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GO BLUE

By Ed Sessa
©2019 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
03/13/19

Los Angeles Times Daily Crossword Puzzle

Edited by Rich Norris and Joyce Nichols Lewis

03/13/19

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE:

Release Date: Wednesday, March 13, 2019

ACROSS
1 Cascades peak
7 Cap’n’s aide
11 Classic British 
sports cars
14 Character 
builder?
15 __ Domini
16 Vein contents
17 Not yet proven
19 __ drop
20 After 18-Down, 
actor/golfer 
combo
22 Wrestling duo
25 Innocent
26 Charlottesville 
sch.
27 Like a cool cat
30 Edible root
31 Depended (on)
35 Sunlit lobbies
37 After 34-Down, 
crime writer/poet 
combo
42 Worthy of a 
standing O
43 Pay for one’s 
crime
44 Suisse peak
47 Sisters, say
48 Spam holder
49 “American Horror 
Story” actress 
Paulson
51 Contents of a 
teacher’s key
55 After 50-Down, 
president/novelist 
combo
59 TV buying 
channel
60 Host of a Friars 
Club event
64 One of a comic 
trio
65 Invite feedback?
66 Nissan sedan
67 18-, 34- __ 
50-Down
68 Votes for
69 Oppressive ruler

DOWN
1 Minded the kids
2 “What the?!”
3 Pigged out, say
4 Little pig
5 Yankee manager 
before Girardi

6 __ rock: Queen 
genre
7 Attend to a 
leaking boat
8 How some data 
is stored
9 Sound made 
using two fingers
10 “The Dark Knight 
Trilogy” director 
Christopher
11 Family nickname
12 Mourn
13 It’s not for 
everyone
18 Generic guy
21 Canadian 
brewery
22 Steak metaphor 
seen on menus
23 State with 
conviction
24 Charity event
27 Wears
28 “There’s more” 
letters
29 Jab to keep them 
dogies rollin’
32 Slacks measure
33 Prefix with car
34 Generic guy
36 “How was __ 
know?”

38 Maneuver 
through moguls
39 Flier on a string
40 Mideast mogul
41 Strong desires
44 Bronchial 
disorder
45 “The Far Side” 
cartoonist Gary
46 Tended to topiary
50 Generic guy
51 Germane
52 Desert wanderer

53 Like many bad 
jokes
54 Bridge positions
56 Bridge position
57 Vena __: major 
blood line
58 Sacred symbols 
on pyramid walls
61 Reward for 
waiting
62 Confessional 
music genre
63 Maze scurrier

With last week’s release of 
the much anticipated trailer for 
Season 8 of the HBO megahit 
“Game of Thrones,” one thing 
is clear: The end is near. After 
eight seasons, almost 10 years, 
and more than two decades of 
waiting for George R.R. Martin 
to pull his story together, the 
Westerosi Saga will finally reach 
it’s end. Or at least, it will reach 
an end.
As anyone who has become 
wrapped up in this tale of 
zombies and dragons knows, 
author George R.R. Martin is 
nowhere close to completing his 
“Song of Ice and Fire” novels 
upon which the show is based. 
The most recent book, “A Dance 
With Dragons” was published 
the same summer the HBO show 
first premiered, back in 2011. 
Since then, the showrunners 
have adapted and then expanded 
upon 
Martin’s 
work, 
going 
beyond the narrative established 
in the novels and crafting their 
own material beyond the source. 
Many believe that the show has 
dipped in quality since passing 
the material in Martin’s original 
books.
However, the truth is that 
the show has simply shifted in 
structure and in subject matter. 
Where the early seasons and 
novels focused on the intricate 
political 
intrigue 
between 
the various forces of Stark, 
Lannister, Tyrell, Bolton and 
other houses vying for control 
of the Iron Throne, later seasons 
have slowly pruned the narrative 
excess, eventually bringing the 
battle against the White Walkers 
into sharp focus as the central 
conflict of the series. What 
began as “House of Cards” with 
dragons has become “Lord of 
the Rings” with nudity. Whether 
or not that bothers you is up to 
the individual viewer. Whether 
or not that was always going to 
be the case, and whether or not 
Martin intended to make the 
same kind of pivot in his novels, 
is unclear.
Six episodes. A little more 
or less than an hour each. 
That’s all that the “Game of 
Thrones” creators and writers 
have to wrap up one of the most 

sprawling fantasy epics of all 
time. Despite the work done 
in the past few years to prune 
away the fat from the show’s 
cast, dozens of characters still 
exist whose storylines need 

to be brought to something 
resembling resolution. But what 
kind of resolution can possibly 
satisfy the legions of fans that 
have spent in some cases their 
entire lives speculating about 
how this is all going to end? 
Just ask the people behind the 
“LOST” finale — it’s not easy to 
end a mythology-heavy show. If 
Daenerys or Jon Snow take the 
crown and sit the Iron Throne, 
will that feel earned or will 
it feel cheap? If both die and 
another takes the seat, will it 
come off to audiences as a cop 
out? Is there any way to still 
shock an audience that expects 
to be shocked at every turn? 
Is it a little bit lame that the 
ultimate “no good guys, no bad 
guys” show is going to end with 
an army of good guys against an 
army of faceless CGI zombies? I 
don’t know the answers. But, the 
questions are real.
It 
seems 
inevitable 
that 
“Game of Thrones” Season 8 
will disappoint. How could it 
not? Nothing can ever live up to 
the individual expectations and 
desires that each viewer has in 
their own head. Not everyone’s 
favorite character will have 
enough screen time, not everyone 
will get a happy ending. Many 
book readers have all but given 
up on the show, and are just 

watching now to see how it all 
ends up. With such a contracted 
season coming almost 18 months 
after a sixth season that was 
also shorter than usual, the days 
of getting 10 straight weeks of 
“Game of Thrones” seem as far 
away as Ned Stark and Robert 
Baratheon.
Many have referred to “Game 
of Thrones” over the years as 
“The Last Water Cooler Show.” 
In the current age of diversified 
content 
and 
splintered 
viewership, it is becoming more 
and more difficult for shows 
to 
garner 
huge 
followings 
and break out of their niche. 
“Thrones” is one of the only 
shows that people still feel the 
need to watch in the moment, 
week to week, like a live sporting 
event. It came of age during “the 
golden age of TV” but it will 
leave as “the last of its kind.” 
Undoubtedly, 
imitators 
will 
come and go (Amazon is already 
planning the most expensive 
series of all time with their “Lord 
of the Rings” streaming show), 
but it seems highly unlikely that 
any show will shock the world as 
constantly and as consistently as 
“Game of Thrones” did. If it is the 
journey that is important, and 
not the destination, then “Game 
of Thrones” has already done 
more than enough to make its 
mark on the history of television. 
It’s one of those pieces of media, 
like “Harry Potter” and “Star 
Wars” before it, that ingrains 
itself so fully in your memories 
that you will never forget where 
you were when certain scenes 
hit you, nor will you forget 
the people you were with. As 
the next two months unfold, 
the death toll mounts and the 
nostalgic wave that comes with 
all endings sets in, it’s worth it 
to take a moment and remember 
how far we’ve come. Just like the 
Stark children, many of us have 
grown up with this show. Winter 
has at last come and will soon be 
gone. From George R.R. Martin, 
to the cast and crew of “Game of 
Thrones,” to the powerful spirit 
of imagination that has allowed 
this show to enchant audiences 
all over the world, may we all 
continue to dream for spring.

IAN HARRIS

DAILY ENTERTAINMENT COLUMN

Can GoT’s end satisfy us?

Nearly 
two 
years 
have 
passed since I last listened to 
Weezer. At my worst, I was 
listening to “No Other One” 
no less than dozen times a day. 
I’d go weeks avoiding calls 
from my mother, huddled 
in the dark corner of my 
dorm room under an Edward 
Hopper “Nighthawks” print 
pressing 
play 
on 
“Why 
Bother?” My friends 
would ask where I 
was. I’d tell them I 
was too tired, too 
busy. And then, with 
great guilt but even 
greater pleasure, I’d 
resume “Say It Ain’t 
So.”
Since 
that 
rock 
bottom, I have had to 
seriously recalibrate 
myself. What are my 
priorities? Does my 
social 
circle 
have 
my best interests in 
mind? Who are my 
role models? Each 
day, each decision 
I have approached 
with 
a 
simple 
question: 
“Will 
it 
make me listen to Weezer 
again?” I have tried my best to 
live a life that, in aggregate, 
answers this question with a 
resounding no.
But because I am a selfless, 
giving, loving, effervescent 
person, I have decided, just 
this once — I swear — to 
relapse in the name of good 
journalism, and review the 
thirteenth album by the Los 
Angeles based emo-pop-rock 
band.
Weezer (“Black Album”) is 
their fifth self-titled album, 
in case you were forgetting 
what 
Rivers 
Cuomo 
calls 
his band, and their second 
album 
of 
2019, 
following 
Weezer 
(“Teal 
Album”), 
which included covers of 
Toto’s “Africa” and TLC’s 
“No Scrubs.” In the less than 
three months between the 
“Teal Album” and the “Black 

Album,” Weezer have yet 
again found the darkness: on 
the cover of the “Teal Album” 
the band dressed in fun, 
beachy attire. Here, they don 
full latex BDSM bodysuits.
But the latex suits are bit 
of a fake out. If you’re like 
me and have also gotten into 
hardcore BDSM and latex 
over the last three months, 
then you’ll be let down by the 
dissonance. These songs are 
not hardcore and abrasive, like 
some of their best and earliest 

material; instead, they lean 
heavily on a pop mentality 
that can be as annoying as 
it is fun. Nearly every track 
has the easily recognizable, 
repetitive nature of a radio 
pop song. “Can’t Knock the 
Hustle,” “Zombie Bastards” 
and “Living in L.A.” could 
all feasibly rotate on an FM 
station 
and 
you 
probably 
wouldn’t 
blink 
an 
eye. 
That’s not to say they’re not 
fun 
and 
catchy. 
“Zombie 
Bastards,” for example, is 
quite so. But none of the 
three are so memorable, and 
unfortunately, this applies 
to the majority of the album. 
Somehow Weezer has made 
even BDSM unexciting.
For better or worse, what 
once made Weezer so popular 
(and 
so 
addicting) 
was 
their ability to make songs 
about angst that sounded 

like 
angst. 
When 
they 
complained about sex and 
drugs and loneliness, they 
did it with guitar riffs that 
sounded just as disaffected 
and jaded as Cuomo. When 
Cuomo said he was “Tired 
of Sex,” you believed him, 
as embarrassing and angsty 
a sentiment that might be. 
Weezer was never afraid to 
sound like the feelings you 
weren’t supposed to have.
On Weezer (“Black Album”), 
the band hasn’t ditched its 
emotional core. The 
loneliness 
is 
still 
here (“But I feel so 
lonely, feel so lonely 
/ Uh, uh, yeah, I’m 
living in L.A”), as is 
the sex (“Like the 
sex appeal of your 
sick dance moves / 
Ooh, wee, ooh, wee”) 
and 
drugs 
(“Let’s 
do hard drugs / Fix 
our problems”). But 
those feelings are 
no longer tangible. 
Whether 
it’s 
the 
pop 
background, 
the 
proximity 
to 
an album with an 
“Africa” 
by 
Toto 
cover, or just that 
Cuomo 
is 
getting 
old, these songs speak of 
sadness but don’t feel like it.
Certainly, 
pop 
music 
can 
use 
the 
dissonance 
between sound and lyrics 
to 
an 
advantage. 
When 
done effectively, the song 
resonates more deeply, not 
less, like when Robyn sings 
of 
being 
alone 
over 
the 
uplifting beat of “Dancing 
On My Own.” But on Weezer 
(“Black Album”), the result 
is the opposite. Both the 
upbeat instrumentation and 
the lyrics feels performative, 
one trying to accomplish a 
different task than the other. 
If the “Black Album” leaves 
a mark, its only to remind 
me of the better, unhappier 
moments 
in 
Weezer’s 
discography, and the worse, 
unhappier moments my own 
musical progression. Here’s 
hoping we all get well again. 

Weezer’s latest goes dark

ALBUM REVIEW

MATTHEW GALLATIN
Daily Arts Writer

Weezer (‘Black 
Album’)

Weezer

Universal Music Group

The week in pop culture has been dominated 
by two profoundly disturbing stories: accounts 
of child sexual abuse perpetrated by music icons 
R. Kelly and Michael Jackson, whose alleged 
misdeeds were ignored for far too long, no doubt 
because it was much more convenient to enjoy 
the genius of “Ignition (Remix)” and “Billie 
Jean” at weddings and birthday parties than 
it was to confront those other ugly, distressing 
possibilities.
HBO’s “Leaving 
Neverland” — the 
Jackson 
exposé 
— and Lifetime’s 
“Surviving 
R. 
Kelly” both speak 
to the power of 
the 
televised 
documentary 
to 
change minds and 
fuel conversations. 
But the ensuing 
discourse 
has 
sometimes veered 
into unproductive 
and even malicious 
territory. On the 
tamer end are the 
circular, oft-hashed debates about separating art 
from the artist. At worst, though, the films have 
been met with a deluge of unhinged apologia. 
And amid the very fan-centric introspection, a 
clearer sense of how we might treat victims and 
deal with abusers in these situations still feels 
lacking.
Enter Oprah Winfrey and Gayle King, the 
trusted TV hosts and best friends, who both 
demonstrated a remarkable ability to take 
stock of horribly sad, fraught circumstances 
and treat them with nuance and care. Winfrey, 
herself a survivor of child sexual abuse, hosted 
an hour-long special following the “Leaving 
Neverland” premiere in which she interviewed 
the documentaries’ subjects, TK and TK, along 
with a child trauma psychologist and other 
victims-turned-advocates. A few days later 
on CBS, King sat down with R. Kelly in his 
first televised interview since the premiere of 
“Surviving R. Kelly.” Both women brought a 
deft, careful balance of compassion, composure 
and journalistic rigor.
Oprah’s was done in her signature group 

therapy style, weaving in personal reflections 
and audience input. The audience, it should be 
noted, was made up almost entirely of survivors, 
all of whom had just watched the 4-hour “Leaving 
Neverland.” Winfrey began the segment by 
noting that she had devoted over 200 episodes of 
“The Oprah Winfrey Show” to discussing sexual 
abuse, and her familiarity with the material 
shined through — her questions were informed 
and incisive, sometimes belaboring points to 
make the contours of the conversation clear 
to viewers while remaining respectful of the 
trauma victims she spoke with. All in all, it was 
low-key, 
subdued 
affair.
King’s was the 
more lurid of the 
two — maybe you’ve 
seen the myriad of 
clips or the GIFs by 
now. Surely, you’ve 
seen the photo: R. 
Kelly, on the verge 
of 
tears, 
sprung 
from his seat and 
Gayle King, leaning 
back 
in 
hers, 
with an unmoved 
expression 
that 
says, “It’s OK, I’ll 
wait.” It couldn’t 
have 
been 
easy 
to interview someone who looked like he 
could detonate at any moment, but she did it 
spectacularly, with focus and poise. And she 
navigated the interview with him and his 
zealous apologists in a way that let her emerge 
supremely level-headed by the segment’s end.
Neither spends much time on the question of 
separating the art from the artist — that’s the 
sort of thorny dilemma that doesn’t make for a 
compact primetime special. But what Winfrey 
and King both do well is to give their viewers 
the tools to make those decisions for themselves. 
And each host, in her own way, probes at the 
problem of fandom itself. We might not find 
ourselves grappling with “cancel culture” had 
we not filled celebrities with our own nostalgic 
attachments in the first place. What allowed 
Michael Jackson to ingratiate himself with his 
victims, Oprah explains, is the same thing that 
has kept his legacy mostly intact until now: He 
was Michael Jackson! He was God. She quotes 
a Maureen Dowd column that stuck with her: 
“How can you see clearly when you’re looking 
into the sun?”

Oprah & Gayle on tragedy

TV NOTEBOOK

MAITREYI ANANTHARAMAN
Daily Arts Writer

Surely, you’ve seen the photo: 
R. Kelly, on the verge of tears, 
sprung from his seat and Gayle 
King, leaning back in hers

6A — Wednesday, March 13, 2019
Arts
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com