Endpoem

A text game about life in space

Astoria is a fairly linear, 9,000-word story inspired by Forbidden Planet, Golden Age science fiction, and starfaring games like Knights of the Old Republic and The Outer Worlds. Play in your browser on any device. (This is an early test build.) Key art by @afterblossom.

Free to play at itch.io

‘Saul’ good (and other TV)

It’s not easy to say goodbye to Better Call Saul, the supposed end of Vince Gilligan’s Albuquerque cycle. I bought my dad the complete Breaking Bad on DVD for Christmas in 2014, and we watched the entire thing together, back before I had kids or a real full-time career. Jesse Pinkman, Nacho, Jimmy and Kim—these characters have meant the world to me for the better part of a decade, and Saul was absolutely the pinnacle.

El Camino, Saul season five, and the two halves of season six have been such a gift of flawless storytelling these last few years; sometimes they were the thing that got me out of bed in the morning. Logging into work on a Monday ain’t so bad when you’ve got more of Kim and Jimmy’s mischief to look forward to. Peter Gould, Gilligan, and company stuck the landing. If one of your favorite characters must die, you can’t ask for a more beautiful sendoff than “Rock and Hard Place.”

Bob Odenkirk’s book, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama: A Memoir, was a great way to spend a weekend, as well, deepening my appreciation for an actor who’d already won my heart in the first couple seasons of Saul. (I’ll admit it: The character was never my favorite part of Breaking Bad. It took the Jimmy dimension to win me over and sell me on the idea of a spinoff. Mission accomplished, I guess.)

It’s a nice treat to see Odenkirk back in his home country of comedy, and it made for a good excuse to watch Mr. Show season one while I was waiting for Better Call Saul to come back from its mid-season break. Bob and I have a shocking number of things in common: five-nine, Irish-Catholic, Illinois guys, a cynicism born of trauma, severe impostor syndrome, et cetera. Anyway, I can’t wait to see what he does next.

I loved Atlanta season three; “New Jazz” was my favorite episode by far, probably because it focuses on Al (Paper Boi) and is weird even by Atlanta standards. I also enjoyed Stranger Things season four, which was a definite high for that series—Joseph Quinn was brilliant. And as a Halo fan going all the way back to 2001, I mostly dug the TV adaptation’s first season, though the finale was a bummer.

I’m a couple seasons into a Mad Men rewatch, trying to fill the void left by the Gilliverse, and it’s a different show now that I’m a father with two kids and more of a career. Unbelievably good.

‘The Rings of Power,’ classic Tolkien, and other fantasies

This was the year I got really into epic fantasy outside of, say, the Elder Scrolls games. The Rings of Power came along just in time to cure my post-Saul blues, and it certainly did the trick. It’s a gorgeous (and expensive) spectacle, with a rich, expansive world, mythic stakes, and some really great performances. And have you seen how beautiful that cast is? I’ve been known to develop the occasional TV or movie crush, Your Honor, but Morfydd Clark’s Galadriel is in a league of her own. My God. She’s great in Saint Maud, too.

After Rings of Power, I rewatched the extended cuts of the movie trilogy and bought a stack of books for good measure—The Hobbit, Rings, The Silmarillion, The Fall of Númenor, Tolkien’s translation of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. I just finished Fellowship of the Ring, which is exquisite, and I’ve been reading The Hobbit aloud to my daughter. We’re about three-fourths of the way through that one.

I finally saw the original Willow and Legend (1985) earlier this year, and thought both were excellent. (The Legend Blu-ray from Arrow Video looks stunning.) House of the Dragon was pretty fantastic—as good as Game of Thrones in its earlier seasons, only more focused. And the Disney Plus Willow series is probably my second-favorite fantasy work of 2022; it’s playing around with the same kind of Lovecraftian terror as John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness, and I can’t help but see it as a riff on the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

‘Andor’ and more

There was some good star stuff on the tube this year. “The Tribes of Tatooine,” the second episode of Book of Boba, elevated that series above the disposable feel of Mandalorian season two (“The Believer” notwithstanding). And Deborah Chow’s Obi-Wan Kenobi gave those of us who grew up on the prequels a magnificent bookend to the Obi-and-Ani relationship.

Light & Magic, the six-part docuseries on ILM, offered a phenomenal overview of special-effects history beginning with the inception of Star Wars and ending with the biggest breakthroughs of the CGI era. You could easily do a second season on the last couple decades of blockbusters and stuff like StageCraft, but maybe that’s a series for down the road.

But of course no Star Wars discussion this year could pass without addressing the main event, Andor, which can safely be called the best Star Wars story since 1983. Tony Gilroy is a masterful writer and showrunner, responsible for much of what people loved in Rogue One, and he brings all his intelligence and rage and love to Andor. He and his crew ought to be very proud. Who knew that all Star Wars needed was more Andy Serkis and Diego Luna? Gilroy, evidently.

Shadow of the Sith, a 496-page novel by Adam Christopher, was another Star Wars highlight in 2022. If you’re looking for a good Luke Skywalker book, or a good Lando Calrissian book—or some spooky Sith magic—you’ll find all of that and more in this moving Rise of Skywalker tie-in. For those curious about Rey’s parents, this is largely their story, as well, and it’s beautifully done. My favorite Star Wars book in years.

Always gamin’

I’m not a full-time games journalist anymore, so my gaming habits are a lot more relaxed than they used to be. Which is to say I play to have fun, now, and I can’t recommend it enough. I buy far fewer new games these days, for one, though I did love Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, Destiny 2: The Witch Queen, and several games I’ve started but not yet finished.

One of my biggest games this year was Final Fantasy VII Remake, which I finally finished on the PS5. Hell of a game—if any video game can be called a masterpiece, that one comfortably belongs in the category. I also rolled credits on Mass Effect 2 and 3, and thought the latter was far superior to the middle chapter in spite of the general consensus. Regardless of how you feel about the very end, that game is quite an achievement for BioWare, and I hope Dragon Age: Dreadwolf is even half as engrossing.

I spent a lot of time playing Fortnite and Call of Duty online this year—something I plan to do a lot less of in 2023—but had plenty of fun doing it. I replayed a lot of familiar favorites: Skyrim, Halo Infinite, Fallout: New Vegas, Miles Morales. Most of my hours on the Nintendo Switch were spent with KotOR and KotOR II, and I’m currently struggling through an attempt to replay Morrowind on the Xbox, which is both painful and rewarding. I’m rediscovering a lot of the reasons why I fell in love with it twenty years ago.

At the movies

I didn’t go to the theater much this year, but I did watch 209 movies—most of them at home on my 65-inch TCL 5-Series. My top ten films of 2022 were The Fabelmans, Top Gun: Maverick, Elvis, del Toro’s Pinocchio, Watcher, Everything Everywhere All at Once, Pearl, The Batman, Nope, and Hellraiser. Fabelmans and Top Gun in particular made my heart soar; it’s nice to see both Spielberg and Cruise still delivering career-best work a full two decades after Minority Report, which was my favorite movie for a long time.

Outside of those ten, I also loved Kimi, Beavis and Butt-Head Do the Universe, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Revealer, and Confess, Fletch.

As far as new-to-me classics, I had a very fulfilling year working my way through the gaps in my Carpenter and Mann viewing, if nothing else—They Live, Prince of Darkness, Elvis ’79, Big Trouble in Little China, In the Mouth of Madness, Cigarette Burns, Ali, The Insider, The Keep… I spent a lot of time studying my favorite Carpenter flicks last year as I wrote the treatment for a horror script that’s lived in my head for a while, but I didn’t want to watch Prince of Darkness till after I’d finished a detailed outline of the story. In 2022, I logged fifteen Carpenter films and seven from Mann.

I saw Citizen Kane, F for Fake, The Bride of Frankenstein, The Godfather, Part II, Solaris (2002), The Meyerowitz Stories (every bit as good as Marriage Story), Twin Peaks season two and The Missing Pieces, Killing Them Softly, Jaws, Your Name, The Gambler (the one with James Caan, not Marky Mark), Bonnie and Clyde, Near Dark, The Hidden, Silent Running, the original 3:10 to Yuma, Joe Kidd.

It’s been a hard, stressful, scary, transformative year. But I’m grateful for the strides I made, both personal and professional, and for the media and stories that inspired me along the way.

Originally published as a webcomic in February 2020.

Panel 1:

Interior. Cockpit of the Millennium Falcon. The planet Felucia.

We’re looking up toward the forward viewport, a world of lush color—life—outside the freighter. On the left, Ben Solo remains seated in the chair that once belonged to his father. His head is in his hands; he’s trying to find the strength to face the only family he has left. Rey stands to his right, supportive, one hand on his back. They’ve made it. Leia’s son is alive.

Panel 2:

Now we’re facing them. A slight smile crosses Rey’s lips as the prince of Alderaan begins to rise. A pair of golden dice glints overhead.

Panel 3:

Rey leads the way out of the cockpit, a silhouette. Ben follows her, dragging one large, ungloved hand along the door frame. It’s a reversal of Luke’s Falcon scene from The Last Jedi.

Panel 4:

We’re down on the floor in one of the Falcon’s tight corridors. Rey and Ben stride past; we only see their lower legs. The focus here is a nest of porgs, who watch, unimpressed, as our heroes head for the exit.

Panel 5:

The gangplank has been lowered onto the moist Felucian earth. From outside the ship, we see a callback to the elevator scene aboard the Supremacy. (“I’ll help you.”) This time, Rey’s the more confident of the two. Ben is visibly relaxing at this point; he has a supportive companion in his life for perhaps the very first time. They stand side by side, gazing into each other’s eyes. He’s nearly ready to face—the future? The Resistance? He can think only of his mother’s face. He hasn’t seen her in years.

Panel 6:

Rey ascends a muddy hill, and Solo follows. The Resistance outpost isn’t far.

Panel 7:

We’re at the top of a staircase, and they’re both facing us as they climb the steps: the last of the Jedi. Ben’s behind Rey, still nervous. It’s a dark, Rebellion-era facility like the one on Crait. Walls of dried clay. Rey’s looking straight ahead—at someone else. Rey allows herself to smile, full of hope.

Panel 8:

On the opposite side of the command center (a dim space, cargo boxes and a few transparisteel screens scattered here and there) is an open blast door. Sunlight pours in. Maybe we glimpse a waterfall outside. With her back to us, Leia Organa’s silhouette is luminous.

Panel 9:

Rey’s stepped off to the side. She gestures for Ben to go ahead.

Panel 10:

Leia turns, unbelieving.

Panel 11:

Ben hurries toward his mother. They both prepare for an embrace.

Panel 12:

Close on Rey as she smiles through tears. They’ve won. Love, compassion, forgiveness—this is victory.

Panel 13:

Over Leia’s shoulder, we’re seeing Ben’s face as he realizes he’s finally home.

Panel 14:

Wide angle on the sun-gilded mother and son. Ben, at peace, seems somehow smaller in Leia’s arms.

Interested in 12.5 hours of in-depth Andor discussion and analysis? We’ve got that! Thanks so much to everyone who’s tuned into the podcast in recent weeks. It feels great to love new Star Wars this much. Andor’s special.

🍎 Listen on Apple Podcasts

🟢 Listen on Spotify

Get my book on Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic for 20% off with discount code BFCM22!

Andor season two writer Tom Bissell called it “a fine book about how one the best video games ever made was created. Darth Revan, HK-47, the lost planet of Sleheyron, a charming story about Ed Asner—it’s everything you’ve always wanted to know about a truly fascinating game.”

Originally published on AO3 in December 2019.

—I wondered when you might show up.

—Figured you’d waited long enough.

—I’m used to it.

—You’re wearing your hair down again.

—Today.

—Looks nice.

—Thanks. You look… tall.

—It wasn’t s’posed to be like this.

—No?

—Of course not.

—It was foolish, what you did. You should’ve left me there in the dark and gone.

—Without you?

—Oh, please. You’re the son of Leia and Han. A prince. I’m nobody, remember? Worse than no one.

—They loved you. You know that.

—It should have been me. Buried with the rest of the Sithspawn.

—You’re wrong.

—And to think I thought you were the monster, once.

—I was.

—A handsome one. Understanding, gentle.

—Please don’t.

—I’m fine. Just a bit of dust.

—I only ever wanted to make things right. But for a long time, I didn’t know what that meant.

—You don’t have to prove anything. Not to me.

—I know.

—I never got a chance to say thank you.

—Well. That kiss—

—Hold on a sec. This damned skyhopper… Can’t imagine it’ll ever fly again.

—Why bother? You’ve got the Falcon.

—It feels good. Tryin’ to fix things.

—She looks great, by the way. Dad’d be glad you’ve held onto her.

—Fastest ship in the parsec, I think. It’s home.

—Shame I can’t go with you.

—Go where?

—Anywhere but here.

—Tatooine’s not so bad. It’s quiet. Out of the way.

—Like Jakku?

—Don’t you dare.

—I’m serious. There’s a whole galaxy out there. Full of green and life and music.

—I’ve seen it. Force had other plans for me.

—Still holdin’ on.

—I do miss you, Ben.

—I’m right here.

—You know what I mean.

—I was dead long before we met.

—I know the feeling.

—You saved so many lives. The Jedi’ll live on because of you. And the Rebellion.

—You’re a hero, too, you know.

—Was just helping a friend.

—Friends? That what we’re calling ourselves?

—Call it what you want, sweetheart.

—That’s more like it, Solo.

—Listen to that drive purr. Nicely done.

—Just needed a little love. And a fresh converter.

—Look how grubby your hands are.

—I am not afraid to smack a ghost.

—Put the spanner down first.

—I cried so hard, and for so long. Yet here you are.

—Glad I found you.

—What’s it like, out where you are?

—It won’t take long. And you’ll be with me.

—Eternity? It’s beautiful. An ocean of stars, all the light in the universe. But it doesn’t have you.

—I’ll meet you there. One day.

—I know you will.

—Just have a few things I need to do first.

—I’ll wait.

—We got lucky. Didn’t we?