I finally did it everybody. Stay tuned for some exciting news. What is up everybody? This is Chris from the Rewired Soul where we talk about the problem but focus on the solution and before I get to this exciting new announcement, I want to talk a little bit about why I started this YouTube channel in the first place. So I've been working in a mental health treatment center for going on three years and it was about a year ago when I was sitting there and I was getting feedback from my clients. They were really enjoying my groups and stuff like that and I constantly remind them, I say it's important to understand how grateful you should be for being in this facility right here because there are thousands upon thousands if not millions of people outside of these walls who will never get the chance to be in a treatment center like this and it got me thinking I was like man there's so many people out there who need help with their mental health but they don't have insurance or they don't have money and all these other things. So I was like well why don't I just do what I do on YouTube and provide people with free content and I never thought this channel would be where it's at right now.  Now with that being said I'm one of the very fortunate YouTube creators where I have a full-time job. I have something that supports me. I have a steady income stream from my job but as most of you know who have been following me for a while I hustle hard. I try my best to make daily videos and it takes time and on the side I actually write freelance work just to make more money to bring in the house to help support me, keep a roof over my head, keep these lights on, support my son and all that kind of fun stuff and that takes a lot of time too. I probably spend about 20 hours or so a week just writing a loan to bring in some extra cash. So what I finally did was I put up a Patreon account so if any of you would like to support the channel and allow me to allocate more time to the rewired soul you can do so for as little as one stinking dollar. Isn't that amazing and you're like but Chris why would I do that if I'm getting all this content for free well hold on. So when I started this YouTube channel like this wasn't the original plan I've had big ideas and things that I want to do some of you are aware of this I've already written two books that are up on Amazon I have a course up on my website and things like that and I want to do more of it. YouTube is just a very small piece of what I'm doing but I want to put together other books other courses and all that kind of stuff it's just that I don't have time right now. So basically my goal of the Patreon is to bring in some extra income so I can quit writing freelance on the side and dedicate even more time into the rewired soul which would mean more videos better videos more in-depth videos but I'll also have time to create books courses and do other things to help increase awareness about mental health as well as help many many more people. So I've created a few tiers so if you want to head over there and check them out I'm doing other things on there so if you decide to support the channel which is totally up to you if you decide to support the channel there's other things on there where you will get free access to the books I write you will get discounts on courses from 25% up to 100% I am working with my lovely girlfriend on some designs for some merch that's like mental health positive you'll get discounts on that so I'm trying my best to do things that will help provide more value to you as well as these YouTube videos that I'm making so like I said this is all about spending more time on this trying to help more people and I want you to help me do that by being a part of the rewired soul by supporting the channel on Patreon but no pressure no pressure like I get it I was broke for a very very long time if you don't want to support the channel that is totally cool just keep keep subscribing to the channel share the videos try to spread some awareness that's totally fine as well all right but if you want to support the channel I've put a link right there it's also going to be in the description below go check it out if some of the rewards sound good to you or if you just want to donate a dollar a month beautiful a dollar goes a long way but thank you so much for all of your support this last year and I will see you next time


Matt going to throw for the end zone. Caught, touchdown. First career scoring catch for Kyle Pitts. Crowder in motion again. Play fake by Wilson. Falcons trying to get there. Wilson pops and socked. Adi Okendayji is going to pull him to the ground. The pressure. Ryan going to spit. Another play fake by Wilson, deep in the pocket. And Walston cut it loose. And it's intercepted. First pick of the year. And it belongs to Jalen Hawkins.


The first topic of discussion, one problem, one solution, salvation is accomplished. Our dialogue begins with a discussion of lesson number 79. Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved, lesson 79. A problem cannot be solved if you do not know what it is. Even if it is really solved already, you will still have the problem. Because you will not recognize that it has been solved. This is the situation of the world. The problem of separation, which is really the only problem, has already been solved. Yet this solution is not recognized because the problem is not recognized. Everyone in this world seems to have his own special problems. Yet they are all the same and must be recognized as one if the one solution that solves them all is to be accepted. Who can see that a problem has been solved if he thinks the problem is something else? Even if he has given the answer, he cannot see it's relevant. That is the position in which you find yourself now. You have the answer, but you are still uncertain about what the problem is. A long series of different problems seems to confront you. And as one is settled, the next one and the next arise. There seems to be no end to them. There is no time in which you feel completely free of problems and at peace. The temptation to regard problems as many is the temptation to keep the problem of separation unsolved. The world seems to present you with a vast number of problems, each requiring a different answer. This perception places you in a position in which your problem solving must be inadequate and failure is inevitable. No one can solve all the problems the world appears to hold. They seem to be on so many levels in such varying forms and with such varied content that they confront you with an impossible situation. Dismay and depression are inevitable as you regard them. Some spring up unexpectedly. Just as you think you have resolved the previous ones, others remain unsolved under a cloud of denial and rise to haunt you from time to time, only to be hidden again but still unsolved. As this complexity is but a desperate attempt not to recognize the problem and therefore not to let it be resolved. If you could recognize that your only problem is separation, no matter what form it takes, you could accept the answer because you would see its relevance. Perceiving the underlying constancy in all the problems that seem to confront you, you would understand that you have the means to solve them all and you would use the means because you recognize the problem. In our longer practice periods today, we will ask what the problem is and what is the answer to it. We will not assume that we already know. We will try to free our minds of all the many different kinds of problems we think we have. We will try to realize that we have only one problem which we have failed to recognize. We will ask what it is and wait for the answer. We will be told, then we will ask for the solution to it and we will be told. The exercises for today will be successful to the extent to which you do not insist on defining the problem. Perhaps you will not succeed in letting all your preconceived notions go, but that is not necessary. All that is necessary is to entertain some doubt about the reality of your version of what your problems are. You are trying to recognize that you have been given the answer by recognizing the problem so that the problem and the answer can be brought together and you can be at peace. The shorter practice periods for today will not be set by time but by the need. You will see many problems today, each one calling for an answer. Our efforts will be directed towards recognizing that there is only one problem and one answer. In this recognition are all problems resolved. In this recognition there is peace. Be not deceived by the form of problems today. Whenever any difficulty seems to rise, tell yourself quickly. Let me recognize this problem so it can be solved. Then try to suspend all judgment about what the problem is. If possible, close your eyes for a moment and ask what it is. You will be heard and you will be answered. Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved. Lesson 79.


I'm with the one early. Hello! I'm getting the keys to her. Somewhere to live. We need to get Lydia out of this place. And we want to move in. And we're clicked on this amazing property on Spare Room. As you know, students. Top quality. Look at the kitchen. Look at the kitchen. Oh, it's so bad. Our room then. Is it literally just... It's just, that's it. That's just the room. It's just the room. Top of the sofa. What's the point of putting it on top of the sofa? Oh, it's because they're washing it from the bed opposite. They're washing it from the bed. Oh, no.  Can I say something? This is a no. I'm all for a good deal, but I'm sorry. I'm not paying £750 a month for that. It's ready to be so far out as well. Is that even like it's to uni or anything free for a book? No. And we're also really confused about another situation. I'm really, really confused. I'm really freaked out to be honest. May do a story time on it. We're going flat shopping. Yay. I'm on the bus. Oh, that's an accident. I tried to look out Lydia's hair before we came out. Yeah. Operation, get a flat. So we're going to near my uni. We're going to my uni and I literally don't ever go there. Yeah. It's closed at the moment anyway, so... That's about right, isn't it, though? Yeah. We're here. We're waiting to get showed around. I'm deliberately filming this way so you can't see where. I'm here to... Waiting to get shown up. We don't know what we're looking at though. No, we actually don't know what we're here. Well, we know we're here to see a flat, but that's literally... Allow me to demonstrate. Well, hold on. It's 1600. He's late. He's late. Probably open the door now. Turn over here inside the club. Are you all right?  It's all right up there. No, we need to get those sorted. Fine. Okay, so, yeah, all the studios, you get kind of the same kitchen. So you've got like a two-ring hob, each room as well. You've got the main strata. I love that. So it's always ventilated. Yeah. There's sort of like windows as well. There are special vents on them. And there's like a fan in the ceiling. So you always get an air circulator. It's not going to be humid or anything like that. So you always get... Each room gets a sofa like that. I'll show you how the bed works in a little bit of a studio. So you also get the TV. So the TV already has things like... It's got 3D live already. And it has Netflix and things. Obviously you have to set up your own stuff. All the apps are already on there. Yeah, and then you've got, yeah, kitchen storage. The middle one, if you want to open that, that's a fridge with a freezer drawer at the top. Oh, the fridge is a bit... Yeah, yeah, freezer drawer. Like your own, yeah. And also, you can leave by stuff on the store. So when you've got the bed up, you've got... Yeah, so when... Yeah, this will... Specially the duvet, it kind of sits up against there. Okay. So, yeah, you can store things. Or you can store store things without them. Yeah. Okay. We'll also... Free for bed. Oh, that's hard. Yeah, actually. You and I both have options here for a century. Big one. Hello, everybody. We're doing a vlog and we'll have my book for girlfriend. Hello.  Like, a tapping center that's literally closed.  I heard before. Welcome to ghost town. Hey, guys. What's going on? I am just about to leave to go and get the key. That's for my new flat. And I'm not moving in today. I'm just getting the keys and taking a few things over. Like, what was on that wall there? I'm taking that over today because I'm in my bus. Got my glasses on. I need to book an Uber to get to the train station. Let's book me an Uber. And once it tells me how far it is, then I'll get that one. Connecting you to a driver. Oh, there's one that's around the corner. Right. Shit, OK. Time to go. I'm with the one there only. Hello. And my camera's rushing red. Oh, great. What a surprise. I'm absolutely full. I didn't collect the report button. Oh, so there's a control tosser. OK, that's fine. Guys, we're putting up an LED strip to go around the room. Me. Well, try not to be late to my appointment. You can have a room tour in the next part.


I have a lot to talk about, have a lot of notes, and he knows exactly what's going on between all the members of his family. It was a bit cartoonish, aiming to be anagram, and I love Phantom of the Opera. House of the Dragon Episode 8 was a pretty emotional episode in my opinion. It was not perfect. There was a couple things that I did not like, but overall this was one of my absolute favorite episodes of the series so far. There's so many things that it did well, so many things that it paid off, so many things that it had been building towards that we kind of saw not necessarily resolved, but as I say pay off, or you begin to see a reason for why they did certain things in the show. So I have a lot to talk about, I have a lot of notes. I have oh jeez, I have like three and a half pages of notes. A little more than usual, so let's get right into it. As usual I've split notes into sections as best I can, so let's start with the kind of star of this episode, Viserys. First and foremost, I just want to say the actor, Patty, who played him is a fantastic actor. He deserves all the accolades, he deserves an Emmy, he deserves everything. He was an amazing Viserys, and in particular in this episode, you just really got to see from a craft standpoint, not as the story is, we'll talk about the story in a second, but just from a like acting craft standpoint, it was amazing to watch him perform the role of Viserys. So well done, well done, so good. So in this episode we got to see pretty much the worst form of Viserys, which of course I do not mean morally speaking, we're not least not necessarily, but he's he's fully decayed. He looks like a white walker basically at this point. One of my all-time favorite movies is Kingdom of Heaven, and Viserys in this episode kind of reminded me of the Leopard King of Jerusalem. In the film Kingdom of Heaven, the way they have a gold mask to hide his leprosy, that's immediately what Viserys mask made me think of. I do wonder if they took inspiration from that. It looked like halfway between Phantom of the Opera and the Leopard King of Jerusalem. And I love Phantom of the Opera, and I love Kingdom of Heaven in particular. My favorite character in Kingdom of Heaven is the Leopard King, so yeah, I'm just I guess I'm just a big fan. Maybe that's why I liked this episode so much. But it's just so much to unpack with this character in this episode. Some of it fits better in some of my sections to do with the individual scenes and other moments, but I do have a substantial Viserys section here. So we saw throughout the show, and I mentioned it several times in my episode reviews as we went, all of the times that we saw what Viserys tells Allyson being different from what he tells Reynira. So each of these young women sees a very different side of Viserys, sees a very different side of where Viserys thoughts and mind are, what his desires and opinions are. Neither of them sees a complete picture of his mental state or his thoughts on matters, that neither of them gets a complete picture basically of the series. And in this episode, not only do we see a continuation of that, we saw almost a sort of planting and payoff of this recurring trend. So this happened over and over again in the series, and we saw that begin to cause problems of course, but not like really truly fully. And here we saw the ultimate way in which this is the thing that in this version of events, which is it is different from the book, in this version of events, it is kind of the crux of the issue. What I referred to of course is the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy. And I also have in my notes just on a slightly separate note, the Song of Ice and Fire prophecy is also planted and paid off here. So both things come together in a way that feels so powerful for that reason, because we planted this prophecy, which to be completely honest, when they first introduced the prophecy of the Song of Ice and Fire in the first episode, I did roll my eyes at that a little bit, because it seemed a bit to me well fairly classily done as just a way to kind of nod at and tie into Game of Thrones, which is like, hey, hey, Game of Thrones guys, you know, Game of Thrones. It was handled decently well for being something like that, but that's what it felt to me like. And I was like, okay, okay, whatever, we know this connection to Game of Thrones, like, I don't need to do that. But so planting that prophecy, and we do hear him mention it again, or it comes up again in between also, and that was not the only time they mentioned it in the show. And so here again, this recurring trend of the series telling Allison to one thing and Rhaenyra another, and him bringing out the prophecy to Rhaenyra early on in the show. And here in this episode, we see the prophecy come back in a very real way that affects the present day plot, isn't just a tie into Game of Thrones, and is also paying off the what I tell Rhaenyra is not what I tell Allison, and what I tell Allison is not what I tell Rhaenyra. And the way that he discusses the prophecy with Rhaenyra, which she was fully aware of because of him telling it to her early on when he named her his heir, and now sharing pieces of it with Allison, and not ever having actually shared enough of it with her where she would actually know what he's talking about. Because if she knew about this prophecy, and she knew how he felt about things and why he was worried about his heir, et cetera, et cetera, then when he was rambling, she would have recognized what he was talking about possibly. But because she doesn't, she doesn't know what he's talking about. But she does hear him say Aegon, and the prince that was promised, and this gives plausible, not deniability, but it is plausible reasoning for Allison to take certain actions which she will imminently take. I don't want to say, even though I think it's pretty clear what will happen next. That being said, the fact that Rhaenyra's son is also named Aegon, it does make Allison's reasoning based on what she's just heard from Viserys a little bit thin, but it still gives her more more of a plausible reason to believe that her next actions are justified and not purely motivated by ambition. In general, the show has tried to give Allison's character and the behaviors and motivations of that character more nuance, and I have enjoyed that, which is why I was quite disappointed with how almost caricature-ish Allison seemed after the time skip, because I wasn't doing the nuance, they seemed to be adding to this character, and they did step it back a bit and kind of bring nuance back into Allison's character in this episode, which is again why I was so very very impressed with and pleased with this episode. This is the Viserys section, so back to the series. The series in this episode is just such a tragic figure, and not just because he's literally falling apart like before your eyes, I mean obviously that's tragic, but we see sort of at the 11th hour that he's kind of found the courage and the willingness to actually speak his mind and to make more concrete statements, to stand his ground on things, to make his wishes clear, but unfortunately it is too little too late and he is also personally just too ill to truly actually make clear what he's saying and what he wants, especially in that final scene, where he's sharing with Allison the song of ice and fire, or well he's sharing, he thinks he's sharing it with brain Europe, when he's giving his last gasp about the song of ice and fire, so he sort of like finally finds it in himself to take charge here, and he sort of stumbles at the last hurdle, because while he's trying to put his affairs in order, so to speak, he's actually, he ends up creating a new problem with this, again, when he's accidentally sharing with Allison, who he thinks is Ray Neera in his delirium, when he's telling her about the song of ice and fire. He thinks he's finally, you know, said his piece, said what he wants, told people how it is, and put matters to rest, and put a lid on the song of ice and fire, and by doing this, he should have been doing this all along, he should have been doing this much sooner, and if he had, we wouldn't be in this situation, and we wouldn't be in the situation we're about to be in, so he's finally doing it, but by finally doing it, he's actually creating a new problem. So it's very tragic to see, because he's finally doing the thing that you would have been wanting him to do this whole time, and like I said, it is too late, and also because it's so last minute and so incomplete, it creates more problems than it solves. And I will unpack the dinner scene by itself in a bit, but I wanted to talk about how the dinner scene, in particular as concerns Viserys himself, mirrors and contrasts with the depictions of Viserys in the wedding scene and in the funeral scene. So we're talking about how those two scenes kind of paralleled each other in the having of everybody around Viserys, politicking and having all the machinations and all of the glances and all of the stuff that's going on with everybody around Viserys and Viserys himself kind of being this island of obliviousness. When at the wedding, he's kind of sitting at the table just eating his dinner and it's kind of oblivious to the turmoil around him. Similarly at the wedding, he's kind of losing it and isn't really aware of all the politics, doesn't seem anyway to be aware of all the politicking going on around him. So we've reunited the players from those previous occasions, or at least the most important, the key players from those, from the wedding and the funeral and now, we've gathered them all for a family reunion to sit down dinner and the parties who were present at those previous occasions who were doing their thing around Viserys, they're all there. And here Viserys is at his weakest, he's at his illest, he should be the least aware and the least lucid, but it is at this point that he shows that he is not as oblivious and unaware as he seemed or as we would think he is. That it is not that he doesn't know, it's that he hoped for better, that he knows exactly what's going on between all the members of his family. He's not ignorant of it, he's not in La La Land, so to speak. It's more of a, no I know what you're all up to and have been up to and I'm really disappointed in you, I hoped that you could do better. And it is his fault, I'm not saying that that means that he was right to behave the way he did, he's the king and he shouldn't have let things get to this point. But it shows that it wasn't again obliviousness, it was more just sort of a naive optimism that things could work out but that the people that he loves best, the people he cares about, that they could care about each other as well. Why can't we make this work? So but at his weakest he appears the most commanding, at his sickest he appears the most decisive and the most lucid. There's a sense of you know time is running out and I need to put my house in order and it is again as I said too little too late but that scene really shows that like I said it's not that he doesn't know, which arguably makes things worse because knowing the situation he really should have done more about it but it comes across again as a king or a human man, he's just a man and he's a man who loves his family and hoped that they could find a common ground and commonality and a way to love each other the way that he loves them. And again that's it's too naive for a king but that's what it comes from, it doesn't come from carelessness or obliviousness or stupidity. I talked before about how camera angles were used to establish the kind of weakness of Viserys early on in the show about how Damon was presented in a much more domineering angles, the way the camera is angled upward to look at Damon whereas the camera is often positioned in a way that Viserys looks like he's at a level with other people or it's kind of looking down at him so he appears kind of small and not in control, not commanding the room early on in the show. And here for perhaps the first time we have several scenes where Viserys is framed as being very commanding when he takes the throne and I'll talk about that scene in a bit as it has its own section but just how Viserys is framed when he enters that room and how the camera is angled upward at him as he is entering the room and then when he is sitting on the throne and addressing people the camera is very kind of aggressively angled upward. It's not pulled away and zoomed in and level it's angled upward so that he appears to be above it all and commanding the room even though he's falling apart he's he's a corpse on a stick but he's finally framed as this commanding figure and the way that his illness is almost what gives him power in the room because the fact that he's shown up that day if he was a healthy man and he walked into the throne room you know whatever he's the king but that he has everyone is aware of the immense effort immense sacrifice and immense strength of will that it took for him to just physically show up to that room and so everything about the music and the camera angles gives him finally this moment of command. I thought that was beautifully done. Moving on then to the dinner scene which was a fantastic scene I really once again enjoyed the visual representation of a lot of the dynamics in this show that were at play at the dinner scene. What we have going on at the table is Viserys of the Center as he is the center of everything that's going on in this show and he is seated between Alison and Renia the two forces that are kind of tugging him each in their own directions both of whom care about him and are and untied very closely to him and derive their power from him and pull him each in opposing directions he's seated between the two of them and then Renia and Alison each has a devil on her shoulder so on Renia's side she's got Damon and on Alison's side she's got Otto Hightower each of these men encourage the darkest impulses of their respective females. Damon encourages and brings out in Renia some of her most reckless and her most ambitious and her most rash instincts and behaviors and Otto Hightower is the one that sort of pushed and goaded Alison into becoming queen and has since then pushed and whispered and goaded and manipulated so we have Alison and Renia sitting right next to the king but on each of their sides are the men who have through them sort of tried to control Viserys but beyond that the those two men do have the next closest relationship to Viserys so they have you know Alison and Renia and then Damon is his brother even so he is not that close to him he has mainly sought Viserys out for political gain rather than as a brother but he is the next closest to him and Otto Hightower served as hand at the king for many years there was a gap in between but he's been at his side for a long time so they are the next closest physically and also in terms of relationships they are the next closest to Viserys and then sitting furthest from Viserys is the next generation the kids and they also sit farthest apart from each other the kids have the least connection to Viserys and the least connection to the the origin of this turmoil they have their own distant understanding of it and how it's affected them but they're not sort of part of this this genesis point they don't have a close relationship with Viserys so they sit the furthest away and they also unlike Renia and Alison who have a close relationship with each other and are sitting quite near each other not just Viserys the kids don't have a close relationship with each other so the animosity that exists between Renia and Alison exist as you know love and hate being two sides of the same coin they both care about the realm they both care about Viserys there's a lot that Alison even says we have a lot more in common than we would even allow they have this shared history of love love and hate and the kids who sit really far apart they don't have that they didn't ever really love each other they never really got along there is no foundation of i once cared about you and how and then that's soured they are sitting very far apart from each other there is nothing between them but animosity on my video on the previous episode um i proposed a uh an observation that i had made that Alison's side kind of tends to strike first and i kind of went into what i meant by that did not necessarily always mean altercation or or fighting but that Alison and people who are on Alison's team and side are the ones to grab and reach and try and attempt things first they are the primary aggressor most often. Renia's side is the one that comes out on top so here at the dinner Renia is the one to raise her glass and put into action her father's wishes of reconciliation of peace of let's find common ground let's you know can't we all just get along she's the one that puts puts words to that and puts that into into play and the rest of the people of the table kind of follow suit and we do end up having a somewhat peaceful time for a little bit but the first person to break that down to strike first is aim and Alison's son and put a stop to that by creating animosity again and here again this this dinner and this table is a microcosm of a larger political situation because the thing that brought all these people to this table to break bread together is Viserys but the moment that Viserys leaves the room that peace fractures the only thing that brought them together and kept them together was Viserys he's like the cork on this like imminent explosion waiting to happen and this cork is rotting and it will soon be gone and there will be nothing to keep this table and these people and these factions together but during this dinner we do get a glimpse of what it could look like an alternate universe where things did work out where we could have all gotten along and found common ground and it is it's really tragic to see that in the same way that watching Viserys try to put right and put clarity on the things that he should have a long time ago in the same way it's tragic to see this dinner where you can see the how it there was a path to that he wasn't entirely crazy to think that that was possible and he's able to get them to bury the hatchet long enough for us to then see what it would look like a world in which these people did find a way to get along and again it's heartbreaking to see them all hating each other and fighting especially when you knew that Rainier and Allison were friends but seeing this moment where there is almost a rekindling of that friendship where Allison is saying it's so she doesn't want Rainier to leave yet she's only just arrived and it seems genuine it doesn't seem like a political maneuver when she's doing that in fact for after Viserys makes his declaration Otto Hightower looks very uncomfortable with how out of control things or how much out of his control things have gone how Allison does seem to want to appease Viserys and does want to make peace with Rainier and you know Otto doesn't want that so it seems like a sincere moment where Allison goes to Rainier and is like you know we were we were friends before there was we have more in common than we would allow you know she doesn't want her to leave she would like her to visit and Rainier says you know maybe I'll come back you know after my family goes back to Dragonstone I'll come back and you see this moment of you know this is not how this is going to go you know that this will not last and this little brief moment of peace that Viserys manufactured is just that and it's that much more heartbreaking to see that if they were all snouted together and hating each other at that dinner that'd be sad to see but it's not nearly as sad and not nearly as heartbreaking as seeing the almost seeing how close to possible Viserys vision was that it was not completely impossible there was enough here and if things had gone differently if a thousand little things had gone a little differently they they do not have to be enemies they did not have to be enemies but you know they're going to be you know that they've gone too far down this path too many decisions have been made too many animosities have been created but you see this glimpse of what could have been and because you know it's only a glimpse you know it's temporary you know this is not going to last it is so heartbreaking to see it but it was so well done and it did again bring back some of that nuance to Allyson's character where she's not just this caricature of this aggressive caddy hypocritical woman we had this moment of like where Allyson and Reynira we are now getting into my Allyson and Reynira section because that's my another section that I have so I guess segueing then into Allyson and Reynira we really I think this is the first time since the time skip that I felt like this feels like the older versions of young Allyson and Reynira because seeing them together I believed now that these women had this shared history that we witnessed in the early episodes when we first did this time skip I was like this is a different Allyson that shared history that we saw that's got nothing to do with this lady but now in this dinner scene I did finally feel that this is the Allyson that we saw before this is Allyson and Reynira they were friends once upon a time and they could still have been if things had gone differently but we do see in this episode Allyson's hypocrisy on full display the way that she turns a blind eye to her son well I shouldn't say a blind eye she is she's not in denial about what her son is doing but she is a hypocrite in so far as her behaviors and her unwillingness to accept any kind of um questionable behavior from other people when this is what her son is like and what she's willing to do to hash that up and to pay people off I mean credit where it's due she's not unaware she's not blind she doesn't think her her son is an angel she knows exactly what he is she even says you are no son of mine which does make you wonder why she would fight so hard to get him on the throne which she will this is why I think it is important that we did have the Song of Ice and Fire moment there where that is the reasoning then where she believes it doesn't matter it's not that she thinks that her son is a wonderful human being and that um and that she should is the best to be king but that her the visceri's dying words to her seemed to indicate that that's what he wished for and we do see her see also Rainier has continued and escalated willingness to do whatever it takes to retain her position going to her dying decrepit father and asking him to fight for her basically when you're like girl he's in no shape to fight for himself let alone you but that's why again it was beautiful and tragic and heartbreaking and and everything all prepped up into one seeing what he's willing to do to support Rainier to get out of bed and to go to that when I'll get to that scene in a second what he does to support her that final stand that he makes for her it's a lot that Rainier asked of him and to the best of his ability he showed up for her and that was I don't know if I would say a beautiful moment because it is so filled with baggage and tragedy but it was quite a moment moving on then to the kids as I say the the casting is fantastic um actually I don't think I've said that yet so because this is the first time we've seen the adult versions of the kids the casting is phenomenal um I'm less fond of the casting for agon I'm fine with it I don't have a problem with it but it's it's not very impactful like it didn't really leave a big impression on me but the casting for amond is amazing the tension between them is so palpable and every single interaction between them from when they were young to now you can just it see how much it ratchets up the tensions between them and how it's getting closer and closer to a boiling point unlike with alcantin Rainier as I already said there is no oh they used to love each other now they don't something came between them now they pretty much hated each other from go so you just feel this escalation of tension as they as the stakes are raised as we go on and then as they get older and they have more capacity to do harm to each other you just feel the escalation of that it is just so tense I mean you you can cut the tension in the air with a knife and again the tensions between them they are not purely just you know absorbed by osmosis from their parents they are not just living out the tensions between their parents by extension they have their own tensions between them so obviously it's it probably started with having this bad feeling that they absorb from the parents but there is so much animosity between them that is of their own making that if the parents were to magically make peace that would make very little difference because the second generation they hate each other for their own reasons so we have gone too far basically to make peace because they hate each other for as I say their own reasons moving on then to a brief section about Damon it's not a very Damon centric episode I was really really touching to see him helping the series to get up to the throne and he did seem to be genuinely concerned about how the series is being treated and his health and obviously he does have personal political stake in the series being healthy I mean Ian Rainier showed up there to kind of be like hey fight for us you got to speak up for us brother but it seems to me the way that Matt Smith played it that Damon was concerned for the series not simply because he's a means of political of attaining the political power that they want that as a brother as a family member as a person that cares about him that he was concerned about how he was being treated and what he was being doped up with and it seemed to be coming from a place again not just a pure self-interest I could be wrong but it seems to me that he did just care also about the series as a person and it also and then it is just really fun seeing Damon and Amond the anagram interacting I feel like that's there's going to be a lot more of that and it it is almost cartoonish you know I patch man it looks like the carbon copy 2.0 version of Damon but the two actors playing them have such presence and there's just such chemistry I guess is the only word I can think of to say to use for them on screen so I feel like it's there's going to be some amazing scenes I suspect coming up that involve Amond and Damon. Coming then to the throne room scene which I have already kind of addressed here and there in bits and bobs but Veimond and the petition for the right of succession for the driftwood throne I've seen I also thought this and but I also have seen a lot of people draw parallel between him and Ned Stark and like I said I thought that too when I first watched the episode um I I thought to myself you know it's kind of like Ned Stark but also why do I not support him like why do I not feel like the way that I did about Ned Stark being like yeah he's speaking the truth he's the good guy and I mean obviously there's the fact that unlike with the Lannisters in this show we are sort of been steered towards rooting for Reignira and he is speaking against Reignira whereas in Game of Thrones you are steered towards rooting against the Lannisters Ned Stark is speaking against the Lannisters so you would naturally root for that so there is that but I don't think it's just that because when Ned Stark speaks out against the the Lannisters there isn't really much self-interest involved in that he really has he he really only stands to lose by doing that um whereas while it's risky for Veimond to do this it is nothing ventured nothing gained kind of situation he stands to gain a great deal by speaking out so he by the end of it seems to have a death wish but initially his purpose in in coming forward and and trying to secure his claim is a self-interested uh he has it's self-interested reasons for him doing so whereas again Ned Stark is just saying speaking the truth for truth's sake more or less certainly he has loyalties to his friend Robert Baratheon I guess you could say he has a stake in Joffrey not being king because who wants that but he himself doesn't really stand to gain anything by that so yeah for for that reason this speaking out feels less noble and less virtuous in the part of Veimond that he's so aggressively not just speaking out but this too is a difference that Ned Stark tried was rather naive about how he handled things but he tried to protect Joffrey and to try to get you know Cersei and to run away and to make sure that Joffrey would be safe uh he didn't want anything to happen to Joffrey purely because he was speaking the truth about you know his lineage and obviously Cersei laughs at him about that because you know that's not how the world works but but Veimond doesn't seem bothered at all about putting these young innocent boys in in the line of fire because they themselves are not the cause of his ire it's not their fault who their parents were so what he's doing to the boys is quite cruel and Ned Stark was naive but he did try to kind of minimize harm where he could and Veimond is not doing that not at all but it does look like if you call royalty a bastard you lose your head it's what happened to Ned it's what happens to Veimond I did think the scene where the moment where Daemon cuts off his head it was a bit cartoonish uh bit silly uh it was I mean it was a cool shot like visually speaking it was a cool shot it was the it kind of made my night when he cut his head off after uh after Viserys said you know you lose your tongue for that and Daemon cuts his head off but the tongue remains and my brother and I were like he didn't even lose his tongue only to have Daemon say he can keep his tongue so like that kind of made my night I feel like they could have had a scene like this and it feels slightly less slightly less cartoonish if after Viserys said you'll lose your tongue for that if Veimond had put up a big fight had tried to resist arrest and and and you know violently lashed out and that while the guards attempted to subdue him that Daemon stepped in and just you know then it would seem a little a little bit more justified that he just cut his head off you know uh so the way they several times in the show and I have like just casually let people get away with just murdering people right in front of everybody we were like I mean they did have laws you could just just march in and just murder somebody in front of everybody like I mean I guess Daemon is the prince but you know at least give plausible reasoning for you know like he started it I was fighting back because he was resisting as opposed to just like from behind cutting his head off I heard the actor who played Veimond say that too that he's like oh he didn't he didn't face me he kept my head off from behind which again like if he had been like resisting and the Daemon stepped in to do that it would have made a little bit more sense but it's it's not a big deal it is what it is it's a shot for the show is what it is but there is something that Viserys says in this scene that I really want to kind of take a minute to talk about because this is a thing that has been really really irritating me with some of the responses I've seen to this show and I was so pleased that he said this and it's something that I I've kind of meant to bring up but it just I haven't found an opportunity to do so but when people keep talking about how of course Alice isn't is upset because Rainier's children are bastards and so the legitimacy of the succession is at stake here of course you should care about that blah blah blah blah but the thing is Rainier's children are Rainier's children and Rainier is the heir to the throne not her husband so if Alice's children were bastards that would be a big old problem because they would not be Targaryens they would not be heirs to the throne they would not be blood relations of the king but Rainier is the heir to the throne so her children are her children so their parentage on her side is what matters and while it's not ideal that her kids would be bastards it is beyond question that they are Targaryens and so her kids are just as legitimately options for the throne as Jon Snow or as Gendry later is in Game of Thrones those were bastards so if they can legitimately claim the throne so can Rainier's children so it just really irritates me that because typically speaking yes if it's a bastard it's usually the dude that's in line for the throne so if those kids are not his kids like in the case of Robert and Cersei the fact that Robert's kids were bastards they were not his children so they aren't legitimately heirs to the Iron Throne through the king and then it would matter but Rainier is the heir her kids are her kids so in terms of the Targaryen succession well not ideal it's fine the blood is is there and so when Viserys says that when he's being challenged this is about the Driftmark throne well when he tells Vaiman you know who those boys are they are Targaryens they are my grandsons and because he's that's the truth of it okay they're they're not Lenore's kids but they are Viserys grandsons they are Targaryens so this idea that like them being bastards makes them invalid or not royal heirs that simply isn't the case so my final section um I've titled book changes it's not a ton it's just kind of some things in this episode that make me wonder what they're going to do so the way this episode ends with Viserys death I was talking to my family about this I'm not going to say what because you can guess what's going to happen I think especially if you've watched the preview for the next episode but nevertheless I won't say but based on what I don't think they would change this in any substantial way what is about to happen I wonder a little bit about how they're going to manage to do that so again having read the book if I hadn't read the book I'd be like okay this is what's happened it's because I've read the book and I know what's supposed to happen next and I'm a little bit like how are you gonna pull that off we'll see I'm sure they will pull it off it's not totally impossible but the timing of things and where people are right now is kind of where I'm like this isn't quite quite I don't quite see how you're gonna pull this off so we'll see how they do it I'm sure they will manage to do it in the book it is suggested that a pot is a possibility that Allison might have poisoned Viserys on that last night that that's how he dies I think the show makes it pretty clear that in their version of events and in the show's telling of it that that is not at all an option for what has happened that Allison has not poisoned Viserys arguably she and her her team her cohort were slowly poisoning him with what they were doping him up to keep him sedated and out of it lots of milk of the poppy as you know dammit I was pretty upset about so in that sense you know a slow poisoning I suppose but the again the implication of the book is that the night that he dies he's poisoned by Allison possibly and I think again the show makes it pretty clear that she did not and I like that because again this episode did a lot to kind of bring us to walk back some of what we did with Allison and kind of show that she is a human being who did care for Reynira did care for Viserys is not a machine has empathy is is more like the younger Allison that we saw that she's still in there and if she had poisoned Viserys that would have been wildly out of character for this for this iteration of Allison yeah I like that they did away with that idea altogether in a similar vein a departure from the book that's just been ongoing overall and here is most starkly visible Viserys in the book is sickly but in a very very different way he's sort of plump and gout-ridden and there's sort of this the sense you get or at least I get is that he's kind of you know a guy that's kind of just kind of wants to like you know live and be happy and you know don't worry be happy can't we all just get along I'm gonna eat a bunch and like have gout I gotta not care then I'm definitely sitting us up for instability in their realm after I'm gone here in the show I very very much like that they made Viserys come across as somebody burdened by the responsibility of position and he may not have been the right person to be king because he's too sort of being hearted to make tough decisions and tough calls he loves the people around him and he's so concerned with wanting to please the people that he loves sort of at the expense of governing the realm in a stable way I like that they did that's more kind of the story of Viserys and the way that he's becoming more and more sickly and the idea that instead of being like this sort of like plump gout-ridden like good time king that he's he's in fact it's the literal opposite he's like shrinking as the the weight of illness and burden and responsibility is like eating him alive it's he's being consumed by the responsibility that he holds the weight of the realm and the crown and the throne so I like the idea that what makes him a poor leader ultimately is love and optimism rather than carelessness and self-interest so I very much enjoyed this portrayal overall of Viserys and I feel like this is the best time to talk about it because that's it that's all all she wrote for Viserys well done definitely brought much more depth to the character in my opinion in a way that I very very much enjoyed and as I said already at the beginning of the video the actor playing him did a phenomenal job but you know it's a combination of things the way they wrote the character and the way that he played the character they just did an amazing job with Viserys in the show so well done and yeah we are now entering the dance of the dragons it's finally happening I'm very excited slash nervous because you know it's it's gonna be dark times but that's what we all signed up for that's what this the whole the project of the show is so I am excited but it's gonna be tense so there's probably gonna be a ton to unpack I will miss Viserys but well done and we are off we go it's gonna be a wild rush so let me know in the comments down below your thoughts and feelings about episode 8 did you love it did you hate it did you think some stuff was dumb did you think it was all perfect do you agree or disagree with my takes whatever you want let me know I post videos on Saturdays other random times well but I think Saturday so like and subscribe join my patreon if you feel so inclined and I'll see you when I see you


Snow, floods, bears, rattlesnakes, mountain lions. Yes, all this in exchange for the satisfaction and pride of a job well done. Say, have you ever known people who somehow were always in hot water? Oh, nothing serious, but, well, they're just a little bit on the daring side. They think after it's too late.  Nevertheless, it seems that this type of individual pulls one harebrained stunt after another. And that's a perfect description of Norman Marks. He never took anything serious, never had an ounce of responsibility in his blood. Then suddenly, Norm got into more trouble than a barrel of monkeys. And here's how it happened. Listen to the story of the reckless driver. Two young fellows, Norman Marks and his friend Jack Sanders, are just about to leave for Canyon City. Jack is a quiet fellow, much more conservative than Norm. And as they stand talking, it's plain to see that Jack is a little worried. Norm, do you really think we ought to drive to Canyon City tonight? Well, sure. Why not? Well, it's darker than the inside of a closet. I've got good lights on the car. What more do we want? Oh, but these modern roads, they're hard to drive at night. What's the matter, Jack?  No, but along the way you drive, I... Now you're talking like my folks. You don't have to go if you don't want to. Oh, it's not that. OK, then jump in and we'll be on our way. All right. I wish you'd keep this crate down to driving speed for a change. You think we're going to take off and fly, huh? Sometimes I think so. Don't worry, everything's under control. Come on, Henry. Let's go. I'm coming, Bill. Just a sec. What's keeping you? Oh, there's zipper in my jacket stuck. Well, fix it in the car. What are you in such a big rush to get to Canyon City for? Mitch Freeman's there, Henry. I've got to talk to him before he goes east again. Well, you pick a nice, dark night to go over the mountains. Oh, so you don't trust me? He's an old classmate of yours, isn't he? Old? How old do you think I am? Get in the car, will you? OK. Got your zipper fixed yet? Nope. Now my shirt's stuck in it, too. Oh, Henry, a fine mechanic you do.  All I need now is a left-handed screwdriver. Look at easy, fella. You're not on the salt flats. Ah, there you go. Worrying again. I've got the car under control, haven't I? Oh, I hope so. Hang onto your seat. I'm going to take the shortcut. It's all right with me to keep that heavy foot off the gas. I'm going to slow down on this. Slow down, didn't you? You said at first, Jack, we're not on the salt flats. Hey, Bill, are you taking the shortcut to Canyon City? Yeah. Not a bad road. Take it easy, Henry. Oh, and it knocks off about 10 miles. Right. It's only an hour's drive this way. Well, wake me up when we get there, will you? Sure. We don't hit a bump first. So, there's the situation. Two young fellas easing along in a moderate speed without a care in the world. And two rangers on an errand of business taking the shortcut through the mountains. Unknown to any of them, about half a mile along the Canyon City Road, there's been a rock slide. And two state troopers, Neil Crown and Harry McCormick, have set up a barricade 300 feet in front of the slide. The two troopers are standing a lonesome night watch nearby. Oh, this fire feels good, Harry. Yeah, I'll say it does. I would be surprised if we got snow sometime tonight. It certainly feels like it, doesn't it? Well, the moon will be up in a couple hours. It'll be a little more cheerful.  That's for sure. Say, I wonder how many cars ever take this road at night. You know, I've been thinking the same thing. Pretty dangerous, if you ask me. Sure is. Hanging around these hairpin turns, your headlights don't do you much good. Man, what do you know, a customer. Yeah, maybe we'll have somebody to talk to. We'll have to go back, that's sure. Oh, I'd better check the lantern. I'll be careful of that thing, Neil. It might blow up on you. That'll be one way to get warm, huh? Yeah.  Nothing else to do. The lantern's okay. You should be able to... Neil, Neil, look out! Neil! Somebody! Hey, kid, what's the idea? No, no, you hit a state trooper. There he is on the ground. Hey, Bill, there's your car ahead of us. I just saw his lights hit the rocks as he went around the bend. Yeah, I saw him too, Bill. About half a mile ahead. Traveling in a pretty safe speed, I'd say. Oh, well, wake me up when we get to Canyon City. Don't tell me that, Henry. You're too nosy to sleep and you know it. Yeah, I guess you're right. Say, what hotel did Mitch put up at? What hotel? Didn't know there was more than one in Canyon City. Well, there are two of them now. Since when? Boy, I see. You don't keep up on the latest news. It was in the paper. Where? Down at the bottom of the third page, about three lines. I only read the big print. Oh, I see. Well, here's that bend I saw that car go around. It's probably gone around six more since then. Yeah, I suppose so. Hey, Bill, look out. Huh? Get out, pal. There's something wrong up there. Yeah. It looks like an accident. That car must have run over him. Great, Scott. It's a trooper. Hey, your fellas give me a hand. My partner, he's hurt badly. Hey, it's Harry McCormick. Bill Jefferson. Boy, am I glad to see you. Who is it on the ground, Harry? Neil Crown. Oh. You give Neil first aid, Harry. Henry and I'll rig a stretcher. Okay. Keep your eye on those two roughnecks, will you? A tall one is a fella that ran Neil down. Just a little bit more. That's good, fellas. Make sure the stretcher is resting squarely in back. Phew. Boy, that wasn't easy putting it over the top of the seats. Yeah, Neil's pretty heavy. Well, what are those two lads? They're standing by their car waiting. Hey, you two. Come over here. Yes, sir. Get in the front seat of the ranger's car. What do you want us to do? You fella are under arrest. Reckless driving. Your friend is a material witness. Under arrest? I didn't even see the other trooper or the barricade either. Ah, yeah, the judge will like that story. He's right, officer. I didn't see him either. Norm wasn't driving fast?  Harry, you better save this for later. Neil needs to be taken to a hospital. Right. Let's go.  You two lads get in the front seat with me. Okay, hop to it. Whippersnappers got themselves in the deep water this time. Of course, you might know it would be with Norman around. Uh, Norman plenty careless. Never listen to advice. Always take chance. Now he wished maybe he'd listen. That's right, Grey Wolf. The funny part about it is that when we saw the... Hey, Bill, here comes Harry. How's Neil, Harry? That's a good condition critical, I say. I'm sure it's sorry to hear that. Do they say what chance he has of making the grain? Well, doctor says he's got a 50-50 chance to pull through. Where is he injured the most, Harry? Uh, it's his chest, Bill. It's just crushed. Man, that's serious. Yeah, you're telling me. You leaving, Harry? Uh, it's nothing I can do at the moment. I'm going to file my report. I'll be back in a little while. What are you charging Norman Marx with, Harry? Reckless driving. And if Neil dies, it's manslaughter. Looks like Norm's in for it. The report that state trooper Harry McCormick's going to file is pretty serious. Right now, let's visit Norm at the Naughty Pine Jail, where he's being held until the judge sets bond for his freedom. Norm's dad and the lawyer are talking to the lad. His friend Jack is there, too. Norman, this is Alfred Cassidy, lawyer. He's going to try to defend you in court. Hello, Mr. Cassidy. Hello, Norman. Dad, you talk like I'm guilty of this. I don't know whether you're guilty or not, but I do know that you've scoffed time and again at any advice I've given you about being more careful. Now here we are again. Well, Alistair, I didn't see the trooper or the barricade. That's Jack. Oh, that's right, Mr. Marx. We were on top of him before we could see a thing. I'd like to believe that, but I just can't. Now listen, all three of you. I don't want any of you to talk to a soul about the accident until I'm ready for you to talk. I want to get all the facts first. You can talk about anything else, but not about the accident, understand? We want Norman to be protected as fully as the law allows. Okay, Mr. Cassidy. I'd like to have a word with you privately, Mr. Cassidy. Certainly. We can talk in the sheriff's office. See you in the morning, Norman. You, too, Jack. Okay, good night. Good night, sir. Tell me what you can to the opinion, Mr. Cassidy. Well, without all the facts at hand, I can't give you a straight answer, Mr. Marx. However, I have read the report of the arresting officer. Yes. Circumstantial evidence is all against your boy.  We'll hit the trail soon. You fellas about ready? Easy does it, best. Stand still. I'll be ready in a second, Bill. See, I'm wondering how Norm's making out. I don't know. I talked with the sheriff last night. Looks like Norm's in a bad spot.  You fella didn't have a reputation for being such a reckless scallywag. He'd be a lot better off now. Folks are again him. Ah, you speak truth. Many people in town say he at last get what he asked for. The question is, is he really guilty? Guilty? What else could he be, sonny? Harry's a good trooper, and he saw it all. He wouldn't lie about a thing like that. Yeah, I know. But do you think Harry might have stretched a point or two because his partner got hurt? Not Harry. He always fair. Well, it's too bad. There's not much we can do about it. It's out of our hands. Let's go, fellas. Get him up there. Come on, store. Hello, Mr. Cassidy. Did you find out anything that will help me? Good morning, Norman. Zach, Mr. Marks. Good morning, sir. Norman, are you sure you've told me the truth? I'm my word of honor, Mr. Cassidy. I have. Mm-hmm.  What do you mean by that, Mr. Cassidy? Well, Mr. Marks, I've read and reread the arresting officer's report for the accident. And I, myself, went to the scene of the accident. What did you find out? Somebody's not telling the truth. You were telling the truth, Norman? Dad, I know I've been wrong in the past. I know I've told some wild stories, but this time I'm telling the truth. Even if I were standing before the Lord, I would say the same thing. I didn't see Officer Crown or the barricade. That's the truth. And in my word of honor, I say the same thing. All right, son, I believe you. Well, there's only one thing we can do, and that's to find some evidence that's been missed. I think I'll start at the hospital. You say it won't be possible to talk to Officer Crown for several days, Doctor. That's right, Mr. Cassidy. You see, his condition hasn't changed. He's hanging between life and death. We've got a 24-hour watch on him. I hope he pulls through for his family's sake and for Norman's. He still has only a 50-50 chance. Oh, um, here comes his partner, Trooper McCormick. Yes, I know, Harry. He's taking this pretty hard. Yes, the men have worked together for many years. Hello, Doc. Mr. Cassidy? Good morning, Harry. Hello, McCormick. How's Neil, Doc? Still the same, Harry. Once a crisis. Probably around noon tomorrow. All right, see. Mr. Cassidy, I hear you're defending young Marx. That's right, Harry. Don't you think you're wasting your time? No, I don't think so. Else I wouldn't be on the case. Well, I'm going to see to it that the judge throws a book at that young fella. And it's my job to see that he gets the protection of the law to the foe. Yeah. Well, the evidence proves that he's guilty. Circumstantial evidence, yes. I'll admit to that. But somewhere an important piece of evidence has been missed. I believe Norman's telling the truth. You believe Norman Marx? You know what his reputation is? Yes, I do. And I also know that there comes a time when everybody does tell the truth, Harry. I'll see you before the judge in the morning. Right. I sure hope the judge refuses bail. I'll lock up that young fella and throw the key away. Next case. Your honor, the next case is the state versus Norman Marx. Oh, yes. Is the attorney for the defense here? I'm the attorney for the defense, your honor. Oh, yes, Mr. Cassidy. Well, on looking over the evidence available, I'd say the state has an airtight case against this lad. I set his trial one week from Monday. What is the bail to be falsed for my client's freedom until the trial, your honor? I'm sorry, there won't be any bail, Mr. Cassidy. If it pleases the court, I'd like to set the trial date sooner. Uh, request tonight. His court wants to wait until it is known whether Trooper Crown will live or die. It really looks like Norman's going to get the book thrown at him, doesn't it? Now let's catch up with Bill and the felons. They're heading back to town after being out on the trail several days. I'm glad we're going back home, Bill. I anxious to find out how Norm's making out. I've been thinking a lot about him. So have I, pal. Lord's really putting Norman on my mind.  Hey, we're just going to see the same thing, young fella. Why are you heading for the Canyon City Road, Bill? I want to take a look at the scene of the accident. You saw it before, didn't you? I want to look again, Henry. And Harry's report gives all the facts, doesn't it? Presumably, yeah, but I want to recheck them. You mean Harry may have stretched a point or two? I don't mean that at all, pal. There's something that's been bothering me. Oh, now he tell us, maybe. Do we know something resigned your mind by the way you acted? Do you think some important facts have been left out of the picture, Bill? Well, I don't know. Let's wait until we get there and take a look. And I'll be able to tell. Well, what's the one thing that keeps bothering you, Bill? Well, it's this. Harry, Norman and Jack were all involved in the accident. They all seemed to be telling the truth. And why does Norman and Jack's story differ so radically from Harry's? Ah, that's funny, hard to tell. Well, that's why I'm going there, to find out. After we stop at the scene of the accident, we'll head back home. We're good to be home again. Oh, the place looks the same. Yep, Jeff for that fella is sitting over there in the corner. Ah, him not here when we leave. Yeah. Hello, Mr. Cassidy. Hello, Henry. Hello, Mr. Cassidy. Hello, Al. You can tell these fellas haven't been working very hard.  That seems that your fellas always seem to be able to laugh, no matter how serious the situation is. I wish I could do that. You can, Al. I can? What's the secret? No secret. You just put complete trust in the Lord and let him work things out according to his plan. Ah, yes, as I see him. Well, I hope this formula you have works out for what I'm about to ask you. Go ahead and ask Al. I'll do the best I can. That's right, Al. We've got him out all around here. The difficult things we do ourselves. But only the Lord can do the impossible. So we give that to him. Yes, well, I'm afraid that I'm going to ask the impossible. Let's hear it, Al. Yeah, tell us, Al. Can you help me find evidence that will prove Norman Marks' innocence of these charges? Uh-oh. Yes, Al. I can give you evidence that will clear Norman. Well, what, biologist? Tell us. Hey, close your tater traps. Bill, now talk. Well, Bill, you wouldn't joke with an old friend on something as serious as this. Have I ever, Al? No, but, Al, well, are you sure? Don't build up our hopes unless you are. Will it stand up in court? It'll stand up in court. Only I want to get this over with before the trial. What can I do to help, Bill? Bring Norman, Mr. Marks, and Jack out to the scene of the accident right after dark this evening. I'll bring Harry McCormick and the rest of my boys. Okay, we'll be there, Bill. Maybe Harry's over at the hospital, Bill. He's there, Henry. McCormick speaking. Harry, this is Bill. Oh, how are you, Bill? Nice to hear your voice. How's Neil? Well, I'm glad to say he's improving. Past the crisis. Like I said, he'll be off the critical list in a day or two. Oh, that's wonderful. Harry, will you take a ride with me out to the scene of the accident right after dark? Why? This Cassidy got you in on this, too. I told him he couldn't get Mark off this time. The judge will throw the book at him.  I don't see why it's necessary to go through the whole thing again. What's the purpose, anyhow? To prove Norman innocent. What?  Neither, Harry. What do you say? Uh, I don't think so, Bill. That's a waste of time. As a personal favor? Thanks, Harry. I'll pick you up in about 45 minutes. Okay, Bill, I'll see you then. Well, the barricades set up just like it was the night of the accident, Bill. All right. The lanterns just like it was then? Uh, yeah. The barricades in the same place, Harry? Exactly the same place, Cassidy. You sure? Positive. Norman, Jack, can you come here, please? Yeah, sure, Bill. How fast were you going down this road, Norman? About 35 miles an hour, not any faster. You agree, Jack? Yes, Bill. I remember Norman and I talked about reducing speed on this road because of the bad turns.  Uh, I'll be glad to, Bill. Hey, Bill, what are you up to? You'll see when Harry drives the car up to the barricade. Are you sure this is going to prove something, Bill? Yes, be patient. Harry drives the car a half mile down the road. Turns around, starts back toward the barricade. Harry watches the speedometer to be sure he's going the same speed that Norman did.  Suddenly, the car rounds the turn. Bill still crouched over the lantern. Henry yells, Look out, Bill! Bill suddenly stands up right in front of the approaching car. Hey, Scott, Billy. I was right over you. What? Did you see me crouched over the light? No, I didn't see you or the light. Didn't you see the barricade? No! Well, neither did Norman. What? Bill, I... I've made a terrible mistake. Norman couldn't possibly have seen Neil. Why not, Harry? Well, the car was coming slightly up great around the turn and Neil was covering the lantern with his body. Norman, I... I'm terribly sorry. I've done you a great injustice. I can see now this was purely an accident. You're innocent. I withdraw the charge. Well, I've learned a lot, Bill. This experience has knocked some seriousness into my head. You don't know how grateful I am for what you've done. And that goes for me, too, Bill. Thanks so much for helping us. I'm the one who's more grateful than anybody. I am knowingly accused an innocent man. I wish I could make this up to you some way, Norman. I think you and Norm are even, Harry. Well, how do you mean, Bill? Well, even though this has been a rugged experience, Norman's learned he's got to be responsible and protect his reputation. And you've learned that circumstantial evidence can be wrong. Oh, you can say that again. Tell me, Bill, how did you figure this out? Well, the contradiction between your stories really disturbed me, Harry. Then I remembered that when Henry and I drove up, I had to slam on my brakes rather hard. And the taillights and Norm's car were on then. That started a chain reaction. Then they all came to see us, so I thought we would try out my idea. A great piece of deduction. I got it handed to you, Bill. You must have some kind of a secret formula for this. No, no secret formula, Al. It's the Bible which all men can read. Whenever I get a tough problem, I remember Proverbs 3.5. Yes, what's that? Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. Bill certainly has a good formula, as Al Cassidy calls it. It's a verse of Scripture that all of us should use more often. And certainly Bill proved that facts can give us the wrong picture unless we have all of them. We'll see you next week for more adventure with... Ray!


Thanks for coming out today. Thanks for cheers for inviting me to participate. My name is Kwan Booth, and this is an excerpt from the short story I have in the book. It's from a series of magic realism, Afrofuturism, short stories I'm working on that kind of use magical ideas to confront social justice and a lot of the issues that we're facing today. So this is called Live From Planet Woke. On a morning that was remarkable in no other way, the famous sports star stared into the bathroom mirror into his own face and the huge problem hovering above it.   After breaking two sets of clippers and chipping his favorite shears, trying to rid himself of the stubborn scruff, he headed down to breakfast. The news was on. A young woman had been shot by police the night before, and they were processed happening all over the country. The famous sports star ignored the news like he always did, but had to call his wife's name loudly to draw her attention away from the big screen. He complained about the new addition to his profile and worried that it would be taken the wrong way, like some kind of political statement or act of defiance. Indeed, this new face with its black power coils did resemble the pictures of the old activists he'd seen in the books his wife was always reading. Books with titles that promised of uprisings and critical examinations of things that the famous sports star had either taken for granted or never fully understood. His wife listened to his concerns and told him that he was overreacting, that it was probably just temporary. And besides, if some people were rattled by a little something like this, then those people needed to have their coattails pulled to the ways of the world that they were living in. The famous sports star trusted his wife and knew that she had a much better grasp on these things. So he sighed with heavy breath, pulled his jersey over his head with a bit more difficulty than usual and headed out to practice. By the end of the month, this mini fro had blown out into a perfect 12 inch sphere and a short beard and goatee has sprouted up to match. He'd begun to resemble some of the men on his father's side with their oak skin and draws that stretched clear back to Mississippi. The ones that the Godfrey and Catholics on his mother's side didn't like very much. Once his fro reached two feet in length, certain friends said that they were shocked and slightly dismayed that he decided to play the race card. At three feet, photos of the star and his new hairstyle would leak to the media. Sports commentators and pundits denounced his actions and questioned his allegiances. By the time his afro topped four feet in circumference, the town where he'd grown up, which happened to have more churches per capita than any city in the United States was torn in two. At the local pizza parlor where he used to work, someone painted a Hitler mustache on his portrait right before someone else covered it in kisses. Someone else hung a mannequin with an afro from the oak tree in front of the house where he'd grown up. By the time the season rolled around, the sports star's afro was the size of the state of Virginia, and there was no way that he could play this season, which suited him just fine. At his wife's encouragement, he'd begun reading the stacks of books that she'd placed strategically around the house, and the more he read, the more the protests erupting around the country started to resonate. He'd taken to spend the majority of his time with his wife and the growing movement of people who'd begun to gather around him. It was like his hair had his own gravitational pull, as people from all over the world were drawn to the man with the planet-sized afro. Before long, the afro eclipsed all of the West Coast, and some of the more adventurous had begun to climb to its peak, scaling the sides to hike across the wide expanse in order to see the world from a new perspective. They discovered that the kinky curls were excellent for growing crops. A little digging revealed networks of underground freshwater streams. Carpenters sheared off long planks of the dense curls to build libraries and schools, and more and more people began to join. The famous sports star's wife was elected to oversee the development. Villages began popping up on the hairy horizon and small houses and customs and names that reflected the names of the people began to show. At press conferences, when he was asked about the development community and what he was hoping to accomplish, the famous now-former sports star said that he was just doing his part to create the world that we all wanted to see. We're just trying to be our best selves, he said, staying right into the cameras and the flashing bulbs. We believe that it's time to build a world where that can happen. And high above them, the sound of hammers and working drifted down to the press conference, the sound of children and singing soon followed as the promise of something better floated just above them all, between the ground and the sky, living and clearly visible to anyone with the courage to just look up. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.