Non-Game of Thrones fans can sometimes feel like Cersei Lannister on her walk of shame, even if they have no idea who she is. Fortunately, Samuel L. Jackson is giving them a new way to quickly gain the basic GoT fluency they need to deal with the millions of die-hards out there. His video recap of the series covers the first five seasons of the hit series in less than eight minutes. With hilarious and profane commentary along the way, even Thrones loyalists will appreciate it.
Jackson serves as the video’s narrator, and scenes from the series correspond with his retelling. To keep things short and sweet, the recap sticks only the most necessary plot points, but they’re all there: the dynamics between key players, the battle for the Iron Throne, and the looming danger of the White Walkers. It is informative and engaging, even if it doesn’t include the “sick” battles.
Perhaps the best part of the video is how Jackson dresses it up with his own opinions. Not only does he label the sadistic Ramsay Bolton (played by Iwan Rheon) a “d–khead,” he likens Cersei Lannister (Lena Headey) to Marie Antoinette and calls her brother Tyrion (Peter Dinklage) “a lush.” There is no mincing of words.
The way clips are integrated to illustrate Jackson’s points is just as fantastic. After he criticizes Cersei’s leadership, for example, the following scene shows just how little she cares about her subjects. “Aha, the people,” she tells Tyrion. “You think I care?”
Ultimately, the recap may bring in new fans, because, as Jackson points out, “all of this is nothing compared to what we didn’t have a chance to get into.” To drive the point home, he references some of the show’s most compelling elements, from the betrayals to the heartbreak to the epic battles. Instead of helping the GoT virgins get by at the water-cooler on post-show Mondays, he may have just given them a new addiction.
With HBO wisely ending the video at season 5, those who haven’t seen the series yet can pick up with the most recent season and watch it during the long wait for season 7.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.