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The Mini is a bite-sized version of The New York Times' revered daily crossword. While the crossword is a lengthier experience that requires both knowledge and patience to complete, The Mini is an entirely different vibe.

With only a handful of clues to answer, the daily puzzle doubles as a speed-running test for many who play it.

So, when a tricky clue disrupts a player's flow, it can be frustrating! If you find yourself stumped playing The Mini — much like with Wordle and Connections — we have you covered.

SEE ALSO: Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more: Play games on Mashable

Here are the clues and answers to NYT's The Mini for Friday, December 13, 2024:

Across"Live ___" (longtime Taco Bell slogan)

• The answer is Mas.

Jockey's garb

• The answer is Silks.

"Abso-freakin'-lutely!"

• The answer is Hell yes.

Antlered animal at Yellowstone National Park

• The answer is Elk.

Twenty-sided item for tabletop games

• The answer is Die.

Bordeaux or Burgundy

• The answer is Red wine.

Like a smooth operator

• The answer is Suave.

Green additive to the Chicago River on St. Patrick's Day

• The answer is Dye.

SEE ALSO: NYT Connections hints today: Clues, answers for December 12, 2024 DownChewy chocolate bite in a yellow box

• The answer is Milk Dud.

100%

• The answer is All.

Take a great leap of faith, say

• The answer is Skydive.

Tennis great Monica with a palindromic surname

• The answer is Seles.

River that meanders through Paris

• The answer is Seine.

"You understand?"

• The answer is See.

Path

• The answer is Way.

If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.

Featured Video For You The Wordle Strategy used by the New York Times' Head of Games

Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today's Strands.

Not the day you're after? Here's the solution to yesterday's Mini Crossword.

The holidays bring big expectations for parents.

Whether aiming to simply delight your child or really wow them, a flashy tech product can seem like the fastest way to make their holiday dreams come true.

But experts say it's worth reflecting on how that technology might upend your home life. A new gaming console can lead to arguments over time limits. Your preschooler may accidentally use their new tablet to play inappropriate games. That virtual reality headset your teenager begged for may trump in-person hangouts with friends.

SEE ALSO: One thing to know before you buy a gift card

Dr. Jenny Radesky, a developmental pediatrician who authored the American Academy of Pediatrics screen time guidelines for children ages zero to five, says there are thoughtful strategies for avoiding or managing these conflicts. (The AAP has its own set of related tips for parents.)

She recommends critically evaluating the tech you plan to gift, considering any alternatives as necessary, and then preparing to talk to your child about how they'll use it.

"It's good to have fun with your kids and enjoy their happiness," Radesky says. "But there's also really big differences in the design of different technologies that make them more of a headache for parents..."

And no one wants a headache after weeks of planning and prepping for holiday gift-giving.

Whether you've already purchased a tech device for your child, or plan to do so, here are five questions to ask yourself before you gift it:

Is the technology well-known?

Radesky says that buying your child a gaming console with years of user experience behind it is a different situation than purchasing a new AI-robot companion for your child (yes, such a thing exists).

With a Nintendo Switch or Sony PlayStation, you can scour expert reviews for pros and cons, talk to parents who own the console, and read related media coverage about their safety practices and parental controls. The same won't be true of new and emerging products; you'll have less information to make an informed decision, compared to other established tech products.

That said, trust your gut if you research a product that's been on the market for years and develop concerns that it's not right for you or your family.

Is it really educational?

Radesky says that children's tech toys and devices often claim, without evidence, that they're educational. The appealing marketing strategy can deceive parents into purchasing disappointing products.

There are devices and apps with simplistic designs and distracting ads, for example. And some products say they'll help your child with a fundamental skill, like reading, but actually have a narrow scope, such as practicing the alphabet.

Radesky recommends that parents think about whether a so-called educational product is indeed better than a child's own imaginative play, which can help them develop critical skills.

"Open-ended and pretend play is a really important process for kids to develop mental flexibility, their attention span, and their ability to do storytelling in their heads," Radesky says.

She also notes that educational claims aren't vetted by a regulatory body in the U.S., nor are the companies that make them required to provide proof substantiating those claims.

Are there any safety or privacy concerns?

Each tech device has its own safety and privacy considerations, which creates a lot of work for parents. A smartphone, for example, can give marketers, predators, and bullies a direct line to your child. A new video game, popular amongst your child's friends, might feature unexpectedly mature violent or sexual content.

To get a better handle on these issues, Radesky suggests that parents research what parental controls are available for devices and subscriptions.

Parents can also consult Common Sense Media's wide-ranging reviews of games and apps. (Radesky has received research funding from Common Sense Media in the past.) Mozilla's *Privacy Not Included guide offers reviews based on whether a product meets the company's minimum security standards. The guide includes a number of children's toys and games, as well as wearables and entertainment products, like Amazon and Apple tablets.

Once you better understand the potential safety and privacy tradeoffs, you can either decide against buying the product or choose to address them through parental controls or other protective settings.

Can you swap the tech out for something else?

Sometimes parents buy a tech device in an effort to solve one problem, like offering entertainment on long car rides, but the purchase inadvertently creates more conflict.

Radesky says parents should first consider how the tech will be used, and whether there's a more effective alternative. A parent interested in gifting a tablet or phone so their child can listen to music might instead look into smart or screen-free speakers, for example.

While less well-known than an Amazon Echo, the Yoto, Toniebox, and Mighty offer different types of screen-free access to music, podcasts, and audiobooks.

SEE ALSO: Yoto Player review: This screen-free speaker keeps kids entertained and engaged

Privacy issues with these alternatives may still be a deal-breaker for some parents, but Radesky says they can also facilitate skill-building and social interactions in ways that a tablet can't.

Without a screen to focus on, children have to train their attention on whatever is playing on the device. Additionally, smart or screen-free speakers mean family dance parties or conversations about a podcast are much more likely to happen than if a child is staring at a phone or tablet.

What conversation do you need to have with your child?

Radesky advises against letting your child use their gift without first talking to them about boundaries. You needn't have that conversation as they tear off the wrapping paper, but it's wise to chat with them before they start playing with the gift.

With their input, the discussion should focus on guardrails, such as parental controls and screen time limits. If there's an onboarding or setup process, Radesky recommends that parents do it alongside their child. That gives parents an opportunity to talk about any safety concerns while normalizing communication about technology and devices.

Depending on the product, you may also need to download a companion app or create your own account in order to connect to and monitor your child's account.

Importantly, parents should ensure that their child's age is accurately entered during setup, as it can affect default safety settings, such as the ability to message with other users or what kind of personal data is collected.

If you don't want to be a buzzkill, Radesky says you can let your child explore and play with their gift over the holidays with few or no time limits, then rein that use in before school starts.

Either way, parents should have low expectations of their child's ability to stop playing over the holiday break, and Radesky recommends not becoming anxious about that reality. Approach it with curiosity when your child spends several hours playing a new video game by simply asking, "How did that feel?"

And if reflecting on your plans to gift tech these holidays now has you doubting the impulse purchase of a deeply discounted product, that's OK. Radesky says you don't have to commit to the gift.

"You really want to go in with a sense of, 'I want to use this intentionally so that it doesn't feel like we're battling all the time," she says.

NASA's Juno spacecraft has made several close swoops by Jupiter's volcanic moon Io, and it's beamed back stunning views of this distant volcanic land.

The recent flybys in late 2023 and early 2024 have provided planetary scientists deeper insight into this tortured moon's volcanic workings. NASA has now released new images from this volcano world, captured by Juno's highly sensitive camera called the Stellar Reference Unit, showing hot lava and fresh lava flows.

"During the #JunoMission's close flybys of Io, its instruments detected recent changes on the surface, and even the glow of active lava," the space agency posted online.

SEE ALSO: NASA scientist viewed first Voyager images. What he saw gave him chills.

In the image below, snapped on Dec. 30, 2023, active lava breakouts on the surface are shown by the red arrows and circles. This volcanic region is called the Zal Montes-Patera complex, and it's comprised of those two mountains sandwiching a dark "patera," made of fresh lava flows.

Juno was just 932 miles (1,500 kilometers) above Io when it captured these images, which are the highest-resolution views Juno has ever captured of Io.

NASA's Juno spacecraft detected glowing lava hot spots in Dec. 2023 during a close flyby. Credit: NASA / Caltech-JPL / SwRI

The following image shows an "unprecedented elongated, curved emission feature," NASA explains, which is located near the dark patera. Planetary scientists suspect it's an active lava channel. Also visible is part of a giant lava flow, called Tonatiuh after the Aztec deity, that's 98 miles long and 11 miles wide. It's located on the left edge of the left image and the top edge of the right image.

High-resolution views of the Zal Montes-Patera complex on Io. Credit: NASA / Caltech-JPL / SwRI / LPI/USRA

Io is blanketed in erupting volcanoes because it's relentlessly locked in a tug-of-war between nearby objects, notably Jupiter. "Not only is the biggest planet in the solar system forever pulling at it gravitationally, but so are Io’s Galilean siblings — Europa and the biggest moon in the solar system, Ganymede," NASA explained in a statement. "The result is that Io is continuously stretched and squeezed, actions linked to the creation of the lava seen erupting from its many volcanoes."

NASA's recent flybys of Io, however, reveal that it likely doesn't contain a global magma ocean beneath its surface, as determined by new observations of the moon's gravity. Instead, each of Io's 400 or so volcanoes may harbor their own chamber of magma.

And as Juno's swoops by Io reveal, this roiling hot rock often pours onto the surface, creating a constantly evolving, extreme volcanic land.

It was a week of frenzied activity, as Silicon Valley billionaires and their companies brandished checks and compliments for the President-elect.

Users are now flocking to Bluesky. But every social media platform becomes a wasteland in the end.

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The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is a fascinating experiment in adaptation. It's not adapting a novel of J.R.R. Tolkien's, but rather two pages from his Appendices, which lay out the last great stand of one of Rohan's most famed kings, Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Succession's Brian Cox).

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' review: What if Éowyn got her own movie?

In this section of the Appendices, Tolkien writes that a rival lord named Freca (voiced by Shaun Dooley) proposed that his son Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino) marry Helm's daughter. Not only does Helm reject the proposal outright — he also kills Freca with one mighty punch. (His name is Hammerhand for a reason.) Wulf vows vengeance and spends the next few years assembling a mighty army. Then, he takes the city of Edoras, and pushes Helm and the Rohirrim back to the Hornburg, where a long, cruel siege awaits.

It's a great story, one that sees Helm singlehandedly terrorizing Wulf's men until his very last breath. But to make it into a full-length film, screenwriters Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou (who took over from original writers Jeffrey Addiss and Will Matthews) had to make some changes from the original text, expanding on it in some places, and cutting it in others.

To learn more about The War of the Rohirrim's adaptation process, Mashable spoke with Gittins and Papageorgiou about the choice to center Helm's daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), the role of The Lord of the Rings' Éowyn (Miranda Otto, returning in voiceover) as narrator, and more.

Helm's daughter Héra — unnamed in Tolkien's work — takes the lead in The War of the Rohirrim. Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

While you might think two pages of fictional history isn't a lot for writers to draw from, Gittins and Papageorgiou disagree.

"It's actually so dense," Papageourgiou told Mashable in a Zoom call alongside Gittins.

Gittins added: "It's Tolkien! The strength of his world-building means there's always going to be a thread that pulls another thread that pulls another thread."

One of the threads from the original text The War of the Rohirrim pulls on is that of Helm's unnamed daughter, mentioned just once in Tolkien's writing. ("Do not look for tales of her in the old songs," Éowyn tells us in her opening narration. "There are none.") It was producer Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote The Lord of the Rings movies and is also Gittins' mother, who suggested that the film dive into what her story might look like. After all, the conflict between Wulf and Helm starts as a result of a marriage proposal involving her.

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' trailer teases an epic battle for the fate of Rohan

"We felt Tolkien really did place her at the heart of this conflict," Gittins said. "It is her story in large part. A lot of this war is because of her. And once we got our heads around that, it became very exciting to see what we could do with this character, and see what we could bring to the table with her."

Héra's involvement allows The War of the Rohirrim to further flesh out Helm's dynamic with his own family, as well as pay tribute to Rohan's shieldmaidens. But it also solves a bit of a logistical problem in terms of how to carry The War of the Rohirrim forward following Helm's final sacrifice.

We felt Tolkien really did place [Héra] at the heart of this conflict. - Phoebe Gittins

"When you look at the text, you know the fate of Helm Hammerhand. You know it's epic, and it's tragic, and it's iconic, but it didn't really give us an ending," Gittins explained. "The value at stake, the Rohirrim, are still behind those walls in the Hornburg. You can't just leave them there. So who can see this story through for us?"

The answer became Héra, the only one of Helm's children whose fate is left uncertain in the Appendices. Bringing her to the forefront allowed The War of the Rohirrim to explore a new kind of warfare in the latter part of its siege sequence.

"We get to see the defense of the Hornburg from a nontraditional general or leader or commander," Papageorgiou said.

The War of the Rohirrim shows us a different kind of attack on the Hornburg — with some callbacks. Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

The War of the Rohirrim is not the first time Lord of the Rings fans have seen the Hornburg under attack. That honor falls to the Battle of Helm's Deep in The Two Towers, a sequence so monumental that anything remotely resembling it has some big shoes to fill.

"That is untouchable in the films," Gittins said.

So how would The War of the Rohirrim bring something new to an attack on the Hornburg? By focusing in on the brutal, months-long attrition of the siege. (For comparison, the Battle of Helm's Deep lasts one night.) As the Long Winter rages on, Helm leaves the Hornburg nightly and fights his way through parts of Wulf's camp. Meanwhile, Wulf has his men build a siege tower that will eventually breach the walls of the keep.

"It was exciting for us to go into that space in a deeper way," Gittins said. "What we found really cool was that there's suffering on both sides in the stalemate, and at some point it's going to break. There is this great horror that begins to unfold where the Rohirrim are seeing their impending doom."

"There's this sense of a ticking clock," Papageorgiou added.

SEE ALSO: The 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' cast debates whether Sauron is "brat"

Wulf's presence at the Hornburg is a deviation from Tolkien's work, where he remains on the throne in Edoras until his defeat at the hands of Helm's nephew Fréaláf (voiced by Laurence Ubong Williams). Here, though, his vengeance drives him to pursue Helm and Héra all the way to the Hornburg himself, intensifying the standoff. It also brings the final clash between Fréaláf and Wulf's men to the Hornburg, instead of leaving it in Edoras.

Fréaláf and his army's arrival at the battle echoes Gandalf and Éomer's arrival at Helm's Deep in The Two Towers — they even ride down the same hill! Meanwhile, Héra's idea to distract Wulf with a duel (a new addition to the story) calls to mind a smaller scale of Aragorn's plan to draw Sauron's eye away from Frodo in The Return of the King. But these aren't the only references to the original Lord of the Rings trilogy that Gittins and Papageorgiou added to The War of the Rohrrim.

The War of the Rohirrim brings Éowyn back ... as a narrator. Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Tolkien's appendices are presented as straightforward histories. The War of the Rohirrim adds a twist to that by presenting its story as a tale told by Éowyn. It's a fitting choice, given that Héra is basically Éowyn 2.0. Both are headstrong daughters of Rohan's king during a time of crisis, each desperate to help their people even when their fathers' protectiveness may hold them back.

"We knew we would need to draw inspiration for [Héra] from somewhere, and we asked ourselves the question, 'Who would have paved the way for the likes of Éowyn?'" Gittins said. "So it just felt like a really natural fit, given that we'd drawn so much inspiration from Éowyn to Héra, that we use Éowyn as a narrative device as well."

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings' movies are stunning — except for one strange shot

Éowyn's narration frames the film as a story passed down through generations, in a choice that Papageorgiou said "spoke to the storytelling aspect of the Rohirrim culture."

There's an added layer of myth-making here. Since this tale is now legend, any of its exaggerations or deviations from Tolkien's text could simply be viewed as the legend warping and changing with each telling.

How does The War of the Rohirrim fit into the wider context of Middle-earth? Credit: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Éowyn isn't the only familiar face — or really, voice — popping up in War of the Rohirrim. Saruman (voiced by the late Christopher Lee in a line taken from archival footage) makes an appearance at Fréaláf's coronation, just as he does in the Appendices. But we also get a hint at another wizard from The Lord of the Rings: Gandalf. He writes to Héra at the end of the film, hoping for more information about the orcs she encountered stealing rings behind the Hornburg.

Gandalf's inclusion was another idea of Boyens', in an effort to gesture out to the wider world of Middle-earth, and also provide a counterpoint to Saruman's cameo. "If you're going to introduce the dark, you have to introduce the light as well," said Papageorgiou. "You can't have Saruman without Gandalf."

The wizards are just some of many Lord of the Rings details Gittins and Papageorgiou incorporate into War of the Rohirrim. Also present are the ring-stealing orcs, the Great Eagles, and a runaway Mûmakil (or Oliphaunt), each a hint at the war to come, as well as proof of Tolkien's vast, interconnected legendarium.

"Even the smallest detail will launch a geopolitical rabbit warren of investigation," Papageorgiou said. "That's actually the hard part. It's not a question of, 'How did you make this number of paragraphs into a feature film?' It's more, 'Well, how didn't we make six films?'"

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is now in theaters.

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Many textbooks and science educators have attempted to describe the Big Bang as the birth of the universe — an explosive start that happened at a specific point creating matter and flinging it into the void like shrapnel from a grenade. 

But the Big Bang is not really the moment of creation — more like its aftermath. The Big Bang didn't emerge from a particular location in space, and it wasn't an explosion — at least not in the traditional sense. 

Popular culture — and cosmologists, begrudgingly — made the unfortunate mistake of adopting a name for the theory that even evokes the sound of a gunpowder blast. So… bazinga?

"It’s often said that the whole universe we can now observe was once compressed into a volume the size of a golf ball," wrote John Mather, a Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist and senior project scientist for NASA's James Webb Space Telescope, in an essay for Theedge.org. "But we should imagine that the golf ball is only a tiny piece of a universe that was infinite even then." 

SEE ALSO: Webb telescope spots proof of the first stars to light the universe When the universe was still in its infancy, less than 1 billion years old, star formation fed on hydrogen that emerged from the Big Bang. Credit: NASA / ESA / A. Schaller (for STScI) illustration

The Big Bang Theory describes an event when existing space — much hotter, denser, and smaller at the time — suddenly and rapidly started stretching out. The primitive universe was a scalding goulash of tiny particles, light, and energy, but as it expanded, space cooled enough to allow important processes to occur, such as forming atoms and elements. The expansion continues today.

That's it. It doesn't suggest what the conditions were before expansion. It doesn't suppose what the universe is expanding into. It doesn't even explain what caused the expansion in the first place. And there are reasons why trying to imagine the event as an explosion can lead to some misinformed conclusions.  

"No reputable scientist will claim that we understand in detail what happened at the exact moment when the universe began. We just don't," said Don Lincoln, senior scientist at Fermilab in Illinois, in a video. "In spite of the fact that we don't know everything about how the universe began, I'm constantly staggered by the fact that we know so much."

The Big Bang pertains to the visible universe 

To understand the Big Bang — and Mather's previous comment — it's first important to clarify that this theory applies to the visible universe, not the universe as a whole. The visible universe is a bubble of the cosmos centered on our perspective from Earth, with a radius determined by the speed of light. The entire bubble is about 92 billion light-years wide.

The bubble's size is not determined by the range of telescopes, but the literal limitation of light. There is a maximum distance from which photons could have traveled to an observer in the age of the universe. This boundary is known as the cosmic light horizon: Any potential signals beyond it haven't had time to reach us — and they never will, not even billions of years into the future. That's because at a certain extreme distance, far-flung objects recede faster than the speed of light.

So what's beyond this bubble? No one knows because it's unseeable, but scientists could speculate there's more universe. After all, with the expansion of space, scientists are aware that, every second, thousands of stars are escaping our view, beyond that horizon. 

Where exactly did the Big Bang happen?

The Big Bang should be thought of as a "point" in time but not happening at a particular place. Astronomers will often say that the Big Bang happened everywhere, which is a confounding idea if you've been thinking of the Big Bang like a detonating bomb.

Imagine instead a hypothetical scenario where space was condensed within a speck, like a pinhead-sized balloon. Then imagine that this tiny balloon somehow inflated into the size of an orange. In this analogy, you can begin to understand why there is no "origin point" for the Big Bang: Nothing left the pinhead where it began; the pinhead point got exponentially bigger. 

This is one of the reasons why many astrophysicists say everywhere in the knowable universe could be considered part of the Big Bang's center. There was no particular site from which bits were blown away, according to the theory. 

Astronomer Edwin Hubble used the 100-inch Hooker telescope in California to observe that galaxies were receding in space in all directions. Credit: NASA / Edwin P. Hubble Papers / Huntington Library The Big Bang wasn't really an explosion

Scientific observations support the idea of rapid universal expansion versus an explosion. If there had been a firecracker-type blast that scattered matter outward, for example, the laws of physics would dictate that debris farther from that place where it exploded would be moving faster than the stuff closer to that starting point. 

"That's because objects far away from the firecracker have to be moving faster. That's how they got far away," Lincoln said. 

But that is not what astronomers see. In the cosmos, the space between galaxies is increasing, in all directions — not just relative to a central spot. Astronomer Edwin Hubble, for whom the Hubble Space Telescope was later named, discovered this in 1929. 

Using the 100-inch Hooker Telescope in California, Hubble noted that the farther a galaxy was from the Milky Way, Earth's home galaxy, the faster it seemed to be receding. He figured this out by plotting 24 nearby galaxies' velocities and distances. The plot showed that everything was drifting uniformly, at speeds proportional to distance, in all directions. 

The rate of expansion has been dubbed the Hubble Constant. Two years after Hubble's observations, a Belgian astronomer and priest, Georges Lemaître, used this premise to publish the first Big Bang-like theory to explain the beginnings of the universe. 

Cosmologists believe the universe has expanded over 13.8 billion years since the Big Bang. Credit: Britt Griswold (Maslow Media Group) / NASA illustration How astronomers know the universe is expanding

With Hubble's finding that space itself is expanding, scientists have been able to estimate the age of the universe. The formula for velocity — which you might have learned in high school — is distance divided by time. Scientists already know the speeds of galaxies and their distances, so they can figure out the duration by dividing distance by speed. 

If scientists rewind the clock from the present day to the time that everything in the knowable universe crumples back into that small deflated balloon, it occurred about 13.8 billion years ago. 

So, if the universe is 13.8 billion years old, one might incorrectly assume that the visible bubble of the universe has a radius of 13.8 billion light-years, with an overall width of 27.6 billion light-years. But the universe isn't standing still, and the distance between objects isn't fixed. The expansion of space explains the discrepancy between 27.6 billion light-years and 92 billion light-years, the diameter of the visible universe. 

Have scientists disproved the Big Bang? 

Scientists have not disproved the Big Bang Theory, but they have discovered disagreements in the rate of expansion — the Hubble Constant — from different research teams' measurements. The disagreement is known as the Hubble tension. 

In short, speed measurements based on telescope observations of the present universe are somewhat higher than projections based on known conditions of the universe during its infancy. For the past few years, astronomers have considered that something is causing the expansion rate to speed up. Studies using the Webb telescope have found that the small-but-significant divergence in the expansion rate is probably not the result of miscalculations but an aspect of the universe that is not yet understood. 

As scientists work to solve this mystery, the Big Bang might need some tweaking, but so far this disparity has not upended the bottom line, which is that space was once smaller and hotter, then it suddenly stretched out, and it's still expanding.

U.S. physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson unintentionally discovered the Cosmic Microwave Background, which fills the visible universe. Credit: ESA / Planck Collaboration The expansion rate of the early universe

Researchers have calculated the expansion rate of the baby universe using data from the so-called Cosmic Microwave Background. U.S. physicists Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson accidentally discovered this phenomenon, a faint afterglow from 380,000 years after the Big Bang, using a radio telescope in 1965. 

Around the same time, a separate team at Princeton University had predicted that such waves should exist. If astronomers were archaeologists, this discovery would be akin to finding the earliest fossil of light. It is the oldest thing in the universe anyone has seen.

This heat signature, radiating from atoms that are now more than 46 billion light-years away and stretched into microwaves, fills the sky. The European Space Agency’s Planck mission mapped the microwaves to measure teensy fluctuations in temperature. These slight variations allow scientists to infer the expansion rate at the time. 

How 'cosmic inflation' theory fits into the Big Bang

Cosmic inflation tries to describe one brief but crucial phase in the Big Bang narrative that launched the universe onto its expansion timeline. 

Alan Guth, a theoretical physicist at MIT, put forward the idea in 1980. It suggests that some repulsive form of gravity, something like dark energy, drove the universe's rapid expansion for an early instant. This phase would have lasted for a fraction of a trillionth of a second. Then, the energy that propelled inflation turned off. 

"I usually describe inflation as a theory of the 'bang' of the Big Bang," Guth said in a 2014 Q&A by the university. "In its original form, the Big Bang theory never was a theory of the bang. It said nothing about what banged, why it banged, or what happened before it banged."

During the inflation phase, the tiny universe would have expanded at a rate faster than light. And get this: It wouldn't have broken any laws of physics. 

"It's true that nothing can move through space faster than light, but there are no restrictions on how fast space can expand," Lincoln said. 

How the 'Big Bang' got its name

Fred Hoyle, an astronomer and well-known science communicator in the United Kingdom, is largely credited with coining the "big bang" in 1949. He was in many ways the Neil deGrasse Tyson of his time. But today many astrophysicists and cosmologists lament that the misnomer stuck.

During a BBC broadcast, Hoyle described theories based on the idea that "all the matter in the universe was created in one big bang at a particular time in the remote past," according to a transcript published in a BBC magazine. He later mentioned the phrase again in his 1950 book "The Nature of the Universe."

Hoyle balked at the idea of a sudden origin of the universe, but he didn't use the words "big bang" disparagingly, according to a recent essay about it in the journal Nature. Instead, he meant to convey the hypothesis with descriptive metaphors to help get the point across over radio.

Bazinga, indeed.

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim, an anime prequel set 183 years before The Lord of the Rings, spends most of its time centered on the bloody war between Rohan's king Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Succession's Brian Cox) and Dunlending lord Wulf (Medusa Deluxe's Luke Pasqualino). But for one brief moment, the film shifts from its solely human focus to a broader look at what's going on in the rest of Middle-earth — specifically, Mordor.

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' review: What if Éowyn got her own movie?

Mordor's influence creeps into The War of the Rohirrim during the film's prolonged siege sequence, when the people of Rohan are trapped in the fortress of Hornburg. Helm's daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise) finds a secret passage leading into the mountains behind the stronghold, where she comes across two orcs robbing the corpses of dead soldiers. They pocket any rings they find, although they don't seem to enjoy the grunt work.

"What does Mordor want with rings?" one grumbles.

While Héra and the orcs might not know the answer to that question, audience members certainly will. Sauron's influence is beginning to seep back into Middle-earth, and he's on the hunt for the one object that can restore his total power: the One Ring. The orcs' presence in Rohan, so far from Mordor, is proof not only of his hunt, but also of how far his presence, subtle as it is, has already spread.

"You want to see how the world's changing," Arty Papageorgiou, who wrote The War of the Rohirrim with Phoebe Gittins, told Mashable of the orcs' inclusion. "That darkness is starting to creep in from the sides, from the periphery. "

There is no mention of orcs in the short section of J.R.R. Tolkien's Appendices on which The War of the Rohirrim is based. But for Gittins and Papageorgiou, the fact that their source material was one and a half pages long created opportunities to draw larger connections to the events of Lord of the Rings, the biggest, of course, being the War of the Ring. Thus, the inclusion of the orcs, and the hints at Sauron's presence.

"They're Easter eggs, but they're purposeful." - Phoebe Gittins

"They're Easter eggs, but they're purposeful," Gittins told Mashable. "They have their place in the story."

Papageorgiou added: "Most audience members know exactly what's coming. It's no secret. So how do we lean into it in a non-overbearing way?"

That darkness that Lord of the Rings fans have come to associate with Sauron and orcs manifests itself in The War of the Rohirrim in other ways, too. From the sacking and burning of Edoras to Wulf's lack of honor in his final duel against Héra, it's clear the Men of Middle-earth are on a slow but sure path to corruption. Even the white skull masks of Wulf's men call to mind the non-human foes our heroes will face many years down the line.

Thanks to these moments, and the orc cameos, we get an idea of where Middle-earth stands nearly two hundred years before The Lord of the Rings, and how Sauron's shadow is gradually moving across the land. The end result, viewers know, is all-out war, with a key battle being fought at none other than the Hornburg. That's just one of several ways The War of the Rohirrim echoes the events of The Two Towers, emphasizing just how much history can influence and speak to the present (even in Middle-earth).

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is now in theaters.

It's the question Lord of the Rings viewers have been asking ever since Peter Jackson's trilogy came out: Why didn't Frodo and the Fellowship just ride eagles into Mount Doom?

SEE ALSO: 'The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim' review: What if Éowyn got her own movie?

The reasons are fairly simple. A flock of Great Eagles flying into Mordor would have immediately wrecked the secrecy the Fellowship strove for. Plus, the eagles just aren't a long-haul taxi service. However, if you still aren't satisfied with these answers — or you just crave more eagle action in your Middle-earth movies — then The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is here to tide you over.

How are the eagles involved in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim?

This anime prequel from director Kenji Kamiyama focuses on the war between Rohan's formidable King Helm Hammerhand (voiced by Brian Cox, Succession) and vengeful Dunlending Lord Wulf (voiced by Luke Pasqualino). The conflict takes Helm, his daughter Héra (voiced by Gaia Wise), and the people of Rohan to the Hornburg stronghold, where they must weather a months-long siege and a brutal winter.

Desperation rises as the siege progresses, especially once Helm passes away. Forced into a leadership role she didn't anticipate, Héra makes a bold decision. She seeks the aid of a Great Eagle who lives high above the Hornburg, in the hopes of getting a message to her cousin Fréaláf (voiced by Laurence Ubong Williams) and his army at Dunharrow fortress.

SEE ALSO: The 25 best movies of 2024, and where to watch them

Against all odds, the plan succeeds. After Héra implores the eagle for help, it brings the late Helm's helmet and armor to Fréaláf. He then wears it in his army's assault against Wulf's forces. The image of him in Helm's armor, silhouetted against the moon, is enough to make Wulf's men turn tail, thinking they've seen a ghost. None of this would have been possible without the help of the eagles! And while we don't get full-on eagle riding, we do get messenger eagles — a new use for them onscreen in Middle-earth.

The eagle in The War of the Rohirrim is more than a plot device.

Eagles aren't originally present in J.R.R. Tolkien's description of Helm and Wulf's war, which spans about a page and a half in The Lord of the Rings' Appendices. (Likewise, Héra herself is expanded from an unnamed bit part to a lead role.) But for screenwriters Phoebe Gittins and Arty Papageorgiou, Héra's reliance on an eagle wasn't just a nod to the eagles' usefulness as plot devices. It was also a key character beat for her in her journey to becoming a leader.

"It was super important that Héra really earned that moment," Papageorgiou told Mashable.

The eagle's involvement was an idea passed to Gittins and Papageorgiou from Kamiyama and producer Philippa Boyens, who co-wrote The Lord of the Rings films. (Gittins is also her daughter.)

"We approached [the eagles] as embedded storytelling," Gittins told Mashable. "We knew that it was a storytelling device that [Kamiyama and Boyens] wanted to use. So how do we make it believable that this a course of action Héra would take?"

Gittins and Papageorgiou laid the groundwork of the eagle moment from Héra's first scene, in which she summons a fledgling and offers it meat. The sequence establishes Héra's love of the natural world and her connection to the eagles, but there's a further symbolic kinship between her and the eagle. Like it, she's a fledgling at the start of her journey. She'll have to grow leaps and bounds by The War of the Rohirrim's end if she is to become the leader her people need.

Which brings us to the moment at the end of the siege, when Héra decides to find the eagle (fittingly, the fledgling from the start, all grown up). It's a last-ditch attempt, but there are no other options. No messenger birds can make it out of the Hornburg, but this eagle may just be the one bird Wulf's men can't shoot down.

For Gittins and Papageorgiou, Héra's willingness to reach across entire species in order to save her people spoke volumes about her character, and really solidified who she was as they worked on the film.

"What type of protagonist were we going to have in this film?" Papageorgiou said. "It wasn't a war lord.

Added Gittins: "It was someone who had the strength to ask for help."

The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim is now in theaters.

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2024 gifted us some pretty incredible TV shows, but what about great episodes? I'm talking about the kind of episode that makes you laugh nonstop, or stand up and cheer, or force you to such points of emotional devastation you can't think of anything else.

SEE ALSO: The 21 best TV shows of 2024, and how to watch them

You'll find episodes that accomplish all these things and more on our list of the best episodes of 2024. Here, we celebrate our favorite moments from a wide variety of shows we love —including some that missed out on our Best TV list, but still deserve their flowers.

So whether you love drama or comedy, narrative shows or reality TV, we can assure you that the following 21 episodes are absolute bangers. Who knows — maybe you'll find some new and wonderful show to check out!

So without further ado, here are the 21 best episodes of 2024 so far, and where to watch them.

21. Dune: Prophecy Season 1, episode 3, "Sisterhood Above All"

"Sisterhood Above All" features so much of what I love about Dune: Prophecy, taken up many, many notches. Harkonnen-Atreides beef? Check. Sisterhood training exercises? Check. Political intrigue? Check. (Plus, we get to see the Harkonnens' home planet, Lankiveil, up close and personal, furry whales and all!) But what stands out most about the episode is the vital context it gives Valya and Tula Harkonnen's (Emily Watson and Olivia Williams) actions in the present day.

SEE ALSO: 'Dune: Prophecy' review: The Bene Gesserit shine in this sci-fi showstopper

When Valya's (played in flashbacks by Jessica Barden) desire for vengeance against the Atreides hinders her early days in the Sisterhood, she enlists the help of the far more compassionate Tula (played in flashbacks by Emma Canning). Tula's subsequent plan results in one of the year’s most uncompromising twists, complete with a betrayal so brutal it made me gasp. What can I say, I was rooting for her and Orry Atreides (Milo Callaghan)! Still, if I can’t enjoy their romance (and let’s face it, it was never going to work out), I can still enjoy a great episode of TV, and that’s exactly what "Sisterhood Above All" is. — Belen Edwards, Entertainment Reporter

How to watch: Dune: Prophecy is now streaming on Max.

20. The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2, episode 7, "Doomed to Die"

No one unleashes a battle episode quite like The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Season 1's "Udûn" proved what the show's gargantuan budget was capable of, concluding its Númenórean-on-Orc skirmish with the explosion of Mount Doom. But Season 2's "Doomed to Die" somehow manages to blow that out of the water, gifting us a battle that's as epic as it is a satisfying conclusion to a season's worth of buildup. (Some other 2024 fantasy shows can't relate.)

SEE ALSO: The 'Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power' cast debates whether Sauron is "brat"

That's right — it's the Siege of Eregion, people! And it's got everything: Orcs destroying a mountain to dam a river, a distracting (and high-key bizarre) kiss between Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo), and psychological torture courtesy of Sauron (Charlie Vickers). The latter grounds the sound and fury of the siege in Sauron's season-long manipulation of Celebrimbor (Charles Edwards), bringing their corrupting push-and-pull to a head and adding a greater depth to an already-spectacular episode. — B.E.

How to watch: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is now streaming on Prime Video.

19. The Bear Season 3, episode 8, "Ice Chips"

Like The Bear Season 3 in general, this episode divided us quite a bit. "Ice Chips," in terms of both the cast and its contained location, links to standout Season 2 episode "Fishes" — only on a much smaller scale. The troubled relationship between Natalie (Abby Elliott) and her mother Donna (Jamie Lee Curtis) was one part of a damaged picture in that not-so-festive flashback, but Abby's trip to the hospital to give birth in "Ice Chips" goes some small way to healing it. Here, Abby is forced to rely on Donna when no one else is available. It could be disastrous, and at first it seems inevitable that it will be — until it isn't. The performances from both Elliott and Curtis are vulnerable, charged and emotional, and the portrayal of childbirth is subtle in a way not many other TV shows and movies manage to capture. — Sam Haysom, Deputy UK Editor

How to watch: The Bear is now streaming on Hulu.

SEE ALSO: 'The Bear' falls victim to its own success: Full Season 3 review 18. Game Changer Season 6, episode 7, "Beat the Buzzer"

The joy of Dropout's game show Game Changer comes from its sheer versatility. Each episode, contestants don't know the rules of the game until they start playing. The result is delightful chaos.

SEE ALSO: Inside 'Game Changer,' the internet's favorite game show

Nowhere is that chaos more apparent on Game Changer Season 6 than in "Beat the Buzzer," an episode which removes a key component of any quiz show: the buzzer itself. Players Rekha Shankar, Becca Scott, and Erika Ishii must compete in a series of mini-games in order to gain access to the many buzzers hidden around Dropout HQ. They'll destroy cakes, make a witch's brew, plead with strangers in the street, and more, all in the hopes of getting some sweet, sweet points. Endlessly inventive, and less competitive than it is sweet and collaborative, "Beat the Buzzer" will have you smiling nonstop from start to finish. — B.E.

How to watch: Game Changer is now streaming on Dropout.

17. One Day Season 1, episode 13, "Episode 13"

There are few episodes that will send you through an emotional upheaval as intense as One Day's penultimate chapter, set over several years of our beloved protagonist's lives. Finally together after decades of what we'll put down to bad timing, Emma (Ambika Mod) and Dexter (Leo Woodall) have a whole future ahead of them, side by side. We accompany this besotted pair through their wedding plans, a new business, trying for a baby, and establishing family bonds with Dex's daughter. It's everyday life in all its romantic mundanity, from brushing teeth together to arguing over the news, and it's all we've wanted for these two for the previous 12 episodes. However, a tragic turn means a cruel end, and a voice note holds more power than Em and Dex can possibly know at the time. The shell shock of this episode of One Day will stay with you through the finale and long after you've watched. Call the people you love, right now. — Shannon Connellan, UK Editor

How to watch: One Day is now streaming on Netflix.

SEE ALSO: Netflix's 'One Day' explores the challenges of dating across the class divide 16. The Traitors UK Season 2, episode 12, "Episode 12"

The entirety of The Traitors Season 2 was TV at its most binge-watchable, but the finale took things to dizzy new heights of tension. A reality TV game show with a cash prize, The Traitors sees members of the public divided into "traitors" and "faithfuls" while carrying out missions in a Scottish castle; the faithfuls have to try and banish all the traitors, while the traitors must "murder" (the game show kind, not the actual kind) all the faithfuls without getting caught. The entire show is great, but what made the finale stand out was the elite levels of treachery displayed by Harry Clark, a contestant who'd been a traitor from the very beginning but who'd manage to convince everybody else that he was faithful through and through. The brutal levels of suspense and the looks on everyone's faces when they realize the truth is television at its finest. — SH

How to watch: The Traitors UK is now streaming on Peacock.

15. Bluey Season 3, episode 49, "The Sign"

In an endless desert of insipid TV shows aimed at kids, Bluey has proved an oasis for grown-ups. Spirited, silly, and emotionally intelligent, the show's standard seven-minute episodes are a pleasure for audiences of all ages. But show creator Joe Brumm leveled up with the super-sized 28-minute episode "The Sign." 

SEE ALSO: 'Bluey' special episode 'The Sign' had a ton of Easter eggs for fans

It wasn't just that this very special episode was four times as long as usual eps, or that it offered a big wedding and a series of teachable moments for pups and big dogs alike. "The Sign" also centered on a heart-wrenching storyline about the Heeler family preparing to move away from their home, a space that fans knew every nook and cranny of, for parts unknown. As Bluey and her little sister Bingo must learn to say goodbye, watchers young and old wept over the loss. But there were tears of joy as well because — beyond a third-act twist that caused cheers across social media — Brummer also laced in Easter eggs that revealed positive news for a string of beloved supporting characters. Incredibly, it's a cartoon show about a playful puppy that has provided the biggest — yet briefest — emotional roller coaster ride of 2024. —Kristy Puchko, Entertainment Editor

How to watch: Bluey is now streaming on Disney+.

14. Doctor Who Season 14, episode 6, "Rogue"

Doctor Who bested Bridgerton when it comes to queer romance with this Regency-era episode, and we're still swooning. 

SEE ALSO: 'Doctor Who's Easter eggs for 'Rogue,' far beyond 'Bridgerton'

The Doctor (Ncuti Gatwa) and his bestie Ruby Sunday (Millie Gibson) travel back to 1813 in Bath, England, just to take in the period appeal of balls and courting. But when a murderous alien shapeshifter is discovered in their midst, the Doctor must team up with a new ally named Rogue (a dashing Jonathan Groff), to save the day. Whovians were thrilled with the intersection of monster-of-the-week fun and Bridgerton drama. But what made this episode the best of a solid season from returning showrunner Russell T Davies is the scorching romance between the Doctor and Rogue. Their enemies-to-lovers arc was swift and satisfying, featuring biting banter, tense misunderstandings, a flashy proposal, a kiss, and a not-so-simple request: "Come find me." 

The series will whir on, but our hearts — and the Doctor's — will not soon forget this debonair lost love. —K.P.

How to watch: Doctor Who is now streaming on Disney+.

13. House of the Dragon Season 2, episode 4, "The Red Dragon and the Gold"

The first half of House of the Dragon Season 2 saw Rhaenyra (Emma D'Arcy) and Alicent (Olivia Cooke) doing their best to avoid outright aggression against one another, for fear of unleashing destruction on all of Westeros. In "The Red Dragon and the Gold," we see just how catastrophic a war between Team Black and Team Green could be, as we watch Rhaenys (Eve Best), Aegon II (Tom Glynn-Carney), Aemond (Ewan Mitchell), and their dragons dance in earnest at Rook's Rest.

SEE ALSO: How the 'House of the Dragon' creators shot episode 4's epic dragon battle

The battle is downright horrifying, enough to churn the stomachs of even the most bloodthirsty viewers. But what truly makes Rook's Rest so impactful is how it carries the weight of whole episodes' worth of failed mitigation efforts. That includes this episode's early scenes of council discussions, which ratchet up the tension piece by piece until the clash becomes a grim inevitability. The whole episode — including Rhaenys' death and Aemond's attempted murder of Aegon — seemed like a true game-changer for Season 2, and the momentum shift it desperately needed. It's a shame, then, that the following episodes failed to follow through on this episode's promise. — B.E.

How to watch: House of the Dragon Season 2 is now streaming on Max.

12. The Acolyte Season 1, episode 5, "Night"

The Acolyte's first few episodes introduce an intriguing murder mystery at the heart of the Jedi Order. But "Night" sends the series straight into the stratosphere when it unmasks the Sith Lord known as the Stranger (Manny Jacinto). Not only do we get to meet an instantly memorable new Star Wars villain, we also get treated to one of the best fights in franchise history. 

SEE ALSO: 'The Acolyte's cancellation is a huge mistake for Star Wars

Spanning almost the entire episode, this battle just won't let up. Head-butting lightsabers? Shish-kebabing Jedi? Jecki (Dafne Keen) dual wielding? That's greatness, right there. But the fight doesn't just offer up scream-worthy twists. It also delivers major character moments, like the Stranger's uncompromising murder of two fan favorites, and a fraught reunion between twins Mae and Osha (Amandla Stenberg). Thanks to "Night," the stakes are raised and the stage is set for The Acolyte's darker, more seductive second half. My only qualm with this episode? That we won't get to see more of its caliber in an Acolyte Season 2 due to the show's untimely cancellation. — B.E.

How to watch: The Acolyte is now streaming on Disney+.

11. Bob's Burgers Season 15, episode 6, "Hope N' Mic Night"

Premiering the Sunday after the U.S. presidential election was decided, Bob's Burgers' "Hope N' Mic Night" proved a beacon of hope, in which the day (and the open mic night at the episode's center) is saved by fan favorite Marshmallow. 

First introduced in Season 1's "Sheesh! Cab, Bob?", this charismatic Black trans sex worker was originally voiced by Dan Herman. But as fans warmed to Marshmallow, a call for better trans representation behind the scenes grew. In 2024, Bob's Burgers recast, welcoming transgender Afro-Filipina actress Jari Jones on as Marshmallow. The show also brought on Eric Bauza to replace former Jimmy Pesto voice actor Jay Johnston, after the latter's involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.

In this episode, fans get to hear both recast characters, which quietly reflect the progressive politics of Bob's Burgers, a show that even amid its kookiest episodes promotes love, understanding, and family with no exceptions. "Hope N' Mic Night" makes that message crystal clear as Marshmallow and the Belchers treat each other as family, from open adoration to tough-love talks. ("Kids, your parents are good people. Do all your chores this week. ALL of them.") Then in a moving climax, Jones as Marshmallow sings "Seabird." It's a balm for all who feel scared, lost, and unseen. And it came when a lot of Bob's Burgers fans really needed it. — K.P.

How to watch: Bob's Burgers is now streaming on Hulu.

10.True Detective: Night Country, Season 4, episode 5, "Part 5"

While earlier True Detective: Night Country episodes gave us plenty of buzzworthy moments — all hail the corpsicle! — it's the show's fifth episode that really sticks in our minds. Here, the many threads of the season begin to converge, joining Night Country's oft-present ghosts and grief to the more human evils our detectives are facing down. Tensions boil over at the Silver Sky mines, we uncover further secrets from Danvers (Jodie Foster) and Navarro's (Kali Reis) Wheeler investigation, and we finally understand Hank's (John Hawkes) true involvement in the Annie Kowtok (Nivi Pedersen) cold case. The entire episode culminates in a brutal father-son clash, complete with a tooth-centric moment I'll never forget. Ennis, Alaska may already be drenched in eternal night, but this episode takes us far deeper into the darkness. — B.E.

How to watch: True Detective: Night Country is now streaming on Max.

9. The Penguin Season 1, episode 4, "Cent'Anni"

I love a great backstory-focused episode, and The Penguin delivers the year's best in "Cent'Anni." Here, Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) takes a backseat, with the focus turning to undeniable series highlight Sofia Falcone (Cristin Milioti, brilliant throughout).

SEE ALSO: 'The Penguin' review: Colin Farrell and Cristin Milioti deliver the goods in Gotham crime drama

Up until "Cent'Anni," Sofia has been a bit of an unknown. Her time in Arkham State Hospital for a serial-killing spree has shrouded her in notoriety. But as "Cent'Anni" reveals, the story about Sofia being the murderer known as the Hangman is a lie. From family betrayals to Gotham's corrupt justice system to abuse in Arkham, The Penguin details Sofia's journey through hell — and how that journey may just have made her the killer everyone believes her to be. A final scene involving the world's most fashionable gas mask seals the deal on this banger of an episode, setting Sofia up as Oz's most formidable adversary yet. — B.E.

How to watch: The Penguin is now streaming on Max.

8. Pachinko Season 2, episode 2, "Chapter Ten"

Pachinko's farewell to Isak (Steve Sanghyun Noh) is undoubtedly one of the most moving episodes of the year. As the episode opens, Isak reunites with Sunja (Minha Kim) and his whole family after years apart. But there's no respite here. Isak is gravely ill, and dies hours later. It's what "Chapter Ten" does with that time that makes it so memorable.

SEE ALSO: 'Pachinko' showrunner Soo Hugh on how Season 2 gives Isak the farewell he deserves

During his final night alive, Isak shares some last nuggets of wisdom and care with his family, moments that will propel the story arcs of Sunja, Noa (Kang Hoon Kim), and Mozasu (Eunseong Kwon) over the course of the rest of the season. It's all leading up to a heartbreaking parting conversation between Sunja and Isak, one that's shot as a devastating mirror to their first real moments of intimacy in Season 1. Between that conversation and the episode ending with the family's evacuation to the countryside, "Chapter Ten" makes for a quietly tragic end to one chapter of Sunja's life, all while unmistakably shaping the next. — B.E.

How to watch: Pachinko is now streaming on AppleTV+.

7. English Teacher Season 1, episode 2, "Powderpuff"

As one of the very best comedies of the year, Brian Jordan Alvarez's English Teacher made it tough to pick favourites between episodes. But we're cheering for episode 2, "Powderpuff," a sharp, funny, and timely delve into drag and authentic self-expression.

SEE ALSO: 'English Teacher' review: High school-set sitcom is a hilarious must-watch

The episode sees the school's "Powderpuff" tradition — when the football players dress as cheerleaders and vice versa — thrown into disarray when the LGBTQ student alliance accuses the tradition of making "gender-switching" a joke at the expense of nonbinary and trans students. To help the football team do drag with authenticity, teacher Evan Marquez (Alvarez) recruits his friend, drag queen and petty thief Shazam (played to absolute perfection by Trixie Mattel). Titty bibs, lace-front wigs, tucking, reading, walking in heels, choreo — the football team goes full out. Meanwhile, fellow teacher Gwen (Stephanie Koenig) turns football practice into a more useful self-defense class, and Koenig's performance here is nothing short of hilarious. The episode raises smart, poignant conversations around self-expression, gender, identity, but above all, drag. Hit play on "The Warrior," and embrace it. — S.C.

How to watch: The English Teacher is now streaming on Hulu.

6. Ripley Season 1, episode 3, "III Sommerso"

With striking black-and-white cinematography and a cast that was more compelling than accurate to the source material's descriptions, Steven Zaillian's adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's delectably deranged novel The Talented Mr. Ripley was as bold as it was slyly seductive.

SEE ALSO: Andrew Scott on crafting the iconic 'Ripley' in Netflix's new mystery series

The series as a whole proves a showcase for leading man Andrew Scott (All of Us Strangers), who transforms from a timid social climber to a sleek killer. But episode three, when the eponymous anti-hero gets his hands dirty, is the best of the batch. Here, Tom's relationship with the carefree American heir Dickie Greenleaf (Johnny Flynn) sours, so a day trip in Italy turns from mirthful to murderous. Yet the violence isn't as disturbing as the aftermath, which delves into ASMR in a brilliant way. Tom, left to his own devices, is surrounded by the sounds of covering up his crime. And we are bound to him, a silent witness — or accomplice — left to wonder if we're rooting for him to be caught or get off scot-free. —K.P.

How to watch: Ripley is now streaming on Netflix.

5. Arcane Season 2, episode 7, "Pretend Like It's the First Time"

It's near impossible to pick an episode of Arcane Season 2 that rocket-launches itself above the others, with Netflix's sublime League of Legends-based series from Riot Games and Fortiche being one of the very best shows of the year. Though episode 6 threw a brutal, neon-hued hand grenade into the narrative, episode 7, "Pretend Like It’s the First Time," consoled, then obliterated our hearts.

SEE ALSO: 'Arcane' Season 2 review: The best fantasy show of 2024, hands-down

In this powerful departure episode written by Christian Linke, Alex Yee, and Amanda Overton, Ekko (voiced by Reed Lorenzo Shannon) and Jayce (voiced by Kevin Alejandro) find themselves in alternate realities following their dalliance with the anomaly — yep, Arcane delves into the multiverse. Here, we're privy to a Zaun without Hextech, where future nemeses Vander and Silco happily sling drinks and a bright-eyed Powder is yet to spiral into unrelenting pain. While working to escape their timelines, Ekko and Jayce are faced with painful choices, some practical, some personal and heartbreaking. It's a deeply romantic episode in many ways, a brutal survivalist struggle in others, and one that gives a glimpse into what could have been for our tormented favorites. Plus, Heimerdinger's banjo moment slaps. — S.C.

How to watch: Arcane is now streaming on Netflix.

4. Interview with the Vampire Season 2, episode 7, "I Could Not Prevent It"

Midway through 2024, when we posted our first version of this list, AMC's biting adaptation of Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles was only partway through its gripping second season. As such, we proclaimed among the year's best episodes "No Pain," which delivered the thrills of vampire after-life mates Louis (Jacob Anderson) and Armand (Assad Zaman) irritating human journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian) with their lovey-dovey schtick, and the intoxicating fun of Lestat (Sam Reid) in flashbacks as a full-blown theater (of the vampires) kid. But the penultimate episode of Season 2 blew us away, as showrunner Rolin Jones tackled the trial of Louis and Claudia (Delainey Hayles).

Recounted by the tormented Louis and the stoic Armand, the flashbacks are steeped in agony, violence, and — as we'd later learn — lies. The entire cast is in top form: Anderson wretched in regret; Zaman sly and seductive; Bogosian probing relentlessly, sniffing at holes in the story; Hayles defiant to her character's fiery end. But after two seasons of hearing what an absolute monster Lestat is from Louis' perspective, we finally get (secondhand) the Brat Prince's view of their toxic romance. Scenes that we've seen before replay with new details, grim and violent. The liberties taken give fresh life and oozing blood to the wounds of Rice's original story. Reid is a force of nature, exploding with feral charm and ruthless showmanship. 

It's an epic episode that had fans ravenous for more. And lucky us, Lestat will be the center of next season, as Jones and company tackle Rice's novel The Vampire Lestat, in which the titular creature becomes a fully fledged rock star. —K.P. 

How to watch: Interview with the Vampire is now streaming on AMC+.

3. Baby Reindeer Season 1, episode 6, "Episode 6"

Many Baby Reindeer episodes could have found a home on this list, including a tragic, flashback-centric fourth episode that lends new context to comedian Donny Dunn's (Richard Gadd) relationship with stalker Martha (Jessica Gunning). But it's the sixth episode where Baby Reindeer reaches a fever pitch, as Donny delivers a barn-burning, 10-minute monologue about his trauma and shame onstage at a comedy show. Long, unbroken close-ups and Gadd's arresting performance make this confessional one you can't look away from, no matter how painful it gets. — B.E.

How to watch: Baby Reindeer is now streaming on Netflix.

2. Industry Season 3, episode 6, "Nikki Beach, or: So Many Ways to Lose"

You could truly make the case that every Industry Season 3 episode deserves this spot, from Rishi's (Sagar Radia) spectacular solo episode to the season's period drama-inspired finale. While they're all winners in my book, I've got to give the edge to "Nikki Beach, or: So Many Ways to Lose." This episode exemplifies Industry's looser experimentation throughout Season 3, returning to the yacht flashback — the show's first — that kicked off the entire season. Crucially, it also centers the consistently compelling dynamic between Harper (Myha'la) and Yasmin (Marisa Abela), with explosive results.

SEE ALSO: 'Industry' stars Myha'la and Marisa Abela break down Harper and Yasmin's big fight: 'This is the end for them'

Harper and Yasmin's relationship has always toggled between love and hate, but "Nikki Beach" takes the pair to both extremes over the course of one brilliant hour. We witness their closest moment — their cover-up of Yasmin's father's death — as well as their worst fight, which comes several months later. In between, Yasmin grieves her father, as horrible as their relationship was, and Harper weighs her friendship with Yasmin against her own ambition. She chooses the latter, leading to a no-holds-barred confrontation that leaves no insecurity or character flaw unscrutinized. Myha'la and Abela leave it all on the floor in the clash, which is full of lines that cut so deep they're bound to leave a scar. It's a TV argument for the ages in an episode for the ages, capped off by the most bittersweet of Pet Shop Boys needle drops. — B.E.

How to watch: Industry is now streaming on Max.

1. Shōgun Season 1, episode 9, "Crimson Sky"

Do you ever watch an episode of TV and think, "What in the world could possibly top that?" Well, that was my reaction to Shōgun's "Crimson Sky," a perfect hour of television that reaches peaks of heartbreak and suspense that couldn't be matched this year.

SEE ALSO: 'Shōgun' writers on saying goodbye to Mariko in 'devastating' episode 9

The entire episode centers on Toda Mariko's (Anna Sawai, giving the TV performance of 2024) final diplomatic mission for Lord Yoshii Toranaga (Hiroyuki Sanada). It's a mission that requires her to face down her own mortality at several points, including a sharp-tongued royal audience and a gate encounter that is a masterclass in tension. Add in poetic, deeply felt conversations between Mariko, Lady Ochiba (Fumi Nikaido), and John Blackthorne (Cosmo Jarvis), and there's no way you'll escape this episode unshattered. 

As unwavering in its brilliance as Mariko is in the face of death, "Crimson Sky" is the send-off Mariko deserves, and proof that she is Shōgun's central figure. As showrunner Justin Marks told Mashable in an interview: "If you thought it was about anyone else, then you probably weren't watching closely enough." — B.E. 

How to watch: Shōgun is now streaming on Hulu.

Wondering how to watch college football this season? Here are your best options: Best for affordability Sling TV Blue Plan $20 for the first month, then $40/month (save $20 ) Get Deal BEST FOR SINGLE GAME FuboTV Pro plan 7-day free trial, then $59.99/month for 1 month (Save $20) Get Deal

The Navy Midshipmen and the No. 22 Army Black Knights will face off in a historic rivalry this week at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Maryland. The game will take place on Saturday, Dec. 14, and is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT.

Army moved up to No. 22 in the rankings, which were released on Sunday with rest of the College Football Playoffs bracket, after defeating Tulane to win the American Athletic Conference. Navy, with an 8-3 record, didn't land among the Top 25 at the end of the season, but both Armed Forces teams will be heading to a bowl game after this matchup.

The Black Knights will face Marshall in the Independence Bowl, and Navy will face Oklahoma in the Armed Forces Bowl.

SEE ALSO: How to watch college football without cable Navy vs. Army football kickoff time and network

The Navy vs. Army football game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. ET/12 p.m. PT start on CBS/Paramount+ on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Brad Nessler is expected to do the play-by-play, while Gary Danielson will join him in the booth as the analyst.

Best streaming services for Navy vs. Army football game

You need to choose a streaming service to watch college football without cable or satellite TV. We've found some of the best streaming services to consider for the Navy vs. Army football game on CBS/Paramount+. 

Most affordable: Paramount+ Essential Opens in a new window Credit: Paramount+ Essential Paramount+ Essential $7.99/month or $79.99/year Get Deal

Paramount+ offers its essential plan that comes with over 40,000 episodes and movies at just $7.99 per month. This plan would serve your needs for locally available NFL games. Sign up to enjoy a first-month discounted rate of $2.99.

Paramount+ Essential's sports channels feature BET, CBS, CBS News, CBS Sports, Comedy Central, Crime & Justice, ET, Nickelodeon, and more.

Most channels: Sling TV Opens in a new window Credit: Sling Sling Orange Plan Get Deal

Sling TV suggests the streamer's Orange Plan for the game, which costs $20 for the first month and $40 monthly after that.

Sling TV’s sports channels feature ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBC, NFL Network, and SEC Network.

Best for single game: FuboTV Opens in a new window Credit: FuboTV FuboTV Pro plan Get Deal

FuboTV offers you more than 250 channels of live TV and the option to watch on 10 screens at once. You can try FuboTV with a seven-day free trial period. 

FuboTV’s sports channel offerings include ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, FOX, FS1, FS2, Golf Network, Marquee Sports Network, Monumental Sports, NBC, NFL Network, and SEC Network. 

TL;DR: For £12.65 through 15 December, AdGuard’s Family Plan lifetime subscription keeps adverts and trackers out of your family’s online experience on up to nine devices.

Imagine an internet without constant pop-ups, sneaky trackers, and distracting adverts. With AdGuard’s Family Plan, you can make that a reality — and give the whole family a safer, more peaceful online space. This lifetime subscription covers up to nine devices for £12.65 (reg. £134.70), so no one has to deal with disruptive adverts again. Finally, browsing without the noise, for everyone.

With its advanced blocking module, AdGuard eliminates the constant barrage of annoying banners, intrusive pop-ups, and disruptive video adverts that clutter your browsing experience. But AdGuard goes beyond just blocking adverts; it also shields your family from harmful malware and phishing websites, acting as a fortress for your digital life.

For parents, AdGuard’s parental control feature is a game-changer. It allows you to restrict access to inappropriate and adult content, so your children can explore the internet in a safe and secure environment. Whether they're doing schoolwork or watching videos, you can rest easier knowing that they're protected.

It's designed to work across all your devices, from smartphones to tablets, covering both Android and iOS operating systems. And this lifetime subscription includes continuous updates and new features.

Hurry and take advantage of this £12.65 (reg. £134.70) price on a lifetime subscription to an AdGuard Family Plan discounted 90% until 15 December at 11:59 p.m. PT.

StackSocial prices subject to change.

Opens in a new window Credit: AdGuard Software AdGuard Family Plan: Lifetime Subscription £12.65 at the Mashable Shop
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TL;DR: Live stream Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA with FuboTV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV.

It's the second annual Emirates NBA Cup, previously known as the In-Season Tournament. The Houston Rockets head to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Semifinals of the Emirates NBA Cup.

The Rockets have won three of their last five games, including back-to-back wins in the tournament over the Los Angeles Clippers and the Golden State Warriors. Houston is second in standings in the Western Conference. The Thunder is riding a four-game win streak into the semifinals game, which makes sense considering they sit at the top of the Western Conference.

When is Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder?

Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA starts at 8:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 14. This game takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

The game will air on ABC.

How to watch Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder

You need to choose a streaming service to watch the NBA without cable or satellite TV. We've found some of the best streaming services to consider for the Rockets vs. Thunder basketball game.

Best for single game: FuboTV Opens in a new window Credit: Fubo TV FuboTV Pro plan Get Deal

FuboTV offers you more than 250 channels of live TV and the option to watch on 10 screens at once. You can try FuboTV with a seven-day free trial period. 

FuboTV’s sports channel offerings include ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, FOX, FS1, FS2, Golf Network, Marquee Sports Network, Monumental Sports, NBC, NFL Network, and SEC Network. 

Most live sports: YouTube TV Opens in a new window Credit: YouTube TV YouTube TV $49.99/month for your first two months (save $46) Get Deal

YouTube TV's base plan is $49.99 per month for two months for new subscribers ($72.99 per month regularly). The base plan includes over 100 live TV channels, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, Fox Sports 1, and NBA TV.

Most affordable: Sling TV Opens in a new window Credit: Sling TV Sling Orange Plan Get Deal

Sling TV suggests the streamer's Orange Plan for the game, which costs $20 for the first month and $40 monthly after that.

Sling TV’s sports channels feature ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBA TV, NBC, NFL Network, and SEC Network.

How to watch Rockets vs. Thunder from anywhere in the world

If you're traveling outside of the U.S. during this game, you might need to use a VPN to unblock this live stream. VPNs can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server, meaning you can unblock live streams of the NBA from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the U.S.

4. Sign in to your favorite streaming app

5. Watch Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to live streams of the NBA without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the NBA?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder in the NBA with ExpressVPN.

TL;DR: Live stream Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA with FuboTV, Sling TV, or YouTube TV.

It's the second annual Emirates NBA Cup, previously known as the In-Season Tournament. The Atlanta Hawks are looking for their fifth straight road win as they head to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas to face the Milwaukee Bucks in the East Semifinals.

The Hawks are seventh in the Eastern Conference standings, while the Bucks are sixth. The Hawks are not only on a win streak on the road, but they eliminated the New York Knicks to get to the semifinals. The Bucks eliminated the Orlando Magic. Both were underdogs heading into those respective games.

When is Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks?

Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA starts at 4:30 p.m. ET on Dec. 14. This game takes place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.

How to watch Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks

You need to choose a streaming service to watch the NBA without cable or satellite TV. We've found some of the best streaming services to consider for the Hawks vs. Bucks basketball game.

Best for single game: FuboTV Opens in a new window Credit: Fubo TV FuboTV Pro plan Get Deal

FuboTV offers you more than 250 channels of live TV and the option to watch on 10 screens at once. You can try FuboTV with a seven-day free trial period. 

FuboTV’s sports channel offerings include ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, CBS, CBS Sports Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, FOX, FS1, FS2, Golf Network, Marquee Sports Network, Monumental Sports, NBC, NFL Network, and SEC Network. 

Most live sports: YouTube TV Opens in a new window Credit: YouTube TV YouTube TV $49.99/month for your first two months (save $46) Get Deal

YouTube TV's base plan is $49.99 per month for two months for new subscribers ($72.99 per month regularly). The base plan includes over 100 live TV channels, including ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, Fox Sports 1, and NBA TV.

Most affordable: Sling TV Opens in a new window Credit: Sling TV Sling Orange Plan Get Deal

Sling TV suggests the streamer's Orange Plan for the game, which costs $20 for the first month and $40 monthly after that.

Sling TV’s sports channels feature ABC, ACC Network, Big Ten Network, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN3, ESPNews, ESPNU, FOX, FS1, FS2, NBA TV, NBC, NFL Network, and SEC Network.

How to watch Hawks vs. Bucks from anywhere in the world

If you're traveling outside of the U.S. during this game, you might need to use a VPN to unblock this live stream. VPNs can hide your real IP address (digital location) and connect you to a secure server, meaning you can unblock live streams of the NBA from anywhere in the world.

Live stream Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks for free by following these simple steps:

1. Subscribe to a streaming-friendly VPN (like ExpressVPN)

2. Download the app to your device of choice (the best VPNs have apps for Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Linux, and more)

3. Open up the app and connect to a server in the U.S.

4. Sign in to your favorite streaming app

5. Watch Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks from anywhere in the world

Opens in a new window Credit: ExpressVPN ExpressVPN (1-Year Subscription + 3 Months Free) $99.95 only at ExpressVPN (with money-back guarantee) Get Deal

The best VPNs for streaming are not free, but leading VPNs do tend to offer free-trial periods or money-back guarantees. By leveraging these offers, you can gain access to live streams of the NBA without actually spending anything. This obviously isn't a long-term solution, but it does give you enough time to live stream Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks before recovering your investment.

What is the best VPN for the NBA?

ExpressVPN is the best choice for bypassing geo-restrictions to stream live sport, for a number of reasons:

• Servers in 105 countries

• Easy-to-use app available on all major devices including iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac, and more

• Strict no-logging policy so your data is secure

• Fast connection speeds free from throttling

• Up to eight simultaneous connections

• 30-day money-back guarantee

A one-year subscription to ExpressVPN is on sale for $99.95 and includes an extra three months for free — 49% off for a limited time. This plan includes a year of free unlimited cloud backup and a generous 30-day money-back guarantee.

Live stream Atlanta Hawks vs. Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA with ExpressVPN.