Feed aggregator

Anyone can dance. As you read this comic, follow each step — and you'll be moving and grooving in no time.

I visited several Japanese arcades, aka game centers, in Tokyo’s Akihabara ward. Here’s some advice about how to get the most out of your visit to gamer’s paradise—and which arcade you shouldn’t miss.

Billboard's Hot 100 pop chart. Since 2019, it has topped the chart each December for a total of 16 weeks at No. 1 — so far.'/>

Possible holiday government shutdown looms as President-elect Donald Trump and advisers like Elon Musk object to bipartisan spending bill. And, simple ways to help with seasonal depression.

(Image credit: Dimitrios Kambouris)

A slimmer iPhone and selfie camera improvements could be on the way. Here's what analysts predict.

Yet another artificial intelligence voiceover and text-to-speech tool, Artlist could be a nice addition for content creators specifically.

Today's secret word is "festive."

Commentary: The Galaxy Ring is a good start. But Samsung could add more features and gestures to truly make its smart ring stand out.

Here's how to summarize emails, messages and more on your iPhone.

• GitHub Copilot free tier now integrates directly into VS Code
• Limits include 2,000 monthly code completions and 50 chats
• GitHub now supports 150 million developers on its platform

Microsoft-owned developer platform GitHub has confirmed it will be offering a free version of its Copilot AI assistant for all developers using the VS Code IDE.

Until now, Copilot was only available for free to verified students, teachers and open-source maintainers, with developers who weren't eligible for free access having to pay a monthly subscription for one of three levels to access the tool.

Anyone familiar with the way the platform has operated won’t be surprised at the change. CEO Thomas Dohmke explained: “GitHub has a long history of offering free products and services to developers.”

GitHub Copilot now free for VS Code

Previous products and tools that have been made available for free include open source and public collaboration, private repos, minutes for GitHub Actions and GitHub Codespaces, and package and release storage.

GitHub Copilot free is now available directly within VS Code and includes access to 2,000 code completions and 50 chat messages per month. Access to the AI tool requires users to sign in with their personal GitHub account.

Users will also be able to choice between OpenAI’s GPT-4o, which powers the version of ChatGPT that many developers use, or Anthropic’s Claude 3.5 Sonnet.

GitHub Copilot free includes most of the functionalities that the Pro tier has, which is the version that’s free for students and teachers. The free version makes do without summaries for pull requests, issues and discussions, among a few other things.

Anybody who isn’t an open-source maintainer or in education will need to pay $10/month for Pro, which removes the code completion and message limitations entirely.

More broadly, Github Copilot is also available across other popular IDEs, like Visual Studio, JetBrains IDE, Neovim and Azure Data Studio. Despite the platform’s affiliation with Microsoft, you can also use the AI assistant in Apple’s Xcode.

At the same time, Dohmke announced a new milestone of 150 million developers on GitHub. The Microsoft-owned platform is now said to have an annual revenue run rate of $2 billion.

You might also like

• We’ve listed the best AI tools
• Popular IDE JetBrains Rider is going free to use
• Upgrade this Christmas with the best laptops for programming

To wrap up 2024, this week on Uncanny Valley we talk about the tech products we most fear and love.

• Elevation Labs has launched an AirTag case with a ten-year battery life
• The TimeCapsule uses AA batteries to boost your AirTags’ juice
• It also boasts IP69 protection from dust and water

Apple’s AirTags are great for finding your lost items, but their batteries don’t last forever. And while their button cells are easy enough to swap out, wouldn’t it be better if you just didn’t have to worry about changing their batteries at all?

That seems to be the motivation behind an opinion-splitting new product from Elevation Labs that promises to extend your AirTags’ battery life to a decade or more. Dubbed the TimeCapsule, the device is essentially a large case for your AirTag that boosts its battery life to ten years.

The black housing is roomy enough for two AA batteries, which offer up to 14 times the longevity of the CR2032 cell inside a regular AirTag. To use it, you just take the top half of an AirTag and attach it to the white plate inside the TimeCapsule, which is what sends the AA batteries’ power to your AirTag.

The enclosure can be screwed securely shut and is nondescript enough to not attract attention from a would-be thief. According to the TimeCapsule’s Amazon page, it also has an IP69 rating, enabling it to keep out dust and high-pressure liquids.

Size compromise

(Image credit: Elevation Labs)

You might be noticing the elephant in the room here: namely, the TimeCapsule seriously compromises the AirTag’s portability, which is one of its key selling points.

After all, it’s harder to slip a TimeCapsule into your compact flight luggage than a tiny AirTag. And attaching one to your keyring? Forget it. Sure, it’s not obnoxiously large, but it’s still much bigger than a regular AirTag.

Whether that’s a problem depends on how you intend to use it. If you want something that has better weatherproofing than Apple’s AirTag, it might be a good option. Similarly, if you’re not bothered that it takes up a little more room in your bags, you likely won’t be put off by its added bulk. But if you want a small tracker that can fit pretty much anywhere, it’s a little less viable.

The TimeCapsule costs $20 for a single pack (around £15 / AU$32), $30 for two and $40 for four. It can be bought from the Elevation Labs website or from Amazon. With an updated AirTag 2 reportedly on the way, we’ll have to see if battery life is something Apple improves, or if the TimeCapsule continues to hold its own.

You might also like

• Apple AirTag review
• AirTag 2 upgrade could bring significant improvements to Apple’s trackers
• Better Apple AirTags are coming – with new AirTag 2 rumors predicting these two big upgrades

• Holiday.com covers over 200 countries, with regional and global plans available
• Data plans range from 1GB to 20GB, with options to customize plans
• ExpressVPN users can take advantage of special offers on the eSIM now

ExpressVPN has expanded its product range by launching a new eSIM for international travel.

The new holiday.com offering provides coverage in over 200 countries, including popular travel destinations such as Singapore, Australia and the United States, with plans starting from $3.50.

eSIMs eliminate the hassle of buying a physical SIM card upon arrival at your destination, with travelers able to opt for regional and global plans if they are traveling to multiple destinations. For example, the global plan offers coverage across 156 countries, starting at $13, and includes 1 GB of data valid for five days.

Are eSIMs the new way of travelling light?

"With holiday.com, you’ll have instant connectivity from the moment you step off the plane—without any adjustments or network headaches," Himmat Bains, Product Lead at ExpressVPN said.

ExpressVPN's move follows rival NordVPN's move earlier this year with its launch of Saily, emphasizing the increasing importance of privacy and security for travelers.

“Millions of people worldwide rely on ExpressVPN to keep them safe when they’re online — especially when they’re traveling. So it made sense for us to expand our product line up to help everyone travel with enhanced digital security and convenience," noted CMO of ExpressVPN, Ankit Khemka.

The traditional worries of navigating foreign SIM cards or unreliable data connection abroad are dying down thanks to eSIMs. With eSIMs, travelers find themselves more in control of their connectivity, and can also be more secure for travelers who often rely on untrusted Wi-Fi networks at airports and cafes.

You might also like

• What is an eSIM?
• We've also rounded up the best business VPN offerings
• The eSIM revolution: How digital SIMs align with today’s mobile habits

Take your home office to new heights with our favorite motorized standing desks.

• The EU could force Apple to allow Android phones to use AirDrop and other exclusive features
• New proposals under the Digital Markets Act also highlight AirPods and Apple Watch features
• Apple has responded citing privacy concerns

A new round of EU proposals have firmly suggested that Apple make its exclusive features available to other developers and phone makers.

Under the proposals, EU residents may not need to buy an iPhone 16 for themselves to use features like AirDrop, AirPlay, and automatic audio switching.

Allowing other companies to use long-exclusive Apple features APIs would mark a significant step up in the EU’s ongoing efforts to loosen Apple’s control of the smartphone market in the region.

An API – Application Programming Interface – is a piece of software that allows two applications to communicate, forming the foundation for features like AirDrop. These exclusive elements of the Apple ecosystem have long been considered major perks of buying an iPhone.

The proposals are the latest suggestions made in relation to the Digital Markets Act, a piece of EU legislation that regulates the activity and competition of online storefronts and tech companies.

Apple has already responded with a paper titled “Interoperability December 2024”, which claims that “abuse” of the DMA could result in the loss of user privacy.

The paper says Meta has made 15 requests for wide-reaching access to Apple device technology, and suggests Apple would be unable to reject these should the latest round of DMA proposals be enforced.

As well as iPhone features, the latest round of suggestions focuses on the exclusive audio and notification features enabled on the Apple Watch and AirPods. The EU has requested that Apple allow third-party accessories the same notification systems as its own products.

As Android Authority reports, the EU has repeatedly demonstrated that it finds that Apple’s market dominance and tightly controlled ecosystem give the company an unfair advantage over the competition.

The suggestions do not seem to be immediately binding, but it is ostensibly within the EU’s purview to use the DMA to enforce them.

My analysis

Apple has previously been seemingly forced to make begrudging concessions under the DMA, such as switching to USB-C with the iPhone 15 and allowing sideloading of apps through unofficial channels – but API access feels like a step too far.

The DMA has been instrumental in puncturing the popular view of tech companies as invincible entities, and shown time and time again that even the top dogs can be compelled to change.

However, if the DMA exists to foster competition, it’s worth remembering that companies need something to compete with. Phones in particular have been on something of a performance plateau that’s only just coming to an end this year, so internal specs are rarely going to be enough to pull customers in.

Exclusive features, like AirDrop and AirPlay, give Apple something to offer. It’s great that Google is so open with Android – I make frequent use of all the interoperability features of the platform when switching between handsets for reviews – but I’m not convinced that this is a precedent Apple should be made to follow.

Furthermore, I’m inclined to believe Apple’s concern for user privacy. The company previously faced down the FBI in order to protect the integrity of its ecosystem, and I’m always pleasantly surprised by privacy features when using my iPad, MacBook, or on the rare occasions I use an iPhone.

Apple has received its fair share of criticism over the years, some earned, some not. But one thing the company has done is work hard to create a singular vision and sense of flow through its ecosystem. If the company is forced to offer its prized exclusive features publicly, I’ll wonder how long it’ll take before we see Android phones with Apple logos printed on the back.

You might also like

• Apple’s long-rumored iPhone subscription service has reportedly been scrapped
• The OnePlus Open 2 could come with these key upgrades – and the biggest battery yet in a foldable
• The OnePlus 13 and 13R could be the first real Samsung Galaxy S25 competitors

• Microsoft is strongly pushing for a passwordless future
• Passkeys don't need to be remembered, and are more secure
• Redmond details its journey in the passkey journey

Passwords are no longer good enough, Microsoft has said, as it signals a shift towards easier to use and more secure alternatives.

“At Microsoft, we block 7,000 attacks on passwords per second—almost double from a year ago. At the same time, we’ve seen adversary-in-the-middle phishing attacks increase by 146% year over year,” the company said in a new blog post.

“Fortunately, we’ve never had a better solution to these pervasive attacks: passkeys.”

It's time to get on board with passkeys

Passkeys are a more secure alternative to passwords as their private encryption key is only stored on a local device, such as your phone, and not on leaky servers that are liable being attacked. Passkeys also don’t need to be entered into a website - just verifying your identity using a biometric authenticator app that scans your face or a fingerprint will grant you entry to your account.

This also makes them phishing resistant, as an attacker would not only need your personal device to log in, but also your physical form to pass authentication. As an additional bonus, you don’t have to worry about forgetting a passkey, as it isn’t stored in your brain and doesn’t need to be written down or stored in a password manager.

Over the past year, Microsoft has stepped up the rollout of passkeys to its platforms, with passkey support being added to Xbox, Microsoft 365, and Microsoft Copilot in May 2024.

The slow rollout allowed users to become familiar with the option of signing in with a passkey or, as it is displayed on the login page, “face, fingerprint, or PIN,” which users were more familiar with.

Following this, Microsoft began “nudging” users into adopting passkeys at important points in the user experience, such as at account creation, after signing in, and when resetting passwords.

Experiments with messaging were also run, with Microsoft discovering that saying passkeys are “more secure” and “faster” saw a click through rate of 24% and 27% respectively. Additionally, Microsoft did not let users completely opt out of passkey usage by having the button say “Skip for now.”

The Microsoft passwordless sign-in experience (Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft then moved on to removing friction from the sign in experience by defaulting to passkey authentication if it was available as a login method, removing the need for users to remember passwords and type them in.

As for the future, Microsoft is aiming to eventually phase out passwords, and introduce a totally passwordless login experience using phishing-resistant credentials only.

However, there is still a long way to go until then, including introducing passkeys as the default, phasing out passwords, and then stopping password support altogether - so get ready for a passwordless future.

You might also like

• These are the best identity theft protection services
• Take a look at our guide to the best parental control apps
• Search for alternative to WordPress surges worldwide amidst rift between WP-Engine and Matt Mullenweg

• Meta reportedly making Ray-Ban glasses with a display
• Tipped to land in 2025
• Won't be Orion, but Meta's next step to consumer AR specs

While the consumer version of its impressive Meta Orion AR glasses prototype isn’t due to land any time soon, we might get a taste of what’s to come from the AR revolution next year as reports suggest we’ll get new Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses next year which incorporate “single small in-lens screen.”

That’s per the Wall Street Journal who says “a person familiar with the project” suggested that the Ray-Ban update is due in 2025, and that it could launch alongside the sensor wristband that early testers have used to control Orion.

The report added that while Meta wouldn’t confirm if this heads-up-display feature would be coming, a viewfinder that could show basic information like notifications was a much-requested feature according to Alex Himel, Meta’s vice president of wearables.

We should take rumors with a pinch of salt, but the display-equipped Meta Ray-Bans were previously teased back in 2023 by a leak from The Verge which revealed Meta’s internal roadmap – a roadmap which pegged 2025 as the release year for these glasses.

This is also a good sign for people wanting to get their hands on Orion, as that same leaked roadmap said full-on AR smart specs would drop in 2027. Assuming Meta is on track with Orion that means we could be wearing them in only two years, which feels almost too soon for the AR revolution.

As for when we might see the display packing Ray-Bans, sometime in September or October is most likely given Meta’s typical release schedule; it usually likes to showcase new hardware at Meta Connect which lands in that slot nearing the end of the year. It could always mix things up in 2025, but expect to be waiting a few more months for this improved smart glasses if they are indeed on the way.

Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses come with a variety of frames, lenses and colors. (Image credit: Meta) A display upgrade, or battery downgrade?

Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses have been one of the best – if not the best – gadget of the year for me. Technically they landed in 2023, but their Meta AI upgrade which only landed this year took them from interesting novelty to easily the best AI wearable out there, and an easy option to include in our best smart glasses guide.

AR functionality, even something basic such as a single HUD, would vastly improve their usefulness. And if the upgrade can come without a price increase – admittedly unlikely – or at least not a massive one, and maintain the stylish design of the current model, then I could see these upgraded specs easily supplanting everything else out there.

My only concern would be battery life. The current glasses only have a four-ish hour maximum based on usage, and a display (even a simple small one) could eat into that. Though Meta would be aware of this and may have designed new and improved batteries to ensure your glasses don’t switch off after two minutes, and at least if they do run out of charge you can always rely on them as a pair of stylish specs.

You might also like...

• Best Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses update yet adds Live AI tools in early access
• Quest 3 YouTube app update finally adds an essential VR social feature
• Meta Orion: if this is a prototype the finished product will be incredible

• Sony has acquired new shares in FromSoftware owner Kadokawa, making it the company's largest shareholder
• Sony now owns 10% of shares, including the shares previously acquired in February 2021
• The two companies also plan to discuss new initiatives, such as ways to adapt Kadokawa IP in movies, TV shows, co-produce anime, and expand its games

Sony has announced it is now the majority shareholder of FromSoftware owner Kadokawa.

A new press release was shared today, December 19, to confirm that Sony and Kadokawa have officially signed a "strategic capital and business alliance agreement" after Sony acquired 12,054,100 new Kadokawa shares for approximately 50 billion yen, around $318.6 million / £252 million.

With the new shares, Sony is currently Kadokawa's largest shareholder, now holding approximately 10% of its shares, including the shares Sony acquired in February 2021.

Through this new capital and business alliance, the PlayStation owner said that it and Kadokawa "intend to further strengthen our collaboration to maximize both companies' IP value globally" as well as "facilitate wider and deeper collaboration, such as potential joint investments in the content field, joint discovery of new creators, and joint promotion of further media mixes of both companies' IP."

The two companies also plan to discuss new initiatives for collaboration, including ways to adapt Kadokawa's IP into live-action films and TV dramas globally, co-produce anime works, expand Kadokawa anime works through Sony, and further expand the company's games.

"We are very pleased to conclude this capital and business alliance agreement with Sony," said Takeshi Natsuno, Kadokawa's chief executive officer. "This alliance is expected to not only further strengthen our IP creation capabilities, but also increase our IP media mix options with Sony's support for global expansion, allowing us to deliver our IP to more users around the world.

"We are confident that this will greatly contribute to maximizing the value of our IP and increasing our corporate value in the mid- to long-term. We intend to do our utmost to ensure that our collaborative efforts with Sony produce great results in the global market."

Reports that Sony was looking to acquire the Japanese publishing company and owner of the Elden Ring developer surfaced last month, but it wasn't until last week that Sony confirmed it had "made an initial statement of intent".

Sony's president, COO, and CFO Hiroki Totoki also commented on the new shares acquisition, saying: "Through this capital and business alliance, we will become the largest shareholder of Kadokawa, which consistently creates a wide variety of IP, including publications and books, such as light novels and comics, as well as games and anime.

"By combining Kadokawa's extensive IP and IP creation ecosystem with the strengths of Sony, which has promoted the global expansion of a wide range of entertainment, including anime and games, we plan to work closely together to realize Kadokawa's 'Global Media Mix' strategy, aimed at maximizing the value of its IP, and Sony's long-term vision, 'Creative Entertainment Vision.'"

You might also like...

• Elden Ring Nightreign brings a standalone co-op roguelite experience to the Lands Between and... hang on a minute, did I just see the Nameless King?
• Yes, Elden Ring: Nightreign will feature a "small number" of enemies from the Dark Souls series, director confirms
• The Witcher 4 officially revealed at The Game Awards 2024 with brutal trailer and confirms that Ciri will star as the titular Witcher

• A new video featuring Mark Cerny has been released
• He provides some interesting insight into the PS5 Pro's tech
• This includes a breakdown of its ray tracing features

A new technical seminar featuring PlayStation 5 Pro lead console architect Mark Cerny has been posted to the official PlayStation YouTube channel. It provides some interesting new insights into the hardware that powers the PS5 Pro, including an explanation of what “advanced ray tracing” actually means.

The video is quite technical and begins with Cerny outlining what Sony is hoping to achieve with the PS5 Pro. He says that each new generation of consoles targets “broad improvements” and “significant new capabilities” that allow for a “tremendous step up in what the player experiences”. Mid-generation refreshes like the PS5 Pro, in contrast, are much more “tightly focused” and generally hone in on a few key areas like the GPU.

When developing the PS5 Pro, Cerny states that the focus was to create minimal extra work for developers while still offering games that play “noticeably better”.

Cerny also details some of the technical improvements in the PS5 Pro. While not entirely new information, it does provide a useful recap.

He explains that the 16GB of GGDR6 RAM found in the console is 28% faster than PS5, with over 1GB more memory available to games in order to help with PSSR, ray tracing, and increased rendering resolution. The PS5 Pro also features 2GB of slower DDR5 RAM for the operating system.

He goes on to address some common misconceptions, specifically regarding the power of the PS5 Pro’s GPU. He states that the GPU runs at 16.7 TFLOPs, debunking an earlier myth that it actually ran at a massive 33.5 TFLOPs. He reaffirms the claim that, overall, developers can expect to achieve a 45% increase in rendering speed which he calls “a huge improvement.”

We also get some insight into what the PS5 Pro’s advanced ray tracing entails in technical terms. He states that one of the “top priorities” of PS5 Pro development was “finding ways to accelerate” the computation of ray tracing. This was achieved through a combination of GPU improvements combined and new RDNA features in collaboration with AMD.

He estimates that calculation of rays now occurs at roughly “double or triple the speed of PS5”. He also explains a new acceleration structure and stack management in hardware. Put simply, the new acceleration structure interprets data regarding simulated geometry in order to work out where rays hit objects via an intersection engine. Objects are divided into “boxes”, which make it easier for the engine to work out which ones will be affected by rays.

Every time a box is intersected by a ray, it reduces in size to narrow down exactly what needs to be simulated. Compared to the PS5, the PS5 Pro encodes boxes in larger groups with an intersection engine that is twice as fast - massively increasing ray tracing performance.

The stack management in hardware then addresses the issue of divergence - which occurs when certain pixels being processed require different actions to others, generally increasing the time needed to render them. This impacts ray tracing performance, as there are lots of possible ways for a ray to be interpreted when it comes to curved or bumpy surfaces.

While the base PS5 uses a complex stack management system to accommodate for this, on PS5 Pro, stack management is in the console’s hardware - simplifying the process which “further increases the speed of execution”. This, in addition to a few other changes, leads to significantly more consistent ray tracing performance, helping games look and run better.

Although I certainly wouldn't recommend it to more casual players, you can check out the rest of the technical seminar for even more information.

You might also like...

• PS5 Pro vs PS5: comparing specs, design, dimensions, features, and more
• Sony announces new 'Amethyst' collaboration with AMD to develop 'machine learning' technology in games
• Yes, Elden Ring: Nightreign will feature a "small number" of enemies from the Dark Souls series, director confirms

• Google’s browser and search engine are used by most consumers
• Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks out amid ongoing investigations
• Multibillion-dollar deal to keep Google Apple’s default option under fire

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has claimed Google makes more money off its Windows operating system than Microsoft does itself.

In a recent video interview with BG2Pod, Nadella hinted at Windows’ openness and support for interoperability, noting that competitor AI tools, like Google’s Gemini, OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Anthropic’s Claude, are all available to use on the operating system.

In other words, Windows users aren’t locked into using Microsoft’s Copilot suite.

Google can thank Windows for some revenue

Google doesn’t make its money by selling Micorosft’s operating system, though. Instead, its pervasion of the platform and of many computers in general has helped the company to secure multiple revenue streams.

The company’s hold over the search market and related advertising streams means that most Windows users give back to Google in more ways than just one.

Its Chrome, browser accounts for two in three (66%) desktop browser sessions across all platforms (via Statcounter). Take away Safari’s 9% market share, taking out a portion of Mac devices, and Chrome’s dominance becomes even more apparent.

Even when users choose to use a different browser, Google remains a firm favorite when it comes to search, accounting for 85% of all instances. Microsoft’s Bing only takes a 3% market share. Separate research from Cloudflare’s Year in Review report suggested that Google’s market share is closer to 88%.

The timeliness of Nadella’s comments can’t be ignored, as his company faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny for anticompetitive business practices. Even Google has had a stab at the company, trying to disband its deal with ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, a company that has received billions of dollars in Redmond support.

However, Google isn’t immune from similar allegations, and its own deal with Apple to be Safari’s default search engine hasn’t gone unnoticed by regulators. In 2021 alone, it reportedly paid $26 billion to Apple to keep that position (via Windows Central).

You might also like

• Google slams Microsoft's cloud dominance and deals with rivals
• We’ve listed the best privacy tools and anonymous browsers
• Here are our picks of the best Windows laptops

• Two Creature Commandos stars have opened up on episode 4's big plot twists
• Maria Bakalova has teased how a surprising Ilana reveal will keep viewers guessing right up to the show's finale
• Sean Gunn explains how he approached Weasel's soul-crushing backstory from a voice acting perspective

Creature Commandos episode 4 marks the official midpoint of the Max show – and it might be the most eye-opening chapter of the R-rated animated series yet.

Based on its seemingly innocent title 'Chasing Squirrels', Creature Commandos' latest entry doesn't appear to be particularly shocking on the surface. Looks, though, can be deceiving, and episode 4 proves how true that statement can be with two big plot twists that few will have seen coming.

Major spoilers immediately follow for 'Chasing Squirrels'. Don't scroll past this point if you haven't watched the DC Cinematic Universe (DCU) show's latest episode yet.

A Pokolistani plan for world domination

Princess Ilana seemingly has ambitions on ruling the world with an iron fist (Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

The first surprise turn of events centers on Princess Ilana of Pokolistan. As I explained in another Creature Commandos episode 4 exclusive – one based around the apparent debut of the DCU's Justice League – it seems Pokolistan's de facto ruler isn't as innocent as she's letting on. Indeed, when the series' supposed main villain Circe shows ARGUS chief Amanda Waller a potential vision of the future, it's a premonition that revolves around Ilana and Pokolistan autocratically ruling the Earth.

Later in the episode, Waller drafts in Doctor Ilana MacPherson, a university professor who specializes in Themyscira, aka Circe's place of birth and one of three big references that Creature Commandos includes to tease Wonder Woman's eventual DCU debut. As MacPherson explains, Circe is a clairvoyant, which means she isn't able to imagine potential future scenarios on the spot. That, then, must mean Circe is telling the truth about Ilana and Pokolistan.

Well, this is a future that nobody wants, eh? (Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

Or is she? Speaking to TechRadar ahead of episode 4's release, Maria Bakalova, who voices Ilana, suggested there'll be more twists and turns before Creature Commandos' final chapter, which will keep viewers on their toes and ensure they won't know whether they can trust Ilana, MacPherson, or Circe.

"It's an interesting reveal," Bakalova said with a smile when I quizzed on episode 4's plot twist. "It's done in such a gentle way that it makes you think 'is it real, or is Circe lying?'. You don't know who you can trust out of Circe or Ilana. I'm really happy that the show is built in a way that keeps that tension throughout, so you can't tell if Ilana is as good as Rick Flag Sr thinks she is, or if she's actually the bad guy in all of this. You're never completely convinced."

Weasel's tragic tale

Weasel's backstory is fleshed out in Creature Commandos' fourth chapter (Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

As I alluded to, there's another big story-based moment in one of the best Max shows' fourth episode, and it's one focused squarely on Weasel.

Weasel's backstory has been referenced throughout Creature Commandos, with different characters mentioning that he was accused of killing 27 children. That's the reason why he was incarcerated in Belle Reve Correctional Center in the first place.

Or so we were led to believe. In an emotionally devastating flashback sequence, which intersects the DCU Chapter One series' present day storyline, we learn Weasel actually tried to save a bunch of kids when a fire breaks out at their school. He fails to do so, however, because he's shot and captured by law enforcers who mistake Weasel for causing the blaze and, in their eyes, attempting to steal the children in order to eat them.

I'm not going to lie, I got choked up watching this scene (Image credit: DC Studios/Max)

DC Studios' co-head James Gunn previously described episode 4's harrowing trip down memory lane as one of the saddest things he's ever written. True though that may be, such scenes require performers – among other things, such as its musical score – to effectively communicate how much a gut-punch these moments are. So, how did Sean Gunn, James' brother and the voice actor responsible for playing Weasel, convey such anguish with a character who can't talk?

"As an actor, sometimes you don't have the tools to make something work," Sean Gunn told me ahead of episode 4's release. "When I'm playing Weasel, all I've got are squeaks, grunts, and growls.

You don't know who you can trust out of Circe or Ilana

Mara Bakalova, Creature Commandos voice actor

"But, James and I talked a lot about how Weasel is like a big dog, and anyone who has a dog knows that they're incredibly emotional creatures who can experience joy, pain, sadness, all those kind of things. So, that's what I'm trying to get to the heart of when recording Weasel. That was really interesting because, in [2021 DCEU movie] The Suicide Squad, he was such an afterthought who was viewed as a goofball and just some form of comic relief. To be able to take that character and have to do something with him that has some real emotional resonance, that was very challenging for me, but I really loved doing it."

Want to read more exclusive Creature Commandos articles? Check out other articles I've written about the adult animated show below. Oh, and be sure to check in later for my coverage of the trailer for James Gunn's Superman movie.

You might also like

• As Creature Commandos kicks off James Gunn's DCU, its showrunner says he's 'thrilled' to be leading the charge ahead of the next Superman movie
• Creature Commandos is full of social outcasts and grieving misfits, but the voice actor for Rick Flag Sr is convinced he's the DCU TV show's most 'tragic' character
• Creature Commandos episode 3 proves James Gunn won't be afraid to kill his DCU darlings – the Max show's first big death has emotionally devastated me