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Live stream Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp in the 2024 US Open online for free from anywhere in the world.

TL;DR: Live stream Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp in the 2024 US Open for free on 9Now or TVNZ+. Access these free streaming platforms from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The US Open has started with a bunch of exciting matchups between top players, and that’s not going to stop as we move closer to the finals.

Someone who will have his heart set on making the final will be Carlos Alcaraz. The Spaniard did drop a set in his first-round match, but that won’t worry him. He’ll firmly believe that he can go all the way and win his third Grand Slam title of the year.

If you want to watch Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp in the 2024 US Open for free from anywhere in the world, we have all the information you need.

How to watch Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp in the 2024 US Open for free

Fans can live stream the 2024 US Open for free on these platforms:

Australia — 9Now

New Zealand — TVNZ+

These streaming services are geo-blocked, but anyone from around the world can access these sites with a VPN. These handy tools can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to secure servers in other countries, meaning you can unblock 9Now and TVNZ+ from anywhere in the world.

Access free live streams of the 2024 US Open by following these simple steps:

Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

Open up the app and connect to a server in Australia or New Zealand

Visit 9Now or TVNZ+

Watch Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp in the 2024 US Open for free from anywhere in the world

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but top VPNs do tend to offer incentive deals such as free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. You can leverage these offers to access free live streams of Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp without actually spending anything. This isn’t a long-term solution, but it gives you enough time to watch every US Open match before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the US Open?

ExpressVPN is the best service for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream the US Open for free, for a number of reasons:

Servers in 105 countries including Australia and New Zealand

Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

Strict no-logging policy so your data is always secure

Fast connection speeds

Up to eight simultaneous connections

30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan also includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Alcaraz vs. Van de Zandschulp in the 2024 US Open for free from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

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‘Kinds of Kindness’ is now streaming. Here are the best ways to watch, including Hulu streaming deals.

Following the massive acclaim from Poor Things, director Yorgos Lanthimos and Academy Award-winning actress Emma Stone teamed up again for Kinds of Kindness. The cast is stacked, which is to be expected at this point. Besides Stone, Kinds of Kindness stars other Poor Things alumni Willem Dafoe and Margaret Qualley, plus Jesse Plemons (Killers of the Flower Moon), Hong Chau (Showing Up), Joe Alwyn (Conversations With Friends), Mamoudou Athie (Elemental), and Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo). This time around, however, Lanthimos shifts gears away from his mainstream successes (The Favourite, The Lobster). Kinds of Kindness is presented as three short films whose stories are connected only thematically. Whether the new approach pays off is up for debate.

If you missed it in the theaters, the film is officially set to make its streaming debut on Aug. 30. Here’s what you need to know about how to watch Kinds of Kindness at home.

What is Kinds of Kindness about?

As noted above, Kinds of Kindness is made up of three distinct, but loosely connected absurdist stories. The all-star cast recurs across each story, playing different roles.

The first story, “The Death of R.M.F.,” centers around Robert (Plemons) fighting to take back control of his life from his boss Raymond (Dafoe). Raymond controls every aspect of Robert’s life, so when he says “no” for the first time, it leads to dire consequences.

Part two, “R.M.F. is Flying,” follows Daniel (Plemons), a quiet cop whose wife Liz (Stone) has gone missing. He’s reunited with her under bizarre circumstances, leading him to believe she’s an imposter.

And last, part three, “R.M.F. Eats a Sandwich,” Emily (Stone) and Andrew (Plemons) are investigators for a cult led by Omi (Dafoe) and Aka (Chau). They’re searching the country for a prophesied person with the ability to raise people from the dead, but the search leads Emily back to the life she left behind.

The trailer doesn’t give much away as far as the plot goes, but it does give you a dose of the bizarre vibes and stellar cast:

Is Kinds of Kindness worth watching?

Mashable reviewer Robert Daniels described the film as “prickly, dark” and a return to Lanthimos’ “unconventional roots, his older, spikier films like Kinetta and Dogtooth.” Critics overall weren’t blown away by Kinds of Kindness but didn’t hate it either. On Rotten Tomatoes, it received a 72 percent critic rating (as of the time of writing).

Audiences, on the other hand, were completely torn. At the time of writing, the film only has a 49 percent audience rating out of over 100 reviews. Some called it one of the weirdest movies they’ve ever seen.

“Ultimately, Kinds of Kindness circles the drain as more of a thought experiment,” our reviewer adds.

Of course, everyone is different and reviews are subjective. You’ll have to watch it for yourself to decide whether Lanthimos’ latest work is weird in a good way or just plain weird.

Read our full review of Kinds of Kindness.

Can I watch Kinds of Kindness at home?

If you missed Kinds of Kindness in the theater, the bizarre dark comedy is available to buy from digital-on-demand retailers like Prime Video, YouTube, and Apple TV. It will also be available to rent at a later date. If you’d rather wait and stream the film, keep reading for more information.

Here are some of the platforms where you can purchase the film online:

Prime Video — $18.49 to buy for Prime members (save $1.50)

Apple TV — $19.99 to buy

Fandango at Home (Vudu) — $19.99 to buy

YouTube — $19.99 to rent or $24.99 to buy

Google Play — $19.99 to rent or $24.99 to buy

Is Kinds of Kindness streaming?

Kinds of Kindness will officially make its streaming debut on Hulu starting Aug. 30. The Searchlight Pictures film will also be available to stream via Hulu on Disney+ for Bundle subscribers. If you’re not a Hulu subscriber, you’ll be happy to learn that the streamer offers a generous 30-day free trial to newbies. For everyone else, subscriptions start at $7.99 per month, but we’ve rounded up the best ways you can save on your subscription below.

The best Hulu streaming deals

Best Hulu deal for most people: Hulu annual subscription

While the $7.99 per month streaming cost isn’t terrible, it could be cheaper. By subscribing to a Hulu with ads annual plan, you can save 16% and pay just $6.67 per month instead. Of course, you’ll have to pay the full cost of $79.99 upfront. But it certainly beats the $95.98 you’d pay by dishing out monthly payments. Plus, you might get lucky and save yourself from inevitable price hikes for a year.

Best bundle deal: Get Hulu and Disney+ for 37% off

For more bang for your buck, sign up for the Duo Basic Bundle and get access to the full Disney and Hulu libraries for only $9.99 per month. That’s just $2 more than paying for Hulu on its own — or a savings of 37%. Even better, if you’re a sports fan, you can also throw ESPN+ into the mix and pay $14.99 per month. That’s a savings of 44% on all three services.

Best for students: Hulu Student

Students wanting to stream Kinds of Kindness can sign up for Hulu for the very low price of $1.99 per month. That’s 75% in savings compared to the full cost of Hulu with ads. Just enter your college email address into SheerID to verify your eligibility and score the deal.

Best for T-Mobile users: Hulu (with ads) included for one year for Go5G Next customers

If you’re looking to sign up for streaming services for free, one of the best ways is to switch your mobile plan to T-Mobile’s Go5G Next plan. Customers on this plan not only get Hulu with ads included but also Netflix and Apple TV+. Already on the Go5G Next plan? Be sure to claim your offer over on the T-Mobile promo page. Just enter your T-Mobile number and account details in order to sign up.

Note: After your initial 12-month promotional period, you’ll also have to take action in order to keep your subscription alive.

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Writer/showrunner Mattson Tomlin and director Masashi Kudō reveal how they brought Netflix’s “Terminator Zero” to life. Interview.

In the 40 years since a low-budget action film from a relatively unknown filmmaker and crew blasted onto film screens, the Terminator has proven to be an incredibly resilient, if not relentless property. James Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd’s creation has spawned five sequels, including the iconic Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, as well as numerous books and graphic novels, and countless parodies. With all this, one might wonder if there’s any life left in this franchise. But if we’ve learned anything from this science-fiction series, it’s that you can’t keep a good Terminator down. 

Set in 1997 Tokyo, the new Netflix series Terminator Zero embraces hand-drawn animation to tell the story of a brilliant scientist named Malcolm Lee (voiced by André Holland) and Kokoro (voiced by Rosario Dawson), the advanced AI system he has created to decide the fate of humanity. Nuclear war is merely hours away. Can Malcolm convince Kokoro to stop Skynet? Meanwhile, a soldier (voiced by Sonoya Mizuno) from the post-apocalyptic year of 2022 has traveled back in time to save the scientist’s children — and maybe the world — from a Terminator (voiced by Timothy Olyphant).

The story itself is compelling, as the scientist tries to justify humanity’s existence and avert a nuclear apocalypse. However, it’s the emotionally engaging and visually stunning animation that makes Terminator Zero a must-see. To learn more about how Terminator Zero was built, Mashable reached out to the series’ showrunner/writer Mattson Tomlin and director Masashi Kudō, who shared insights into the design of their Terminator, the real-world history that informed the series’ hardest-hitting imagery, and why it matters this animation is hand-drawn. 

Writer Mattson Tomlin found anime to be freeing.

It just so happened that Mattson Tomlin was just the guy for the job. His feature-length directorial/screenwriting debut, Mother/Android, is a live-action sci-fi thriller about humans fighting to survive after their robotic helpers turn against them. “Ironically, I was walking around town saying, ‘This is not my audition for Terminator,'” he told Mashable in a Zoom interview. “And I got a call on set. ‘Hey, they’re thinking about doing Terminator as a series, and it’s going to be animated. Do you want to meet about that?’ And I said, ‘Absolutely, I do.'” 

Given the talent involved, it’s perhaps no surprise the series is visually stunning and narratively engaging. The real revelation is how wrapped up we can get in the perilous fate of characters who are, after all, drawings.

Netflix had already partnered with the Japanese animation studio I/G Productions for the project, as Tomlin explained. “They had all the pieces set up, and they were looking for someone with a fresh take.” He added, “I said, ‘This is what I want to do [in terms of the story], and this is how I want to do it.’ And everyone just said, ‘Yeah, man, sounds good. You should do that.’ It was a remarkably smooth development process.”

Tomlin found the use of anime further freed up the narrative “because you can do anything.” He explained, “When you’re doing something live-action and you write ‘EXT. Night,’ then suddenly this is a night shoot. One hundred or 1,000 or 3,000 people are going to have to turn their clocks around. And [if it’s a scene with rain], you need a rain machine, and the actor needs a wetsuit. [With anime,] all of that just goes away.” 

The challenges, Tomlin said, came “around performance and emotion. You take a traditional film like Alfonso Cuarón’s Roma, in which you have a lot of static shots — a lot of it is wide [shots], characters at a distance. And then, when you finally have the face, you are just absolutely compelled by that face.” With animation, Tomlin acknowledged, “It’s a little difficult in terms of performance, because you’re not looking at a real human being.” So, when his writing called for big emotions, Tomlin had to ask himself: “How long can I push this scene with this kind of emotion before I break my own spell?”

Director Masashi Kudō brought Tomlin’s words to vivid life.

That’s where director Masashi Kudō came in. Translating the Terminator to anime was a challenge that the animator embraced. Kudō, best known for his work on the anime series Bleach, found Tomlin’s storytelling was less dialogue-heavy than many Japanese anime scripts.  

“[This meant] the human emotions needed to be conveyed through their actions,”  Kudō told Mashable via email, “which is a style I appreciate.” He felt the use of hand-drawn “detailed expressions and performances” could drive the story and engage the viewer. A simple image in the first episode — a young girl sitting alone on a couch, her eyes shimmering with unexpected tears — is so compelling that you’ll keep watching just to find out what happened in her mysterious past.

The design work is perhaps most vivid when Kokoro appears to Lee through colorful avatars. The word “Kokoro” roughly means “heart,” but in Buddhism it connotes our spiritual essence, tying together mind, wisdom, feeling, and aspiration. To reflect these inspirations, Kudō said, “[My team] incorporated the look of goddesses or heavenly maidens from Japanese mythology. My aim was to give the viewers the impression of a higher spiritual being that humans are in awe of.” 

Through the work, Kudō’s team found that “it was a joy to challenge ourselves by doing something visually interesting, such as making the Kokoro room transform into a fantastical space during the dialogue scenes between Kokoro and Malcolm.”

Another challenge was translating the iconic Terminator into an anime character. In Terminator Zero, he is Japanese in appearance and less muscular than his predecessor Arnold Schwarzenegger, but no less frightening. 

Kudō said of his Terminator: “I wanted to create an eerie, unsettling vibe that creeps up on you… For the design, we wanted to go for a reptile-ish image with an expressionless face characterized by its small, widely spaced pupils.” 

The nuclear apocalypse of Terminator Zero comes from Japanese experience.

Many of us will never forget how terrifying the images of nuclear war were in Terminator 2: A playground full of children incinerated, while a nuclear blast rolled over Los Angeles, obliterating buildings and freeways, and leaving us breathless. Terminator Zero‘s portrayal is just as visceral and immediate, and just as gravely serious, despite — or perhaps because of — the limitless nature of animation, as well as the story’s setting.

The idea of nuclear war resonates differently in Japan, the only country ever to experience the devastation of nuclear weapons. As an American, Tomlin was determined to make clear to his audience that “nuclear war is not fantasy. It’s the killer cyborgs at the moment that are kind of a fantasy. But, [nuclear war is] real. And it happened. And it happened there… This is a story that takes place in Japan… [So] there was definitely a desire to take it seriously and not have it feel fun or thoughtless.”

Tomlin entrusted Kudō and his animation team “to imbue [the images of nuclear devastation] with that kind of horror because [nuclear war] is still a very vivid concept in Japan, whereas over here in the States, a little bit of it is kind of like it’s an idea.”

Kudō shared via email, “Most Japanese learn about the horror of nuclear weapons from childhood. The Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum has numerous exhibits and documents vividly documenting the devastation. I believe this shared knowledge within the team helped us create an animated representation with a strong impact.”  

Hand-drawn animation brings an essentially human touch to Terminator Zero. 

As the Terminator franchise focuses on the fear of humans being overtaken by computer tech, the hand-drawn animation in Terminator Zero underscores the central message about the value of human creativity. 

“We definitely wanted it to feel like humans made it,” Tomlin said. “[The animators] are at the top of their game, and I knew they would make it look great. On the writing side, the job was to imbue it with emotion, a real sense of purpose, and stake out why it needs to exist.” 

With AI moving from science fiction to our everyday life, Tomlin’s goal is more relevant than ever before. 

We live in an era in which the threat of AI launching a nuclear war is not so immediate.  Yet, many creators believe that generative AI apps “devalue human art” by producing a cheap imitation without the craft of human hands. Hollywood writers fear they will one day be hired simply to refine AI scripts, for little pay, rather than developing their own ideas. Voice actors fear their performances could be replicated by an AI program, which would then replace their labor and destroy their source of income. Already, AI programs are being trained on visual artist’s copyrighted work “without credit and compensation.” Musicians, as well, have argued that AI’s widespread adoption “threatens the livelihood” of working artists, by replacing their voices and musicianship with a digital simulation. Dazzled by the novelty and power of AI, we now risk casting off and forgetting the wonders that the human imagination can achieve when creators have a chance to develop their own talents and express their emotions.

And so it’s especially thrilling to see how Terminator Zero puts real storytellers and their craft front and center. An emotionally driven narrative along with vivid, hand-drawn animation, enhanced judiciously with digital technology, makes a strong and compelling case for trusting human creators to use their skills and imagination with total freedom. The results can be absolutely stunning, as they are in Terminator Zero, revealing what human imagination and human hands are capable of building.

Terminator Zero premieres on Netflix Aug. 29.

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Shudder has released its teaser for “V/H/S/BEYOND”, a new instalment in the horror anthology featuring shorts from Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegl and Justin Long.

Shudder has released its teaser for “V/H/S/BEYOND”, a new instalment in the horror anthology featuring shorts from Mike Flanagan, Kate Siegl and Justin Long.

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Answers to each clue for the August 29, 2024 edition of NYT’s The Mini crossword puzzle.

The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times‘ revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player’s flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

Here are the clues and answers to NYT’s The Mini for Thursday, August 29, 2024:

Across

Throws, as a fishing line

The answer is casts.

Omega’s opposite

The answer is alpha.

Hybrid fruit similar to an “aprium”

The answer is pluot.

Get the shampoo out

The answer is rinse.

Signed, as a contract

The answer is inked.

Down

Island that lends its name to a style of pants

The answer is capri.

Betting every last poker chip

The answer is allIn.

Moxie

The answer is spunk.

“It’s just one of ___ days”

The answer is those.

Happily full

The answer is sated.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Mini Crossword.

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The NYT Strands hints and answers you need to make the most of your puzzling experience.

If you’re reading this, you’re looking for a little help playing Strands, the New York Times‘ elevated word-search game.

Strands requires the player to perform a twist on the classic word search. Words can be made from linked letters — up, down, left, right, or diagonal, but words can also change direction, resulting in quirky shapes and patterns. Every single letter in the grid will be part of an answer. There’s always a theme linking every solution, along with the “spangram,” a special, word or phrase that sums up that day’s theme, and spans the entire grid horizontally or vertically.

By providing an opaque hint and not providing the word list, Strands creates a brain-teasing game that takes a little longer to play than its other games, like Wordle and Connections.

If you’re feeling stuck or just don’t have 10 or more minutes to figure out today’s puzzle, we’ve got all the NYT Strands hints for today’s puzzle you need to progress at your preferred pace.

NYT Strands hint for today’s theme: Wake up and…

These words run hot and cold.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

The answers all relate to types coffee.

NYT Strands spangram hint: Is it vertical or horizontal?

Today’s NYT Strands spangram is horizontal.

NYT Strands spangram answer today

Today’s spangram is CoffeeOrder.

NYT Strands word list for August 29

Iced

Espresso

Mocha

Latte

CoffeeOrder

Cappucino

Black

Looking for other daily online games? Mashable’s Games page has more hints, and if you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now!

Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Strands.

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Here’s the answer for “Wordle” #1167 on August 29, as well as a few hints, tips, and clues to help you solve it yourself.

Oh hey there! If you’re here, it must be time for Wordle. As always, we’re serving up our daily hints and tips to help you figure out today’s answer.

If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for August 29’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

Where did Wordle come from?

Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once. 

Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.

What’s the best Wordle starting word?

The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.

What happened to the Wordle archive?

The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles used to be available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it. Unfortunately, it has since been taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times.

Is Wordle getting harder?

It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.

Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:

You failed…bad.

Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?

There are no reoccurring letters.

Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…

Today’s Wordle starts with the letter F.

The Wordle answer today is…

Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.

Drumroll please!

The solution to today’s Wordle is…

FLUNK.

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.

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Connections is a New York Times word game that’s all about finding the “common threads between words.” How to solve the puzzle.

Connections is the latest New York Times word game that’s captured the public’s attention. The game is all about finding the “common threads between words.” And just like Wordle, Connections resets after midnight and each new set of words gets trickier and trickier—so we’ve served up some hints and tips to get you over the hurdle.

If you just want to be told today’s puzzle, you can jump to the end of this article for August 29’s Connections solution. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.

What is Connections?

The NYT‘s latest daily word game has become a social media hit. The Times credits associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu with helping to create the new word game and bringing it to the publications’ Games section. Connections can be played on both web browsers and mobile devices and require players to group four words that share something in common.

Tweet may have been deleted

Each puzzle features 16 words and each grouping of words is split into four categories. These sets could comprise of anything from book titles, software, country names, etc. Even though multiple words will seem like they fit together, there’s only one correct answer. If a player gets all four words in a set correct, those words are removed from the board. Guess wrong and it counts as a mistake—players get up to four mistakes until the game ends.

Tweet may have been deleted

Players can also rearrange and shuffle the board to make spotting connections easier. Additionally, each group is color-coded with yellow being the easiest, followed by green, blue, and purple. Like Wordle, you can share the results with your friends on social media.

Here’s a hint for today’s Connections categories

Want a hit about the categories without being told the categories? Then give these a try:

Yellow: Keyed instruments

Green: Considered in a specific way

Blue: College

Purple: Second half of brand names

Here are today’s Connections categories

Need a little extra help? Today’s connections fall into the following categories:

Yellow: Kinds of Pianos

Green: Deem

Blue: U.S. College/Universities

Purple: Second Names in Companies with Ampersands

Looking for Wordle today? Here’s the answer to today’s Wordle.

Ready for the answers? This is your last chance to turn back and solve today’s puzzle before we reveal the solutions.

Drumroll, please!

The solution to today’s Connections #444 is…

What is the answer to Connections today

Kinds of Pianos: ELECTRONIC, GRAND, PLAYER, UPRIGHT

Deem: CONSIDER, COUNT, JUDGE, REGARD

U.S. College/Universities: BROWN, DUKE, HOWARD, SMITH

Second Names in Companies with Ampersands: GAMBLE, JOHNSON, NOBLE, YOUNG

Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be new Connections for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints.

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.

If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Connections.

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The brain teaser requires some abstract thinking, but will leave you feeling super satisfied when you crack it!

The brain teaser requires some abstract thinking, but will leave you feeling super satisfied when you crack it!

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The rise of Sauron takes “The Rings of Power” to new heights in a dark, delicious Season 2. TV review.

If The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power‘s first season was about teasing the return of the Dark Lord Sauron (Charlie Vickers), then its second season is all about unleashing Sauron’s darkness in full. And honestly? Call me Mount Doom, because I had a blast watching it.

Sauron’s resurgence unlocks several opportunities for The Rings of Power to go full throttle with its interpretation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s work. New forms of corruption, new evil creatures, new battles — it’s all on the table, making for a season that is substantially darker than the first (but more wickedly fun).

Middle-earth faces the darkness in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2

The events of The Rings of Power Season 1 have left Middle-earth in disarray. The eruption of Orodruin (aka Mount Doom) has created the wasteland known as Mordor, leaving the inhabitants of the Southlands in a constant battle with orc hordes. The loss of Númenórean soldiers in the battle for the Southlands has radicalized a portion of the great island kingdom, pushing it further towards political chaos. And in the Elven realm of Lindon, the realization that Halbrand was Sauron all along has rendered High King Gil-galad (Benjamin Walker) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) suspicious of Galadriel (Morfydd Clark), who brought Halbrand back to Middle-earth in the first place. Still shaken by her deception at the hands of Sauron, all Galadriel wants to do is destroy him once and for all. But how can she trust her own mind after Sauron managed to worm his way in?

As the Elves debate their next course of action, including whether it’s even safe to use the three Rings of Power forged by smith Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards) at the end of Season 1, darkness only spreads further across Middle-earth — including places where Sauron never held direct influence. Tremors from Mount Doom’s explosion lead to catastrophe in the Dwarven realm of Khazad-dûm, prompting King Durin III (Peter Mullan) to take drastic measures in order to help his people. Elsewhere, in the Eastern lands of Rhûn, the Stranger (Daniel Weyman) and Nori Brandyfoot (Markella Kavenagh) come face to face with a foreboding Dark Wizard (Ciarán Hinds).

Like in Season 1, showrunners Patrick McKay and JD Payne are playing fairly fast and loose with the timeline of Tolkien’s legendarium. Some characters are completely original, while other plots are cobbled together from references to other non-Second Age-era Tolkien texts. Much of the Stranger’s initial encounter with the mysterious Tom Bombadil (Rory Kinnear), for example, plays out like an early portion of The Fellowship of the Ring novel — one that was omitted from Peter Jackson’s film trilogy. Yet despite the sometimes fanfiction-y feel of certain character combinations, fabricated storylines, or the occasional on-the-nose quotation, the actual details, character beats, and themes of The Rings of Power remain unmistakably Tolkien in nature.

The Rings of Power Season 2 proves villains have more fun

But where’s Sauron in the middle of all of this? What’s that tricksy little Maia up to? Now that his cover’s been blown, is he gathering armies and storming across the land? Or is he continuing his Season 1 tactics and taking a more subtle approach?

If you guessed “subtle,” you’re right! Your prize is 20 Rings of Power, to be kept secret (and preferably safe).

Season 2 sees Sauron briefly recycling his Halbrand disguise in order to put some plans into motion involving orc leader Adar (Sam Hazeldine). But it’s not long before he heads to Eregion to hang out with Celebrimbor and get a stylish villain makeover. One long blonde wig and some Elf ears later, and Sauron has transformed into Annatar, the so-called “Lord of Gifts” who’s here to help Celebrimbor forge more Rings of Power. Celebrimbor, having already been deceived once by Sauron at the very end of Season 1, buys the disguise and is in.

The ensuing dynamic between Celebrimbor and Sauron becomes the most intriguing of the season, as we get to watch Sauron ensnare yet another Elf’s mind in his quest for power. Since the Sauron reveal was treated as the big surprise of Season 1, The Rings of Power often kept Sauron-as-Halbrand’s villainy hidden, only showing it in surprise bursts of violence. But now that the truth is out in Season 2, Sauron-as-Annatar’s villainy simmers in every scene, lurking in each of Vickers’ smirks and stares. His performance is deliciously fun to watch in the way that all great villains are, yet the cost of Sauron’s plotting becomes harder to stomach as the season goes on and his victory seems more assured. Whenever he cajoles Celebrimbor to do his bidding, using increasingly manipulative methods, it’s enough to make you want to reach through the screen and shake the Elven smith’s shoulders to snap him out of Sauron’s control.

To Celebrimbor’s credit, he does have his doubts throughout the season, and Edwards delivers a tragic portrait of an Elf losing his grip on reality throughout. It’s here that The Rings of Power most fully embraces the terror of Sauron’s abilities, showcasing some sinister powers that had me leaping off my couch in both fear and excitement of, “wow, we’re actually going there.” In a season full of treats — including The Rings of Power‘s biggest battle yet, new displays of magic, and one very evil sentient pile of ooze — it’s this mental warfare that hits hardest.

The Rings of Power continues to overstretch itself in Season 2

While The Rings of Power soars to new heights in Season 2, it occasionally feels like a collection of standout moments, as opposed to a cohesive narrative. That was also the case in Season 1, when certain storylines would drop away for episodes at a time, only to resurface later.

That problem only grows in Season 2, with the Rhûn and Númenórean plotlines especially feeling more distant from the others by virtue of having fewer overlapping characters. They tend to appear in every other episode, and when we return to them, it feels as if we’re missing connective tissue between where we left them and where they are now. These stories and the characters inhabiting them occupy an important space within the series, and within Tolkien’s legendarium, yet they’re not getting the time they need to develop. It’s proof of The Rings of Power‘s vast scope and ambitions, as well as the small amount of real estate (only eight episodes!) the show gets to explore them. To paraphrase a wise Hobbit, the resulting effect is a series that can sometimes feel stretched thin, like butter scraped over too much bread.

However, the official return of Sauron proves to be exactly what The Rings of Power needs to hold itself together and build momentum. His darkness binds each and every inhabitant of Middle-earth to one another, serving as an effective through-line even as some disparate characters spin off on their own adventures. And while the rise of that evil may seem daunting, light will always shine through in true Tolkien fashion thanks to The Rings of Power‘s bravest (and sometimes most unlikely) heroes. Their trials remain a shining beacon of hope and earnestness not just in Middle-earth, but on TV as a whole.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres Aug. 29 on Prime Video, with a new episode weekly.

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