The Mandalorian Recap: S1E3 - The Sin

This week, the Mandalorian returned to The Client for that big payday. But if you thought that little reunion was going to go smoothly, you had another thing coming. Let's get into Episode 3 of the Disney+ original series "The Mandalorian." As always, if you haven't seen the most recent episode yet, you shouldn't be reading this blog, so consider yourself warned. Full spoilers ahead!

First and foremost, Baby Yoda remains adorable. I know this episode was technically called "The Sin," but they might as well have called it "Baby Yoda's Day Out." The Internet's collective child was wide awake and in the height of its glory for the first 15 minutes. In the opening minutes, The Child climbed out of its pod and curiously poked around the cockpit of The Mandalorian's ship, finding a metal knob that the bounty hunter explained was "not a toy." Once they touched down, TM embarked out to turn in his highly valued target, and the lil' thing was just poking its head out of its levitating pod, checking out its surroundings - his hair blowing in the wind - entirely cute as a button. It was a joy to watch.

On a serious note, I fear that, if anything happens to the miniature Force-user, the World Wide Web will burst into flames. It's probably going to happen at some point, and it's not gonna be pretty.

The Client and his men determine that the baby is healthy. They're pretty happy about it. The Mandalorian inquires as to how many other hunters had been sent in search of this particular mark. A lot, it turns out. (We later see that literally everyone in the cantina has a tracker-fob.) But to the victor go the spoils. In exchange for the kid, TM (or "Mando," as he is frequently called in this episode), is presented with a huge stack of credits, which he promptly takes to get melted down for new armor.

We found out that there is an underground society of other Mandalorians that are just chilling outside the armor forge. They give TM a hard time, jealous of the exorbitant amount of money he just earned, and envious of the suit of armor he has been building over the course of the season. Things nearly come to blows at one point, but the female armorer breaks things up, reminding the bounty hunters of the vows they have made for their creed. TM explains that he has never taken off his helmet (since joining the guild, we must presume), and that it has never been removed from him by anyone else, either. The armorer offers to forge another signet (similar to the one he had made for him previously) as a reward for taking down the rhino-beast in Episode 2, but he declines that honor because he couldn't have slayed it without the help of another warrior (Baby Yoda). Instead, he has her craft him something called "whistling birds," which he is warned are very powerful, can take out multiple enemies simultaneously and should be used sparingly.

As she begins to pound out the armor, we see more flashes of The Mandalorian's childhood - most of which seem similar if not identical to shots we've seen before. We do appear to get a bit of additional insight this time. We get a better view of the opponents that attacked his childhood village; there were enemy warships, as well as battle droids. We get a better idea of what happened to TM's parents - it appears that they were either taken or killed just moments after they hid their son in the hatch, and almost immediately, a battle droid discovers the hidden child, which is where the flashback ended this time around.

The Mandalorian heads to the local cantina, fully clad in his brand new Beskar steel armor, and it looks glorious. Truly, this man is an intergalactic baller. He meets up with his old friend Greef Karga (Carl Weathers). Greef explains that all of the other bounty hunters hate "Mando" now because finding Baby Yoda raked in the largest treasure any of them had ever seen. But they both got paid (he flashes some silver bars, which he has been keeping inside his tunic), so he's happy with how things turned out. Despite Greef's constant insistence that The Mandalorian take some time off to enjoy his newfound wealth, TM demands to be given his next mission.

Before he departs, Mando expresses some skepticism about the ex-Empire goons who took Baby Yoda, then asks Greef what The Client intends to do with the infant. At the beginning of the episode, Greef had mentioned, "I don't know if he wants to eat it or hang it on his wall, but he's very antsy." He clarifies that he didn't ask what the goal was, though, because having done so would have been a breach of his "code."

The Mandalorian returns to his ship and finds the knob that Baby Yoda was playing with at the beginning of the episode. We can't see the protagonist's facial expressions, but his long, drawn-out reaction indicates that he is considering going back for the child. What a softy.

Mando returns to the village in search of the infant. He finds the baby's pod, destroyed in a dumpster. (At this moment, it was as if millions of Twitter users cried out in terror, for fear that their Baby Yoda had been taken from them prematurely.) It would seem that The Mandalorian is not very pleased about this, either. He immediately heads to a rooftop and pulls out his long-rifle, which can not only see but also hear through walls, to locate The Client. TM draws some stormtroopers outside of the building, then blows a hole in their wall. Swiftly, he fights his way to the holding cell where Baby Yoda is being kept and monitored. After briefly searching for answers, he grabs the young alien and attempts to make his way out, although he is met with some resistance. He makes light work of those who dared oppose him with a flamethrower built into his armor and those amazing whistling birds!

Elsewhere, the fob trackers of all the bounty hunters light up like the Fourth of July. There's a new bounty, and he's wearing Beskar steel. The hunter has become the hunted.

Mando is eventually surrounded as he makes his way back to his ship. Of all people, Greef is leading the charge. He demands that The Mandalorian put Baby Yoda down and turn himself in peacefully. TM initiates a gunfight and hops into a droid-operated speeder. Greef shoots the droid, crashing the ship and allowing the other hunters to close in on the most wanted man in the galaxy. TM starts blasting away his enemies, popping shots and disintegrating them one shot at a time. It seems as though all is lost. TM looks Baby Yoda in the eyes and it mutters its first adorable sounds.

Suddenly, the Mandalorians from the forge fly in for the save, over the rooftops, allowing TM to escape. Greef sneaks onto Mando's ship and confronts his former friend one final time. Greef accuses The Mandalorian of breaking the code - a sin worthy of death. Mando shoots Greef in the chest, blasting him out of the ship and back to the planet below. We later see that Greef took the shot to those precious silver bars that he was holding so dear, so he's going to be just fine.

As Mando flies away, a jetpack-clad Mandalorian soars up to salute him. TM takes the metal knob and gives it to Baby Yoda. So precious. So heart-warming. Such a great episode.

Questions

There are two recurring themes that, if I'm not mistaken, have been brought up in every episode so far:

• The value of Beskar steel - and the fact that The Mandalorian is one of the very few who possess it
• The fact that The Mandalorian cannot remove his helmet

• What were they monitoring Baby Yoda for? Midi-chlorians?
• What the fight between The Mandalorian and Greef an act? Greef didn't seem too trigger-happy during that shootout, and Mando shot him right where he had seen those credits.
• Will we learn more about the Mandalorian purge that forced them all to go underground?
• Upon further contemplation (conversations with co-workers and the Ringer article I hyperlinked at the top of the blog), the odds that The Mandalorian and Baby Yoda both survive this series are very low. (Why haven't they been mentioned in any other movies or TV shows?) What is the end game here?

Quotes

• "Easy with that." - The Mandalorian, responding to the stormtroopers' rough handling of Baby Yoda's cradle.
• "Such a large bounty for such a small package." - The Client
• "Our secrecy is our survival. Our survival is our strength." - The female armorer describes the Mandalorian creed
• "This is the way." - The Mandalorian mantra
• "How do I know I can trust you?" "Because I'm your only hope." - The Mandalorian and Greef Karga
• "I gotta get one of those." - The Mandalorian wants a jetpack

Qualms

At this point, I really don't have any complaints about this episode. Each episode keeps getting better and better. I love it. The only thing I wish would have happened was that I wanted Baby Yoda to save The Mandalorian from that final fight, but I'm all right with what ended up happening, so it's cool.

Instant Analysis

I thought this was a great episode. We had some great action scenes, wth the hostile break-in to The Client's lab and the shootout at the end. The Mandalorian went full "face turn," to use a pro wrestling term. He's a good guy now and he's going to take care of Baby Yoda. It's awesome. Seeing the Mandalorians come to the aid of one of their own was awesome. I'm really digging this show.

Episode 3 of #TheMandalorian was better than like three or four actual #StarWars movies.

— Aaron Christensen (@atownmania) November 23, 2019

I loved this opening paragraph in the aforementioned Ringer article:

Here's what a very wise former co-worker had to say:

"Tombstone, 13 Assassins, the Mandalorian Ep. 3. All masterpieces of the cinematic showdown. In Episode 3, we feel the heart of The Mandalorian, plus we get more 'ice cream maker' and vibroblades."

- Estevan Ramirez

***

That's it for now! What did you think? Leave a comment below, find me on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter (@atownmania and @sottunderground). I'd love to hear your thoughts and theories.

Until next time,

I have spoken.

The Mandalorian Recap: S1E2 - The Child

Before we get into this blog, let me quickly remind you that we're going to be breaking down every episode of the Disney+ series "The Mandalorian," including full spoilers. Please stop here if you're not caught up through Season 1 Episode 2, "The Child."

When last we left our pal, The Mandalorian, he had tracked down an invaluable bounty - a baby Yoda. This 50-year-old child, we learned, has been the source of much strife in nearby regions, resulting in the death of many bounty hunters who had sought to bring the infant in, dead or alive.

Episode 2, "The Child," begins with The Mandalorian being jumped by a group of bounty hunters. It seems that the hunt continues for the galaxy's hottest commodity, and The Mandalorian must now protect it. TM is wounded in the scuffle, but he is able to overcome his foes, shooting and killing them with his long rifle, which apparently has the ability to disintegrate targets. Pretty nifty.

We see in several instances throughout the episode that Baby Yoda is a pretty observant little thing. After his fight with the bounty hunters, The Mandalorian takes some time to fix up his wounds. The child watches him curiously from his pod and somehow gets out of it! It waddles over and seems to attempt to heal his bloody babysitter, but TM, perhaps surprised to see it walking around, picks it up and puts it back in its crib.

The Mandalorian had a couple encounters with Jawas in this outing. Upon coming across them for the first time, he sniped a couple from long distance, completely eviscerating them with his gun. The battle eventually spilled over onto the desert dwellers' sandcrawler. In a slightly humorous encounter, the midget meanies threw heaps of junk out of their vehicle at The Mandalorian as he attempted to scale the side of the ship. Ultimately, TM made his way to the top of the tank, only to be electrocuted and tossed back down to the earth below. All the while, Baby Yoda looked on, from a safe distance inside his levitating pod.

Upon regaining consciousness, The Mandalorian returns to his spaceship, which he discovers has been ransacked by the Jawas. He returns to the mysterious stranger, Kuiil (who saved his life in Episode 1) and explains that his ship is no longer functional. They take off to track the Jawas on foot.

Kuiil barters with the Jawas to get The Mandalorian's stolen parts back. The Jawas explain in their native jibberish that they will willingly trade the ship's scraps for the Mandalorian's Beskar steel armor. (Again, making a big deal about that steel!) That's not going to fly, though, because TM humorously explains that he shouldn't have to trade anything to get back parts that were his to begin with. The Jawas compromise and say that they'll return the goods if the bounty hunter brings them back "The Egg."

"The Egg" belongs to a beast that dwells in a nearby cave. The Mandalorian tracks down the monster and gives us the best scene of the evening. A brutal battle ensues between our protagonist and a gnarly space rhinoceros. Just when it would seem that all was lost, Baby Yoda came through with an epic save. After showing previous signs of Force usage, our suspicions were confirmed, as Baby Yoda outstretched its hands and halted the beast mid-stride, raising it up into the air and causing enough separation for The Mandalorian to move in for the kill. The expenditure of Force energy overwhelms Baby Yoda, leaving it completely exhausted.

The Mandalorian exchanges The Egg for the stolen scraps, then we're treated to a little ship repair montage. Kuiil wonders whether Baby Yoda was hurt. TM says the baby was not injured - not physically, anyway. The two do not quite understand what happened with the infant in the heat of battle. TM thanks Kuiil for his help, and the old man wishes the bounty hunter well; he hopes that the baby will bring him a handsome reward.

The Mandalorian takes off in his newly refurbishes ship, and Baby Yoda awakes as they travel through space.

Questions

• Still wondering why they're making such a big deal about the value of Beskar steel... Other than that, seemed like a pretty straight forward episode to me!

Quotes

• "They really don't like you, for some reason." "Well, I did disintegrate a few of them." - Kuiil and The Mandalorian discussing Jawa hostility
  
• "I'm a Mandalorian. Weapons are part of my religion." - The Mandalorian
• "I'm surprised you waited." "I'm surprised you took so long." - The Mandalorian and Kuiil after handing The Egg over to the Jawas

Qualms

• My only problem with this episode was that it ended so quickly. Coming in at about 10 minutes shorter than the season premiere, Episode 2 clocked in at a brief 28 minute run time.

Instant Analysis

We didn't have any takers to provide their brief review of the episode this time around, so I'll just give you my quick thoughts. I thought it was a good episode. Baby Yoda is just adorable. The Mandalorian and his child-like bounty are becoming some of my favorite Star Wars characters - and we're only a couple episodes in! I thought the episode was fun and gave enough action and humor to keep me glued to the TV, and I can't wait to see where they go from here.

***

That'll do it for tonight! We're done with Premiere Week on Disney+, so we'll enter a weekly cycle from here on out, with new episodes of "The Mandalorian" streaming each Friday through December 27, 2019.

What did you think? Do you have any questions about where the plot is heading? Did I leave anything out of this recap? What were your favorite parts? Leave a comment below or hit me up on Facebook or Twitter. You know the drill.

Until next time,

I have spoken.

The Mandalorian Recap: S1E1 - Chapter One

Unless you've been living under a rock somewhere, you know that Disney+ launched today, on November 12, 2019. Years from now, we, as a society, may look back on this day as a landmark moment for popular culture. Truly, if executed as it should be, Disney's brand new streaming service will be life-changing. For the first time ever, most of Disney's movie and television library can be found under the same roof. Animated classics - even those that have been "locked in the Disney Vault" for years - Pixar movies, Disney Channel originals, Marvel, Star Wars and Disney+ originals are all available with the click of a button. It's going to be great.

One of the most highly touted original series to premiere on Launch Day is a weekly, episodic installment of Star Wars content called "The MandalorianThe Mandalorian." As described on IMDb, the series chronicles "the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy, far from the authority of the New Republic."

Be warned: from this point on - and, I hope, weekly, after each episode, I'm going to break down what happens in the show, including FULL SPOILERS. If you haven't watched Episode 1 of "The Mandalorian," now would be a great time to stop reading. (But come back later, please, and discuss with me after you've watched!)

So what is "The Mandalorian"?

"The Mandalorian" will be based on the adventures of a yet-to-be-named bounty hunter. At this point, we honestly don't know much about him. But he is reminiscent of the legendary Star Wars character Boba Fett, and he's apparently very good at what he does. While Episode 1 only lays a little bit of the groundwork for who this guy is and what the series is about, episode previews listed on IMDb (for the first three episodes) seem to indicate that the season will largely revolve around the target acquired at the end of the first show.

If we learned anything about the tone of the series after one episode, it truly feels like a throwback to the O.G. Star Wars. Chronologically, Executive Producer Jon Favreau has stated that "The Mandalorian" takes place five years after the fall of the Empire and the events of "Return of the Jedi." This means that a lot of the characters and set pieces look similar to Episode VI - and that's a good thing. The season premiere does have its fair share of CGI (and, for the most part, it looks really good), but it also incorporates a lot of practical effects, from costumes to creatures and props. It's also nice to see a lot of familiar costumes that look like they walked off of the set of "ROTJ." For a day filled with an over-abundance of Disney nostalgia, this step back into the glory days of George Lucas' original vision was a breath of fresh air.

Who is The Mandalorian?

As far as the character, himself, is concerned, The Mandalorian (who I may periodically start referring to as "TM" for the sake of brevity), looks awesome. He's got great armor, cool weapons and a gorgeous ship. In my mind, he instantly became one of the best-looking characters in the Star Wars universe.

He doesn't talk much. I suppose you could say that TM chooses his words wisely. He's no wise-cracking Marvel character - that's for sure - and, when he does talk, his dialogue seems important.

We learn that he had a troubled childhood. We briefly see glimpses of a child, who we presume was The Mandalorian, running through a pillaged town with his parents, gunshots blasting in every direction. We see a couple images of him being hidden by his father, from which we can deduce that the bounty hunter was raised as an orphan.

I also sensed that TM is inherently kind. At one point, after he is saved from almost certain death, he sincerely thanks a stranger for his help. Behind the rough exterior, it would seem that The Mandalorian is a good person. Time will tell.

Intergalactic fun! - Episode 1 Recap

While some early world of mouth indicated that "The Mandalorian" gets off to a slow start, I dug it from the very beginning. The opening cantina scene (which aired during halftime of last night's Monday Night Football) was a good way to kick things off. It felt like it came from the same vein as the "Han Shot First" scene from Episode IV. The part where that the guy got split in half by the mechanical door was brutal and I loved it.

Upon retrieving his first on-screen bounty, TM hauls the criminal back to his ship. Moments later, a gigantic underwater beast breaks through the ice and attacks the spacecraft. That was a fun moment, introducing the first hint of external danger. Generally, the galaxy is not a safe place. It isn't long before the newly bound prisoner tries to weasel his way to freedom. The Mandalorian puts an end to that unfruitful quest by icing the guy with carbonite - simultaneously linking this series to the iconic moment when Boba Fett dooms Han Solo to a similar fate in the original trilogy.

Carl Weathers (best known for his role as Apollo Creed in the "Rocky" franchise) is introduced as a reluctant creditor who has an exclusive job for The Mandalorian. It's great to see him on the screen again! This leads to TM encountering a group of ex-Empire stormtroopers and a wealthy client (played by veteran actor Werner Herzog). He offers TM a lucrative bounty for a highly valued target. Of course, our man accepts the job and heads out for the task.

Along the way, he is saved by an extra-terrestrial stranger (apparently played by Nick Nolte), who, as previously mentioned, saves The Mandalorian's life, then teaches him how to ride some gnarly fish-beasts to cross the desert planet. Meanwhile, the stranger indicates that this particular region has been a hotbed of mercenary activity as of late, and that all bounty hunters who have passed through have died in their pursuit of treasure.

The Mandalorian reaches his destination at the same time as a robotic bounty hunter who I regret to inform you is not the legendary IG-88. Nope. This one is called IG-11, and he's voiced by "Thor: Ragnarok" director Taika Waititi. I really liked the character design of IG-11. His robotic movements and ability to rotate his arms and body 360 degrees were really cool.

IG-11, we discover, is after the same bounty as The Mandalorian and, after a brief moment of hostility, it agrees to help TM acquire the target for a share of the reward (and all of the reputation credits associated with the capture). The two join forces to take out the hostile bystanders outside the building in question. This was my favorite scene of the episode - great action and a lot of exciting moments. The robot's (manufacturer-installed) propensity to initiate his self-destruct protocol was hysterical, too.

When the coast is finally clear, The Mandalorian and IG-11 make their way inside the building and eliminate the last man standing. TM's tracking beacon indicates that the target is nearby. TM discovers the bounty's precise location, but shows some signs of confusion. He had been informed that the target was 50 years old, but what they had stumbled across did not meet that description. The camera reveals that the target, in fact, is...

It's a little baby Yoda?!

IG-11 insists that the target must be eliminated, but TM refuses and kills the droid, instead. The episode closes with a shot of The Mandalorian reaching out toward the tiny hands of his childlike bounty.

Whoa.

Questions

• What happened to The Mandalorian as a child?
• What was the significance of the Beskar steel?
• Why don't Mandalorians take off their helmets? (They mentioned it several times, after all.)
• Where did this Yoda baby come from? What does that mean, exactly? Was Yoda not the last of his species?
• Why do so many people want the Yoda baby dead?
• At the end of the episode, was the Yoda baby hovering with the Force, or was the pod/cradle doing it? (Great question from Clyde Ratliff!)
• Will this show affect future movies or the expanded Star Wars universe?

Quotes

• "Stay off the ice. That's the understatement of the millennium." - The Bounty, after narrowly escaping the ice monster
• "We have him four to one." "I like those odds." - Stormtroopers, The Mandalorian
• "Bounty hunting is a complicated profession." - The Client
• "Anyone else?" - The Mandalorian, after eliminating the last hostile

Qualms

• Overall, I really liked this episode, so I really don't have any major complaints about it, but the second I saw that big, intimidating Mandalorian at the weapons forge, I knew they would end up being a female. It just seemed like the obvious "Disney" thing to do. I was right.
• The playback was a little bit choppy for me. I'm unsure whether this was because of my internet connection or because of extremely heavy traffic for the Disney+ servers, as widely reported throughout the day.
• Also, in the opening cantina scene, there were tons of unnecessary commas in the subtitles. That was quite troublesome to me, as a writer.

Instant Analysis

"I expected it to be good, but it was better than I expected. I didn't anticipate it ending that way at all. I thought we were just gonna have a solid action bounty hunter series. I didn't expect to play with emotions. That baby was adorable."

- Clyde Ratliff

"Episode 1 of The Mandalorian brought great interest in to where this series can go. Brought the Star Wars universe to life with a mix of laughs, action, and suspense."

- DJ Mein

"Having had kept up with additional canonical series like 'Star Wars: The Clone Wars' and 'Star Wars: Rebels' in recent years, it made this show really exhilarating to watch and makes me excited to see what they have in store next."

- Cody Christensen

"There were a couple of fun surprises for true Star Wars fans. This is a promising series with 21st Century Star Wars special effects."

- Gayle Christensen

"Wtf is that yoda"

- Chris Martellaro

***

Well, what did you think? Did you watch "The Mandalorian"? (If you made it this far, I certainly hope so!) I'd love to hear your thoughts and have a nice, weekly conversation about the show. Feel free to add your thoughts to the comments section below, hit me up on Facebook, or tweet at me (@atownmania or @sottunderground). If you'd like to contribute to these posts in the future, we'd love to have you!

Episode 2 of "The Mandalorian" hits Disney+ this Friday, November 15, and then the weekly cycle will commence, with new episodes streaming each Friday, through December 27, 2019.

Until next time,

Do not self destruct. We’re shooting our way out.

WWE 2K20 preview: Who's out? Who's in? What's new?

Another year, another updated roster for WWE 2K. Let's take a moment to break down the changes and prepare for the brand new pro wrestling video game, which launches today, October 22, 2019. To view the entire announced roster for WWE 2K20, click here. Now, behold our breakdown of which wrestlers have been taken out and which characters are being added or returning, and get a look at an overview of some new features:

Who's out?

• Legends
• Alundra Blayze
• Bam Bam Bigelow
• British Bulldog
• DDP
• Greg Valentine
• Lex Luger
• Mr. Perfect
• Rick Martel
• Rick Rude
• Ricky Morton
• Rikishi
• Robert Gibson
• Sycho Sid
• Tatanka
• The Godfather
• Vader
• Those who just don't get enough TV time
• Aiden English
• Alexander Wolfe
• Epico Colon
• Jason Jordan
• Killian Dane
• Konnor
• Lio Rush
• Primo Colon
• Rhyno
• Viktor
• Those no longer with the company
• Chris Jericho
• Dean Ambrose
• Goldust
• Hideo Itami
• Nick Young
• TJ Perkins
• Tye Dillinger
• Alternate attires
• Chris Jericho '00
• Daniel Bryan '12
• Daniel Bryan '13
• John Cena Retro
• Randy Orton '13
• Sting '98 (Wolfpac)
• Sting 2010s
• Triple H '14

Who's in?

• Main roster
• Buddy Murphy
• Nikki Cross
• Zelina Vega (playable)
• NXT / NXT UK
• Io Shirai
• Jaxson Ryker
• Keith Lee
• Mark Andrews
• Matt Riddle
• Mia Yim
• Rhea Ripley
• Tommaso Ciampa
• Toni Storm
• Trent Seven
• 205 Live
• Humberto Carillo
• Legends
• Jerry "The King" Lawler
• Mark Henry
• Molly Holly
• X-Pac
• Managers
• Bobby Heenan
• Drake Maverick
• Alternate attires
• Bayley '15
• Bayley '17
• Becky Lynch '15
• Becky Lynch '17
• Charlotte Flair '14
• Charlotte Flair '15
• Charlotte Flair '17
• Charlotte Flair '18
• Maria Kanellis '08
• Natalya '14
• Natalya '16
• Nia Jax '17
• Nikki Bella '15
• Nikki Bella '16
• Sasha Banks '15
• Sasha Banks '16
• Sasha Banks '17
• Triple H '01
• Undertaker '91
• Season Pass DLC (available at launch)
• Braun Strowman - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• Bray Wyatt - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• Chyna - Deluxe Edition
• "The Fiend" Bray Wyatt - "Bump in the Night" pre-order bonus
• Finn Balor - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• Hulk Hogan - Deluxe Edition
• Mandy Rose - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• Mankind - Deluxe Edition
• Nikki Cross - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• Randy Orton - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• The Rock: $500 Shirt - Deluxe Edition
• Sasha Banks - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire
• Sheamus  - "Bump in the Night" alternate attire

By the Numbers

WWE 2K20 includes:

• 186 unique playable characters on-disc (excluding DLC)
• Same number as the 2K19 roster
• 225 playable characters on-disc, including alternate versions of superstars
• Three less than 2K19
• 47 unique playable women on-disc
• Five more than 2K19, including DLC
• 238 total characters on-disc, including managers and MyCareer original characters
• Fourteen less than 2K19

[Thanks to The Smackdown Hotel for providing these numbers.]

Roster take-aways

Honestly, the only characters I'll miss playing with are DDP and Chris Jericho. Jericho is one of my all-time favorite wrestlers, so he'll be a big loss for the 2K20 roster. (It's an easy fix, though. I'm sure there will be a created wrestler that is the spitting image of Y2J within hours of launch.) Everybody else that has been removed was someone that I rarely (if ever) played with, and most of them have either been off of TV for so long that I don't care about them or is a legend that was popular before my time, so I'm good with it. Cutting the dead weight. I approve.

As far as additions go, 2K is finally adding the three most glaring omissions from last year's game: Buddy Murphy, Nikki Cross and Tommaso Ciampa. A bunch of NXT talent joins the roster this time around, including big names like Io Shirai, Keith Lee and "The Original Bro" Matt Riddle. Perhaps the best additions to this year's game come via the Deluxe Edition, with the return of the hardcore legend Mankind, the immortal Hulk Hogan and (for the first time ever) the Eighth Wonder of the World, Chyna. The last-minute inclusion of Bray Wyatt's most recent incarnation, The Fiend, is great, too.

What else is new?

This year's Showcase Mode will focus on the story of the Four Horsewomen and the Women's Evolution in WWE, so we'll be treated to a bunch of retro alternative attires for the likes of Charlotte Flair, Bayley, Sasha Banks and Becky Lynch, among other prominent female characters.

There will be a Tower specifically dedicated to the career of cover co-star Roman Reigns. The tower will cover classic rivalries with Brock Lesnar, John Cena, the Undertaker and more.

In a first for the series, players will finally be able to create women wrestlers for use in MyCareer mode. Certainly, this is a good step for the inclusion of female gamers who want to have a more relatable story to play.

Arguably the most innovative change coming to 2K20 is the "WWE 2K Originals" concept, which will put unique twists on familiar characters. "2K Originals" will be available as paid DLC for gamers, beginning with the horror-themed "Bump in the Night" pack, headlined by The Fiend Bray Wyatt. Along with the freaky iteration of the former swamp dweller will come a handful of alternate, Halloween-like attires that transform our favorite superstars into monstrous versions of themselves. The mode will take players through original storylines ripped from the realms of science fiction and beyond. While we're don't know an incredible amount about the new mode right now, it will certainly open up the flood gates of creativity for the future of the franchise.

I wanted it and we're getting it!

• Mixed Match Challenge: Mirroring the popular annual competition that WWE has started hosting, 2K gamers will finally be able to create tag teams and play matches with mixed-gender partners. Want to play with John Cena and Sasha Banks? Would you like to pair the popular real-life MMC team of Braun Strowman and Alexa Bliss? Care to match up against Sheamus and Becky Lynch? We'll finally get the chance to do it in 2K20.

Quick Q&A

• Who will be the first wrestlers you play with in 2K20?
• I'll probably take advantage of the long-awaited return of Hulk Hogan, but I'm definitely going to use The Fiend very early on.
• Are there any superstars that you are more excited to play with in 2K20 than you have been in the past?
• Ricochet, Samoa Joe, Ali, Tommaso Ciampa and Johnny Gargano, Bayley, Sasha Banks
• Are there any superstars that you are less excited to play with in 2K20 than you have been in the past?
• Seth Rollins, Braun Strowman, AJ Styles, Becky Lynch
• Are there any superstars that you have no intention of playing with in 2K20?
• Andre the Giant, most of the cruiserweights or new NXT talent, Bobby Fish, Authors of Pain, Tamina, Nia Jax, X-Pac
• Who are you most looking forward to beating up?
• Matt Riddle and Roderick Strong, for sure. Probably Baron Corbin and Shane McMahon, too.
• What is your weapon of choice?
• Kendo stick, easy.
• What feature are you most looking forward to?
• As usual, probably Universe Mode. I created a new promotion called "Friday Fight Night" last year, and I think I'd like to reboot that, but without drafting out the entire roster to RAW, Smackdown! and Fight Night. There's too much unused talent if you do it that way. I'll probably draft about 20 or 25 people to each brand, then leave a big pool of unused free agents so I don't have to worry about leaving out popular superstars from my rivalries and storylines. I also think the 2K Originals mode is going to be fun.

The Bottom Line:

Admittedly, I've seen some less-than-stellar reviews for 2K20 so far, so that's a little troubling, but I have heard good things about the creativity of 2K Originals, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and make up my own mind. It will be nice to have a new, updated roster, despite the loss of Jericho, which pains me to the core. It seems like there aren't a ton of new features right off the bat, so I'm hoping they're focusing on improving existing modes and features. Time will tell, I suppose.

For now, enjoy a couple WWE 2K20 videos to get you hyped:

And if you're in the mood for even more WWE content, don't forget about my recent interview with the infamous WWE villain Vickie Guerrero, which can be found here. Enjoy! See you jabronis in the ring.

MLB TV Viewing Stats - 2019

Last year, I had the insane idea to keep track of every single baseball game I watched using Major League Baseball's streaming service, MLB TV. I did so, and kept track of all of my viewing habits that you can find in a blog by clicking here.

I did the same thing in 2019 but decided to ramp up my findings with additional statistics. Here are the things I took note of any time that I watched a baseball game this year:

• Road team
• Home team
• Broadcast (which team's TV feed I tuned into)
• Winning team
• W/L result of the team whose broadcast I watched
• Duration of viewing
• 1-2 innings: "Minimal"
• 3-4 innings: "Partial"
• 5-7 innings: "Most"
• 8-9 innings: "Full"
• Any interesting notes about the game

By keeping track of these statistics, I have been able to determine whether I am getting my money's worth out of my annual MLB TV subscription and can also (somewhat sarcastically) tell whether I am a good or bad luck charm for the teams I cheer for.

Before we get down to the nitty-gritty, let's review a couple important things, including some stuff that I talked about in last year's blog, to present the broader scope of my investigation:

Factors That Affected My Viewing Habits in 2019:

• MLB TV imposes blackout restrictions on Salt Lake City viewers for any games played by the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks, which means I can't watch Colorado or Arizona play at all, regardless of who or where they play.
• There are additional blackout restrictions for major, nationally televised games, such as "Sunday Night Baseball" or other big games aired by Fox, ESPN, etc., and those games are also unviewable on MLB TV.
• September was not a great month for my MLB TV viewing. I was busy doing other things, like running social media for FanX Salt Lake Comic Convention and, you know, getting married and moving and other miscellaneous adult tasks. I didn't watch any baseball between September 3 - September 26.

Untracked Games:

• I watched one Spring Training game on MLB TV, before the regular season started. I tracked this on my spreadsheet but will not be including it in my statistics for purposes of this particular blog.
• I watched a handful of the nationally televised games on TV; I did not count these as "games watched" in my tracker, so I technically watched a little more baseball than what I'm accounting for in this blog.
• During the 2019 season, I physically attended games in San Francisco, Cleveland and Cincinnati. I did not count these as "games watched," either.

Total Number of Games and Cost Per Game Watched:

• There are 30 teams in the MLB, each playing 162 games, for a total of 4,860 games in an entire season.
• I now realize that this number is actually counting each game (e.g., Orioles vs Yankees) as two games - one Orioles game and one Yankees game. To account for this, the number 4,860 should actually be divided in half to represent the number of actual 9-inning games that are played in a season: 2,430.
• (Note: This was not explained in last year's blog, although I believe the meaning of my message was not misunderstood.)
• The 2019 MLB season ran from March 28, 2019 - September 29, 2019, over a span of 186 days. It is not uncommon for there to be some days during the regular season when no games are played by any team.
• In last year's blog, I was a bit overzealous when I calculated the number of games I plausibly could have watched in one season. I ran the numbers as if I could possibly watch a maximum of two games per day for every single day of the season. That's just not realistic. Here are some notes about how I calculated things in 2019:
• Last year, I calculated that all Rockies and Diamondbacks games, plus nationally televised games, would be about 5% of the overall total of games played. Upon further consideration, Colorado and Arizona games (324 total) would account for 6.6% of total MLB games. I'm not sure how many nationally televised games there are per season, but it's safe to say that there is at least one blacked-out game per week of the season (we'll call it 26 weeks). This would add up to a total of about 7% (about 350 games) that I simply don't have access to.
• Although it is probably only reasonable to watch a maximum of one baseball game per day, there were some days where I did watch at least part of multiple games in a given day, even if I didn't watch all of the games from start to finish. This year, instead of multiplying the number of days in the season by 2 to determine the maximum number of games I could have watched, I will only multiply it by 1.5.
• If there are 186 days in the season and I multiply that by 1.5, as explained above, I am brought to a total of 279 games. From that, I'm subtracting 7% (Rockies and Diamondbacks games, plus 26 blackouts), and subtract an additional 5 games (to represent any nationally televised games that I actually did watch on TV). This brings the maximum number of games that I plausibly could have watched in 2019 to an even 248.
• In 2019, I watched at least a "minimal" portion (as defined above) of 65 games on the MLB TV app.
• This averages out to be about 2.6% of all games played for the entire league (2,430).
• Based on the plausible maximum number of games I could have watched, my calculations show that I watched about 26% of those games. Not bad!
• To calculate my "cost per game watched," I divided the dollar amount I paid by the number of games I watched on the app, which comes out to $1.85 per game. That's a dollar per game better than 2018!

Duration of Viewing:

• Based on the definitions previously listed, here's how long I watched the 65 games, listed in order of frequency:
• Partial: 29 games (44.6%)
• Most: 19 games (29.2%)
• Full: 9 games (13.8%)
• Minimal: 8 games (12.3%)

Overall W/L Record:

• Of the 65 games that I watched on MLB TV in 2019, the teams whose broadcast I watched were 40-25 (.615).
• Note: There were two "Game of the Day" broadcasts that I watched on the app, which featured a neutral broadcast team. In terms of the overall W/L record, I determined the wins and losses for those games based on the team that I wanted to win.

Home/Road Split:

• Of the 65 games I watched, the team I tuned in to watch played 41 home games and 22 games on the road.
• When I watched a team's home broadcast, those teams went 24-17 (.604).
• When I watched a team's road broadcast, the teams went 14-8 (.636).
• Note: I did not count the two "Game of the Day" games as either "home" or "road," which explains why only 63 of the 65 games were accounted for in this breakdown.

Times Watched (Total, Out of 130 Total Teams Watched):

• Texas Rangers: 19
• Cleveland Indians: 14
• Cincinnati Reds: 9
• Detroit Tigers: 8
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 7
• Seattle Mariners: 7
• Washington Nationals: 7
• Los Angeles Dodgers: 6
• New York Mets: 6
• Milwaukee Brewers: 4
• Minnesota Twins: 4
• Oakland Athletics: 4
• Pittsburgh Pirates: 4
• St. Louis Cardinals: 4
• Atlanta Braves: 3
• Boston Red Sox: 3
• Chicago Cubs: 3
• Kansas City Royals: 3
• New York Yankees: 3
• Philadelphia Phillies: 3
• Toronto Blue Jays: 3
• Chicago White Sox: 2
• San Diego Padres: 2
• Tampa Bay Rays: 1
• San Francisco Giants: 1

The Forgotten Five:

• Here are the five teams that I didn't (*or couldn't) watch a single time last year:
• Arizona Diamondbacks*
• Baltimore Orioles
• Houston Astros
• Colorado Rockies*
• Miami Marlins
• This is the second year in a row in which I did not watch the Miami Marlins a single time.

W/L Records for Every Team I Watched, Regardless of Broadcast:

• San Francisco Giants: 1-0 (1.000)
• Oakland Athletics: 3-1 (.750)
• Texas Rangers: 14-5 (.736)
• New York Mets: 4-2 (.666)
• Chicago Cubs: 2-1 (.666)
• Cleveland Indians: 9-5 (.642)
• Cincinnati Reds: 5-4 (.555)
• Los Angeles Dodgers: 3-3 (.500)
• Milwaukee Brewers: 2-2 (.500)
• Minnesota Twins: 2-2 (.500)
• San Diego Padres: 1-1 (.500)
• Philadelphia Phillies: 1-1 (.500)
• Chicago White Sox: 1-1 (.500)
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 3-4 (.428)
• Seattle Mariners: 3-4 (.428)
• Washington Nationals: 3-4 (.428)
• Atlanta Braves: 1-2 (.333)
• Boston Red Sox: 1-2 (.333)
• Kansas City Royals: 1-2 (.333)
• New York Yankees: 1-2 (.333)
• St. Louis Cardinals: 1-3 (.250)
• Pittsburgh Pirates: 1-3 (.250)
• Detroit Tigers: 1-7 (.125)
• Tampa Bay Rays: 0-1 (.000)
• Toronto Blue Jays: 0-3 (.000)

W/L Records for Teams Whose Broadcast I Watched (out of 63 games):

• Oakland Athletics: 1-0 (1.000)
• St. Louis Cardinals: 1-0 (1.000)
• San Francisco Giants: 1-0 (1.000)
• Texas Rangers: 14-5 (.736)
• Cleveland Indians: 9-4 (.692)
• Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 2-1 (.666)
• Seattle Mariners: 2-1 (.666)
• Cincinnati Reds: 4-3 (.571)
• Washington Nationals: 3-3 (.500)
• Atlanta Braves: 1-1 (.500)
• Los Angeles Dodgers: 2-3 (.400)
• Chicago Cubs: 0-1 (.000)
• Chicago White Sox: 0-1 (.000)

Other Fun Facts About Games I Watched:

• I watched the first game of the season (Mets @ Nationals). Robinson Cano homered in his first at-bat as a Met.
• I watched the final Opening Day at Globe Life Park in Texas.
• I saw Patrick Corbin's debut for the Washington Nationals.
• I watched three games that went to extra innings.
• I saw Bryce Harper's return to Washington as a member of the Philadelphia Phillies.
• I watched a game on Jackie Robinson Day.
• I saw a bunch of games that were won on walk-off hits, including one that ended on a grand slam, and one in which Cleveland's Carlos Santana hit his second walk-off winner in consecutive days.
• I watched a Dodgers game that my parents attended in L.A. It ended with a walk-off home run in the bottom of the 9th.
• I saw Rougned Odor get thrown out at home while trying for an inside-the-park home run.
• I watched the end of the game where the Angels threw a combined no-hitter in their first game after the unexpected death of their pitcher Tyler Skaggs.
• I saw several games that were affected by rain delays, including a game in Cleveland that was stopped twice - and ultimately ended prematurely in the 8th inning.
• I saw the Indians' Shane Bieber throw a complete game shutout with one hit on 102 pitches.
• I watched a 14-inning game from start to finish.
• I saw Cincinnati's Jesse Winker hit a home run on the first pitch of the bottom of the 1st inning.
• I watched a game during Players' Weekend.
• I watched the Rangers game in which they retired Michael Young's number. Texas overcame a 2-1 deficit in the bottom of the 9th to win, 3-2.
• I watched as the Reds celebrated long-time radio broadcaster Marty Brenneman's final home broadcast.
• In his final start of the season, I saw Texas' Mike Minor pitch 9.2 innings to end the year with exactly 200 strikeouts.
• I watched the final game played at Globe Life Park in Texas, on the final day of the season.

***

So there you go. Them's the stats. Bless and praise you if you actually read this entire post. Sure, it's nerdy. Sure, it doesn't really matter. Many may consider this a complete waste of time. But you know what? I'm paying money for this thing each year and I want to make sure I'm getting good value out of it. But whatever. Baseball is great and I love it. Like I said in 2018, at least now I can die in peace, knowing that all this pointless information is stored digitally online.

THE END

#FanX Fall 19: "EXCUSE ME!!" - An interview with WWE's Vickie Guerrero

I had the chance to chat with WWE's villainous manager Vickie Guerrero during FanX Fall 19 in Salt Lake City last weekend. On-screen, she was irritating, annoying and universally despised. Vickie broke into World Wrestling Entertainment in 2005, being incorporated into storylines with her husband, the late WWE Hall of Famer Eddie Guerrero, and has since spent more than a decade as the recipient of relentless boos from the WWE Universe. Her shrill cries of "EXCUSE ME!!" send audiences across the country into a frenzy and maintain her reputation as one of the most reviled personas in the history of professional wrestling.

Her appearance at the convention last weekend was a surprise to many; she announced that she was in town in a social media post on September 5, the first day of FanX, and it became my immediate goal to track her down for an interview. Unlike her TV character, Vickie couldn't have been more pleasant in person. She was kind, friendly and remembered me on each day of the convention as I passed by her booth.

Here's my interview with Vickie, recorded on the second day of FanX Fall 2019:

Signs of the Times: All right, Vickie. How are you doing?

Vickie: “I’m great. How are you?”

SotT: Doing great. Thanks for coming out.

V: “It’s my pleasure. I love Salt Lake City. The people and the fans are just so wonderful to me. No one has thrown any food, so that’s good.”

SotT: Awesome. Not yet. That’s good. All right, awesome. I just wanted to ask you a few questions about your career. First of all, what got you into wrestling? Was it [late husband] Eddie? Or did you have an interest in that before?

V: “No, you know what? Before I met Eddie, I hated wrestling. I was in a family [with] five younger brothers. I couldn’t stand it. I was a cheerleader and a dancer, but when I dated Eddie, I kind of was like, ‘Fine, whatever.’ It slowly started growing on me and I had a big respect for it. Once I got married to Eddie, I just loved it. I started falling in love with the sport.”

SotT: Ok. Tell me about the “Excuse me!” catch phrase. [Both laugh] Where did that come from and how did it catch on so quickly?

V: “’Excuse me!’ came from me forgetting my promo lines one night. They gave me a promo that changed maybe like three or four times before we went live, and I just messed it up and the crowd was just being so awful with me that I just kind of yelled ‘Excuse me!’ at them. They kind of roared back, and I was kind of like, ‘Wait a minute…’ [Laughs] I didn’t think it was going to catch on until the writers said, ‘Let’s try this again,’ and the more times we did it, the crowd started recognizing that that was going to be my catch phrase. Eighteen years later, I’m still doing it, so it’s been great.”

SotT: Yeah. So, you were in the Women’s Royal Rumble, weren’t you?

V: “Yes – the first one.”

SotT: That’s right. I remember because, “Excuse me!” hit, and I said, “No! No way!” [Both laugh]

V: “I was so excited! That’s such a great honor to be in the first one. It was a lot of fun. I got to see my old friends and then meet the new women on the roster. Number 16 will be my lucky number forever.”

SotT: Awesome. Can you tell me a little bit about the “Women’s Evolution” in wrestling and where you see that going in the future?

V: “I think it’s been a great change for the women’s division. I mean, you take maybe eight to ten years before that, and the women were just eye candy for the show. The women back then were really talented, and they wanted to have these good matches that had quality time [on television], so to see how it’s changing and they’re getting the opportunity to main-event Wrestlemania, main-event “RAW” and “SmackDown!”… I’m really proud of where it’s [come] today.”

SotT: Great. Do you have any people that you really enjoyed working with – any favorite rivals or anyone that you were a manager of, or anything like that?

V: “Yeah, I think my favorite storylines were with Undertaker and Edge, Dolph Ziggler, the McMahons, ‘LayCool,’ Betty White, the Muppets… It goes on and on! [Laughs]”

SotT: What has been your favorite part of being in Salt Lake City this weekend?

V: “You know, I’m not on the Celebrity Row, but I came through a vendor and I love it because I can take my time and talk to the fans. They can share their stories, I can share mine, and it’s just a good quality time to enjoy their company. This is a blessing for me to be here.”

SotT: Well, thank you so much for coming. We’re so glad that you’re here.

V: “Thank you! I appreciate it!”

***

Vickie Guerrero can be followed on Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and at vickieguerrero.net. For future #FanX content and more blogs about wrestling, you know what to do. Keep it here with Signs of the Times.

LOST: The Top 5 Mysteries

In 2008, JJ Abrams presented a TED Talk called "The Mystery Box." You can watch the 18-minute presentation below:


In his presentation, Abrams relates a story about buying a sealed box of magic tricks for $15. He was told that the contents of the box were worth $50. However, he has never opened the box. He leaves it, sealed, in his office. Why? Abrams explains, "I find myself drawn to infinite impossibility." Mystery, he says, is the catalyst for imagination, and sometimes mystery is more important than knowledge.
Here are a couple of articles that may shed some additional light on the concept of "mystery box" storytelling:

• Sterling & Stone - What is a Mystery Box?
• Film School Rejects - The Evolution of the Mystery Box
• The Verge - Legion Gets the Mystery Box Formula Right Where Westwood Failed

So what were a few of the "mystery boxes" in "LOST"?

• What, exactly, was the Island?
• What made Walt special?
• Why were there polar bears on the Island?
• Why couldn't women on the Island have children?
• What on earth was the Smoke Monster?

It was this particular type of storytelling that made "LOST" a smash hit TV show when it debuted 15 years ago in 2004. The show succeeded, in part, because the writers provided so many questions up front without immediate payoff, keeping the audience guessing for seasons at a time - all in an era without the spoiler-rampant culture of social media and binge-watching to ruin surprises in advance.
Of course, the series' divisive and controversially ambiguous ending left some fans furious at the apparent lack of answers to some of the Island's biggest mysteries. Admittedly, not all of the twists worked as well as they could have, but some of those surprises were absolutely brilliant. Here are our five favorites (with a few others receiving honorable mention):

5. The Man from Tallahassee

Anthony Cooper was a real piece of work. From stealing one of his son's kidneys then pushing him out a window, Cooper's constant manipulation of poor John Locke was tough to watch. In "The Man from Tallahassee," Ben Linus brings Cooper to the Island to be confronted by Locke. Later, in "The Brig," animosity between Locke and Cooper reached a boiling point. Locke calls in James "Sawyer" Ford to kill Cooper when "LOST" dropped a bomb that even the Dharma Initiative would be proud of.
It is then revealed that Cooper is also the original "Tom Sawyer" - the man who conned James Ford's parents and whose moniker was adopted by the Island's resident redneck. After years of searching, Sawyer had finally found the man who ruined his life.

4. Jeremy Bentham

For the entirety of Season 4, we wondered who on earth Jeremy Bentham was and why his death was so unsettling for the Oceanic Six. In a dramatic turn of events, we find out that the body in that coffin is none other than John Locke, who we didn't even know ever made it off the Island!
Equally as shocking was finding out who put him in the coffin to begin with. Although Jack Shephard and the gang were led to believe that Bentham had committed suicide, it turns out that Locke was prevented from killing himself by a perfectly timed visit from Ben Linus. However, mere moments after talking Locke off of the ledge, Ben strangles him to death in the emotional conclusion of the Season 5 episode "The Life and Death of Jeremy Bentham."
ScreenRant.com lists seeing Locke in the coffin and watching Ben kill Bentham as two of their Top 25 moments of "LOST."

3. The Numbers Rarely does a TV show ingrain something as clearly in the minds of its viewers as "LOST" did with the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23 and 42. Were the Numbers special? Were they bad luck? Did entering them into the computer at the Hatch really save the world? Did they even do anything at all? Such were the mysteries of those lottery-winning digits. In Season 6, we discovered that the Numbers were linked to "Candidates" who were being brought to the Island by Jacob as a way to select a new Protector.
The Numbers also served as Easter eggs, from blatant usage such as "Oceanic 815" to other less obvious appearances. To the keenly trained eye, the Numbers were everywhere. All these years later, we can't help but repeat them every time we fly into LAX.

2. Not Penny's boat

In perhaps the most tragic of twists, Charlie Pace put a Sharpie to good use and spent the waning moments of his life to inform Desmond Hume that the freighter the survivors had just made contact with was not who they thought it was. Nope. It was "NOT PENNY'S BOAT," after all. His dying message became one of the most widely recognized images of the entire series.
IGN.com ranks "Through the Looking Glass" as the second best episode of the series, next to "The Constant."

1. "We have to go back!"

So you mean those flashbacks in Season 4 were actually flash-forwards?! In. Sane. At the shocking conclusion of "There's No Place Like Home," it is revealed that Jack has constantly been booking flights, hoping that he crashes back onto the Island. In a drunken bender, he begs Kate Austen to meet him at the airport where he pleads those classic lines -- say them with us -- "We have to go back, Kate! We have to go back!"

Without a doubt, this is the most classic and best twist in all of "LOST." Over the course of four seasons, viewers had grown to know the age-old formula: on-Island drama, off-Island flashback. But in the Season 4 finale, they flipped the script (quite literally) by treating everything like a flashback and revealing the first of many mind-bending time jumps to come.

Honorable Mention:

• It is revealed that Locke was paralyzed before he got to the Island ("Walkabout")
• Ben kills Jacob moments after meeting him ("The Incident")
• Michael shoots Ana Lucia ("Two for the Road")
• Daniel Faraday is revealed to be the son of Charles Widmore and Eloise Hawking ("The Variable")
• Sayid shoots Young Ben Linus ("He's Our You")

***

What are your favorite mysteries from "LOST"? Do you agree with us? Did we leave anything off the list? Let us know in the comments section below or on Twitter at @SotTUnderground.

As always,

Namaste... and good luck.