By Chris Snellgrove
| Published 42 seconds ago

Arguably, the strongest female character in Star Trek: The Next Generation was Dr. Beverly Crusher. Not only was she the Chief Medical Officer, but she had the same rank as Commander Riker, the Enterprise’s swaggering first officer. Given the character’s rank, it would have been perfectly plausible for her to hop in the captain’s chair and take command on a relatively regular basis. However, Dr. Crusher actor Gates McFadden recently revealed why this didn’t happen: Star Trek’s producers kept her out of the captain’s chair to make the arrival of Voyager’s Captain Janeway feel more special. 

This information comes to us courtesy of Fan Expo Portland, where McFadden got very candid about her time on Star Trek: The Next Generation. She explained that the producers “knew they were going to have a female captain fairly early on.” Finishing her thoughts, she noted that “while I was put sometimes in the captain’s chair, since I had the same rank as [Will Riker], they were careful about how much they wanted to do that, because they were saving that for when Voyager happened.”

The Doctor Is In (The Chair)

The most notable example of Dr. Crusher being put in command happened during the two-part episode, “Descent.” To help search for Commander Data, Picard inexplicably sends himself, his bridge crew, and half the ship to canvas an unknown alien planet, leaving Dr. Crusher in command of the Enterprise. Her command skills are really put to the test, though, when she has to figure out how to defeat a new type of Borg vessel, which (not unlike the old vessels) is more powerful than her ship in every way.

Using a combination of scientific know-how and more than a little plot armor, Dr. Crusher takes the Enterprise into the planet’s sun. After that, she uses the ship’s phasers to trigger a solar eruption that completely destroys the Borg vessel. After seeing the good doctor kicking butt and taking names in the captain’s chair, it’s understandable that fans wanted to see more of Crusher in command.

No Future In Command

According to Gates McFadden, this didn’t happen very much because producers were busy developing Voyager. The timing of that show’s development generally matches McFadden’s account; Dr. Crusher led the Enterprise to victory over the Borg at the beginning of The Next Generation’s seventh season, which is exactly when the powers that be began working on Voyager. Because the producers knew the spinoff would have a female captain, they wanted to make Captain Janeway’s appearance special, effectively downplaying Dr. Crusher’s capabilities at commanding a starship.

Why was it so important for Voyager to have a female captain, though? While Deep Space Nine had proven to be a very successful TNG spinoff, Paramount wanted to create yet another Star Trek television show. Deciding that the new show would take place on a starship (hey, you can only do the space station gimmick once!), the producers faced a unique problem: how to make a new Star Trek show with this familiar setting that didn’t just feel like a lazy copy of The Next Generation. 

Star Trek Leans In (At Dr. Crusher’s Expense)

Part of what would ultimately make Voyager unique was its setting: namely, in the largely uncharted Delta Quadrant that the Borg call home. The crew would also be a mixture of Starfleet and Maquis personnel, which would provide (on paper, anyway) the potential for more character conflict than we ever saw on The Next Generation. Mostly, though, what set Voyager apart was that it was led by a female captain, a first for a franchise whose first show infamously claimed that women couldn’t become Starfleet officers.

Sadly, the production of Voyager kept Dr. Crusher sidelined from possible command duties. This is doubly painful because her character was often written very poorly, and she went from drunkenly throwing herself at Picard in Season 1 to boning down with a ghost in Season 7. She was also written out of Season 2 altogether by Maurice Hurley, the worst showrunner The Next Generation ever had.

Gates McFadden ultimately got the last laugh, though: Picard brought her character back for its third and final season, and both Dr. Crusher and her son became pivotal parts of the entire plot. This was arguably an even beefier revival of her vintage character than Kate Mulgrew got by voicing Captain Janeway in Prodigy. Furthermore, Picard even made Crusher an admiral and the new Head of Starfleet Medical, finally giving the dancing doctor her due after more than 35 years of writers holding her back! 

They say there’s someone out there for everyone. That sentiment rings grossly and carnally true in Grace Glowicki’s sophomore feature-length production Dead Lover. Straight from the graveyard and onto your screen, today Collider is excited to exclusively debut the first look at the helmer and scribe’s newest project, which also sees her step into the starring role. Blending horror with comedy and using German expressionist cinema as its north star, the grotesque project follows a kooky beyond-the-grave love story and darkly depicts the lengths we’re all willing to go to in order to find and hold onto that special someone.

Known only as Gravedigger (Glowicki), the very first seconds of the trailer set the tone and mission of the main character behind Dead Lover. Stinking of the rot of the corpses that she buries, Gravedigger longs for someone to take her as their own. Eventually, her wishful thinking ends up paying off when a man known as Lover (Ben Petrie) shows her that there are other folks out there who are just actually into that deadly stink. Quickly becoming enamored with one another, the pair feels they’ve finally found their match, but soon, tragedy strikes and Lover is killed in a boating accident. With only the severed finger of her beau left, Gravedigger goes to grotesque lengths to hold onto the love that she’s unwilling to lose.

Dead Lover is far from the first time that Glowicki and Petrie have worked alongside one another, with the pair first joining forces for Petrie’s Sundance Film Festival entry, Her Friend Adam. In the time since then, the duo have starred in four feature films together, including Glowicki’s SXSW-debuting title, Tito. Most recently, ahead of their work in Glowicki’s new darkly comedic, neon-drenched, and brutal film, the two actors worked alongside folks like Jason Isaacs and Kate Dickie in Madeleine Sims-Fewer and Dusty Mancinelli’s thriller, Honey Bunch.

Who Else Is Behind ‘Dead Lover’?

In addition to starring opposite one another, Petrie and Glowicki worked behind-the-scenes in multiple roles to bring Dead Lover to vibrant life. For starters, they co-penned the script and additionally served as producers alongside Yona Strauss. Filling out the lineup of executive producers are Rhianon Jones, Tristan Scott-Behrends, Matthew Miller, Lexi Tannenholtz and Olivia Niuewland. Allowing Dead Lover to jump off the screen, grab on and not let go is the title’s director of photography, Rhayne Vermette, who previously found success through her debut feature, Ste. Anne, which celebrated its premiere at the Berlinale Film Festival followed by additional screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival and New York Film Festival.

Check out the exclusive first look at the trailer for Dead Lover above.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Release Date

January 24, 2025

Runtime

Advertisement

82 minutes

Director

Grace Glowicki

Advertisement

Writers

Grace Glowicki, Ben Petrie

Advertisement

Producers

Ben Petrie, Yona Strauss, Tristan Scott-Behrends, Rhianon Jones

Advertisement

• 

  Grace Glowicki

  Uncredited

  Advertisement
• 

Advertisement

Advertisement

Roommates, Melinda French Gates is speaking out as some jaw-dropping documents once again put Bill Gates in the spotlight. The latest revelations, connected to Jeffrey Epstein, hint at private and personal allegations that are raising eyebrows across the internet. While details are still emerging, Melinda is opening up about how the new documents have affected her personally and what questions remain unanswered.

RELATED: Aht! Aht! Russell Wilson Clears The Air After Allegedly Being Named In Newly Released Jeffrey Epstein Files

Shocking Emails Allegedly Link Bill Gates To STI Claims

In a new interview on NPR’s ‘Wild Card’ podcast, Melinda Gates opened up about the latest batch of private communications connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. In emails, Epstein claimed that Bill Gates approached him seeking help with personal encounters and medication related to an STI from “sex with Russian girls.” The documents, which include millions of pages of Epstein’s personal emails, allege that Bill Gates sought medication to treat an STI and even tried to secretly give it to Melinda.

One email from Epstein details his frustration over having to delete emails “regarding your std, your request that I provide you antibiotics that you can surreptitiously give to Melinda.” A spokesperson for Bill Gates has dismissed the allegations as “absolutely absurd and completely false,” calling the emails a reflection of Epstein’s attempts to entrap and defame powerful figures.

Melinda Gates Speaks Out, Filled With Pain Over Claims

French Gates explained that reading the released documents filled her with “unbelievable sadness,” reminding her of the struggles she faced during her marriage.

“I’m able to take my own sadness and look at those young girls and say, my God, how did that happen to those girls?” she said.

Melinda also revealed that reading the documents brings back “very, very painful times” from her marriage. She added that while she has moved on personally, she hopes the women affected by Epstein’s crimes see justice.

TSR Comment Section Can’t With This Gates Drama

As soon as the news broke, folks ran straight to TSR’s Instagram comment section and were absolutely shook. Some said they believe the claims because “she said a whole lot even though she said very little,” while others celebrated that Melinda got out of that marriage. Meanwhile, a few commenters joked about running to unplug all their Microsoft products just in case it’s true.

One Instagram user @aivanelli commented, “I cannot fathom that pain 💔”

This Instagram user @lets.get.ready.to.stumble said, “Takes a strong person to turn her own pain into empathy & compassion for younger victims 💗”

And, Instagram user @hope_esq wrote, “She said so much without saying it“

Meanwhile, Instagram user @coach_ag3 added, “We hear you sis! We believe you sis and we understand you sis! She has overly explained this world to outsiders“

While Instagram user @womanownednetwork shared, “😢😢😢😢 I can only imagine what she has endured and how it impacting her emotionally. 🙏🏼”

Lastly, Instagram user @tsyagirldannieb said, “Melinda be thanking God every day you got out of it alive and well!! The things women go thru❤️”

RELATED: Bill Gates Reportedly Gave Melinda Gates Almost $2 Billion In Stocks The Same Day She Filed For Divorce

Greg Olsen
Mourns Brother’s Death
In Heartfelt Tribute

Published
February 5, 2026
8:07 AM PST

The Lincoln Lawyer is back for a fourth season on Netflix, and the legal drama keeps getting better. Based on Michael Connelly‘s books, the Manuel Garcia-Rulfo–led adaptation is among the highest-rated adaptations. The series is not the first time Connelly’s works have been adapted; the Prime Video series Bosch is based on his book series. In the fifth season of The Lincoln Lawyer, based on The Resurrection Walk, the two worlds collide as Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) and Mickey (Garcia-Rulfo) — who are half-brothers — team up to investigate and exonerate a woman wrongly accused of murdering her husband. Unfortunately, fans won’t see this team-up.

Since the rights to Harry Bosch are owned by Prime Video, Netflix cannot use the character in The Lincoln Lawyer. However, this family aspect of the story is important, and Netflix has a workaround. The Lincoln Lawyer‘s showrunner, Ted Humphrey, confirmed to TV Fanatic that while Bosch is not coming to help, they have a replacement lined up. “We are certainly allowed to create new characters, and we can certainly expand the world. If we have an interesting idea for how to expand the world of Mickey’s family, we can look at how to do that,” he said, before adding,

“There are a lot of interesting guest stars and new faces to the show this season. I think the audience will have to look out for who they are.”

Among some of the various guest stars in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 is Cobie Smulders. The actress was cast in an undisclosed role, with the character’s arc expected to extend to Season 5. In the final minutes of the Season 4 finale, she introduces herself to Mickey as his sister Allison after saving him from a targeted mob hit. With The Resurrection Walk chapter of Mickey’s life exploring Mickey’s family and Allison showing the physical prowess displayed by Harry Bosch, Netflix finds a way to seal that gap.

Titus Welliver Is Not Done with ‘Bosch’ Yet

The character might not be appearing in The Lincoln Lawyer Season 5, but fans can catch him in the next season of Ballard. “I’m going to do three episodes [of Ballard] starting in February, so I’ll go and join up with Maggie Q and the whole Ballard group again. So I’m excited for that. It’ll be fun,” Welliver recently said in an interview with FabTV, confirming that he will indeed appear in the spin-off. Fans can also catch him in his post-Bosch era in the fourth season of Dark Winds, premiering on February 15.

The Lincoln Lawyer Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Release Date

May 13, 2022

Network

Advertisement

Netflix

Advertisement

• 

  Manuel Garcia-Rulfo

  Mickey Haller

  Advertisement
• 

Advertisement

Advertisement

Billie Eilish’s brother, Finneas, is coming to her defense amid criticism over her anti-ICE speech at the 2026 Grammys.

“Seeing a lot of very powerful old white men outraged about what my 24 year old sister said during her acceptance speech. We can literally see your names in the Epstein files,” Finneas, 28, wrote via Threads on Wednesday, February 4.

Eilish, 24, was among the stars who made impassioned speeches about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Grammys on Sunday, February 1, as she accepted the Song of the Year prize for “Wildflower.” Finneas, the song’s cowriter and producer, joined her on stage.

After thanking the Recording Academy, Eilish said, “As grateful as I feel, I honestly don’t feel like I need to say anything but that no one is illegal on stolen land.”

Related: Best and Worst of the 2026 Grammys: Justin Bieber, Bad Bunny, Cher and More

The 2026 Grammys proved once again why they call themselves music’s biggest night. After an unforgettable opening performance by Bruno Mars, host Trevor Noah helped kick off the annual awards show by spotlighting all the talented stars inside the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. “The Grammys celebrates the best of all music, and when I […]

“And yeah it’s just really hard to know what to say and what to do right now and I just feel really hopeful in this room and I feel like we need to just keep fighting and speaking up and protesting. Our voices really do matter and people matter,” she added.

The singer appeared to say, “F*** ICE,” however, her words were bleeped out on the CBS broadcast of the event.

Both Eilish and Finneas wore “ICE Out” pins to the music awards ceremony, held at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.

Bad Bunny, 31, also spoke out against ICE during his acceptance speech for Best Música Urbana Album for his LP, Debí Tirar Más Fotos.

Advertisement

Related: What You Didn‘t See on TV at the 2026 Grammys: Selfies, PDA and More

An awards show is always bound to have some fun moments between celebrities behind the scenes, and the 2026 Grammys were no exception. Thank You! You have successfully subscribed. Subscribe to newsletters Please enter a valid email. Subscribe By signing up, I agree to the Terms and Privacy Policy and to receive emails from Us […]

“We’re not savage, we’re not animals, we’re not aliens. We are humans and we are Americans,” Bunny, real name Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, said.

“I want to say to people, I know it’s tough not to hate in these days, and I was thinking we get contaminados — I don’t know how to say that in English,” he added, using the Spanish word for “contaminated.”

“The hate gets more powerful with more hate,” Bunny, who is Puerto Rican, continued. “The only thing that is more powerful than hate is love. So, please, we need to be different. If we fight, we have to do it with love. We don’t hate them. We love our people, we love our family and that’s the way to do it. With love. Don’t forget that, please.”

Fellow Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin praised Bunny’s speech in an open letter published in Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día on Tuesday, February 3.

Related: Bradley Cooper and More Stars You May Not Realize Are Grammy Winners

The Grammy Awards are known as “music’s biggest night,” but the Recording Academy also hands out a ton of trophies in non-musical categories — and you might be surprised to find out who’s won them. One of the major sources of unusual Grammy winners is Best Spoken Word Album, first awarded in 1959. This prize […]

“When you defended the immigrant community, when you pointed out a system that persecutes and separates, you spoke from a place I know very well, that place where fear and hope coexist, where millions live between languages, borders, and deferred dreams,” the “Livin’ la Vida Loca” singer wrote.

Martin also lauded Bunny for winning the night’s top prize, Album of the Year, for Debí Tirar Más Fotos. The record is the first Spanish-language album to receive the award.

Martin, 54, wrote, “This achievement is for a generation to whom you taught that their identity is non-negotiable and that success is not at odds with authenticity. From the heart, from one Boricua to another, with respect and love, I thank you for reminding us that when one of ours succeeds, we all succeed.”

There’s a very specific kind of sci-fi hangover that Silo leaves behind. It’s truly all about wanting to watch something else that keeps putting you in that uncomfortable position of living in a world where everyone (including the government) is lying, and that curiosity is dangerous because you could potentially unearth truths that others have hidden from you through deliberate acts of deception.

If that itch needs to be satisfied while waiting for Silo to return, Fallout does a much better job than it initially appears to; underneath the bright colors and comic angst of Fallout, there is a significant amount of the same thematic material that has been so compellingly present in Silo that will help keep you above water while it returns.

‘Fallout’ Is About Life Inside a Lie

Prime Video’s Fallout is set more than 200 years after a nuclear war wiped out the world as we know it. Some people survived on the surface. Others were sealed into underground Vaults, where generations grew up believing they were humanity’s last, best hope. That belief, of course, is a lie.

The show follows Lucy MacLean (Ella Purnell), a relentlessly optimistic Vault dweller who’s been raised on politeness, rules, and the idea that the Vault system exists to protect people. When her father is kidnapped, Lucy is forced to leave that controlled environment and step into a wasteland that doesn’t care how well she followed protocol.

That basic setup will sound extremely familiar to Silo fans, and that’s no accident. Like Silo, Fallout is obsessed with how societies maintain control long after the apocalypse is over, and how much information you have to erase to keep people compliant.

Image via Prime Video

On a tonal level, Silo and Fallout couldn’t look more different. Silo is muted, grim, and deliberately slow while Fallout is colorful, chaotic, and frequently funny, but structurally, they’re pretty much cousins. Both shows begin inside sealed underground worlds where residents are taught a carefully edited version of history. In Silo, the outside is framed as deadly, and in Fallout, Vault dwellers are told they represent civilization at its purest. In both cases, leaving home means discovering that the truth is far more complicated — and far more damning — than anyone in power was willing to admit.

Lucy’s arc mirrors Juliette Nichols’ (Rebecca Ferguson) in ways that feel intentional without being derivative. Neither character starts out as a revolutionary. Instead, they’re rule-followers, problem-solvers, and people who believe, at least at first, that systems exist for a reason. Watching that faith erode piece by piece is the engine that drives both shows.

Related

‘Fallout’ Season 2’s Most Disturbing Moment Reveals What the Show Is Really About

The most unsettling idea in the series finally takes center stage.

The Big Difference Between ‘Silo’ and ‘Fallout’ Is Tone, Not Substance

Image via Prime Video

The easiest mistake to make with Fallout is assuming it’s “lighter” sci-fi. It isn’t; it’s just messier about how it presents its ideas. Where Silo buries its commentary under silence and bureaucracy, Fallout dresses its critique up in retro-futurism and violence. Corporate greed, manufactured morality, and institutional rot are all front and center — just filtered through irradiated deserts and absurd side characters.

Walton Goggins’ Cooper Howard, a former actor turned ghoul bounty hunter, embodies that contrast perfectly. He’s funny in a way that hurts, cynical without being hollow, and deeply tied to the world before it ended. Through him, Fallout makes it painfully clear that the apocalypse didn’t create these power structures — it just froze them in place.

With two seasons available, Fallout is a genuinely satisfying binge. It layers its mysteries gradually, builds out its world with confidence, and doesn’t rush emotional payoffs just to hit spectacle beats. Like Silo, it’s a show that understands the appeal of controlled information — who has it, who doesn’t, and what happens when the wrong person starts asking the right questions. The difference is that Fallout eventually pushes beyond its bunkers, expanding its scope in ways Silo deliberately avoids, which makes it feel less like a pressure valve: familiar enough to scratch the itch, different enough not to feel redundant.

If Silo pulled you in with its atmosphere, its conspiracies, and its slow dismantling of authority, Fallout is an easy recommendation. It’s proof that post-apocalyptic sci-fi doesn’t have to look the same to ask the same uncomfortable questions — and that stepping outside the bunker is still the most dangerous thing a character can do.

By Jennifer Asencio
| Published 1 minute ago

When I reviewed the first two episodes of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin, I said it wasn’t a prestige show. I was wrong.

The Pendragon Cycle Gives Merlin A Magical Presence

Episode 3 of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin picks up an unspecified number of years after the end of episode 2. The baby Merlin is now a golden-eyed adult, played by Tom Sharp, who has been riding with the “Sons of Constance,” Aurellius and Uther, in their quest to unite the fragmented England into a single kingdom under a high king. The last high king didn’t fare so well, and the three men are hoping to install Aurellius in his place. They go to Ynis Avallach for a well-deserved rest before Merlin and Uther take off to go rally more aid.

Aid is needed because the Saxons have been threatening and raiding along the coast. Ynis Avallach is weakened and unable to provide military support, but has been harboring refugees among the Britons. Everyone, from Avallach to the Maridunum and Belgae monarchies to Morgain, who is married and living on the Isle of Fear, is afraid of the Saxon threat and is protecting themselves by hoarding resources or isolating themselves.

Politics are tense, and negotiations are happening just as often at the end of a sword as by diplomacy. War is about to erupt, and divided, the regional kings of England are not strong enough to defend themselves. In the midst of all this is an aloof Merlin, initiated in the ways of his people but sure that something is missing, and having visions of a young woman. He is also certain of another magical presence observing his every move.

The Rise Of Merlin Delivers Beautiful People And Gorgeous Vistas

This third installment of The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is a vast improvement over the other two. The effects are awesome, treating us to ornate castles and frightening visions; gone are the cheesy CGI keeps of the first two episodes. They are embedded in sweeping shots of gorgeous vistas of seaside cliffs, lush valleys, and primeval forests. The Britons live in very well-designed sets built to resemble period wooden keeps. Visually, this episode knocks it out of the park.

Awesome natural views are not the only things that make the episode beautiful. Ynis Avallach is awash in white and green, with Charis managing the crisis there in her usual stunning, ethereal white. She takes on even more of the unearthly air that defined her in the first episodes, even as her character is more grounded in the events around her. Morgain, in contrast, is dressed in rich greens and feathery blacks, an earthy combination that honors her femininity as much as it remains modest.

The men, more active in the story, are clad in the blacks and browns of travelers rather than the rich robes of those they’ve left behind. This gives them a chance to go hunting and camping, get dirty, and for Myles Clohessy as Uther to show off his shirtless physique, muscular but not overbuilt. Even with the significant influence of the two Atlantean ladies involved in events, this episode is all about the men and their quest.

Incredible Performances Carry This New King Arthur Show

There’s even a great buddy comedy between Uther and Merlin’s steward, Penelaus, which is a great cue to talk about the acting. One of my only three complaints about the episode and the performances of the numerous actors who appeared was that, once or twice, someone let out an anguished cry or a shout that was out of place and overemphatic.

Otherwise, the acting is incredible: Merlin’s smoldering intensity, Uther’s fiery temper, the hesitant nervousness of King Taldric, the grim determination of Rose Reid’s Charis, and Arellius’s idealism are all to be commended. An intense negotiation between some of the men builds significant tension because it is so well-performed (except for a single Anakin Skywalker “Noooooooo!”).

In the first two episodes, my favorite performer was Emree Franklin for her layered, nuanced portrayal of Morgain. In this episode, she doesn’t disappoint, emanating strong feminine power and demonstrating that she has her husband and sons wrapped around her finger without breaking a sweat. Rose Reid represents her foil, using her dignified strength to portray Charis as she handles things her own way.

But the show is stolen by Alex Laurence-Phillips as Pelleas. This actor conveys more with his face in scenes with no lines than a thousand lines of dialogue. His reactions to what is happening around him are priceless, and his banter with Uther is comic relief for what could have been a very heavy episode.

A Tale Of Two Amazing Scenes

While the majority of The Rise of Merlin’s third episode is focused on diplomatic negotiations between leaders who are proud, angry, and desperate, the political maneuvering is engrossing. The comic relief between verbal battles is essential to the flow of the episode, otherwise you’d need a Xanax by the end.

However, there are two scenes in particular that I need to single out for their excellent screenwriting and the framing by which they were presented.

The first is a presentation of two opposing points of view in two different conversations. The perspective of this intertwined scene shifts between the two discussions, comparing and contrasting how they relate to one another and to the show’s complicated politics. The technique of aligning these conversations side by side rather than as separate scenes is riveting and relevant because it shows how these perspectives bypass and misunderstand one another.

The second tandem scene that deserves recognition is a feast of production value, featuring two battles that unfold concurrently. With tight frames, we are brought closely into the action in the same way as some of the hardest-hitting battles in Game of Thrones (I was reminded specifically of the “Battle of the Bastards”). Once again, our perspective is switched from one fight to the other, brilliantly centered in all the action. The color contrast between the two skirmishes makes them easy to follow, even in all the chaos. The tandem presentation connects all the episode’s events into a beautiful, unified whole.

Room For Improvement In The Pendragon Cycle

For all the praise I have lavished upon this episode, there were some glaring flaws. I already mentioned the occasional overacting. This was further amplified by the inclusion of so many characters that I lost track of some of their names (e.g. I think his name was King Taldric?). All the important characters are easily identifiable, but ancillary characters are easy to get lost in, and conversations drop names of people that I’m not sure turned up on-screen.

Another major issue is that Merlin’s eyes look fake. The character is said to have golden eyes, similar to those of the bird he was named for. The problem is that the contact lenses the actor is wearing look more like bad CGI in many scenes. I’m not sure they weren’t. Since Merlin is the main character of the show, it is very distracting when his eyes are highlighted in a way that makes them stand out more than they normally do.

How Christian Is This Christian King Arthur Show?

One other thing to note is that while magic is discussed and used in the episode, Christianity is not as prominently emphasized. This is somewhat of a break from the first two episodes, which were very preachy.

Magic and the pagan gods have not been disrespected in this series so far, but have been shown as primal and demanding forces of nature, contrasted with a giving and benevolent Christian god. However, little of that is featured in this episode, and Merlin is still wearing his druidic spiral on his cheek. Future episodes will pick that thread back up, but so far, I have been impressed with how religion has been handled by a show that was expected to be very heavy-handed.

The Pendragon Cycle Levels Up In Episode Three

Overall, Jeremy Boreing has done a wonderful job adapting this story, and the third episode shows that The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is learning and improving. As it goes along, production values are becoming sharper and the majority of its effects are getting better. If the next four episodes are as good as this one was, The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin will absolutely earn its place among prestige epics.

THE PENDRAGON CYCLE EPISODE 3 REVIEW SCORE

The Pendragon Cycle: Rise of the Merlin is streaming on Daily Wire+. Episodes drop on Thursdays.