Easter holiday, multiple outlets reported that Beatrice, 37, and Eugenie, 36, would not be present for the church service amid the ongoing fallout from their father Andrew’s connection to late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In October 2025, Charles officially stripped his younger brother of his royal titles and honors. Nearly four months later, Andrew, 66, was arrested on February 19 on suspicion of misconduct in public office. He was detained by police for approximately 11 hours before being released.

While Andrew and his daughters have yet to speak publicly about his arrest, Charles addressed the matter soon after his brother was taken into custody.

“I have learned with the deepest concern the news about Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and suspicion of misconduct in public office,” the king said in a statement at the time. “What now follows is the full, fair and proper process by which this issue is investigated in the appropriate manner and by the appropriate authorities. In this, as I have said before, they have our full and wholehearted support and cooperation.”

He added, “Let me state clearly: the law must take its course. As this process continues, it would not be right for me to comment further on this matter. Meanwhile, my family and I will continue in our duty and service to you all.”

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Related: A Breakdown of the Royal Line of Succession

The royal line of succession has been shaken up and moved around — but where do members of the British royal family stand when it comes to their place in line to the throne? Queen Elizabeth II had been head of the Commonwealth since 1952 when she died in September 2022 at the age of […]

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Last Easter looked quite different for the royal family than Sunday’s holiday. Andrew, his ex-wife, Sarah Ferguson, and their daughters notably attended the 2025 church service at the time, whileWilliam, Kate and their three kids skipped the traditional outing to celebrate the holiday with the Middletons. The family of five was spotted attending a church service in Sandringham alongside Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, though they avoided royal watchers and exited through a back entrance.

Kate— who announced that her cancer was in remission in January 2025 after a yearlong health battle — and William reportedly wanted to spend time with their kids before they returned to school. However, a source exclusively told Us Weekly at the time that the couple faced scrutiny for willingly missing the annual royal outing.

“This is a big deal,” the insider revealed at the time. “It’s royal tradition for the family to attend this together. Everyone understood the family not attending last year when Kate was sick but there’s been a lot of raised eyebrows at the palace about William’s decision to skip again this year. It feels like a deliberate move and even a snub.”

A new royal book has shed light on the tension that simmered between Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before and after their 2018 wedding.

Sources say disputes began over the duchess’s request to rehearse with Queen Mary’s historic tiara, which the monarch reportedly denied, siding with her dresser, Angela Kelly.

Over time, Prince Harry and Meghan’s distance from royal duties, along with intense media attention, reportedly left Queen Elizabeth cautious and guarded during interactions with the couple.

Queen Elizabeth II Was Allegedly Frustrated By Meghan Markle’s Tiara Rehearsal Request: ‘It’s Not A Toy’

A new royal biography is revealing details about an alleged behind-the-scenes clash involving Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex ahead of their 2018 wedding.

According to author Robert Hardman, tensions reportedly arose when Harry and Meghan requested that Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara be sent over in advance so the duchess could rehearse her look. The request allegedly didn’t sit well with the late monarch.

In his book, Hardman claimed that Elizabeth grew frustrated after hearing that her grandson had been repeatedly “calling around the Royal Household demanding that the tiara be dispatched forthwith.”

“The mood turned sour nearer the wedding when the couple rang the palace to ask the Queen’s dresser and curator, Angela Kelly, to send over the tiara. Meghan wished to practice putting it on,” Hardman wrote per the Daily Mail.

Siding with her longtime dresser, Angela Kelly, Elizabeth is said to have dismissed the request for the tiara entirely, stating bluntly that “it’s not a toy.”

She also allegedly referenced how Kate Middleton prepared for her own wedding, noting that her hairstylist practiced with a replica of the tiara instead of the real one. From her perspective, Meghan’s team could have taken a similar approach.

Royal Wedding Jewels Reportedly Faced Extreme Scrutiny Over Prince Harry And Meghan Markle’s Tiara Request

Hardman further emphasized that royal wedding pieces are handled with extreme care due to the intense global attention they receive, particularly when historic jewels are involved.

He noted that “even if the tiara had only a few offcuts from South Africa’s mighty Cullinan diamond, that could be enough to generate furious headlines about colonial theft.”

According to the account, one staff member even questioned how such a situation might have played out publicly on the wedding day, suggesting it could have caused unnecessary controversy.

The Duke Wrote About The Tiara Debacle In His Memoir

Harry himself addressed tensions with the late queen’s dresser, Kelly, in his memoir “Spare,” describing her as “obstructive” and calling her “a troublemaker” he did not need as an enemy.

Separate reports have also painted a more difficult picture of Harry’s behavior in the lead-up to his wedding.

According to royal commentator Sally Bedell Smith, the duke was allegedly short-tempered with Elizabeth II, at one point speaking to her in a way that left her feeling unsettled.

The late monarch was also said to have been concerned after Harry reportedly approached the Archbishop of Canterbury about officiating the ceremony without the Dean of Windsor’s permission.

Queen Elizabeth II Reportedly Took Precautions During Calls With Prince Harry

In “Queen Elizabeth II: A Personal History,” author Hugo Vickers alleges that after the Sussexes stepped back from royal duties, Elizabeth took precautions during phone calls with her grandson, often asking her “lady-in-waiting to stay with her.”

He added that the “distress the Sussexes caused the Queen in the last years of her life cannot be overestimated.”

Sources also claimed that conversations between Elizabeth and Harry became increasingly brief and distant, with the monarch reportedly keeping her guard up following the fallout.

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“There were lots of one-word answers, ‘yes’ and ‘no,” an insider told Page Six. “The Queen clearly wanted some kind of protection. I think the Queen was also on her guard with Harry because she was so hurt by what he had done.”

Meanwhile, Susan Page, in her upcoming book “The Queen and Her Presidents: The Hidden Hand That Shaped History,” alleges that Elizabeth had grown cautious of Meghan early on, viewing her as highly media-savvy in a way that outpaced the “palace’s outdated press operation.”

Queen Elizabeth II Reportedly Kept A Guarded Distance During Harry And Meghan’s Visit With Princess Lilibet

Royal author Vickers further claims that Elizabeth II chose not to meet Harry and Meghan alone when they introduced their daughter, Princess Lilibet, during the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.

According to his account, the couple was staying at Frogmore Cottage at the time, where they marked Lilibet’s first birthday with a small celebration. When they later visited the Queen, a lady-in-waiting was reportedly present throughout the meeting.

Vickers also alleges that the monarch declined a request to allow a photographer to capture the moment, reportedly concerned that the image might later be shared publicly.

He goes on to suggest that the monarch struggled to understand her grandson’s new life in the United States, claiming she once questioned his decision to step back from royal duties, wondering what he had ultimately gained from the move.

By TeeJay Small
| Published 1 minute ago

Do you recall the 2021 GameStop stock trading story that took over the media and made a bunch of broke college kids thousand-aires overnight? It’s an incredible underdog story, about how the little guys can band together to take on financial behemoths, using the very tools that the billionaire elite employ to keep us down.

If you told that story with a stacked cast including Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, Nick Offerman, Sebastian Stan, Vincent D’Onofrio, and more, you might have a certifiable hit on your hands. Unfortunately, the film Dumb Money fails to deliver on any big laughs and reminds me of why movies about internet trends so often miss the mark.

The True Story Behind Dumb Money

In case you missed it, Dumb Money follows the true story of Keith Gill. Gill is a broke financial analyst living in Brockton, Massachusetts, who maintains a middling social media presence discussing low-value stocks with a small group of would-be day traders.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gill’s channels began to pick up major steam, especially as he bought up cheap shares of GameStop. As Gill reads into the financial reports, he arrives at the conclusion that the big firms are betting on Game Stop to fail, and shorting the stock with the intention of raking in billions from the business’s impending bankruptcy.

Thanks to an army of loyal Reddit users, Gill and his pals manage to fight back against Wall Street and raise the stock price of GameStop significantly. Doing so makes millions for people with pennies and takes billions from companies with hundreds of billions. If you’re not a complete sociopath, you should see it as a win-win for every party. Sure, the billionaires lose a fraction of a percent of their wealth, but they can dry their tears with lobsters on the decks of their massive yachts.

Reddit Forums Are Not Interesting

I wasn’t actively part of the GameStop stock push in 2021, but I did follow it as it took place. I was super excited to see Dumb Money when it released just a few years later, but I ultimately left the film extremely disappointed. As it turns out, it’s really hard to make a movie engaging or visually interesting when 90 percent of the action takes place on Reddit forums. The result is roughly 100 minutes of watching Paul Dano shout “holy shit” while sitting in a gamer chair, or watching America Ferrera make shocked expressions at her cell phone.

Dumb Money is also loaded with random, unnecessary, and downright obnoxious needle drops. The narrative hardly progresses for five minutes at a time without some licensed pop song stopping the action so we can watch people dance around pointlessly. Look, I’m not a monster, I enjoy Kendrick Lamar‘s “Humble” as much as anyone. But if I wanted to watch 6 music videos back-to-back, I’d be on YouTube, not Hulu. My estimate is that the team behind Dumb Money realized they didn’t have enough story to make a feature film and relied on these musical portions to pad the runtime.

Has Craig Gillespie Ever Met Another Human Being?

To further that point, it seems like director Craig Gillespie really struggled to juggle the moving parts behind this story. Sure, Keith Gill is the centerpiece of the narrative, but all the side characters feel more like cameo appearances than supporting performances. Nick Offerman’s character is meant to loom over the movie like a video game final boss, but he gets only about 5 minutes of screen time. Seth Rogen was all over the trailer for Dumb Money, but in the narrative, he has practically nothing to do. The two college girls created for the film are portrayed so obnoxiously that it makes me wonder if Craig Gillespie has ever met another human being in his entire life.

Personally, I’d skip this movie, but if you’re interested in checking it out for yourself, Dumb Money is streaming on Hulu. My best advice would be to throw it on while you’re cooking, cleaning, or looking at your phone. That way, you can soak up the interesting parts without committing to an hour and 44 minutes of Pete Davidson lip-syncing.

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 1 hour ago

Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a show filled with amazing characters, and fans love to debate which one is the best. Many prefer Buffy, the natural leader who uses her abilities as a Slayer to put vamps and other supernatural baddies in their place. Others prefer Willow, the geeky girl next door who eventually embraces her own magical mojo. Other fan-favorites include Spike (the bad boy with slick hair and a slicker accent), Anya (the former demon who loves nothing more than sex and money), and Faith (the sexy Slayer who goes from being Buffy’s frenemy to being her worst nightmare).

Few fans name Cordelia, and for good reason: while she grew as a character once she joined the Angel spinoff, she spends the vast majority of Buffy as a mean girl who does nothing more than disparage the other characters we know and love. After a while, it’s easy to start asking yourself a very blunt question: “why is Cordelia even in this show?” However, the answer is deceptively simple. She’s here as a constant reminder of how much Buffy (who was basically Cordelia before becoming a Slayer) has grown as a character. 

The Softer Side Of Sneers

In those first three seasons of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Cordelia is seemingly the opposite of Buffy in every way. Buffy is defined by her duty to protect others, and she often misses out on the best parts of her high school days because she is busy fighting vampires. Cordelia, meanwhile, is a spoiled little rich girl who constantly berates Buffy for being so different than pretty much everyone else in Sunnydale High School.

While she gets some fun, sarcastic lines here and there, Cordelia can often feel like a superfluous character. However, she serves a more basic function in Buffy the Vampire Slayer by being an ongoing foil for Buffy. Like all good foils, Cordelia is everything that Buffy isn’t: she’s weak instead of strong, cruel instead of kind, and cowardly instead of brave. Nonetheless, Buffy is sometimes envious of Cordelia, like when she wishes she could be more like the resident mean girl because she thinks that’s the kind of woman Angel liked when he was still a mortal.

The Yin To Buffy’s Yang

Of course, Cordelia is a foil with a very specific purpose: she’s here to highlight how much Buffy has grown as a character since becoming the Slayer. Before Buffy moved to Sunnydale and fully embraced her destiny of fighting vampires, she was a vapid valley girl in Los Angeles. She just wanted to buy cute clothes and enjoy being popular, and she was so good at this that she was eventually elected Fiesta Queen. All of this is supremely shallow, of course. But to Buffy, this was the normal life she had to sacrifice in order to become the Slayer.

The constant presence of Cordelia highlights the significance of Buffy’s sacrifice. Until her family went broke and she had to move to Los Angeles, Cordelia enjoyed all the privileges of being Sunnydale’s most popular girl. All the women want to be her, and all the men want to be with her. She gets what she wants wherever she goes, and she generally gets to rule the school with the indifference of an imperious queen.

She’s A Killer Queen

In short, she has the life that Buffy desperately wants to have. When we see Cordelia sneeringly enjoying the fruits of her popularity, it’s easier to appreciate how Buffy sets her own needs aside for the sake of others. After a while, Buffy grows into her new life, and aside from occasional relapses (like her desperate bid to get elected homecoming queen), she never seriously tries to become a vapid Valley girl again. When we look at Cordelia, we see everything that Buffy is not, which only helps us to appreciate the Slayer’s growth that much more.

Buffy fans might hate Cordelia for being endlessly cruel to their favorite characters. But she is a constant reminder that Buffy, had she never become the Slayer, would be just as bad, if not worse. Greatness was thrust upon Buffy, and she rose to the occasion so well that she ended up saving the entire world, time and time again. Without Cordelia, the fandom might (like so many Sunnydale residents) very well take Buffy’s sacrifices for granted. Thanks to Cordelia, though, we got to spend three years appreciating how Buffy left her childhood behind to save everyone’s life but her own.

If you still really hate Cordelia, though, you should start rewatching Angel. By the end of that show, you’ll realize that nobody hated Sunnydale’s snarkiest Scooby more than Joss Whedon, who proved himself the meanest girl of them all by ruining her character (and, allegedly, Cordelia actor Charisma Carpenter), one insane plot point at a time. 

By Jonathan Klotz
| Published 13 seconds ago

Sabotage, blackmail, extortion, it’s all another day at the office for the political representatives onboard Babylon 5. The intergalactic space station is supposed to be a neutral zone for trade, commerce, politics, negotiations, and all manner of diplomatic activity, but early on during Babylon 5’s run, viewers learned how dirty politics can get in the 23rd century.

“Born to the Purple,” the third episode of Season 1, is the first of many episodes to focus on the Centaurian Ambassador, Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik), this time, he’s fallen for the classic spy move: the honeypot. 

Women Were Always Londo’s Greatest Weakness

It’s a classic move in real-world espionage that exploits sexual relationships for the purposes of blackmail and information gathering. In “Born to the Purple” Londo finds himself smitten by a gorgeous Centauri dancer, Adira Tyree (Fabiana Uderno), to the point that he’s abandoned diplomatic duties, including the crafting of a peace treaty with the Narn and his future best friend forever, G’Kar (Andreas Katsulas).

That’s an unintended side effect of her attention. The plan hatched by Adira’s owner Trakis (Clive Revill, the original voice of Star Wars Emperor Palpatine) is to steal the Purple Files and blackmail the Centauri into doing everything he wants. 

The Purple Files contain information on the highest ranks of the Centauri government, including secrets that very powerful, very important individuals don’t want to be made public. Londo is, allegedly, an important Centauran, and also an easy mark.

Adira manages to scan his brain while he’s sleeping off the drugs she slipped him, gets the information, and then has a change of heart and betrays Trakis. Trakis responds by convincing Londo she’s really a Narn agent and uses the lovestruck fool to help track down where she’s hiding. 

While Londo and Sinclair infiltrate the Dark Star club, G’Kar and Talia Winters (Andrea Thompson) meet with Tarkis to verify that he has the Purple Files. Talia uses the old psi-corp trick of saying, “don’t think of what I’m about to tell you,” and gets the location of where he kept Adria. The ability to read minds feels like a cheat code in a world of political espionage. 

Adira is eventually recovered, and her ownership papers are taken from Trakis, allowing her to stay, as a free woman, with Londo onboard Babylon 5. She breaks his heart when she decides to go to a Centauri planet instead. One day, she’ll return for Londo. 

The Honeypot Has Been Used Throughout History

“Born to the Purple” is the first hint at the incredible chemistry between Londo and G’Kar when they give the exact same advice to their subordinates at the negotiating table: “Don’t give away the home world.”

It’s a glimpse into the depths that hide beneath Londo’s foppish appearance and his unique view on the world of love. As a standalone episode, there’s not a lot connecting it to the rest of Babylon 5 outside of the fantastic character moments that would eventually define the series. Not every episode has to push the mythology arc forward, something that creator J. Michael Straczynski was well aware of, and the episode’s writer, Larry Ditillio, helped lay the foundation for the revelations of later seasons. 

Honeypots like Adria were used in actual, real-world espionage and popularized by Russia during the Cold War. Watch The Americans, and you’ll quickly realize most of their spy work involved pretending to be in relationships with the target.

An argument could be made that poor Anne Boleyn from The Tudors is an early historical example. If anyone on board Babylon 5 would fall head over heels for the honeypot, it would be Londo, and if anyone could eventually convince a honeypot to come back to him, it’s also Londo.                  

By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 22 seconds ago

If you know much about Star Trek: Voyager, then you know that nobody on the cast complained quite as much as Garrett Wang. The Ensign Kim actor sometimes had very righteous gripes, like when he revealed how the writers allegedly fat-shamed him and Robert Duncan McNeil by writing their recent weight gain into a script. Sometimes, his complaints are shocking, like his unsubstantiated claim that he was told to underact by Rick Berman in order to make the show’s aliens seem more realistic.

In fact, when he repeated a version of that complaint to a TV Guide reporter, who dutifully reported that a Star Trek actor was badmouthing his own TV show. To this day, Wang is convinced that this snafu is why he never got a chance to direct. Fortunately for the actor, not all of his complaints fizzled out. If we had never complained about the writing for his character being boring, then rockstar writer Brannon Braga would never have created “Non-Sequitur,” arguably one of the best episodes to ever feature Ensign Kim.

The Squeaky Wheel Gets The Grease

What is “Non-Sequitur” about? In this tale, Ensign Kim awakens in San Francisco to discover that he never joined the Voyager crew and, thus, never got stranded in the Delta Quadrant. He still has his memories from his time aboard ship, but it’s easy enough to forget all of that in the arms of his hot girlfriend. But his absence from Voyager also meant that Tom Paris lost his spot on the ship, becoming a drunken loser with no purpose. In the ultimate “bros before hoes” moment, Kim teams up with Paris to restore the timeline, ensuring that their bromance will continue on the other side of the galaxy.

“Non-Sequitur” is a very solid Star Trek: Voyager story, especially if (like me) you’re a big fan of both Harry Kim and Tom Paris. As it turns out, though, this episode would never have been written if Garrett Wang hadn’t complained to writer and producer Brannon Braga. As the actor confessed to The Official Star Trek: Voyager Magazine, this episode “was the result of me going into the production office and saying….When is Harry gonna get the girl? When is he gonna have the action?” Braga responded, “Don’t worry about it,” and went on to create “Non-Sequitur.”

Too Cool For Pool

Generally speaking, Wang was quite happy with the finished result because it delivered everything he wanted. The altered timeline of “Non-Sequitur” gave Ensign Kim a cute girlfriend, and it let him kick a little butt once he decided to return reality to the way things were before. He also gets to become a full-on action hero, stealing a runabout, escaping Starfleet pursuit, and even beaming out into the vacuum of space, all in a desperate bid to restore the timeline. 

However, this wouldn’t be a Garrett Wang story if there wasn’t one more complaint. According to the actor, he asked Brannon Braga to intersperse all the action and romance “throughout that year,” hoping Kim would become a more dynamic character throughout Season 2. Instead, Braga “put it all in one episode.” Fortunately, “Non-Sequitur” served as a fun showcase for Wang’s abilities as an actor, one that almost (but not quite) made up for what he really wanted: a promotion for his eternally underused, eternally underacting ensign.