Decoding Westworld

This episode is brought to you by Nissan - EVs that electrify. Thanks for a great season of TV recapping! We’ll be recapping Succession next so stay tuned for more episodes of the podcast.In this Decoding TV bonus episode about The Last Of Us, David and Christian discuss topics such as:Listener/viewer reactions to the seasonThe realism of the season finaleThe philosophical questions in the discourseWhat we think season 2 of the show might look like (spoilers are clearly marked)And much more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Nissan - EVs that electrify. Thank you for listening this season! We’ve loved making this podcast for you. We’ll be doing one additional bonus episode next week responding to feedback and other thoughts on season 1 so please stay tuned. In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 9 of The Last Of Us, “Look for the Light.”Joel and Ellie wrap up their journey for the season. But how well does this ending work? Do we think Kiss Kiss Bang Bang could’ve prevented the tragedy that takes place in this episode? And at the end of the day, what do we think this show is trying to say about love and grief? Listen to hear us discuss all this and more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Ever

This episode is brought to you by Nissan - EVs that electrify. In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 8 of The Last Of Us, “When We Are In Need.”A new character illustrates a different element of the post-apocalypse. But how believable is the character of David? What do we make of Joel’s turn this episode? And how amazing is Bella Ramsay in this episode? (Spoiler: Extremely!). We discuss all this and more on this week’s episode.Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Nissan - EVs that electrify. In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 7 of The Last Of Us, “Left Behind.”A detour takes us away from the main timeline of the series. How well does it work in at this point in the story? How does it compare to the game? What does it teach us about Ellie’s life and her relationship to others? And what is this show trying to say about FEDRA anyways? Listen to hear us discuss all this and more.Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to our sponsors for this episode:Nissan - EVs that electrifyThe McDonald's app - Download the McDonald's app todayIn this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 6 of The Last Of Us, “Kin.”Joel and Ellie reunite with someone familiar in unexpected circumstances. What is the source of friction between the characters? How will Joel deal with the possibility of getting out of his commitment to Tess? And is Joel going to make it out of this situation alive? Listen to hear us discuss all this and more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to our sponsors for this episode:Nissan - EVs that electrifyThe McDonald's app - Download the McDonald's app todayIn this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 5 of HBO’s The Last Of Us, ‘Endure and Survive’This episode finishes off a two-episode arc as we continue to follow the stories of Kathleen, Henry, and Sam. How good was Henry’s escape plan, exactly? Is Kathleen a compelling character? What does this episode’s script do well (and not)? And what does this show have in common with World War Z? Listen to hear us discuss all this and more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Thanks to our sponsors for this episode:Nissan - EVs that electrifyThe McDonald's app - Download the McDonald's app todayIn this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 4 of HBO’s The Last Of Us, ‘Please Hold To My Hand.’This episode captures the bombed out countryside of the U.S. as Joel and Ellie continue their journey. How well does the episode bring this post-apocalyptic country to life? How effectively does it capture the set pieces from the game? Where is Joel and Ellie’s relationship at this point? And what’s up with these new characters that are introduced? Listen to hear us discuss all this and more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Decoding TV is brought to you by our sponsors:Nissan - EVs, that electrifyThe McDonald's app. There's always a reason to order in the app.In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 3 of HBO’s The Last Of Us. Every single episode of this show has been better than the last. Has the show finally peaked? We don’t know but either way, this was a tremendous episode of television.How effectively did the show depict the relationship between Bill and Frank? Is this show’s vision of the American government a realistic one? And what was up with that weird scene between Ellie and that dude in the basement? Listen to hear us discuss all these questions and more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everythin

In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss season 1 episode 2 of HBO’s The Last Of Us.What do Christian and David thinks of these flashback cold opens (a TV show invention)? How does Tess and Joel’s relationship reveal itself through the course of the episode? What do we learn about this specific post-apocalyptic universe this time around? And how about that ending? Listen to hear us discuss all this and more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

To get more bonus episodes like this one, consider becoming a paid member at DecodingTV.com!In this Decoding TV bonus episode about The Last Of Us, David and Christian discuss many of the changes between the videogame and the TV series, including:The framing of Outbreak DayThe relationship between Joel and TessWhat’s going on with Joel and Sarah’s neighborsMarlene and Ellie’s relationshipAnd much more!NOTE: We’ve tried really hard to keep this as non-spoilery as possible but show-watchers-only should be warned that you may consider some of this material to be spoilers.Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLC Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Nissan. Nissan - EVs that electrify.In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Christian Spicer discuss the series premiere of HBO’s The Last Of Us. Join us each week for episode recaps and bonus episodes discussing the show!How successfully does this beloved story make the jump to TV? How well does the casting work? Does this show have anything new to add to our cluttered post-apocalyptic TV landscape? Listen to hear our thoughts on these questions, and much more!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeSubscribe to Christian Spicer’s newsletter, Let’s Chat GamesCheck out Christian Spicer’s videogame podcast, DLCSubscribe to David’s newsletter, Decoding Everything Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happy holidays, all! In this Decoding TV bonus episode, David Chen is joined by Ashley Esqueda and Siddhant Adlakha to discuss The Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special. What is it like to see Marvel superheroes participating in everyday Earth rituals? Does the special rely too much on your real-life knowledge of [REDACTED]? And how important is it to watch this Special before the next Guardians of the Galaxy movie? Listen to hear our thoughts!Links:Learn more about Ashley’s workFollow Ashley on TwitterLearn more about Siddhant workFollow Siddhant on TwitterFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeFollow David Chen on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode of Decoding TV is brought to you by Nissan. Nissan - EVs that electrify. In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen, Joy, and Kim Renfro discuss the hit Netflix series 1899 (from the creators of Dark). What did we think of the production design of this unique TV show? How did the characters evolve and change? Where do they end up? And most importantly: WTF is going on with the ending of this show?This podcast episode begins with overall thoughts before heading into full spoilers.Links:Read Kim’s article about the ending of 1899Follow this podcast on YouTubeFollow this podcast on Tiktok  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Support this podcast by becoming a paid member of DecodingTV.com.For Decoding TV’s coverage of The Last of Us, I couldn’t be more thrilled to have a co-host who’s a veritable Last of Us expert. Christian Spicer co-hosts the DLC videogame podcast and is the host of The Official Last of Us podcast(!). In this introductory podcast episode, we discuss five burning questions we have about the upcoming series.The Last of Us series will debut on HBO on January 15th. You can expect the our next podcast episode to be a recap that covers the season premiere. I hope you’ll consider joining us for the journey.Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comListen to Christian Spicer’s work on The Official Last of Us PodcastListen to DLC, Christian Spicer’s videogame podcastSubscribe Christian Spicer’s newsletterFollow this podcast on TwitterFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTube Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is brought to you by Nissan. Nissan - EVs that electrify!In this episode of Decoding TV, Roxana Hadadi and David Chen discuss the shocking season 2 finale of The White Lotus. We finally learn who the dead bodies are in the season premiere but is the result narratively satisfying? Did Harper and Ethans’ relationship play out in a believable way? Should Meghann Fahy win an Emmy for her work this season? (spoiler: yes) Did the Di Grasso family learn anything from this whole misadventure? Did Valentina’s storyline end up resonating? Listen to us discuss all this and more! Roxana and I will be back with one additional bonus episode for paid DecodingTV.com members sometime in the next week or so.Decoding TV will be covering The Last Of Us, premiering on HBO on January 15th! Be sure to stay subscribed to get all our episodes, with a special announcement sometime in the next week. Thanks to everyone who has listened this season, thanks to Decoding TV paid members for making this podcast possible, and a b

Hey folks,David Chen here. Roxana Hadadi and I had originally planned to record our White Lotus season 2 finale recap this evening but due to scheduling issues, we’re going to be delivering that full episode tomorrow instead.In the meantime, here are our quick reactions to the finale, which we just finished watching this evening. Stay tuned tomorrow for the full episode!Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comRead Roxana’s work on VultureFollow Roxana on TwitterFollow this podcast on InstagramFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeFollow David Chen on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Roxana Hadadi recap and discuss season 2 episode 6 of The White Lotus, “Abductions.”Tanya discovers multiple shocking secrets about Quentin, but what exactly is his endgame? Portia realizes the disadvantages of seeing a guy like Jack, but can she extricate herself before she gets in too deep? Ethan starts wondering where exactly he and Harper stand with each other, but can their relationship be saved? We discuss all this and more in the podcast! Plus: we make predictions for the finale episode! Send in yours to decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)com!Decoding TV paid members: You can add the private private Decoding TV feed to your preferred app/device by going to decodingtv.com/listen.Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comRead Roxana’s work on VultureFollow Roxana on TwitterFollow this podcast on TwitterFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeFollow David Chen on Instagram Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode is sponsored by Nissan. Nissan - EVs that electrify.Programming note: Thanks for joining us for our coverage of The Crown this season! If the new Harry and Meghan Netflix documentary is worth discussing, we’ll be covering it here on Decoding TV in the weeks to come.David Chen and @joyonapping are covering The Crown season 5 in three installments:Episodes 1-3Episodes 4-6Episodes 7-10 (this episode)Today, we discuss The Crown Season 5 episodes 7-10, “No Woman’s Land,” “Gunpowder,” “Couple 31,” and “Decommissioned.”How did The Crown handle the saga of the Martin Bashir interview? Why is the show seemingly intent on rehabilitating the image of Charles and Camilla? Did we really have to end season five by exploring the plotline of the Royal Yacht again? What is the effect of juxtaposing normal everyday divorces with the cataclysmic one depicted in the show? We discuss all this and more!Links:Follow @joyonapping on TwitterSubscribe to David Chen’s new newsletter, Decoding EverythingFollow Decoding TVOn

This episode is brought to you by Nissan. Nissan - EVs that electrify.In this Decoding TV bonus episode, David and Patrick discuss all the stuff they wish they’d mentioned on the Andor season 1 finale wrap-up, including:What are the details we know about season 2 at this point? How did the Decoding TV indirectly end up annoying Tony Gilroy? Is Luthen actually a Jedi? What is the significance of the funeral procession song that plays in episode 12? Why aren’t there more aliens in the show? What are the advantages of having a big hood, Luthen-style? Listen to hear us discuss these questions and much more!Did you enjoy Decoding TV this season? Consider supporting the podcast at decodingtv.com.NOTE: This episode contains details that could conceivably be considered MILD SPOILERS for season 2, so tread carefully if you’re trying to avoid. See y’all in 2024!Links:Patrick’s Keero fancamLA Times interview with Tony GilroyRoxana Hadadi’s interview with Tony GilroyFollow Decoding TVOn YouT

This episode of Decoding TV is brought to you by McDonald's, proudly serving communities since 1965. McDonald’s. I’m lovin’ it.In this episode of Decoding TV, David Chen and Roxana Hadadi recap and discuss season 2 episode 5 of The White Lotus, “That’s Amore.”In this episode, Quentin further ingratiates himself with Tanya. But what’s his real endgame? Cam, Daphne, Ethan, and Harper keep trying to make this vacation work, come hell or high water. Things with Albie and Portia come to a predictable conclusion(?), plus Bert and Dom finally attempt to hash out some of their longstanding differences. We discuss all this and more in this week’s episode!Decoding TV paid members: You can add the private private Decoding TV feed to your preferred app/device by going to decodingtv.com/listen.Links:Email us at decodingtv(AT)gmail(DOT)comRead Roxana’s work on VultureFollow Roxana on TwitterFollow this podcast on TwitterFollow this podcast on TiktokSubscribe to this podcast on YouTubeFollow David Chen on Twitter Hosted on