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The final season of Netflix’s “The Umbrella Academy” is upon us and it’s a wild farewell. TV review.

Over the last three wild seasons of The Umbrella Academy, we’ve followed the Hargreeves family through a metric fucktonne of capers. In case you forgot, these superpowered, time-travelling siblings have destroyed (and saved) the world multiple times. They’ve infrequently murdered and resurrected each other, started a sex cult, destroyed the moon, grieved their robot mother and chimpanzee caretaker, had a “Footloose” dance battle, fallen in love during the Vietnam War, joined the Civil Rights Movement in ’60s Dallas, and were somehow involved in the JFK assassination. 

Plus, they’ve grown closer as a family. Maybe. Not really. Wait, absolutely not.

Nevertheless, it’s brutal to say goodbye to the Hargreeves, having become such wonderfully flawed characters in our TV overloaded lives, thanks to the Netflix adaptation of Gerard Way’s comic series. Watching Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), Ben (Justin H. Min), Viktor (Elliot Page), and honorary Hargreeves member Lila (Ritu Arya) bicker like children as they attempt to stop the world from combusting has been an unshakeable, dark delight for five years. 

And with the fourth and final season, The Umbrella Academy takes just six episodes for a glorious and surreal victory lap. It’s a fond and daring farewell to a truly undefinable show, with superb performances from the core cast with incredibly welcome newcomers, festive fever dream action sequences that must have been hard to pitch, and a good hard narrative look at some of the series biggest unsolved mysteries — though it leaves most behind. It’s messed-up family reunion time, one last time.

What is The Umbrella Academy Season 4 about?

As far as farewells go, this is one of the most unhinged and “just go with it” goodbyes you’ll see on TV this year. And thanks to Season 3, the bar is hilariously high. Last time around, the Hargreeves siblings shoved the Kugelblitz into a sentient cube called Christopher, had a wedding at the end of the world, and fought samurai made of cockroaches in the Hotel Oblivion before their alien dad Sir Reginald (Colm Feore) created a new timeline and caused everyone to lose their powers.

The series could have ended there, but Season 4 gives fans a final, six-episode hurrah. When we catch up with the Umbrella Academy this time, however, the Academy itself doesn’t exist. Here, the powerless Hargreeves are struggling with human mediocrity (despite the set design team’s insistence on dazzling neon hues in every scene). Reunited at a six-year-old’s birthday party, things are awkward and boring and normal. Ka-blam! There’s a kidnapping, a crucial missing person, a timeline cult, and a revelation that Ben could be a ticking time bomb for the end of the world. FAMILY ROAD TRIP!

In this new timeline, there’s a growing threat in the form of extremist conspiracy theorist organization The Keepers. The group was established by the phenomenally cast Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly as lovers, disgraced community college professors, and Umbrellaphiles Gene and Jean Thibedeau (yes they make “who is the dominant Gene/Jean” jokes). There’s a growing suspicion of the existence of multiple timelines among the group, and Gene and Jean seem to have a plan to expose it. Here, and I have to say it, The Umbrella Academy both makes conspiracy theorists the villains and makes them right?! Sure!

At the heart of the final season is Ben, whose volatility toward his siblings only grows stronger after he lost all his Sparrow siblings last season. But he’s the key to a global disaster, and his siblings need to figure out what the mysterious “Jennifer incident” means for their brother before everything goes to shit. And while all that is happening, the Hargreeves have some final confrontations and mysteries to handle, with plenty of individual moments for our beloved core siblings — including a truly unexpected enemies to lovers storyline.

A final airing of Hargrievances

One of the best elements of The Umbrella Academy has always been throwing extremely different personalities together as family. The talented cast chews through the punchy script, selling it full deadpan with either nihilism or hilarious earnestness; Raver-Lampman genuinely saying “I’m sorry you left Canada for this,” in a moment of peril is perfection.

Probably the standout of the season is Hopper as leading himbo Luther, who bulldozes awkwardness with unhinged optimism. Watching Hopper losing his shit over antique sconces and stress eating cupcakes is a delight, and he’s wonderfully teamed up with a hilarious Castañeda this season, moving Luther and Diego from sibling rivals to buddy cops.

But honorary Hargreeve sibling Lila really gets the most impressive arc, with Arya delivering the most nuanced performance of the season, pushing our favourite assassin to moments of relatable reflection and heartbreaking vulnerability. And Gallagher finds a softness to Five we haven’t seen before, hidden among all that teen bravado.

Meanwhile, Raver-Lampman’s Alison gets the redemption she deserves after they did that to her character last round — Alison’s “ballbuster” scene is worthy of The Boys. Not the hedonistic, immortal Klaus of seasons gone, Sheehan navigates a sober, paranoid Klaus this season, playing between extreme vulnerability and the character’s signature theatricality. 

Page is characteristically flawless as Viktor, whose daddy issues find their moment in the blazing sun, while Min gets to find Ben’s true heart (he has one!) amid a True Romance-style on-the-run adventure. Plus, we get a welcome new addition to the cast with Victoria Sawal, bringing a brilliant energy to a character integral to the fate of the Hargreeves but who we can’t talk about without spoiling anything. 

So we’ll move on to the biggest casting treat of all: Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally are the ultimate dastardly duo

Whomever managed to cast real-life loves Offerman and Mullally in this season of The Umbrella Academy deserves a raise. A dastardly duo of Fargo-like villains cruising around in their ’80s Chrysler LeBaron Town and Country, wearing matching aviator spectacles, alpaca wool coats, and fanny packs in every scene, and stealing the whole damn season with a Cher-based dance sequence, Gene and Jean are the true highlight of Season 4. 

They’re conspiracy theorists kicked out of academia for their claims, and they have a grudge to bear, setting up an apocalypse cult HQ in the middle of an American fast food chain restaurant. Somehow, Mullally and Offerman make you want to hang out with these weirdos and join their cause. Watching Jean and Gene flirt will forever be my twisted happy place, as Offerman and Mullally lend a physical comedy and earnest, cheeky delivery that plays to both of their strengths.

The damned dream team are offset by another delightful addition to the cast, David Cross, who channels his signature comedy style to earnest dry cleaner Sy Grossman. And they’re all perfectly lit by a strange narrative set element: the whole thing’s set at Christmas.

Season 4 is a festive fever dream

The final season of The Umbrella Academy seems bedecked with yuletide cheer, from a festive small town with a secret to the tinselled halls of the CIA. Visually, The Umbrella Academy has always been one of the best shows on TV, with bizarro action sequences aplenty lit with every neon gel around, but this season it’s completely decorated with Christmas accoutrements. Season 4, for some reason, is set during the holidays, meaning every scene is lit with twinkly lights and whimsy even when the bullets and blood are flying. Somehow, it makes the whole season feel like a six-episode Christmas special we deserve, a festive fever dream to unite and farewell the Hargreeves in the weirdest way possible. 

And of course, this is The Umbrella Academy, so you know there’s going to be plenty of needle drops during fight scenes — including a slew of Christmas carols and the ultimate song to end the series on. The season’s insistence on using the pretty outdated “Baby Shark” song feels overdone, mind you, but I’ll forgive them seeing as it scores a whole scene of projectile vomiting.

It’s scenes like this disgusting, glorious, slow-motion moment that make me realise how much I’ll miss The Umbrella Academy. After four seasons of genuinely unpredictable twists and turns with a magnetic cast, sublime set and costume design, and enough needle drops to start out our own Amoeba Music, The Umbrella Academy has felt like strange TV family to fans like myself. Season 4, a brief but bonkers last ride, makes for a magnificent send-off. 

Finally, with no more episodes of The Umbrella Academy ahead, I think we’re alone now. 

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 is streaming on Netflix from Aug. 8.

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Answers to each clue for the August 8, 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 8, 2024:

Across

Q-tip, for instance

The answer is swab.

Bracelet dangler

The answer is charm.

Pricey watchmaker with a crown logo

The answer is Rolex.

Rubs the wrong way

The answer is irks.

Spanish for “kiss”

The answer is beso.

Down

Place to find seashells

The answer is shore.

“Enjoys long ___ on the beach” (classic phrase in a personal ad)

The answer is walks.

Retort to “Am not!”

The answer is retort.

Stunt rider’s sport, for short

The answer is BMX.

Bed with a blankie

The answer is crib.

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

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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.

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: Splashy event

The hint for the theme is that each of these words are great in the summertime.

Today’s NYT Strands theme plainly explained

The answers are related to pool parties.

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 PoolParty.

NYT Strands word list for August 8

Noodles

Floats

PoolParty

Drinks

Towels

Music

Sunscreen

Looking for other daily online games? Find one you might like – or hints for another game you’re already playing – on Mashable’s Games page.

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Live stream France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 online for free from anywhere in the world.

TL;DR: Live stream France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 for free on BBC iPlayer. Access this free streaming platform from anywhere in the world with ExpressVPN.

The Paris 2024 football final is finally here and it’s been an incredible few matches. The semi-finals saw both Egypt and Morocco lose out on a place in the final, as France and Spain both compete for the chance of a gold medal.

Spain will be looking to continue their winning streak after taking home the European Championship title earlier this summer. But they’ll face tough competition from host nation France, after they beat competitors Egypt in the semi-finals in an incredible 3-1 defeat. It’s really not going to be a game you want to miss.

If you want to watch the final of the football and France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 for free from anywhere in the world, keep reading because we have all the information you need.

When is France vs. Spain at Paris 2024?

France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 takes place at 12 p.m. ET on Aug. 9.

How to watch France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 for free

You can live stream France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 for free on BBC iPlayer.

BBC iPlayer is a streaming platform that is geo-restricted to the UK, but anyone can access this free streaming service with a VPN. VPNs are tools that hide your real IP address and connect you to a secure server in the UK, meaning you can unblock free streaming sites like BBC iPlayer from anywhere in the world.

Unblock BBC iPlayer for free by following this simple process:

Sign up for 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 the UK

Visit BBC iPlayer

Live stream France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 from anywhere in the world

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By making the most of these offers, you can unblock BBC iPlayer without committing with your cash. This is obviously not a long-term solution, but it gives you time to stream France vs. Spain (plus the bronze medal match) before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer?

ExpressVPN is the best service for streaming live sport on BBC iPlayer, for a number of reasons:

Servers in 105 countries including the UK

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

Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

Fast connection speeds free from throttling

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 France vs. Spain at Paris 2024 for free with ExpressVPN.

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Here’s the answer for “Wordle” #1146 on August 8, 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 8’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.

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

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:

A flavorful liquid.

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 S.

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…

SAUCY.

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

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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 8’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: Pool dives

Green: Speak again

Blue: The Ace

Purple: Types of radios

Here are today’s Connections categories

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

Yellow: Splashy Ways to Enter a Pool

Green: Reiterate

Blue: Mainstay

Purple: ___Radio

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 #424 is…

What is the answer to Connections today

Splashy Ways to Enter a Pool: BACKFLIP, BELLYFLOP, CANNONBALL, JACKKNIFE

Reiterate: ECHO, PAROT, QUOTE, REPEAT

Mainstay: ANCHOR, BACKBONE, CORNERSTONE, PILLAR

___Radio: HAM, PIRATE, SATELLITE, TALK

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.

Is this not the Connections game you were looking for? Here are the hints and answers to yesterday’s Connections.

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

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The “House of the Dragon” Season 2 finale teased big thing ahead. Here’s what you can expect in Season 3, based on the source material.

If House of the Dragon‘s Season 2 finale left you wondering, “Wait, what comes next?” you’re in the right place.

The finale, titled “The Queen Who Ever Was,” set a lot of pivotal storylines in motion without much payoff, leading to a fairly frustrating outcome (that definitely could have benefitted from two more episodes). Luckily, House of the Dragon‘s source material, George R.R. Martin’s Fire & Blood, gives us a pretty good roadmap for what we can expect next.

Read on to learn more about what Season 3 might have in store, but be forewarned: Spoilers are in full effect here, so get ready to learn about some pretty big deaths. It’s also worth noting that House of the Dragon has made some considerable deviations from Fire & Blood, which is in itself a fictional historical account full of ambiguities, so what plays out on the page might play out differently on-screen. With that in mind, let’s get into what we might see in Season 3.

Yes, we’ll get the Battle of the Gullet soon.

For all of Season 2, Corlys Velaryon’s (Steve Toussaint) naval blockade of the Gullet — a stretch of sea near Dragonstone and Driftmark — has held strong, creating massive problems for King’s Landing. But by the end of the season, Aemond Targaryen (Ewan Mitchell) has a plan to break it. He sends Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) as an emissary to the Triarchy, where he secures the help of their navy and admiral Sharako Lohar (Abigail Thorn). In Season 2’s finale minutes, we see them riding towards the Gullet — just as Corlys and Alyn of Hull (Abubakar Salim) ride out to join the blockade.

We’ll have to wait until next season to witness the clash between the two forces, but when they do meet, you can bet it will be a spectacle to behold. In Fire & Blood, many dragonriders join the fight, including Jacaerys Velaryon (Harry Collett) on Vermax, Addam of Hull (Clinton Liberty) on Seasmoke, Hugh Hammer (Kieran Bew) on Vermithor, and Ulf the White (Tom Bennett) on Silverwing. The dragonseed Nettles and her dragon Sheepstealer are also present, but House of the Dragon appears to have cut her entirely and merged her story with Rhaena’s (Phoebe Campbell) journey in the Vale.

In what is bound to be Season 3’s tragic first loss, Jace dies in battle. Meanwhile, his younger brothers Aegon and Viserys, sailing from the Vale to Pentos on the ship the Gay Abandon, are captured by the Triarchy. Aegon manages to escape on his fledgling dragon Stormcloud, but Viserys finds himself in Lohar’s grasp. Basically, if you’re one of Rhaenyra Targaryen’s (Emma D’Arcy) sons, you should stay away from the Gullet.

Many other battles will soon follow.

“The Queen Who Ever Was” doesn’t just end with a promise of naval action, but with a promise of land action too. By now, Aemond and Criston Cole’s (Fabien Frankel) forces, along with those of House Lannister and House Hightower, are moving towards the Riverlands, where Daemon has consolidated the Riverlords’ armies. Meanwhile, the Winter Wolves, introduced a tad earlier here than in the book, are on their way south to support Rhaenyra.

When these armies inevitably meet up, there will be significant bloodshed. At the Battle of the Honeywine, Prince Daeron and his dragon Tessarion will prove their mettle in the war, while the Battle at the Red Fork and the Fishfeed result in costly losses for the Lannisters and Team Green as a whole.

House of the Dragon Season 2 did a great job of choosing which battles we got to see play out on-screen, prioritizing Rook’s Rest and effectively cutting around the Battle of the Burning Mill and the Taking of Stone Hedge. (The only exception to this is teasing the Gullet, then not following through.) So while we probably won’t be seeing all these battles play out in their entirety, expect to hear about them and how important they are.

King’s Landing and Harrenhal switch hands.

Aemond finally takes Harrenhal during the chaos of the many battles following the Gullet — but he does so without facing Daemon.

That’s because as soon as Aemond leaves King’s Landing, Daemon rejoins Rhaenyra and her dragonriders for an assault on the city. Without Vhagar’s protection, and in the face of an onslaught of dragons and the Velaryon fleet, King’s Landing falls in less than a day. It’s not long before Alicent surrenders it, after which she’s imprisoned.

Based on Alicent’s proposal in the Season 2 finale, we already know that she plans to give King’s Landing over to Rhaenyra. But part of that proposal was giving up Aegon Targaryen’s (Tom Glynn-Carney) life as well. And there’s one small problem with that: Larys Strong (Matthew Needham) has smuggled Aegon out of King’s Landing. Aegon’s absence surely won’t sit well with Rhaenyra. She might even think Alicent was responsible! And if that’s the case, it’s straight to jail for Alicent.

Aemond doesn’t take too kindly to losing King’s Landing, so he goes on a one-man barbecuing tour around the Riverlands. He also shakes things up at Harrenhal, killing beloved, fashion-forward castellan Ser Simon Strong (Sir Simon Russell Beale) and kicking off a relationship with witch (and possible barn owl) Alys Rivers (Gayle Rankin). Will her signature ghost vision therapy work on him, too?

The dragonseeds betray Rhaenyra at Tumbleton.

“The Queen Who Ever Was” teased some tension between Rhaenyra and new dragonrider Ulf, whose lack of decorum — like putting his feet up on the Painted Table! — knows no bounds. He’s also made some big demands of her, including basically ordering her to make him a knight in front of everyone. But given what happens in Fire & Blood, that’s just the beginning.

The book sees Ulf grow too big for his britches. His desire for more power leads to him betraying Rhaenyra at the Battle of Tumbleton, turning Silverwing against his Queen’s own forces. Joining him in this endeavor is Hugh, whose show counterpart seems far more deferential to Rhaenyra at this moment. Of course, a lot could change between now and Tumbleton, but one thing is certain: The betrayal at Tumbleton will push Rhaenyra even further down the warpath.

In Fire & Blood, Rhaenyra questions the loyalty of remaining dragonseeds Nettles (still presumably cut from the show and replaced with Rhaena) and Addam. Addam narrowly escapes questioning and imprisonment and sets out to prove his loyalty.

Aemond and Daemon face off.

Remember when Alys told Daemon he would die near Harrenhal? And when Helaena Targaryen (Phia Saban) prophesied that Aemond would die and be “swallowed up in the Gods Eye”? We’ll likely see exactly what both of those eerie statements mean in House of the Dragon Season 3.

Aemond will finally get the Daemon fight he always wanted when his uncle returns to Harrenhal. The two take to the skies on Vhagar and Caraxes and have a spectacular dragon dogfight above the Gods Eye lake. In the end, though, there are no victors: Both Daemon and Aemond perish in the battle, along with their respective dragons. And as if the loss of Caraxes and Vhagar wasn’t enough, more dragon death is on the menu for the rest of House of the Dragon…

The King’s Landing smallfolk storm the Dragonpit.

The smallfolk of King’s Landing have grown restless during Rhaenyra’s tumultuous reign. Their discontent reaches a fever pitch when Helaena dies by suicide. Rumors spread that she was actually murdered, sparking a massive riot throughout the city. During this time, a one-handed prophet named the Shepherd — who we may have already met in the show — leads a mob to the Dragonpit, where the rioters decide, “You know what? We can take on a bunch of dragons and live!”

Obviously, hundreds of smallfolk get toasted in this endeavor. But since there are so many of them, it’s not long before four of the chained-up dragons in the Dragonpit — including Helaena’s Dreamfyre and Joffrey Velaryon’s (Oscar Eskinazi) Tyraxes — are dead as well.

Over in the Red Keep, Joffrey decides to steal his mother’s dragon so he can get up to the Dragonpit and put an end to this madness. Syrax does not take kindly to having a new, unbonded rider and bucks him off mid-flight, down to his death. She then heads over to the Dragonpit to help her scaly brethren, only to fall victim to the smallfolk as well. Without her dragon, and grieving the last of her sons with Harwin Strong (Ryan Corr), Rhaenyra flees King’s Landing.

And where’s Aegon been this whole time?

Meanwhile, Aegon’s been hiding out in the most unexpected of places. House of the Dragon‘s version of Larys proposed that the two hide out in Braavos for the time being. However, Fire & Blood sees Aegon heading to Team Black stronghold Dragonstone, where he stages a coup and takes over. By the time an overthrown Rhaenyra returns from King’s Landing, she’s in for a rude surprise — and a violent family reunion. But isn’t that par for the course for the Targaryens?

House of the Dragon Season 2 is now streaming on Max.

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“House of the Dragon” Season 2 ended with a whole load of cliffhangers. Here are our predictions for what will happen in Season 3.

House of the Dragon Season 2 is over, and the long wait for Season 3 — which will reportedly be going into production early next year — begins.

But with so many cliffhangers at the end of that abrupt finale, where do we go from here? What can we expect to see next?

From some more dragon claiming to a big naval battle, here are our predictions for House of the Dragon Season 3.

1. Rhaena will claim her dragon.

After spending the entirety of the Season 2 finale hiking cross-country, Rhaena (Phoebe Campbell) finally found the wild dragon that’s been snacking on sheep in the the Vale. We didn’t see what happened next, but it’s pretty obvious where this one will go in Season 3, isn’t it? Poor old Rhaena has put the work in to find this dragon, so we’re guessing next season will open with yet another scaly recruit for Team Black.

2. We’ll finally get the Battle of the Gullet.

This one isn’t really a prediction, because showrunner Ryan Condal himself has confirmed it. Talking about the show in a post-finale press conference, Condal confirmed that the Battle of the Gullet will take place in Season 3. “That event will happen very shortly in terms of the storytelling of House of the Dragon,” Condal said, implying it’ll be one of the earlier episodes next season.

This battle revolves around the stretch of water that’s been blockaded by Team Black throughout Season 2, leading to the shortage of food in King’s Landing. The Gullet essentially covers the opening of Blackwater Bay, and it’s where Lord Corlys (Steve Toussaint) and his son Alyn (Abubaker Salim) are rowing to in the final montage. They’ll be coming up against Tyland Lannister (Jefferson Hall) and his new Triarchy friends when they get there.

3. We’ll get to meet Alicent’s third son, Daeron.

As we learned back in episode 6, Alicent’s (Olivia Cooke’s) third son Daeron is everything his brothers aren’t (not a complete psychopath, in other words). And now his dragon has taken to wing, too! The Hightowers of Oldtown haven’t featured much in the show so far — excepting Alicent’s brother Gwayne (Freddie Fox) — but it seems likely that Daeron will be a new character introduced in the show’s third season. Who else is going to fight back those pesky Beesburys and rescue poor old Otto Hightower (Rhys Ifans) from his jail cell? Not Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), because he’s allegedly heading off to Harrenhal. Which brings us to our next point…

4. There’s be some sort of Riverlands battle — but maybe not the big one.

There’s got to be some kind of battle in the Riverlands, hasn’t there? At this point it seems inevitable. Aemond is planning to head there on his dragon Vhagar to join Criston Cole (Fabien Frankel), Daemon (Matt Smith) has amassed an army at Harrenhal, and other various factions are marching off to join them both as we speak.

You could be forgiven for thinking that this will be the clash between Daemon and Aemond the show is building towards — the God’s Eye moment prophesised by Helaena (Phia Saban) and possibly glimpsed in Daemon’s weirwood tree vision — but we’re not so sure about that. In the previously mentioned press conference, Condal described the Battle of the Gullet as “maybe the second-most-anticipated” action event in Fire and Blood. If we’re going to assume God’s Eye is the first, then surely we won’t get both of these battles in Season 3? It seems more likely that some kind of smaller skirmish will take place in the Riverlands in Season 3, but the God’s Eye battle won’t happen until Season 4.

5. Rhaenyra and Alicent’s plan will go wrong.

At the end of Season 2, Alicent comes to Rhaenyra with a shocking proposal: Once Aemond leaves for Harrenhal, she’ll let Rhaenyra enter King’s Landing to claim the Iron Throne — and even let her kill her eldest son, Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Crney), as a means of ending the war. Obviously it’s not going to be that simple though, is it? For one, Aegon is no longer in King’s Landing — he’s en route to Essos with Larys (Matthew Needham), who had the foresight to see things were about to go south quickly. Our bet? Either Alicent will cancel the arrangement when she realises Aegon is gone, or Rhaenyra will arrive and think she’s been tricked. Maybe if she does enter King’s Landing, though, Aemond will be forced to divert his attention away from Harrenhal and concentrate on winning back Westeros’ capitol?

House of the Dragon Season 2 is now streaming on Max.

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Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on Renée Knight’s novel, Apple TV+’s “Disclaimer” series stars Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. Trailer.

Written and directed by Alfonso Cuarón and based on Renée Knight’s novel, Apple TV+’s “Disclaimer” series stars Cate Blanchett and Kevin Kline. Trailer.

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After an incredible run on London’s West End, “Stranger Things: The Last Shadow” is set to debut on Broadway in 2025.

Amid an incredible, Olivier Award-winning run on the West End, the Upside Down is heading for Broadway, with the Stranger Things play set to debut next year.

Based on an original story by Stranger Things creators The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things: The First Shadow blew audiences away in London after premiering at the Phoenix Theatre in Dec. 2023. A technical marvel and Netflix’s stage debut, the play will open at Marquis Theatre in New York on Tuesday, Apr. 22, 2025.

Directed by Stephen Daldry with Justin Martin, the play was written by Stranger Things writer and co-executive producer Kate Trefry, with a narrative based on a story by Trefry, the Duffer Brothers, and The Cursed Child‘s Jack Thorne (a lotta folks involved).

The Last Shadow takes you back to the beginning of the Stranger Things story in 1959, 20 years before the events of the series. At Hawkins High School, Indiana, you’ll meet younger versions of residents Jim Hopper (played in London by Oscar Lloyd), Joyce Maldonado (Isabella Pappas), Bob Newby (Christopher Buckley), and Henry Creel (Louis McCartney), who’s struggling to get through high school let alone eventually becoming the villainous Vecna. Casting hasn’t been announced for the Broadway run, but the cast I saw in London, who I’ve put in brackets here, were absolutely phenomenal.

Technically, the show is a true stagecraft wonder — there’s a lot of The Cursed Child alumni here, including technical director Gary Beestone, and illusions and visual effects designers Jamie Harrison and Chris Fisher. Plus, Broadway audiences will be wowed by the gorgeous, Olivier-winning set design by Miriam Buether.

As I wrote in my review of the London premiere: “All in all, Stranger Things: The First Shadow is an exceptional achievement in technical stagecraft, boasting a talented, engaging cast, and showing us an earlier side of Hawkins we’re only given glimpses of in the series. It’s really a story for fans, so newcomers to the franchise might be left a little confused starting with the play. But Netflix’s first stage show proves that Netflix money can transcend mediums, provided a talented group is behind it.”

How do I get a ticket to the Stranger Things play on Broadway?

It’s obviously the next question, right?

You can now register for priority access to tickets from strangerthingsonstage.com — signup closes Sept 12, 11:59 p.m. ET. People who have signed up for presale tickets will be emailed with more information on Sept 13. General sale will be Sept 17, 11 a.m. ET.

Tickets to the London show were not cheap and sold extremely quickly, so expect a pretty penny for these. At present, the West End production has extended its run to December 2024.

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