Overview of The Watch by The Ringer
Chris Ryan and Andy Greenwald cover a packed batch of TV and industry news, with the bulk of the episode focused on three big items: the return of The Gentlemen for Season 2, the standout third episode of Lanterns, and Netflix’s new trailer for East of Eden. They also riff on a few headline-worthy entertainment oddities, including Tom Hardy’s surprise appearance on a Czarface track and Alfonso Cuarón developing a Dungeons & Dragons project. The conversation mixes recap, industry analysis, and the show’s usual pop-culture banter.
Top Headlines and News
Tom Hardy on a Czarface Track
- The hosts are delighted by the revelation that Tom Hardy appears on a Czarface song under the rap name “Frankie Pulitzer.”
- They treat it as a genuinely cool crossover moment and joke about feeling “sampled” and honored by the record.
- The bit becomes a running gag about how close this brings them to Hardy and the group.
Alfonso Cuarón’s Dungeons & Dragons Project
- They react with surprise to the news that Alfonso Cuarón is developing a live-action D&D series set in Ravenloft for Netflix.
- Their takeaway: Cuarón’s involvement makes the project feel more interesting than standard IP exploitation.
- They discuss how Dungeons & Dragons works best when creators use its world as a flexible storytelling engine rather than a rigid canon machine.
East of Eden Trailer
- They respond positively to the new trailer for Zoe Kazan’s East of Eden adaptation.
- Florence Pugh is singled out as the apparent center of the series, even though Kathy is not the novel’s main character.
- The hosts appreciate that the adaptation seems willing to reinterpret the material rather than simply reproduce it.
- They also note the strong cast, including Christopher Abbott, Mike Faist, and others.
The Gentlemen Season 2 Premiere
What They Liked
- The show remains fun, glossy, and very much in Guy Ritchie’s lane: crime, class, style, and cheeky dialogue.
- They enjoy the performances, especially:
- Theo James
- Daniel Ings
- Vinnie Jones
- Hugh Bonneville
- The series continues to deliver high-end costumes, gorgeous locations, and entertaining underworld nonsense.
What Felt Different
- Chris felt Season 2 was a little more self-serious and sprawling than Season 1.
- The premiere’s runtime, especially the first episode, was a sticking point.
- They argue the show works best when it stays brisk and playful rather than overextended.
Broader Take on Guy Ritchie
- They frame The Gentlemen as part of Ritchie’s broader evolution into a kind of brand or lifestyle creator.
- He’s now making a lot of crime/genre material, often with a very specific flat, info-dense dialogue style.
- The hosts note that this style is well-suited to Netflix: easy to follow, visually attractive, and ideal for “second-screen” viewing.
- Their larger critique is about streaming bloat and how shows often run longer than they should.
Lanterns Episode 3: “Outcast”
Why the Episode Stood Out
- Both hosts call it an excellent, gripping episode of TV.
- They compare its structure to classic Lost episodes, where a character-centered flashback deepens the emotional and thematic understanding of everyone else.
- The episode is seen as a breakout moment for the series.
Key Creative Strengths
- They praise the episode’s comic-book storytelling logic: layered reveals, secret identities, and a strong sense of duality.
- They especially admire how the show uses the structure to deepen:
- Jon Stewart’s childhood and emotional repression
- The relationship between Jon and his family
- The tensions between Hal Jordan and Jon Stewart
- Laura Linney’s role in the episode gets special attention, with Chris comparing her scenes to The Leftovers and The Prisoner.
Critiques and Questions
- Chris notes a slight generic quality in some of the show’s visual environments, like family homes and real-world locations.
- He also wonders how sustainable the show’s “recontextualize everything” storytelling engine will be over a full season.
- Andy argues that the episode’s emotional and structural complexity is very much in line with Damon Lindelof’s strengths:
- trickery
- emotional misdirection
- weekly-TV pacing
- “everything matters” storytelling
Bigger Take on the Show
- They agree the episode works because it doesn’t just dump lore; it makes the characters’ emotions and relationships feel central.
- They see Lanterns as a rare comic-book adaptation that’s actually using the medium well—translating comic logic into TV without flattening it.
- The hosts also appreciate that the show is willing to engage directly with race, identity, and cultural specificity rather than sidestepping them.
Industry and Streaming Commentary
Episode Lengths and Streaming Bloat
- They return to a recurring gripe: streaming shows are often too long.
- The hosts argue that extra runtime frequently comes from development bloat, not narrative necessity.
- They suggest the industry needs to choose the right episode count early, rather than padding shows later to hit engagement metrics.
Adaptation Philosophy
- They’re broadly supportive of adaptations that take risks.
- Their view: if you’re adapting a beloved book or comic, you should do more than faithfully reflect it—you should use it to tell a new story or explore a new angle.
- This is part of why they’re excited by both East of Eden and Lanterns.
Recommendations and End-of-Show Picks
Andy’s Book Recommendation
- Days of Miracle and Wonder by Ashley Kahn
- A deep look at Paul Simon’s Graceland:
- the album’s creation
- the South African recording sessions
- the cultural controversy around it
- the collaboration process and crediting of musicians
- Andy finds it especially rewarding and historically interesting.
Chris’s Book Recommendation
- Slow Fade by Rudolph Wurlitzer
- A novel about:
- a Sam Peckinpah-like director
- a failed son returning from Asia
- a roadie/screenwriter figure
- Chris describes it as strange, stylish, and highly readable.
Music Recommendation
- You Say I’m Romanticized by Sweeping Promises
- Chris is enthusiastic about the album’s:
- post-punk energy
- layered vocals
- melodic strength
- driving, high-repeatability listenability
- He compares its sound to bands like Wire, Stereolab, Elastica, The Breeders, and Blondie-adjacent pop instincts.
Main Takeaways
- The Gentlemen is still entertaining, but Season 2 may be longer and looser than it needs to be.
- Lanterns Episode 3 is the standout piece of TV discussed, praised for both emotional depth and comic-book structure.
- Netflix is leaning hard into IP, but the hosts are interested when creators bring a distinctive point of view.
- The episode’s larger theme is that adaptation works best when it transforms material rather than merely reproducing it.