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http://www.afronerd.com/2021/12/wesley-snipes-is-blade-after-all-more.html

Afronerd Radio can now be heard LIVE courtesy of Apple Music/Itunes

Whelp, Christmas is coming folks!  It's the Yuletide season and let's get it! Keeping it short and sweet, check out the latest installment of Afronerd Radio's Mid Week in Review airing this and every Wednesday at 8 p.m. eastern on BTalk 100.  The topics to be imbibed this week are as follows:  legendary actor, Wesley Snipes may still be in the mix to play a version of Blade, if recent reports ring true, especially post No Way Home.  Let's discuss; And speaking of original versions of characters (and the actors) having a "rebirth" or another shot at the silver screen... more Spider-men news;  our thoughts about the Hawkeye season finale and does it signify a series ending?;  another untimely Black male death but this time it concerns the passing of underground Black masculinist/"red pill" Youtube phenom, David Michael Carroll.  The full explanation for Carroll's demise is pending but we honor his contribution to Black men's media;     

notable comic book publisher, Dark Horse (Hellboy, Black Hammer, Umbrella Academy) was just acquired by VG giant, Embracer;  what exactly is dietary racism and what does it have to do with Starbucks?;  thoughts about the recently released  Showtime trailer  entitled, We Need To Talk About Cosby featuring comedian, W. Kamau Bell: 

Dburt tripped over classic episodes of Knight Rider Netflix' causing him to ponder whatever happened to "fantasy car" themed TV programs and why haven't they been revisited? 

One thing that Dburt is doing (finally) is investing in cryptocurrency, courtesy of Roundlyx. We would implore our followers to investigate, discern and then explore by using our referral code: afro-87A4BF

https://blackgirlnerds.com/everything-we-know-thus-far-about-season-2-of-raising-dion/

Raising Dion was officially confirmed for a Season 2 in Netflix’s very first renewal of 2020, continuing everyone’s favorite young superhero’s saga. For those unfamiliar with the show, Raising Dion is an unexpected television series hit from late 2019, and considering that viewing status, it was also one of 2019’s biggest debut shows. As a result of gathering a massive audience, Raising Dion got a near-instant renewal, and it’s slated to finally drop on Netflix in early 2022. Here’s your first look and everything we know thus far about Season 2 of Raising Dion.

On the one hand, the series continues its well-established narrative centered around a single mother Nicole (Alisha Wainwright) and her son Dion (Ja’Siah Young), as they deal with the mysterious loss of Dion’s father Mark (portrayed by Michael B. Jordan). Of course, the everyday drama of single parenthood greatly amplifies when Dion starts developing superhero-like abilities, from telekinesis to teleportation. Nicole must protect Dion from situations in which he might exhibit his powers and various villains and agencies looking to put them under a microscope or worse. It’s a beautiful take on the hardships of being a single parent to a child with superhero powers, rather than just any other “run-of-the-mill” kid-superhero television series.

Halfway through Season 1, Dion finds out that his father was trapped inside a storm by a deadly lightning man, who wishes to strip Dion of his powers. By the season’s end, Dion “confronts” the villain, named the Crooked Man, who managed to possess Brayden, the son of one of the superpowered men that the villain has absorbed in the past. This sets up the stage for Season 2 conflict between our titular hero and Brayden. Of course, the threat won’t be imminent. According to Netflix, both Brayden and Dion connect and become friends before the plot twist hits and Dion finds out that the danger still looms.

The threat itself isn’t specified, but its scope is definitely bigger than it was in Season 1, considering that Dion and Nicole now have an entire city to protect. It’s quite possible that the said threat, a Crooked Man perhaps, has all the answers pertaining to the fates of those he had consumed, including Dion’s father. Those who watched the Season 1 finale might remember that Mark (Jordan, the purported Val Zod of Earth-2), appeared in somewhat of a corporeal form and faded away once again, but not before saying that he’s neither alive nor dead — which puts a really big question mark over what happened to him and how it might be resolved in the future episodes.

It is entirely possible for Season 2 to focus on bringing those absorbed by the Crooked Man back to life, but that could mean ending the series a season or two earlier. As much as we would like to see Michael B. Jordan’s superhero dad of the series in action, bringing him back would eliminate one of Dion’s motivations, which would ultimately shorten the series. Hopefully, Jordan, who’s also an exec producer on the series, knows what he’s doing. The fandom certainly wants to see more of him in the upcoming season.

Most of the main cast is coming back for Season 2, including Ja’Siah Young, the titular superhero Dion, Alisha Wainwright as Nicole, and Sammy Haney as Esperanza, Dion’s friend who suffers from a brittle bone disease. However, in February of this year, Netflix announced four new members added to the cast: Rome Flynn as Tevin Wakefield, Aubriana Davis as Janelle Carr, Tracey Bonner as Simone Carr, and Josh Ventura as David Marsh. Unfortunately, there’s no release trailer for Raising Dion Season 2 in which we could see all the actors in their respective roles. Netflix has a habit of launching trailers approximately one month before the official release date.

This leads us to one of the final points — the Season 2 release date. Considering that Season 1 was released in October 2019, it was entirely reasonable to expect a new season in October this year, given that Netflix announced the series in early 2020, which meant that the start of production wasn’t far behind. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic pushed back almost every conceivable cinematic and television release, with some releases scheduled for 2020 being rescheduled for 2022. However, production did begin in January 2021, and according to Aubriana Davis, it concluded in late May 2021.

Just a few days ago, on December 14, Netflix revealed the release date for Season 2 of Raising Dion, along with a few images of the upcoming Season 2. This means that the trailer for the new season should be just around the corner. What better way to start the following year than with one of Netflix’s mega-hits?

http://www.afronerd.com/2021/12/no-way-home-review-no-spoilers-feige.html

Afronerd Radio can now be heard LIVE courtesy of Apple Music/Itunes

And the holiday season continues...   Greetings to our ever-loyal and growing listenership!  Check out a brand new episode of Afronerd Radio's Grindhouse-airing this Sunday at 6 p.m. eastern on the BTalk 100 internet broadcasting network.  Join your "indestructible" AFROnerdist hosts, Dburt and the "Uncanny" Daryll B., as they investigate and unravel the following topical flora:  whelp...it's finally arrived and just in time for Christmas-the third installment of the MCU/Sony's Spider-man franchise, No Way Home premiered this weekend to rave reviews and a stellar box office and we give our impressions; And in the wake, of No Way Home's success as well as how the film concluded, reportedly Marvel Studios president, Kevin Feige (along with Sony and Marvel) are quickly working on developing more Spider-man storylines;  a testy exchange between media personality, Lenard "Charlamagne tha God" McKelvey and Vice President, Kamala Harris concerning the authenticity of Joe Biden's presidency, goes viral:

Yet another classic hip-hop legend passes from our mortal plane....UTFO member, Shaun Shiller FeQuiere aka Kangol Kid succumbs to colon cancer at 55; 

frequent Afronerd Radio guest, David Walker is slowly usurping the moniker, "Hardest Working Man in Show Business" with another one of his IPs reportedly receiving the cinematic translation treatment.  Walker's comic, The Hated appears to be landing at Netflix as a series; and speaking of Netflix, veteran filmmaker, Spike Lee, has garnered a deal with the streaming service for even more content;  Lastly, the popular video-sharing platform, Twitch purportedly is taking a more anti-racism stance, beginning with the banning of the usage of "cracker" by streamers.      

One thing that Dburt is doing (finally) is investing in cryptocurrency, courtesy of Roundlyx. We would implore our followers to investigate, discern and then explore by using our referral code: afro-87A4BF

https://blacknerdproblems.com/wheel-of-time-recap-episode-6-the-flame-of-tar-valon/

Quote of the Episode: “She comes! The Watcher of the Seals, The Flame of Tar Valon, the Amyrlin Seat.

-Leane Sharif

AHHHHHH! I don’t know what to do with Wheel of Time episode 6. It sometimes feels as if the show is flying through the books only to get stuck on a specific part for wayyyyyyyy too long. We only got 2 episodes left, and this was the first episode where I wasn’t satisfied at the end. I felt like I needed another 35 minutes. One of the things that needs to happen in order to keep the Bookwyrms from turning into Bookcloaks is to give us more anchor points. I know that the tv show has to adapt the books because Robert Jordan was a voracious writer, and there’s no way to just make a 1-1 adaptation without it ending up 14,000 episodes. But we need to have our anchor points so it doesn’t feel foreign, and so we can keep the faith that our major plot points are going to be taken care of. For example, when I saw Shadar Logoth, I didn’t care about the fact that we didn’t meet Thom until after they left the Two Rivers. Shadar Logoth was one of my anchors, and they did it so well. They earned some grace. I’m hoping as the series goes on that we get more of those anchors. Ok, let’s jump into the recap!

REMINDER: Spoilers are Elaida’s sneaky link in the North Harbor, and I am Moraine ready to tell the rest of the reds & blow up the spot.

We start Wheel of Time episode 6 with a flashback scene with young Siuan Sanche. For the Bookwyrms, seeing her fishing was kinda awesome, and it was nice to get a taste of her origin story. One of the common themes we’ve seen over and over is the limits of the one power. Sure, Siuan can untangle a knot, Moraine can warm some water, but it doesn’t keep Valda from cutting off Aes Sedai hands, it doesn’t keep Trollocs from invading and chasing the EF5 up and down the mountains, and it doesn’t keep Siuan’s house from burning down. The parting scene between Siuan and her father was well done and heart breaking. I think this scene is the perfect counter to some of the critics who have said the acting in Wheel of Time has been wooden. Papa Sanche embodied the complicated emotions of a parent who is in a space of mournful peacefulness, because they have to send their daughter away for their own safety.

We scene switch to the present day. I’m really loving the dress uniforms of the sisters when the hall is in session. It was one of those things I hadn’t thought of while reading the series, but of course they would have separate uniforms for “away games” vs. “home games.” Can’t be rolling up to the hall of the tower looking dusty and ragged from the road. Seeing the full hall in session was an awesome moment, only to be eclipsed by Siuan Sanche’s judgement of Logain. Her quiet, surgical evisceration of Logain Ablar was laser guided in its precision. If it’s the release of death you seek, you won’t find it here no matter what foulness you spill. You’ll serve as an example. My only quip with this scene was that I thought the Amyrlin’s rainbow stole would have been brighter and bolder.

The next scene is that we find out that Liandrin is a snitch. I hope to see her get stitches at some point. I really dislike Liandrin. She isn’t quite Jeoffry Lannister (Baratheon) unlikeable, but she is eclipsing Joaquin Phoenix’s Commodus from Gladiator. I am enjoying disliking her.

Moraine finds out that Mat is sick with the Omicron strain of Shadar Logoth and forces him to get a double vax booster shot on the spot. This is a place where the show diverges from the books, because in the books it takes a group of Aes Sedai to heal Mat, I’m curious as to why they made this change. We end this scene with Moraine smacking down Nynaeve. And then we are back to Moraine and Maigan, who apparently is a leader among the Blue Ajah. Side note, it was at this moment, I knew that Wheel of Time episode 6 was the Moraine episode. All Moraine all the time.

We transition from bathhouse to bedroom and apparently Siuan isn’t Moraine’s enemy after all. Some BookCloaks were quite angry about this interpretation, but it is cannon that Siuan and Moraine had a relationship at one point. I think it was a clever way of showing the connection between the two. They were hiding something in the books, and I think that’s exemplified through their affair in the TV show. I loved this entire scene, the way Siuan’s face was anguished when she said “I thought we’d have more time” was damn good.

We get another Loial scene that’s way too short. I love everything about his character, how he’s portrayed, and I hope we get more Loial in the series. I really enjoy the show, but I’m still a Bookwyrm. I haven’t yet sworn my allegiance to the Bookcloaks, but one of my complaints is the lack of Loial. Amazon gave us 8, 1-hour episodes, and I feel like we needed 12, hour and a half long episodes. I’m unsure of how they are going to wrap everything up in the next 2 episodes. We still haven’t gotten enough backstory on so many characters (Loial is one of them), but right now we just don’t have the needed screen time.

Next, we run over in time to see Siuan Sanche giving a classic Samuel Jackson “end of the movie” rising, “call to action” monologue. “The Wheel does not care if you are young or afraid petty or weak, it certainly doesn’t care what you want, the wheel calls you to this whether you can bear it or not. The last battle is coming!“ All Siuan needed was a black eye patch, bad wig, or end the speech with something about snakes on a plane and we could of rolled credits. Go ahead, re-read that last sentence in Sam Jack’s voice. It works!

We switch over to Moraine in The Tower getting judgement. Granted a judgement that her and Siuan cooked up after a night of listening to Janet Jackson’s Ropeburn, but a judgement nevertheless. I understand why they needed to introduce the oath rod, but I don’t like how they did it. I think they should of left the oath rods for the Aes Sedai ceremony, and I would of liked to see it “settle” on Moraine a little tighter. We finish this scene with a Klingon Discommendation exile ceremony. I was just waiting to see Chancellor Gowron to show up with a Bat’leth.  

We end with Moraine opening The Ways so the squad can get to the Eye of the World and fight the Dark One while he’s still weak. I don’t understand the reasoning behind making the ways open with channeling as opposed to the explaining the Avendesora leaves. I hope they clean that up a bit, because otherwise it doesn’t explain why Loial is there. I do wonder if we will get a Machin Shin appearance next episode. For some reason, Mat decides to hang back, and honestly I’d rather have seen a wall drop on him, because this made no sense.

With the end of Wheel of Time episode 6, I really need these last 2 episodes to be 5X Dylan hot fire, because I’m a bit worried. Episodes 1-4 started off very strong, even with some of the changes, I saw how they fit within the grand narrative. I’m starting to have my doubts, and I think the problem is… I need more book anchors. I need to see more things from the books that anchor me into the story, so the other small changes don’t loom so large. That, and we could all use 300% more Nynaeve stabbing people. Episodes 5 and 6 seem to struggle a bit, and now with just 2 episodes left, I’m concerned about how they plan on landing this plane. The show has struck a flock of birds, lost power to an engine, and I’m looking down at the Hudson River and hoping that Captain Sully is behind the controls. I guess it’s time to roll the dice.

Want to catch up on what you missed from the Wheel of Time? Check out BNP’s other reviews here.

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The post ‘Wheel of Time’ Recap: Episode 6 “The Flame of Tar Valon” appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.