Intro

A year after George RR Martin finished A Dance with Dragons, he updated his fans on The Winds of Winter:

THE WINDS OF WINTER. Also known as "Son of Kong." Working on it. Lots to do.

Massive and very specific update on The Winds of Winter complete, George turned to another project:

THE WORLD OF ICE AND FIRE. The concordance. Elio and Linda are my partners on this one, a compendium of the history and legends of the world of Westeros. A coffee table book, lots of gorgeous art from such talents as Ted Nasmith, Justin Sweet, and others. Making good progress on this one of late, lots of great historical stuff that I think my readers will enjoy. Never before revealed details of Aegon's Conquest, the War With the Faith, The Dance of the Dragons, the Paramours of Aegon the Unworthy, etc.

Hm. That seems much more detailed. This would become a pattern for George in the early years after A Dance with Dragons’ publication. He’d update at length on all of the imaginary history he was inventing for The World of Ice and Fire while occasionally placing a single-yet-generous breadcrumb of an update about Winds into our porridge bowl of need.
This led to fans mostly being in the dark on GRRM's progress on Winds -- with more cynical fans wondered if George was working on on the book at all.
Here’s the thing: George was working on The Winds of Winter. I can prove it. And in 2015 when he optimistically predicted he could finish the book in six months, he had good reason for his optimism. What was that good reason? Because by 2015, GRRM had completed two plot arcs and had wrapped two major POV characters for The Winds of Winter.
You are skeptical. I will convince you. Follow me into the light.

The Leftovers

In his retrospective on A Dance with Dragons, GRRM talked about the chapters he cut to The Winds of Winter, saying:

First, my editors and I made some decisions as to where to end this book which involved shifting a few chapters back into the next volume, THE WINDS OF WINTER. With a series like A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, there are always judgment calls to make as to where to end one book and begin the next, since you're really dealing with one long story. Does this scene work best at the end of one book or the beginning of the next? Should this character go out with a cliffhanger or with some sort of resolution (be it permanent or temporary)? And so on. And so forth.

Then he talked about the identity of the POV characters that were not in ADWD that had chapters leftover saying:

Sansa, Sam, Aeron Damphair, Arianne, and Brienne have no chapters in A DANCE WITH DRAGONS. Several of those characters had chapters written, completed, and polished that have been moved into THE WINDS OF WINTER.

In the years since 2011, we were told or been able to piece together most of the chapters cut from ADWD to TWOW. They are: Alayne (Sansa I), Mercy (Arya I), Arianne I and II and Aeron Greyjoy (The Forsaken)
In that 2010 post where he talked about cutting Damphair’s chapter from Dance to Winds, he talked about how many pages he had on hand for Winds, saying:

The good news is that I seem to have written more than a hundred pages of THE WINDS OF WINTER already.

Five chapters/100 manuscript pages. Now, let’s turn to the chapters that were moved after Damphair's in 2010. In 2011, GRRM’s editor Anne Groell talked about how two major sequences were cut from ADWD to TWOW. These two sequences are the Battle of Ice and the Battle of Meereen. Originally, these two battles were supposed to close ADWD out, but GRRM voluntarily cut one battle to TWOW, and then Anne Groell convinced him to cut the other battle.
Knowing, now, that GRRM was working on an Asha Battle of Ice chapter in 2014 but released a Theon chapter as his first TWOW sample in December 2011 (right after he finished his ADWD tour and also before he planned to embark on new writing for TWOW), we can reasonably assume that the Theon sample chapter was originally written for ADWD before George voluntarily removed it to TWOW.
Switching to deduction, we can then determine that the Battle of Meereen was the sequence GRRM's editors urged him to cut late in the process. What Battle of Meereen chapters were cut to TWOW? Here, we turn to the Cushing Library and find a display card from the “Deeper Than Swords” event indicating that George cut three chapters from ADWD to TWOW in April/May 2011.
As to who the POVs were, we can make an educated guess that one of them was a Victarion chapter and another one was a Tyrion chapter. Both chapters were read in early 2012 at conventions shortly after GRRM started writing TWOW afresh. As for the third chapter cut, I think this was Barristan’s first chapter. Thanks to zionius_, we know that George was writing Barristan II in April 2012, but in early 2013, GRRM read both Barristan chapters and indicated that the chapters were “new to you but old to me.” That third chapter was probably Barristan I.
The final two chapters we can be relatively certain were written for ADWD and cut to TWOW were a Bran chapter and an Areo Hotah chapter. We only know that Bran was cut thanks to _honeybird who discovered that it was listed among “missing chapters” originally slated as among the final chapters of the book. Additionally, we know that in 2010, Elio Garcia Jr. reported that three Dorne chapters were moved from ADWD to TWOW. Two of those Dornish chapters were Arianne chapters. The third was likely an Areo Hotah chapter.
Post-2010, GRRM cut six additional chapters to Winds. Adding in the previously-accounted-for five chapters, George had eleven leftover chapters as a springboard for Winds. Fast-forwarding to 2012, GRRM told Spanish fan-site Adria’s News that he had two hundred “really finished” manuscript pages for TWOW -- probably all of his leftover material from Dance (100 pages/5 chapters cut in 2010 + 100 pages/6 chapters cut in 2010/2011).
The identity of these chapters gives us a springboard for understanding where George was when he returned to writing Winds anew in early 2012, but it's important to note that George started Winds with a much smaller sample of leftover chapters than when he split Feast and Dance in 2005. Recall, then, that he had 542 manuscript pages/22 chapters done for ADWD.
But there's another and perhaps even more important difference: From all available evidence, George did not have complete story arcs like he did when he split AFFC/ADWD.
In 2005, George believed that the amount of material he had leftover put him over halfway complete on Dance. That was not the case for The Winds of Winter in 2012 where he only had 200 of the expected 1500 manuscript pages completed.

Early Progress on TWOW (2012)

When George began writing new material for Winds in 2012, he faced a daunting amount of new writing to finish the book. And given his track record, any old and new writing for Winds would be rewritten, revised and restructured.
So, how was it that George thought he was close enough in 2015 to get the book out before Game of Thrones, Season Six aired -- just three years after writing new material for TWOW?
We’ll start with what we know of George’s early progress on TWOW.
As we talked about above, George had about 200 new manuscript pages for the book between January and June 2012 -- work he considered to be “in rough form.” As to what specifically was contained in those 200 rough draft pages, we know that:

• George reported having a partially written complementary chapter set between the finished Arianne II and the unwritten Arianne III in 2010. Link
• He was working on Barristan's second TWOW chapter in April 2012. Link
• He was writing about the Dothraki in May 2012. (A Daenerys chapter) Link
• George sent a “batch” (3-5) of Arya TWOW chapters to Jonathan Robert, artist for The Lands of Ice and Fire to help in the creation of the map for Braavos in early 2012. Link

That’s about the extent of what we know about those 200 manuscript pages. Given the benchmark that 100 manuscript pages = ~5 chapters, he wrote rough drafts of ~10 total new chapters.
Fast-forwarding to a year later, Anne Groell reported receiving a batch of 168 manuscript pages from TWOW for a contracted payment from Random House in February 2013, and George reported being “about a quarter of the way done” on TWOW a month later. My reading is that GRRM finalized 168 of the 200 draft manuscript pages or ~9 additional chapters for TWOW.
So, by early-2013, GRRM had 368 manuscript pages and ~20 finalized chapters for TWOW complete for TWOW.
However, Anne Groell reported that the 168 manuscript pages wasn’t everything that George had written:

I currently have 168 pages that he submitted back in Feb 2013 in order to receive a contracted payment, but I know more exists, because he keeps talking about chapters he hasn't yet sent me.

This throws a wrench into things as George having 368 manuscript pages complete for Winds lines up well with his statement a month later that he was “about a quarter of the way done.” So, how to square that circle? What I'd guess is that George sent all of his finalized chapters forward to his publishers while retaining mostly-finished chapters he still wanted to polish.
To sum it up: from what we know: In 2012, George wrote ~200 manuscript pages and was specifically working on the Barristan, Daenerys and Arya chapters.
Meanwhile, GRRM was making significant progress on The World of Ice and Fire.

The Written World(book)

Let’s pause on Winds and switch over to George’s progress on The World of Ice and Fire for reasons that will become clear later on.
Shortly after returning from his ADWD tour, George began writing The World of Ice and Fire. As elio_garcia told me a few years back, George first wrote the history of Aegon’s Conquest which he sent to them in May 2012. Thereafter, GRRM wrote detailed histories of the various Targaryen monarchs, but where he really focused on was the history of the dance of the dragons.
By September 2012, Martin reported having 103 manuscript pages on the dance of the dragons. But even that was not the full extent of all he wrote on that event. In August 2013, George finished the dance of the dragons, writing 80,000 words solely on that particular Targaryen civil war.
Reasonably, many fans wondered whether The World of Ice and Fire detracted from George’s progress on The Winds of Winter. In terms of the sheer amount of time and effort it took to write the worldbook: probably, yes. However, as we’ll explore later on, George probably used his writing on The World of Ice and Fire as part of the process for writing The Winds of Winter.

Winds Progress (2013)

Switching back to Winds. By early 2013, George was only a quarter of the way complete on The Winds of Winter. Meanwhile, Game of Thrones was a few months away from airing the third season. So, George had to pick up the pace for the book to get ahead of the show.
The major issue in getting ahead of the show was that 2012 only had him finalizing ~10 new chapters, and in terms of completed story, he hadn’t finished writing the battles of Meereen and Ice that were supposed to close out ADWD. So, George seemingly continued work on the Battle of Meereen, writing and completing Tyrion’s second Winds chapter sometime between February and August 2013 as it wasn’t a part of the batch of chapters that Anne Groell received in February 2013, but he read the chapter at Worldcon 2013.
Meanwhile, in May 2013, George was asked point-blank by Portuguese fans what POV character he was working on, and he responded with “Arya.”.
Later in 2013, GRRM stated on his notablog that “you will definitely hear more of Jeyne Westerling.”. Given that we later learned at ComicCon 2014 that Jeyne Westerling will be seen in the Winds Prologue, we can speculatively-assume that George had written at least a draft or partial form of the Prologue by 2013.
Elsewise in 2013, we learned that GRRM requested Dothraki translations for The Winds of Winter from David J. Peterson (The creator of the Dothraki Language for Game of Thrones). This implies that George had Daenerys material written by 2013 and needed it translated from English to Dothraki.
So, again, in 2013, we see George working on the Battle of Fire, Daenerys and Arya (and also the Prologue).

The Locomotive Approaches (2014)

By 2014, two things happened. The first was that George RR Martin finished The World of Ice and Fire in March 2014. The second was that George realized that Game of Thrones was catching up to him.
First, The World of Ice and Fire. In March 2014, George RR Martin completed a chapter on the Iron Islands and finished the book. As he reported in that post, his completion of The World of Ice and Fire was late, owing to him being a slow writer but also due to him adding a lot to the book (Sound familiar?).
GRRM concluded his notablog post by saying:

And HEY, this means another monkey is off my back. Only a couple left gibbering up there now. That little joker monkey, HIGH STAKES. And... gulp… SON OF KONG.

Part of George’s nervousness about confronting the Son of Kong was based in how high of a mountain he had to climb to complete the book, but the bigger part is that he had a locomotive heading for him in the form of Game of Thrones.
In the early years after Game of Thrones premiered, GRRM wasn’t exactly dismissive of the idea that Game of Thrones would catch up to him, but he didn’t seem overly concerned.
By 2014, though, things had changed. Now about to air its fourth season, Game of Thrones was approaching the end of George’s published ASOIAF material. George, to his credit, was now cognizant of this, telling Vanity Fair in 2014:

“It’s my hope that they’ll [do two or three seasons for AFFC/ADWD] and then, long before they catch up with me, I’ll have published The Winds of Winter, which’ll give me another couple years. It might be tight on the last book, A Dream of Spring, as they juggernaut forward.”

The problem for George was that David Benioff and Dan Weiss were not interested in adapting A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons into multiple seasons. Instead, they were only looking at doing these two books in one season.
In response, George transitioned most of his creative output to The Winds of Winter. Sadly, we don’t know much of this output, really only being sure that George was writing: Daenerys and Asha.
On a brief appearance on the John Oliver show, GRRM appeared from his office with the computer screen on. Years later, fans were able to figure out that George was working on an Asha Greyjoy Battle of Ice chapter.
Onto Daenerys. In September 2014, in an interview with Galaxy Magazine (link unfortunately behind a paywall or in a hard copy), George talked about his writing for Winds saying:

“I’m going back to The Winds of Winter and writing the next scene—I’ve got Dany in a particular situation. I’ve just got to worry about how does this scene resolve? How do I end this chapter? How do I phrase this sentence?”

Finally, when George released the Mercy chapter, he talked a little about his progress, saying:

So far, I have not done anywhere near as much rewriting on WINDS... but of course, it is not done yet.

Fans took this as a qualitative sign of George’s progress back in 2014. The problem was quantitative. Information about how much of The Winds of Winter was done by 2014 is sparse. However, at a November 2014 charity drive for the Wild Wolf Sanctuary, George off-handedly said:

"I'm still in the middle of [The Winds of Winter], so it'll be some time before I write the scenes in which they die."

Provided that George wasn’t using “the middle of the book” colloquially, this meant that Winds was roughly halfway complete by November 2014, or had 750 finalized manuscript pages for TWOW. George had picked up his pace in writing TWOW, but he still had a long way to go to reach the finish line -- an additional ~750 manuscript pages.

The Deep Breath Before the Plunge:

Before we venture into theory territory, we’re going to take a tactical pause and assess all of the known chapters George completed for The Winds of Winter by late 2014.

• Aeron Greyjoy: 1 Chapter
• Asha Greyjoy: 1 Chapter
• Areo Hotah: 1 Chapter
• Arianne Martell: 2 Chapters
• Arya Stark: 3-6 Chapters
• Barristan Selmy: 2 Chapters
• Bran Stark: 1 Chapter
• Daenerys Targaryen: 3 Chapters
• Prologue: 1 Chapter
• Sansa Stark: 1 Chapter
• Theon Greyjoy: 1 Chapter
• Tyrion Lannister: 2 Chapters
• Victarion Greyjoy: 1 Chapter

In total, that’s 19-23 completed chapters that we can be sure existed. If George was truly halfway done on Winds by 2014, that tacks on an additional ~19 chapters to bring us up to 38-42 chapters/750 manuscript pages completed for Winds by late 2014. For comparative purposes: A Storm of Swords was 1521 manuscript pages/82 chapters while ADWD was 1510 manuscript pages/72 chapters. What this means is that in a best-case scenario, George had to write or finalize an additional ~30 chapters/750 manuscript pages for the book to get to the finish line: a daunting task!
So, then why in early 2015 (four months after he said he was “in the middle”) did George RR Martin tell Entertainment Weekly that he could get the book out before Game of Thrones, Season 6?:

Having The Winds of Winter published before season 6 of Thrones airs next spring “has been important to me all along,” says the best-selling New Mexico author. “I wish it was out now. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic about how quickly I can finish. But I canceled two convention appearances, I’m turning down a lot more interviews—anything I can do to clear my decks and get this done.”

This interview was conducted in April 2015, and given what Martin later said about his publishing house setting an initial deadline of October 2015 to release the book, George thought he only had six months of work to do before the book would be done.
And that’s why I think George’s optimism about getting the book done by October 2015 was sourced to what he had already written, rather than what he had left to write. In that, I now believe George finished major storylines for The Winds of Winter by late 2014/early 2015.

The Completed Battles

Among the known completed chapters for Winds, one thing that stands out is how many of the chapters dealt with the Battle of Meereen and the Battle of Ice. From our best information, four battle chapters were removed from Dance, and George wrote at least three additional battle chapters between 2012-2014.
Let’s move into theory ground: in looking at the available evidence, it appears that when George got back to writing The Winds of Winter, he picked up where he left off: in Meereen. Completing Barristan’s second chapter in 2012 and then Tyrion’s second chapter in 2013 indicates that George’s initial forays into Winds were Meereenese-centric. But after 2013, we don’t hear about George working on Meereen.
Over to the Battle of Ice. The Asha fragment reads like the opening moves of the Battle of Ice, chronologically occurring almost immediately after the Theon sample chapter where Stannis tells Justin Massey:

“I want you gone before midday, ser. Lord Bolton could be on us any moment, and it is imperative that the banker return to Braavos. You shall accompany him across the narrow sea.”

To get speculative, it reads like George hadn’t written anything about the Battle of Ice between the Theon Winds chapter and the Asha chapter he was working on in June 2014. Yet we know that George had written additional Theon, Asha and Victarion Winds chapters by 2017.
All of this leads me to think that by the end of 2014, George had finished the Battle of Meereen, and I think it’s possible he completed the Battle of Ice as well.
That’s two major plot-points possibly complete by the end of 2014. Still, even with those story points hypothetically completed, George had only finished story arcs originally intended for ADWD.
And that’s why he wasn’t just done with the battles by 2014. He might have completed far more than that. Entire POV characters.

Daenerys Targaryen the Complete

Let’s start with an uncontroversial statement: By 2014, I believe that George RR Martin had completed what he thought was all of Daenerys Targaryen’s chapters for The Winds of Winter.
Kindly drop the rocks that have suddenly materialized in your hands. I know that is a controversial theory. It was a joke! For this particular hypothesis that George had all of Dany’s chapters done by 2014, I started with the problem of “How the fuck did George think he could finish Winds by 2015 given how little of the book seemed to be done by that point? And then my research took me to everything we knew about Daenerys in Winds and then by accident, I stumbled on the split between Feast and Dance.
That accidental stumbling led to a whole essay on this topic. In that essay, I talked about how George believed he had Daenerys' and Tyrion’s ADWD story arcs complete before he split AFFC/ADWD into two separate books. This, along with the started-yet-incomplete Jon, Davos, Arya, Asha arcs, led to his optimism that ADWD would be finished by 2006.
I think something similar happened with The Winds of Winter. I think George had completed Daenerys Targaryen’s arc (and another arc I’ll unpack in the next section) by 2014. Is there evidence for this wild-ass theory? Perhaps!
In June 2014, George RR Martin was interviewed by James Hibberd and teased The Winds of Winter, saying:

“Well, Tyrion and Dany will intersect, in a way, but for much of the book they’re still apart,” he says. “They both have quite large roles to play here. Tyrion has decided that he actually would like to live, for one thing, which he wasn’t entirely sure of during the last book, and he’s now working toward that end—if he can survive the battle that’s breaking out all around him. And Dany has embraced her heritage as a Targaryen and embraced the Targaryen words. So they’re both coming home.”

For much of the book, they’re still apart. That’s a fascinating statement! Why? Because it might imply that George had written Dany’s story to its near or actual endpoint!
No, I don’t think this means that George was nearly complete on all of his story arcs. Just Dany's (and the other one). And that tracks with his non-linear writing style whereby he writes from one POV - until he runs out of steam before switching to a separate POV. As George talked about in that interview, sometimes, he gets way ahead on certain POV characters, and even has them completed well in advance of other POV characters.
In that vein, there’s something else odd about Daenerys. After 2014, we don’t hear about George working on a Daenerys chapter … at all. This radio silence on Dany in TWOW lines up with George writing Dany’s ADWD chapters. In 2003, he told a fan that Dany’s ADWD chapters were almost wrapped up -- eight years before he published them. George did write a bit more about Dany after 2003 and after the split of A Feast for Crows and A Dance with Dragons, but the last we hear about him writing Dany chapters for ADWD was in 2008 -- three years before the book was published.
However, to be fair, in 2018, George had one more mention of Dany within the context of her aforementioned intersection with Tyrion, telling Entertainment Weekly:

In Winds, I have like 10 different novels and I’m juggling the timeline — here’s what’s happening to Tyrion, here’s what’s happening to Dany, and how they intersect. That’s far more complicated.

So, the counterargument is that what George was saying about Dany and Tyrion's intersection back in 2014 was aspirational. He planned for the two to intersect late in The Winds of Winter, but he had not written that intersection. And perhaps by 2018, he was still struggling with timing Dany and Tyrion’s intersection.
Here’s a counter-counterargument: George wrote one version of Daenerys and Tyrion intersecting by 2014, was initially satisfied with it, but in the years since, he grew dissatisfied and experimented with the event occurring at different narrative junctures in the Winds -- hence the “I’m juggling the timeline” wording.
At the very least, George juggling the timeline of character intersections by writing multiple versions of it is something George has done in the past. Back in ADWD, he reported writing three versions of Dany and Quentyn’s intersection, timing that to occur at different junctures in the story to see which one was the most narratively-satisfying.
Now, before I leave you all convinced that George had written all of Dany’s TWOW chapters by 2014/2015, there is a good counterargument. About a month ago, I sent the sketch of this theory to feldman10, and he responded by saying:

What I question given his writing style is how GRRM could have “finished” Dany years in advance if she is regularly intersecting with other POVs. For instance, if Barristan, Vic, and Tyrion do reunite with Dany at some point in TWOW (as I certainly hope they do!), I would expect GRRM would begin writing them as all one “story” (unless they split up again). That’s even more important if Dany reaches Westeros and starts interacting with the Young Griff team.
That's really because of the gardening approach. Given that writing style, how could GRRM possibly write Dany’s interactions and conflicts with those other characters without having written them all up to the same point, and therefore having decided what they’ve all experienced, where they’re all coming from, and what their respective gardens have produced?

These are all excellent points by Adam, and I appreciate the counterpoint and have copied and pasted it here with his permission.
And if you thought the “Dany is wrapped” theory is way too speculative, you’re going to love (hate) the next part of the theory.

The Dances of the Dragons

Remember how we talked about George’s progress on The World of Ice and Fire? Let’s bring it home here. Part of the reason why I initially brought up the worldbook is how it's tied into the plotting of The Winds of Winter. It’s almost as if George used his imaginary history as a set of guideposts for The Winds of Winter. But perhaps the imaginary history is more than a guide for the novel.
The theory: What I think happened was that George parallel-wrote the dance of the dragons alongside of his Young Griff story arc in The Winds of Winter.
Recall that in 2010, George had written two Arianne chapters that he cut to The Winds of Winter. Also recall that he had a partially-written complementary chapter and envisioned a third unwritten Arianne chapter. We skipped over the possible identity of that partially written complementary chapter, but here, we’ll talk about it. It’s very likely a Jon Connington chapter as he’s in a prime position to bridge events from the end of TWOW, Arianne II (Arianne goes to Storm’s End) to whatever George is planning for Arianne III.
Right after George published A Dance with Dragons, though, he decided to write another chapter in the Stormlands as werthead reported in August 2011:

As speculated by many, two large battles will take place early on, a ‘battle of ice’ (presumably at Winterfell) and a ‘battle of fire’ (presumably at Meereen). A third battle has been added, namely the assault on Storm’s End by Jon Connington’s forces. Originally this was going to happen off-page, but GRRM decided it really should be shown. Possibly because we’ve seen Storm’s End under siege forever and it might be cool to finally see the place under full-scale assault.

This was another spot where George was expanding Aegon VI’s story, gardening his way towards more satisfactory storytelling vis-à-vis a newly-imagined Jon Connington chapter. It also shows us that George was very much in the mindset of thinking through Young Griff’s storyline just a few months after the publication of ADWD.
And then similar to Daenerys, 2011 was the last time we heard about George writing one of our primary eyes on Young Griff in TWOW. Like the absence of Dany chapters, that is odd. With Dany, George played mostly coy with whether Dany would have chapters, because of the cliffhanger he left Dany on in at the end of her ADWD arc. But with Arianne Martell and Jon Connington, we already knew that Arianne would return as a POV, and George had all-but-confirmed that JonCon would return.
And yet, July 2010 is the last time GRRM talked about writing Arianne’s TWOW chapters while August 2011 is the last time we hear about George’s plan to write a Jon Connington chapter. But in the years immediately following ADWD’s publication, we have a whole body of imaginary history work which reads like signposts for where George was going to take Aegon VI and Daenerys’ story.
Here comes the speculation: I think the whole time George was writing a detailed account of the dance of the dragons for the worldbook, he parallel wrote Young Griff’s story arc in the form of Arianne and Jon Connington’s Winds chapters.
We know that George didn’t set Winds aside while he worked on The World of Ice and Fire as there are Winds chapters we know he was writing in the 2012-2014 timeframe. Logically, it makes sense that George stayed within the same sphere of creative inspiration as he developed the imaginary history in parallel with developing Young Griff's story.
There’s a paragraph which first appeared in The Princess and the Queen (an abridged version of the dance of the dragons) which has always struck me as explicit foreshadowing for Young Griff's story in TWOW. It's this one:

Every visible symbol of legitimacy belonged to Aegon. He sat the Iron Throne. He lived in the Red Keep. He wore the Conquerer’s crown, wielded the Conquerer’s sword, and had been anointed by a septon of the Faith before the eyes of tens of thousands. Grand Maester Orwyle sat in his councils, and the Lord Commander of the Kingsguard had placed the crown upon his princely head. And he was male, which in the eyes of many made him the rightful king, his half sister the usurper.

This paragraph is emblematic of something at work with the entirety of the dance of the dragons that George wrote: namely, that the entire historical conflict and civil war reads as backdrop for Young Griff/Aegon VI’s rise in The Winds of Winter and downfall in A Dream of Spring.
Is it so implausible, then, that GRRM was switching back and forth between writing Arianne and JonCon chapters while writing what became known as "The Dying of the Dragons" section of the worldbook? (Maybe, lol)

What Went Wrong

In 2005, GRRM predicted that ADWD would be published in 2006, sourcing this to how much Dany and Tyrion material was already done. If George had completed all the Dany, JonCon and Arianne chapters by April 2015, GRRM had good reason to believe he could get Winds out in six months. All he had to do was complete the POV arcs for characters supporting Young Griff and Dany’s stories as well as the “bottle storylines” and probably complete one more major story arc.
So, what went wrong?
In his New Year 2016 Winds post, George talked generally about the issues he had after his bout of optimism in 2015, saying things like:

Yes, there's a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters. (Those 'no pages done' reports were insane, the usual garbage internet journalism that I have learned to despise). But there's also a lot still left to write. I am months away still... and that's if the writing goes well. (Sometimes it does. Sometimes it doesn't.) Chapters still to write, of course... but also rewriting. I always do a lot of rewriting, sometimes just polishing, sometimes pretty major restructures.

Later in the post, he talked about a similar angle, saying:

Even as late as my birthday and our big Emmy win, I still thought I could do it... but the days and weeks flew by faster than the pile of pages grew, and (as I often do) I grew unhappy with some of the choices I'd made and began to revise...

This is George’s gardening style at work: restructuring/rewriting/revising what he considered to be substandard writing. That’s part of the reason George failed to meet his October and then December 2015 deadlines.
But I think there’s a missing piece -- one which has only become apparent in George’s recent posts about the POV characters he’s reported working on in June, August and November 2020: the Dany/Young Griff supporting POV characters and the bottle arcs.
Back in 2005, George was optimistic that he could finish ADWD by 2006, because he merely had to finish Jon’s story along with cast of characters supporting Jon/Dany’s storylines. But what delayed ADWD was the supporting cast of characters – especially in Dany’s storyline as it related to the Meereenese Knot. George struggled for years to satisfactorily write a twisting path of POV characters heading toward – or away – from Meereen, and that, more than anything, delayed that book’s publication.
Turning back to Winds: In recent months, George has indicated that he was writing/visiting the following POVs:

• Tyrion Lannister
• Barristan Selmy
• Areo Hotah
• Asha Greyjoy
• Cersei Lannister
• Arya Stark
• Victarion Greyjoy
• Melisandre of Asshai
• Samwell Tarly

The POV characters listed here are ones likely to be found in support of Dany’s arc (Victarion, Barristan, Tyrion), in Young Griff’s orbit (Cersei and arguably Areo) or bottle arcs -- ones temporarily independent from the rest of the story (Samwell and Arya).
So, in addition to the rewriting/revising/restructuring, I’d argue that what belayed George’s optimism of publishing Winds in 2016 was the supporting cast of POV characters. Those troubles extended beyond 2015 given that George was still working on these POV characters in 2020.

Conclusion (2017-2021)

In the years since 2016, George has optimistically predicted that he'd finish TWOW in 2017. But six months later, GRRM discounted 2017 and thought 2018 was possible. But by mid-2018, he admitted that Winds wasn't coming in 2018. Then in 2019, tongue-in-cheek said New Zealand could imprison him there if he did not have TWOW in hand by Worldcon 2020.
Unfortunately, data on what GRRM was working on is spare, but I'll give it a shot. Given that George talked about how important Lady Stoneheart's story is for TWOW in 2017, my theory is that GRRM made progress on Jaime and Brienne's chapters in 2017.
Meanwhile, you may have noticed that there's another POV character I haven't mentioned: Jon Snow. Will Jon have chapters in TWOW? Are they written? Yes. Perhaps some of his optimism in 2019 is sourced to him making progress on Jon Snow, perhaps even completing his POV arc.
In his last specific update on Winds (As of January 2021), George sounded optimistic once again, :

No, sorry, still not done, but I do inch closer. It is a big big book. I try not to dwell on that too much. I write a chapter at a time, a page at a time, a sentence at a time, a word at a time. It is the only way.

At the beating heart of all of this work that George RR Martin has put into The Winds of Winter is a desire to create a book that satisfies and captivates us. I believe this book will come, and when it does, all of the bleeding into the keyboard will have been worth it.

Artist: Run The Jewels
Album: RTJ4
Date Released: June 3rd, 2020
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Artist Background
The duo consisting of Atlanta rapper Killer Mike, and legendary underground produceMC El-P, known together as Run The Jewels, originally came together as a result of Adult Swim executive Jason DeMarco who introduced the two in 2011. After his 2011 album PL3DGE peaked at #115 on the US charts, Killer Mike told Jason that he wanted to make his own AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted. Jason informed Mike, “If you want AmeriKKKa’s Most Wanted modernized, the only producer I know who comes close to the Bomb Squad-level of production is El-P”. The duo’s chemistry was immediate, as El-P went on to produce all of Killer Mike’s 2012 last solo album R.A.P. Music, and Mike featured on El-P’s final solo album Cancer 4 Cure. Mike and El’s respective albums released within a week of each other in May 2012, and the two embarked on a twenty-city US tour in the following months. After returning from tour, the pair had found a friendship growing between themselves, and made the decision to put other projects on hold and focus on the chemistry that had been sparked. Recording at an upstate NY studio beginning in April 2013, the duo re-appropriated the phrase “Run The Jewels” from the LL Cool J track “Cheesy Rat Blues", and released their self-titled collaborative album, for free via digital download, only a mere 2 months later in June 2013.
36” Chain vs. Pistol & Fist
Run The Jewels discography currently exists in a distinct pairing. With Run The Jewels as their debut, this record set the group's tone as a light-hearted, braggadocious duo with as much confidence in their abilities as swag in their punchlines. Just over a year later, the sequel Run The Jewels 2 took the foundation set from their freshman effort and dialed the insanity up to 11. RTJ2 pushed the boundaries of their aggression and flows to new heights; with incredible energy in their verses, and absolutely impeccable beats, blending El-P’s signature industrial sound with sharp synth arpeggios, chopped Zach De La Rocha vocals, and absolutely bonkers Travis Barker drums.
It was then nearly 3 years before Jamie and Mike followed up their breakout RTJ2, with Run The Jewels 3 being released again ahead of its scheduled release date via free digital download, this time on Christmas Eve 2016. Instead of these two attempting to outdo the pure insanity and in-your-face attitude found in their predecessor, Mike and El decide to evolve themselves as a group. The duo had noticeably pulled back on the swag and dick jokes which made such a splash on RTJ2, instead choosing a more subdued, electronic approach to their beats, as well as a clearly stronger political approach in their lyrics. This change in sound and style is demonstrated in the album cover’s artwork. The first two records featured the distinctive RTJ “Pistol and Fist”, with the fist tightly gripping a chain. The chain, in my opinion, represents the swag and braggadocio that drove the aggressive nature of their first two albums. In RTJ3 the chain is removed, leaving only hands that have transformed from bleeding and bandaged, to a pristine gold.
This brings us to early 2020. It’s been nearly 4 years of living in a post-Trump America, and El-P announces that Run The Jewels fourth record has been completed. Mike and El live-stream the first single “yankee and the brave” on Instagram on March 22nd, 2020. Lyrically and sonically, RTJ4 exists as the successor to Run The Jewels 3, with Mike and El again taking the good from their previous effort and launching it into the creative stratosphere. El-P’s beats are again leaning towards the synthetic, electronic side, this time with the intensity dialed all the way up to 11. From a lyrical perspective, RTJ takes the politically-charged lyrics from their predecessor, and again, up the ante, laying down some of the hardest hitting and politically poignant bars either of these two have ever spit.
Album Review
2020 was a year that none of us will soon forget. An unprecedented global health crisis kept the majority of us inside for months at a time. RTJ4 was announced on May 12th, 2020, with a release date slated for June 5th, 2020. However, with 2020 as the gift that won’t stop giving, the end of May was highlighted by the unjust killing of George Floyd. The phrase heard around the world, “I can’t breathe” instantly became a rally-cry for the oppressed to finally take to the streets to demand systemic police reform, as Floyd’s death was not the first time this phrase was uttered in an unjust police killing. In fact, a 2020 study by the New York Times showed that at least 70 people have died in police custody after using the same phrase over the past decade. As millions of American’s began organizing protests and demonstrations in the wake of Floyd’s death, Run The Jewels made the decision to release their latest chapter two days ahead of the scheduled release. El-P tweeted, just minutes ahead of the drop, “Fuck it, why wait. The world is infested with bullshit, so here’s something raw to listen to while you deal with it all. We hope it brings you some joy. Stay safe and hopeful out there and thank you for giving 2 friends the chance to be heard and do what they love”. In line with all past Run The Jewels releases, the album was made available for free digital download, two days ahead of its scheduled release date, on June 3rd, 2020.
THE RETURN (we don’t mean no harm but we truly mean all the disrespect)
RTJ4 opens with the first single, “yankee and the brave (ep. 4)”. Using the team names from their respective hometown baseball teams, Mike and El use the opening track to prove that they’re not just a hip-hop duo, they’re brothers, for better or worse. El-P kicks this installment off with rapid-fire, machine-gun esque snares, matching Killer Mike’s aggressive flow and tightly packed rhymes, before El jumps in to trade some dense rhymes as well. Mike and El depict themselves as outlaws, with Mike surrounded by cops with only one bullet remaining. He contemplates suicide instead of allowing the police to take him alive, until El-P jumps back in, offering Mike a way out, with a getaway car waiting outside. This tense situation is depicted lightheartedly in this song’s music video, which was released via Adult Swim and features the duo animated.
The trade-off between Mike and El’s short verses are reminiscent of late-80’s EPMD flows, while the production sounds like boom-bap that’s been sent to us from the future. This distinctive blend of old-school rap roots and forward thinking production is what continues to separate Run The Jewels from absolutely all of their contemporaries. While so many artists are continually playing catch-up with the latest trends, RTJ are side-stepping the trendy and moving forward with the mind-bending.
FLEXIN’ (ayo one for mayhem, two for mischief)
The second single “ooh la la” samples a Gang Star track "DWYCK (feat. Nice & Smooth)" as the basis for the chorus. I say “samples” as that’s how it is credited in the album’s liner notes, however it’s truly an interpolation of Greg Nice’s bar, slowed down slightly, and sung by El-P and Greg Nice himself. El-P is a true old-head at heart, and it’s abundantly obvious in his work, even going as far as to recruit legendary producer DJ Premiere to handle the scratching on the back end of this banger.
Out of key piano chords are looped to quickly create an unsettling aura surrounding the track, before El-P’s voice cuts through the infectious piano like a whip. Pounding, up-tempo drums are introduced after the chorus’ first iteration, creating what is possibly El-P’s first danceable beat. Lyrically, Mike and El-P initially seem scattered on this track, however the music video quickly makes their point very obvious.

”we imagined the world on the day that the age old struggle of class was finally over. a day that humanity, empathy and community were victorious over the forces that would separate us based on arbitrary systems created by man.
this video is a fantasy of waking up on a day that there is no monetary system, no dividing line, no false construct to tell our fellow man that they are less or more than anyone else. not that people are without but that the whole meaning of money has vanished. that we have somehow solved our self created caste system and can now start fresh with love, hope and celebration. its a dream of humanity’s V-DAY… and the party we know would pop off.”

The video envisions a society celebrating the fact that the class system we currently exist within has finally imploded. Money is worthless, and we have rejected the desire to bind ourselves to the constraints of capitalism. All creeds and colors unite to burn the system that has so effectively controlled us for over a century. It’s a party, and if there was a song to celebrate the end of the world as it is currently known, “ooh la la” is that song.
Mike’s last verse features a few metaphors and comparisons celebrating the destruction of capitalism, saving the most poignant for last:

I used to love Bruce, but livin' my vida loca
Helped me understand I'm probably more of a Joker
When we usher in chaos, just know that we did it smiling
Cannibals on this island, inmates run the asylum

Premo’s expertly cut scratches lead us into the equally hard hitting sample flip of “Misdemeanor”, by Foster Stevens as the basis for the beat to “out of sight”. Lending yet another nod to the old-school greats that laid the foundation for RTJ, “out of sight” samples the same track as The D.O.C.’s “It’s Funky Enough”, only adding a bouncy, electronic synth atop the inverted chord hits, and uptempo, industrial drums, to create an absolutely infectious groove for Mike and El’s dynamic chemistry to shine, rapidly jumping between each other’s two line flows in the first verse.
“out of sight” shows each MC providing insight into how each of them earned a living and achieved their current status. Mike and El’s opening verse each details themselves robbing people in order to eat. El alludes to the fact that he crossed his accomplices in crime for the whole bag, while Mike details the fact his assailant tells him it’s an “honor” to be robbed by his mother’s only son.
While El-P’s production is the obvious stand out on first listen, Killer Mike comes through with one of the most sonically pleasing and technically proficient verses of 2020.

We the motivating, devastating, captivating
Ghost and Rae relating product of the fuckin' '80s
Coke dealin' babies, never regulating, bag accumulating
It would not be overstating to say they are underrating
The pride of Brooklyn and the Grady, baby
We don't need no compliments or confidence
Our attitude and latitude is "fuck you, pay me"

The dense, intricate rhyme schemes smack you in the face, almost distracting you from Mike’s delivery and blistering flow on the verse; flexing his legendary status while paying homage to his drug-dealing past. This absolutely stunning display of technical skill, story telling, and complex rhyming illustrates how RTJ seamlessly integrates the best of both old school and new school hip-hop.
“out of sight” also features a guest verse from 2 Chainz, and he continues to lay the braggadocio on thick. Considering Tity Boi’s dedication to trap stylings, his verse feels right at home on the flex track, despite it’s late 80’s tribute sample, a considerable departure from his usual sound palette.
Up until this point, I haven’t mentioned any of the El-P’s lyrics specifically. El-P is a great rapper, but Killer Mike… Well, Killer Mike is an incredible rapper. He’s the guy who draws you in. El-P is the one who lays the foundation for greatness and Mike is the show stopper, and that’s generally the case for most RTJ tracks. But on “holy calamafuck”, El-P seems determined to make people stop and ask, “Who the fuck is this?!”.
A sharp, yet nearly minimalistic drum kit backing a heavily distorted synthesizer melody lays beneath rhymically knocking cow-bells. This aggressively set stage allows Mike and El to flex as the dynamic duo they are, until the beat suddenly takes a turn for the chaotic. A gnarled, ultra-menacing synth overtakes everything while Mike screams into the abyss, until a distorted snare, enormous 808s, and skeletal hi-hats cut through and launch the beat switch into another dimension. The minimal, yet incredibly dark soundscape allows El-P to snap in a way I have never heard from him previously. His rhymes schemes are reminiscent of an old MF DOOM lyric notebook, while his topics flawlessly combine flexing, psychedelic use, and his well-cemented legacy in the hip-hop community. Cutting and pasting a few of his bars into this review could not convey a fraction of how stunning El-P’s performance on “holy calamafuck” is.
Slightly later in the track list, making liberal use of the Ether song “Gang of Four”, “the ground below” samples and loops the sharp guitar riff and adds aggressive, pounding drums as the basis for the beat; this is finally reminiscent of the forward-thinking, stridulous production El-P has built his reputation on. Capitalising on the classic RTJ moment, Mike and El both flex in their own unique ways. Mike compares himself to Godzilla taking on Tokyo, and El-P demands respect for his name as the legend he is, threatening to smack dying children for mispronouncing his name with his middle finger to the world; his complete disregard for human life and confidence in his abilities are summed up at the end of his verse.

You see a future where Run the Jewels ain’t the shit
Cancel my Hitler-killing trip
Turn the time machine back around a century

SO¢IAL JU$T-ICE (until my voice go from a shriek to whisper...)
While the first few tracks aren’t without their social and political themes, the back-end of RTJ4 is where Mike and El start to bust out the heavy topics. “goonies vs. E.T.”. starts off light, with El-P pointing to the irony of how once he finally started to make it “big” in the industry, the world began to descend into chaos due to climate changes, increasingly obvious social injustice, and political madness. He culminates his frustration with our disregard for the Earth with a fantastic quotable.

Fuck y’all got, another planet on stash?
Far from the fact of the flames and our trash
That is not snow, it is ash, and you gotta know
The past got a wrath, it’s a lover gone mad

Mike’s verse takes the light-hearted frustration expressed by El-P, and turns the aggression to the next level. Aiming his sights against the ruling class and their society that’s been designed to oppress people for profit, who have very meticulously painted themselves as celebrities and idols to the American public. Mike accepts that he will be villainized by these people for speaking against them, but he welcomes the nefarious role, knowing that the working class will eventually eat the rich, no matter how much they are stomped into the dirt.
And this is just the warmup.
If it’s possible for a song to represent a moment in time that captures the absolute shit storm that has been 2020, “walking in the snow” is that song. It’s release coincided perfectly with the protests for George Floyd which were sweeping the nation. Killer Mike’s verse directly references the phrase “I can’t breathe”, the last words of Eric Garner, which also happened to be the last words of Floyd as well. The fact that this verse was reportedly written in November 2019 perpetually underscores the importance of the content and perfectly represents how persistent this problem is. “walking in the snow” is a true encapsulation of both a defining moment in time and an ever-persisting issue.
But he doesn’t just stop at the racial injustice. Mike goes on an absolute rant about the American education system; how it’s not designed to teach people, but to discriminate against poor populations, limiting their legitimate opportunities, and therefore disproportionately leading them into a criminal lifestyle. He calls out the media as fear-mongers, and the apathy of the American public in the face of indecency. Fortunately for Mike, by the time we finally had the chance to hear this masterpiece, we were already on our feet, using this album as a war cry to mobilize against a tyrannical government that militarized against its own citizens simply for asking that we recognize systemic racism and demanding change. Killer Mike has the best verse of the year, no doubt in my mind.
The only drawback is that Mike’s verse is so fucking good that it completely overshadows El-P’s, which is also amazing. A menacing guitar riff and haunting synths kick the track off into a bouncy groove, where El-P unleashes a flurry of internal rhymes that does not relent for about half his verse. Even adding layers of social commentary within the densely packed bars, El refuses to quit and continues on his political tirade; criticizing ICE’s detainment center practices and the “pseudo-Christians” who support them, with a bar that now lives in my head:

Pseudo-Christians, y’all indifferent, kids in prison ain’t a sin? Shit
if even one scrap of what Jesus taught connected you’d feel different
what a disingenuous way to piss away existence, I don’t get it
I’d say you lost your goddamn minds if y’all possessed one to begin with

The combination of two of the best verses spit by any rapper(s) this year and production help from El-P and long time RTJ collaborator Little Shalimar, create a bouncy, aggressive, deeply truthful banger. “walking in the snow” not only encapsulates the crux of 2020 with lyrics that will become more powerful as they age, but will also forever be associated with the Black Lives Matter movement and the determination to expose continuing racial and societal injustices.
The sonic palette of RTJ4 holds an extremely unique place in El-P’s discography. Jamie is the definition of a self-made 90’s hip-hop legend. This is the dude who put New York underground hip-hop on the map with Company Flow, and he did it with his unique flavor of dark, noisy, dense, boom-bap. Whether he was doing it with the help of Rawkus, or completely independently during his Definitive Jux run, El-P has never made music with the intention of becoming famous. Funcrusher Plus, Fantastic Damage,I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead, and Cancer 4 Cure are all highly revered as industrial, technical, abrasive, and completely unsuitable for the radio or a party. The fact that three songs on RTJ4 could easily be heard on the radio, at a party, or in a TV series credits scene is frankly, astounding. In a 2002 interview/documentary on El-P’s budding record label Def Jux, he stated that his friend bet him $500 that he could not make a beat that was “happy”. At the time of the interview, El-P said that he had not won that bet yet. While I might not qualify the beats on RTJ4 as “happy”, if you showed El-P the beat for “JU$T” in 2002, I believe he might have won that bet.
Pharell opens “JU$T” with the pre-chorus, spitting varied examples of how we’re all slaves to our current system throughout the track, over echoing snares and bouncy 808s before bright synth chords and up-tempo hi-hats burst in while Killer Mike delivers the chorus, pointing to the fact that the majority of the people featured on American currency owned slaves at one point in their lives. Mike’s verse touches on the fact that he has committed crimes to get where they are today. Mike is publicly open about his past as a drug dealer. So why is he a criminal, but Benjamin Franklin isn’t? These are the people who built our country, and they built it on the backs of slaves. He illustrates this theme with a more recent examples:

You believe corporations runnin marijuana? Ooh (how that happen?)
and your country gettin ran by a casino owner (ooh)
pedophiles sponsor all these fuckin’ racist bastards (they do)

When corporations are able to sell cannabis legally, but the government continually incarcerates people who trap, our president is a notoriously fraudulent businessman, and the people who helped put him in power run a pedophile ring, yet none of them face consequences and are allowed to continue to profit and remain in power while people suffer; well, we might be closer to slaves than previously imagined.
Rage Against The Machine frontman Zach de la Rocha also makes his mandatory feature appearance at the end of “JU$T”. As the only artist to feature on three Run The Jewels albums, Zach is essentially an unofficial member of the group at this point. His fiery verse is spit with the same “Rage” energy that set him apart in the mid-90’s, ending the track questioning his place in a capitalist society as a recipe for his inevitable demise, since his “breath”, or art, as his weapon to express himself is still being exploited for other’s profit.
Continuing with RTJ4’s heavily synthetic sonic palette, “never look back” features wavering synth leads resting above the slow-jams snappy snares and thumping bass, while a haunting voice echoes in the background. This unsettling aura provides additional gravity for Jamie and Mike to continue self-reflecting on defining moments in their childhood, and as well as how far they’ve come from those moments. Mike and El are both self-made men, and while they have a certain fondness for those gritty moments that defined them, moving forward in life is undoubtedly more important.
Skeletal drums reminiscent of a slowly pounding heart opens “pulling the pin”, before rhythmic hi-hats and textured, watery synths fluttering in the upper register resting above a bouncy synth lead, and punchy 808s, burst in. The track digs itself into a slower, marching groove and shows the duo figuratively doing exactly what the title implies. Painting a portrait of a society that has turned on itself, Mike and El are ready to pull the pin and start over.
The duo both detail their despise for the ruling class, pointing out multiple examples of how the elite have designed our society to keep poor people in their class. Simultaneously recognizing their own hypocrisy for profiting in a system that inherently discriminates; Mike reflects on his own success, knowing that living the lifestyle he enjoys is one built on oppression, and expresses the guilt that has caused him. El-P opens with a brutal metaphor for police, implying that they’re the root cause of the “wretched state of danger” our society exists within, and that the only effective corrective action is to numb yourself with drugs. Despite his advice, Jamie knows this is not a permanent solution, but one that causes more self-inflicted wounds.
The final piece of the puzzle that is RTJ4, “a few words for the firing squad” begins to close the album with ever crescending strings, and loud, thunderous drums which never seem to resolve, continuing throughout their verses. While the drums that lead to nowhere can be sonically unpleasant, the unresolved melodies are intentionally representative of their current mindsets. Their verses are reflective and grim, but simultaneously optimistic and envisions a world where tragedy is a less common occurrence.
El is grateful for what he has now but recognizes his entire life has been skewed by traumas, so out of place feels normal for him. He reflects on his current success, noting that the worst people tend to end up with the most, which makes becoming “rich” something not as desirable as it once was.
Mike opens up about the death of his mother who died while he was on an airplane, admitting his struggles to not cope with his trauma with opioids. However, his wife provides him the most important reason to stay clean “but my queen/say she need a king/not another junkie rapper fiend” while a heartbreaking saxophone solo highlights the gravity of his lyrics.
The track ends with what sounds the like wrap-up voiceover to a TV show, a conceptually satisfying ending, as the opening track “yankee and brave (ep.4)” began with El-P stating:

”This week, on Yankee and The Brave”

This voiceover paints the duo as brothers on the run from the law and crooked cops, and while this does close this “episode” out as intended, the critic in me is bothered by the slightly kitschy outro to such a spectacular album. The voices singing over and over, “Brave, brave, braaaaaave, Yankee and the Brave” would be, simply put, better left on the cutting room floor. The ending of this track alone is what knocks my score of this album down a few points. Despite its stellar lyrical content, with drums that never seem to reach that “holy shit!” moment, and the easily skippable outro, it’s upsetting to me that an album this great ends on such a low note.
Overview
RTJ4 is by far my favorite album of the year. El-P’s cutting edge approach to their sound, blended with lyrical content that continues to be more relevant by the day, the duo have come together with what is objectively their most accessible album to date. RTJ4 is the natural evolution of sound and subject matter for the duo; taking the foundation set by Run The Jewels 3 and evolving it into a more concise, more accessible, and more conceptual album. While I still personally prefer the “fuck the world” intensity and experimental nature of Run The Jewels 2, RTJ4 opens themselves up to a whole new world of exposure, and when you’re as talented as these two, you know they’re going to capitalize on it. RTJ is currently at their apex, and they’ve created an album that will make many new life-long fans going forward.
9.2/10
Discussion Points

• How does this compare to other RTJ releases? How about in comparison to the member’s solo works?
  
• Does the overwhelmingly positive critical reception of this album surprise you?
  
• How will this be looked back on in 5 years?
  
• What are your favorite lyrics?
  

OP's Note: This is an extremely long post! I've broken them down into sections so it doesn't look like a continuous wall of text, but yeah it's still a long read.

* * * 

Dalshabet debuted as a 6-member group on January 6 2011 (or January 4, depending on your understanding) and is the first girlgroup produced by Happyface Entertainment. Their discography include one full album along with 10 mini albums, as well as a number of OSTs for an anime and dramas like "Love & Secret" and "All About My Romance". Their fans go by the name 'Darling', as decided through a poll and the members' collective opinions. The group had also won a few awards, most notably the Rookie of the Year Award from 2012's Golden Disc Awards alongside Apink, B1A4, Boyfriend and Huh Gak.
Dalshabet's latest promotion as a group was "FRI. SAT. SUN". The mini album was released over 4 years ago and was their last release before their contracts expired. They haven't officially disbanded, but following Woohee's contract expiration in 2018 all of the members have left the company to pursue different paths.
Notable songs: Supa Dupa Diva | Mr. Bang Bang | Have, Don't Have! | B.B.B (Big Baby Baby) | JOKER | Someone Like U | FRI. SAT. SUN — [ MBC HISDOLY Special ]

* * * 

VIKI

Viki was in the original lineup and first debuted with Dalshabet as their leader. After "Hit U" promotions ended, Happyface announced that Viki would be withdrawing from the group. In a letter posted on the fancafe, Viki stated that she had initially signed a contract for solo promotions so she would be promoting as a solo artist from thereon.
After quitting the group and company, Viki briefly became a weathercaster on JTBC News before making her acting debut under the name Kang Eunhye as the female lead of the rated-19 movie, "A Pharisee" (2014). She later quit the acting company after a few movies. By this time, she had changed her pseudonym to Baek Daeun and continued her acting career as an actress under MBK Entertainment for a while. She is now an independent artist and currently teaches K-Pop dance classes in small groups.
SNS: Twitter | Instagram
​

SERRI

Serri is one of the 4 members who are still in the group. She took over the position of Dalshabet's leader after Viki's withdrawal. Later in the years she also became their rapper when Jiyul and Gaeun left. Serri participated in the idol rebooting project "The Unit" with groupmate Woohee. At this point, her contract with Happyface had ended but the company agreed to manage her activities until the show concludes. She finished at rank 23rd.
She left Happyface afterwards and signed with S-DREAM Entertainment as a recording artist. She is the most active on her Youtube, Serri Day, where she posts about her experiences as an idol, reviews, behind-the-scene clips, and her day-to-day vlogs. Other Dalshabet members often make surprise appearances in her videos.
Songs: Make My Heart Flutter (feat. Lee Dohoon) | Jakku (with ANTS) |IF YOU | Come Closer | When You Call Me (feat. Minsun)
SNS: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube
​

AYOUNG

Like Serri, Ayoung is another member who still remains in the group. She was known as a sub-vocal and the idol-actress of the group during the time when Dalshabet was still actively promoting. While under Happyface, she was casted as supporting roles in many dramas such as "AD Genius Lee Tae-Baek" (her acting debut in 2013), then in a more prominent role as a lead in "Love Frequency" (2014) and "Our Gab Soon" (2016). Her contract ended in 2017.
Ayoung signed with SidusHQ (home to Kim Yoojung, Oh Yeonseo, Kim Hyeyoon, etc.) to further promote as an actress. She has since performed as the female lead in "Wave, Wave" (2018) and a support in "My Unfamiliar Family" (2020), among other works. She also started an online clothing shop called 'JJUBA' with Brave Girls' Eunji and a mutual model friend. (The current status is unknown as both the site and Instagram account of the brand is now deleted.)
Songs: A Pinwheel Of Mine
SNS: Instagram | Youtube
​

JIYUL

Jiyul was Dalshabet's lead vocalist and visual. During her time under the company, she was the first to receive acting opportunities and guesting appearances in a few variety shows. She even participated in MasterChef Korea Celebrity (2013). Following her contract expiration in 2015, Jiyul decided not to renew and left the group after "JOKER" promotions to pursue a career in acting.
A year later, she joined Jellyfish Entertainment for a brief time before terminating her contract, and remains agency-less to this day. Jiyul's latest acting gig was in "Bravo My Life" (2017), where she was casted in a supporting role. She also announced that she had rejoined Dalshabet and performed with the others at a mini concert in 2019. Now she spends her time with her hobbies and posts occasional vlogs on her Youtube.
SNS: Instagram | Youtube
​

WOOHEE

Woohee was not in the original lineup and was added to Dalshabet after Viki left. She was introduced through a performance teaser and holds the vocalist position in the group. Woohee also participated in "The Unit" and finished at 7th place, earning her a spot in the debut lineup. Along with the other winners, she promoted in UNI.T for 5 months as their leader, rapper, and dancer. In 2018, she parted with Happyface and signed an acting contract with Fly-Up Entertainment (now known as ELRISE) the year after. She acted in "Home For Summer" (2019) before moving agencies.
Woohee is now under NEVER DIE Entertainment (whose roster includes Lee Kiwoo and Kim Sanho). She appeared as a participant on SBS Music's trot show and is confirmed to film for a drama and a movie later this year. She is still a member of the group.
Songs: Tomorrow | Hello My Love
SNS: Instagram
​

KAEUN

Kaeun was the rapper of Dalshabet up until her withdrawal in 2015 alongside member Jiyul. She was the athletic member of the group and would always bring home a gold medal when she participates in an ISAC event. Currently, she holds the record for 100m and 60m sprints (15.58s and 7.68s respectively) and for most gold medals won on ISAC (7 golds), sharing the record with SHINee's Minho (data might be out-of date). As mentioned above, Kaeun and Jiyul did not renew their contracts after finishing promotions with "JOKER".
As she was a model prior to debuting, she returned to her modeling career and mentioned that she would focus on becoming a fashion designer in the future. Like Jiyul, she also announced that she had rejoined Dalshabet and had performed with them at their mini concert. She is currently married to her longtime boyfriend for 2 years now and is so far the only member to publicly be in a marriage.
SNS: Instagram
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SUBIN

Subin, or more widely-known as the singer-songwriter DALsooobin, is the maknae, main vocal, and the face of Dalshabet. She had previously hosted for many TV shows in the past, including Music Storage (2012) and Find The Fake (2013). Subin made her solo debut in 2016 with a self-produced single album "Flower". Another single and two EPs followed afterwards before her contract with Happyface officially ended. She was under KeyEast Entertainment for a few months in 2018, but ultimately terminated her contract.
She established a one-person agency in 2020 called DALsooobin Company to manage her future activities and promotions. These days, she has been appearing in many performance-based shows such as Voice Trot (2020) and Miss Back (2020) and recently released her new single, "Eyes Like Snow". She is the most active member to release music from time to time.
Songs: Hate | Our Love | Circle's Dream | KATCHUP | DIVE | Eyes Like Snow
SNS: Twitter | Instagram | Youtube

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OP's Note: Dalshabet was one of the first girlgroups I had stanned when I first got into K-Pop. They have some very underrated bops in their discography! I feel like they're one of those groups who came very close to a breakthrough, but was always overshadowed by groups from bigger companies. By the time they were getting nominations on music shows, the trophy would eventually go to newer groups with more recognition and bigger fandoms.
Despite all that I'm glad the girls are still very close with each other, and I hope they continue to support one another for years and years to come. I'll be waiting for anniversary celebration vlogs like the one from last year! Happy 10th anniversary, Dal★Shabet!

I’m sure this has been done before in bits and pieces if not in totality... but as a longtime lurker and movie fan I was hoping to get feedback and maybe start a discussion about the DC cinematic universe and all that it could be.
I’m definitely dating myself with this list. I was mainly influence by the Justice League and JL unlimited cartoons as well as Teen Titans, most of my comic reading happened between 2000 and 2012 and was inconsistent at best, so I’m more than open to suggestions for alternate characters and storylines.
Nothing here is super original, but depending on the approach taken, the ideas presented could be fresh enough as feature films.
I apologize in advance for the formatting
DC Cinematic Universe- 15 year plan (I know this is super unrealistic, it’s more of a wish list than anything)
Justice League:
Starro: Starro either attacks from space or wakes up from a dormant sleep, forcing the league together for the first time. Hall of Justice founded at end. Year 5
Legion of Doom: Iconic villains from each of the League’s respective rogues galleries band together to shut the league down. Hall of justice replaced with Moon Watchtower at end. Year 8
Darkseid: Two part film, the first of which deals with Darkseid’s advanced forces wreaking havoc on Earth in anticipation for his arrival. Part two will take the fight to Apokolips and introduce the New Gods. Year 11-12
Kingdom Come: Set roughly a decade after the events of Darkseid part 2. The Earth’s governments deem the superhero community irresponsible and set up a sort of governing body- pitting hero against hero and protégée against protégée with a fairly decisive ending. Year 15
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: New Gods, Aquaman, Atom, Green Arrow etc.
Superman: Ze man of Steel
Lex Luthor: Superman battles Lex, who will have either created a doomsday (npi) device or maybe created Bizarro in order to defeat Superman. Maybe an adaptation of All Star Superman? Year 1
Mongul: Superman and possibly others are kidnapped by Mongul and forced to fight for his entertainment. At Mongul’s compound/arena, Superman will meet his cousin, Kara (Supergirl), she helps him escape (along with others) and accompanies him back to Earth. Year 4
Brainiac/Doomsday: Brainiac and Doomsday, both of Kryptonian origin attack and “kill” Superman. Brainiac will not create Doomsday but will have found him. This film is much more of a team up a-la CA- Civil War. Superman “dies” during the climax, leaving other heroes, Supergirl, Steel etc to save metropolis in his stead- Superman is resurrected near the end to defeat Brainiac once and for all. Year 7
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Lois, Jimmy Olsen, Ma & Pa Kent, Superboy, Supergirl, Steel
Batman: Da Bat!
Long Halloween: Long Halloween plot adapted for film. Year 1
Joker: Batman embarrasses Joker, Joker kidnaps Robin (Tim Drake) Batman saves Robin, Dick Grayson, bitter at the film’s events, leaves to found Titans. Tim Drake potentially crippled (twist on Killing joke). Year 4. (It would be tough to include Jason and young Dame, though they do deserve big screen representation).
Hush: Bruce’s childhood friend Tommy Elliot is back in town and he’s impersonating Bruce and potentially Batman, placing both characters in the crosshairs of Gotham PD and Batman’s rogues. Year 7
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Alfred Pennyworth, Robin (Dick Grayson), Robin (Tim Drake), Batgirl (Barbara Gordon), Commissioner Gordon, Lucius Fox, Renee Montoya, Huntress
Wonder Woman: DC’s Original Claymation Character
Cheetah: WW fights Cheetah, idk. Year 1
WW vs Aquaman: Aquaman wants to wage war on the surface, WW fights him and convinces him to work towards peace, Oceanmaster ain’t having that and WW/Aquaman team up to defeat him. Year 4
Pantheon: Zeus and them, probably under some sort of spell, deem WW no longer worthy of her title and equipment. She refuses judgement and must fight against them in order to save them/undo whatever curse or magic caused them to fight against her. Will probably feature/introduce JL- Dark. Circe may be behind this in conjunction with Ares or Hades. Year 7
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Steve Trevor, Zeus, Hera, Hippolyta, Athena, Hercules, Poseidon, Donna Troy?, JL- Dark?
Hawkgirl: A Hawk? A Girl? A Girlhawk???
Hawk man/Thanagarian War: Hawkgirl either fights against or joins her former lover in a prequel that will end with her arriving on Earth. Lobo will be in the mix somehow/somewhere. Year 3
Queen Bee: Nix 1 of the green lantern movies, combine the Sinestro, Hal Jordan/parallax plot into one film and make queen bee a team up film between GL and HG. Year 6
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Hawkman, Lobo
Flash: The Quickest Dude Breathing Or Something
Rogues: Flash’s rogues- Captain Cold, MM, Heatwave, Trapster team up to defeat him, their own ineptitude or perhaps hesitance/heart will be their downfall. Year 3
Reverse Flash: Flash will be confronted by the man who killed his mother. Although he will defeat reverse flash in the end, with help from his friends, the revelation will leave him broken. The end/post credit scene will have him go back in time to save his mother, Nora. Year 6
Flashpoint: Direct continuation of reverse Flash. When Flash returns to his time, the world has changed- he must survive long enough in this altered world to undo the changes. Year 9
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Kid Flash/Impulse, Iris, Jay Garrick (JSA Flash), Atom, Vibe?
Green Lantern (Jon Stewart): Diversity Matters lol (in all serious I do like John, and I hate Cyborg as a leaguer so here’s at least one brotha/poc for the central cast)
Sinestro: Sinestro returns to the corps after an extended period. He now wields a yellow ring. He tries to convince others to join him, but the corps hold steady and reject his zealotry. Year 3
Parallax: The entity responsible for powering the yellow rings possesses Hal Jordan and forces him to do its bidding, much more powerful than Sinestro alone, Jon Stewart recruits the few remaining lanterns to defeat parallax. Year 6
Blackest Night: Blackest night storyline adapted from a single film. More lantern centric than the original comic plot. Year 9
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Kilowog, Abin Sur, Ganthet, Tomar Re, Guy Gardner, Kyle Rayner, Hal Jordan, Simon Baz, Jessica Cruz
Martian Manhunter: He Plays the Most Dangerous Game
Prequel/white martians: Depicts the white martians and the destruction of the Martian race/society. Year 2
Despero: Despero, space conqueror wreaks havoc with his mind control abilities. Martian Manhunter is tasked with stopping him. Year 5
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Miss Martian
Secondary Solo/Group Films:
Green Arrow: SLAY QUEEN
Prometheus: Prometheus targets green arrow at the behest of Tobias Whale or some other villain. Prometheus knows all of Arrow’s moves and tactics thanks to intense study and replication tech. Arrow recruits help to counteract Prometheus. Year 5
Intergang/Tobias Whale: Tobias Whale makes a personal appearance to stop Arrow after he’s gummed up the works of intergang’s drug/weapons trade run through Whale. Year 9
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Speedy, Black Canary, Wildcat, Question?
Titans (Robin, Star, Cyborg, Raven, Beast Boy): Directly Inspired by OG Cartoon.
Brother Blood/Calling all Titans: The Titans, officially recognized by the league, are sent to investigate a sort of “villain-factory”. There they meet other young, powered people and heroes who help them shut down the Hive academy and they all promise to keep in touch. Year 6
Deathstroke: Slade Wilson is hired by the remnants of the Legion of Doom to track down and either eliminate or convert the next generation of heroes, with Robin being his focus for conversion. Further complicating the matter are Slade’s own children, Rose and Jericho. Year 9
Legion of Superheroes: The Titans are thrust forward in time after a showdown with Doctor Light. There they end up meeting the legion of superheroes and fighting against the fatal five in order to get back home. Superboy decides to stay. Year 12
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Speedy, Static, Aqualad, Mas y Menos, Bumblebee, Rose, Jericho, Terra, Donna Troy, Miss Martian, Impulse.
Booster Gold/Blue Beetle: Someone for Sure Posted This Already... (but here are my specific film ideas)
Amazo: Amazo, a near perfect adaptoid is unleashed by Dr. T.O Morrow. Greater heroes are unavailable due to current engagements, so Booster Gold and Blue Beetle Heed the call and are assisted by the Metal Men. They defeat Amazo by using logic against it. Year 8
JSA: Booster Gold and Blue Beetle are thrust back in time when Skeets, Booster Gold’s time travel device/companion/droid malfunctions- sending them to the JSA era of heroes. They team up with JSA to defeat foes while repairing Skeets to get home. Year 11
Day the World Stood Still: A villain (tbd) stops time. Skeets renders BB and BG unaffected, and it’s up to them to save the day against a superior foe. Year 14
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Jaime Reyes, Mister Terrific, Alan Scott, Star Girl, Jay Garrick, Wildcat (young), Vixen, The Metal Men.
JL Dark- Zatanna, Etrigan, Katana, Deadman, Constantine: Is Justice Really Their Thing?
Ras Al Goul: Ras seeks to enact the Tower of Babel. Year 6
Vandal Savage: Vandal Savage, the immortal seeks to take over the world via ancient magic. Year 9
Felix Faust: Felix Faust merges the mystical world with the “normal” world, the JL- Dark are the only ones who can stop him. Year 12
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Doom Patrol?
Suicide Squad: Task Force (bombs in) Necks
Black Adam: The US government tasks Cadmus with eliminating Black Adam, they enlist the Suicide Squad for the mission. Billy Batson ends up saving the day and using his powers to imprison Adam. Year 5
Assault on the Watchtower: While the league are away, Cadmus directs the Suicide Squad to infiltrate the Watchtower, retrieve secret information and then destroy the tower. Little do they know, the league left a skeleton crew to watch over the tower. Year 8
Suicide Squad vs The Elite: Manchester Black makes his grand appearance. The Suicide Squad are sent to recruit Black, as Cadmus likes the anti-league rhetoric. Black however, is purely anti-authority. They eventually reach a stalemate in which Captain Atom is ordered to eliminate them all. The Elite and SS band together to defeat Captain Atom, Black, with his dying breath, removes the bombs from the heads/necks of the SS- finally freeing them. Year 12
New Gods: Out With the Old!
Pre-JLA Darkseid: Orion, Darkseid’s biological son is kidnapped by Granny Goodness at Darkseid’s behest, reneging on the deal between New Genesis and Apokolips. Mr. Miracle and Barda must help Orion escape and defeat the furies. Year 10
Post JLA- Darkseid Reconstruction: Darkseid is defeated, it is up to the new gods to pick up the pieces. Year 13
Lobo?: What y’all think? The main man needs love, right?
Characters Introduced/Supporting Cast: Who fits???
Tertiary Characters: Characters with no solo films and/or not initially part of any group- yet still featured in one or more films as a supporting character- Films not necessarily listed in order.
Shazam:
Suicide Squad- Black Adam MM-Despero, Titans- Deathstroke JL- Kingdom Come JL Dark- Faust
Hawkman:
Hawkgirl GL-Blackest Night JL- Kingdom Come Booster Gold/Blue Beetle- Day the Earth Stood Still
The Atom:
Flash- Rogues & Flashpoint JL- Darkseid, KC, Batman- Hush, Titans- Brother Blood
New Gods: (Barda, Orion, Mr Miracle) Darkseid 1&2 JL- Kingdom Come MM-Despero
Fire & Ice:
JL- Kingdom Come Titans- Brother Blood Superman- Brainiac SS- Assault on Watchtower
Wildcat:
Batman- Hush Arrow- Prometheus Arrow- Intergang JL- Kingdom Come Booster Gold/Blue Beetle- JSA
Aqua man:
WW- Aquman JL- Kingdom Come JL- Starro JL- Legion of Doom Suicide Squad- Assault on Watchtower Flash- Flashpoint
Dr. Fate:
JL Dark- Ras Al Goul JL Dark- Vandal Savage JL- Kingdom Come
Captain Comet:
JL- Kingdom Come Blue Beetle/Booster Gold- JSA Titans - Legion
Black Canary:
Arrow- Prometheus Arrow- Intergang JL- Kingdom Come Batman- Hush Titans: Deathstroke
Mister Terrific:
Batman- Hush Flash- Rogues Booster Gold/Blue Beetle- JSA Justice League- Kingdom Come
Steel:
Superman- Brainiac/Doomsday JL- Kingdom Come SS- Assault on Watchtower Justice League - Darkseid 1
Rip Hunter:
Booster Gold/BB- JSA Booster Gold/BB- Day the earth stood still Titans - Legion
Firestorm:
Batman- Hush Superman- Brainian/Doomsday Suicide Squad- Assault on Watchtower Justice League- Kingdom Come Titans- Calling All Titans
Captain Atom:
SS- Black Adam SS- Assault on Watchtower Justice League- Kingdom Come WW- Aquaman JL- Legion of Doom
Vixen:
Booster Gold/Blue Beetle- JSA JL- Kingdom Come Justice League Dark- Vandal Savage WW- Pantheon
Supergirl:
Superman- Brainiac Doomsday Superman- Mongul Justice League- Kingdom Come Justice League- Darkseid 1&2
Stargirl:
Titans- Brother Blood Blue Beetle/Booster Gold- JSA Justice League- Kingdom Come
Jonah Hex:
JL- Dark Booster Gold/Blue Beetle- JSA
Metamorpho:
Green Lantern- Sinestro Green Lantern- Blackest Night JL- Kingdom Come
Terra:
Titans- Brother Blood Titans- Deathstroke
Superboy:
Superman- Brainiac/Doomsday, Titans- Deathstroke Titans- Legion JL- Kingdom Come
Speedy:
Arrow- Intergang Arrow- Prometheus Titans- Brother Blood JL- Kingdom Come
Jericho:
Titans- Deathstroke
Rose:
Titans- Deathstroke
Bumblebee:
Titans- Brother Blood JL- Kingdom Come SS- Assault on Watchtower
Mas y Menos:
Titans- Brother Blood BB BG- Day the Earth Stood Still JL- Kingdom Come
Aqualad:
WW- Aquaman Titans- Brother Blood Titans- Deathstroke JL- Kingdom Come
Static:
Titans- Brother Blood Titans- Deathstroke Titans- Legion SS- Attack on the Watchtower JL- Kingdom Come
The Question:
Arrow- Intergang Arrow- Prometheus MM- Despero JL Dark- Vandal Savage JL- Kingdom Come Batman- Hush
Renee Montoya:
Batman- Long Halloween Batman- Joker Batman- Hush JL- Kingdom Come
Metal Men:
Blue Beetle/Booster Gold- Amazo JL- Kingdom Come
Elongated Man OR Plastic Man: I prefer plas, would be hard to fit both, as much as I love them.
Batman- Hush, Green Arrow- Prometheus Green Arrow- Intergang JL-Kingdom Come Booster Gold/Blue Beetle- Day the earth stood still JL- Darkseid 1 SS- Assault on Watchtower
Huntress:
Titans- Brother Blood Batman- Joker Batman- Hush JL- Kingdom Come
If you read til the end, thanks! I’d love to hear any and all opinions or counter pitches :)
EDIT: Non main league Characters with their own solo or team up films will first be introduced in any of the Justice League films or those of their main members.
In the original post it was suggested that Darkseid is overused. And while I agree- I think the average moviegoer will be drawn to something familiar over a character or characters they may have never been exposed to. But I’d still love any feedback or alternate ideas for characters and villains to include!

I separated this breakdown into three categories: Improved, Stayed the same, and Decreased. Within each category, the players under that category are ranked by the degree of which their legacy was changed, with 1 being the biggest change. Lets begin!
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Improved

1. David - Obviously the night one boot that returned and made it to 8th place will get the biggest boost in his legacy because there's only one way to go but up! He showed himself to be a horrific player in all three components of the game (strategy, social, competitions), but he was one of the more likable houseguests this season and seemed to genuinely be grateful for being there. Became the underdog by around mid-jury (although that has more to do with the fact that all the other fan favorites were already evicted lol), and could have made it very far if it wasn't for Enzo's stupid move to keep Nicole over him.
2. Cody - Cody went from making one of the dumbest moves of all time (taking Derrick to F2), to dominating this entire season without any adversity being thrown his direction. I would absolutely stunned if either a) he gets Vanessa/Janelle'd (getting evicted at F3) or b) he loses the jury vote. Even in surprising results like BB18-20's jury vote, there was at least a realistic possibility the expected winner would lose. This season is different as everyone on the jury has made it clear that Cody will win, and if it's not him it will be whoever evicted him (Nicole is idiotically ignoring this but we'll get to her later). If anyone thought Cody was dragged through BB16 and wasn't a good player independent of Derrick, BB22 proved them wrong. Did he pregame heavily? Yes. Did he make any huge, flashy moves? No. Does he deserve to win? Absolutely.
3. Janelle - You would think her legacy would fall after being evicted third, but her star shines even brighter now than it did pre-BB22. No one expected Janelle to make it far this season considering that she was by far the most iconic player on this cast, so her early eviction wasn't surprising. Depressing as hell, but not unexpected. However, her last time on BB was all the way back in BB14 where we got quiet, kinda boring Janelle who fell victim to Mike Boogie again and got evicted the first week they could get her out. BB22 Janelle however was the highlight of this season. Her feud with Franzel, her amazing fashions (including wearing red bottoms while in a hideous star costume), the reunion of Jaysar, when she gave all of America hope for about 0.5 seconds in the HOH she almost won, talking shit about how lame modern BB is, and being the only person to be vocally against the majority alliance. If there's one thing that has brought me joy this season, it's hearing every evictee say: "Janelle was right". She's the Queen of Big Brother for a reason, and this season proved why after 15 years she's still just as beloved.
4. Memphis - To sum up my thoughts on Memphis: good player, bad person. Similar to Cody this season, he proved he was a competent player independent of Dan, regardless of pre-gaming (Lol remember when Cody said he had no idea who Keesha was but that he loved Memphis on his season!). He created The Committee, which while painfully vanilla, is probably the most successful alliance in BB history (?). Aside from creating the Committee and that weird Wise Guys thing, he didn't really give us much except being a big asshole and inspiring a lot of online controversy (despite Julie Chen telling you otherwise). I'm not fond of Memphis after this season, but it's an improvement from pre-BB22 when I forgot Memphis even existed lol. Speaking of that, what producer thought fans cared to see Memphis return? Probably the same producer that invited Christmas.
5. Kaysar - Pretty much the same as my write up on Janelle. We all had hope Kaysar could finally make jury once Janelle was inevitably evicted pre-jury, but 2020 gonna 2020. There really wasn't anything he or Janelle could have done to change their fates this season, so the fact that they came back and reaffirmed their fan favorite status was worth it alone. Also, it's rare that we see deep, consequential discussions about real world issues on any reality show, so hearing Kaysar talk so openly about race, religion, political division was wonderful. WHADDUP KAYSAR!
6. Da'Vonne - Day was already a STAR coming into this season (just search her name up in your phones GIF app and you'll find hundreds of amazing ones), and this season reaffirmed that. There are two reasons I didn't put Da'Vonne in the 'Stayed the Same' category. Reason 1: she made the only big move of the season in saving Kevin with the POV. The majority alliance was so pissed about this that they tried creating an elaborate plan to boycott the veto meeting to scare her, but Day used it anyways and saved her and her allies (even if it was just for one week). Reason 2: Similarly to Kaysar, she used her platform to advocate for Black Lives Matter and for more diversity in Big Brother casting. The fact that we haven't had a Black winner in 22 seasons is shameful, embarrassing, horrifying, etc. #JusticeforDanielleReyes Hopefully, producers listened to Day's impassioned calls for diversity in casting, but Grodner will probably just continue casting 11 white Instagram models and 5 people of color so they can claim diversity.
7. Bayleigh - BB Reddit loathed Bayleigh before this season, and now they like her! That's certainly an improvement! And honestly, she proved to be a pretty great player this season. She had good connections with all the power players this season, had one of the best social games, and just got screwed that Felonmas won HOH and wanted to target a duo (despite there being several obvious duos in the house; including the likely F2).

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Stayed the same (no rankings for this category since as the name implies their legacy didn't change much this season)
Christmas - Before this season, she was the overly loyal, angry girl who broke her foot. This season, she was the overly loyal, angry girl with a healthy foot. Is that considered character growth?
Enzo - On BB12, he was playing for third place and had an opportunity to get himself in a winning position (evicting Lane over Britney at F4) but didn't do it. On BB22, he played for third place and had an opportunity to win the game (evicting Nicole over David) and didn't do it. He's probably going to place third again, and even if he does get to F2, he's going to lose. How embarrassing.
Ian - The general consensus on Ian's BB14 win before this season was that he is an average player who got lucky with competition wins. This season he didn't win any competitions, and thus got evicted pretty early. Granted, his eviction was caused by a twist and a POV being used, but he wasn't a power player at all even before that week. His only real ally, Nicole, dropped him like a bag of cold puke which some more intense campaigning from Ian could have potentially prevented.
Keesha - Remember when the entire BB community threw a collective party about Keesha being on this season? Pepperidge Farms remembers. Keesha hadn't even watched BB since 2012, which meant she had no idea who half of the cast was. She was also an alternate for this cast, preventing her from pre-gaming with anyone. The odds were stacked against her, and her being the first boot wasn't shocking. Still very depressing though, but fans will probably forget she was even on this season and her legacy remains BB10. She got $40K just for spending a week in the BB house doing nothing though, so who is the real winner this season? Keesha.
Nicole F - It's a mixed bag with Franzel. On one hand, fans disliked her even more this season (RIP her sponsors). On the other hand, most fans finally gained respect for her gameplay after her very controversial winning game on BB18. So really, it cancels out and her legacy remains intact. Although, if she takes Cody to F2 and loses, I would move her down to having 'Decreased' her legacy this season, because that's a shockingly stupid move. You're smarter than this Nicole.
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Decreased

1. Dani - You know the saying "A Star is Born"? Dani did the opposite this season: A Star Has Died. In the preseason, she was #2 on Jokers rankings (below Janelle, of course), and by the midpoint of the season she was second to last place (with only her BFF Nicole below her, of course). Her fall from grace started with her immediate targeting of Janelle, despite them being IRL friends and Janelle trusting her more than anyone. What the fuck was that for Dani? We never got a logical reason for why Dani was so intensely anti-Janelle, but no matter the reason it's dumb. If you know Janelle trusts you, why would you push hard to get her evicted so early? Dani's reputation before this season was being the cutthroat, competition beast badass that slayed the dragon known as Jeff Schroeder. This season however, Dani became Jeff (who's Jordan and Rachel in this analogy? Cody and Nicole?). Similar to Jeff, Dani is widely disliked after this season and has just left people wondering: what the fuck happened to old Dani? The answer to that question is that Dani has always been this way, she was just directing her cattiness towards the people we all disliked in BB13. This season, it was directed towards the people we loved. If there was ever a player that epitomized "you either die a hero or live long enough to become a villain", it's Dani. However, I still have a soft spot for Dani and always will. We met her at 19 years old trying to reconcile with her awful father (who shall remain nameless because he's the absolute worst). Then, she returned at 23 years old and was vibrant, bold, and escaped her father's shadow. Now, she's 31 years old, married, and a mom to a gorgeous little girl. Her character arc is unmatched in BB history, even if she isn't a fan favorite anymore.
2. Nicole A - What a fall from grace. Just one year ago, Nicole won America's Favorite Houseguest with an estimated 65% of the votes and now she has absolutely no fans left. If you want to completely ruin the public's goodwill towards you, the quickest way to do that is to be anti-Janelle and Kaysar. My view on her insane, irrational hatred of Jaysar was residual anxiety and hurt feelings from BB21 (a particularly dark season) that she projected onto Jani and Kaysar. She failed to consider that Jaysar are notoriously loyal to their allies and probably weren't plotting her demise, but the hate campaign she launched against them in response was horrifying. What happened to the sweet little Nicole from BB21?! WHAT HAPPENED?! We also learned that after BB21 she never bothered to watch clips Kemi sent her highlighting the racism the Jackasses hurled at her, which further hurts my view of Nicole. But Nicole is the source of my flair on this sub so she'll always have a place in my heart, even if she'll always be Judas to the rest of BB fans (that was a Jerry reference, I don't actually think Nicole is Satan lol)
3. Tyler - Behind Janelle and Dani, Tyler was the most hyped person returning this season. And then he tried to quit which...ugh. Tyler was playing amazingly well before that week, including turning everyone against Dani and then he let it all go down the drain by saying he was self-evicting. I don't think he ever recovered from that game-wise, and it will forever haunt his legacy. He was still as kind and likable as he was on BB20, but you could tell he wasn't motivated at all.
4. Kevin - Kevin always topped lists of 'Best to Never Win' and his terrible reads this season probably kicked him off that list forever. However, he was immediately put in an underdog position Week One, and it's really difficult to recover from that (no one that survived the block Week One has ever went on to win the game). While he is not as respected as he was before the season, history still stands that if it wasn't for losing the Final HOH in BB11, he would have become our first Black and LGBTQ+ winner. Tragic.

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The start of the 21st century marked the Golden Age of comic book movies. Never before were geeks more spoiled with not just the quantity, but quality, of film adaptations. Even though there are a handful of awesome comic book movies that never made it to the big screen, plenty of others successfully pulled off live-action movies, from Marvel to DC to indie comics. However, lost in the shuffle of all the live-action productions are animated comic book films.
While Marvel has put out some fine animated films of its own, the best DC Comics animated movies definitely have the edge in this category. The animated medium allows for a bit more freedom than cinema does, resulting in explosive action scenes and more faithful adaptations of the source materials. In fact, it could be argued that some cartoon superhero movies are better than any live-action ones that have hit the box office.
Superhero movies can be spectacular animated features as well as live-action. For years, animated films have provided viewers a pathway into the world of cinema live-actions cannot provide. Aided with eye-popping and larger-than-life visuals, animated movies have brought so many genres to life, the most recent of which is the world of comic books.
Whether it be direct to video or blockbuster releases, animated superhero films good and bad have brought something new to the world of animation. And we decided to sort through these flicks and find the ones you need to see. There have been numerous superhero animated movies in the past decade. Here are the top 10 of the best superhero animated films ever made, according to us, arranged in no specific order. I know this is a long post, and it took me a lot of time to write, so I hope you will show this some love. If you are not a fan of reading this much, you can watch it in video format on our YouTube channel: The link to the video is: https://youtu.be/cC2A6lKSk3w If you decide to watch this, please do not forget to like the video and subscribe to our channel for more such content! We are looking for some love and support from fellow comics lovers to grow. Let's start!
Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993)
You’ll see quite a few Batman movies on this list, but the first and one of the best of the bunch is Batman: Mask of the Phantasm. It is one of the first feature-length animated comic book films. This feature-length spinoff of the classic 1992 animated series is highly regarded by fans as one of the best Batman films ever made and certainly as one of the greatest mysteries that Bruce Wayne ever solved. This film delves into Batman’s origins and a love story that has more pathos than anything we’ve seen in the live-action Batman films. With stellar animation, incredible performances, and a legitimately powerful narrative, one could argue that Batman: Mask of the Phantasm is the greatest animated superhero movie of all time.
It has the original voice cast of Kevin Conroy as Batman and Mark Hamill as The Joker, and if that isn’t reason enough to watch it, I’m sure the added nostalgia value it carries will do the job. The film, today, enjoys the status of a cult classic in the animated arena, and scores high on the basis of its non-linear narrative, alternating between Batman’s early crime-fighting years and the current menace, and an excellent villain in the Phantasm, who is an original creation solely created for this film, is sure to rank among the best ones.
Ultimate Avengers
The Ultimate Avengers series, the first Marvel feature on this list, is exactly what you’d expect it to be, nothing more, nothing less. Ultimate Avengers 1 and 2 are like 2012’s The Avengers, but more extreme. They’re two animated films based on Marvel’s Ultimate line of comics, which took their most famous characters and concepts and updated them for a modern audience. In fact, the Marvel Cinematic Universe borrows heavily from the Ultimate brand, which means that there are several moments in these two animated movies that would eventually show up in the live-action version. Still, Ultimate Avengers had way more leeway when it came to depicting violence, leading to a much more brutal battle with the Chitauri and even some heroic sacrifices. It shares virtually the same storyline as 2012’s ‘The Avengers’, but the treatment is what makes all the difference, with some fine voice acting on display here, while the animation is pretty good too. However, compared to other DC giants, this one doesn’t age too well and proves good only as a Saturday matinee time viewing. As a hardcore Marvel fan, you may love it. But if you’ve been introduced to DC’s animated canon, this one can pass off as comfort food at best.
Justice League: Doom (2012)
Justice League: Doom is a loose adaptation of the classic Tower of Babel storyline from the comics. In both stories, the Justice League find themselves facing a more formidable and organized set of antagonists than any that have appeared in the Marvel or DC cinematic universes. The plotline of ‘Justice League: Doom’ follows Vandal Savage stealing Batman’s contingency plans against the members of the Justice League, should they go rogue, and hires Cheetah, Star Sapphire, Bane, Metallo, Mirror Master, and Ma’alefa’ak, each sworn nemesis of one of the league members to fight and target their weaknesses based on the Bat’s plans. The movie is both, the perfect example of why Batman is such a badass and why he’s not a great friend. ‘Justice League: Doom’ is action-packed, with some great fight sequences showcasing the strengths and weakness of all the superheroes in the league. The internal conflict the league faces after almost being completely taken down, with questions being raised on Batman’s intentions about the contingency plans, their sheer ingenuity, and how the league comes out of it form the best bits of this superbly entertaining animated feature.
PLANET HULK (2010)
‘Planet Hulk’ is based on the famous Marvel storyline of the same name by Greg Pak and Carlo Pagulayan. The Hulk is deemed to be too dangerous to be on Earth by the Avengers, who then plan to have him sent over to a more peaceful world. All does not go as planned, and the Hulk wakes up mid-flight, wreaks havoc in the shuttle, and it crash lands on Sakaar, where he is taken prisoner and forced to fight in gladiatorial contests. All of this may sound familiar since 2017’s ‘Thor: Ragnarok’ had a part of its script derived from the ‘Planet Hulk’ storyline, with Thor thrown into the gladiator contests. The animated feature, however, focuses solely on Hulk’s time on Sakaar and becoming Sakaarson.
Planet Hulk is the rare Marvel animated film that has withstood the test of time. It’s a fast-paced action-packed sci-fi story that offers up a lot of the interstellar craziness that people love about the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It’s basically Gladiator starring the Hulk, and that might be the greatest pitch ever made for a movie. Despite featuring more than its fair share of action, Planet Hulk also succeeds at humanizing the Hulk in a way that's rarely achieved. And, it features a great battle between Hulk and the Silver Surfer that isn’t possible in the Marvel Cinematic Universe due to rights issues. A fun ride, all in all.
The Incredibles Series (2004 and 2018)
The Incredibles series comprises of two movies unlike any other, blending a family drama with superhero attributes into a story that honors and improves the genre, making it a true classic and another Pixar gem that has found many fans.
The only animated superhero film series on our list that is not based on a comic book! ‘The Incredibles’ is the story of a family having superpowers who after lawsuits have to live a ‘normal’ life far from their superhero days. That changes and our heroes are forced out of retirement when Mr. Incredible is kidnapped and the city faces an imminent threat from the villainous Syndrome.
And let’s face it: The Incredibles 2 was THE sequel Disney and Pixar fans were waiting for, and it took fourteen years for the film to finally get made. To be honest, it was obvious that it was never going to hold a candle to the first; that is the burden of a legacy. There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments, most of them having Jack-Jack at their center as the family discovers and deals with his new superpowers. But at the film’s center is the familial bonding, occasional bickering, and the teamwork that make it a success. Thanks to some excellent world-building and well-defined characters, The Incredibles is an original superhero story that feels like it belongs right alongside any of the classic comic book fare.
Big Hero 6 (2014)
Whenever audiences think of Marvel, their minds typically go towards the big franchises like the MCU. However, many forget that Marvel does have properties and characters that exist beyond the reach of the Avengers and X-Men. Big Hero 6 is the first animated film since Disney purchased Marvel. Nonetheless, Disney hit it out of the park with their first try, as Big Hero 6 was a critical success and a fan favorite. The film took a very obscure team from the comics and crafted a sweet, heartfelt, and downright funny tale from their limited published history.
Set in the futuristic city of San Fransokyo, the story follows young robotics expert Hiro Hamada as he joins forces with other scientific geniuses in order to stop an evil masked villain. It’s full of the usual Disney fun but also employs tons of visual flair and stirring action. ‘Big Hero 6’ is a pleasure to watch, as you dive deeper into the world of a fourteen years old robotics genius, his friends, and Baymax, one of Disney’s cutest creations in a while, as they band together to form an unlikely group of heroes. Big Hero 6 is a great introduction to superhero flicks for young viewers.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Comic fans want a superhero film to feel like a comic book, to perfectly recapture the look and feel of a comic, the very things that made them fall in love with the colorful worlds in the first place. After gaining superpowers from a spider bite, Miles Morales protects the city as Spider-Man. Soon, he meets alternate versions of himself and gets embroiled in an epic battle to save the multiverse. As it is, very few have been able to replicate this feeling. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse essentially set the bar for making comic book films feel like comics. With astounding animation that complimented and improved upon the story, creating a masterpiece in a way no other had done before.
The Flashpoint Paradox (2013)
Alternate worlds are what make comics so interesting. The prospect of a world where heroes maybe villains or the present-day maybe the dark ages, alternate realities are the foundation of comics and as such, comic book films. As it is, The Flashpoint Paradox is without a doubt one of the most insane alternate realities out there, rife with possibilities the animated film made a reality made possible through a simple task that had disastrous consequences, making for a film that exceeded all expectations.
Based on the fan-favorite storyline ‘Flashpoint’ written by Geoff Johns and Andy Kubert, this film sees Barry Allen travel back in time to save his mother from being murdered. As the Flash’s penchant for messing up timelines goes, his attempt to travel back in time and fix his past results in an anomaly, a fracture in time that creates an alternate reality where he doesn’t have his powers, the world does not know of the existence of Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman are at war and Thomas Wayne is the Batman as Bruce is the one that died at the hands of Joe Chill. The bizarre chain of events is set into motion indirectly by the Flash’s arch-nemesis Professor Zoom, who intends to trap him in an alternate reality and kill him. In one of DC’s most iconic storylines, this animated movie delivers what it promises and it is a treat for faithful comic book fans.
Batman: The Dark Knight Returns Series Part 1 & 2 (2012, 2013)
The big daddy of all superhero movies is based on one of the best Batman comic book arcs of the same name by Frank Miller and Klaus Janson. Bruce Wayne is in his mid-50s, retired, and no longer Batman. Gotham is in shambles flooded by crime, while Batman is forced to return to save and liberate Gotham. Superman works for the government and is asked by the President to arrest Batman. What happens next is as epic and as iconic as it can get. The finale Batman vs Superman fight is seen in all its glory with Batman in his armored suit. You’ll get a much better fight between the Dark Knight and the Man of Steel than you saw in BvS: Dawn of Justice. The only thing the film is missing when compared to the comics is Batman’s inner monologue, but the movie more than makes up for it with beautifully rendered action sequences. Batman and the Joker’s battle in the Tunnel of Love is a particularly memorable moment, and perhaps their greatest battle on film to date. Standout elements include the stellar animation and the performances from Peter Weller as Batman and Michael Emerson as the Joker. Another larger-than-life animated gem, it is near perfect. It’s gritty, it’s dark and it’s everything a Batman adaptation should be. The animation is fantastic keeping the comic book art in mind. It is one movie series, not to be missed at any cost.
Batman: Under the Red Hood (2010)
‘Batman: Under the Red Hood’, in our humble opinion, is truly the best-animated superhero feature out there. We’d put it under the category of one of the best superhero flicks ever, animated or not. It rarely gets better than this one when it comes to superhero films. Based on the DC comic book arc ‘Under the Hood’ by Judd Winick and taking bits from another classic story arc ‘A Death in the Family’ by Jim Starlin, the film shows the death of the second Robin Jason Todd at the hands of The Joker, and his eventual resurgence as the feared vigilante Red Hood. The makers do an impressive job of assembling the voice cast. However, the real props here go to the writing department in crafting out what easily the most personal Batman story yet. The final confrontation between Batman, Joker, and the Red Hood qualifies for absolute comic book gold and is a testament to the legendary status DC has required with its stories in the animated arena. Both comic and film achieved the remarkable goal of bringing Jason Todd back to life. Todd, the much-maligned Robin who was once voted by fans to die, was depicted in such a way to make people actually care about him. The central mystery of Under the Red Hood is exciting enough, but it’s the hard-hitting action and drama after the reveal that really makes the plot strong. This is a much more personal Batman story than anything yet seen on the big screen. The animation is strong and the storytelling is tight. Plus, the emotional core of the film works even if you aren’t familiar with Batman lore. This is a solid entry in the DC animated features lineup.
So, that sums up our post on the top 10 animated superhero movies ever made! If you liked the content or our efforts, don’t forget to hit that upvote button and support us by subscribing to our YouTube channel! Since we're just starting out, it would really mean a lot to us if you guys show a little support. New content comes out every Friday! Let us know in the comments if you agree or disagree with our list!

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