TechCrunch

The annual Halloween event in Fortnite's, Fortnightmares, is well underway in the popular battle royale, and players can continue to earn unique rewards until Nov. 2. Fortnitemares is full of Halloween-themed maps, games, and other experiences that were created by the community during the Fortnitemares Callout event. Players can access the community-created experiences featured in the Fortnitemares section of the menus.

Throughout the rest of October, Fornitemares cards will reveal iconic monsters that will be featured in the Item Shop. Additionally, classic Fortnite characters will continue to receive new Halloween twists throughout October. Fortnitemares 2021 has various new and returning Halloween Outfits in the Item Shop, as well as costumes and items that players are able to earn during the event.

Multiple new cards are going to be flipped over through each week during the Fortnitmares 2021 event, so it's important for players to check the Fortnite Item Shop daily. Epic Games has kept these cards well hidden until they're released, but each release has always happened at 8:00 pm EST. Week one of Fortnitemares brought Frankenstein's Monster, Curdle Scream Leader, Skeletara, and The Walking Dead's Rick Grimes to Fortnite.

Week two has six cards that will be flipped over, so players should expect at least one card every night until week three begins. Two of Fortnite's Fortnitemares have already been flipped over for week two, namely the Poisonous Big Mouth and the Gilded Skull Trooper and Gilded Skull Ranger. The Poisonous Big Mouth is an alt style of Big Mouth. Week two will last until Oct. 18. Various Halloween-themed pickaxes, weapons skins, backpacks, and gliders will be available throughout Fortnitemares as well.

Week three and four rewards for Fortnitemares are currently a mystery, but week three will begin on Oct. 19, and week four starts on Oct. 26. Players can keep returning to the Fortnite Fortnitemares blog post daily to see what new cards are going to be unlocked next. Every week has a random order of how the cards will be unlocked, but the card previews show a glimpse into what the new costumes will be. For example, one of the week two cards features the Fishstick costume head on the back of it with a chunk bitten out of its face, indicating that the card will likely be some variation of the Fishstick or Fortnite's Fishstick princess costume.

Additionally, the Dual Fiend Hunters are a new weapon that deals extra damage to the Cube Monsters, and it has a faster rate of fire than last year's Fiend Hunter Crossbow. Dual Fiend Hunters can be found in chests or on the ground. Lastly, Fortnitemares will wrap up with the third Short Nite film festival. Named "Shortnitemares," the animated short will be based on sinister Halloween themes. The Shore Nite film festival will take place in a creator-made movie theater, and each short will have its own theatre room.

Fortnite is available now on PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series X, Xbox One, PC, Nintendo Switch, and Android.

Source: epicgames.com

IDW's Ghostbusters comic revealed that their defeat of Gozer in the first film created the franchise's multiverse of film and TV adaptations. In Ghostbusters 101 #1, the Ghostbusters learn of the dimension protected by the 2016 reboot's female Ghostbusters, whose world is beginning to overlap with their own. As both Ghostbusters teams wonder how this can be, Ray and Egon believe they have an answer.

What began as a simple paranormal investigation and elimination business has expanded beyond what any of the original Ghostbusters could have ever expected. In the IDW Comics, the guys in grey have franchises in other states, liaisons with the FBI, and interns to do their bidding, but everything changes after their crossover with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. After helping them build an interdimensional gateway to return to their world, the Ghostbusters now have the ability to explore the multiverse. In Ghostbusters 101, the Ghostbusters' interns turn on the device and open a portal to another dimension, attracting ghosts. When the door is closed on an aggressive phantom, part of the other-dimensional ghost is trapped outside its home reality, and both universes begin to overlap, introducing the original Ghostbusters to the Ghostbusters from the 2016 remake.

In the story by writer Eric Burnham and artist Dan Schoening, the female Ghostbusters are confused and alarmed at the sight of a different group of people calling themselves the Ghostbusters. With both paranormal investigators meeting at the Firehouse, the scientists and their colleagues try to make sense of this unusual situation and what it means. The original Ghostbusters explain that not only were they the ones that started it all, but their research into the multiverse has revealed the existence of even more Ghostbusters, even teams that have nothing to do with them. Their theory is that, when they crossed the streams in their battle with Gozer, the total protonic reversal created a connection to every reality at once that spread the subconscious information and methods necessary for Ghostbusters to exist in other dimensions.

Ray and Egon's theory not only recalls one of the Ghostbuster's greatest battles but adds even more importance to it, especially the act that they were so hesitant to do. When they crossed the streams, this action did almost destroy them, but it apparently also caused much more lasting consequences. With Gozer the Gozerian being a unique multiversal being with no duplicates, his portal allows the Ghostbusters to impart their thoughts, personalities, concepts and methods throughout multiple worlds. This explains how certain characters may act like one of the original four but still maintain their own individuality - for instance in the animated The Real Ghostbusters - making the original Ghostbusters the true architects of the franchise while also establishing the individuality of every incarnation fans have seen in film, television, video games and comics.

Although both Ghostbusters teams are able to put aside any differences and work together to save their realities, this was only one chapter in their adventures through the multiverse. When an unlicensed dimensional doorway unleashes ghosts from the Containment Unit throughout multiple worlds, 2017's Crossing Over maxi-series saw multiple Ghostbusters groups work together to find and retrap them before the unthinkable happened. The awesome comic twist set up future stories while also tying every Ghostbusters property back to the original movie in a way that expands, rather than ignores, the series' lore.

It’s looking less and less likely that Ridley Scott will helm another Alien prequel, but fortunately, Alien: Covenant could still receive a follow-up in the form of a limited series. Despite starting strong, the Alien franchise has struggled to find its feet with critics over the last few decades. The original Alien, a brutal and brilliant “haunted house in space” sci-fi horror, and its more action-forward sequel Aliens are beloved by viewers and critics alike, often still held up as classics of the sub-genre.

However, the horror-focused Alien 3 was too dark for many, and its follow-up Alien: Resurrection was too uneven, leaving critics frustrated with the once-promising franchise. Since then, original Alien director Ridley Scott returned for 2012’s Prometheus, a prequel that explored the origins of the franchise in detail. However, this effort warranted a cold response by many thanks to its slow pace and excessive focus on familiar world-building.

Scott’s second prequel, Alien: Covenant, wisely dropped the mythology and pseudo-philosophy in favor of a more brutal atmosphere and faster pace, and the 2017 release was well-liked as a result. That said, five years elapsed between the two outings and, although Alien: Covenant was the better Alien prequel, fans were hardly clamoring for a return to its world. The reception of the prequel series was mixed at best, meaning the odds of a third Alien prequel movie happening are slim. However, Scott mounting an event miniseries to wrap up the story of Michael Fassbender's David and how it ties into the original Alien would garner interest and would be a less risky investment to boot. Scott’s recent critical success with Raised By Wolves also shows the television miniseries format is probably better for the type of story he wants to explore, and with a longer runtime and more immersive atmosphere, the infamous Xenomorph could appear without being the sole focus of the plot.

Alien: Covenant managed to outdo the dark ending of Prometheus with the bleakest coda of the series so far — an impressive achievement, considering how brutal Alien 3’s finale is. As Katherine Waterston’s heroine Daniels is placed into hyper-sleep by her robot helper, she realizes that the Fassbender-faced android is not friendly Walter at all, but instead the lethally ambitious David. The switch occurred via an entirely unlikely plot hole, but that’s not the worst of the ending’s action. As outlined earlier in the outing, David’s Alien: Covenant master plan is to use his genetically engineered Neomorphs to wipe out entire planets solely to satisfy his God complex, using the heroine and everyone else aboard her ship as unknowing incubators for his grisly Xenomorph cross-breed creations. As Daniels is incapacitated, she is unable to stop this plot and, judging by the movie’s blackly comic closing moments, David’s plan goes off without a hitch — thus dooming an untold number of planets and their populations.

Although Alien: Covenant was no flop and fared fine with critics, the sequel’s reception with a textbook example of an unnecessary franchise installment receiving middling responses from viewers and reviewers. The movie’s tepid box office and the general lack of excitement for another movie are but two reasons that it is too late for an Alien: Covenant sequel, while Fargo showrunner Noah Hawley’s recently announced Alien television series is a more exciting prospect that further diminished the likelihood of another theatrically released prequel for the franchise. However, this television series may also be evidence that Alien: Covenant can still receive a follow-up, albeit one limited to the small screen.

The fact that Neill Blomkamp’s canceled Alien 5 never saw the light of day proves that even a direct sequel to the series is unable to muster sufficient excitement despite promising to retcon the much-maligned Alien 3 and bring back Ripley. Thus, there is no chance that the comparatively middle-of-the-road Alien prequels will earn a sequel when their plot is less immediately compelling than Blomkamp’s proposed Alien 5 and requires viewers to invest in characters who have been absent from the big screen for over four years already. However, a smaller-scale television miniseries would be a different proposition.

One major flaw of the Alien prequels is that both movies attempt to fit too much material into a slim runtime, whether it is Prometheus trying to outline the very origins of the universe or the less ambitious but still overstuffed Alien: Covenant failing to make sense of David’s ambitions within the movie’s compressed runtime. As such, a 6-to-8 episode miniseries could cover a lot of ground, from more exploration of the Engineers to catching up with David to how it all connects to the roots of the Alien series at large. Currently, David’s motivations for wiping out the Engineers upon arriving on their home planet is as unclear as to the reason the Engineers wanted to create Xenomorphs and humanity, both of which are teased but never explored in-depth by the prequel movies.

An Alien prequel miniseries would also allow the franchise to do justice to one of its most underrated figures, Noomi Rapace’s Elizabeth Shaw. Last seen unceremoniously vivisected by David sometime between movies, Shaw was a resourceful heroine whose quick thinking and scientific acumen rivaled the original heroine of the series, Sigourney Weaver’s iconic Ripley. However, while fan debate still rages about Ripley’s death, there is no denying that the brutal fate of Prometheus’ Shaw was a waste of a compelling character and a cheap shock tactic that did little to elevate Alien: Covenant. A miniseries that fleshes her character out in more detail while also leaving viewers uncomfortably aware of her eventual, inevitable fate would be a brilliant way to reverse this unfortunate twist, keeping Shaw’s death but adding an element of real pathos to the otherwise pointless surprise. Between exploring Shaw’s character, expanding on David’s plan, and explaining the origins and purpose of the Engineers, there is plenty of ideas for an Alien: Covenant sequel to explore — provided it does so on the small screen.

 A new cross-chain bridge is currently connected to Ethereum through a cross-chain bridge, with Cardano and other public chains to come in the future.

Nervos today announced that the Force Bridge is now live on the mainnet. The Nervos Network is a collection of protocols and public blockchain ecosystem aiming to solve the various challenges facing blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum today.

The Force Bridge is currently connected to Ethereum through a cross-chain bridge and will be connected to Cardano and other EVM and non-EVM public chains in the future, such as Bitcoin, TRON, EOS, and Polkadot.

The Force Bridge is a trustless cross-chain bridge that allows for seamless transactions between the Nervos ecosystem and other public chains, making it easier for developers to expand their dApps and user base to the Nervos ecosystem.

Currently, the bridge supports ETH and whitelisted ERC-20 tokens, including Dai (DAI), Tether (USDT), and USD Coin (USDC), with more tokens to come in the future. No CKB, the native token of the Nervos ecosystem, is required to transfer assets to Nervos via the Force Bridge.

While most cross-chain bridges require multiple steps before an asset can be moved, Force Bridge requires only a simple contract deployment to begin asset movement to a user or decentralized app (dApp).

When users send assets from Ethereum using the Force Bridge user interface (UI), the asset gets locked into a multi-signature wallet on Ethereum. Corresponding tokens are then minted on Nervos and sent to the corresponding users’ wallet addresses.

To ensure the safety and security of assets as they move cross-chain, the Nervos community formed a Force Bridge committee to ensure that the smart contract wallet is secure on Ethereum.

“The Force Bridge plays an integral role in our suite of multi-chain solutions, which are aimed at creating Universal Applications that transcend individual blockchains,” said Kevin Wang, co-founder at Nervos. “With the recent launch of some of our other multi-chain solutions, Polyjuice and Godwoken which were tested during our recent Hackathon, and now the Force Bridge, we’re making important progress in our roadmap and moving closer to a truly interconnected blockchain ecosystem.”

Earlier this year, Nervos announced it would connect to Cardano, the latest project in an existing research collaboration between Nervos and IOHK. Once completed, it will be the first cross-chain bridge to Cardano, allowing users to use Nervos and Cardano’s native currencies ($CKB and $ADA, respectively) interchangeably, as well as create their own tokens (user-defined tokens) across both blockchains.

As Nervos moves closer towards its vision for an interoperable blockchain ecosystem—or Interoperability 2.0—users from other chains will soon be able to use their wallets to trade in the same liquidity pool on CKB with Yokaiswap, the first interoperable AMM, DEX, Yield Farming, and Staking platform in the Nervos ecosystem. Additionally, the project is developing an update to transfer $CKB to Ethereum as wrapped $CKB (wCKB).

Kevin added, “Progress on the blockchain is an iterative process. As we continue to make headway on the Force Bridge and our multi-chain solutions, we look forward to receiving feedback from the community.”

Source: cryptoslate

The operators behind the pernicious TrickBot malware have resurfaced with new tricks that aim to increase its foothold by expanding its distribution channels, ultimately leading to the deployment of ransomware such as Conti.

The threat actor, tracked under the monikers ITG23 and Wizard Spider, has been found to partner with other cybercrime gangs known Hive0105, Hive0106 (aka TA551 or Shathak), and Hive0107, adding to a growing number of campaigns that the attackers are banking on to deliver proprietary malware, according to a report by IBM X-Force.

"These and other cybercrime vendors are infecting corporate networks with malware by hijacking email threads, using fake customer response forms and social engineering employees with a fake call center known as BazarCall," researchers Ole Villadsen and Charlotte Hammond said.

Since emerging on the threat landscape in 2016, TrickBot has evolved from a banking trojan to a modular Windows-based crimeware solution, while also standing out for its resilience, demonstrating the ability to maintain and update its toolset and infrastructure despite multiple efforts by law enforcement and industry groups to take it down. Besides TrickBot, the Wizard Spider group has been credited with the development of BazarLoader and a backdoor called Anchor.

While attacks mounted earlier this year relied on email campaigns delivering Excel documents and a call center ruse dubbed "BazaCall" to deliver malware to corporate users, recent intrusions beginning around June 2021 have been marked by a partnership with two cybercrime affiliates to augment its distribution infrastructure by leveraging hijacked email threads and fraudulent website customer inquiry forms on organization websites to deploy Cobalt Strike payloads.

"This move not only increased the volume of its delivery attempts but also diversified delivery methods with the goal of infecting more potential victims than ever," the researchers said.

In one infection chain observed by IBM in late August 2021, the Hive0107 affiliate is said to have adopted a new tactic that involves sending email messages to target companies informing that their websites have been performing distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on its servers, urging the recipients to click on a link for additional evidence. Once clicked, the link instead downloads a ZIP archive containing a malicious JavaScript (JS) downloader that, in turn, contacts a remote URL to fetch the BazarLoader malware to drop Cobalt Strike and TrickBot.

"ITG23 has also adapted to the ransomware economy through the creation of the Conti ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and the use of its BazarLoader and Trickbot payloads to gain a foothold for ransomware attacks," the researchers concluded. "This latest development demonstrates the strength of its connections within the cybercriminal ecosystem and its ability to leverage these relationships to expand the number of organizations infected with its malware."

Source: The Hacker News

 We may all have our favorite apps and services, but loyalty only goes so far. When something suddenly stops working, it doesn't take us long to go scrambling for alternatives. That's just what's been happening with Facebook and its properties lately, and a series of high-profile outages has had the consequence of pushing users to competing services, including Telegram. Now we're seeing the evidence of that exodus, as the Telegram app crosses the 1 billion installs threshold in the Google Play Store.

Facebook's servers have been taking users for a roller-coaster ride this month, going down, up, and back down again within days. In addition to Facebook proper, many of those outages also affected Instagram and WhatsApp. The combined effect of that was to deny millions of users access to their favorite messaging platforms — and Telegram was only too happy to help pick up the slack.

CEO Pavel Durov announced that Telegram managed to pick up some 70 million new users as a result of the shake-up, and that's unsurprisingly led to a lot of new installs of the Telegram app. Late last night the Play Store's listing finally rolled over from 500,000,000 installs to the lofty 1,000,000,000+.

That's a whole lot of phones running Telegram. Of course, it's still got a ways to go to catch up with WhatsApp or Facebook, both members of the 5,000,000,000+ club, but you've gotta have to something to motivate you, right?

Elon Musk has entered rarified air in the world billionaire rankings. The Tesla and SpaceX CEO is not only currently the richest person in the world, but is now worth as much as fellow billionaires Bill Gates and Warren Buffett combined.

The 50-year-old’s net worth is $230 billion as of Friday morning, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Gates sits in fourth place with $130 billion and Buffett is No. 10 with $102 billion.

Both Gates and Buffett previously held the mantle of world’s richest person. Musk first passed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to become the world’s richest man in January with a net worth of $185 billion. Bezos had held the title since 2017.

Musk has added more than $60 billion to his fortune this year thanks to the strong performance of Tesla stock as well as a recent share sale at SpaceX which valued the company at $100 billion. The SpaceX deal added $11 billion to Musk’s net worth, according to Bloomberg.

Bezos, who was recently the recipient of Musk’s trolling when the Tesla executive tweeted a silver medal emoji at him, is still the second-wealthiest person on earth with a $191 billion net worth.

Of course, Gates and Buffett would be significantly closer to Musk in the wealth rankings were it not for the duo’s philanthropic giving. Both have given away tens of billions of dollars to charitable causes over the years, while Musk has been criticized for not giving away more of his massive fortune.

Musk has previously said he prefers to remain anonymous when giving away money, and earlier this year asked Twitter users for “critical feedback” on ways he can donate.

This year, Musk also pledged to give away $150 million — including a $100 million prize in a carbon removal contest — a figure that Recode estimates is larger than all his previous charitable giving.

Hailee Steinfeld compares playing Kate Bishop in Hawkeye to the young poet in Dickinson. Created by Alena Smith for Apple TV+, the first season of Dickinson premiered in 2019 along with the debut of the streaming service itself. It was quickly renewed for a sophomore season and now, the Dickinson season 3, its last, is set to air on November 5. Starring Steinfeld in the titular role, the series has received rave reviews for its exploration of 19th century society with a millennial sensibility and tone.

Dickinson isn't the only series Steinfeld is starring in that airs this November, with the other being Hawkeye on Disney+. The Marvel show is set after the events of Avengers: Endgame as the MCU's famous archer, Clint Barton (Jeremy Renner), heads back to New York City for a fun Christmas with his family, but becomes sidetracked when is he confronted by enemies from his past as Ronin. Barton is then forced to join forces with a young super-fan named Kate Bishop, portrayed by Steinfeld in her MCU debut.

Now, in an interview with Screen Rant, Steinfeld talked about how her Marvel character isn't so much different from the audacious writer that she's been playing on Dickinson over the past three years. Steinfeld described the young poet she plays as a "strong and determined and independent and driven female character," which made the transition to playing Kate Bishop a little easier, since she shares a lot of those same qualities. Read what Steinfeld had to say below:

I am so excited to have gone from playing a character like Emily Dickinson for the last three years -- and because I feel I've spent so much time with her in playing this very strong and determined and independent and driven female character -- going into one that has those same qualities was a very exciting thing for me. And entering the world of Kate Bishop and entering the world of the Marvel Universe has been absolutely incredible and a rollercoaster ride to say the least and I cannot wait for the show to come out.

After her breakthrough role at the age of 13 in the Coen Brothers' True Grit (for which she was nominated for an Academy Award), Steinfeld went on to land a number of prominent leading roles like the coming-of-age drama The Edge of Seventeen and Bumblebee. Her career is certainly set to take off in an even bigger way now that she's been cast in the MCU and possibly taking over the Hawkeye mantle as Kate Bishop.

While Emily Dickinson and Kate Bishop might not appear to have much in common at first glance, it's certainly hard to argue with Steinfeld's assessment. The Christmassy vibes and dynamic between Clint and Kate are two of the most anticipated parts of the Hawkeye show. Coming over from Dickinson surely made the transition easier for Steinfeld, but Kate will still have her work cut out for her as she attempts to earn Clint's approval and become his successor.

The Batman director Matt Reeves has revealed a new image of Zoë Kravitz’s Catwoman/Selina Kyle ahead of the upcoming trailer for the film. Kravitz will play the iconic Batman character alongside Robert Pattinson’s Bruce Wayne, Paul Dano’s Riddler, Jeffrey Wright’s Jim Gordon, John Turturro’s Carmine Falcone, Peter Sarsgaard’s Gil Colson, Andy Serkis’ Alfred Pennyworth, and Colin Farrell’s Penguin. The Batman is scheduled to release in theaters on March 4, 2022.

Catwoman has been a common inclusion in the modern era of live-action Batman films, having been played by Michelle Pfeifer in Batman Returns and Anne Hathaway in The Dark Knight Rises, in addition to a solo Catwoman film in 2004 starring Halle Berry. Kravitz is the latest star to bring Selina Kyle to the big screen, though she’s previously voiced the character in The LEGO Batman Movie. Depending on how The Batman performs at the box office, she could be playing the character for years to come.

A new image released on Twitter by Reeves shows Kravitz’s Selina Kyle sporting a shoulder-length haircut and a white tank top, staring intently at someone out of frame. It’s not the full shot of her Catwoman costume that some may have been hoping for, but it’s still a fun look at what’s sure to be a fierce new version of the character. Check out the new Catwoman image below.

Developing…

Source: Matt Reeves

The developer of Dying Light is currently working on a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrade for the zombie parkour game. Techland's announcement comes a little while after it shared the news that Dying Light 2 has been delayed by two months. This was the game’s second official delay, with its lead developer later explaining that the additional time is allowing the studio to better polish game. While the Dying Light community expected a December 7 release for Dying Light 2, it may be getting another port of the first game instead.

In the meantime, Techland appears to be revisiting the original Dying Light to drum up 2021 sales, with the current-gen update now known and a previously confirmed Nintendo Switch port of the game arriving soon. A Nintendo Direct in September established an October 19 release date for Dying Light: Platinum Edition’s Nintendo Switch port, which will grant Switch owners the full Dying Light experience in addition to an four DLCs and several skins. The all-inclusive Dying Light re-release originally dropped earlier this year on PC, Xbox One, and PlayStation 4. Now, it seems current-gen owners will get a stab at the acclaimed zombie game, too.

Announced via the Dying Light Twitter account, Techland is evidently working on “a next-gen patch for Dying Light 1.” It’s not clear when the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S updates could drop, however. For now, the developer ensures fans that more will be revealed sometime in the future.

It’s a possibility that Techland plans to release Dying Light’s PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrades before Dying Light 2: Stay Human’s February 2022 launch. However, that window of time is a short one, as the end of 2021 is quickly approaching. There's also been no confirmation about whether or not the new-gen update will be a free upgrade for current PS4 and Xbox One owners or if Dying Light: Platinum Edition will be a separate release for the new consoles as it is on the Switch. It’s not impossible that Techland could offer both options, but the latter seems probable.

The studio's choice on the matter will likely affect the community’s response. As a recent example, Grand Theft Auto V was met with severe fan backlash after its revealed its own new-gen gameplay was revealed. Many series fans were dissatisfied with the ports' minimal visual improvements and features announced for GTA 5's upgrade at PlayStation Showcase 2021. A major component of that ire was because it's believed those ports will be full-price and charge previous GTA 5 owners for an upgrade, information that has also yet to be confirmed. In a similar situation, Dying Light is over six years old and a current-gen upgrade could spice up gameplay for the modern era. Hopefully, Techland is able to deliever on its PS5 and Xbox Series X/S upgrade without any further delays on Dying Light 2: Stay Human.

Source: Dying Light/Twitter

The Wheel of Time show introduces its eyeless villains and their minions in a new video. Amazon is hoping it can find its own Game of Thrones as it adapts Robert Jordan’s sprawling fantasy novel series.

The first trailer for Amazon’s Wheel of Time released back in September and indeed teased a huge fantasy world filled with magic, monsters and prophecies. The magical element of the story as fans of the novels know revolves around The One Power, an energy that allows its users to perform feats like healing, teleportation and mind control. Season 1’s story follows a magic practitioner named Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) as she leads a group of five young people on a journey, believing that one of them may be the long-awaited Dragon Reborn.

Of course any good fantasy story needs its villains and The Wheel of Time has some monstrous ones indeed. A new video shared on social media gives fans their first good look at these baddies, who go under the general name Shadowspawn. See the clip in the space below:

Click Here To View The Original Post

In Wheel of Time lore Shadowspawn are in fact divided into a number of different groups. The two main groups, both mentioned in Pike’s voice-over in the clip, are Trollocs and Myrddraal (or Fades as they’re called in the video). Trollocs are horned ogres who operate as foot-soldiers of the story’s true Big Bad The Dark One, while the eyeless and big-mouthed Fades are more advanced and dangerous and also less numerous. In season 1 of Amazon’s Wheel of Time, Pike and her group of heroes are being pursued by these creatures. “Armies of Trollocs and Fades a million strong will wash across the Land, killing and eating every person they find,” Pike’s character Moiraine ominously intones, pointing up just how terrifying the Shadowspawn are.

It’s interesting indeed that The Wheel of Time seems to dive right in and introduce this monstrous threat in all its horror. Contrast this approach with Game of Thrones, which took time teasing its own swarming enemies the White Walkers. Of course, Game of Thrones didn’t have a huge budget right out of the gate, so fully visualizing George R.R. Martin’s supernatural ice zombies wasn’t really an option in early seasons. The Wheel of Time on the other hand reportedly had an $80 million budget for its first season, which obviously allowed its creators to immediately go whole-hog in bringing to life the books'  nightmarish bad guys. Of course, just being able to go wild with special effects doesn’t guarantee that a story will work – as became painfully evident in later seasons of Game of Thrones. Hopefully The Wheel of Time won’t fall victim to the same big-budget pitfalls that ultimately hurt HBO's iconic fantasy series. The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time arrive on Amazon on November 19, 2021.

Source: The Wheel of Time/Twitter

The Far Cry 6 secret ending offers an early, grim conclusion to the events of the game. Far Cry 6's relatively lengthy story follows guerilla soldier Dani Rojas in their attempt to bring down oppressive dictator Anton Castillo and save the Cuba-inspired country of Yara. It's a tale full of the bombastic action and open-world shenanigans found in most Far Cry games, but a majority of the events can be avoided if players choose to follow the secret ending.

The Far Cry series has become well known for providing secret, early endings that can be unlocked through unconventional methods. In Far Cry 4, players can choose to avoid fighting Pagan Min in Kyrat’s civil war by simply waiting for him to return to the room he's trapped protagonist Ajay in. When he comes back, he decides to let Ajay scatter his mother's ashes exactly where she wanted in a moment of unexpected camaraderie. Far Cry 5 goes a similar route by allowing players the chance to ignore the prompt to arrest Joseph Seed at the beginning of the game, which sees the lawmen give up on trying to take the Montana cult down and go home.

These alternate endings go against the grain of Far Cry’s intended violent and heroic acts by asking players to abandon their missions entirely, and Far Cry 6 continues that series pattern. Just like the previous ones, its secret ending involves choosing between two options and is considered the "bad" ending for Dani’s story, but players who choose this path will unlock an achievement to commemorate their unconventional decision. Here's how Far Cry 6's secret ending plays out.

[Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for Far Cry 6.]

The chance to unlock Far Cry 6’s secret ending comes after completing the "Libertad Rises" mission, which sees Dani and the Libertad rebellion take down Anton Castillo’s warships. The cutscene that follows shows Clara fulfilling her promise to help Dani escape to Miami in exchange for their help, providing a boat they could use to sail off into the sunset. When players are given control of Dani, they're prompted to talk to Juan, but they can instead take control of the boat and drive south. After driving for a certain amount of time, a scene will commence where Dani says, "I’m sorry, Clara. Not my fight," and the screen fades to black.

After Dani’s escape, another cutscene informs players three months have passed since leaving behind Clara and the Libertad rebels. Dani is shown relaxing on a beach in Miami, far away from the guerilla warfare of Far Cry 6's campaign. Not all is well for the people of Yara, as a radio newscaster's voice declares Anton Castillo has defeated the Libertad rebellion, murdered Clara, and forced the country into a severe lockdown.

Credits roll on the scene, and players are presented with the "Hidden in Plain Sight" achievement for having found the Far Cry 6 secret ending. It's an incredibly dour conclusion, presenting a bleak vision of how Yara's fate would have been if Dani had stepped on that boat.

2022 could be an exciting year for Android fans, as a new rumor suggests OnePlus co-founder Carl Pei is creating a 'Nothing' smartphone. Any longtime OnePlus followers will know the company has taken a few big shifts in recent years. While OnePlus started out as an enthusiast brand focused on big specs and low prices, it's in a very different place today. Carl Pei left the company in October 2020, OnePlus is preparing to merge its OxygenOS platform with Oppo's ColorOS, and its product lineup is now very reminiscent of any other major smartphone brand.

Shortly after departing OnePlus last year, Carl Pei announced his own tech company called 'Nothing.' Nothing's first product ended up being a pair of true wireless earbuds — called the Nothing Ear (1). The earbuds didn't receive perfect reviews, but they were mostly praised for delivering good audio, a stunning design, and a competitive price. Now, Nothing is getting ready to set its sights on something much bigger.

According to a new report from 91Mobiles, Nothing is preparing to launch its first Android-powered smartphone in early 2022. The report doesn't go into great detail about the device, simply stating that the site has "exclusively learned from noted tipster Mukul Sharma that Nothing will launch its first phone." It's also teased that Nothing will release the Nothing Power (1) battery bank "in the next few weeks," but all attention is obviously on the rumored smartphone.

Although this report doesn't share any concrete details about the Nothing phone, it's not hard to imagine what it could entail. If the Ear (1) earbuds are any indication of Nothing's hardware ambitions, a phone from the company could be really beautiful. Nothing's earbuds are lightweight, comfy to wear, and their transparent design with neatly packed internals is beyond impressive. If Nothing's phone manages to offer that same mix of practicality with a unique aesthetic, it could have a strong design lead over much of the competition. It's also safe to assume the Android experience of the Nothing phone would be reminiscent of the old OxygenOS — that's to say, a stock-like interface, robust customization options, and select few feature add-ons to keep it lightweight.

It's certainly fun to speculate about Carl Pei returning to the smartphone space, but how much weight does this rumor actually carry? There's actually a bit to it. Don't forget that Nothing acquired Essential back in February — a purchase that included all of the latter company's trademarks, logos, and other branding material. While Essential was short-lived, the Essential PH1 was a pretty solid Android handset. The company also teased its Project GEM successor in late 2019, though it was ultimately scrapped following Essential's quick demise. Nothing also announced earlier this week a $50 million partnership with Qualcomm. In a press release, Nothing says the funds will be used for "research and development in preparation for the brand’s entry into new product categories as part of its ecosystem."

It's entirely possible this report is inaccurate and a Nothing smartphone doesn't exist. However, all signs are currently pointing to the opposite being true. If the rumored Nothing phone is real, 91Mobiles says to expect "teasers and reports" coming in the next few weeks.

Source: 91Mobiles, Nothing

Madison LeCroy from Southern Charm and her now-fiance Brett went from being strangers to getting engaged in a matter of months. Before Madison met her future husband, she had quite the rollercoaster of a dating life. Her relationships were at the center of some serious celebrity drama this year. Late December, Madison began dating Jay Cutler, who is a former NFL player. She got involved with him shortly after her ex Austen Kroll was rumored to be romancing Jay's ex-wife, Kristin Cavallari.

After Jay and Kristin shared a photo that made people assume they were back together, Madison and Jay ended faster than they began. Shortly after they fizzled out, Madison was accused of having an affair with ex-MLB player Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez sometime last year. Madison says those rumors are false and claims that she and A-Rod never met up in person. However, some of her costars didn't believe her. Nonetheless, Madison is over her time as a single woman. The Southern Charm star is ready to become a wife.

Related: Southern Charm: Madison LeCroy Reveals She Is Engaged To Boyfriend Brett

In April, following her A-Rod controversy, Madison confirmed that she had a new man. After a fan said the former baseball player might not want to date her even though he's now single, she shared her new romance on social media. Madison quickly replied that she was already taken. However, she took a couple of months to reveal what he looked like and what his first name is.

In June 2021, the mother of one went Instagram official with Brett by sharing a series of snaps of the pair having fun in Lake Tahoe. Madison also spoke with Us Weekly about her new relationship later that month. The reality star revealed that the two met in Arizona at a bar and locked eyes right away, "from across the room." Brett eventually approached Madison, who went to Utah with him, and the two chatted for a while. " She told him, "You can take me out, but you’ll have to take me out in Charleston, South Carolina." Brett replied, ‘I’m fine with that. When are you available?’". Madison revealed that she instantly fell for Brett, and the couple has been together non-stop ever since.

On Thursday, Madison announced during an Amazon Live that she and Brett got engaged after six months of dating. Brett popped the question last Friday and even involved Madison's eight-year-old son Hudson in the proposal. The three of them went out for a fancy dinner in a limo, and Brett then decided to propose to her in her living room, while Hudson clapped in the background. Madison, who has shaded ex Austen, was so surprised that she began to cry. However, they were definitely tears of joy.

The Southern Charm star and her new fiance have had a. whirlwind romance and they do seem to be madly in love. Now that season 8 of the Bravo series has begun filming, fans are excited to see how their relationship will be showcased on the series.

Next: Southern Charm: Madison LeCroy Is Happy Austen Kroll Joined Winter House

Source: Us Weekly

Warning! Spoilers ahead for Titans season 3, episode 12, "Prodigal."

HBO's Titans season 3 finally sees Beast Boy (Ryan Potter) getting a new animal transformation, and he ends up recreating a classic Batman villain in the process. While Gar Logan is still struggling to control his transformations (beyond turning into a tiger), a traumatic scene triggers a new transformation in season 3, episode 12 when Beast Boy and Raven are trying to help Nightwing. Furthermore, because the Titans have been operating in Gotham for the majority of the season, Gar's transformation makes perfect sense.

With Bruce Wayne having left Gotham in the wake of Jason Todd's death and the Dark Knight's own murder of the Joker (the former Robin's killer), Dick Grayson brought the Titans to Gotham to serve as its new protectors. However, the Scarecrow had Jason resurrected, ushering Todd's transformation into the darker and corrupted Red Hood as they began their plans for a Gotham takeover. During that time, Beast Boy's limited ability to transform into animals has been something he's been struggling with while helping the Titans, seeing as how he's only ever been able to turn into a tiger on command.

Related: The REAL Reason Titans' Jason Todd Turned Into Red Hood Explained

However, Titans season 3, episode 12 sees Beast Boy and Raven finding Nightwing in the aftermath of his most recent battle with Red Hood. Having decided to go alone, Dick Grayson ended up being killed by the Red Hood. Todd also had the support of Gotham's citizens, seeing as how he and Scarcrow had tainted the city's water supply with fear chemicals while also controlling the public narrative to make Red Hood appear to be the hero and the Titans criminals. Finding Nightwing dead, the traumatic scene triggered a transformation within Beast Boy that saw him turning into a bat. However, the halfway point of the process saw him looking very much like Dr. Kirk Langstrom's Man-Bat, a classic Batman villain who turned himself into a monstrous were-bat.

One of the Dark Knight's more tragic villains, Kirk Langstrom was trying to create a cure for deafness using bat DNA, hoping to unlock their ability to echolocate. However, the experimental tests he ran on himself resulted in his transformations into the Man-Bat. As such, it's rather fitting that Beast Boy would resemble Langstrom (even if it was just for a moment) as he turned into a full-on bat in Gotham City.

Joining the cloud of bats that had formed in response to Gar's transformation, Beast Boy was seemingly able to direct the nocturnal creatures in his new form. Guiding the bats to pick up Grayson's body and take him to the Lazarus Pit he and Raven had found, they hoped that it would resurrect Nightwing just as it had the Red Hood. While Beast Boy eventually transformed back into his normal human form, it will be interesting to see if becoming a bat will be a new animal form he can now tap into as Titans continues, or if it was a one-time transformation in response to the grief of seeing Nightwing dead in this particular episode. Either way, Beast Boy's recreation of one of Batman's classic foes is a pretty fun Easter egg all the same.

More: Titans Has A Superpower Problem

Titans releases new episodes Thursdays on HBO Max.

The Sam Raimi Spider-Man films were filled with Easter eggs, including a reference to The Hobgoblin in Spider-Man 3 which allowed for his potential introduction in a future installment. Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy is celebrated for its seamless combination of comic accuracy and heartfelt, realistically-written characters, but one occasionally overlooked aspect of the films is that it’s firmly set in a populated Marvel universe, with references to Spider-Man stories and characters in the films and even some shoutouts to other Marvel characters in the Raimi continuity’s non-movie material. One such reference was to The Hobgoblin, one of Spider-Man’s most prominent adversaries for years in the comics. A Raimi iteration of The Hobgoblin’s mask can be found in act 1 of Spider-Man 3.

The Hobgoblin, aka Roderick Kingsley, was a major Spider-Man villain for years in Marvel’s comics. Upon discovering one of the seemingly deceased Norman Osborn’s hidden stashes of the Green Goblin's (played by Willem Dafoe) gear, Kingsley, a corrupt corporate executive, modified Osborn’s formula to eliminate its insanity side effect and increase its physical enhancements. With a modified costume, Kingsley became The Hobgoblin. Although he was stronger than Norman, Kingsley’s lack of insanity made him an overall less dangerous adversary than the unpredictable Norman. Like the Green Goblin, the comics made the Hobgoblin’s true identity a running mystery, with several red herrings and fake reveals, explained by Kingsley brainwashing people like Ned Leeds into becoming body doubles. The Hobgoblin’s true identity was definitively revealed in 1997’s Spider-Man: Hobgoblin Lives.

Related: Spider-Man 3 Theory: Ned's Hobgoblin Is Raimi's Green Goblin Successor

Roderick’s Hobgoblin outfit was a modified version of Norman’s Green Goblin costume. Kingsley changed the color palette, including giving the mask a gold hue, and added an orange cloak, but retained the chainmail armor and legendary aesthetic that original Green Goblin Norman Osborn used first. In Spider-Man 3, Harry Osborn similarly creates a new outfit and uses improved technology. Calling himself the New Goblin (though the name is never said in the film), Harry takes Norman’s Goblin formula, granting him superhuman physical abilities but damaging his psyche in the process. Early in the film, Harry’s new technology is shown, along with a distinctive mask in between Norman’s Green Goblin mask and Harry’s New Goblin mask. This third mask resembles Norman’s, but is far more angular and aggressive, with notably sharper teeth. The mask is also a metallic gold color, indicating that it’s the Raimi universe’s Hobgoblin mask.

With both Norman and Harry dead by the end of the Spider-Man trilogy (though Norman could have easily been resurrected just as he was in the comics), a future installment in Raimi’s continuity could have had a new version of Roderick Kingsley's Hobgoblin. As a business tycoon, Kingsley could have acquired Norman Osborn’s assets or simply bought his Tudor City penthouse and discovered the Goblin lair. Like his comic counterpart, Kingsley would take the gear, somehow modify the formula, and become New York’s latest threat, motivated by greed and thirst for power, unlike Norman’s unbridled sadism and obsessions and Harry’s need for revenge.

This wouldn’t be the first time that the Raimi Spider-Man series referenced a character from the Spider-Man comics. The 2002 film subtly mentioned Eddie Brock and Curt Connors, both of whom went on to appear in sequels. The Marvel superhero and sorcerer Doctor Strange is mentioned by name in Spider-Man 2, an unintentionally fitting joke, considering the Raimi universe’s upcoming MCU appearance, thanks to Strange. The Raimi Spider-Man video games, which can easily be considered canon to the Raimi timeline, reference Latveria (Doctor Doom’s home country), Captain America, and The Punisher, and include an appearance by The Kingpin, Daredevil’s nemesis.

Had Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man continuity continued, it would not be surprising to see his take on Roderick Kingsley appear and menace Spider-Man as the Hobgoblin. Considering Raimi’s appreciation and understanding of the comic source material, it’d make sense to have Kingsley succeed Norman and Harry, and perhaps end up fighting the resurrected Norman as he did in the comics. Either way, Spider-Man 3’s Hobgoblin mask Easter egg was setting up a future with at least one more Goblin-themed supervillain.

Next: Spider-Man 3 Theory: Tobey Maguire's MCU Daughter Is Spider-Girl

Steam is banning games that are built on blockchain technology or that allow the exchange of cryptocurrency and NFTs, establishing another hurdle for the world of blockchain games. Playable NFT video games are growing in popularity and a few have stuck out in the crowd, gaining considerable financial and commercial support. One company in particular, Mythical Games, announced a $75 million partnership in June, which will help it produce several NFT video games. One of its more popular titles, Blankos Block Party, is an open-world free-to-play game that is built on blockchain technology and uses vinyl figurine NFTs as playable characters. Players purchase new Blankos with cryptocurrency and can sell their collection on the marketplace for actual money.

NFTs or non-fungible tokens have previously garnered negative press. Much of the criticism stems from the environmental impact that NFTs can have, based on its Proof of Work crypto mining. What has attracted many people to NFTs despite this is the fact that there is proof of ownership tied to the NFT. Thus, unlike other virtual items, like many in-game skins or outfits, NFTs hold a particular value and can be collected or sold on an evolving marketplace, much like physical collectibles like trading cards. In spite of evidence that NFT video games are bad for the environment, many have chosen to get involved in the controversial new economy. Their efforts to do so in the video game market have now been hindered considerably by Steam.

Related: Blankos Block Party Uses NFTs But Not Bitcoin Mining

As revealed by the Age of Rust Twitter account (via NME), Steam has officially removed games on its platform that use blockchain technology or allow the exchange of cryptocurrencies or NFTs. The game’s developer explained that despite having been upfront with Steam regarding the fact that Age of Rust is a blockchain game, the title is still being removed, as the publisher has decided to do away with all such games on its platform. Steam recently made changes to its Rules and Guidelines, indicating that it will no longer sell any applications built on blockchain technology. According to the Age of Rust Twitter, “Steam’s point of view is that items have value and they don’t allow items that can have real-world value on their platform.”

This is a considerable setback for blockchain games or any developer looking to create titles incorporating NFTs or cryptocurrencies. Age of Rust’s developer is looking for alternative modes of publishing and will continue to look for a place in the market. However, it’s unclear what effect Steam’s decision will have on other blockchain games that were housed on its platform.

It’s certainly possible that these games will follow the path of big NFT games like Axie Infinity, which is distributed to players directly through its website. Steam does offer many tools to help cultivate developers and market products, so without that level of backing, it’s likely many blockchain games or games using NFTs and cryptocurrencies will struggle to find footing in the market.

Next: Can Blankos Block Party Convince People It's Not A Scam?

Source: Age of Rust/Twitter, NME

Early Eternals box office projections indicate its opening weekend will be higher than Black Widow and Shang-Chi. While the box office still has a long way to go before it gets back to 2019 levels, theaters are very much on the road to recovery amidst the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This year saw a number of high-profile titles leave an impression at the box office, with Shang-Chi even breaking the pre-pandemic record for highest Labor Day debut. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was another strong showing, posting $90.1 million domestically in its first three days.

One of the next major projects on the horizon is Marvel's Eternals, which is set to open in November. The film introduces a bevy of new characters to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, many of whom are largely unknown to casual audiences. However, Marvel has demonstrated a knack for turning obscure properties into household names before, so the belief is they'll have similar success with Eternals. If the box office estimates are anything to go by, the MCU will be rewriting the record books again.

Per Box Office Pro, Eternals is projected to earn between $82-102 million domestically in its opening weekend. Even the low end of those figures would be the highest opening in Phase 4 to date. Shang-Chi posted $75.3 million in its first three days ($94.6 million for the four-day Labor Day weekend), and Black Widow earned $80.3 million in its debut.

There's still a few weeks before Eternals premieres, so these estimates could fluctuate. Still, this is a good sign for the film's commercial prospects, indicating audiences are well aware of its impending release and are looking forward to it. In fact, Eternals was voted the fall's most-anticipated movie in a Fandango poll, beating out the likes of No Time to Die, Dune, and others. That shows the strength of the Marvel brand, and illustrates even when some viewers are still wary about returning to the theater, the allure of seeing the latest MCU entry on the big screen is enough of a draw. It will be interesting to see how Eternals' projections change as reviews come in and word-of-mouth spreads.

In the pandemic era, no movie has opened with $100+ million domestically, and the high end of the Eternals estimates would have it hitting that mark. That would be an impressive feat, especially considering Eternals' long runtime, which pegs it as the second-longest MCU movie after only Avengers: Endgame. This factor limits the number of daily screenings theaters can show, which could impact Eternals' box office prospects. Regardless, it looks like all things considered, the film should be another winner for Marvel.

Source: Box Office Pro

The United States Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sent out a notice to over 700 companies — a list that includes the likes of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Tesla — warning them about the menace of fake reviews and misleading ad practices using social media, and has asked them to abide by the rules or face penalties. Over the years, fake online reviews have become a menace, and many brands have actually been caught paying for favorable or false reviews on e-commerce platforms.

An Amazon data breach earlier this year revealed that a number of vendors negotiate terms with buyers who are paid to purchase their products and then post sham five-star reviews to boost the star ratings. But it’s not just e-commerce platforms where such practices thrive. In the ballooning world of social media marketing, influencers are often paid to praise a particular product or brand. But the problem arises when these influencers don’t actually disclose whether they are endorsing a particular product after inking a deal, and are just commending it from their personal experience. Pyramid schemes and crypto frauds find a lot of mention on the internet where people with influence — deliberately or unwillingly — often end up promoting a scam.

To combat the rising problem of misleading marketing and shady advertising tactics employed by brands, the US FTC has issued a notice to hundreds of companies to keep their ledgers clean and make proper disclosures if they are engaged in influencer-driven marketing. FTC clarifies that sending a notice to these companies doesn’t mean the agency is charging or alleging them of any wrongdoings. It just serves as a warning signal that it will take strict action against any brand that violates its fair marketing and advertisement policies. However, the US FTC makes it clear that for every violation, a company will be charged a civic penalty of up to $45,792.

The regulatory body — which has lately been at the helm of a heated antitrust campaign against Big Tech — outlined five types of red flags that will incur punitive action. They include wrongfully presenting an endorser as an actual user, making false claims about their products in ads, hiding financial connections with an endorser, peddling an endorser’s views as genuine user experience, and falsely claiming another individual’s endorsement. Back in June of this year, multiple Chinese electronic gadget brands were booted off Amazon for giving customers incentives to post favorable reviews. The most recent example of legal action covering alleged misleading advertisements is Apple. The company recently settled a class-action lawsuit for telling users that ‘remanufactured’ devices under AppleCare coverage are “equivalent to new in performance and reliability,” but actual user experience tells otherwise.

FTC’s latest notice will definitely put big names on edge thanks to the accountability dilemma. For platforms such as Amazon or Apple's App Store, the onus might fall on their respective owners if fake reviews end up hurting customers, even if they were paid for by third-party vendors. Amazon has historically struggled with the problem, and even though it has designed tools that identify suspicious behavior and remove thousands of fake reviews each year, the issue persists. But there is more to the picture than appears on the surface. For example, Amazon recently asked Apple to take down an app that allowed users to check the legitimacy of reviews. With each passing quarter, companies like Instagram and TikTok are adding new marketing tools for influencers, and it is going to be increasingly difficult for regulators to identify misleading endorsements on social media and hold companies accountable.

Source: US FTC

The latest episode of Young Sheldon season 5 shows the issue with Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Leonard Hofstadter's (Johnny Galecki) ending in The Big Bang Theory. After their inappropriate flirting, George Cooper (Lance Barber) and Brenda Sparks (Melissa Peterman) continue to try to keep the details of their night out a secret. But after Meemaw (Annie Potts) sensed that there was something sketchy happening between the pair, she started snooping around — which, unfortunately, brings her son-in-law and his neighbor closer together.

In the Young Sheldon season 5 episode titled "Snoopin' Around and the Wonder Twins of Atheism," Meemaw coincidentally bumped into Brenda at the grocery store. She began asking about what really went down the night that George had a mini heart attack. But instead of answering her queries, Brenda panicked and bolted out of the conversation. This alarmed Meemaw, who then subtly asked her son-in-law about the same thing. Suspiciously, George was equally evasive, which made things worse. This resulted in an emergency meeting involving George and Brenda at the latter's chicken house. What was supposed to be a discreet and brief conversation, however, turned into a lengthy chat.

Among the few other things the pair discussed was the subject of the Cooper patriarch’s workmate choosing his wife as his best friend. Both George and Brenda were perplexed about the notion, but in the end, concluded that the reason why George's coworker has such a relaxed and consistently happy marriage is because there are no kids. This indirectly highlights the potential issues in Leonard and Penny's The Big Bang Theory ending: As heartwarming as it was to see the couple happy with the news that they're expecting their first child, Penny had been previously adamant about wanting to be child-free. In fact, this was their core conflict in the show's final season as Leonard wanted children. Despite several back-and-forths regarding the matter, they never really found a resolution. Instead, she was just revealed to be pregnant in the finale.

Although it's possible the TBBT lead just changed her stance about the issue off-screen — since Penny looked happy about it — nothing in the series demonstrated that Penny was ready to become a parent. As Brenda and George recently implied in Young Sheldon, having kids significantly changes couples' dynamics for the worse. This issue could be much more detrimental for the Hofstadters' future since they originally had contradicting thoughts on the matter. Instead of The Big Bang Theory properly developing this arc, the finale offered an easy (and frankly, lazy) solution to the problem.

Once the excitement of learning that she's pregnant wears off, Penny could realize that she still doesn't want kids or isn't ready to settle down and become a parent — but since it's far too late for that, she would be stuck in her situation while Leonard gets what he always wanted. This could result in her being resentful toward her husband. Had the series showed more conversations between Penny and Leonard sorting through their differences, perhaps, it wouldn't be this concerning. Overall, The Big Bang  Theory's finale was nostalgic and heartwarming. However, the focus on Sheldon and his bid for the Nobel Prize in Physics was too much. It essentially relegated the rest of the main cast as supporting characters. That includes Penny and Leonard, who were given a less than satisfying, and questionable, send-off.