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When civilization is on the brink of collapse, proffer bread and circus. The entire spectacle of Roman gladiatorial battles was perhaps history’s most extravagant example of distracting the hoi polloi with empty spectacle as the structural integrity of their civilization collapsed around them. At least until the end-stage capitalistic United

This article contains spoilers for The Penguin episode 8 and The Batman. In the final moments of The Batman, the young Dark Knight turns his bike away from Catwoman and back toward Gotham City, burdened by the work yet to be done. Although Batman never appears in The Penguin, the

If you thought the Colosseum sands could soak up blood, wait until you see them covered in water. Atop a glassy shimmer of blue, various slaves, gladiators, and would-be champions make splashes of vibrant crimson and muddy rouge every time a clipped arrow sends them tumbling into the deep. But

Great shows with bad first seasons almost feel like a luxury in the modern streaming era. At a time when new projects are relatively abundant and often treated as disposable, shows are forced to find a substantial audience out of the gate or risk being canceled. There are far fewer

This article contains spoilers for The Penguin episode 8. When The Penguin began, embattled mid-level mobster Oz Cobb (Colin Farrell) was left reeling in the wake of his boss Carmine Falcone’s assassination in The Batman and the resulting chaos left by the Riddler. In pitting the Falcone and Maroni crime