What up, Choombas? Another month, another slate of premium content on The Path. This month we’ll be doing some side questing as we branch off into FX’s Shogun, Dune Part II, and more as we continue our coverage of Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher
Of Swords, Samurai, and Scientologists
With the release of Shogun, FX has dropped the best big budget epic since Game of Thrones. This month I’ll be reviewing episodes 1-5 till Luis and Frankie alternate sword work for the back half of the series in April. Meanwhile, I’ll be also continuing my Never Fade Away: Death and Dying in Cyberpunk 2077 with the release of Part 3 on the 29th, chronicling V’s journey with the Aldecaldos and hunt for Anders Hellman. And then just for the hell of it, I’ve decided to mount a *valiant* defense of why 2003’s The Last Samurai was actually 1) not a white savior film and 2) a positive step forward for Asian representation (except its marketing campaign, which was racist as fuck actually, as in ScarJo Ghost in the Shell-esque…).Uh, good luck with that one?
Panam, CD Projekt, and Nilfgaard
This month Luis will start out with an article on Panam Palmer: A Guide to This Key Character in Cyberpunk 2077. Explore the depths of Cyberpunk 2077 through the eyes of Panam Palmer, a pivotal character navigating the gritty world of Night City. He’ll then pivot to The Witcher with a discussion of The Witcher: Intricacies of the Nilfgaardian Empire, where you can learn more about the complex tapestry of the Nilfgaardian Empire, exploring its formidable military might and intricate political maneuverings within the realm of The Witcher. After that he’ll Chronicle CD Projekt Red’s Evolution: From The Witcher to Cyberpunk 207 and dive into the journey of CD Projekt Red, as they evolved from the dark fantasy realm of The Witcher to the neon-drenched streets of Cyberpunk 2077. He’ll close out his month with an in-depth review of Shogun episode 6.
Talking Tolkien and Discussing Dune
Meanwhile Frankie will be starting with a review of Dune Part II, paying special attention to how the new film compares to the book. Her second article will plug the Harfoots from Rings of Power. Why? Who knows? I couldn’t dissuade her from writing about her appreciation for those low-rent Hobbits/see unwashed Irish leprechaun stereotypes (To Harfoot or not to Harfoot is a long-running controversy among the writers of The Path, loosely divided between the “Frankie” and “Everyone not Frankie” factions…). For her third article, she’ll weigh in on the long-simmering accusations of racism in Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings (cf. “Harfoots”; anyway…) and then follow that up with a 4th piece going into greater depth on Dune.
-Benjamin Rose, Editor of The Path