Friday and Saturday for TN at #SDCC were truly so bananas that we had zero time to decompress, AirDrop photos and write recaps. There was either a lack of a) time, b) wifi or c) fluids. But we are back and nursing our war wounds and trying to remember who took that perfect shot and who bought us those shots (hint: you know him).
Hall H Hell
I’ve never had a love/hate relationship with Hall H. I have always – always – loved her for her cool concrete floors and her crazy loud sound system or for her tiny press pit where we can stand and get up close and personal with Paul Bettany’s heel bandage. But this year got a little crazy. Without getting too ridiculous about the details, Julie and I realized that to be in a prime location for the good panel (Game of Thrones) we needed to spend the ENTIRE DAY in the pit. We loaded up on snacks and prayers and camped out. But the panels did NOT disappoint.
“I Was An Extra In Endgame”
The early morning panels were retrospectives on Avengers: Endgame with the first being a conversation with Endgame writers and producers, Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, and the second being a conversation with The Russo Brothers – Joe and Anthony to their friends. They didn’t seem on the listing as the type of fare that usually headlines a Friday morning in Hall H, and Julie joked that the next panel was going to be “I Was An Extra In Endgame.”
But … they were some of the best panels of the week. Sure, there was little excitement in the way of major announcements or famous faces, but both panels were engaging, smart and a fun glimpse into the inner workings of making what is now the highest grossing movie of all time. The writers brought out flashes of two white boards that helped them suss out two of the major plot points of Endgame: where the stones were at all points in time, and the alternate time lines. You should watch the whole thing. The Russo Brothers, who directed Infinity War and Endgame, talked about collaboration and took fan questions from all your faves. It’s worth watching.
The Walking Dead: AKA Beth and Julie
Did you guys know that someone un-cancelled Chris Hardwick? We didn’t. Believe me, the first shock of Friday’s Hall H was seeing him moderate the two AMC panels for Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead. Hall H staples, these panels were full of everyone’s favorite characters and sneak peaks at the new season. I’ve never seen FTWD, so I used that hour to “eat lunch” (stuff Veggie Straws down my gullet), but Danai Gurira’s tearful goodbye announcing her last season as Michonne on The Walking Dead was a powerful moment.
Henry Cavill, I mean, The Witcher Panel
Did I read these books? I am 75% sure I read the first one, but the plot of The Witcher still evades me a little. What I learned in The Witcher panel is the Henry Cavill is a gaming dork. He loved this game so much that he like FOUGHT to play the title character. I’m very second-hand embarrassed for him. But not as second-hand embarrassed as I was when Julie was trying to get a picture of him on stage as he leaned back in his chair (good angle for us in the pit), he looked directly at her, smiled (because it was obvious what she was doing), she wilted like a tulip in July and he laughed SO ADORABLY. It was THE GREATEST. Until he walked up, made sweet, sweet eye contact with me and shook my hand. The Witcher panel rocked, y’all.
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We’re just going to leave this here. You’re welcome. #tnsdcc #sdcc #thewitcher
The Dark Crystal
What did we know about The Dark Crystal panel going in? We knew that Outlander fans thought there was a 35% chance that Caitriona Balfe would show up, and that no one at all in the very star studded cast was announced, so shouts for Awkwafina were premature. Turns out, we should have set our expectations MUCH higher.
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I’m not sure if you can hear my cries of delight and utter bliss when Mark Hamill came out, but readers, I cried. Truly, there were tears rolling down my face and it was amazing. Mark Hamill is the best. The Dark Crystal is a huge labor of real love, straight out of the Henson imagination, and having watched the first episode, we can definitely say that it will be true to the original movie. I can also definitively say that Taron Egerton is a cinnamon roll, and that I’ve touched Luke Skywalker.
Game of Thrones
I wasn’t sure that after losing my battle with normalcy screaming at Mark Hamill that anything else that day would top it, but the Game of Thrones farewell panel was up next, and life doesn’t get much better than standing two feet away from Nikolaj Coster-Waldau for an hour.
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The King Slayer and the Oathkeeper, @nikolajwilliamcw takes the stage at @comic_con! ⚔️
I was truly hyped for this panel because the fervor and dismay over the last season was so HIGH that surely it was going to be a free for all. And with news coming that the showrunners weren’t going to be there, with contracts with HBO all over, SURELY we were going to get some high quality tea spillage. But even with all the love in the room, the cast that were present kept to the party line, with only one cute bit: everyone took a coordinated sip from a coffee cup. The panel is worth watching in full:
I Caption This: Certain Direct Eye Contact is Worth Not Moving for Nine Hours
Friday Night???
After leaving Hall H, and guzzling an entire bottle of water, Julie and I had the dehydrated shakes. We were supposed to be getting ready for a couple of parties that night (and dinner of course), but it was almost impossible to leave our hotel beds. Nikki took one for the team and went out, while we (with Bekah) got super lame and ordered very greasy room service and stayed in. I don’t think we’ve ever spent a Friday night at Comic-Con in the room!
BUT … if you were following on our instagram, you’ll know that midway through the night, Nikki texted that Henry Cavill was AT THE PARTY WE WERE SUPPOSED TO GO TO. Julie was inconsolable until Nikki texted that he was also currently at the bar she was at, dancing and buying drinks. Trust me when I tell you that you have never seen a woman go from her lying down in her PJs to party ready as quickly as Julie did that night. She was out the door before I could decide whether or not to text Nikki and ask for a photo. Those two had a VERY nice night, drinking and dancing and laughing with Henry Cavill. Bekah and I enjoyed giggling about it on Instagram from the comfort of our hotel bed.
Friday at SDCC was a whole ass DAY, but I’m not sure it prepared us for Saturday. More to come … later! JOIN US TONIGHT at 9pmEST/6PT as we chat about it all on a special POP UP version of Talking Normal.
